Friday Favorites

To wear the green wool coat or to not wear the coat is today’s big question. I found this coat in the perfect Notre Dame green at the beginning of fall and immediately thought it would be perfect for Eddie’s last home football game tomorrow night. What I didn’t anticipate was it being 51 degrees at kickoff! These temps on the bubble just kill me every time. First world football mom problems for sure!

I’ve been thinking a lot about Eddie’s last home game this week and how he’s approaching yet another big milestone–the end of his football career. (He has been playing football since he was six!) His football journey at Notre Dame has been bigger than anything any of us could have ever imagined.

In anticipation of the senior game, Notre Dame interviewed all of the parents of the senior football players. One of the questions they asked was what was Eddie like as a child. I like to say that Eddie was the one who taught me what parenting was all about. Our daughter Grace was such a straight arrow–she pretty much did anything we asked. Eddie was not like that. At all! He was always looking for the fun and I was always worried he was going to get into trouble. But I think it was the very things that made parenting him so hard that made him so successful at Notre Dame. When Eddie was younger, he was always testing the limits. He wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. He approached everything as if he had nothing to lose. You can imagine how fun these things made him as a teenager with a curfew! However, it’s exactly this confidence that he was born with that convinced him he could be a football player at Notre Dame. He believed he could do it…and he did.

There are so many lessons in all of this, in watching your kids go after something that’s tough, experience really big highs (starting on special teams at the end of his junior year) and really deep lows (tearing his ACL and MCL during spring ball before his senior year), and come through it with the belief that they can do anything they put their minds to.

I’ve been worried that Eddie was going to regret investing in a fifth year (he decided to get a masters and play one more year of football). But he put my mind at ease last weekend when he came home to shop for some interview clothes. He told me that this bonus year helped him close this chapter on football, that he was ready for what comes next. Eddie was pretty sure that if he hadn’t taken on this year, he might have always wondered what might have been had he not given it a go. He also believes what we as his parents and cheering section all know to be absolutely true–the really good stuff is still to come.

You can tell I’ve been feeling all those mom things this week, but that hasn’t stopped me from keeping a list of some fun things to share with you. Let’s go!

• Thanksgiving Outfit Inspo: If you’re having trouble figuring out what you would like to wear for Thanksgiving, I put together a blog post earlier this week with a few ideas.

• Faherty Brand Opens in Lake Forest: I was so excited to be in downtown Lake Forest earlier today and see that Faherty Brand–a New York-based clothing retailer–has opened in time for you to do your holiday shopping. It’s in the space that once housed my beloved J. Crew in Market Square. I think I heard this is the 60th store Faherty Brand has opened. They occupy both floors in this space and have men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing. And, they were giving out chocolate chip cookies from Levain Bakery when I was there so I highly recommend stopping by this weekend and welcoming their team to town!

• Quick dinner recipe: In my sister group chat this week, my sister Betsy shared this easy recipe for sloppy joes. My sister Maggie and I both made them for our families and they got rave reviews all around (they are more savory than sweet!). This is a great dinner idea if you have lots of after-school activities.

• Quilted patchwork jacket: I’m obsessed with the quilted patchwork jackets I’m seeing on TikTok and Instagram but haven’t yet pulled the trigger. Although, this one from Julia Amory might be going on my birthday list.

• Black Friday Comes Early: I can’t believe all of the Black Friday sales that are already underway. Mango, J. McLaughlin, Printfresh, J.Crew–all of my favorites–are offering at least 30% off items this weekend. It’s a good time to start getting ahead of some of your holiday gifting.

• Shop Local Gift Guide: Speaking of holiday gifting, I’m pulling together a selection of gifts from North Shore’s best retailers for the 2023 holidays that will kick off in December. If you have a local business and would like to participate, please feel free to reach out to me.

I think that’s all for this week. I apologize in advance for spamming you with lots of Notre Dame football content this weekend. It is so much fun being the mom to these kids! So incredibly grateful for all of it!

Have a super weekend!

xo,

Photo of me by Elizabeth Kelley

Disclaimer: If you purchase an item through a link in this post, I do make a small commission–almost as if I were your personal shopper. I only share what I love and I promise to let you know if I’m specifically working with a brand to help promote their products.