Did you happen to know it’s the happiest Friday of the year? When summer and fall meet to mingle with sunshine and light evenings alongside football and fall candles. I’ve been putting up fall decor in preparation for my family to arrive today and kick things off this evening with homemade pizzas and a Georgia Tech kickoff.

I talk a lot about my love for football and it’s true, I love watching the game, but I also love the sounds, the pageantry, the excitement, the snacks, and the community of family and friends hanging out that it brings with it. I love that my girls are all in on it, too (for the game, yes, but also for Fansville commercials and the food). It’s just a warm and cozy feeling season.

But first, let’s chat about the Friday FIVE. I’ve been keeping notes this week on the things I’m loving most so let’s go!

Candle Wax Trick and Grips

I’m a sucker for a taper candle and found this sweet bow taper candle holder at Hobby Lobby, figuring it would be perfect for the powder room. I was right; it looks perfect in the space. The only problem was that the wax from the evening ended up melted all over it and I feared it would be ruined. But it wasn’t! Here’s what works:

• Break off any large and easy chunks of wax then place the candle holder in the freezer for a few hours. The wax will harden and become more brittle.
• Take it out of the freezer and easily chip off the remaining wax. Use a butter knife to help extract any excess wax left in the space where you put the candle.
• Using a cloth with hot water, wipe off any remaining residue. Ta-da! That’s it. Good as new.

Another game changer? These candle grips! They are quite simple little round pieces of foam but they make the candles more upright and secure than any other method I’ve tried (glues, waxes, and sticky grips).

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Jewelry Cleaner

The jeweler where David bought my wedding ring offered free cleaning for life! Then we moved and are no longer near that jeweler and I noticed my ring was getting more and more caked in… crud. I saw this jewelry cleaner recommended by Christina and decided to give it a try.

OH. MY. GOODNESS. I had no idea my ring was that disgusting. A quick dip in the substance and a little scrub with the provided brush and a rinse in water and WOW. I could see the residue being rinsed off in tiny chunks. Gross, I know, but I was blown away at how well it worked and just how shiny and bright my ring looked afterward. Highly recommend!

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Teen Clothing Wins

Hailey (13, almost 14) can now fit into women’s extra small sizes and it’s been a gamechanger for finding cute clothes that fit her well and that she feels great in. We’ve had a few homeruns lately and in case you’re in the same boat with a teen that likes to look cute but dress more on the conservative side, I wanted to share!

• H’s favorite church dress
• Bubble hem tee (lots of colors)
• Button down plaid

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Kion Essential Amino Acids

I love having health minded friends that do good research and then tell me what they discover. When two such friends recommended these Kion Essential Amino Acids I ordered them right away. David and I started taking them, drinking a scoop with 16 ounces of water during our workouts.

A couple weeks into it I told him that maybe I was imagining things but I feel like I was recovering more quickly from sore muscles and that I felt like I was even noticing more muscle definition. How could that be so quickly? He said he felt the same way! This is crazy to me for a supplement because some I take I never notice a physical different from, like creatine. But this seems to be working some magic!

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Now we’ve tried both watermelon and mango and I prefer the mango. It tastes good but has a bit of an aftertaste. I’m so impressed by how it makes me feel though, that it’s a new staple in our workout line up for certain.

Egg Scrubber

If you have chickens or buy eggs from friends that have chickens, it’s not unusual for them to be unwashed. This is often preferred because of the protective bloom that allows them to be stored at room temperature (read all about storing farm fresh eggs here).

However, when I get out local eggs, there are some that have dried poop and feathers on them and for the life of me, I can not store them like that, so I wash them and store them in the fridge. Typically I’ve used my hands and a sponge, but now I found The Good Egg Scrubber and I’ll never go back!

The Good Egg Scrubber is a silicone egg cleaning brush that effectively and easily scrubs eggs clean without breaking them. It’s a durable tool that you can just pop in the dishwasher to clean. Best of all, it’s super effective. I have the standard one and it works perfectly for my eggs, but it does come in an extra large size, too. If you have a friend who owns chickens, this is an egg-celent gift idea!

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A whole Friday FIVE without a single mention of food. Who am I?! Funny, too, because today consists mostly of food prep. Mom showed up last night and today we’ll be making pizza dough, sourdough, Mexican dip, bread machine rolls, and a big old salad before my bro, sil, and nieces show up tonight to cheer Georgia Tech on for their first game of the new season. Go Jackets and tomorrow… GO DAWGS! I hope you have a fabulous weekend and enjoy the BEST weekend of the year. And as always, if you have something you’re loving this week, please share. I get some of my favorite things, recipes, and ideas from you and I’m grateful for it 🙂