Friday Favorites, 4.17.2026

 

Happy Friday, friends! I hope you've had a great week! Mine has been really good. I mentioned here Monday that because I'd planned to be traveling that day this week, I had taken the day off. Even though I ended up not being able to go on the trip, I kept that day off. It was glorious! It'll be my last day off before school ends for the semester. It's been a busy week for us at CWES! We're preparing for the big state test that will start next week. I'm so ready for it to be here so we can move on from all the reviewing that we're doing. After the test, it's all downhill from there, and tons of fun is headed our way to usher out the 2025/2026 school year! This year has flown by with lightning speed, as I knew it would. 

This was me on July 28, capturing my first day back to work for my memories. Looking back is my favorite! Okay, well...onto my favorites from this week.

Catching up with Mare when she got home Monday night was my favorite! Of course I went straight to her as soon as she got home from the blog trip! We ate dinner and enjoyed catching up and making a game plan for this weekend, when she moves. I'm hers for the weekend! 

I preordered this book by Diane Shiffer; do you follow her on Instagram or TikTok? I love her videos and was delighted to hear that she'd written a book of compilations that are similar to the videos she shares. Isn't the cover beautiful? Little details like that are always my favorite. 

The kiddos at school this week have been having Glow parties in P.E. God bless the coaches for doing this five days this week! They all dress up in neon, and the music is pumping as they dance and play games with black lights on in the gym. This is to get them pumped up for TCAP next week! Glow parties are their favorite!

Little things like this on IG are always my favorite. I don't know how true this one is for me, but I still liked it enough to save it to my phone and to share here. 

Chris sent me these pictures yesterday; this is where we're going next weekend! I can't wait to travel with him. I feel like it might be my new favorite! 

This is a terrible picture, but one sweet little (favorite) student brought me this tiny flower yesterday! She made my day. 

Looking out the windows and seeing all this green is a favorite right now.  

Getting dressed is still a favorite! I am loving dress season right now. 

My new favorite thing at home are these curtains and this rug! I love the change that it brought about in my home. I've got some more things on the horizon, so stay tuned!

What was a favorite of yours this week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all! 

Jenn 

the Wednesday hodgepodge

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm here with Joyce again today for the weekly hodgepodge...this is a post that I dearly love; thank you, Joyce, for your inspiring and thought provoking questions each and every week! I'll jump right in! 

1. It's a big week in the USA...do you do your own taxes? What's something you felt was "taxing" lately? I do my own taxes, which started last year. Something that always feel taxing is having to deal with difficult people. I'm at the age of not having much of a poker face; this is not always a good thing, friends. There are certain people in my life that I'm talking about here, and I know you're picking up on who I'm talking about...but there are also people/situations at work that are difficult. I detest drama and try to stay as far away from it as possible, no matter the cost. I am a huge fan of protecting my peace. 

2. When it comes to travel, are you a last minute packer or a lay it all out a week in advance type? Do you struggle to pack light? Share a packing tip that has worked for you. I am definitely a last minute packer. I watch the weather the week that I leave, then I'll pack the night before, excluding any last minute add-ons like toiletries and such. I do struggle to pack light, like most other women. I'm getting better with each trip, though! I don't know that it's a packing tip, but I try to take only two pairs of shoes: one to wear and one in the suitcase. On that same side, I'll pack my toiletry bag, pajamas, and my brush. On the other side, I pack the clothes I'll wear when I'm gone. I don't fold things too tightly, but I layer the outfits, and I pack by outfit. 

3. April is National Grilled Cheese month. Hmmm...who knew it got its own month? Do you like a grilled cheese sandwich? What ingredient do you add to take yours to the next level? I was today year's old when I found out this sandwich had its own month. I love grilled cheese sandwiches, even if I rarely eat them. When my dad was alive, many Fridays found us eating a grilled cheese with tomato or tomato/roasted red pepper soup to accompany. They're delicious! I don't really add other ingredients than cheese to mine, but I like go fancy it up by using good cheese, or even a variety of cheeses! Add an avocado to the side as garnish, and that is a scrumptious meal! 

What I wouldn't give for another Friday with Dad! 

4. There's a well known quote that says:

'A ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.' John A. Shedd

Is constant growth necessary or do you think it's more important to prioritize stability and peace in your life? I think a healthy balance of both of these things is good for us all. I definitely lean toward growing continually...I think that we all need to keep our minds healthy and active by keeping it engaged. Working has been good for me this year! I've learned a lot in the last seven months from the amazing women that I work with. On the flip side of this, I think it's good to be in a state of learning to be content. That can be done by resting and disengaging from work to give our active minds a rest. I think this is also dependent upon the life stage that one is in. This all rings true for me at the moment, though. 

