5 Friday Favorites: June 21, 2024

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.

Happy Friday, my friends! Wow what a week. So darn much baseball. Drew had three games this week and will have two this weekend. Also, we watched hours and hours of the College World Series with more to come on Saturday. The last teams standing are the Tennessee Volunteers and the Texas A&M Aggies. I have to go with Tennessee, kids. My own flesh and blood child is a graduate and a lot of my money has been spent in Knoxville. Also, their coach is very handsome which is neither here nor there. To my friends who are Aggies: Lori Sue, Kathleen, Tomi: I love and adore you. I really do. I want happiness and celebration for you. I do. Promise. Also, GO VOLS.

Here are some favorites from this week.

1. Franco Sarto

I had a pair of slides similar to this that I wore for over 10 years at least. I finally threw them out and I've had deep regrets ever since. While we were in the Outer Banks, I was scrolling Instagram and these Franco Sarto Hoda Slides popped up. Will you look at the Lord? I ordered them right away. They are the sandals of my dreams if you don't count the pink Birkenstocks I featured a couple of weeks ago. It seems that footwear appears in my dreams quite often. These give me some height and they're very comfortable. I've beat myself up for throwing out those beloved sandals so many times, so I guess the moral of the story is that when you love someone set them free and they will return to you and this time with a snazzy cork heel.

2. Another Portable Fan 

I think this is the second time that a portable, rechargeable fan has appeared on Friday Favorites in less than a year. This is our life now. When I started this little blog twelve years ago, I had no idea that fans would be a necessity one day. Simply relying on a ceiling fan is a young woman's game, y'all. Portable fans and reading glasses. We need lots of them in lots of different places. So here's one that you can wear around your neck or clip to your waistband.

I know. I'm sad about it, too. But what am I going to do? Drew plays baseball on Saturday and Sunday. The high is 97 degrees on Saturday and 95 degrees on Sunday. I have no choice.

3. Potomac League Summer Baseball

Speaking of, Drew is playing in the Potomac Baseball League right here in Northern Virginia. If you're in the area the league teams play at Capital One Park in Tyson's Corner and the games are a lot of fun. Tickets are only $5 and there are fun contests for little kids, food, drinks, and giveaways. Drew plays for the Bunt Cakes and I'm in love with their bright pink uniforms. 

Lots of talented college players to see at any of the games. Grab your portable fan and come out to watch. The schedule is here.

4. Chilled Soba Noodle Salad

My friend, the lovely and talented Mrs. C., who is a ridiculously amazing cook, made this Chilled Soba Noodle Salad for our book club dinner last night and it was delicious. She got the recipe from this cookbook. Jacqui is talented enough that she can substitute ingredients with ease when she doesn't have a certain one in her kitchen. This is a foreign concept to me because if I saw the words "sambal oelek", I would panic and throw the cookbook in the trash. Here are her substitutions: ramen noodles for soba, peanut butter for almond butter, honey for agave nectar, Everything but the Bagel seasoning and a little sumac for the samba oelek and baruk nuts for the peanuts. She used shaved broccoli slaw mix that had carrots in it and also added fresh basil, scallion and yellow pepper. I can't stop thinking about it. 

5. Blame It On the Boogie 

Earlier this week, I had a meltdown out of no where right in the McDonald's drive-thru when I suddenly wondered how I could possibly be moving through my life without my mom in the world. I guess this is something that happens? You're just getting your Large Diet Coke for $1.58 like you do all the darn time and then it hits you. She's not here. How am I operating like a semi-normal human being and am I going to be able to keep up with this charade or is this the point when I just stop functioning right here in this long line stuck between a Toyota Corolla and a Honda Mini-Van?

I sobbed all the way home and then when I parked my car in the garage I started to scroll Instagram because most of Instagram's purpose is to help us numb all of our feelings, right? I opened a short Instagram reel that Joe had sent me that featured the song, Blame it on the Boogie. I could not get a hold of myself, I was laughing so hard. I don't know how to share Instagram Reels here and there is a big league curse word in it so even if I did know how, I couldn't do it. (PS If you scroll up to the top of the blog where it says "Follow me on Social Media" and click the Instagram button and follow me, then send me a message and I'll send the reel to you. But you can't be worked up about the word, 'kay?)

Anyway . . .since then I've listened to this song about 40 times. I had no idea that it was the Jackson Five. I promise you that it will change your mood in a hot second. . .even quicker if you watch the video which is 10 out of 10 on the Delight Scale. You can't possibly stop from smiling. 

That's it for today, Friends. I hope you have a great weekend and if things aren't going well, just blame it on the boogie.

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