Five on Friday - Paper Bag Skirt, Best Running Shoes, New Instagram Story Templates, and Speed Queens

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Despite a couple of rough dismissals at the beginning of the week, our kiddos had a great first week of school and I’m counting down the minutes until I can pick them up, grab some takeout, pour a cocktail, crash on the couch, and then sleep in on Saturday morning.  Pure heaven.  Anybody else just plain exhausted after this week?!

Anyway, we’re going to end this long week with some favorites to kick off the weekend!

O N E – Paper Bag Skirt

I came across this paper bag skirt recently and I think it would be such a versatile piece for any closet!  It could be worn with tanks and sandals during the summer, with long sleeve tops and close-toe flats when transitioning to fall, and with sweaters and booties in the winter.  I absolutely love the chambray, and the bow just makes the entire skirt!  So, so cute!  Right now, it’s on super sale at $29.50 marked down from $79.50!  It also comes in black and white pinstripes and army green.

 

T W O – New Running Shoes

I started running again during the height of quarantine last year, so I bought some new running shoes.  I bought a pair of trusty rusty Nikes as I always do, but instead of grabbing a high-end pair, I opted for a middle-of-the-road pair to save money.  That was a big mistake, and the shoes ended up being one of my least favorite pairs I’ve ever owned.  I ended up using them for a whole year anyway and I walked/ran hundreds of miles, but recently I injured one of my big toes and a couple of my little toes during a fast-walk because I didn’t retire them as soon as I should have.

After that, I had to take a break to let my toes heal, and while they were healing, I bought this new pair of Nike Air Pegasus running shoes.  They are very pricey, but I wanted to get something better this time since I’m running regularly now.  If you’re gonna be a runner, the best thing your can do for yourself is to splurge on good running shoes.  Trust me when I say that you get what you pay for when it comes to running shoes. 

These new shoes are THE BEST running shoes I’ve ever had.  After having those terrible shoes before, I feel like I’m running on a cloud.  The new shoes are bouncy, so they push you along as you run, and it just makes it so much easier!  My previous shoes had hard insoles and I felt like I had to put forth way more effort to run than I do with the new ones. 

In addition to that, they’re also comfortable, they look great, and they come in several different color combos.  If you’re looking for a great pair of running shoes, I cannot recommend these enough.  They are absolutely fantastic! 

 

T H R E E – New Instagram Story Templates

My Instagram stories game was weak this summer, and if I’m being honest, I’ve always struggled to be consistent on there anyway.  I go through spurts where I post multiple times per day for weeks at a time, and then I’ll go without posting at all for three days in a row.  Haha. 

I decided this summer to create a few different story templates and come up with a loose daily posting schedule to help me be more consistent.  Now that the kids are back in school, I’ll be posting my daily to-do lists again, and I’m also going to start promoting all of my blog posts in my stories as well… something else I stopped doing but want to do consistently.

Below are two of the templates I created and used earlier this week, and I love how they turned out.  If you’re not already following me on Instagram, you can do so here, and going forward, you can at least expect to see a daily to-do list first thing each morning Monday – Friday, followed by blog a post promo so you’ll never miss a post.  I also post a whole bunch of other randomness and behind-the-scenes kind of stuff that I don’t share anywhere else, and I love to conduct a good poll every now and then, too.  Oh, and let’s not forget the funny memes… I’ll always share the funny memes.  ;o) 

F O U R – New Washer and Dryer

Speaking of Instagram story polls, thank you to all of you who submitted your favorite washer and dryer sets in my question box the other day!  The overwhelming majority of you told us to purchase a set of Speed Queens and we did just that! 

They are pricey, but according to everything we heard from you guys + internet research + the appliance store saleslady, we think they’re the best option for our family.  Here are a few reasons why we decided to choose this brand over the other less expensive brands:

1. They are commercial grade washers and dryers, so they’re designed to run all day, every day and hold up well.  (Our saleslady told us that they’re used in most laundromats.)
2. They have all of the things we need and none of the stuff that we don’t need.
3. You can ask any repair person which brand they recommend, and they’ll all tell you Speed Queen because they service them the very least.  AKA they are durable, reliable, and they hold up well over time.
4. They’re made from all metal and do not contain plastic parts like other brands, so they’re less likely to break.
5. The wash and dry loads are crazy fast, so it takes less time to do laundry.
6. They came with a five-year warranty.
7. They’re made right here in the United States.

Ours won’t arrive for quite some time as they’re backordered, but I’m super SUPER excited about them.  As a matter of fact, I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about any appliance ever, so hopefully they’ll be worth the wait.  We ordered the TC5 and DC5 models, BTW.

 

F I V E – Timehop Memory of the Week

This picture of Olivia showed up in my Timehop from seven years ago and it made me smile so big.  That face!  Those sweet little PJs!  That mass of dark, unruly hair!  We used to call it her mohawk because it was so thick in the middle and thin on the sides.  My goodness, time just flies and these daily Timehop reminders make me realize just how fast.

 

Friday Funnies

 

On the Blog This Week

 What I Wore – July 2021

Our Week - The One with Summertime, Week 11 (Girls Night Out and Back to School Prep)

Back to School Favorites

Happy Friday, y’all!

*Linking up with A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites.