Five on Friday - Sequin Skirt, a Fabulous New Children’s Book, and Auction Basket Ideas

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Happy Friday, y’all!  Guess what?!  WE ARE FINALLY ON CHRISTMAS BREAK AND I’M SO HAPPY I COULD JUST CRY!!!!  It has been a stressful December and I feel like we’ve had absolutely zero time to soak up my favorite time of year other than the few days I spent in NYC and my girls brunch.  Aside from those two things, we’ve done literally nothing festive (other than watching one single Christmas movie) because we’ve been running around like maniacs trying to get stuff done, playing catchup constantly, and battling illness after illness. 

December is always stressful, but typically it’s a bearable, festive stressful.  This year, it has been an unbearable stressful minus the festive part and this has probably been my least favorite holiday season to date aside from the Covid year... I hate that so much.  I’m hoping that we can make up for lost time over these next few days and squeeze in some last-minute festive things together before Christmas comes and goes. 

But first – some favorites!

O N E – Girls Sequin Skirt

Ok, y’all, how perfect are these darling little tiered sequin skirts?!  They popped up in my suggestions on Amazon and I just had to share in case you need something fancy for your little one for New Year’s Eve… or everyday life.  ;o)  This skirt comes in 17 different colors and most colors and sizes arrive before New Year’s Eve.  Olivia LIVES in skirts (she hates pants, leggings, and most shorts) so she wears skirts and dresses year-round.  This one will likely be purchased for her birthday in February because I just know she’ll love it!  It only has 47 ratings and reviews, but the reviews are amazing and it currently has 4.7 / 5 stars.

 

T W O – A Mess Made of Magic

I absolutely adore Jessica Garvin… she is the very first influencer I ever followed on Instagram, and that was technically before she was even an influencer… really, it was before influencers even existed.  She recently wrote this children’s book, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen something made for Olivia more than this book is! 

Olivia is our care-free, spontaneous child, and she doesn’t have an organized or tidy bone in her body.  But boy, is she joyful and whimsical and magical and all the other fun things that I am not.  Therefore, she and I are constantly butting heads about what is and is not acceptable when it comes to picking up after ourselves.

This book is about a little girl who has a messy room and a mom who is asking her to tidy up… literally Olivia’s and my life every. single. day.  And I’m hoping that this book will encourage her to learn to enjoy keeping her things a little more in order while also encouraging me to loosen up and find the magic in the mess.  <3   

 

T H R E E – Bar Cart Auction Basket

As most of you know, I’ve been collecting money and procuring items for the fourth-grade and seventh-grade auction baskets for a school fundraiser we’re attending in January.  I FINALLY finished up both baskets and turned them in and it feels so good to get them off of my proverbial desk.  The seventh-grade auction basket theme was a bar cart, and I wanted to share it here today because it turned out to be so fabulous this year… by far, my favorite one that I’ve done yet!

I went with this bar cart for the second year in a row since I loved it so much last year, and then I added different accessories than in previous years to freshen it up a bit.  I was really impressed with this bartender book and this bartender set… the bartender set is absolutely STUNNING in person, and it includes everything you could possibly need.  These napkins were also a must since we live in the south.  ;o)

The disco ball was an incredible find because, y’all, ask me how much I paid for it?! 

$2. 

TWO. DOLLARS. 

I knoooow!

And it’s such a great disco ball for the price… it’s the same quality as the disco balls that sell for $12-$18 on Amazon, so it was SUCH A STEAL.  I couldn’t believe my luck when Brian and I came across them on our shopping day date a couple of weeks ago.  I found them at one of our local Walmarts in their Dollar Spot section, and they were labeled as $5 each (which was still an excellent deal), but they had a sign above them that said $2, and I could not believe it. 

Sure enough, we confirmed that they were, indeed, $2 each, so ask me how many I bought. 

12. 

Lol. 

I bought seven for my girlfriends to give as little gifts at our Christmas brunch, one for this bar cart, one for Olivia for Christmas, and three for me.  Because you can absolutely never have too many disco balls.  ;o)  I’ve had one on our bar cart for years and it is one of my favorite things in the whole house.  When it picks up the evening light and sprays sparkles around the entire living room and kitchen, it is just magical.

In hindsight, I actually wish I’d bought a few more, because they would make perfect gifts to give to Olivia’s friends for birthdays! 

Anyhoo, all of the bar signs are authentic bar signs from an actual local bar that you can’t purchase anywhere, so I’m totally PSYCHED to have those for the auction.  One of our seventh-grade families owns a local restaurant and they were kind enough to donate all of those for our basket.  As a matter of fact, we're thinking the neon signs are worth enough that we're going to separate them and auction them separately... and I think that Creature Comforts sign is calling my name!  ;o)  It's Brian's and my favorite brewery ever, it's located in Athens, GA where our beloved Georgia Bulldogs are, and they make the best beer of all time - Tropicalia.  Brian and I have been obsessed with them for years and I think it would be the absolute coolest to have that in my house.

I also want to give a shoutout to my friend, Jessica, who donated that beautiful watercolor print of the cocktail.  It is the perfect addition to class up the whole cart a bit, and I really think it pulls the whole thing together.

I also grabbed a bottle of Grey Goose, a bottle of Veuve, a bottle of Patron, and a bottle of Four Roses whiskey... all the good stuff!

This is, by far, the most epic auction basket I’ve had the privilege to put together, and I can’t wait to see how much it goes for in January!

 

F O U R – Parents Night Out Auction Basket

For Olivia’s fourth grade classes, the other room mom and I decided to do a “Parents Night Out” theme, and we were able to get a $250 gift card for a local boutique hotel that just opened, so that’ll be good for a one-night stay.  Then we got a $100 gift card to a local restaurant that’s the absolute best in town.  And we threw in a gift card for one of the local axe throwing places that’s good for two people to throw for an hour.  We also grabbed a bottle of wine and stuck all of it in the cutest little wire basket, and then I threw in some mini disco balls to make it look cute.  Because duh.  ;o)

 

F I V E – Old School Pictures of My Nana

My Daddy recently sent me some pictures of my Nana (his mother) who passed away back in 2019, and they’re all old pictures from her school days.  I will treasure these forever.  I cannot get over that picture of her in the striped dress and the pearls.  That might be my favorite picture of her ever.

Friday Funnies Words to Remember

On the Blog This Week

 2023 New York City Christmas Trip - Days 3 & 4

Our Week – The One with the Reindeer Run, Our Girls Christmas Brunch, and More Sickness

20+ Last Minute Gift Ideas That Arrive Before Christmas

Easy, Affordable Christmas Tree Craft for Kids Class Parties

Happy Friday, y’all!  

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