The past Friday evening we all went out to dinner as a family at one of our favorite spots down by the water. We ate outside and ended the evening with some ice cream, which was the icing on the cake for the girls. As we were getting back into the car to head home, Harper asked “Can we do this every Friday? That was so fun.” TJ and I validated her feelings and agreed that it had been a great time…

And as we were driving home, I realized that it had been a couple of years since we actually went out to dinner as a family (i.e. the 4 of us). We used to do it every Friday night with Harper, before Camille came along… and then when Camille was born, we switched to Friday night takeouts and lunches on Saturday… and then when it wasn’t so difficult to go out at night with Camille, the pandemic happened. So, this was one of those “firsts” for us that I hadn’t even realized was a first… but one that Harper clearly enjoyed and wanted to make a regular occurrence…

And while the rest of the weekend was spent doing our go-to weekend activities, that Friday night dinner out was such a wonderful change from the routine we had grown accustomed to over the past 16 months. And since change is good, and we’re exploring what our “new normal” looks like, Friday evening family dinners out just might be our new “family” thing.

I hope you all have a great week ahead!
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(Started the weekend early with a morning at the beach with the girls and my sister… my coverup, hat, sandals, my sister’s swimsuit, her pants, girl’s pieces sold out)

(Family dinner at Malibu Farms on Friday night…. my top, my jeans, TJ’s top, TJ’s jeans)

(Lived in this comfy sweatshirt every night this weekend….)

(Wore this tank + ribbed biker shorts for Saturday morning’s workout…)

(Spent the weekend in this spot…)

(Love this flowy coverup for warm summer pool days)

(And then started a new book… decided to go with “That Summer” since I just finished a relatively intense psychological thriller….)

(… and lots of this all weekend long….)

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We’ve been looking for quality pool floats (that won’t pop in the middle of the season) and we found this chaise float and these flat floats… trying to decide which ones we would get the most use out of….

If you’re traveling this summer, I can’t recommend these packing cubes more. We’ve had them for two years and I always use them for the girl’s items. Helps to keep things organized.

Bloomingdale’s is having a Buy More Save More sale and the pearl embellished sandals I wear all the time, along with this gold one piece swimsuit are both included. The super soft tie dye set I’ve shared here before is on sale, plus an additional percentage off as well!

These cashmere shorts + pullover were recently marked down… so soft and perfect for summer lounging (I sized down in both).

I love these quilted sandals… they’re sustainably made and a great neutral shade. I’ve had them in my cart for a couple weeks now….

A few cute new Free People items I think would be great for summer include these casual knit shorts, knit tank top, and this ruffle tie back top (cute for a day or night out).