Friday Favorites: August 8, 2025

 

Happy Friday, friends! I hope you've had a great week. I'll be so glad it's Friday when this post hits. I don't plan on wishing away my life, I promise, but I say that because I know I'll be tired. I anticipate sleeping in on Saturday this weekend, but on Sunday I'll have to be at church early for...praise team practice! I'm not complaining, because I've missed being on the praise team at church. I can't wait to be able to sing again! 

Speaking of that, here are some more moments from the week that were favorites.

I'm not necessarily looking for love, but this was a favorite thing I saw on socials this week. It's true! I do all of these things, and I appreciate life. How fortunate are we to be able to encourage each other and pray for one another? I was part of a Wednesday morning prayer time at work; it's called Legacy on the Loop, and we spent some time being encouraged and praying for the school year with other teachers, assistants, and all of the administrative staff. What a blessing this is! I love my job, friends. 

Getting dressed is still my favorite! Here are my outfits from this week, starting with Sunday. I'll share more about why I wore what I did under the pictures, but most of these were for work.

I had a date on Sunday; this is one of the new rompers I ordered recently from Amazon. I'll keep this one, but I got this one with fall in mind...I think it'll be cuter with my white sneakers, a jean jacket, and a hat. The date went well! He has young kids, though...I'm not sure I can do that. I'm not opposed to being friends, though! 

Monday was a very long day; it was registration day! I worked from 8-12, and from 3-6. I walked 15K steps! I was DEAD when I got home. 

Tuesday was the Back to School Dragon bash at our high school. We had school pictures taken, which is why I had to wear our school shirt for the second day.

And Wednesday I wore this red romper while I had the chance to wear shorts one last time without students in the building. 

This was a favorite, because I had another date this week, on Tuesday. (I told you I wanted to keep dating, but with a shift in perspective.) The date was the best I've had to date, and he made me laugh from start to finish. I appreciate someone who can do that to me; at one point, I almost spewed my drink out of my mouth, he was that funny. We have plans again Friday night since Mare is busy. 

Thursday was favorite outfit...I didn't anticipate liking this dress with sneakers, but I did. 

I bought three hats that are this style this week! I want to start wearing them more, but how cute is this one? We are the Collierville Dragons as a whole district, but my school's mascot is the Eagle. I anticipate going to some football games this fall and will wear this hat when I go. The other hats are pink (that says Dolly on the front), and olive green (that says sunkissed). 

Meeting sweet Becca at work this week was a favorite; she and my son Drew are good friends. She's a doll and confessed to doing a deep dive on social media stalking me. This made me laugh, because I always appreciate someone who can do that level of stalking! 

This very large pour of wine was a favorite on Monday night because of how tired I was.

Running into friends at the district event on Tuesday was a favorite! This is my friend Kendra; we trauma bonded over the man that we both dated. She was engaged to him, and I only dated him, but she opened my eyes about some things I needed to hear because of the power he had over me. 

It was fun seeing so many people there!

Sweet Baby Oak is my favorite, and my bed is hers. She likes sleeping with me at night! 

Chloe's favorite was me coming home for lunch everyday, but those days are over! 

Since I'm talking about dogs, I might as well mention Crash too. I love him being here with me again! 

I'll wrap this post up with these last two pictures; the Hershey candy bar was from my friend (the principal), and the flowers are from my co-worker Carla. I work with the sweetest people ever! A standout favorite from the week is that; everyone treats me so kindly. It really is the very best work environment! 

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


Jenn ❤️

the Wednesday hodgepodge

 

Happy bonus blog post day! 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. The midpoint of summer...believe it or not...is August 7th. Describe a perfect summer day. Have you had one yet this year? I'm taking it back to a couple of weeks ago when I was at the beach! On this one particular day, I slept late, and when I finally woke up, I lounged in bed for what felt like a luxurious amount of time. We got up and shared breakfast, then I walked down to the beach. I swam in the ocean, I napped while listening to/looking at the ocean, I played music, I had a drink, I had key lime pie, and my skin felt like it was kissed by the sun. Later on that day I took a shower and shaved my legs, then drenched my skin in after sun lotion, I had seafood for dinner, and we walked on the beach at sunset. It was perfect! 

2. What's one thing you wish you knew before starting high school? I wish I'd known that we were all awkward and weird. I think that I put so much pressure on myself to "fit in", that I didn't see things for what they really were. I'm guessing we would all say this. I know we're told to pick one thing, but something I almost shared was that I wish I'd known the importance of learning to speak publicly. 

