Lindsay's Sweet World: May 2024

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

A Couple of Blog Housekeeping Notes

Hey, y’all, happy Tuesday! I know most of you came here today to see our weekly recap, but I wanted to use today to put out my annual reminder that those recaps will be moved to Wednesdays during the summer.

I like to maximize my time with the kids while they’re out for summer break, and I don’t want to be sitting at my computer all day, so I plan to publish posts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays this summer just like in previous summers. There may be a week or two where I will blog on a random Tuesday, but most weeks, I’ll just be publishing three days per week.

Another reminder, if you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see that my daily to-do lists will cease for summer break, too. While I do keep very loose to-do lists some days during the summer, the last thing I want to do is be a slave to a to-do list when I could be spending time with the kids. So, I’m giving myself a break from those, too. You may see a random one here and there if there’s a lot on the agenda, but most days – no do-do lists during summer break.

We are officially on summer break starting this Thursday at noon, so this will be the last Tuesday post you’ll see from me until they go back in August (aside from the random one or two that may happen).

With all that said, if you came here for last week’s recap, come back tomorrow! :o) And if you want to follow along with us in real time this summer, you can always follow along on Instagram stories.

I am so excited for lazier days, more time outside, more time with my babies, and lots of time with friends. Oh, and a beach trip!

Thanks, y’all! Happy summer break!

Happy Tuesday!

Monday, May 20, 2024

2024 House Cleanout - End of May Update

Well, three months have blown by since my last house cleanout update, and I cannot believe it’s been that long. I unintentionally took a little break from cleaning out the house since things got so busy in March, so while I don’t have a ton to share today, I thought I would at least share the few things that we have tackled around the house since the end of February.

I had originally wanted to have the whole house cleaned out by the end of March, but that just wasn’t possible with all of the other stuff we’ve had going on. Maybe I’ll finish by the end of summer break? Haha.

My Office

Accomplishments:

- Cleaned out my medical and health folder

- Digitized all information on my Medical and Health spreadsheet

- Shredded all paper documents (the stack was GIANT so it freed up tons of space in my file cabinet)

- Backed up all old photos and videos that had been sitting on my computer for over a year… my old external hard drive had filled up, so I had to move the entire history to a larger one and then go add all of the ones that hadn’t been backed up from my computer. Then, I had to upload them all to our online Amazon drive. With that said, it was a huge job that took weeks to complete.

Said Goodbye To:

- A massive stack of old papers

- 14 folders on my computer that were filled with pictures and videos and clogging up my computer storage… I had started getting alerts that my hard drive was about to be full, so that was a priority.

All of the papers I shredded

The 171,000 files that I transferred to a new hard drive

Kitchen

Accomplishments:

- Cleaned out and reorganized a few more cabinets

- Cleaned out and reorganized the kids’ cabinet (which is always a hot mess)

- Cleaned out and reorganized all drawers

Said Goodbye To:

- 6 coffee mugs

- A ton of the kids’ old cups and thermoses

- All of their old character plates that they’ve outgrown :o(

- All of their expired candy

- Olivia’s old Valentine’s Day box that she was hanging on to

- A bunch of trash

- A cutting board

- An old spoon rest that I haven’t used in years

- Various other small, random kitchen tools that we never use

- 3 old pairs of sunglasses

- Expired coupons

- Random other crap that was found in our drawers

Old kitchen stuff we got rid of

More kitchen stuff we got rid of

The after picture of the kids' cabinet... I forgot to take a before picture, but it was awful

Outside

Accomplishments:

- Cleaned off back porch

- Cleaned off front porch

- Got all herbs and flowers planted

- Bought ferns for front porch

- Put out spring/summer doormats

- Replaced old rugs

- Replaced old throw pillows

- Pressure washed the entire driveway, sidewalk, front porch, back porch, and garage

Said Goodbye To:

- 2 old rugs

- 8 old throw pillows

The sidewalk before

The sidewalk in progress

The sidewalk after

The front porch before

The front porch after

The driveway before

The driveway in progress

The driveway after... just look at that difference!!!!

