Happy Friday, friends! Welcome to Friday Favorites & Link-up. (Note: Friday Favorites has been moved to the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month.) I’m glad you could join me! Here are this week’s favorites. 🙂

Since I have seven faves, I’m also linking up with Kelly for 7 Quick Takes.

(Note: Revolution of Love is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.)

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This Week’s Fave Gift for a Sports Fan

Photo credit: Fanchest

Fanchest Curated Gift Boxes

Brian is a big Green Bay Packers fan so for his birthday I got him a Fanchest curated gift box. It was a big hit with Brian, and actually all the boys. To add to the fun, the box had a golden ticket and Brian won $150 worth of free Packer merchandise! Score!

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This Week’s Fave Recipe

Greek Marinated Chicken

Last week I went to the farmer’s market and picked up some of our favorite homemade pita chips and hummus from the Hummus Heaven guys. I searched Pinterest for a Greek marinade for the chicken we were having for dinner and tried a marinade from Aunt Bee’s Recipes. I didn’t have time to marinate the chicken overnight but managed 5 hours. That evening I dusted off our indoor grill and cooked the chicken and it tasted as good as it smelled! It was a hit! This recipe is going on our regular meal rotation.

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This Week’s Fave Movie

Crazy Rich Asians

I’m a big fan of a rom com movie but it’s been awhile since I’ve seen one that I really loved. That changed on Wednesday night when I went to go see Crazy, Rich Asians. It was sweet and cute but also had depth, dealing with issues of race, class and self worth. Visually the movie was stunning, the actors (male and female) were gorgeous, the music fun and some of the comedy was  literally LOL. The level of “crazy rich” was almost unbelievable (especially when you consider the rest of the population in Singapore) but it also served as a “character” in the movie. I really enjoyed it!

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This Week’s Fave Book

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Normally, when there is a movie based on a book, I read the book first. I broke that rule with Crazy, Rich Asians and am reading the book now. So far I am also loving it and the added insight into the movie.

~ 5 ~

This Week’s Fave Activity

Girls’ Night Out

It is so easy to get caught up in the busyness of life, and although I often crave the company of other females, I admit it is usually at the bottom of my priority list. Add that to the fact that by 9:00 PM, I am ready to hit the couch with my pj’s and Netflix. As a result, I don’t have many girls’ nights out. However, with the start of our local Blessed Is She group, I now have a group of ladies (granted, I’m the mom figure of the group) to spend quality time with. It is a blessing to find friends that are both fun and women of God who freely share about their faith, joys and struggles. This particular night, one of the Blessed Is She Team Writers was in town so I was especially excited to see Samantha and her cute baby bump again. Cheers to the power of sisterhood.

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This Week’s Fave Catholic Item

 Talavera Holy Water Fonts

A friend of mine is moving away to another state. I wanted to get her something for her new home that would remind her of our city and the Mission. So I picked up this pretty Talavera holy water font. I loved it so much, I bought two so I could replace our old water font. I love the colors and hung it on the wall by our front door. We use it to bless ourselves before leaving the house each morning. I love it. I tried to find a link to buy them and they are available at Amazon, but the shipping is pricey.

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This Week’s Fave New Food

Photo credit: Dreamworks

Dumplings

Summer is winding down and the boys and I have been enjoying our movie nights while they last. We had a Kung Fu Panda marathon and over the week finished the three movies. They were curious about what dumplings tasted like since they’ve never tried them. To be honest, I’m not sure what’s the difference between dumplings, won tons and pot stickers, which I use in my won ton soup. However, they wanted to try the round dumplings seen in the movies. We happened to be in Costco yesterday and we found Bibigo Steamed Dumplings on sale. Two of my three little guys are picky eaters (the youngest loves almost anything!) so I wasn’t sure how they’d like them but they were a big hit. However, we didn’t care for the sauce that came in the package. I still have enough dumplings for another meal but would like to make my own dipping sauce. Any suggestions for favorite recipes? Maybe one day I’ll be brave enough to make my own dumplings but for now, let’s start with the sauce. 😉

Okay, that’s it for now!

