Welcome to the weekend, my friends! My boys are finally home from camp, we’re getting ready for the school year (8th grade, 12th grade, and second year of college are about to begin here), we have family visiting this week (YAY!), and I am very much looking forward to a return to routine this fall.

ON THE BLOGS this week: Perfectly sweetened and wonderfully spiced jam with just a hint of cinnamon, homemade peach jam has been a staple in our home for about 15 years.

This spinach orzo salad is filled with cranberries, creamy goat cheese, tender pasta, and plenty of fresh spinach tossed in a tangy sweet dressing. The salad can be served immediately or kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 days – making this an awesome make-ahead meal for lunch or dinner.

What’s not to love about a fully loaded pasta salad filled with chewy bites of bacon and chunks of hard-boiled eggs? This creamy pasta has a bright, smoky dressing made with just a few ingredients and it’s a perfect match for the bacon and eggs.

Crispy edges and tender insides make each bite of these garlicky red potatoes with parmesan cheese an experience worth savoring.

This peach Caprese salad is a vibrant medley of flavors and textures, crafted to tantalize your taste buds and transport you to a sunny orchard in the height of peach season.

Want to elevate roasted broccoli and cauliflower to a whole new level of deliciousness? Try tossing them with oil, garlic, and a dash of smoked paprika before roasting them together to tender-crisp perfection.

Indulge in nostalgic fruity fun with a plate of Fruity Pebbles pancakes. These colorful, fluffy pancakes are infused with the iconic flavor of Fruity Pebbles cereal. Snacked on out of hand or plated with whipped cream and a drizzle of syrup, they’re a treat.

Creamy vanilla ice cream perfectly complements the tangy sweetness of rhubarb in this rhubarb swirl ice cream. A simple rhubarb sauce is swirled throughout each bite for a tantalizing and refreshing treat that combines the sweet creaminess of ice cream with the zesty allure of rhubarb.

What I’m CRAVING: My friend Erin’s Big Mac Salad caught my eye last week and it needs to happen in my house soon. It reminds me of Rebecca’s

Hi hi! Happy Friday! The weekend is heeler. I’m sorry for being mostly MIA this week. The kids start school next week and we’ve been finishing up loose ends, and I’ve been working hard on my new program. All of the info will be emailed to newsletter subscribers on Monday, August 16. If you want the info first (+ a discount!) enter your email address here:

Other than that, we’ve been swimming, meeting up with the fam for dinner, and living the summer life. Liv has discovered Queer Eye and I’ve loved watching old episode with her.

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party! This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

Fashion + beauty:

New makeup! I had to toss all of mine twice (because of that eye thing) and finally got some new goodies. My favorite palettes ever are still on the site (two for $40!) and I also got this clay palette, mascara and primer (smaller bottles so I can get rid of them more often), eyeliner, and a new eyeshadow primer.

July Faves

It’s always fun to browse through analytics and see what your favorite products were from July! Here are the top products that I shared on the blog and on IG over the past month.

This dress! On sale right now and SO cute. The quality is excellent and I’ll wear it with heels or sandals.

This floral dress.

This swimsuit. Both of the kids have these, and they’re adorable and well-made.

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Creamy vanilla ice cream perfectly complements the tangy sweetness of rhubarb in this homemade rhubarb ice cream. A simple rhubarb sauce is swirled throughout each bite for a tantalizing and refreshing treat that combines the sweet creaminess of ice cream with the zesty allure of rhubarb.

What exactly is it about homemade ice cream that always tastes better than any other? Is it the fact we don’t have to leave the house to enjoy it?

Maybe it’s the nostalgia of churning ice cream on Grandma’s side porch that makes me smile, even though I very happily use an electric ice cream compressor to make ice cream now.

Whichever machine you choose to use (or not use) to make ice cream, I hope that you’ll love this rhubarb ice cream every bit as much as our family and friends do!

