Hello and welcome back to Day 2 of Favorite Things 2018! If you missed Day 1, you can find them all here. Here are 3 more super talented ladies ready to share their favs! Enjoy!!

1. Kristyn at Lil’ Luna

2. Allison at Hello Allison Blog

3.  Kara at Creations by Kara

See you back here tomorrow for more Favorite Things! Happy Tuesday

Welcome to the 9th annual Favorite Things at 320 Sycamore! 9 years?! Can you believe it? It’s always such a fun week! We will be sharing favorite things all week but today I’m so excited to welcome three lovely ladies. Just click on their names to go to their blogs to see their favorites in 2018.

1. Sara at Twelve on Main

2. Jackie at Finding Lovely

3. Kara at Life with Fingerprints

4. Kristyn at Lil’ Luna

5. Allison at Hello Allison Blog

6.  Kara at Creations by Kara

7. Melody Warnick: my friend and author!

8.  a guest post from my sister-in-law Natalie!

9. Kelli & Kristi at Lolli Jane:

10. Favorite Things at 320 Sycamore

Of course there is more to come tomorrow and each day this week!! If you would like to look back, here are some past years:

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

Enjoy all of the favorite things and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.”  - John Holmes

Photo credit: Finnbar O’Reilly

Thank you, Veterans.

* Joanna interview & farmhouse tour on the Today Show!

* My 11-year old auditioned at Guilliard and we both learned a lot about how top performers practice at Business Insider

and DEALS! These are the prices when I hit publish, they can change or run out at anytime:

* Fire Kids is the lowest it ever went last year (even Black Friday/Cyber Monday!) at $69.99  It comes with a 2 year guarantee, kid-proof case

* lowest price: Rubbermaid Lunch Blox kit only $5.59 Great reviews!!

* I know these are a HOT toy of the season and this is the lowest price I’ve seen: LOL Surprise Pearl Ball only $26.99 when you use code FALL10 at checkout

* lowest price on the R2D2 App-Enabled Droid $54.19

* another amazing Echo deal: get an Amazon Echo PLUS you’ll get an Amazon Echo Dot for $99 – usually just the Echo is $99. More about my love for Echos here. We have the Echo in the kitchen and use it to connect to all of our Echo Dots.

* lowest price: Lodge 2 qt Cast Iron Dutch Oven $18.59

* this dropped back down to lowest price again! LEGO City Advent Calendar $21.97

* Crazy low price on a tripod for smartphones, cameras, GoPros – only $9.99

* today only! Magformers are the Deal of the Day at Amazon – we LOVE these, they are a non-electronic toy that your kids will love and then you will save for the grandkids. I won’t buy unless they are less than $1 a piece, so these are great deals.

* Did you know that some items from Target’s Dollar Spot (Bullseye’s Playground) are now online?? I loved these little jar place holders with the little trees and snow!

and their bottle brushes are the favorite I’ve seen this season for the price!

* lowest price: Conair 1875 Watt Hair Dryer $11.88

* lowest price: Paw Patrol Lookout Tower will only be $56.99 when you Text TOY to 827438 and get your unique coupon code to use once.

Highly Anticipated Newly Released Books:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown Hardcover $8.37

Homebody by Joanna Gaines  $23.99

* Sam’s Club is having their big 1 Day Sale – it begins tonight online at 12 a.m. Eastern Time!

Crazy Lego Deals – these are so great for toy drives and to keep in the birthday closet:

* lowest price: Lego Brick Headz Harry Potter & Hedwig $11.97

* lowest price: LEGO Jungle Cargo Helicopter $11.99

* lowest price: LEGO Sea Rescue Plane $11.99

* lowest price: LEGO City Coast Guard $24.99

and at Target you can get this Lego Cargo Terminal for only $50.99 PLUS you’ll get a $10 giftcard!! I love buying at Target because I can buy online and return in-store in case someone changes their mind.

Stocking Stuffer Ideas:

* lowest price: UNO Jurassic Park $4.97

* Rook Cards $3.99

* lowest price: Pete's Dragon DVD $5.74

Pantry stock up:

* lowest price: Amazon Basics Unscented Wipes, 9 pack $12.82

* lowest price: Mrs. Meyers basil multi-surface concentrate 2-pack/ 32 oz $10 when you clip the coupon and choose subscribe & save.

* lowest price: Ziploc XL Sandwich Bags 3 pack $6 when you clip the coupon & choose subscribe and save.

* lowest price: Cottonelle 24 roll pack $17.98 when you clip the coupon and choose subscribe & save.

* lowest price: Mrs Meyers 3 pack dish soap, hand soap, multi-surface cleaner $10.17

* lowest price: Quaker Simply Granola Oats, Honey, Almonds 2 pack $6.54 when you clip the coupon

* lowest price: Crest Cavity Protection 6.4 oz 3 Pack $5.00

Hello! I was talking with my sisters (do you use Marco Polo??) and one of the topics we frequently discuss is: what’s for dinner?? Some share beautiful, gourmet recipes and another time a sister shared that Walmart french toast sticks are the best things ever. Love my sisters! I realized I love to see what people are having for dinner to get new ideas because we definitely get stuck in a rut around here.  So, I thought I’d share my 2 week meal plan with links to the recipes and perhaps that would be helpful to you?

I make a plan but rarely stick exactly to it. Because sometimes I don’t feel like enchiladas or the night ends up being crazy busy and cereal it is!  But it’s nice to have the ingredients on hand and ideas right there.

I love the Food Nanny method (it’s free and she has great recipes and ideas too!) as a place to begin – where you have a theme each night to help you plan. We usually go with:

Monday: Meatless/leftovers

Tuesday: Mexican

Wednesday: Soup

Thursday: Italian

Friday--Date Night: Easy Peasy for the kids like Costco freezer what’s on rebate this month

Saturday: Pizza!

Sunday: Family Favorites

I used to scribble it down on a ruled sheet of school paper (totally works!) but have recently moved to keeping it on a Google Doc to easily copy, save, and move.

Monday: Alfredo / Caesar Salad / Bread  – For the alfredo I just use: 1 cup cream, 1 stick butter, 1 cup parmesan – easy to remember and to whisk together and add garlic to taste.

Tuesday: Pepperoncini Sandwiches (I use pork roast, the ones that come in a 4 pack at Costco) and Favorite Salad

Wednesday: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup (I need to post my recipe, this is an easy alternative) and Blueberry Muffins

Thursday: Instant Pot Tikka Masala 

Friday: Date Night! Chicken Tenders

Saturday: Pizza

Sunday: Favorite Pot Roast

******

Monday: Italian Shells

Tuesday: White Chicken Enchiladas

Wednesday: Tortellini Soup

Thursday: Upside Down Pizza and Green Beans

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: Date Night: Grilled Cheese

Sunday: Lemon Chicken

Happy Meal Planning – I hope this helps -- if you have some links to your favorites, let us know in the comments!