A Few of My Favorite Things (July 2024)

I love all the summer patriotic holidays as they require zero extra “decorating” on my part.

We have the flags, the bunting, the red white & blue annuals all throughout our yard, and so much patriotic decor inside.

Now… if only I could convince all 4 kids to dress up cute like they used to. 🥰

This was back in 2018… so cute!

FAVORITE MOMENT = Parenting Milestone

At dinner the other day, I told Dave and our kids that I’ve heard the exact same bit of information/advice from 4 totally different sources over the past week…

“Unstructured playtime is one of the best things we can give our kids.”

The coaches at the boys’ football camp mentioned this, I read it in a book, and I heard it on 2 (completely unrelated) podcasts — all in one week!

Studies show that we are over-protecting our children’s physical lives (we’re afraid they will get hurt or lost or kidnapped) and drastically under-protecting our children’s digital lives (access to the Internet, social media, devices, etc.)

This “unstructured playtime” is something Dave and I have intentionally tried to give our kids from the time they were young — lots of access to crafts, games, and art supplies inside, and tons of outside activities to choose from.

The neighbors are all welcome to participate, and as they’ve gotten older we intentionally do less and less to help “facilitate”.

So far this year, we’ve done almost nothing to help the kids come up with games and activities and ideas to fill up their summer days at home… and they are having a blast!

Yes, there are times they complain about being “bored” but for the most part, they are outside all day — and when it rains, they play dress up or house or cards or do a craft project.

And yes, we definitely DO play with and interact with our kids — but we don’t need to constantly entertain them or facilitate activities for them.

Another parenting milestone! (see my parting quote below for more context)

FAVORITE ROUTINE = Yearly Visits

My online friend Laura, from HowToGYST, has become an in-real-life friend as she has spent a week with us every June for the last 4 summers.

This week has become one of our family’s favorite things.

We all look forward to Laura’s arrival — which brings with it lots of fun Irish treats, and a bunch of toys, games, and craft supplies for the kids.

We spend a few days hanging out, discussing our online businesses, and eating lots of good food. Then she leaves us with a lovely hand-written card, complimenting each person in our family individually.

I can count on one hand the number of in-real-life-friends I have who run online businesses from home, so it’s always a treat to spend time with someone who actually “gets it” — sharing the joys, struggles, excitements, and frustrations of what I do.

RELATED READING: How to make money working online from home.

PAST FAVORITE = Velvet Hangers

I’ve been a velvet hanger fan for years now (probably since I was in college). They take up considerably less space than plastic hangers, they are significantly nicer than wire hangers, and (most importantly) they keep the clothing from slipping off and falling to a heap on the floor.

Of course, Dave and I have always used the adult-size velvet hangers… but when we started having babies, I was THRILLED (seriously, way too excited) to realize I could buy baby-size velvet hangers too!

Fast-forward 13 years and we now use the youth-size velvet hangers (14″ versus 11″) and the kids love them.

We have broken a few over the years, so I recently purchased another pack to split between the 4 kids… which reminded me how much we all love velvet hangers (thus they ended up in my “past favorites” section this month).

It’s a bit of an investment to get started with new hangers, but your closet will look and feel so much more organized with matching hangers, and it will give you a great “excuse” to go through all your clothing and declutter the items you no longer need, want, wear, or love! 😉

RELATED READING: 6 questions that will simplify your closet.

FAVORITE MEDIA = News for Families

I’ve intentionally stayed away from all new sources for well over a decade now (I made that decision after having kids). However, about 3 years ago, I stumbled upon The Pour Over news… and I’m happy to say that I’ve been reading and enjoying their brief, informative, eternity-focused, email news updates 3 times per week ever since.

Not only are the news articles politically neutral, they are also very well-written, concise yet thorough, and humorous (they have fantastic writers)!

Oh yeah, and it’s FREE — like totally and completely free.

I know I’ve shared The Pour Over before… but that was just the introduction 🙂

What I wanted to share this month is their newest offering — specifically for families (and yes, it’s also free!)

It’s called Decaf (clever, huh!?)

It breaks down one “current event/issue” to a middle-school comprehension level and emails it to parents, along with discussion questions to ask your kids, talking points, and “main takeaways” to help your kids grasp the important points.

I highly recommend hopping on both email lists, especially if you’d like politically neutral news during the upcoming election!

FAVORITE “TOY” = Blackstone

Yup, we got a Blackstone Griddle!

In a recent email newsletter, I asked about the Blackstone versus a regular gas grill and so many encouraged us to go with a Blackstone (this was my preference as I don’t like cooking on a grill).

We capitalized on a very good Costco sale the week before my birthday and Father’s Day and said it was our gift to each other (along with the Skittles and M&Ms!)

So far, we’ve done breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the Blackstone (several times) and have been very happy with the cooking experience and the finished product.

It easily handled the 55+ burgers and hot dogs for a recent church picnic in our backyard!

RELATED READING: Our favorite foods from the griddle.

FAVORITE RECIPE = Lasagna Roll Ups

I tried this recipe several years ago — in desperation to use up more zucchini from our garden! It was amazingly delicious, super fun to eat, and wonderful as leftovers later in the week.

I made these lasagna rolls up a couple of weeks ago and was reminded how much we all love this easy recipe (I’m planning to make them again tonight!)

This is also a great meal to make for others — especially singles or couples who don’t need a lot of food and would likely never make a full lasagna meal. Just portion out however many lasagna rolls you need and put them in a small tinfoil pan or food storage container and deliver to your lucky recipient (NOTE: I usually bake the roll ups first).

And if you don’t have zucchini, you can totally leave it out — all my recipes are very versatile, so use what you have in the house and make it work!

TRY THE RECIPE: 3 Cheese Lasagna Roll-Ups (with zucchini).

FAVORITE DEAL = NutriMill Mixer!

I added this section at the very last minute because I was just notified of a discount offer for my readers on the NutriMill Artiste Mixer (the one I’ve had for years and really love!)

It’s normally almost $300, but from July 4 – July 17, 2024, it will be on sale for $199 when you shop through my link!

This mixer is VERY strong and sturdy — it can do massive batches of bread dough and cookie dough with no issues. It’s been a game-changer for my baking these last few years!

NOTE: the sale doesn’t start until July 4.

FAVORITE ARCHIVED POST:

The other day, I realized it had been a LOOOOOONG time since I cleaned my makeup brushes (like over a year!)

So, I dug up my archived post with the simple DIY recipe and quickly cleaned my brushes.

If it’s been a bit since you’ve cleaned your makeup brushes, put it on your to-do list today (or later this week) and check out my simple method to get them clean again.

Read the full posts: DIY MakeUp Brush Cleaner.

That’s all for this month. I hope you enjoy your summer!

If you’re interested, you may scroll through all my Favorite Things posts HERE… and feel free to share your favorites in the comments below!

And even though I won’t be publishing on the blog for the next few weeks, I WILL still be sending out my weekly emails (hint: get on that list if you’re not already!)