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Friday, August 1, 2025

Five on Friday - The Perfect Student Planner, a Bedroom Glow Up, a Neck Pillow That Relieves Tension, the Yuka App, and Nora Goes Off Script Book Review

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

Happy Friday, y’all!  It feels like it’s been forever since I popped in with some favorites from the week, so it’s good to be back!  I have a totally random selection of things making me happy this week, and they are all so good!

O N E – Beautiful Student Planner

I mentioned this planner in my weekly recap, and also on Instagram, and it’s by far my favorite product of the week!  If you’ve been following me for any amount of time, y’all know how much I loooove Emily Ley’s Simplified products.  I have been using a Simplified Planner for seven years, and I don’t ever see myself changing to another planner or planner format.

Olivia was on the hunt for a student planner, and she had several requirements for hers – a) that the planner had a monthly spread, b) that it had a weekly spread divided by subject, and c) that it was “pretty” because she is her mother’s daughter.  Hahahaha.

We found this Emily Ley Simplified Student Planner at Target, and it has every single thing that Olivia was hoping for and MORE.  The planner is the perfect size 5.5 x 8.5 so it’s not too big and not too small.  It includes bonus pages – two “About Me” pages, “Looking Ahead” and “Looking Back” pages, a class schedule, a weekly schedule, a school year review, a daily routine, and two future planning pages + two pages of GORGEOUS stickers.

Each month features a two-page monthly spread followed by weekly pages divided by subject (why is this so hard to find?!) and notes boxes below each day.  The monthly tabs are rainbow colors (Olivia’s and my favorite), and the planner has a durable laminated cover, gold wire binding, gold accents, and bungee closure to keep all of the pages secure. 

It is truly a DREAM student planner, and the very best part is – you get all of the quality that Emily Ley’s products offer without the hefty price tag.  It’s very affordable.

Olivia was so excited about it that she couldn’t get home fast enough to start filling in her goals for the school year ahead!








T W O – Twinkle Lights

I’ve had twinkle lights strung across my office for years and it’s literally my favorite part of my whole office… okay, maybe they’re tied with my wall of bookshelves (such a dream!)… and maybe my bulletin board.  Anyway, you get the gist… I loveeee my twinkle lights.

Olivia has been asking for twinkle lights in her bedroom for months, so Brian and I were finally able to make her dream come true this past week, and it has taken her bedroom to a whole new level of cozy! 

We are incandescent bulb people in our house (I hate LEDs because they’re so bright and cold), so we bought this strand on Amazon (same one as the one in my office), and they look stunning.  Since Olivia has a ceiling fan in her bedroom, we weren’t able to string them across the room like I did in my office.  Instead, Brian strung them around the perimeter of the room. 

Since each strand is 25 feet, we couldn’t do two strands as that would have been way too long, but 25 feet was also too short, so we ended up draping them across the final corner to end in the middle of the wall.  We weren’t sure how that was going to look, but I actually really love how it turned out.

Brian used screws with looped ends, and he attached every third bulb to one of those.  We ran the extension cord down the corner of her bedroom next to her closet, and the extension cord is plugged in with an Amazon Smart Plug (Amazon now makes Amazon Basics plugs that are so affordable!), so all Olivia has to do is say, “Ziggy (she renamed her Alexa – LOL), turn on Olivia’s lights” and they turn on and off by voice command.  I have mine set the same way, and I love it because I am lazy, and I hate unplugging things.  Haha.

But anyway, if you have ever wanted to make a space in your house extra cozy, this is your sign to buy some twinkle lights.  :o)






T H R E E – Neck Pillow

My upper cervical chiropractor told me to purchase this neck pillow to supplement his adjustments, and I have been laying on it every single night for nearly two weeks.  My neck has lost its C curve which has likely contributed to my problems (neck, face, jaw, and head tension, dizziness, vertigo, unsteadiness, brain fog, sensitivity to light, tinnitus, tension and regular headaches, etc.) in addition to my misaligned atlas and axis these past 10+ years.

My doctor had hoped that by moving my atlas and axis back into place (C1 and C2) that everything else would fall back into place as well, and while most things have, my C curve has remained stubborn, staying stuck in its straight position. 

This pillow gently restores the C curve just from laying on it for 10-15 minutes per day.  There are LOADS of these pillows on the market, but my chiropractor recommends this one because it has different levels so you can start small and work your way up to the largest curve.  It also has a cradle for your head whereas the others leave your head laying on the hard ground.  I previously owned this popular foam pillow before I started seeing my UCC, and it caused more issues because it’s one size and therefore, it doesn’t allow you to ease into your adjustments. 

This pillow is clinically proven to reduce muscle spasms, neck tension, and upper shoulder pain while also increasing range of motion because it restores the spines of those who have forward head posture.  Forward head posture is SUPER common these days, especially for those who sit at a computer or are on their phones a lot, and it helps relax those overactive muscles and alleviate all of the other symptoms that can come from that.

