I consider one of my greatest blessings that of having amazing friends. Sure, I have just a few I would consider my besties – but I’m also fortunate to be surrounded by countless amazing people who aren’t necessarily my closest chums, but their examples really have an impact on my life. I’ll come back to that in a minute.

One of my dearest friends is Jen. Everyone needs a friend like Jen. She lights up the room. She’s hilarious. She’s genuine and as real as they come. She honors her role as wife and mother. Her heart is made of gold. And she’s rocking some new bangs.

So part of our road trip last week was spent with Jen and her family. There were a few things around her home that I wanted to share with you – because who doesn’t love fun ideas?

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{ idea no. 1: best flip flops }

I asked Jen what must-have flip flops I should check out for Summer. She’s my fashion-go-to friend. She recommended the Sanuk Yoga Mat Flip Flops. I ordered these in orange, received them from Amazon this week, and I’m in love. For sure they’re the most comfortable flip flops I’ve ever had, next to my beat-up Reefs that I’ve been wearing for like 8 years and can’t find them in red online anymore. And by the way, they have these for guys too. David just ordered these for himself.

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{ idea no. 2: instagram memory display }

When Jen and I first met 10 years ago while our families lived near Cleveland, Ohio, Photoshop was becoming a huge part of our personal photography and documentation of life. Fast-forward to her most recent Photoshop project: This display of recent favorite instagram shots. She didn’t use any sort of template for this, but rather created a 16×20 canvas, reduced the size of each image to 2″ and manually placed each one on the digital canvas. She saved the final draft as a .jpg, uploaded to Costco.com and had the 16×20 printed for $6. The frame is from Hobby Lobby. I’ll also mention that Persnickity Prints is an awesome online photo printing service and if I ever get around to making a print like this again (I did a similar project a couple years ago – remember Doors of Tallinn?) – I would try Persnickety for sure.

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{ idea no. 3: lockers }

I have mud room envy. Okay – so I don’t really have envy because I don’t believe anyone should be envious of anyone or anything. Right? But – if I were to be envious of a mud room (we don’t have one and I just don’t understand why they’re not including these in most homes) – it would be Jen’s. Cubbies and lockers? Dreamy.

This is her system: Whenever she finds something that belongs to one of the kids (she has 5), she throws it in their locker. Every Saturday the kids are responsible to clean out their lockers and put stuff away. In case someone is sooo going to do this, I think some garage cabinet companies and closet companies offer them. Sometimes High Schools might even be getting rid of old lockers. You and Google can research that together.  ; )

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{ idea no. 4: family photo grid }

You know I’m a sucker for grids. So between the grid format and the gorgeousness of these photos (taken by Collin Kartchner) and the fact that these are people that we adore … I could stare at this display all day long. Jen had them made at whcc.com and they’re called “stand-outs” or something like that.

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{ idea no. 5: counter top quote }

This little chalkboard is cool; Jen picked it up at One Kings Lane. So much fun potential for keeping a favorite quote, a note between family members, what’s for dinner, or whatever you want.

Plus – I firmly believe with what Oprah said. I don’t necessarily agree with everything she thinks and says – but she absolutely nailed this one on the head. Life is too short to spend precious time with those who bring you down. You are better than that. I attribute much of my happiness to being very intentional about who I spend my time with. I aim to surround myself with people who uplift, inspire, encourage, and set a positive example. I am so grateful for my dearest friends. I am also so grateful for awesome people in my larger circle, my community, and those that aren’t physically nearby but have a lasting impact on me and my family.

Part of cultivating a good life is surrounding yourself with people who are going to lift you higher. Thanks for that one, Oprah.