Those are my favorites of the week! What have you been enjoying?

Have a great weekend!

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify. 😉

Are you ready to link up?? Here are the rules.

1. Create a post with your Friday Favorites.

2. Add a link back here so others can play along.

3. If you want to add the logo to your post, here is the html.

<p style=”text-align: center;”><img class=”aligncenter wp-image-10649″ src=”http://revolutionoflove.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/fri_fave_logo_640.jpg” alt=”” width=”500″ height=”500″ /></p>

4. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address. The link-up will be open for three weeks. Have fun!

Happy Friday, friends! Welcome to Friday Favorites & link-up. (Note, next month I’ll be doing Friday Favorites on the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month.) I’m glad you could join me! Here are this week’s favorites. 🙂

Since I have seven faves, I’m also linking up with Kelly for 7 Quick Takes.

(Note: Revolution of Love is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.)

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This Week’s Fave Body Wash for Guys/Boys

Everyone soap

When Brian first got cancer years back, we switched from our traditional soaps to brands that were phthalate free and plant based. Brian didn’t want anything too flowery smelling so I got him the Everyone Soap for Every Man in the cedar and citrus fragrance. He loved it and since it can be used as body wash and shampoo, it’s one less product I have to buy. Personally, I love the way he smells. 😉 Plus, now that the boys are getting older (and let’s face it, smelling of stronger boy sweat) I’m ready to switch them over to the soap as well.

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This Week’s Fave Catholic/Christian (& Pop Culture) Books for Kids

I love books that engage kids with something fun that they love (ie Legos and Minecraft) and teach them something valuable at the same time. I bought these two books for my boys (ages 11, 9 & 7) and they love them. I love that they are learning about God and their faith.

Catechism of the Seven Sacraments (Lego Style) by Mary O’Neill Kevin O’Neill

Back of Book Description:

Join your friendly guides Fulton and Cynthia on a biblical adventure as they journey from creation to salvation and discover the importance of God’s sanctifying grace. Set in a vivid comic-book format with stunning photographs, this book makes profound theological concepts accessible to both the Catholic and the curious, the child and the adult. Following Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s teachings on Covenant Theology, this book sheds light on the parallels between the Old Testament and the New Testament and the sacraments instituted by Christ that we experience today. Readers will develop a deeper understanding of salvation history, discover how to participate in God’s covenant, and learn how to obtain grace through the sacraments, which are essential on our lifelong journey to the Eternal Promised Land.

A Peek Inside:

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The Unofficial Holy Bible for Minecrafters: A Children’s Guide to the Old and New Testament by Garrett Romines & Christopher Miko

Back of Book Description:

Minecraft has swept the world by storm. More than one hundred million games have been sold. Parents of children who play Minecraft will love this fun, educational collection of Bible stories. With the world of Minecraft as a backdrop using vivid, full-color screenshots, children will experience the Bible as never before. Authors Garrett Romines and Christopher Miko are teachers who have used Minecraft to create imaginative worlds in their classrooms. Now, they have created Bible stories with virtual blocks to produce vibrant, 3-D worlds filled with adventure and astonishing imagination. With fascinating scripture and narrative simplified to teach young readers, this is the perfect gift. The images created are not only of magnificent, vast terrains often found in Minecraft but also feature artfully re-created Bible characters, such as Adam and Eve, and superb designs of the pyramids and Noah’s ark. A range of biblical characters such as Jesus and Pharaoh are offered in fun, colorful scenes kids will treasure. Engaging stories including the Tower of Babel and the story of Abram and Lot, to name a few, are here. With over 470 images, young readers will explore the story of creation, the journey of Abraham, David and Goliath, Moses’s great journey, the birth of Jesus, the Last Supper, and many more stories! The Unofficial Holy Bible for Minecrafters makes the Bible more entertaining, engaging, and accessible for children than ever!

