Check out our Friday Favorites and see what we’re each shopping for this week! It’s that time of the year for bathing suits and graduation parties. Keep reading to see what we found!
We’ve got some fun ideas for you this week! Anne is planning for a family vacation trip this month to celebrate her son’s graduation from college, so she’s been bathing suit and coverup shopping.
AnnMarie is busy planning her daughter Emma’s high school graduation party and shopping for all things to throw the best backyard celebration.
We work together to share simple and budget-friendly ideas for decorating, recipes, DIY projects, and tips for life with older teens (and beyond!).
It always seems like one of us or actually, more than likely both of us, are in the middle of a project.
Whether it’s a room makeover, testing a new recipe, or planning an event.
And the more we work the less time we have to browse around a store and shop in person.
To get all the things done each week we both do a lot of online shopping.
We shop for décor items, kitchen supplies and everything in between.
And since we already love to share budget-friendly ideas with you, we thought it would be fun to show you what we’re shopping for every Friday!
We may even share some personal favorites we love too.
An awesome outfit or makeup product we find along the way!
Now let’s see what we’re shopping for this week…
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AnnMarie’s Faves This Week
I can’t believe my youngest is graduation from high school in just 5 weeks!
When my oldest son Jake graduated high school in 2016, I had fun planning his party at home with two of his good friends.
But we weren’t blogging back then to document all the details.
Then, when Gavin graduated in 2020, well we all remember that year…no ceremony…no big party.
Now, that we’re entertaining again, I have the chance to throw Emma an awesome grad party!
So, between blog work during the day and creating graduation books and t-shirt quilts at night I’ve been searching Pinterest for fun ideas.
If you’re getting ready for a graduation like we are you need to check out this post where we shared our best grad party & gift ideas.
Now let’s see what I found this week…
Graduation Centerpiece Ideas
I love the look of this rustic wood tray under a group of vases on my small dining room side board.
Emma’s graduation party will have a rustic feminine theme and I’d love to use wood slices as part of the centerpiece groupings with flowers in mason jars.
This one is from Home Goods and I bought it over a year ago.
I was shopping there this week and they still carry them but they are $12-$15 dollars each depending on the size.
Not sure how many I will need but that’s a bit pricey.
So, I pulled out my phone while I was standing in the store and checked Amazon to see if they sold them for a better price.
And guess what?
I found this set of 4 wood slices for only $35.
Whoo-hoo!
Dessert Bar Ideas for Graduation
Emma doesn’t really like cake or cupcakes.
I know…she’s crazy right! LOL
Don’t worry…she does love other sweet treats.
For her sweet 16, we put together a fun candy bar.
But since I also did a candy bar for both Jake and Gavin’s graduation, we want to do something different for Emma this year.
We’re thinking maybe a cookie bar, since she does love homemade cookies.
I bought this pretty black metal and wood two tiered tray last month for our tea party with our virtual supper club.
I’ll use it again for Emma’s party but I’m also shopping for some additional pieces for the dessert table.
This antique scalloped metal and wood tray is gorgeous and I think it would be perfect.
And I think it would get a ton of use in my home after the celebration too, so it may be worth getting this one!
How to Serve Drinks
I bought these galvanized beverage tubs for my husband, Chris’s birthday party.
The theme was “Beers & Cheers to 50 Years”.
Of course, there had to be a variety of beer options and these galvanized tubs were perfect.
I’ll be using them again for Emma’s farmhouse glam themed graduation party.
But I think I need to pick up another large rectangular galvanized tub that will be great for water bottles.
And the smaller oval galvanized bins can hold soda and adult beverages.
I’ll be doing lots of shopping for this party in the next few weeks since that will be my focus for a while.
Then, I’m sure I’ll be turning to dorm room and college supplies.
Busy times!
Now, let’s check out what Anne’s shopping for…
Anne’s Faves This Week
My son is graduating manga cum laude from NC State this weekend with a degree in mechanical engineering and I’m so proud of him!
Next step for him: find a job…
If you know of any mechanical engineering jobs in North Carolina, let me know? Because he’s having a hard time finding one so far.
But first, we’re taking a family trip to the Dominican Republic to celebrate his accomplishment!
I’ve been shopping for coverups and bathing suits and am so impressed by my experience with Amazon!
I was skeptical about shopping for bathing suits online, but it’s been so easy.
There were some cute coverup options too that I’m loving.
When we travel, I like to pick a color scheme for outfits so I can keep the number of shoes to a minimum and these ankle strap Birkenstocks are a staple.
I got them a few years ago and love how comfortable they are while looking stylish. They’re casual enough for shorts and can also work with sundresses.
Check out these finds that I’m packing!
Super Versatile Sun Dress
This is definitely my new favorite summer dress!
It’s super comfortable, roomy, and check out how versatile too.
The bottom is long in the front and back and shorter on the sides, so you’ve got three ways to wear it:
As is, tied in a knot in the front, or tied in a knot on the side.
It can work as a coverup, or you can dress it up with a sweater or jacket and jewelry.
I love it so much that I ordered it in several colors!
There are a lot of solid and print options available.
Favorite Bathing Suit Bottom
I’ve preferred swim skirts as my bathing suit bottom from the time my kids were born.
So for decades…
Over the years I’ve figured out the ones that are straight are most comfortable in the water because they don’t float up and get annoying.
I adore this cute, affordable swim skirt!
It’s only $14.99, so I purchased three to rotate as the bottom with all my tankini tops.
Have you ever noticed that bathing suits don’t dry out completely with just one day to dry?
I’m guessing it’s the humidity?
Either way, three bottoms give each bottom two days to dry between wearing them.
Flattering Mom-Pooch Hiding Tankini Tops
I love wearing two-piece swimsuits because it makes going to the bathroom easy!
Pulling down my entire bathing suit when it’s wet and then maneuvering it back up might be one of the things I dislike most. LOL
My body never recovered from carrying twins for 39 weeks (hello saggy baggy twin skin and an eternal mom pooch), so tankinis are my favorite.
I especially like a tankini top that has some ruching in the front to minimize that extra skin and pooch.
This one-shouldered ruched tankini top is so comfortable, supportive, and flattering!
It took me a few times to figure out how the strap worked. (I probably should’ve videoed it for comic relief…)
I ordered this top in solid black and an animal print.
I’m also loving this striped tankini top because it’s supportive with some fun back detailing.
Plus it’s got that ruching along the sides to give me the coverage I like across my tummy.
This suit has several different options, but I discovered some of the other options didn’t fit the same way so I ended up returning the ones that didn’t have the same kind of back detailing.
My Favorite Cover-ups
In addition to the long sundress above, I picked up these two fun coverups.
I’m loving this scarf-style coverup with lace applique and pom pom fringe because it’s roomy and super cute!
It’s available in several colors and some don’t have the lace detailing on the front if you prefer a simpler style.
Can we talk about the gorgeous detailing of this lacy crochet coverup with an open back?
It looks different every time you wear it based on the bathing suit you have on underneath.
And the deep V in the back lets you show off any fun detailing on your bathing suit.
You can tie the back more tightly or looser for different looks (like a one-shouldered look) if you want.
No matter how you tie it, this is a pretty option for the pool, beach, or lake!
Click on any image to shop items from this post
What have you been shopping for this week? Have you found anything amazing?
We’d love to hear about it….just leave a comment below!
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