The Friday Five

Welcome back, friends! We made it to Friday, yet again! This week zipped by in a blink. It’s crazy how these last 11 weeks have both flown by and drug on. How is that possible?! Warmer weather is here and our spirits are up! And today is the last Friday of the school year with only a couple more days to go! Thanks for joining me today for this week’s The Friday Five, where I share 5 simple tidbits that I hope help you, inspire you or just give you an easy place to hang out each week!

Thanks for joining me! Can you believe this marks 13 weeks of The Friday Five series?! It’s been so fun to have a relaxed and laid back way to connect with you all each week!

From sharing projects going on around the house, organizational tips, sale finds, recipes and more, I’ve loved publishing this “catchall” post each week! And I hope you’ve enjoyed it, too.

Now, let’s see what’s going on this week!

THE FRIDAY FIVE

ONE || MONOCHROMATIC LOOK + A BELT BAG [AKA A MOM’S BEST FRIEND]

While I typically wear a lot of black, I love a good white on white outfit for a monochromatic look.

WHITE JEANS | RIBBED TANK [SIMILAR HERE & HERE] | BELT BAG | CLEAR SANDALS | “R” NECKLACE

I love this snakeskin belt bag as a super subtle statement with its light and neutral pattern.

And as a mom, hands-free is such a treat!

We’re always schlepping all the things for all the kids on all the days, so when it’s time for a day or night out, I like to minimize. Just the essentials and they easily fit inside! I’ve had my fanny pack / belt purse since last Summer and have used it so much! A weekend in Nashville, concerts, girls night out, you name it!

Here are several cute options if you like this look!!

TWO || ON THE HUNT FOR A BACKYARD POOL

I couldn’t believe the number of people I heard from over the weekend when I posted this pool to my IG Stories and FB page! We apparently are one of maaaany, many families looking for some backyard entertainment for the kids this Summer. Who am I kidding? Us adults, too 😉

Ours arrived this week and we ALL can’t wait to get it set-up to enjoy this weekend!

With the opening of pools and parks still in limbo, we figured our backyard needed some form of water so this was an affordable, temporary option.

If you’re still on the hunt for a pool, I’ve linked some below. They continue to go in and out of stock, so if you know you want one, grab it while you can! I feel so lucky to have snagged ours when we did!

Most of these options are from ebay, but they are new items, the prices are still reasonable and the sellers have good reviews!

THREE || DECK PROGRESS

Remember our Cozy & Neutral Back Deck Refresh Mood Board? Well, the project has started to take shape. And by shape, I mean we are without a deck as we speak! T got to work last weekend on removing the deck boards and all but 3 are left.

Most of the deck was covered up with our large outdoor rug all these years, but it really started to peel up and disintegrate this year. We knew it was time to do something about it.

We went from this…

to this… 

and now this…

The steps are also ripped out and we’ve done some touch up painting to the railings and spindles.

We still plan to remove the pergola, power wash and re-paint so hope to do that this weekend.

And the most exciting part of all, is that the new Trex decking boards were delivered this week! I can’t wait to share more details and progress shots with you soon! Hopefully I’ll get some photos and videos uploaded to my Instastories this weekend and then I can save them all to a highlight so you can check them out later if you miss them.

If all goes as planned, I have a few post ideas to share mid-to-late June including the deck reveal!

Here are the Back Deck plans if you missed them before and you can go here to see all of my outdoor posts.

FOUR || END OF THE YEAR TEACHER GIFT IDEA

School has looked completely different for the last few months and now all of the end-of-the-year parties, field trips and celebrations, do too. Most were cancelled or became virtual for my boys, but they did announce a drive-by parade for the kids to be able to ride with their parents and wave goodbye to their teachers on the last day of school. 

We’ve pooled money together as a class for gift cards for the teachers, but if you have a chance to drop something off at the school for your little one’s teacher, my printable teacher gift tags can be attached to just about anything!

I used a bag of popcorn and a movie gift card, but Amazon, Target or Netflix would work just as well!

And remember that darling Leopard Straw bag I’ve been sharing? One of my girlfriends bought a couple for her girls’ teachers and included a beach towel and a tumbler inside and then attached an adorable gift tag!

I love this idea so much, I might have to use it myself!!!

This bag has been a top seller 2 weeks in a row now 😉

FIVE || A FEW RANDOM FINDS

All 3 boys are growing like weeds and I can’t keep their closets and dressers full of clothes that fit them! I was searching for swim trunks for the little guy, lounge shorts for the biggest and stumbled upon these great deals for the boys under $8! And then a few things I bought / am eyeing for myself!!

Aren’t those camo / stripe swim trunks the cutest?!

While I was shopping for them, I noticed a good dupe for a free people sweater I have been eyeing. This striped crochet sweater was a third of the price and will give the same look I’m going for – slightly slouchy sweater front tucked into distressed denim shorts. I love these or these sandals to go with it!

Stay tuned…I’m planning to do a high-low outfit post once it gets here!

And that’s about it for today! I hope you all enjoy your weekend [and hopefully track down a pool if you haven’t already!!] I’ve got a Summer Mantel post coming up next week along with my Latest Obsessions and hopefully Casual Chic Style Vol. 9 – just waiting on a couple pieces 😉

If you want to get caught up on The Friday Five series, head here!

Any requests for things you’s like me to share or review? Please let me know!

You can see all of this month’s posts here. And don’t forget to follow This is our Bliss on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest & Twitter!