Happy Friday!!!! You guys, my oldest nephew turns 17 today. How crazy is that??? Chris and I have the anniversary of our engagement coming up later this month too, it’s been 12 years. What even is time?
This week has been a busy one. Work has been crazy, we had a mid-week home repair that had our kitchen in disarray for two days. And if I am being completely honest, it is still a mess because I just haven’t had time to clean it up. But, Zoe had her Valentine’s exchange at dance last night and she came home so happy. Her dance teachers are the sweetest. I also decided to change gymnastic gyms for her. I know it is mid year, but I am her advocate and I am hoping for a better experience at her new gym.
Through all of that, I somehow managed to listen to two books this week and physically read one. I love when I can binge several books in a row. I decided to create a book highlight on Instagram and review them all in my stories in addition to the times I share them here. I might start doing some empties over there too. It takes so long to write empties posts and I have an entire bin full of them from the last 6-8 months. Ridiculous, I know!!
Are you going to watch the game this weekend? I don’t really care for either team….but I am ridiculously excited for the half time show!!!! I am sure all of us in our 30s and 40s are!
Favorite Finds: I grabbed this dress for Zoe for St Patrick’s Day. I love that it is versatile to wear all spring/summer too. We LOVE this brand, everything is so cute on her and good quality.
Favorite Recipe: This was a quick dinner the other night. I roasted some brussels in the oven at the same time the chicken cooked.
Favorite Workout: This was a fun dance party to add on at the end of my workout this morning to get some extra movement. You could even try it on your lunch break! Love this girl’s attitude and motivation. I find myself doing several of her dance party workouts after arm or leg sets.
Favorite Funnies:
Linking up for Friday Favorites. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Happy Friday! February snuck up on us this week, didn’t it? It has been raining the last two days here, we even had a tornado warning in the middle of the day yesterday. Now that the rain is moving out, the temperature has dropped a lot again. Does anyone else get a major headache when these rain systems come in? It’s the worst.
Favorite Finds: I love the Buxom Lip Full-On Lip Polish so much. It is my absolute favorite lip product. I decided to grab the Buxom Lip Balm a few weeks ago to test it out. I got the color Dolly Fever and it is perfect for nearly any occasion. It feels so soft and light on my lips, and isn’t fussy at all. I don’t think that the color lasts as long as the Lip Polish, but it is also a completely different formula and isn’t as sticky.
This leopard heart sweater is perfect for Valentine’s Day. Really great quality and fit for the price! I sized up on to get a longer length. It is definitely a TTS fit though, and if you want it for work or “dressier,” I would order your normal size.
This smocked dress is such a great price, and a classic staple. The sizing is generous, it comes in three solids and some gingham prints as well. You could definitely order a size down.
I feel so helpless when I look at clothes lately. It is getting harder and harder to just find normal, classy wardrobe staples. Everything still looks very Little House on the Prairie, a flash back to the 80s or 90s in the worst way, or cropped.
Favorite Grocery Recommendation: This Lesser Evil brand has some really great snacks. They don’t use any of the nasty, inflammatory oils in their products. They have simple ingredients and taste amazing. This pink himalayan salt and the oh em ghee are my favorites.
Linking up with Tanya to share our Amazon finds over the last month. As most people do in January, I have been re-organizing different areas of the house. Mainly the pantry and extra closets. I also spent 2 days in Zoe’s bedroom and playroom.
I ordered this for Zoe’s room. She has way too many stuffies, and they just make her whole room look a mess, even when they are all put away in one place. Now, we can stuff these ottomans with them and it provides extra seating! I really feel like this is such a bargain for what it is. Would work great to hold blankets or sweaters in other rooms.
Zoe and all of her friends are obsessed with pop-its. We got this pack for her to give out for school and dance Valentine favors. I am going to put them in a bag with some candy and a note that says “You make my heart pop.”
These wreath holders are a lot bigger than I thought they would be, they hold a lot! I can fit both our wreaths in one. Definitely glad to have these for any future ones we get.
I am starting out the year strong, reading 7 books for January! (One of these I finished at the end of December.) Do you set reading goals in Goodreads or elsewhere each year? I usually set my goal for 52 books, averaging one per week. I often read more than that each a year, but I don’t like pressure or arbitrary numbers/goals for things I enjoy like reading. It is more like a wish…I hope that I have the time for a book per week. I never want to not be reading something, you know? Anyways, this was a pretty good reading month with some gems in it. Let’s dive in.