New rugs, pillows, and plants on the back porch

More back porch refresh

Miscellaneous

Accomplishments:

- Labeled containers on wrapping paper organizer

- Purchased greeting card organizer… just need to organize it

- Purchased new light fixture for laundry room… just need to install it

- Purchased new organizer for leggings… just need to organize it

And that’s it for now! Hopefully my next update will be better!

Happy Monday, y’all!

Friday, May 17, 2024

Five on Friday - Unique Pool Accessories

*This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Happy Friday, y’all! This week has been the pinnacle of Maycember, and I’ll finally be able to breathe a sigh of relief soon… not today, though! Today might be the busiest day ever! Olivia had her recital rehearsal last night, tonight is her dress rehearsal (which involves us being at the theater for a good 6-7 hours), tomorrow is her primetime recital, and Sunday is her matinee recital. Oh, also? Tonight is the big seventh/eighth grade dance at the kids’ school that I’m chairing, and since I can’t be in two places at once, I’ll be doing the entire dance from start to finish (setting up, decorating, chaperoning, and cleaning up) and then heading to the theater to relieve Brian who will be sitting in place for me while I’m at the dance. Whew.

Anywayyyy, summertime is so close I can almost taste it, and today I thought I’d share some super unique Amazon finds to liven up those summer pool parties! These finds are seriously the coolest!

O N E – Floating Food and Beverage Storage

This floating pool cabana may be one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen! It has four cupholders along with large cutouts for snacks. Since it has a roof over it, it keeps all of your food and drinks out of the sun. It comes in this darling pink and white stripe, along with a blue and white stripe, and a yellow and white stripe, and navy and white stripe.

This is another option that’s a little smaller, and it doesn’t have a cover.

This version looks the most sturdy of the three, and it has ample space for cups, snacks, and even wine glasses.

And finally, these genius things… floating wine glasses! WHAT?! I guess you wouldn’t be able to use those in a pool with anyone splashing around, though. Haha.

T W O – Pool Decorations

These floating pool balls come in multi-colors or earth patterns, and they are solar-powered so they don’t require batteries or charging. Just sit them in the sun during the day, and then they glow all night so you can add a fun pop of color and light to your pool after the sun goes down.

These floating pool fountains with lights would make for great ambiance at an outdoor party, and they have two modes – water spray mode and light show mode.

And if you don’t want the fountain aspect, these floating pool lights cast a glow around your pool without the water spray effect. These are solar powered as well, so you don’t have to worry about charging them.

These lanterns are STUNNING and they would be the perfect addition to set the ambiance for an outdoor dinner party. These, too, are solar powered, so there’s no charging required. There are three light modes, so you can find the perfect one to suit your party aesthetic.

As are these floating lights...

And these floating lotus flowers that light up...

And if you’re looking for something really wild, these light up flamingo floating pool lights are super fun!!

T H R E E – Unique Pool Floats

This light up flamingo pool float would be awesome for night swimming.

As would this one!

And if you prefer a lounger, this one lights up, too!

I also thought this one was cool!

F O U R – Pool Games

This pool volley ball game has balls that light up so you can play it at night.

And this floating table allows for card playing in the water… and it holds drinks!

If you’re going to have a floating table, then don’t forget the waterproof playing cards!

Uno also has a waterproof version!

And this light up ball is perfect for tossing around at night.

F I V E – Storage

This storage bin holds 235 gallons of pool floats, toys, balls, and equipment. It’s made of mesh, and it has wheels so you can store it anywhere and wheel it out to the pool when you need it.

This smaller version is also great for holding all of your pool accessories and it’s also on wheels for easy moving.

Finally, this towel holder is perfect for keeping wet towels off of the chairs and ground. And each arm has clips so the towels stay in place.

Friday Funnies

On the Blog This Week

A Year of Gratitude – April Snapshot

Our Week – The One with Teacher Appreciation Week, Northern Lights, and Mother's Day

What I Wore – April 2024

Happy Friday, y’all!

*Linking up with A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites.

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

What I Wore - April 2024

*This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

It finally warmed up a little bit in April, and I was able to wear shorts for the first time this season!! The majority of the month was still chilly, though, so many days I still had to use a sweater or my jean jacket.

These jeans were the real winner of the month as they made for the perfect transition piece on those days that it was cold in the morning and warm in the afternoon.

As always, I’ll link as many items as I can under each of the pictures.