You. Guys. We made it to another Friday, who are we even?! This week has been such a good one. We’ve been busy, but I’ve accomplished so much and finally feel like I’m in charge of August. Wouldn’t you know it’s already halfway over.
001 | Stranger Things
Please tell me you have watched, are watching or plan to watch Stranger Things. Please. In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last six weeks or so, Netflix unveiled a new original series over the summer and pretty much everyone I know is in love with it. Josh and I had just finished up Parenthood and had no big plans to start a new series right away, but with only eight episodes, it seemed doable over the course of a few days. I’ll admit, it was a huge mistake to start it before he left to install that job a few weeks ago, because I was forced to wait on his return before we could finish it. I won’t give you too much information because you need to go in with as little background information as possible, but Stranger Things is a great tribute to the early eighties and is laced with a heavy dose of the supernatural. The child actors are AMAZING and I watched the entire series from between my fingers.
I was comparing it to ET from the very first episode and I’m not the only one. Check out this side by side comparison of Stranger Things with cult classics from the seventies and eighties (but only if you’ve already watched).
Josh and I couldn’t stop talking about how nostalgic it all felt and how real the set was. I mean, I’m pretty sure I grew up in the yellow version of Nancy Wheeler’s bedroom?! If you haven’t watched the show yet, wait on the video above — it gives away some major plot points. If you have watched the show, please chime in below and let me know what you thought! I can’t wait for a season two, whether it builds on the story from the current season or the Duffer brothers decide to make this an anthology series a la True Detective.
002 | Paleo Banana Bread
I’m not sure you’ll remember this, but several months ago I made a paleo banana bread recipe and it was a complete bust. I could never get it to set up properly and I eventually gave up. A few weeks ago, a blog reader emailed me a great recipe to try and I made it for myself last weekend. Josh was working and the girls were spending the day with my in-laws. I decided to spend the day tackling blog projects and made myself this delicious snack to keep me company. The recipe is from here and it’s EXCELLENT. It’s a little more “wet” than traditional banana bread, so don’t panic, but it was super tasty with a little melted ghee!
003 | Editorial Blog Calendar
I’ve been keeping an editorial calendar for the blog for just over a year and it’s a life saver. I usually try to plan 2-3 posts per week and leave the other days open for current happenings or last minute sponsored posts. I like having a general idea of what’s to come and I usually keep a list of post ideas inside of my calendar, so I can add new ideas or check in when I’m floundering about what to write. For quite some time, I’ve been thinking about how great it would be if I could schedule several weeks’ worth of posts in advance, just to make things easier on myself. I know that plans change and I might have to rearrange things from time to time, but knowing I didn’t have to pull an all-nighter to prepare a post for the next day sounds like heaven. Last Saturday, armed with copious amounts of coffee and that banana bread, I tackled eight complete posts and prepped photos or outlines for several more. My goal was to have August completely scheduled and get September well on its way. I’m sure some parts of my calendar will get shifted each month, but I feel SO MUCH BETTER having so much prep work already done. I’ll be saving Fridays for real time recaps and I’ll probably sneak in something unplanned from time to time. Otherwise, I’m planning to stay 2-3 weeks ahead for the rest of the year. Wish me luck!
004 | Free Chore Charts
Remember this post? Summer might be over, but we are still loving these dry erase chore charts. The girls love that I’m not constantly reminding them of what to do and I love that they see checking those boxes like a competition. That’s what you call a win-win! I’ve updated the chore chart so it isn’t only for summer and you can find it here. Be sure to visit the original post and leave a comment for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card courtesy of SheKnows Media and L’il Critters Gummy Vites.
005 | Blogtember with Bailey Jean
Remember last year when I attempted to blog every day of September, following prompts from Bailey’s blog?! If you don’t, you can follow along with the fun again this year! One of the things I love most about blogging is connecting with people that I might not otherwise get a chance to know. Sometimes that means other moms or people in the same life stage as me and other times it means learning things from amazing people almost twenty years younger than I am (gosh, that hurts to type). I’ve found some of my favorite “younger bloggers” through Bailey’s previous link ups and I had such a great time participating last year, that I’m going to attempt to do it again. Since I had already been working on September posts before the list of prompts was released, there are a few days during September that I won’t get to link up. A few other posts got shifted around to make room for other topics and my goal is to blog all thirty days of September, even when not using Bailey’s prompts. This is a super busy season of life for us, so some of those posts might be short and sweet, but I’m looking forward to challenging myself. Who’s with me?!
Be sure to visit April, Natasha & Christina to link up your own Five on Friday post!