3. What's something that bothers you if it's not done perfectly? A made-up bed. I need the pillows and comforter to be straight! I'm laughing at myself, because I made my bed Monday morning and the comforter was crooked. 🤪

4. What's the most overrated food you're convinced people are just pretending to enjoy? What's a trendy food you actually do enjoy and would say is definitely not overrated? For a long time I thought people were only eating kale because of how it was the trendy thing to do. I've also wondered this about kombucha...can it really be that good? The trendy food that comes to mind for me is sushi; I love the stuff!  

5. Wrapping up this week with five fun this-or-that's:

personal stylist or personal chef?

dance like nobody's watching or sing like nobody's listening?

unlimited tacos or free pizza?

bookshelf organization by size or genre?

ten minutes late or ten minutes early? 

My answers are different today than they would have been a year ago with that last one; I used to be habitually early, but now I'd rather be late than early. At the very best, I'm on time. I try to avoid awkward situations as often as possible, and I don't love being early anymore. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I recently came across this song that I really like, by Colbie Caillat called Live Without.

Thanks for reading my blog today, friends! I always love reading your responses to the same prompts. Love to all!

Currently: August 2025

 

Happy Wednesday, friends, and welcome to this month's Currently where we'll be talking about what we're currently loving, looking forward to, scheduling, buying, and gearing up for. I'll jump right in!

I'm loving my single life right now; I know this sounds strange after me dating people, but I've decided I don't want a relationship anytime soon. I don't mind going on dates sometimes, but I don't feel like it's something I have to do every weekend. I had an eye opening moment in the last couple of weeks that has made me snap out of whatever judgment was clouding my vision. I love not being tied down, I love not having to consider someone else when I make plans, I love being able to cook/eat whatever I want without wondering what someone else will want, I love coming and going without a thought. 

I'm reclaiming weekends for the girls! This was Marilyn and I out Friday night; we had such a fun night on Friday night! 

I'm looking forward to all the fun things that come with working in a school environment again: spirit week events, fun dress up days, games to attend, Friday Night Lights in the Ville, and getting to know my co-workers again. 

I'm scheduling all of these things as they pop up in my new planner, because I cannot keep up with all of the dates just off the top of my head. 

I'm buying clothing items for work as I come across them. I have a fair amount of things for now to hold me over, but I definitely need to add some items to my wardrobe so that I can start a good rotation. I mentioned this last week, but I found out I can wear leggings with long tunic style tops; this is a game changer! 

I'm gearing up for students to start tomorrow! I have a lot to remember, and it's going to be a crazy couple of days, but I'm excited to meet some of the ones I'll be with this year. I'm still learning the layout of the school and anticipate getting in lots of steps each day. That's a great thing! And our school is massive. They call the new back wing East Tennessee. 🤣

Next month we'll be talking about what we're currently loving, beginning, ending, picking, and posting. I hope you make plans to join in with me again! I'll leave this link up for a couple of weeks in case you want to join in later. Thanks for being here today, friends! Love to all.

Jenn ❤️

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weekending

 

Happy Monday, friends! I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah for today's blog post. How was your weekend? Mine was really good! I feel like I utilized my time really well since this was the first weekend I had after a full week of work; it was a great combination of fun, productivity, relaxation, and church. I'll break it down for you below.

After work I came home to relax for a little while before moving onto the next portion of my Friday; I unpacked my work bag, and just sat in the recliner for a half hour before getting dressed for that night and leaving my house. Marilyn and I have been following this account on Instagram for a while now called Whiskey Jill's; it's a bar/club and you go there to line dance! We finally bit the bullet and made plans to go there for the first time together this weekend. 

We got there early because they offer dance lessons at 7:30, and the dancing begins at 8:30. We thought we would be learning line dances, but we actually learned a couples country swing dance. We started in a circle and paired up with men and basically danced our way around the circle while we learned the moves. It was actually a lot of fun! We hope to go back again soon, but maybe on a Saturday night the next time. We're curious to know if the crowd will be more our age on a different night; at one point we felt like chaperones! 🤣 But seriously, what a fun night. Here are the pictures as proof, including our carefully planned outfits. 

This last picture is the women's restroom; we liked the canvases hanging on the walls. Boots would have been ideal for me to wear, but I don't have the cowboy type, so my friend just advised that I go with the intent of keeping my feet happy. We were a mess when we left there and I dropped Mar off at her house; I drove off without my full wallet (I carried my license, a credit card, my key, and lip gloss in my pockets) and pouch, and she left a pouch with her car keys in the door of my car! This is what happens when we go out and are out "late"...know that it wasn't late. 🤣 We have laughed endlessly over this! 

