...favorite things this week. Let me just preface this by saying that I am having the best time writing The Friday Four. It’s become such a great way to focus on the many good things in my life that I might otherwise overlook. It’s been a real dopamine hit. I like it. This week doesn’t… Continue reading friday four
My rich life. I love seeing these posts on the ‘gram because they’re so sweet and so uplifting. I adore it when people realize that the richest aspects of life are not what’s in your bank account (this is me making it clear I’m not going to tell you that money doesn’t buy happiness, because… Continue reading my rich life
Survival. Or as I like to call it: The current season of our lives. Television shows have seasons. The weather has seasons. The Raifords also have seasons. And right now, we are in survival season. I won’t even mention the fact that graduation parties, planning, college tours, scholarship deadlines, acceptance deposits, grad events, and everything… Continue reading sports season survival guide
…favorite ways to unwind. My favorite thing in the world is relaxing. And I mean relaxing – I think it’s because it’s something we didn’t do for years. Until just a few years ago, if it wasn’t sports and school activities for the kids, we were overscheduling ourselves socially. We wanted to rest, but we… Continue reading friday four
There’s an art to not losing my mind. And I’m not an artist. But that’s all right. I’m also not perfect, so on the rare-ish occasion I do lose my mind, it’s okay. I remind myself that I’m 42, I have four over-achieving academic-athletes and a husband who searched the entire house both upstairs and… Continue reading how i do it all
The luxury of knowing what works for me. It’s a very quiet luxury, and I think it’s one that comes in hot during this particular season I like to call midlife (even though I doubt I’m even close to midlife, considering my grandmother died at 102 and her sisters all died older than she did…good… Continue reading what works for me.
..favorite recent purchases. I do love to shop. Not, like, in person or anything. There are people in public, and you know I don’t like those. But give me my morning coffee and peace and quiet while my husband is taking the three littles to school in the mornings, and my phone and I can… Continue reading friday four…
The mental load of a mom… You know we do this to ourselves, right? Okay, give me a hot second to get to my point, because first I want to point out that right now the internet is absolutely trending with the concept of the mental load of a wife and mom. We have the… Continue reading the mental load.
It’s not about you. Unless…it is? But it’s not. Is it? I am exceptional at taking things personally. I’ve made an art of it almost my entire life, and trust me when I say it was not easy to unlearn to take things personally. But do trust me when I say it was, perhaps, the… Continue reading it’s not personal.
…things I loved about January. Spoiler alert – I actually detest January. It’s long, boring, and empty thanks to Christmas ending and being exhausted from like 10 months of constant go, go, go. January and February are not my favorite months. They’re my least favorite. January is not in a hurry. January isn’t worried about… Continue reading friday four…
Easy. In a year when nothing feels easy (hello, saying goodbye to our firstborn as she becomes an adult and leaves home for college), I’ve decided – literally just this morning sitting on the couch with my hot coffee, the doors open, and the sound of the rain falling into the pool – that this… Continue reading easy.
Forty-three. First and foremost: Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday to my favorite person in the world – my husband. He’s 43 today, and it’s the 25th year I’ve had the pleasure of wishing him a happy birthday on his day. Second…let’s talk about date night. Craig and I had date night on Friday night. It… Continue reading date night non-negotiables.
…feelings I loved this week. To preface where I’m going with this, Fridays are all about fun and fabulousness and festivities (and Craig’s famous homemade pizzas and a family movie). Fridays are naturally gorgeous. The week is over. Responsibility feels less important because it’s coming to an end (car lines and homework and school events… Continue reading friday four.
The little things… Size matters, my friend. And I mean it matters in a way that the absolute best things are often the smallest. Especially as it pertains to elevating your everyday life to make it just a little bit ‘more’. More luxe. More relaxed. More enjoyable. More of whatever it is you want in… Continue reading elevated.
Mondays…ew. There was a time when I fucking LOVED a Monday. Like, love love loved a Monday. When the kids were little, the weekends felt long and exhausting because there were double them as us. Yeah, I loved Monday. When they went back to school, I felt I could actually accomplish things around the house.… Continue reading monday.
No. It’s my second-favorite word after “fuck”. Which is absolutely hilarious because there was a time in my not-so-distant past in which the word ‘no’ felt hard. I had a difficult time saying no because I was afraid of offending people, hurting their feelings, and being perceived as the ‘bad guy’. It took me a… Continue reading what i am saying no to.
