Thursday Edition: On My Radar

My best friend got engaged this weekend and I drove up to Boston to surprise and celebrate with her, her fiancé, and family and friends. Her fiancé texted me a few months ago to see if I was free this weekend. I immediately knew why he was texting and burst into tears. It was the hardest and best secret to keep. The worst part was that Nicole would text me nearly every day and I felt like I really couldn’t give good responses back because I was holding back the secret.

Nicole is my very best and longest friend. We met when we were four years old so we have almost 25 years of friendship under our belts. Even though I moved away when I was eight (legit still working on forgiving my parents for this), we– and our familes– have remained so close. Her parents were just in Florida visiting mine and the moms and I were just gushing over how excited we were for Nicole! (Here’s an old post with some flashback photos.)

Let me just say, everyone is pretty relieved she’s engaged so we can stop keeping all these secrets 😉 So many of my visits with Nicole have involved SOME kind of surprise and her older sister and I agreed we’ve had enough surprises for a lifetime. (Here’s a post from a couple of years ago when I surprised her after a surgery and a video when we surprised her parents.)

Colie, I love you! So excited for you both ❤

Here’s what has been on my radar this week:

ONE // Farmgirl Flowers Peonies on Preorder

If you guys love peonies as much as I do, you might be interested to know that you can now preorder bouquets through Farmgirl Flowers. I tend to buy my own peonies from the market or flower stands, but Farmgirl Flowers is one of my go-tos for gifts. These would be the perfect Mother’s Day or graduation or just because gifts.

TWO // Scalloped Blazer

Gosh, I love this scalloped blazer. I do not need another blazer so I’m really hoping one of you guys do! The scallops on this blazer are just perfect… ugh, all the heart eyes.

THREE // Are You Parting Your Hair Correctly?

I recently swapped my hair part to the other side of my head and, wow, I don’t know why it took me so long to figure it out. I think I’ve been parting my hair on the wrong side of my head all this time. It was fascinating to see how different my face looks from just a hair part. After I did the part, I started reading articles and watching videos about hair parts… you might like this video with some tips for finding your perfect part!

FOUR // Collapsible, Reusable Straw

I have been trying to make small changes to how I consume plastic. Once you start looking at your plastic consumption, you realize just how much plastic is around you. I’m taking baby steps for now and straws have topped my list of things that have to go. In full transparency, I am not perfect. I sometimes forget to ask the barista or waiter to skip the straw until I see it in the glass when it’s right in front of me. I was so excited to see this Kickstarter about a collapsible straw that fits on a keychain!

FIVE // Barre3

Earlier this week, I popped into the city to meet my friend for a Barre class for her birthday. I’ve been pretty focused on working out with my personal trainer and haven’t been taking as many group classes. This was my first Barre3 class and I honestly loved it more than any other Barre class I’ve taken. They have studios all over the country, so definitely see if there’s one in your area to give it a try.