With over 70 ice cream recipes here to choose from, there’s sure to be an ice cream for everyone! Don’t miss the Ice Cream Maker Review for all the information you need to find the BEST Ice Cream Maker for your needs! Spoiler alert – our top-rated machine under $50 just might surprise you. It sure surprised me!

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Hi friends! How are you? I hope you’re enjoying the morning so far!!

For today’s post, I figured we’d have a little green juice date! While I wish I could have a green juice or coffee with you in real life, virtual will have to do for now. So please grab a green juice or coffee, let’s share a giant pastry, and catch up a bit on life!

If we were having green juice right now…

I’d ask you when the kids are going back to school. Ours go back next week and no one is ready for it. Usually by now, I’m like, “Ok, time to get back to life and a routine.” but not as excited this year. The kids have zero desire to go back, but I’ve been trying to get everyone excited by back-to-school shopping this week. I’ve loved having them home and our schedule is already packed through spring, so I’m just savoring this last week of jammies until 10am.

We’d probably talk about our adventures and travels from the summer. I already can’t wait to go back to Europe – even though it will probably be a couple of years – and thankfully, the kids loved it as much as we did. They can’t stop talking about the stunning beauty of Italy and Greece, and of course, they’re raving about the incredible food we indulged in. I feel like so many friends have had some amazing summer travels and I always love to hear about new spots + recommendations.

I’d want to know what you’ve been doing fitness-wise! Take any new classes or try anything fun lately? I’ve been sticking with my usual routine, but it’s been fun to add hot yoga back into my life (I missed it!) and also take some reformer and pvolve classes. (I’ll share a Focus On post for pvolve soon!) I haven’t been able to make it to F45 for most of the summer since the kids have been home, but have been embracing home workouts and a few studio classes here and there.

I’ve been working on keeping the intensity of workouts pretty minimal as my eyes have recovered, which brings me to the next topic..

If we were having green juice right now, I obviously consider you a close friend, so I’d tell you something that’s been on my heart a bit lately:

we did a bunch of labs to see if there were any indications of something that could have caused my eye issues. Most of the usually suspects came back normal, but two markers for an autoimmune issue came back positive.

My NP talked to rheumatology and she said since I don’t have any other symptoms, we can re-test in a few months as long as my eyes continue to improve. Sometimes acute inflammation (like the inflammation in my eyes) can trigger a positive on the test. I feel comforted by this, but also know that autoimmune stuff can unpredictable and sometimes lead to other issues. My NP also said that it could just stay like this and this is how my body responds/reacts… which is what I’m praying for, especi

This Spinach Orzo Salad is filled with cranberries, creamy goat cheese, tender pasta, and plenty of fresh spinach tossed in a tangy sweet dressing. The salad can be served immediately or kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 days – making this an awesome make-ahead meal for lunch or dinner.

Spinach Salad with Cranberries

The recipe was inspired by the Cranberry Orzo Salad that Princess Cruises serves in their International Cafe. It’s just so good! Tender pasta in a sweetly tangy dressing, with tart fresh cranberries and sliced almonds. Simple, fresh, and delicious.

I’ve included more cruise details at the bottom of the post here for anyone who is interested. As soon as I got home from our cruise through the British Isles, I immediately recreated the salad for my family.

As always, I loved the salad, but my guys? The kids decided that the fresh cranberries were too tart. (Crazy kids!)

So, the next time I made the salad, I went with dried cranberries and it was a win across the board. I like this salad every bit as much with dried cranberries as I do with fresh cranberries – and that’s an even bigger win, since fresh cranberries aren’t available more than a few weeks a year.

(And unless you’re lucky enough to have cranberries stashed in the freezer for this cake, you’ll be stuck waiting until the holidays to try this awesome salad.)

Spinach Orzo Salad

I took our salad to the next level by adding a generous portion of fresh baby spinach and warm chicken. Both the chicken and the spinach made it a heartier meal for my family.

And as far as my guys are concer