Fashion + 42 + 4 Kids = Effortless And I do mean effortless, as in I want to look fabulous without making an ounce of effort. It’s my own personal double entendre. Darlings, I’m 42 years old with four kids and a hectic schedule that doesn’t leave a lot of free time, so I certainly… Continue reading fashion at 42
Parenting is such a mind fuck. Pregnancy Infant Toddler Kid Teen Adult Yeah…okay. Maybe if you have one child. But I have four children. Which means the chapters of parenting are nowhere near neat and orderly. It’s like pregnant, infant, toddler, pregnant, infant, kid, pregnant with TWO HUMANS AT ONE TIME, toddler, kid, TWO infants,… Continue reading the four seasons
Go ahead and ask me how I’m doing. Oh, you didn’t think I was going to hit you with the generic, “Good, busy, taking it all in!” did you? Because I’m doing no such thing. How am I doing? Amazing, depressed, fabulous, and no longer wearing mascara because I cry a lot. Well. You asked.… Continue reading 2026…the year everything changes
Dear 2025 Tiffany, My friend, you did it. You did what you set out to do, what you said you wanted to accomplish, and what you felt was most important. You learned to slow down You learned to sit inside moments and appreciate them You learned to rest You were present You were unapologetic You… Continue reading dear 2025 tiffany…
Seventeen That’s how many years – tomorrow – it’s been since Craig and I became parents. It’s been seventeen years since our beautiful Addison Grace was born. Seventeen years of trying, failing, and learning every day that we are perfectly imperfect and we will never get it right every time. Seventeen years of making mistakes.… Continue reading seventeen
That’s the way the cookie 'Crumbls" And no one enjoys a warm, gooey, fresh-baked cookie quite like myself. My grandmother taught me to bake her famous chocolate chip cookies, and there’s nothing I love more than the scent of those cookies baking…I’m instantly transported to my childhood standing in my grandmother’s beautiful kitchen. I miss… Continue reading the way the cookie ‘crumbls’
So, what’s the plan? The four words I have come to loathe more than any other, and the fastest way to earn an immediate no from me. I’m tired of making all the plans. I’m tired of organizing everything. I’m tired of always being the go-to for planning all the things in life. Every holiday,… Continue reading so…what’s the plan?
Spooky and Scary With goblins and ghosts running rampant over the next week, it’s obvious that Halloween is in the air. Halloween parties, Trunk or Treat events, fall festivals, and pumpkin patches galore…and So. Much. Sugary. Candy. I adore Halloween, but I don’t adore the abundance of Halloween candy that comes with it. Our kids… Continue reading halloween gift basket ideas
Happy National Pancake Day! Every weekday morning, while my husband is off taking our middle schooler and our high schooler to their respective schools, I’m at home with our nine-year-old twins inhaling my first cup of coffee and wondering why these kids have such abundant energy at such an ungodly hour. All right, so 7:30… Continue reading national pancake day giveaway
Self-Care. The concept brings to mind images of spa days, champagne flutes and fully white robes, facials, massages, and quiet. Lovely as all of those are, and as much as I do enjoy a quality spa day with all of the above, this is not the kind of self-care I want to talk about today.… Continue reading self-care
Dear Husband and Children, I love you. I picked you. My sweet husband, I chose to spend my life with you when I was 18 years old, and I chose to have these babies with you because I never doubted you are the most amazing husband and father imaginable. From day one, you made it… Continue reading dear husband,
Regret If I have one regret in life, it’s that I never thought to ask my grandmother for her recipe books prior to her death. Though, in my defense, she reunited with my grandfather in Heaven two weeks shy of the second anniversary of her 100th birthday (forever the inside joke we share), and I… Continue reading Chicken Piccata
Summer The season of doing all the things, doing nothing, and making a lot of last second plans. It’s also the season in which I find myself ordering last-minute outfits I need on my doorstep…yesterday. That means ordering from Amazon because nothing else will get here fast enough. Let’s be honest, it’s not like we… Continue reading Amazon Summer Fashion Must-Haves Under $40
Forty It’s on the horizon…three months away. I’m not nervous about aging. I enjoy it. Total transparency? I look great – I don’t look 40 at all, and I rather enjoy when people are shocked when they learn how old I am. So, of course, I don’t mind aging! One thing that I didn’t expect,… Continue reading Style At Almost 40
Grief It’s such a complex emotion, and it’s one no two people handle in the same manner. I’m not even convinced the same person handles grief in the same manner on different occasions. When I lost my grandmother last year, my grief was profound. It also turns out that it’s prolonged. Even after almost a… Continue reading Grief
I struggle with anxiety. I think I have struggled with it my entire life, but I didn’t know I struggled with it until a few years ago. I thought I was obsessive-compulsive (how many people do you know who get out of their car and immediately vacuum the car after every drive and how many… Continue reading anxiety.
Moments There are moments in life that are just a little more special than others, and spring break 2022 was one filled with moments. We may travel often, but we rarely travel as just a family of six. We often have our friends and their kids with us. We have our extended family with us.… Continue reading moments.