5. Let's wrap this up with a little spring 'this or that'. My answers will be in pink.

daffodils or tulips

lemonade or iced tea

gardening or hiking

ladybugs or butterflies

umbrella or raincoat

floral patterns or polka dots

6. Insert your own random thought here. I'm making changes at home once again! I bought a new rug for my dining room this week and am in love with the way it changed up that space. I also bought curtains for my house, along with rods, and Jonah installed them for me Monday night. 

I don't know if anyone is in the market for such things, but I'm including links for both of these. Here are my curtains, and here is the rug that I bought. I made the decision to do away with the blinds that I had downstairs; I think they dated the rooms. I don't regret getting rid of them! Doing that really opened up the space in here and it gives it a very clean, modern look. Do you have thoughts on these changes? 

I can't wait to read your answers to these prompts! I'll see you back here tomorrow, friends. Love to all!

Jenn 

simply Tuesday

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! I thought I'd talk about a few things that are kind of random here on my blog today. I had this idea when I was looking for a picture on my phone recently and found all these pics I'd taken for my blog, but then never shared. I hope you enjoy this kind of post today! 

I found this on socials last week; I feel like this is such a profound truth. Even though I loved this when I saw it, it instantly made me sad. It's not a great feeling to have been given up on; it's always in the back of my mind, me wondering if it'll happen again. Starting over in life in your late forties is both humbling and terrifying. 

These are a few of my favorite things, except for the one about enjoying a clean home that I didn't clean. I have only experienced that once or twice in my life, but honestly? I enjoy cleaning my own home. I take pride in it, and I love the structure and routine of putting it all back in order and then the task of keeping it tidy. And then there are other days when the same things sit on the kitchen counters for days on end, but life is about balance, right? 

Will my Flair felt tip pens ever not make me happy? The answer is no. 

I ordered these new Reef sandals recently and tested them at work last week. They're wonderful! Here's a link if you'd like to check them out. I wasn't sure about the cream color, but I really like them. I love that all the straps are adjustable and that the bottom is cork. 

I've been on the struggle bus a lot lately with feelings and emotions. I think it's partly because of the impending date of my ex-husband marrying the woman he left me for. Can I be candid for a minute? I don't want him back, but I also kind of hate the thought of him being so "happy" now. I said that word with quotations because even if he thinks he's happier with her, I know that deep down, he isn't. He has a God-sized void in his life that he's trying to fill; she'll be a fix temporarily or permanently, I don't know the time frame, but I know that unless he finds God, he will never be content. She suits him, because she was also married when they began their affair. And then about a week after our divorce was official, they began living together. Something so illicit usually doesn't last; I know all this, but still the struggle is there. These are the thoughts that keep me awake a lot at night, and I've been having vivid dreams involving them lately. That happened a lot at the beginning, too. All that to say, I could use some prayer, if you're the praying type. Thanks for always letting me be so vulnerable here; I really do feel as if this is a safe space. 

Needless to say, a lot of what I've written above is still me mourning what was, even if that was an illusion on my part. I still experience the death of my hopes and dreams in life daily, and this reminder was such a beautiful part of my morning one day recently. 

And just because now we all need to laugh a little after the serious turn this took, these two things above made me laugh so hard when I saw them on IG. 

I love my little town so much. I love that Marilyn lives here now and that I randomly bump into her. I feel fortunate to live in such a pretty place; I love taking walks around the town square, which is what I was doing the day that I took this picture. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed having season tickets to Broadway plays at The Orpheum this year! I've given away two now, and am giving away a third one the week I go out of town with Chris. This one above was my favorite to date! 

Pardon the curse word, but these daily reminders are necessary!

I loved this one, too. I need this reminder constantly! 

Do you have thoughts about any of these things? I'd love to hear from you! I'll see you back here tomorrow, friends. Love to all!

Jenn 

Hello, Monday.

Happy Monday, friends! I hope you had a great weekend! I can't wait to hear from you at the end of today's post. I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah for today's blog post. I'll jump right in!

 

If you remember, last week I told you I wouldn't be here today. But then Thursday happened, and well...just keep reading. 