A Peek Inside:

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This Week’s Fave Quiet Time Activity

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Letter Writing

I have always loved writing and receiving snail mail but seriously, who’s got the time? However, I just finished reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which I loved, and the entire book is a collection of letters and correspondence. It stirred up such a longing to write a letter that I dusted off a few old pen pal addresses and wrote some letters and notes.

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This Week’s Fave Back to School Activity

School Supply Shopping

I always loved back to school shopping as a kid and that love has never gone away. I took the kids to get their supplies and is it just me or do those lists get longer every year?! We’ll be eating all the meals in our freezer to help pay for it. It probably didn’t help that I had a few back to school purchases as well. (I knew I should have stayed away from that Staples clearance shelf.) As for the movie, I mostly do digitals but I got the Blu-ray since A Quiet Place was one of my top faves of 2018. And the dark chocolate? No explanation needed.

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This Week’s Fave Local Find

Sharp Corners Sports Card Shop

My 11 year old has been collecting football cards for a couple years. He kept asking me if they had any card shops and I told him I didn’t think they had sport card shops anymore, except in the larger cities like LA or San Francisco. I was curious and googled it and was surprised to find out there was a card shop right here in Monterey. We visited the shop and the owner was really friendly and loved to chat. He said there were only around 250 (I think that was the number) card shops left in the US. Luckily, he’s been in business for over 20 years and he knows his stuff. He asked Andrew who his favorite teams were (the Packers and the Chargers) and he helped him find the cards he was looking for and gave him advice about how to buy the best packs. Andrew was ecstatic and that made my mama heart very happy. 🙂

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This Week’s Fave Youtube Video

Evolution of Dance

This video is old but the boys and I can’t stop watching it. They loved the dancing and want to try a few moves.

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This Week’s Fave Giveaway

Planner Goodies Birthday Box

I love giveaways and I love planner goodies so I thought I’d remind you that there is one week left to enter the Birthday Box Giveaway! Good luck!

Okay, that’s it for now!

Those are my favorites of the week! What have you been enjoying?

Have a great weekend!

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify. 😉

Are you ready to link up?? Here are the rules.

1. Create a post with your Friday Favorites.

2. Add a link back here so others can play along.

3. If you want to add the logo to your post, here is the html.

<p style=”text-align: center;”><img class=”aligncenter wp-image-10649″ src=”http://revolutionoflove.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/fri_fave_logo_640.jpg” alt=”” width=”500″ height=”500″ /></p>

4. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address. The link-up will be open for three weeks. Have fun!

Happy Friday, friends! Welcome to Friday Favorites (a link-up posting every 1st and 3rd Friday.) I’m glad you could join me! Here are this week’s favorites. 🙂

(Note: Revolution of Love is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Also, there are Target affiliate links in this post.)

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This Week’s Fave Bathing Suit Company

Photo credit: Swim Ricki

Lime Ricki Swimwear

After weeks of grey, gloomy weather I am ecstatic that today I finally see blue skies! It was hilarious to walk around town and hear various people talking about today’s “heat wave,” which means we’ve hit 75 degrees. Now before you send me hateful death threats, know that to go from 55 degrees to 75 degrees in a day does make it seem like it is hot. Although, after spending a week in the high dessert of SoCal, I firmly believe that people who live in constant summer heat will not spend a moment in purgatory because they have suffered enough.

Anyway, my point is that the warm weather means we can also bring out the bathing suits and not have to wear a jacket over them. Getting trunks and swim tops for the boys is as easy and walking into Target but finding something for your teen daughter is a purgatory in itself. Everything is too low cut in the chest, too high cut in the leg or there’s just not enough material in the first place. Sigh. We wanted to find something that was cute and modern but still modest. (Although modest is a relative term since some families prefer totally covered up swimwear. We wanted a happy medium.)

