5 Friday Favorites: September 8, 2023

It's time for my Friday link up with  A Little Bit of Everything and Momfessionals. 

On Fridays I share things that made me happy from the week - a photo, a song, a quote, a beauty product, a recipe, a pair of cute shoes, etc. If it's a product, sometimes it's something I actually own and sometimes something I just saw online that gave me a smile. Sometimes it's serious and sometimes it's silly. I suppose I believe that God is in the simple details of life and yes, I can even find Him in a tube of lipstick. 

1. Maple Street Biscuit Company

Since Steve and I got home from all of our road trips to visit our boys and help get them settled into their new lives, we are going to need to embark on a serious detox from all the road trip food. While we were in Nashville, Steve decided he was going to get a jump start on it and wanted to find an acai bowl for breakfast. We found a place, but then Kyle and I spotted a Maple Street Biscuit Company in the same shopping center, so we were like, "We respect your choices, but we will not be participating in your berries and yogurt, sir." and made a beeline for the biscuits and gravy. If you can find a Maple Street near you, Kyle and I completely support you and recommend the Five & Dime: Fried Chicken, Bacon, Egg, Cheddar and Sausage Gravy on a biscuit.

2. Travel Fan

Women Friends of a Certain Age who are so dang hot all the dang time, lend me your ears: This little fan has saved my life in hotels all along the East Coast in the past few weeks. I cannot sleep without air moving so I bought this fan to take with me and plug in next to my big dumb hot face so that it blows air at me all night long and then Steve doesn't have to whine about me turning the air conditioning down to 65 degrees in the hotel room. Also, it's rechargeable so you can just grab it at anytime and blast it at yourself whenever you're just sitting there having a fine day and then out of no where you feel certain that you are actually on fire. You're welcome, friends. Godspeed.

3. BAGSMART Travel Toiletry Bag

I feel like I've mentioned this BAGSMART Travel Toiletry Bag at least twice before, but it is legitimately one of my favorite things of the last three weeks and it is on sale today! You can cram so much stuff in this bag. The fact that it can be hung up is a game changer because it's so easy to see everything and you don't have to go digging around in the depths of a huge bag. It comes in a bunch of colors. Gosh, I love this thing an unreasonable amount.

4. Easel Mineral Wash Wide Leg Pants

Y'all. Buckle up because this is the weirdest story  Also, it might be like someone telling you about the dream they had, so beware and scroll down if need be.

So Kyle's adorable girlfriend, Merrill, works at a shop in Nashville called Vinnie Louise. Often, she takes over their Instagram account and shows her favorite things from the store. I saw her wearing these pants and I loved them so much. Now, is it smart for a 54 year old woman to think she should wear the same pants as a recent college graduate? Probably not, but I am who I am. 

Merrill tried to find me the green in her shop, but they were out so I figured this was the Lord's way of saying, "Ma'am. Step back. These are not for you," But THEN, I was listening to the BigBooCast the very next week and Sophie mentioned these exact pants! I could not believe it and I felt like the Lord said, "Try again, sister." So I found them in my size in green at this boutique online! And I got them! And I love them so much. And perhaps my discernment skills for hearing the Lord's voice accurately could be called into question, but here we are and I'm walking in my purpose in my green mineral wash wide leg pants today. 

5. Having a kid get a job in Nashville

Steve and I have been big fans of Nashville since we visited there for his 50th birthday a few years ago. Since then we've been there about five times, so when Kyle got a job there after he graduated from UT Knoxville, we were thrilled. 

We had the best time with him and Merrill eating all the biscuits and gravy, shopping, getting his apartment set up by hanging some curtains, restocking the fridge and doing a couple of Target runs.Then we headed to Broadway to see some live music. I will say that Steve and I did our very best to hang in there with the 20somethings and were pretty impressed with ourselves. 

If you visit Nashville we highly recommend seeking out the band, Monte and the Monsters. Their drummer is a brother of a good friend of Kyle and Merrill and he was so incredibly talented. We had a blast. 

I've mentioned it so many times - too many times - but the last five months have brought so much grief and worry and difficult change into my life. In the middle of chaos it is even more important to seek out the joyful moments and hold on tight. My brother reminded me a few months ago that the grief will always be there and that we are allowed to be happy when we find the chance. We can always return to the grief. I'm so grateful for the many moments of happiness that have come in the past few weeks whether it was watching my kids embark on new adventures, singing along with friends at a concert, or sharing fries with my husband in the car on our 5th hour of a road trip. The Lord is good. All the time.

I hope y'all have the best weekend! And HOOK 'EM HORNS! 

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