Thursday Thoughts-Five Thoughts On My Mind

And just like that, it’s already Thursday! As I sit here typing this out on Wednesday, it’s a pretty dreary day and has looked like it’s gonna rain for hours. I’ve got a candle burning as I type so other than the fact that it’s pretty warm, I’m living my best fall girl life. I hope wherever you are, it feels like “fall” today as well!

I have some completely random Thursday Thoughts for you. I’m honestly not even sure how many different thoughts I’ll have but we’ll see how long this list is as I go…

#1 Do you guys remember this?

It’s the TheraICE cool pack. I’ve shared my love of this before but just a couple weeks ago I fell asleep {like night time asleep} with it on and I slept SO WELL! Basically, it’s now become a bad habit I can’t break. Often times when I wake up in the middle of the night it’s almost as if I can’t get my eyes to relax. I know that’s the weirdest explanation but with this on, my eyes are forced to relax so it helps me fall back to sleep. However, the last couple weeks I’ve been waking with the WORST wrinkles all over my face. I’m sure that’s because the cool pack’s purpose was made for people to wear it for shorter bits of time. I’ve been on the hunt for a sleep mask that would be similar but is made to not leave me with 17 new wrinkles each morning. And the one I found just showed up. I’m DYING to get to go to bed to try this out! It’s the Lunya Weighted Sleep Mask.

I’ll be sure to share my thoughts after using the silk weighted sleep mask for a few weeks. Has anyone tried this? And also, has this happened to anyone else? You start a new habit and it really helps with one phase of your life {my sleep} but now I have a new problem to solve {extra wrinkles}?

#2 This weekend my parents were in town to watch sports and while Bruce was here he helped get a ton of things hung in Bowen’s bedroom we’d been needing to hang for weeks. As we were hanging things, the realization hit me that I always want my kids bedrooms to look like pictures straight out of a magazine but that’s not their goal. They want their favorite posters hung {I did too growing up}, their team pictures up, and just any other {often gaudy, loud, etc. type item} up on the walls. When we got everything in Bowen’s room, I took a step back and realized it looked EXACTLY like Bowen. He got home from school and was STOKED! If I’d have listened to what I wanted for his room he’d have been happy but when I listened to what he wanted for his room he was ecstatic. Just a little encouragement if your kid wants to decorate their space VERY DIFFERENTLY then you’d choose. {Don’t have a pic because I’ve decided to keep their rooms private but imagine…baseball pendants, banners, team pics, football LED lights, etc.}

#3 Let’s talk loafers and gateway wide leg jeans…

This is my outfit I’ve got on as I type out all my thoughts…short sleeve sweatshirt {comes in many colors-I shared it recently in blue}, the gateway wide leg jeans {low stock on this jeans so this is a similar pair}, and loafers with a heel {currently on sale}.

I know many of you are probably too nervous to give the wide legs a try so instead of spending a lot of money on an expensive pair of wide leg jeans, you might want to try these. They’re what some might call a “gateway jean”. See what you think and if you fall in love then it just might lead you to purchase a more expensive {committed} pair of wide leg jeans.

I’m a FAN of wide leg jeans! Paired with the right top they look so good! I had a professor in college {shout out to Dr. Gilbert} who wore wide leg black pants daily. She always looked absolutely darling in hers. I think about channeling my inner-Dr. Gilbert anytime I put on something with a wide leg.

Now check out these loafers! My girlfriend, Shanna, told me over a 13-year-old baseball game I needed a pair of loafers so later that night I ordered a few pairs to try. I think this pair will be darling with flare jeans and dresses/skirts.

I’ve purchased many pairs of sneakers over the last couple years but most of the booties out there haven’t changed much in their aesthetic so I haven’t bought a new pair. Apparently, this is gonna be my year of the loafer. 😉

Now check out THIS pair! This pair is rubber soled so they’re super comfortable but again will be darling paired with flares, wide leg jeans, and boyfriend fits as well. I absolutely LOVED the two-tone.

I’m telling you-you guys are gonna see me wear these a lot this fall/winter! What do you think? Are you on the loafer trend?

I remember when loafers were super popular when I was in 7th grade. I thought they were so cool, but my 7th grade wardrobe didn’t really go well with loafers so I admired from afar. Basically, I’m living out my 7th grade fantasies in these shoes. ha!

#4 The Fourth Wing-First of all, have you read it? And what did you think? I LOVED The Hunger Games and this is the adult version of a similar book. I thought it was really good and if dragons and such are your jam, give it a read! I have three friends who’ve all read it and LOVED as well!

Speaking of books, if you’re looking for a great thriller type read instead, check out this list…

THE HOUSEMAID | THE TURN OF THE KEY | HOME BEFORE DARK | AN HONEST LIE | WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME | STAY AWAKE | THE WIFE UPSTAIRS {I actually read this one and missed it on my graphic}| A FLICKER IN THE DARK | LOCAL WOMAN MISSING | THE LAST WIFE | BEHIND HER EYES | MY LOVELY WIFE | THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK | THE GOLDEN COUPLE | THE OTHER WOMAN {This one TOO!}| THE SECRETS YOU KEEP | THE LAST FLIGHT | THE OVERNIGHT GUEST | THE PRISONER | ROCK PAPER SCISSORS 

#5 In my blog post yesterday, I shared what we were eating for dinner this week. I had a reader ask me to share those recipes and thought others might be wondering too. If you need a dinner idea…

* This is the recipe for the Cincinnati Chili.
* I honestly just made up the chicken parmesan in the slow cooker. I dipped chicken breast in egg and then in Panko breadcrumbs, added a bit of Rao’s sauce to the bottom of my slow cooker, then one big layer of the chicken breast. I added some seasonings…garlic powder, salt & pepper, Italian seasoning, topped with mozzarella cheese and then added the rest of the Rao’s sauce. I cooked that on high for 5-6 hours…keep watching and you can always add a little water or another jar of sauce, if needed. Then I served it over pasta. DELISH!
*The recipe for lasagna soup is that viral Tik Tok version.
*Chopped chicken salad, I made this YEARS ago and Tab and I loved! It still gets thrown in the line-up from time to time!

Okay, friends! I’m off to get dinner started AND then we’re watching a scary movie tonight as a family!

See you tomorrow!

XO