*affiliate links used
Happy Friday! Made it to the end of the week.. whew! I’m tired. Things are definitely back to full speed around here with all of my kids’ activities and I’m not used to this pace! I need some serious conditioning. Ha. Good thing we only have about 6 weeks left of school. I got so used to not having to drive as much and didn’t miss my former life as a taxi driver. Cue the podcasts! Back in the car we all go. :)
It’s time for a random Friday 5 brain dump! Get excited. ;)
1 – Since we’re talking toy organization this week I thought I’d share my new home for board games.
I decided to move them all down to two of our kitchen island cupboards. One reason I did this is because I’m using our toy/game closet in the playroom to store other things now that my kids are growing out of toys.
But the main reason I moved them here is because whenever we play board games we always bring them down to our family room. It’s where the kids always want to be so it just makes more sense to have them close. These island cupboards didn’t have much in them anyway so it was easy to clear them out and make room for games! (You can see details on how my entire kitchen is organized here).
Sometimes it helps to think outside of the box when it comes to organizing. Where does it make the most sense to store things you use? Are systems that used to work for your family still working now? Always good questions to ask. :)
On a sidenote.. Friday 5 pics are usually quick cell phone pics hence the lovely lighting in these.
2 – I was making my lunch the other day and thought I’d snap some pics quick and share this simple lunch idea. It has been on repeat for me for years. I usually eat it for a few weeks and then eat my turkey sandwich for a few weeks and then I eat a chicken salad for lunch for a few weeks and then back to this salad tortilla. Does anyone else eat the same things over and over? It’s hard enough for me to come up with dinner for everyone every night.. I don’t want to have to think about lunch!
So at the beginning of the week I wash and chop up carrots and celery and cucumbers so they are ready to go. I buy the pre-washed Spring mix lettuce so it’s ready to go.
Then all I have to do for lunch is grab a wheat tortilla and pile on lettuce, my vegetables and oven roasted sliced almonds. I love oven roasted sliced almonds. They just make salads happy don’t they?
I top it all off with this salad dressing. Below is the recipe.. it’s so good! I got this dressing recipe from one of my close friends and I always think of her when I mix it up. Love you Koni! ;)
Kenny calls this my “rabbit food.” He’ll tease me about eating my rabbit food for lunch and then follow it up with “hey.. could you make one for me?” Ha ha. It’s really good! The carrots and celery give it a nice crunch, the dressing gives it so much flavor and it fills you up more than you think it would! Nice and low calorie and when I eat this for lunch I feel like I can eat pizza for dinner and skittles for dessert. :) Let me know if you try it!
{straw circle tote/v-neck ruffle sleeve tee/initial pendant necklace/linen blend beach pants/paily heels}
3 – Ok.. remember earlier this month when I shared a few cute clothes I got for spring/summer? And I shared this cute straw circle tote?
Then my friend dropped by (with diet cokes of course) to chat and catch up and show me her new bag. Gah! Isn’t it cute!? Love it.
{straw circle tote/ravi straw backpack/plush shag rug}
Then soon after she left this cute straw backpack I ordered showed up on my doorstep. I have been looking for a mid sized backpack that could double as a purse for a while now and I’m so excited about this!
I snapped a pic with it quick to show you the size. It has adjustable straps and can hold everything I keep in my purse with room to spare. Not too big and not too small. It’s PERFECT.
{tie sleeve blouse (on sale!)/ravi straw backpack/ag jeans/similar peep toe booties}
I wanted a cute backpack purse because sometimes I just want to have my hands free! This will be so nice for summer travel, theme parks (I miss Disneyland!) the pool or just heading to the grocery store. (Sidenote.. I’ve shared this tie sleeve blouse before but I honestly keep reaching for it about once a week so I’m sharing it again. It’s so lightweight and cute! Hangs a little longer in the back. It also looks really good tucked in with a pencil skirt and was just marked down! It comes in white and red too.
