Things I’m Loving Friday #229

Friday is here! To those celebrating Easter this weekend, I hope you have a wonderful time and are able to spend the holiday with people you love.

(Flashback to Chase’s Easter basket picture from last year. Sadie definitely claimed that fluffy white bunny as her own.)

We will be staying put here in Charlotte but one of my best friends arrived in town yesterday afternoon and we have plans to celebrate with an egg hunt with Chase’s best friends on Saturday evening so it will be a good one for sure! Plus, I am waaay too excited to play Easter Bunny for Chase this year since he’s super into the whole thing and seems more excited about Easter now that he grasps the concept a lot more than he did last year. (We’re working on his understanding of the true reason we celebrate Easter but he very quickly picked up on the idea of a big bunny coming to our house and leaving him treats on Easter morning.)

Before the weekend begins, I wanted to be sure to type up my usual Things I’m Loving Friday blog post to share with you guys. Please feel free to leave a comment and tell me about something that is making you smile this week as well. I always love reading about the things you’re loving, too!

Have a great weekend and Happy Easter!

Things I’m Loving Friday

Preschool Easter Egg Hunt

(Note: For those with super-slim/tiny kiddos who really struggle to find toddler jeans that don’t look incredibly big and baggy, I LOVE Old Navy’s denim jeggings. They are technically “for girls” but they look like a basic pair of slim-fit jeans and work so well on our little man. Highly recommended!)

On Wednesday morning, the parents were invited to Chase’s preschool class’ Easter celebration. The party included an egg hunt and lunch and was too darn cute! Chase’s teacher explained the rules of the egg hunt (everyone gets 12 eggs) and then the kids were off! Chase was SO into the hunt and filled his basket with a dozen eggs in 2.5 seconds. We do a lot of seek and find games at home so the egg hunt was right in his wheelhouse of fun and he loved it even more when he realized every egg held some kind of treat. His mouth opened wide with a whispered, “WOW!” every time we’d open up a new egg together and it was just the sweetest!

He also offered the baby in my belly one of his eggs – a green one – and told me the baby likes chocolate. I’m not going to argue with that one because if my cravings are any indication lately, Chase is a wise, wise toddler indeed. Give me ALL the Reese’s eggs!

A Visit from Laurel

Early yesterday afternoon, one of my best friends, Laurel, arrived in town! Laurel and I met our freshman year of college and were roommates throughout our time at the University of Central Florida. She’s one of my favorite people on the planet and I’ve been looking forward to her visit for months! A work trip brought her to the area but she extended her stay a bit to hang with our crew and it’s been wonderful. Naturally we stayed up past midnight simply talking on the couch last night and I am just so happy she’s here! I’m sure I’ll take you through some of our weekend shenanigans on Monday but we’re planning to treat ourselves to a pedicure tonight, explore Charlotte a bit and simply catch up. Bring on the quality time!

(Side note: I cannot remember the last time I busted out red lipstick. Or heels. Or a semi-fancy dress. I need to up my game!)

The Natural Nurturer’s Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffins

Chase and I got busy in the kitchen earlier this week and whipped up a batch of The Natural Nurturer’s Green Smoothie Muffins. I’m all about any toddler-approved recipe I can make in the blender (see our favorite Paleo Blender Muffins + Healthy Blender Breakfast Bars), so these muffins jumped out at me when one of my girlfriends shared them on her personal Instagram a few weeks ago. I had a feeling they were going to be a hit when we tasted the batter and Chase was an instant fan! They taste like oatmeal banana muffins (the spinach is 100 percent undetectable outside of the color) and we’ll absolutely be making these muffins again in the near future in our house. I love the way they sneak some greens into Chase’s diet first thing in the morning or during snack time!

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

There’s a reason this book received a lot of hype in the past year. (It is a New York Times bestseller and was Amazon’s Book of 2017.) Little Fires Everywhere was an engrossing read from the beginning and the author writes about the characters in this novel in a way that feels believable and authentic. The book takes place in Shaker Heights, a near-perfect suburb of Cleveland, and follows the Richardson family, a wealthy family who seems to have it all together, and Mia and Pearl, a mysterious mother and daughter who arrive in town and rent a small house from the Richardsons. Family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, erupting a custody battle that divides not only Shaker Heights but the Richardsons and Mia and Pearl as well.

As the two families’ lives become intertwined and the custody battle intensifies, secrets from the past and present are revealed. A theme of this book is motherhood, a mother’s love and what it truly means to be a mother. Little Fires Everywhere felt different from other books I’ve read in some way – perhaps because of the author’s incredible talent for writing about such different characters in believable and intriguing ways – and the book made me feel invested in the characters and their stories from the beginning.

This is not a spoiler, but I must admit I am still trying to figure out how I feel about the ending of this novel. It wrapped up in a way that wasn’t picture-perfect and while this seemed fitting in many ways, part of me feels like the author left me wondering a bit too much… though I did feel a sense of hope for the future. Little Fires Everywhere is 100 percent worth a read and was one of the most captivating novels I’ve read so far this year.

Friday Flashbacks

Here are a few recipes I thought you might enjoy if you’re looking for something delicious to make to share for an Easter celebration this weekend:

Best Ever Morning Glory Muffins (Absolutely worthy of a special occasion!)

Easy Cilantro Shrimp Appetizer (Healthy, protein-packed and a definite crowd pleaser!)

Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Bars (Made with coconut oil, oats and honey, these bars come together quickly and disappear even faster once you take them out of the oven.)