Happy Friday! We are back with another Friday Favorites post where I talk about my favorite things, what I’ve been up to recently, and recent purchases. I’ve been doing these every two weeks so I have more to share in each post and it is summer so, I am taking some time off from my laptop. I’ve been really enjoying spending a lot of time outside. I’ve been working on a lot of weeding projects and power washing the driveways. Plural because my parents have a carport on the side of the house and behind the pool, they have a long driveway leading up to the two-car garage. I want to clarify that no one asked me to do these projects, I am just finding any excuse to spend my day outside. I’ll work for an hour, get hot and jump in the pool and then go back to work. After months of sitting in a house, I am going outside to find something to do whenever I get the chance. Sweeping? Weeding? Cutting the grass? I’ll do it because the last place I want to be is inside! My parents moved into this house only two years ago so they are still making this home theirs. Luckily there are plenty of projects to keep me busy!

My brother is living in Raleigh and since it’s just a two-hour drive away I’ve been able to see him a few times. Two weeks ago, my dad brought golf clubs and my mom brought lunch so we had a socially distanced picnic and hit some golf balls at a park near where my brother lives. I also love to visit my brother because there is a Costco and a Trader Joe’s there. On our recent trip, we stopped at DSW on our way home and I bought so many shoes because of their major clearance sale. This is one store you want to keep your eyes on for sales right now.

Another interesting tidbit is that I’ve become a morning person. This is breaking news because I have never naturally woken up early before. Lately, I’ve been waking up between 6:30 and 7am without an alarm clock. I’ll check my emails and messages, go downstairs and get coffee, have yogurt for breakfast while doing some work on my laptop. Around 9am I’ll throw on a bathing suit and head outside to get some reading done. My afternoons are spent working outside and jumping in the pool! Did you know it’s hot in the south?!

Since businesses and (most) people here are taking COVID seriously, my mom and I were able to go to the farmers market last weekend and do some antiquing. It was fun to walk around and look at all the veggies and flower vendors. I got a really pretty french lavender plant for $3 that I plan to take back with me to Philadelphia. My dad and I are digging up evergreen trees that are popping up all over their property to take back with me too. I got box planters that I plan on putting in front of our house and I’ll fill them with the evergreen trees so they are green throughout the year. I’m really taking advantage of what is growing in my parent’s backyard to bring some back home.

Of course I miss Philadelphia and Jake and little Ed. Right now I am taking advantage of having a car and being able to drive around and do errands easily. I’m loving the pool and laying in a lounge chair while I read all day. I’m loving this time with my family and being able to go on a walk or down to the Dairy Queen and get a scoop of ice cream. There is a lot that I’m loving right now even though my two favorite people are in Philadelphia holding down the fort while I’m away.

I’m not watching any tv lately because I’ve been using any free time that I have to read. At night I replaced my usual falling asleep to a movie with the Calm App. I’ll do a meditation while I snuggle into bed and focus on my breathing. Usually by then I’m half asleep and I’ll put on a bedtime story on the app and I have not been able to stay awake for one story! Waking up early has really helped me go to bed early too without much fuss. I love falling asleep shortly after my head hits the pillow.

I just finished Good In Bed by Jennifer Weiner which was a nice easy lounge by the pool read. I just started Tidelands by Philipa Gregory which is historical fiction since I needed to mix it up a bit. I brought a ton of books down here and recently bought a ton more so I have a lot of reading to do!

I’m proud of myself for finally working on my long list of blog posts that I have been neglecting since I got here. I talked about my favorite leave-in conditioners in this post which have been really making it easy to have good hair days during quarantine and hot summer months.

A few months ago I worked on a blog post with Love Beauty and Planet about a new shampoo and conditioner that I am so excited finally hit the shelves! I also got to work with Loreal and talked about their new scalp care and detox shampoo and conditioner on the blog. Lots of beauty posts are coming to the blog so stay tuned to more!

In case you didn’t know, Pier 1 is going out of business so I’ve been stopping by once a week to browse. It’s a very slow liquidation but new items go to clearance and markdowns happen on Thursdays FYI. I recently picked up adorable bunny plates that were a set of 4 for $3 and Jake sent me money to get their lemon plates. I also got a cute lemon themed fruit basket since our yellow kitchen kinda became a lemon theme when we moved in!

The Target near my parents is not that great but I am loving the dollar bin section! Their recent theme is lemon decor and really cute home decor items. The price was right so I got a few things to bring back with me to Philly. I picked up this Friends tee shirt because it would make a great outfit for my next move. Oh and somehow this pajama set ended up in my cart LOL

Belk is having a big sale so my parents and I went today actually to browse. I stocked up on $6 candles, an adorable rug, a bag on major sale, and bought some cute clothes. My parents bought a lot of cute new bedding because it was on super sale. I need my roommate to come visit me before I buy anything else for the house!

Peaches
Tomatoes from the garden
Working outside
Sweet tea
Going to the grocery store. I was even excited to go to Lowes so I clearly have missed shopping!
Tan lines
Oui Yogurt
My new Conair hair dryer brush