This is my second Rachel Hawkins book, and you can definitely tell that she writes YA more than adult books. Listen, I cuss a lot. But the use of fuck in this book was even too much for me. It was just unnecessary and childish. I felt like all of the characters were very selfish and immature, I didn’t really care for any of them. The plot and what was going on was interesting enough to keep me guessing, and I flew through this one…wanting to know where it was all going. I liked the remote island/boat atmosphere, but I felt like it was missing something for me? I wasn’t on edge, like I like to be when reading this type of book.
Bottom Line: If you are into mystery and a good story, read it! I don’t think it had quite the “thriller” vibe it was going for though.
While Jake and Naya’s meeting was a little too insta-love for my liking….I really enjoyed their story. I loved Jake and Naya’s friends, and all the banter between them. There is a much deeper issue of abuse covered in this book, I think it was done really well. I flew through this one, as it definitely held my interest the entire time and even got a little intense for awhile. Loved watching Naya get stronger and grow. I definitely want to read more from this author.
I did this one on audio, as I have many other Hilderbrand books. I have to say, I really love the narrator she uses. I feel like she makes the books even more enjoyable. While this wasn’t my favorite from Hilderbrand, I did enjoy it. The book goes back and forth between the main character, her children, other people in the town and the past and present. The whole premise of the book was interesting, with Vivi’s time in the in between and her nudges. I found the concept fascinating. Parts of the book dragged for me, and could have been left out. I felt like the ending was far too rushed! We spent the whole book wondering who killed Vivi (I actually figured it out really early on), and at the end it all comes together in a rush in a very anti-climatic way.
Bottom Line: If you enjoy Hilderbrand or family dramas, read it.
With everything happening over the past few years, if you haven’t figured out that you need to take control of your health and that being healthy is the best way to prevent a lot of serious health issues, I am not sure what to tell you. In my research, it seems that our gut health is the basis for everything. If you have an angry, inflamed, leaky gut….you aren’t going to feel good, look good and will get sick easily. I have been taking steps to heal my gut and have better health overall. I really like that this book walks you through that process, gives you some healthy life style tips, has several recipes that are easy to follow, and even has a food plan at the end you can follow. I tagged at least 15 of the recipes to try, and am going to incorporate some of what I read into my daily life. I liked the pictures and the way the book was laid out. The only negative I see is that a lot of the recipes have sweet potatoes, so if you don’t like those…you might be out of luck. I personally love them.
Bottom Line: This was an interesting read and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to get serious about their health.
**I received a copy of The Paleo Gut Healing Cookbook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**
I grabbed this one for free on Amazon one day. It was the fifth in a series, but reviews said it could be read alone. I want to go back and read the first four after reading this one because I really enjoyed it! This is a clean romance, nothing more than a kiss if you aren’t into the steam…it would be a great read for you. It is not overly Christmas, but the way they do bring Christmas into it was so much fun!!! I really liked Paisley and James and loved to watch them grow and change through the book. Just an all around solid read.
This book goes back and forth between present and the past. I loved getting the back story of both Shane and Eva, I really felt like it was such a strong part of their story. We deal with so many deep issues with both characters. I feel like the author did a good job with chronic pain. And man, what a complicated romance. I also really loved Eva’s daughter, Audrey. She cracked me up! I will say, the big “issue” at the end of the book let me down a little. It was such a strong story up to the very end and then the “issue” could have all been alleviated with just a simple text. I also think that the author might have thrown in a little too many social issues and stereotypes. I understand trying to be relevant, but it took a little awhile from the story at times.
Bottom Line: Overall, I really enjoyed this book and can look past my few annoyances to still give it a 4-star.
No one does enemies to lovers quite like R.S. Grey. The banter and wit that she creates is my favorite. I flew through this book in a day and thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved Noah and Audrey so much. The book was written from Audrey’s point of view, we only get Noah’s in the epilogue. I do wish we had a little something from him, I was dying to know what was going through his mind throughout the book. I loved to see feuding two school teachers in Rome for the summer with a group of middle schoolers, it just made for an all around fun plot.
Bottom Line: Read it!