Simplicity Maybe it’s because in six months I celebrate my last birthday in my 30s. Maybe it’s because I live such a busy life between four kids, a husband, my business, home, travel, and everyone’s activities that I crave something the simple. Maybe I miss my grandmother so much that I find myself channeling her… Continue reading simplicity.
Traveling with kids. My husband and I travel often, and we take the kids with us on 90% of our trips. We have four kids (and we’ve had four kids for 8 years now, so I will go say we are pretty good at knowing how to travel well as a family of six). I… Continue reading favorite florida family hotels
Priorities “That one simple word holds the key to either chaos or calm,” is a quote I came across on social media recently, and it resonated strongly. I don’t deal well with chaos – though it’s easy to assume that my life might closely resemble that being the mother of four kids, wife, and business… Continue reading priorities
There are no experts when it pertains to parenting, but there are many who have been there, done that, and who certainly have plenty to say about it. Being parents is the most fun my husband and I have ever had, but it’s also challenging. Oddly enough, it’s not been challenging in the way ‘everyone’… Continue reading for my kids.
Love It’s such a lovely thing to be in love. To love someone so much who loves you back. To be blessed with a forever kind of love is a beautiful thing, and it is always my hope that those who have it don’t take it for granted. Because February is the month of love… Continue reading love.
39. Tomorrow, the man I love turns 39. For eight entire months, I’ll be married to an older man, and I certainly won’t let him forget how fortunate he is to have a young wife. And, after my own birthday later this year, I won’t mention his young wife again until he turns 40. It’s… Continue reading thirty-nine.
Choices. Everyone has choices. Everyone makes decisions. Some are good, some are bad, some are boring, some are exciting; some are not the choices we want to make so much as those we need to make for the greater good. Let’s take a moment to flashback to this past weekend. My husband and I made… Continue reading choices.
Perspective. Patience. One thing I have an abundance of, and one thing I would adore having an ounce of. If you know me in real life, you know my patience level is below sea level. It’s below the grandest depths of the deepest oceans in the world’s most remote areas where life may or may… Continue reading patience
Happy Thursday! Or, as I like to call today, happy day the kids go back to school after 16 days of Christmas break. If you’re wondering what I’m doing this morning, just know I’ll be hitting snooze too many times, showering, dragging myself into the office in my robe with a mug of hot coffee… Continue reading no introductions necessary
Five years – January 2017 is when I launched my blog. Six months – June 2021 is the last time I published a blog post. Why? Because I was uninspired. I spent most of 2021 uninspired. It was a weird year, and it wasn’t one I cared much for while simultaneously feeling as if it’s… Continue reading twenty twenty one
Through self-discipline comes freedom Aristotle When you take a moment to let that sink in, it really hits hard because it’s about so much more than the usual things that come to mind. When you ask someone about self-discipline, they often joke that they have no self-control (um, yeah, I said that last night as… Continue reading Monday Motivation: Learning to Master Self-Discipline
Happy Wednesday, loves! It’s been three long, lovely months since my last post, and it was a much-needed break for me and my creative mind. The truth is that sometimes I feel relatively uninspired, and I don’t have much to say. If you want to dig further down to the root of that truth –… Continue reading Life Update
Happy Wednesday! Being a parent is hard work, y’all. Hard work. I can’t think of one thing – other than the actual loving them part – that is effortless and easy. My husband and I have been doing this parenting thing now for over 12 years, and we still don’t have a clue what we… Continue reading “She Makes It Look So Easy…”
Happy Wednesday! We all make mistakes, and it’s okay to make the wrong decision. We all do it. We make mistakes, we do the wrong thing, we wish we could change our minds. The great news, thankfully, is that most situations allow us to do just that; change our minds. We did it, and we… Continue reading It’s Okay to Make Mistakes
Happy Wednesday, loves! How many negative thoughts have you had this morning? Hazard a guess. I’ve probably had dozens already, and it’s first thing in the morning. Honestly, it’s so hard not to find negative thoughts creeping in these days. Any day, really, but these days it’s almost impossible not to feel negative more often… Continue reading Bye, Negativity
Confidence is not “They will like me,” Confidence is “I’ll be fine if they don’t,” – Pinterest I’m sure someone more important or interesting said that, but it’s all over Pinterest without a direct attribute to the person who said it, so…(if you know to whom this belongs, please shoot me a quick email so… Continue reading What is Confidence?
Happy Friday, loves! Do you ever find yourself in a total funk? It’s like a weird place where you’re present in life, but you feel almost as if you’re looking at your life unfolding before you from up above; almost like a dream, if I’m putting it into a tangible concept. You can’t put your… Continue reading Quick Tips When You’re In A Funk
Tiffany Raiford 