Happy Friday Friends! I hope you have had a great week! Can you believe it is the last weekend in July?! We are holding on to every bit of summer, but I have to admit that thoughts of fall and back to school are slowly creeping in. It is just a natural way our thoughts turn through the seasons. Anyway! I am back with another edition of Friday Favorites! I’m share a bit of family, home decor and style with you!
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Heart of Summer
This past week marked the half way point until school starts. Although, somehow the second half of summer seems to go by at warp speed! My middle son was at summer camp all week, so it was just my big and little with me on our daytime adventures!
We made a stop a one of our favorite parts of Cleveland--Little Italy!
This is pure bliss enjoying some sweet Italian treats!
One Small Change
Earlier this week, over on Instagram, I shared one small change we have made to help take care of our environment. We were so excited to receive these Go Sili silicone straws (which are available at Target). My daughter has convinced us to decline plastic straws when we are out at restaurants. But, I have to admit, I really like using a straw when we are eating out. So, these Go Sili straws are the perfect option!
Everyone in the family picked a color and I threw them in a zippered pouch in my purse.
Now, we can have our own straws when we are out and about. Many cities in the U.S. have already banned plastic straws and there are many restaurants and cities that are planning to go plastic straw free!
Go Sili also has larger (wider) straws that are perfect for smoothies! You can grab them HERE!
Latest Home Decor Finds
Last week, I shared some cute finds at Target and this week, I have a few fun items from Michaels and Marshalls! My daughter and I are working on a little DIY project in her room, so made a trip to Michael’s. Oh my goodness, I LOVED all of their new decor! Some of it was fall specific and a lot of the items were adorable farmhouse style pieces. So many good things!
Michael’s Fall Home Decor
These wood planters are so pretty in person! There are also these same planters in a gray finish. Both options would look so nice filled with fall flowers!
These small wood barrel buckets are so cute! I ended up buying two of these. Perfect to pop in a little mum plant or fill with faux apples!
Michael’s has so many galvanized home decor accessories right now! These galvanized divided containers are SO useful! Fill them with art supplies, corral bathroom toiletries, kitchen utensils..you name it!
The exact metal container is not online, but all of Michael’s galvanized collection is HERE!
These wood berry baskets are so CUTE! Another item that has so many uses. You could display with fruit on a shelf, organize jewelry or craft supplies. These are the first berry baskets I’ve seen in WOOD.
Do you still use cookbooks? I love using recipes from my cookbooks but I don’t love it when I have a book that won’t stay open. I really need one of these cookbook stands! This one is so stylish.
I love using letters for decor. I’ve gotten other unique letters from Michael’s and this rustic, galvanized letter is just too unique to pass up! It looks like this exact letter type is not available online. But they do have other options HERE.
All the heart eyes for this entire display of rustic, farmhouse decor pieces!
So many chalkboard options! Whether you want one that has a calendar or a blank one. I love the light blue frames!
Later in the day after my Marshall’s trip, the kids were busy with camps and activities, so I had an hour to myself. Guess where I headed? MARSHALLS. Many people enjoy a quick trip to Target when they have a second. But I will take Marshalls or Homegoods any day of the week. Anyway, lots of cute things at Marshalls too!
There were a lot of cute coffee tables including these wood and wire circle ones. I like that the tops can be removed so you could store blankets or pillows.
This Rae Dunn Wall Organizer was so cute! I love the darker wood color matched with the wire baskets.
This Magnolia Home glass dispenser came home with me! So many possible uses for this container including laundry detergent, dish soap, bath soap…or just to display!
If you are looking for a reusable 1st Day of School Sign, check out this adorable one from Marshalls. Perfect to resuse year after year!
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I REALLY loved this set of cream and black baskets with the brown handles! Too bad I do not have a spot for them…yet!
I did come home with these wood and galvanized shelves. The plan is to use these for my sons’ bunk bed. I haven’t gotten a chance to hang them yet. But I think they will be great for holding a book or two and a few momentos.
So many fun things in the stores right now. Maybe it all looks good because I haven’t been to the stores very much this summer:)
This Week on the Blog
You might have noticed lately that I haven’t been posting as much on the blog this summer. During the school year, I am able to post 3-4x a week. But during the summer, with all of the kids home, I haven’t been able (or have wanted) to work on the blog as much. Summertime home with the kids is a fleeting phase and I am trying to soak up this time. In between those moments of going just a little bit crazy having them all home with me.
When it is a choice between an afternoon at the pool with the family or working on the blog, I am going to choose the family time! What may or may not surprise you is that blogging takes A LOT of time. There is more behind the scenes that definitely came as a surprise to me. It is easy to let blogging become a full time, 40+ hour a week job if you let it!
All that being said, I truly love this blogging gig. I have so many ideas and projects I will be working on this Fall, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, I did share a new post yesterday that (surprise!) has to do with family! If you are trying to make the most of the summer with your family, take a look at these 6 Meaningful Traditions to Start with Your Family!
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I”m wrapping up this week’s Friday Favorites! Hope you have a wonderful weekend! I am linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea for this Friday Favorites post, so be sure to head over to their blogs as well!
I haven’t been in Michaels in a couple months, so much cutestness! Have the sweetest weekend lovely lady!
If we had a Marshall’s near us that could be dangerous! Target is bad enough but Marshall’s– yeah I could get used to hanging out there.
I have not been to Michael’s in a while but I think I’ll head over there tomorrow. Thanks for sharing.
I’m definitely going to have to look for those adorable baskets at Michaels! I dislike paper straws so I love the idea of having your own set. I hope your son enjoyed camp!
Oh gosh…all that wonderful home decor (insert heart eyes emoji here) – love!