Hi, y’all! After being inspired by a recent post from one of my Facebook friends, I’ve decided that every Friday we are going to talk about my most recent five favorite things! These are going to be broad recommendations, but I know I’m not the only one that loves suggestions for great stuff from friends! (And I consider us all friends! 😉 ) So, here’s to the first Friday of September, and here are a few of my favorite things! [Cue Julie Andrews!]

1. Airwalk Kiltie Flurry Mocs 

Y’all, these are the best. I ordered them on sale from Payless because I was ordering another pair of shoes and needed to get to $25 for free shipping, and I do not regret this decision one single bit. I have another pair of Airwalk mocs that I have used and abused for years (they literally made it through FEET of standing water at a rained out Rangers game in 2012. And I’d had them for years before that, so there you go…) and thought it might be time to start giving them a semi-retirement. I don’t know that I can retire them completely because I will always love them even though they are less than beautiful at this point, and I think they kinda gross out my husband. But I digress…

These are PERFECT for fall and winter because they are fleece lined! And the most comfortable shoes on the planet, so that’s a bonus! They are listed online for $18, but they are running an online promo for an extra 15% off, so I actually scored them for $15.30, which is the best deal known to man for such a treasure. If it were appropriate to wear these everyday, I would. Scratch that, I do wear these every day, at least when I get home. And to work on Fridays.

They are rapidly running out of sizes since these are on clearance, so click here to order your very own pair!

They are even great for walking a rowdy fur baby around the neighborhood who needs to work on his heeling… 🙂

 

2. Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser 

Currently writing this is a woman with pores the size of craters. Y’all may think I’m exaggerating, but my husband (who’s a physician, so I trust this is medical and accurate, albeit semi-hurtful) has even admitted they seem abnormally deep. With that being said, when I used to put on my liquid foundation, it would seep down into my pores like little lakes (really super cute). BUT! (several years ago) I discovered this jewel– Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser and it is amazing! It’s a clear gel-like substance and it covers you over so that foundation goes on smoothly and evenly without getting sunken into pores. What a modern miracle! I wear it under liquid foundation to keep it smooth, and when I don’t feel like wearing full makeup (or any) I wear it under loose powder or by itself and it performs wonderful miracles on my lake sized pores. The reason this is one of my fave things this week, even though I’ve been using it for years is because I ran out last week and have been searching ALL OVER to find it. Couldn’t find it at two different Targets or three different Walgreens. I ended up finding 2 at HEB (of all places??) and bought both of them after a week of searching. Hopefully this means that all women are using this, and not that no women are using it and they are about to discontinue it. I would die with crazy large exposed pores if that happened.

You can also get it at Ulta, but I don’t typically make special trips there. But I would if I had to for this amazing stuff. 🙂

 

3. Blue Bell Ice Cream– Cookie Two-Step

My one true ice cream love has always been chocolate chip cookie dough. This newest flavor from the geniuses at Blue Bell is cookie dough WITH cookies and cream. Be still, my heart. It is wonderful. It is delicious. It is what being a 400 pound happy woman is made of.

Strangely enough, our HEB did not have it, but our Walgreen’s did. And I may or may not have had it for dinner two nights this week since Steven is working nights and I don’t really have to cook. The adulting game is strong in this house this week.

And Ruger doesn’t understand why he can’t have it for dinner, too. Today, he thinks I’m the mean mama that won’t share, but some day he’ll understand I made this choice because I love him, and this is better for him. Besides, I can’t let him ruin his appetite for his new special gluten-free, grain-free, lamb and rice puppy food. 😉

4. Aaron Watson- The Underdog 

Y’all, I am so late to the party on this one. This album came out in February 2015 and I’m just now finding and loving it. I began following his wife @mrsaaronwatson on Instagram a few weeks ago and am completely convinced she and I would make perfect best friends (let me know if you read this, Kim–that is a serious offer!). I decided to check it out on Spotify after learning that the song “Bluebonnets” was written about their daughter Julia who passed away in infancy, and figured out that I’d heard that song plenty of times! Classic case of hearing it on the radio and having no idea who it was.

Best find of all– there’s a John Mayer cover. One thing you should know about me– John Mayer is my absolute favorite. Anyone who loves John Mayer is someone I’ll love as well.

I think the best best part though, is just how great the family is, which is evident through Kim’s Instagram (I’m a creep, y’all. I’ll admit it.). I love music with Christian and positive undertones without being in-your-face about it, and this totally accomplishes it. But really, this is a twofer of recs, because get this album and follow @mrsaaronwatson on Instagram. You won’t regret it. And while you’re on Instagram, follow Mrs. Steven Smith on Instagram, too!! 😉 aka @saltcreekwife.

 

5. Texas Tech Football

I’m a Red Raider to the bone, y’all. This Saturday kicks off Red Raider football (pending the fact that I just read that the bottom several rows of the stadium are currently under water) and here’s hoping for a great season! Things are a little unsteady and different in the Big 12 than the past few seasons, and Tech has an older squad than the last few years so I’m hoping we can merge all that together and have a really great season.

And I’m really hoping that what’s happening in this photo is that Kingsbury is saying, “Pat, I love you. You are an excellent quarterback. I’m so proud of the player that you’ve become. But if you mess around hanging out back in the pocket or scrambling for a short forever, and then lob it up in the air expecting it to magically find a receiver (even though it does work a fair percentage of the time), I will rob you of the rest of your abnormally wide mohawk. Be assured of that.”

But in all seriousness, I cannot handle that for another whole season. I’ll die of heart failure. He’s a great quarterback, and I will support him. But I may not make it through is all I’m saying. If you want to relive the good times that this strategy worked out, check them out here. Thankfully no one compiled the times it didn’t. 🙂

Long live the Matadors!

 

What are your five fave things this Friday?? Drop them in the comments! And I welcome any recommendations that you think could be one of my new favorite things!