Saturday was super chill, which was nice. I lounged around the house all morning and finally left to get a pedicure and to have my nails done. This is me utilizing my Saturdays! While I sat in the pedicure chair, I rejoined Walmart+ for the year and ordered groceries to be delivered on Sunday after church. I feel so good about the decision to do this! It's worth it to have them delivered since my time isn't what it used to be; I ordered lots of good (healthy) foods/snacks/drinks for Jonah and me this week. I included breakfast items, protein drinks, energy drinks, water flavoring packets, easy meal ideas, lunch ideas for me to take with me to work on Thursday and Friday (I'll leave campus Monday-Wednesday), and plenty of grab and go healthy snacks. I won't talk about the amount of money I spent on this; it's borderline ridiculous! 

I came home to talk to Jonah for a bit after my appointment, then I went to Mar's house again to deliver her keys. 

She was chilling in her room in bed, so I sure did just climb in right next to her! This is friendship at its finest, folks; you know you've got something special when you can just lay in a bed and talk/laugh/send each other reels while being together. In case I haven't mentioned how grateful I am for her friendship recently, know that I am. I literally thank God for her every time I leave her presence. 

I came home pretty early to attend to the dogs. Graham is starting a new life phase today and is going to be in an intensive months long course on becoming a sheriff's deputy; because of this, Todd and I will be sharing custody of our old man dog, Crash. I'll keep Graham's Oakley with me (Baby Oak) all the time until he graduates. This is an adjustment, and I'm a freaking awesome Mom. I'm acknowledging this to you in case nobody actually tells me that to my face. 🤪 Since I was home so early, I showered early and washed my hair, then sat down to watch a movie. Some things happened to make me get dressed again, but I never actually left my house, even though I was dressed to leave and meet someone. In the meantime, Jonah came home and was super chatty, which I always love. We talked and caught up since it had been a minute, then I went to bed. 

Sunday was church and then home to put away groceries! I'm leaving off here since I'm writing this on Sunday morning; I'll pick up with this on my Friday Favorites post later this week. Don't forget that this week is the Currently link up for August; we'll talk about what we're currently loving, looking forward to, scheduling, buying, and gearing up for. I hope you make plans now to link up with me! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all! 

Jenn 

Friday Favorites: August 1, 2025

 

Happy Friday, friends! I survived my first week and am so glad it's Friday. I can't wait to sleep in later tomorrow! 🤣 It's been a whirlwind of a week, but I still have some favorites. Here are a few of them...

I wore my favorite dress to church on Sunday; its collar pop is my favorite detail! Please note my dainty little necklace; Marilyn and I have matching ones that say BFF. I love this! Singing in choir was also a favorite from my week; it felt great to be back! I was scheduled to start back to the praise team as well, and was a favorite thing to wake up to on Monday morning. 

Sweet Jerry invited me over to swim with him on Sunday at his house. I love that we adore each other as friends; we text all throughout the week a lot and we're both good at checking in on each other. I have a date this weekend that I was talking to him about. I love this about our friendship! We definitely flirted for a minute while we were together, which is fun, but we'll never be more than friends. Who am I? I continue to be shocked at this version of myself. I'm here for it, and whatever this brings! I'm in my favorite phase of life currently. 

My favorite thing in the world is seeing my sons thrive in their lives. Jonah is loving his new toy! I call this a four wheeler; Jonah calls it a bike like all the young people. Do you have thoughts on this? 

In one of the meetings I was in on Monday, my principal shared this screen. She was invited to tour a Navy base over the summer with other administrators from around the country, and these are some of the lessons she learned from that trip. This was one of my favorite parts of her presentations on Monday! 

Going home for lunch everyday was a favorite part of my afternoons! The pups appreciated being let out midday as well, 

I pulled out my favorite readers again this week. I love these quirky glasses I bought while I was in Louisville this spring! 

My new friend Kendra sent me this on Instagram, and it was my favorite thing online this week. 

Leaving campus was a favorite this week! It was fun to go to the high school for some training. We'll do this again next week for a Back to School bash, where we all wear school t-shirts and get a district wide picture of all of the school staff. 

Wearing leggings this week (and finding out I can wear them at work with long tunics) was a huge favorite! 

Making sourdough and having it turn out great was a favorite this week! It's been ages since I've had a loaf turn out so well. 

Chloe is my favorite. End of story. 

Fresh haircuts are my favorite! My girl took off several inches yesterday, which was much needed! 

And speaking of my girl, look who I had dinner with last night! I came straight to her house after my hair appointment and we hugged and were like teenage girls catching up on life. She and I have super fun plans tonight,  so stay tuned and come back on Monday! 

Do you have a favorite from the week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all! 

Jenn ❤️