5 on Friday

Happy Friday, everyone! Unfortunately, I am working the entire weekend which I am not excited about because I just got over a 7 day sickness. However, I am excited to be linking up with Smidge of This and Carolina Charm for 5 on Friday. Head over and link up yourself and post about 5 things on your mind. 

1.  I had such a fun Valentine's Day with Will. I must admit, the best in a long time. He surprised me with a stunning bouquet, a dinner at a gorgeous restaurant on Monday, and Rose treats from L'Occitane, my favorite. 

I am enjoying them as they brighten up my family room. I am so ready for Spring so that these bright colors can infiltrate my wardrobe again. 

Loving this sheepskin run that I found at TJ Maxx, my guilty pleasure store. 

Although hard to see, the moon over the city from our view at dinner was divine. It looked like a harvest moon though this is so difficult to capture in a photo. I was sick and trying to stifle my coughing fits in between my bites of scallops and shrimp in a cajun cream sauce...how romantic. 

2.  That day I walked into Dillard's and walked out with an entire outfit for under $100 within 2 hours. I cannot remember the last time I did that. Everything was on deep discount, and I love my knack for finding everything in clearance! I wanted something beautiful and unique that I hadn't worn before for dinner. 

3.  I shipped out my first order of prints for a very happy mermaid loving customer this week. You can shop this print and many other pretty options either on Instagram by following @paintingsbyrachael or by shopping at my tab above, also linked here. 

4. Breaking in for a little review of LUSH bath bombs here...I must admit, I was not the biggest fan. 

Avo-Bath

I never used to be a fan of bath bombs, but I had a coworker recently recommend LUSH bath bombs to me and I happened to run into a boutique unexpectedly in Pennsylvania. I just picked up one bath bomb to see if I liked it, and I was very impressed. I chose the Avo-Bath for the hints of citrus. It was soothing to my skin, and supposedly the products are vegan and handmade which I love the concept of. My only worry is over time they will start to irritate my skin because later in the evening I started to itch everywhere, and I mean everywhere.

 I would definitely recommend it once in a while for a relaxing bath as long as you shower after to remove it all from your skin and replenish your skin with an oatmeal or shea based lotion afterwards at the very least to replace the moisture lost in a hot tub. I am a firm believer that aromas can calm and soothe, and I think that would be the main selling point to make me go back for more. 

5.  I am the biggest fan of these SIREN candles. I am not a fan of the fact that they are poured in Vietnam (um hello, do I need to be worried about lead in my candle?!) but I love to place them around the home. The smell is delicious. All of them are based on "sea scents" and they truly give me nostalgia for the ocean in the summer. I think the Moonlit Orchid is my favorite, followed by Sea Glass. If you only like candles made in the USA like Yankee, which is my personal favorite, these candles are rich enough to scent a room without burning. The gold rim just looks so classy! 

Hope you all have a good weekend!

XOXO,