** I received a copy of Enemies Abroad from R.S. Grey in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**
I love Tessa Bailey, so I was so excited when I finally snagged this one. This is supposed to be Schitt’s Creek inspired, but I have never seen that show or know anything about it to confirm or deny. I loved the premise of the book, a spoiled socialite having to rough it in the real world. Tessa writes the hottest romances, and this was no different. I loved how much Piper grew throughout the novel. It was an all around great read, and I can see why it was on the list of top romances from 2021.
Happy Friday! I *think* I am finally going to poke my head up for some air today. Work has been insane for so long. We keep saying it is going to calm down, and it just doesn’t. Luckily I have a coworker who is going to be out for a week, so I have some breathing room and we slowed down our intake of jobs until he is back. I have sat on more meetings this week than anything else. And the emails. Who knew we would pay for four year degrees to remain fearful of our inbox, am I right?! Every time I hear it ding, I feel my shoulders tense up.
I have been trying to get inspired to try some new recipes to get me excited about meal planning. I feel like we get in ruts where we eat the same few things over and over because it is easy. Of course, it is very challenging when I go to do our grocery shopping and the stores are out of just about everything. This week I went to three grocery stores and could not get a single chicken breast, no cream cheese, no taco sauce, the bread brand I usually purchase was out, no cucumbers, no asparagus. The list goes on.
I don’t know about you, but I am tired of this shit. And when you do find things, the prices are insanely inflated from just a year ago. Our grocery bill used to hover around $150 for the week, and now it is between $250-300. We eat the same type of foods and haven’t gained any family members. And gas prices?! I am so lucky to not be going to the office every day, or I would spend $75+ a week in gas.
I have changed a few things around in my kitchen and pantry, and it has made the whole cooking experience more enjoyable. Our pantry was such a disaster, I feel like I have a better system in place now. I will have to share some progress pictures soon.
Favorite Finds: My skin has been a lot dryer than it has ever been. I wanted to grab a face scrub to see if it would help with turnover and dullness. This Kopari scrub is amazing!!! The smell is incredible, it has clean ingredients and I actually feel so soft and moisturized after using this, as opposed to that “squeaky clean” and dry feeling I get from a lot of products. Highly recommend adding this into your routine.
These pillows have been on my radar for a long time, but I never pulled the trigger on them because I couldn’t justify paying that for a pillow. Well they went on sale, with an additional 50% off, so you better believe I checked out so fast! I got the black and white one for my office and I LOVE it. It is so big! It feels and looks so high end, definitely worth it.
I grabbed this craft for Zoe. She had so much fun painting them, and it is now proudly displayed on our coffee bar. I like to write her name and the year on the bottom of things like this, so when we pull them out in the future, we know how old she was when she made them. Such great keepsakes to enjoy for the holidays each year.
She made that LOVE sign a few years ago when Laura came over one weekend and we crafted with the kids. It is so fun to bring it out and have that memory!
I also grabbed this heart garland that looks so cute in our living room! I love that it is festive without bringing in colors that don’t really belong in that space.
Favorite Recipe: I saw this sheet pan recipe, and it looks so good. I do love a good sheet pan night. Makes clean up so much easier.
Favorite Workout: I love to mix in a fun dance/step workout after an upper body day. I love Madfit and Grow with Jo, but Rick always has fun, upbeat steps that go by so quickly you don’t even realize you were moving for 10, 15, 20 minutes…however many you chose. I am sharing this one today because this last week I have been guilty of sitting at my computer far too long for work and having a lot of tension in my shoulders and upper back. Normally I take a quick walk outside once or twice a day, but I only went once this whole week. Weather was cold or rainy…and I just didn’t have time. This is the perfect 8 minute get up and move that you can add to your workday if you are WFH. Easy enough to follow to do with your kids too!
Favorite Mantra: Wooooooo there is some bullshit out there. One of the best things I did so far this year is clean up what I see on social media. If I want to scroll Instagram to take a break from life, I don’t want to be yelled at, told what to do with my health and wellness by people who have a degree in marketing…not health or wellness, see people who are constantly raging about everything….the list goes on. I want to see your kid, dog, food, something funny, your pretty kitchen, a sweatshirt I just have to have, the sunset. My blood pressure shouldn’t rise and I shouldn’t feel the need to screenshot the bullshit, send it to my rational friend and rant about it for 20 minutes. I had that moment hit where I was like….wait a minute….I don’t have to see this shit! I can control some of this!
