TGIF, friends…and after a busy week, I’m literally counting down the hours till our traditional Friday pizza and movie night! We had a bunch of late evenings this week, mostly due to Miss Azelie’s four-month sleep regression, but also due to the prep and execution of a mini shoot Emily and I did! If you’ve been following along since my Southern Weddings days, you probably know that Emily and I used to crisscross the Southeast every spring to bring the magazine’s editorial shoots to life (this, this, and this are three of my all-time favorites, for both the photos and the memories). It feels like forever ago, but with some work things up in the air right now, I found myself craving the feeling of hands-on creativity. We pulled something sweet and special together that will hopefully inspire your Fourth of July celebrations for this unique year. Stay tuned :)

1. Elisabeth & Butter never steers me wrong when it comes to desserts! I made these blueberry hand pies for our shoot and they were as easy to make as they were delicious.

2. I don’t know why it took me so long to pick this up, but I FLEW through One Beautiful Dream, by Jennifer Fulwiler. I feel as though I’ve heard a lot of the same messages again and again when it comes to the parenting/working/pursuing passions/mom guilt conversation, many of which haven’t resonated with me much, but this book was different. It also made me laugh out loud multiple times! Excited to read her Your Blue Flame next.

3. One amusingly exciting moment of the week was scoring a Nugget for our upstairs bonus room! Their restock went live on Thursday at noon and they were apparently sold out by 12:01, so I’m kind of shocked that we were one of the lucky ones. We got it in Beanstalk, the prettiest emerald green, and we are PUMPED. So fun to support a company that is right down the road from us, too!

4. If you share my love for baby names/baby name stories, this Blessed Is She post is such a fun read! (P.S. Find the stories behind Charlie’s name here and Azelie’s name here.)

5. Of course, things can change in a day’s notice, but as of right now, we are planning to be in Virginia Beach with the whole Kirk crew in a month! Before the trip, picking up a new beach bag is at the top of my to-do list…the obnoxious pink striped Victoria’s Secret tote I got for free at least a decade ago is not cutting it anymore ;) This one is at the top of my list–giant, durable, and inexpensive enough that I won’t be too upset if the elements take their toll. The rose gold makes for a fun classic-with-a-twist feel!

Inspired by my current eagerness for Friday pizza night, I thought back to a fun post from the Something Pretty archives, “Five Things Always in My Fridge.” Along with homemade pizza ingredients (which I’m counting as one thing so as to not take up 4/5!), we always have almond milk, Kerrygold dubliner cheese, broccoli florets, and deli turkey on hand nowadays. What about you?

Happy weekend!