Thankfully, we found Lime Ricki Swimwear.They have so many cute designs and cuts. Bella got the Blooms tankini (pictured above) and paired them with boy shorts similar to these The suits are pricey but we found them worth every penny.

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This Week’s Fave Toy

Tevelo Marble Coaster

When the boys are tired of playing outside and mom doesn’t let them have their iPads, they rediscover forgotten toys. One of this summer’s favorites has been the Trevelo Marble Coaster. Thankfully, my oldest was able to help his younger brothers put it together because I got a headache just looking at the directions. After that they had fun taking it apart and making their own creations.

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This Week’s Fave Reading Incentive

The Local Library Reading Rewards Program

Our local library participates in the iRead Summer Reading Program and it has been a great incentive for the boys to read over the summer. They have a log book and mark every 15 minutes of reading they complete. For every ten hours of reading completed, they get a prize. Today they went in and collected the prizes they earned so far – toys, puzzles, as well as free ice cream and pizza. The boys loved it and I love that it takes little pushing from me to make them pick up a book.

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This Week’s Fave Treat

Dolphin Cookies at Cafe Carmel

After a walk around town and our visit to the library, I let the boys stop at one of their favorite bakeries and get a dolphin cookie. (I may or may not have also picked up a slice of chocolate covered cheesecake to share with Bella.) 😉

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This Week’s Classic Kids’ Movie

PeeWee’s Big Adventure

With summer here we have been enjoying family movies nights after family prayer. We take turns picking out movies and on my days I’ve been choosing movies I remember watching with my younger brothers and sisters. Last week we watched Homeward Bound. This week I chose Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure since I just saw another mom on IG post that it was their summer movie pick. At first they were a little weirded out asking, “What’s wrong with this guy? Is he a kid or a man?” After explaining what a man-child was that it was all just for fun, they got into it and were belly laughing by the end. It brought back so many funny family memories. (Right now the movie is available free on Amazon Prime.)

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This Week’s Fave Goal Making Tool

Lara Casey’s Powersheets

Now that June is over and July is here, it was time for me to review my goals and change a few things for my mid-year goals. I was happy to see that a few of my smaller goals were accomplished and it gave me a chance to work on some other areas of my life. The whole reason I got into goals (which seemed totally foreign to my life at first) was the discovery of Lara Casey’s Powersheets a few years back. Her philosophy of doing what matters and working within the elements of your vocation and season of life, made goals not only feasible but desirable. I have since been a fan and love the changes it made in my life.

I won’t get more into it here because I wrote a separate post all about it that I’ll be posting on Monday morn. 🙂

Okay, that’s it for now!

Those are my favorites of the week! What have you been enjoying?

Have a great weekend!

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify. 😉

Are you ready to link up?? Here are the rules.

1. Create a post with your Friday Favorites.

2. Add a link back here so others can play along.

3. If you want to add the logo to your post, here is the html.

<p style=”text-align: center;”><img class=”aligncenter wp-image-10649″ src=”http://revolutionoflove.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/fri_fave_logo_640.jpg” alt=”” width=”500″ height=”500″ /></p>

4. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address. The link-up will be open for three weeks. Have fun!

Happy Friday, friends! Welcome to Friday Favorites (a link-up posting every 1st and 3rd Friday.) I’m glad you could join us. 🙂

I love Instagram and often I’ll get a question about something I showed in my Instastories. So today I am going to answer some of the recent questions you’ve asked me about items you saw on my feed. Here are this week’s favorites…

(Note: Revolution of Love is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Also, there are Target affiliate links in this post.)

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This Week’s Fave Question:

Where did you get that icon?

We have lots of icons in our house and this icon of the Sacred Heart in our entryway is from the Printery House.

You can’t see it fully in this photo, but we also have on the prayer table their Holy Family icon.

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This Week’s Fave Question:

Where did you get that dress?

