It’s Friday!
Can I get an amen for the best day of the week? I know other people prefer Saturday to Friday because it’s a full day of relaxation and fun, but there’s something I love a lot about Fridays. Perhaps it’s my lazy Friday afternoons. I work to meet all my deadlines and submit all work and invoices to my clients by Thursday so I can take a half day Friday to shop, relax, spend time with a good book and the gorgeous Florida sunshine, or even take lunch to my girls at school to enjoy a little midday break with them. I love Fridays.
The knowledge that I get to pick the kids up from school and come home to absolutely no plans – or a date night if that’s the plan – is my favorite. We aren’t huge on booking things on Fridays because we’re tired and want a chance to unwind. We typically end up ordering something in for dinner and taking the kids outside to ride their toys and play in the yard. Naturally, we pour ourselves a glass of white and head outside to enjoy their enjoyment. It’s one of my favorite things about Friday evenings.
Speaking of favorites and Fridays, there are so many things about Friday I love more than anything I thought I might share with you guys some of my favorite things. Once or twice a month on Fridays, I’m going to bring you a “Friday Favorites” to share with you some of the things that make my life easier, that I can’t live without, or that I have fallen in love with. Perhaps it’ll inspire you in some way, or at least make you smile. Since Fridays are happy days, smiling is mandatory.
Fresh Flowers
Anyone who already follows me on Instagram (@tiffanyraiford15) already know I’m obsessed with fresh flowers (I also mentioned it here in another blog post). My husband sends me flowers occasionally, but he’s a master of bringing them home when he runs errands for me. He will grab my favorites when he sees them out picking up lunch, or he will pick up a bouquet for our sweet only little boy to bring me when they have a daddy/son trip to the store together, or he’ll let the girls pick some out when they go shopping if they see something they think I’ll enjoy.
A bouquet here and there has turned into fresh flowers in almost every room. Right now, today, I have a dozen Gerber daises in a vase on the foyer entry table, two vases of Gerber daisies on the dining room table, pink roses in our home office, lilac roses on my bedside table, pink tulips on the fireplace, and a dozen white roses on the kitchen island. Like I said, I’m obsessed. But when you can pick up tulips for like $7 at Publix and a dozen roses for $15, it’s impossible not to have them all over the house! It’s so inexpensive, and I always smile when I see them.
Pink Lipstick
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and so long all things not spring-related. The day after Christmas is the removal of all signs Christmas ever existed in our home. New Year’s Day is the day spring arrives back in our house.
Wait. Does it count if spring has been here since summer ended in November? Well, whatever.
My favorite thing in the entire world is bright pink lipstick. It doesn’t matter how I feel about anything else in life when I put on my favorite Bobbi Brown Neon Pink lipstick. It’s long-lasting, it doesn’t smudge or smear or end up all over my teeth, and it’s the one thing I get the most compliments on. In fact, I had one woman in line at the sub shop at Publix ask me to write it down for her last week, and two more ask the same day in other stores. So. Many. Compliments. And it’s gorgeous with any skin tone).
Lilly Pulitzer Agenda
Guys, I’m seriously obsessed with planners and agendas. Obsessed. No one gets it. I have a calendar and a million apps on both my iPhone and my iPad, but I feel so good about pen and paper. I’m a list-maker, crosser-offer, and a serial note taker when it comes to my planner. As a career writer, I need to put pen to paper sometimes.
And…I actually get a little bit high when I check something off the to-do list on a piece of paper using my favorite pen. I mean, I assume that’s what a high feels like (The only time I’ve ever been high was when we were in Jamaica four years ago and I was in the lobby of our gorgeous resort searching desperately for Wi-Fi signal so I could send some emails when I kept inhaling this strange air from the guy sitting behind me…I didn’t even know what it was until my group came to find me and told me what it was. I was definitely secondhand-high. They laugh, but I’m sure it’s the truth).
I digress. This agenda is everything. I keep my travel notes. My editorial calendar, my daily to-dos, my addresses and important information, and everything that’s important to me is in here. I take it everywhere with me (hence why it’s so beat-up) and use it like a crutch in my everyday life. If this agenda was a real person, it would have already filed a restraining order.
Tiffany & Co. Coffee Mugs
Okay, so realistically…they’re not that useful. They’re very small, very dainty, and they require I program an 8 oz. pour from the Keurig instead of my standard 10 oz. pour. That alone is enough to make for a tragic story-ending. BUT…they’re so pretty, they’re my name, they’re my favorite color, they’re from my favorite place to shop, and my husband picked them up for me a few NYC trips ago while I was up on the customer service floor at T&Co having a new charm affixed to my charm bracelet. He was wandering the store, saw this darling little set, and picked it up for me because he knew I’d love it.
These mugs are the inspiration for our entire kitchen. All white and creamy and neutral, we decided to add pops of Tiffany Blue all over because of these mugs. A Tiffany Blue Keurig. Tiffany blue pots and pans. Tiffany vases. My kitchen makes me happy. These mugs make me happy. Everyone buy them and be happy. Seriously.
Yetis
I’ve saved the best for last. In all honesty, if you never buy anything again for the rest of your life, be sure to get these before you make that decision. In our household, we have a slight Yeti obsession. A cooler, the Hopper cooler bag (BTW, this is the best thing ever if you have small kids and want to go anywhere in the car and need things kept cold!) and six Yeti cups. We each have a big cup, a colster, and a tumbler.
- Water
- Beer
- Coffee
Boom. All of life’s problems answered. Additionally, the tumbler also holds a lovely glass of white wine when you’re at the hair salon and want it nice and cold but don’t want to point out to all the people you’re cocktailing.
People complain about the price, but I use mine every day. I put fresh ice and water in it every day, and I can leave my cup in my car as long as I want and my water is still cold. Honestly, we flew from Tampa to Texas to visit my grandmother. October is a hot month in Florida, and my car was in the parking garage at the airport from Thursday evening around 5 pm until we landed Sunday night at 10 pm. My ice was long-since melted, but my water was still ice cold after four days in the hot car. Can you beat that? No. you cannot.
When I decided I wanted to share some of my favorites with you this Friday, these were the obvious choices. I didn’t even have to think about the material items I love most. I use/love/enjoy every one of these things every single day of my life, no exceptions. Some are useful, some are not – but they all make me happy.
What are some of your favorite things?
Tiffany Raiford 