Happy Friday, friends!
I love Fridays. It’s amazing how that’s changed over the years, though. Before kids, we loved Fridays because it usually meant we were boarding a flight to one of our favorite cities for a weekend away, or it meant date night, or it meant we got to sleep in like crazy the following morning.
Fridays changed a big with kids. It became spur-of-the-moment Disney evenings. It became long weekend getaways without so much wine-drinking because it was more hanging with the kids in the pool or a lazy river somewhere. These days, my idea of a dream Friday is the one we have planned tonight.
Not. A. Damn. Thing.
Seriously. I’m tying up my loose ends, finishing my weekly deadlines, picking the kids up, and we are coming home. We are going to play outside. We are not going to rush the kids to bed. We are going to stay up later than usual with them. We will grill dinner on the deck, sit down and watch the kids run rampant, and we are going to be in the moment doing nothing more than enjoying our sweet life.
We don’t get many moments like that because we are so busy all the time, but I’m so far off topic right now I’m sure I’ve lost you. It’s FRIDAY! I love Fridays, and I love alliteration, and I love so many millions of things, so I’m starting a new series to share with you all; my Friday Favorites. Whether it’s recipes, cocktails, trips, tips, advice, tricks, photos, books, or stuff, I’ve got so many favorites – and who am I to withhold the best things ever from you all?
Today’s Friday Favorites is all about my house. Five of my Favorite things we always have in our house. Seriously…you won’t find a day in which we don’t have all of these at all times. You’ll note coffee is not on the list, but it’s a given. It’s like a toilet. You won’t find any of our bathrooms without one, and you’ll never find a lack of coffee.
These five items are things I can’t live without. I use them every day – or at least want them on hand every day in case the desire strikes.
Fresh Blooms
You probably see a lot of photos of flowers on my Instagram feed, and it’s because I adore them. I once read that having live plants in the house makes it feel more like home, it makes it more personal, and it increases the quality of the air (I have no actual idea if that’s true or not). Since I don’t like “stuff” I choose to decorate with fresh flowers.
- They make me happy
- They’re so pretty
- They’re so elegant
- They smell nice
You’ll find fresh flowers on my master bedroom nightstand (not my husbands, though), in the master bath, on the entryway table, on the island in the kitchen, on the formal dining room table, and on the family room fireplace mantel – at all times. I’m obsessed. I know.
Wine – Red and White
Every day is a reason to celebrate.
And we have four kids.
So we keep lots of wine. We love red and white, so you’ll always find some Sangiovese, Chianti, Malbec, or a Pinot Gris in our house.
Cherry Tomatoes
I might be a little obsessed with cherry tomatoes. We might have had a moment a few months ago in which I had some that didn’t turn out the way I wanted, we parted ways, and they weren’t in my house for a few months. We’ve since rekindled our relationship, so you’ll find about 4 packages of cherry tomatoes in my house at any given time. Why? Because they are delicious on everything.
Lemons
Lemons – a kitchen staple. I use them to minimize my pores (with a cotton ball, a little freshly squeezed lemon juice works wonders for my sad pores). We use them to cook. We use them in our sparkling water. I don’t know where my lemon obsession came from, but I love fresh items with which to cook (though I kind of suck at cooking), so it’s just one of those things we always have, we always use, and we get a little freaked out when we don’t have a few on hand.
Clinique’s Pore Refining Solutions Charcoal Mask
I cannot live without this. Between this and the occasional use of lemons on my face, my pores have never looked better. And since they’re honestly a lot like crop circles on my face, I cannot even begin to put into words what this miracle mask has done to my pores (I pair it with Dr. Brandt Pores No More Pore Refiner Primer for flawless results). A lot of the charcoal masks I’ve tried are difficult to remove, not entirely comfortable, and many irritate my skin. Clinique’s charcoal mask is silky smooth, washes right off, and it leaves my skin looking and feeling vibrant.
What can’t you live without at home? Which items make you feel all out-of-sorts and crazy when you run out or low? I’d love to hear!
Tiffany Raiford 