Friday Favorites: Birthday Stromboli and Free Shipping

It’s time once again for all of the internet to share the things that made our week just a little bit better. And to do a little victory dance. And to get the song “My Favorite Things” stuck in our heads. (Sorry.) So here are a few things I am loving lately, as I wrap up a celebratory week with my fantastic family of four.

ONE

My Husband
This week, Ry (as he’s known on the blog) turned 39. He’s the best husband a girl could hope for, and he’s a wonderful daddy. Did I mention he’s dedicated his life to serving and helping others, and has guided many people into relationship with Christ?

Also, he has vampire-level youthful good looks. (He’s hoping to go a bit more gray this year.)

We like to celebrate birthday “weeks” instead of a single day around here, so on Wednesday, he opened a gift from us, we gave him cards, and he had a birthday dinner. I made stromboli for the first time. This is a big deal, because I’m not a baker. The recipe was “easy” but involved an egg wash…so I was pretty much Paul Hollywood. I seriously looked a lot like this. (Confession: I just googled “famous bakers.”)

Today, he has the day off, so we’re gallivanting around, enjoying some nice-ish weather, and getting out as a family. And then we’re eating Ry’s favorite dessert, which happens to be the easiest recipe ever and does not involve punching dough down. You can follow our day (and my account!) on Instagram. Tomorrow, we’ll be hanging out with my parents at their farm, and celebrating with more delicious food. Four-wheeling and kayaking will probably be involved.

TWO

Baby Shoes
My one-year-old Sylvie adores shoes. If she sees shoes, she immediately requests that I put them on her. The pictures below are blurry because after I put them on she wants to RUN around the house, only stopping to hug the dishtowel hanging from the oven door handle. It is pretty cozy, I suppose.

Oh, and hide your lip gloss around this girl because she will not stand for politely looking at it. She wants to twist open the cap and eat it. Being a lip gloss addict myself, I can’t really blame her. Anyone else think she’s headed for girly-girl status?

For those of you following along, Sylvie’s screaming has been reduced to much more pleasant fussing. It only took a week for her to learn the constant glass-shattering squeals were not appreciated. Don’t worry, we just calmly said “no,” ignored it, or made an involuntary “that hurts” face. We also started working harder at helping her with frustration. She only screams a few times a day now. 😀

THREE

Walmart’s Free 2-Day Shipping
Did anybody notice that Walmart.com has started offering free 2-day shipping? Is anyone talking about this? I’ve used it before and was seriously impressed. They seem to be offering it on a lot of items. I mean, you could buy a single jug of Tide on their website and see it on your doorstep in two days at no extra cost. We live in a crazy world. (Just FYI, this isn’t an ad.)

FOUR

All About You…Or Me
This week, Erica from A Little Bit of Everything and Lindsay from Lindsay’s Sweet World both shared some fantastic get-to-know-you posts. I love reading posts like this! I decided I should probably join the party because I don’t feel like we’ve been properly introduced. I’ll share something next week. (Bet you’re on pins and needles!) Edit: Here’s my about me. Seriously though, if you’re a blogger who’s written an “about me” recently, share the link in the comments. I’d love to read it!

FIVE

Favorites from the Web
This was another great week of fascinating, inspiring, and helpful posts across the web. Here were three of my favorites.

1. Toddler Times: Poison Control Adventures by Bentley, Like the Car
2. Five Things I Want to Stop Doing This Year by The Girl Who Loved to Write
3. Life with Kids: Stefanie Starner (about living in an RV for a year) by Design Mom