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My favorite athleisure tank

Earlier this week, I shared in a post that I’ve been feeling like I’m in a lull. A follower commented sharing an article about “Languishing” at this point in the pandemic. It does have a paywall (sorry!), but I also wanted to share it here if you found it interesting!

There are a handful of factors at play that I know is contributing to this feeling of apathy and creative lull, and I know it’s temporary, but I really appreciated the kind comments on that post.

I’ve been listening to the new John Mayer album, it’s good easy listening. Before this past week, I don’t think I’ve listened to John Mayer in yearsssss. It’s been one of my favorite albums to listen to while I’m in the kitchen either cooking or cleaning

It was National Lipstick Day on Thursday, one of my favorite “made-up” holidays, and I shared a handful of my favorite shades on this post!

My folks arrived yesterday for a little visit and my sister and I have been brainstorming some “touristy” things to do in Raleigh while they are here. We easily slip into repetitive activities and restaurants and while there is certainly something to be said for a guaranteed great time or meal, it’s also fun to stretch out past the usual sometimes. I asked locals to offer their suggestions of some family-oriented or simply fun things to do, and here were their top suggestions:

Things to do:

Marbles Kids Museum – we’ve been here tons of times, it’s a great museum for kids.

Pullen Park – a great park near downtown Raleigh with a train and other small rides.

Hike at Umstead – I’ve been on a few hikes at Umstead but it’s been a while. Loved this idea.

Farmers Market – Raleigh does have a pretty incredible Farmers Market. I thought it would be fun to do a version of the show Chopped and require that most of the ingredients must come from the Farmers Market. Maybe we can do that!

Sunflower Field at Dorthea Dix park – I’ve never seen the sunflowers there and I’m afraid we missed peak season!

Drive Shack – This doesn’t feel great for kids but it’s fun for adults!

Lake Johnson boat rental – I’ve run or walked around this lake plenty of times but never rented a boat!

Boxcar – a fun bar/arcade for adults

Food/Restaurants:

Jolie 

Crawford and Son

Crosstown Pub in Cary

Fresh Local Ice Cream – I can personally share that this ice cream is AMAZING.

Bittersweet 

Hayes Barton

Morgan Street Food Hall – this made it to our shortlist of places to try this weekend!

Videri Chocolate

And here are a few things I mentioned on Instagram Stories recently that you may have missed: 

Full coverage foundation Lancome Tint Idol in 260 (310 is also a shade I use when I have a tan because it matches my skin tone really nicely!)

Artis makeup brushes

Makeup For Ever Concealer

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer

Virtue 6-in-1 styler

Ilia Beauty – Skin tint, multi stick blush, lip balm in “hold me”

Smartless Podcast

This American Life Podcast

Lake Pajamas robe

Green Old Navy Dress

 

This week’s discount codes (#partnerships): 

Chatbooks: KATE20 for 20% off your first order

Megababe: Use code MEGAKATE15 for 15% off your order

Miranda Frye: “Smallthings10” will get you 10% off and free shipping!

Spanx: Use code “Katexspanx” for 10% off plus free shipping!

Beddy’s: Code “SmallThings” saves you 20%!

 

Questions from the Monday Morning Q&A box:

What tablets do your kids use? they use iPads!

Do you and your husband ever play board games together? Only when we’re with my family, he’s otherwise not much of a board game kind of guy!

Do you still recommend Shani Darden products? I’ve used the retinol and the eye cream and still love the retinol!

Do you have a brand of sunscreen you prefer for the kids? I really love Supergoop or SunBum!

Do you make to-do lists? I rely heavily on Evernote and iCal!

Is it okay to blend a moisturizer with foundation? It is! It may cause the foundation to separate oddly so it’s worth a test before wearing it out of the house but generally, I find it to simply thin the foundation out for a more sheer finish.

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Susan Thomas says · 07.30.21

If you go to Drive Shack on a weekday before noon there are lots of kids there, maybe not preschool age, but certainly elementary age kids. They have child size clubs and they can try to hit the monsters with golf balls. We keep it very light, no serious score keeping, and order some snacks. It’s also much less expensive at that time to day.

Reply
Clare says · 07.30.21

Hi Kate!

Love that idea of doing a Chopped show with some ingredients from Farmer’s market near you! You should do it with your sis Lauren!

Reply
Danielle says · 07.31.21

I had such a great time clicking through this post sweetie!

Danielle | thereluctantblogger.co.uk

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Sara says · 08.01.21

Thank you for the list of things to do in Raleigh! I am getting ready for a Raleigh staycation with some friends who want to visit next month. Great ideas for things to do! Looking forward to doing touristy things here after living here for over 8 years.

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Cathy Womack says · 08.02.21

Can you tell me which half baked harvest book you have?

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