4 – Since I’m on a straw bag kick I decided to round up some cute options! Straw bags signal spring and summer and sunshine and always put me in the best mood. Do you love them too? I had so much fun rounding these up and adore every bag below. :)
1- anya tote 2- ella straw basket tote 3- straw crossbody bag. 4- straw circle tote
5- waves straw tote 6- celeste straw tote 7- chic diary shoulder bag 8- luxe striped tote bag
9- straw backpack 10- halo bag 11- colourblock straw bag 12- woven tote handbag
5 – When I moved to San Diego I did a really smart thing and made lots of great friends. I made sure that they were kind, honest, loyal people. I also made sure that they were older than me. Ha. Kidding! Kind of. For some reason I’m the baby of my group of friends and I have to say that it has served me well through the years. ;) Last weekend one of my close friends turned 50 and we had the best time throwing a party for her! It was an 80’s themed party and I joined a few other friends to work on the decor. We were so proud of ourselves for pulling off a balloon arch!
I snapped these pics from a video so they might look a little blurred but I wanted to show you some of the things we used if you ever want to attempt this for a party yourself.
This electric balloon pump and balloon tying tool saved us!
The decor was 80’s but nobody was going to dress up. Then at the last minute some of us decided to dress up but there was NO time to order 80’s gear. Lucky for me I had this hot pink baby in storage! Ha ha.. one of my high school dance team warm ups. I actually graduated in 95′ (told you I’m the baby of my friends.. they were teasing me about being 3 in the 80’s!) but this number works for 80’s or 90’s. I know you’re all dying for the link to it so you can wear one too.. so sorry to disappoint. ;) Happy birthday to my beautiful friend Darci who seriously looks 29!
Kenny came up with his outfit in 10 minutes too. Kind of sad it was so easy for us to pull these clothes out of our closet! Kenny was cracking me up.. his look was Journey meets Richard Simmons? Who knows! I wish we would have taken more pics! We went home with no voices because of all of the singing and dancing. We turn a little wild when you put us in clothes from our glory days. ;)
Didn’t the balloon arch turn out fun!? We were so impressed with ourselves that we pulled it off! I linked everything we used below.. it wasn’t too hard.. just time consuming to blow up all of those balloons!
1- balloon column stand kit 2- 50 pack neon balloons 3- arch balloon kit
4- tying tool device 5- electric balloon pump 6- balloon arch stand kit
That’s it for 5 things on Friday! Where I promise random and deliver on that promise. ;)
Enjoy your weekend everyone! :)
Fun post of random. Thanks for sharing, Erin! Great idea for the games. Store ’em where you’ll use ’em is a great philosophy. Double edged sword on the ramping back up, activity wise. You are happy things are opening up, but so not ready to be super busy again. Good luck with your conditioning. :) How is your older one doing with driving? Your purses look great. Nice choices. The party you held looks like it was a lot of fun. I’m so old that the 80s was my era! I graduated in ’83. LOL Had a lot of bright colors in my wardrobe. Would have been fun to see you on roller skates. LOL The balloon arch looked fantastic. What sweet friends to do that for a bestie. Oh and your lunch ideas sound great. I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch most days, but might have to add that wrap, or really make it a salad for the summer. Hope you have a nice restful weekend so you can gear up for another busy week. :)
Thank you so much Jeanne! Man.. why didn’t I think of roller skates! That would have been so much fun! Ha! I wish you could have joined us. Sounds like you could have easily come up with an outfit too. :) The 80’s were such a fun time.. I miss the music from the 80’s and 90’s! The best!
Did you use the arch kit and #3 and the balloon column #1 ? It looks like you used just the arch. What kind of stand do you use 80s paint splattered background.
Thanks!
Hi Melissa! We used the columns but I didn’t get a pic of those! They were over by another door. In the pic I shared it was just the arch kit! The stands holding the 80’s sign were just stands my friend had at her house. :)
That 80s party looks so fun! I’m almost 50 and the 80s were my jam! :)
Ha ha.. love it Sara! My friends are almost all 80’s girls and they were living it up! I got them to play a few tunes from the 90’s too.. such a fun night. I miss the music from those years!
The salad tortilla is an excellent idea! What kind of meat would you add to it for some protein? How do you make the chicken salad? Thanks for sharing these simple, but good meals!❤️
So happy you like that idea Kim! Chicken would be great on it! For my chicken salad I just add lettuce, chicken, feta cheese, grapes, strawberries and almonds or walnuts. :)
I didn’t see Ticket to Ride in your game cabinet! You really need to get it. It’s a great game for the entire family or if just two want to play. We got it for Christmas this year and are really enjoying it.
Looking it up! Thanks for the suggestion Jen! :)