Friday Finds || Week 47, 48, 49

Hot chocolate with marshmallows in a snowflake mug with tartan plaid coasters and a gold spoon.

Happy Friday, my friends! With Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, all of my gift guides, getting my apartment ready for the holidays, and shooting all of my photos for the rest of the year, things got crazy and we skipped a few weeks of Friday Finds. Sorry about that, I know it’s always something you look forward to at the end of each week! (So many mentions in this survey.) But I’m back today with lots of finds from the last two or three weeks…

Before we hop into those, though, I always love sharing a little life update at the end of the week. Helps me feel like we’re all caught up, you know? I think we last left off right before Thanksgiving… My Thanksgiving was fun! I spent most of it driving around central Illinois, but thankfully I love listening to music and podcasts in the car so it didn’t feel like a chore. (Drove from Chicago to Rochester on Thanksgiving morning, picked up my dad and grandmother, drove back up to Peoria for lunch, drove back to Springfield to drop off my grandmother, drove to Chatham for Thanksgiving dinner, and then back to my dad’s house that night. And then on Saturday, drove to Champaign for the last Illinois game, and then back to Chicago. Pretty sure I doubled the miles on my car that weekend, haha!) I spent the long weekend at my dad’s house and got to log lots of family time. I hadn’t been home since June so it was great to catch up with everyone, especially my niece, oldest brother, and sister-in-law. (My niece turns five today, crazy how time flies!)

Since then, I’ve just been in full-on holiday mode with decorating, buying gifts, and churning out some fun holiday content. I had my first holiday party last night at my girlfriend’s house and we have a big trolley party around the city tomorrow night! (Four of us girls are wearing these elf onesies, haha… I’ll be sure to share photos on Insta Stories & Snapchat! )

What are your plans this weekend?! Hope you’ve been having a great holiday season so far!

Here are my favorite finds from the last few weeks…

I made THE BEST dinner on Wednesday night and it was so, so easy. Merritt’s Butternut Squash Noodles are AMAZING and I took Liz’s suggestion and added ground Italian sausage. SO DAMN GOOD, YOU GUYS.

On on a baking note… I made these pecan bars with this shortbread crust for a Friendsgiving a few weeks and they were SUCH a hit! Definitely recommend.

Mackenzie’s honeymoon has me wanting to book a trip to Africa ASAP!! Read all about it here… Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 (The pictures of her and Will from the back with the giraffes?! TOO GOOD.) One of my girlfriends is actually going over New Year’s… So jealous!

I’ve had this little Bluetooth speaker for about 2.5 years now and I think I’m ready for something a little bit bigger! A guy friend of mine recommended Sonos… Any other suggestions? (My neighbors may not be ready for something bigger seeing as I got a noise complaint a few weeks ago when I had friends over, but I digress…)

I thought this article was pretty interesting… I still have not received my Shopbop order that I placed on the Sunday before Cyber Monday, either. The order still says processing, twelve days later. (Normally it’s here in Chicago within a day or two, without rush shipping.) I know Hallie is also in the same boat. You, too?!

This ruffled plaid skirt is what dreams are made of. This one, too!

This video about friendship made me tear up! How cute are they?!

These little sequin earrings are too cute! Perfect for holiday parties or simply dressing up a sweater or tee.

How fun are these plaid ankle booties?! (They look like this pair I love for WAY less.)

How many plaid dresses is too many? I’m loving this one! It would be so, so easy to layer.

If you like the tartan coasters above (on sale for under $5!), the whole plaid collection is currently 50% off…

Obsessing over these winter white snow boots. How chic would these be in Aspen?!

This bow-back beanie is so cute. Which color is your favorite? I’m leaning towards red or grey.

This bow beanie is one part ridiculous, one part really fun.

Loving this furry leopard clutch for $38!

Come spring, these ruffled striped mules need to be in my closet.

Absolutely love this little velvet bag from Kate Spade!

Booked a bachelorette party in Palm Springs in February this week and I’m going to need these little slides.

How fun is this gold top hat ice bucket? Reminds me of the Monopoly days!

Ob-sessed with these glitter bow heels!

If you need a party shoe without a heel, look no further!

Call me crazy, but I ordered this croissant iPhone case this week. We’ll see what it looks like in person! (The website says ‘ice cream,’ but it’s so obviously a croissant… right?!) Wish I would have seen it before I posted my Parisian gift guide!

I still wear this old Cynthia Rowley dress and get so many compliments on it. When I saw this one from Kate Spade, I knew I had to share because it’s so similar!

Speaking of an oldie, but a goodie from Kate Spade… I have a little champagne coin pouch from a few years ago (you can see it in this post!) that I still use around the holidays. They brought it back this year and updated it a bit!

Striped satin PJs, yes please. A great gift option!

I could watch Kygo play the piano for days on end () so naturally, I love this orchestral version of Stargazing.

Speaking of music! I’ve had quite a few requests from people on Snapchat to post some of my favorite music, which is where I tend to share songs I’m listening to. To make it easy, I made a playlist with current favorites on Spotify. You can find it here! I figure I’ll create a new one at the start of each month and share it here in Friday Finds?! Let me know if that’s something you’re interested in! (Forewarning: I like everything from ratchet rap to EDM to moody songs like Banks & Adele. So it will be a nice little hodge podge!) Oh, and if you haven’t listened to the Kaskade Christmas album, go do it now. Also, I made my top songs of 2017 playlist public if you want to go through that… Allll of my faves and what I’ve been listening too all week!


Happy weekend! xoxo JRS

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2 Comments

  1. 12.9.17
    Maggie said:

    Another vote for Sonos. I’ve got one in my bedroom, one in my bathroom, one in the living room plus the sound bar for the tv. It’s awesom to control them for my phone and move from room to room and continue to enjoy the music.

  2. 12.11.17
    Mary Kate said:

    Thanks for including your spotify playlists!!