I started feeling kind of bad on Wednesday afternoon; I didn't really ever feel up to eating dinner, but I did eat a little, just because I knew I needed to. Then Thursday I started the day feeling okay, but by the time I got to school, that was no longer the case. I was really trying to rally and tough it out, but at 12:45, my co-workers unanimously kicked me out of the building and forced me to go home. It seems as if I caught a stomach bug for the second time in four months. I tried so hard to feel better that night, but I just kept feeling worse and worse, so at nine p.m. I called Mare and told her I had to skip the blogger's trip. I was so bummed about this, but at that moment I felt so bad that I didn't even care! And I made the right decision; I would not have been up for a long drive the next day, because the next two days found me pretty lethargic, though I did feel better with each passing day. 

What a bummer, though, right?! I tried not to dwell on it too much, and I was grateful that I had Chris here with me while I was sick. He took really good care of me Thursday after work and kept forcing me to drink a little bit of water. And then I enjoyed the weekend with him once I felt better, so I'm glad for that! Here's what the rest of the weekend looked like...

Little Reese kept me company on Friday while Chris worked; we took lots of naps together that day. I finally got up to shower and move around a little bit, but it was an easy day. That night I was hungry, so we went to our favorite little Asian place and all I wanted was dumplings with soy sauce and steamed white rice. It was so good! 

We came back to my house and settled in for a movie night; Chris ordered pizza for us at some point since we ate kind of earlier in the afternoon. We got Domino's delivery; it was a nice treat to have while we watched the Karate Kid: the Legends movie. 

I didn't sleep at all Friday night, because Jonah had left at 12:30 Friday afternoon to go pack up Noah and bring him home from Dallas. He got there by seven thirty, they packed him up and loaded it all in the trailer in about half an hour, then they grabbed dinner and started the long drive back home! I woke up to them back in the house by six that morning, and never have I been so relieved that they made it back safely. It always makes me nervous when they drive all night like that! 

This is such a happy sight to me! Drew came over Saturday morning and cleaned my AC units for me; he found a broken piece on the big downstairs unit, so he was able to replace it with something he had on his truck while he was here. What a blessing to have a son in the HVAC industry! He was on call this weekend and was nearby, which was why he stopped by. After about two hours, I fixed him up with some iced coffee, then took him to lunch along with Chris. We enjoyed Mexican for lunch, then we parted ways. We stopped by Lowe's to get some bolts so that Chris could make a repair for me, then we came back to my house so that I could finally hug Noah. They'd just woken up and started moving things in when we got here. I started on laundry for Noah, then before long, he was set back up as if he'd never left. 

I shared this picture on socials last night; here's what I said: 

It’s hard to caption a picture like this…the words are few, but my heart is so full I can barely take it. A lot has happened in two years (A LOT), but of all the good things that came from ashes, this is yet another one: my Noah is back at home in the 901! I will never again take for granted having all of my sons in this area, and I’m confident that Jonah hasn’t been this happy since the day he moved in May of 2024. My home is fuller now, we’ve added another dog to the mix (Rocket isn’t pictured here, but Jonah’s two Golden Girls are), and my heart is close to bursting. Life isn’t perfect, but this? This is good. I’m thankful to the Lord for His perfect timing in getting Noah back home.

Truer words have never been spoken. There's a bit more of a backstory regarding his move home, but it's not mine to tell. Just know that I'm thankful to have him here again! For the rest of the day, we just kind of relaxed and watched TV. I took a nap, because I still didn't have a lot of energy; for dinner we went to The Skybox and then to Ulta for me to pick up a few necessities. 

We met for breakfast on Sunday; I missed church since I was supposed to be out of town. After that we came back to my house again and rested before he went back home. I always hate saying goodbye to him when he leaves! We had lots of serious talks this weekend, because he was offered a new job, but we're scared it'll change the dynamics of our relationship since it'll make everything the opposite of how it is right now. I feel like I'm puffy here, because I cried some while we talked. And we're fine, by the way, but it's scary thinking of what could change if he accepts the position. Things are so good with us right now, and I just genuinely love this man and don't want things to change. 

For the rest of the day, I put the house back in order after a busy weekend. I did laundry, cleaned, rested, and watched Mike and Molly. I took my car to get it washed, donated a bag of things to Goodwill, then came home to watch TV and write this blog post. I had planned on being out of town still today, so even though I'm not, I decided to keep my planned day off the same and I took advantage of another day off. This will be my last until school is out for summer break! We have some busy weeks ahead of us for these last six weeks of school. I felt like I needed today off as a mental health day, and I have zero regrets.

All in all, even though the weekend changed so drastically for me, it was a great weekend. I'm glad I was home to help Noah, and I do believe that things happen for a reason. So though I was sad about not going, I easily accepted it and thanked God for His plan that always prevails. What'd you do this weekend that you loved? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for being here today to read my blog, friends. I'll see you back here tomorrow! Love to all.

Jenn