Friday Favorites: Butter and Peonies

Hooray for Friday Favorites! 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 another busy, teething-induced sickness, and sunshiny kind of week with my fantastic family of four.

ONE

Sweet Summer Moments with My Kids

It’s one week into unofficial summer, and I’m already loving it. We’ve been swimming, fishing, relaxing in the backyard, grilling, and eating the occasional ice cream, and it’s been pretty fantastic. Here’s my favorite pic of our evening moments in the yard…I may have used a photo filter to add the “magic”. 🙂

TWO

Peonies

Okay, so peonies are apparently a bit overdone on Instagram and Pinterest, but do I care? Nope. Our neighborhood is overflowing with peonies, and I’m loving it. I stopped to take pictures when we were on a walk the other day, and the homeowner pulled out of her driveway and yelled, “You can have one!” at us. I took her up on that. 🙂

THREE

Real Butter

One fateful day last week, we ran out of the fake buttery spread that we usually get. So I threw a little real butter (usually reserved for baking/cooking) on my kids’ bread. To my surprise, my four-year-old commented on how delicious the butter was! I said to my husband in that moment, “That’s it. We’re not getting the fake stuff any more.”

I know that there are pros/cons to margarine and butter. Some of you will be passionate about your choice. I think I’m becoming passionate about mine, though, and I choose YOU, butter! (I’m weird.) If you want to hear both sides of the debate, read this dizzyingly accurate article.

After consulting the internet about the difference between salted and unsalted butter, I picked up some sweet cream butter at the store. Then I snagged the cutest butter dish in the history of the world from the Pioneer Woman line at Walmart, and started spreading.

FOUR

Catching Up on the Blog

I kept really busy this week with four posts instead of my usual three…for me that’s a lot! 🙂 Here’s what went down, in case you missed it:

• How I Know It’s OK to Struggle with Parenting
  Do your kids ever dig their heels in and refuse to obey you? Me too.
• What’s Up Wednesday
  Everything you ever wanted to know about what’s up in my life lately.
• May Book Review
  Take a look at this awesome group of faith-based nonfiction books!

FIVE

What I’m Pinning: My Favorite Post of the Week

Once again, I had a hard choice this week! I am discovering some amazing ladies who use their blogs to encourage and lead others.

This week’s post comes from Motherhood Matters and is all about how to pass along your faith and values to your children. It’s called Leaving a Legacy of Faith. It’ll help you focus on what’s important.

I’m on Pinterest here, if you want to see what else I’m pinning lately. I’d love to see what you’re pinning too!

Tell me what you’re loving this week. And have a happy Friday!