Friday Five {July 2026}

Happy July, Friends!

Can you believe it’s already July? I always feel like once July arrives, the rest of summer just flies by! We usually take our family vacation this month, which makes it go by even faster. This month’s Friday Five is a little shorter than usual since we spent part of July exploring London and Paris, and I’ll be sharing all about our trip in some upcoming posts.

Before we dive in, I had to share this sweet photo Autumn took of me looking at the Eiffel Tower as it sparkled on our last evening in Paris. I told her it’s one of my favorite photos from the entire trip! It was such a magical way to end our vacation. Now, let’s take a look at what we were up to this month when we weren’t traveling!

One – 4th of July

We kept things pretty low-key for the Fourth of July since we were leaving for Europe just a few days later and I was busy getting everything ready for our trip. I did make it out for my running group’s annual Fourth of July run, though! We snapped a fun photo in front of the park’s 200 American flags, and afterward I treated myself to a coffee that came with a free “Happy Fourth of July” sticker. It was a simple but fun way to celebrate before our big adventure!

The day before the Fourth of July, we spent some time strolling along Main Street in St. Charles. I found a cute new skirt that even made it into my suitcase for Europe after I had to completely rethink my vacation wardrobe because of the warmer-than-expected temperatures! Autumn picked out an eNewton bracelet, and I couldn’t resist bringing home a candle that smelled amazing.

On our way home, we stopped at Dutch Bros because I’d never tried their coffee before. I know so many people absolutely love it, but to me it tasted a lot like 7 Brew, which I’m not a huge fan of. Later, I looked up what syrups they use and discovered they use Torani, just like 7 Brew. That probably explains it! I definitely prefer house-made syrups or Monin. I guess you could say I’m a bit of a coffee syrup snob!

Two – Oliver’s 3rd Birthday

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Oliver’s 3rd birthday was the day before we left for Europe. It was a whirlwind of a day with getting ready for our trip, but I still wanted to celebrate Oliver’s birthday. I can’t believe it has been 3 years already! He is such a sweetheart and my little shadow! I love him so, so much. I call him my little man!

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I got him some toys, such as this Happy Birthday Cake (cat toy) and a treat! He was very happy with them. You can see Rose, our elder ragdoll next to him in the photo.

Three – Another Summer Date Night & Getting Ready for Europe

Brian and I snuck in a fun little date night at The Muny, St. Louis’ outdoor theater! South Pacific is my favorite musical, and it hadn’t been performed at The Muny in over a decade, so I was so excited to finally see it live. This definitely isn’t our best photo (it was a hot and very sweaty night!), but we had such a great time together.

One of our favorite parts of the evening is the buffet before the show. The food is so good! They had a made-to-order pasta station, several other food stations with lots of delicious options, fun themed cocktails to go along with South Pacific, and more. It made for the perfect start to our date night.

Before we left for Europe, I treated myself to a little pre-trip pampering! A few times a year, I visit my favorite esthetician to have my brows and lashes tinted, along with a lash lift. I also got a fresh gel French manicure, which was the perfect finishing touch before our trip.

Four – New Recipes

I’ve been doing a lot of sourdough baking this summer, and the first discard recipe I tried was these Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were so good! You can taste just a subtle hint of the sourdough, which gives them a really delicious flavor. Mine didn’t spread quite as much as I had hoped, so next time I’m going to chill the dough for a little less time and flatten the cookies slightly before baking to see if that helps. They were still absolutely delicious, though. Autumn has already asked me to make another batch!

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Next up was this Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup that I made in my new Le Creuset Dutch oven. First of all, I can’t believe what a dream it is to make soup in this Dutch oven! And second… wow! I honestly thought it tasted even better than Panera’s version. I’ll definitely be making this one again!

 

Five – Latest Finds

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It was time to replace our old drinking glasses, so I ordered this set from Amazon that comes in two different sizes. They’re sturdy, fit perfectly in our kitchen cabinets, and look so much nicer than the glasses we had before. Sometimes it’s the little home upgrades that make such a difference!

 

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I’ve been cleaning some of the walls in our house lately and I love this gentle Foaming Wall Cleaner! It smells good too! It’s crazy how many positive reviews it has on Amazon. I love that it doesn’t damage your paint.

 

Hope you all have a great weekend!