My doctor told me to start on level one for 5-10 minutes and work my way up to 15 minutes.  Once my body could handle 15 minutes on level one, he told me to move to level two and lay for 5-10 minutes, working my way up 15, and so on.  As of now, I’m doing 15 minutes on level two, and will be moving to level three this weekend.

I have been using mine for a couple of weeks now and I already see a noticeable difference in my posture.  I will warn you, though, as my doctor warned me – while your posture is changing, you will likely have some discomfort (tired or sore neck muscles, shoulder muscles, and arm muscles) because your body has to adapt to its new position, but the doctor assured me that it’s all part of the process.  He did say that I should discontinue use and let him know if I ever have pain WHILE using the device (which I never have).  It’s actually really soothing laying on it and I can literally feel tension melting away while I’m on it.  I always turn on a meditation in my Calm app while I lay on it, and I feel great when I’m done.

If you’re having any kind of pain, discomfort, or tension, in your head, neck, jaws, or shoulders, I strongly recommend talking to your doctor about one of these devices.  Also, I CANNOT RECOMMEND SEEING AN UPPER CERVICAL CHIROPRACTOR ENOUGH.  He is literally saving my life after years upon years of suffering with jaw, neck, head, and shoulder tension and stiffness, vertigo, dizziness, unsteadiness, brain fog, tinnitus, headaches, TMJ issues, and so many other things.  (And the key words in that sentence are “upper cervical” – upper cervical chiropractors are totally different than standard chiropractors.)

*And as with any kind of medical device, please consult with your healthcare professional before using this… this is working for me as I was thoroughly tested and diagnosed prior to use.




F O U R – Yuka App

One of my favorite morning radio show hosts mentioned the Yuka app a couple of weeks ago, and I was intrigued so I downloaded it. 

The Yuka app allows you to scan the bar codes of food and beauty items to see their overall quality.  The app gives each item a score from 0-100.  Anything over 75 is rated as “excellent,” 50-75 is “good,” 20-50 is considered “poor,” and anything under 20 is considered “bad.”

In addition to providing the overall score, the app provides in-depth information that details the reasoning behind the scores – it provides the positive and negative attributes of each of the items along with green, yellow, orange, and red dots for easy identification at a glance.  And each “positive” and “negative” attribute is a clickable link that provides even more information.

If an item is scored as “poor” or “bad,” the app also provides healthier alternatives that you can try.  

And it saves every item that you scan in your “history” so you can refer to them at any time.  It also gives you the option to export the info for each item so you can send it in a text or an email.

While this app isn’t the be-all and end-all for what I’m going to eat, I do love having it because it gives me a better understanding of what’s actually in the foods that we are eating.  I can promise you that it’s not going to stop us from eating some of the foods that we really love, though, even if they are ranked as bad!

And this isn’t sponsored… I just really love the app.  It’s user friendly, it’s completely free, and it isn’t cluttered with ads.



F I V E – Nora Goes Off Script

I read Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan this month, and y’all, I LOVED it.  I had seen many good reviews for it but worried it would be too “Hallmark-y” for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I thought the writing was fresh and witty, I thought the protagonist was incredibly relatable, and even though parts of the book were a bit predictable, I appreciated that there was a bit of a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming.  I’m really hoping they turn this one into a movie because it was just delightful!  This is one that I would buy to keep in my personal library to read again and again.  



Friday Funnies Happies








On the Blog This Week

 What I Wore - June 2025

Our Week - The One with Summer, Week 9 (A Pool Day, Volunteering, Jacob's Birthday and Party, a UCC Appointment, a Lego Store, and Getting Stuff Done)


Happy Friday, y’all! 


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


9 comments:

  1. I need a good planner for Simon! That app is interesting. I have loved every Annabel Monaghan book that I've read so far!

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    1. That's great to know about the books! I'll have to check out more of hers!

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  2. I am definitely downloading that app. I'm constantly googling what granola bar is the healthiest? etc...

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    1. Same! Mostly because we have picky eaters and have to eat snacks on the go a lot!

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  3. A good planner is dreamy and wish I still used one when I see cute ones like this. I love the lights for Olivia's room! That is good news the pillow is working and helping you. So glad you are finally getting some help and relief. Enjoy your weekend!

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  4. I love the Yuka app; I use that and Bobby Approved (though they don't always agree with each other as yuka recommends things that are lower in fat too while Bobby Approved thinks you're better off with whole milk varieties [for example]). Those twinkle lights remind me of the ones we bought for Alec's dorm last year. He liked them so much better than the overhead lighting.

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    1. Oh, interesting! I'll have to look into that one, too! Thanks for the rec! And yes, overhead lighting is so harsh, so I'm right there with Alec!

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  5. The planner for Olivia sounds perfect with everything that she wanted and more. What a bonus that it is so affordable too. The lights are so pretty in her room too!
    It sounds like the neck pillow is really helping, I am glad!

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