Happy Friday! How was your week? I hope it was a good one and the holidays are bringing you more joy than overwhelm. Ours was a extra exciting because the Tooth Fairy came to our house two times (once for H and once for K). She and Star the elf hid silver chocolate coins for the girls to find. Nothing like extra magic during the holidays!

I’m really looking forward to this weekend because we don’t have much planned. We haven’t gotten to enjoy a traditional pizza movie Friday night in way too long. We are all looking forward to rolling out some bread machine dough, playing a board game, and watching a movie!

Before jumping into the weekend though, let’s break down a 5 things Friday! I don’t know where this Friday Five tradition started, and I don’t even know what the five things are supposed to be- top of mind topics? Recommended items? Recent happenings? Oh well, I just touch a little on them all!

One: Date Night

Last night David and I went on a date! We’ve been making it more of a priority and really look forward to having a time to discuss everything from finances and real estate (Bearolina is going well and a property we’ve had listed in Charlotte is under contract) to family vacation planning.

Last night we rolled the dice to see if we could get a table at Caruso’s. The unassuming, strip mall entrance leads to an Italian spot with a speakeasy feel that has excellent food. The hostess worked some kind of magic to get us a table, allowing us to enjoy some Malbec and a delicious fisherman’s linguine.

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Two: Everyday Muffin Party Cookbook

Heather Englund, creator of Fit Mama Real Food, just launched her debut cookbook, Everyday Muffin Party. Kaitlyn has really gotten into baking and cooking lately and we are so excited to try some of the delicious looking recipes from Heather’s book. It’s available in hardback, paperback, or in Kindle form. All the muffins in her cookbook are naturally sweetened, gluten-free, and kid-friendly. Congratulations, Heather; we can’t wait to try these!

Three: Shut the Box

We keep Shut the Box on our coffee table all the time. It’s a quick game to play that is fun for adults (it’s often a bar game) and kids alike. It’s a fun and easy way to play with numbers too, and totally counts as early math practice.

Someone asked about it on Instagram this week when Kaitlyn and I were playing it, and when I looked it up to share I realized it was on sale… and it still is! If you need a family-friendly gift to give, this is it! It’s currently 36% off but I don’t know how long that will last.

Four: Coffee & Christmas

I’m usually such a tea kind of girl but since the first taste of fall arrived in October, I’ve really been enjoying coffee. We have a machine that grinds and brews (that Finley is finally starting to freak out less over each morning).

A few months ago I picked up some organic beans from Charleston Coffee Roasters at Costco and we’ve been enjoying their fresh coffee each morning. When they reached out asking if I wanted to partner up for a giveaway, it felt like a perfect fit! If you’re into delicious coffee, keep an eye on my IG today!

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Five: Finley Update

Look who is 13 weeks old, up to 19 pounds in weight, and slowly claiming every inch of the house as her own? FINLEY! While Hailey will still say “I can’t believe we really have a dog,” it is really starting to feel like she’s a natural part of the family. Some quick Finley facts at 13 weeks:

• Sleeping through the night! In her crate. Usually from about 9:45 PM-6:00 AM.
• She is potty-trained fairly well. When it’s cold, she will try to avoid going outside for #2. We have to watch her really closely because if she can, she’ll sneak upstairs to a specific spot (right outside Kaitlyn’s room😬) to do her business.
• She’s getting so fast. One of my favorite things to watch is hit full speed!
• She enjoys walks, though she’s not great at the leash yet. Luckily the velcro Vizsla in her is strong and she’ll stay near us, which makes it easy to take her outside to run around and burn off energy without the leash.
• She’s wicked smart (says every parent ever). We do some training everyday and she knows sit, stay, down, come, and the girls just taught her to shake.
• We found a vet we love. Dr. DeGraff at Animal Hospital of Cornelius is a wealth of knowledge for natural rearing. He can talk fluently on topics from homeopathic nosodes to raw diet and everything in between. If you’re local and interested in that, I highly recommend him.

I now have a sleeping puppy and a wiggly Kaitlyn lying next to me on the couch, so it’s time to sign off and begin the day! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. <3