As you know, I am not a dress person. I grudgingly wear dresses two days out of the year – Christmas and Easter – and that’s only to please my mother-in-law.

If you read my blog or follow me on social media, you know that I actually found a dress I liked for my brother’s wedding and it was a big deal that it was a bright floral pink and not a -blend-into-the-background black.

I loved the dress so much and got so many compliments, I thought I’d try another dress for Bella’s Confirmation. I chose this one.
That too was a hit and I purchased a third dress for my mother-in-law’s upcoming birthday party. (Three new dresses in less than 6 months, I think that will totally count as my present to her.)

There were a number of people asking where I bought the dresses. They all came from Target! Target is my happy place and they have always had cute clothes in regular sizes and so-so clothes for plus sizes. Well, not anymore. There are a lot of cute options, especially in dresses. I especially love that some of these dresses (such as the black one with white and pink stripes) goes from size small to plus. (Although sizes may be limited at the time of this post.)

So maybe it wasn’t that I wasn’t a dress person. I just hadn’t found a dress I really liked yet. 🙂

(One note to Target: The casual shoes don’t do justice to how much cuter the dresses looks with nicer shoes. If you want variety, show it dressed up and dressed down!)

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This Week’s Fave Question:

Did you make that chicken? Do you have a recipe?

Sadly, I cannot take credit for these delicious Grilled Mediterranean-Style Chicken Skewers.

Photo credit: Instacart.com

The brand is West End Cuisine and I purchased them from Costco. You just heat, serve and enjoy!

~ 4 ~

This Week’s Fave Question:

Where did you get that rosary?

I got this (and a number of other beautiful rosaries) from Andrea’s shop GracePlusGlam.com. They are so gorgeous I want to pick them up and pray the rosary! 🙂

~ 5 ~

This Week’s Fave Question:

Where did you get Brian’s beard balm? What are his favorites?

I purchased Brian’s beard balm from Catholic Balm Co. As soon as I convinced brian to try growing a beard, I purchased a bunch of these. He (and I) have been hooked ever since. His favorite smells are Chrism and Holy Smokes. If you get on their mailing list you’ll also find out about limited edition smells during certain holidays and feast days. As the one who gets to smell him, I am a big fan! 😉

~ 6 ~

This Week’s Fave Question:

Where did you get that cute Star Wars backpack?

I love this bag! I use it for every trip to Disneyland (the frequency is increasing) and whenever I go to one of my kids’ field trips. It is called Loungefly Star Wars Tattoo Flash Print Backpack and I bought it at Amazon.

~ 7 ~

This Week’s Fave Questions (Bonus Round)

What are your favorite pens to write with? 

This post answers that question – My Favorite Stationary, Pens, Stickers and Planner and Hand Lettering Supplies

* * *

How do I set up a prayer table?

This post should help – A Sacred Space for Family Prayer

* * *

Can I buy a copy of your Come Holy Spirit Prayer Card?

No, you can’t buy it but Yes, you may have it for free! I made this Prayer to the Holy Spirit card and put a copy in my Google Drive folder. Here is the PDF you can download. Enjoy!

* * *

How do I find time to pray when I am so busy?

That one deserves more than a simple answer so I will write a post this month sharing my thoughts. 🙂

Okay, that’s it for now!

Those are my favorites of the week! What have you been enjoying?

I’m also linking up with Kelly for this week’s 7 Quick Takes.

Have a great weekend!

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify. 😉

Are you ready to link up?? Here are the rules.

1. Create a post with your Friday Favorites.

2. Add a link back here so others can play along.

3. If you want to add the logo to your post, here is the html.

<p style=”text-align: center;”><img class=”aligncenter wp-image-10649″ src=”http://revolutionoflove.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/fri_fave_logo_640.jpg” alt=”” width=”500″ height=”500″ /></p>

4. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address. The link-up will be open for three weeks. Have fun!