Nadine

This weekend went by so fast! I suppose they always do. I completely forgot for pretty much the entire day yesterday that it was St Patrick’s Day. Oops! Zoe did wear green on Friday, for Green Day at school.

Saturday morning, Zoe and I met Laura and S early to do some shopping and eating! We started out at Target, ventured to Nordstrom Rack and then had lunch at Cowfish. I scored two new tops for under $20 each that I can wear for work or play. This Halogen top in the gray/green color (it looks more green to me but says gray) and this DR2 ladder stitch top in black. I want to go back and get the DR2 one in mulberry too. I love them so much! Zoe got three pairs of shoes!! Two pairs of Zaxy closed toe sandals (a clear and a blue pair, they glow in the dark!!!) that are awesome for daycare!!! And a pink pair of the Thea shoes from Rachel Shoes. She had these last year in a smaller size and got a lot of wear out of them. They held up pretty well, considering how rough she is on her shoes.

Our lunch was so delicious. We shared the parmesan fries and crab ragoon dip, and I got sushi for my main dish and Zoe ordered the kids burger bento box. So much food!! So good! Plus, Zoe really loves crab dip.

After lunch, Zoe and I headed to the outlets to do some more shopping. I love looking for clothes at H&M for her. They have the cutest stuff at reasonable prices. And it is stuff I dont see every other kid in, like Carter’s brand. Which, dont get me wrong, I like their stuff too.

After all that shopping, we made a well deserved ice cream stop! Well, frozen yogurt. Same thing. Zoe had so much fun picking her toppings! Another date to the ice cream shop needs to happen soon!

That evening, we stopped by my SIL’s house for a few minutes and got Papa John’s to go. When we were at Target earlier in the day, I bought Zoe the Baby Shark Fishing Game. She loves it so much!!! We have played every night since we got it. It plays a portion of the baby shark song and is pretty much like the regular fishing game.

Sunday we did our grocery shopping and then came home and cleaned and straightened the house up. Zoe took a decent nap that allowed me to go outside and cut our front yard. Can you believe it???? Grass cutting in March. Something so wrong about that. All our trees have been blooming down here too (started in February, really). Allergy and tornado season are starting early this year!

We listed our house Sunday night, and now we are trying to decide if this is the right time. There is literally nothing on the market that we want to buy in the area we are looking. Everything that does come along that is decent, is under contract within a day or two. It is a tough, stressful time! We had a showing booked 45 minutes after our house listed, and we had one yesterday morning. We have cameras all throughout our house, and we watched the people mess around with Chris’s stuff in the basement. The agent was totally unprofessional. It has really thrown an extra layer of anxiety on top of the situation. WTF is wrong with people???

Meanwhile, I am enjoying how clean and orderly our house is looking! I hate clutter so much, and we got rid of a lot of stuff. There is a whole guest room of shit that we probably could just let go still. I am highly contemplating that!

I meant to have this post published yesterday, but I forgot to schedule it. Happy Weekend Shenanigan Wednesday!

You guys, I am SO SICK of tornado season already!!! It has barely even started, and the last three weeks straight we have been under a tornado watch/warning at some point in the week. Last night I had so much anxiety driving home from work/daycare. I was racing with the storm. So much wind and lightening, but I managed to stay about 5 minutes ahead of it. I got home and stepped out of my car and didn’t like the way the atmosphere felt. It was eerily silent and the wind wasn’t right. I didn’t even make it through my living room before my phone and weather radio started freaking out telling me there was a tornado in my area. I turned around and looked out our front window and OMG!!!! It was right fucking there. Well I mean, like 5 miles in the distance. BUT STILL!!!!

I am so glad it was going away from my house, but it was heading right towards my sisters house. It went straight up the road that we take to get to each other. Luckily, it didn’t actually hit near her house either…but it was at the tail end of rush hour and there were a LOT of trees down on Hwy 431. Lots of people on the road when it happened.

So over this weather!!!!!!!

But I am done talking about that, because I can’t get that image out of my head and cant think about it anymore. Let’s talk about lighter things, like my favorites for the week! Perhaps my first one is actually showing up to blog.

And getting to see Laura on Wednesday for lunch!!! We grabbed salads at Edgar’s Bakery, and they were delicious! We have plans to go shopping together tomorrow too, and take the kids for some delicious lunch. I cant wait!

Favorite Purchase: My fun, pink glasses I ordered from Amazon over the summer broke last week. I have been lost without them and decided to order a different pair. These came in this week, and they look and feel very designer, but at a much better price. They have a really nice case they came in too!

Favorite Recipe: I make these sriracha meatballs at least two or three times a month. They are so good!!!!!

Favorite Funnies:

Stealing this from Kathy, literally me every single morning. Except at 6:30 am instead. It is even better, because Zoe is Moana obsessed.

Linking up with Amanda, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

I normally have a new book post started the minute after I publish the last one, and keep up with it through the month with each book I read. There was none of that prepping this month and I am relying strictly on memory. Scary!!! Linking up with Steph and Jana, let’s do this!

November 9 by Colleen Hoover

This is my first read from Colleen Hoover, and I have to say, I am a fan. I really liked the whole premise of the book, with Ben and Fallon meeting on the same day every year. There were a few times I wanted to scream out NOOOOO and there were a few cringe-worthy lines that Ben said to Fallon when they were intimate that made me roll my eyes. But overall, I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to dig in to another of hers!

Bottom Line: Read it! The premise was great, there is a plot twist that I didn’t quite see coming.

Make Me Bad by RS Grey

You guys know, I am a huge RS Grey fan. This is your typical good girl wants to bad guy book, and completely predictable. But I laughed out loud multiple times and just really love RS Grey’s writing. I will say, I liked some of her earlier books more than this one….but I still couldn’t put this one down. I really liked Madison and Ben, and even some of the side characters in this one. Usually her books are focused more on the main two, but we get to know Andy (Ben’s best friend) and a few others a little more. So for me, that is a good read. If you are in to romantic comedy, check her out!

**Thanks RS Grey for an ARC copy!!!**

Bottom Line: Fun romcom, cute read!

How to Hack a Heartbreak by Kristin Rockaway

This book!!!! I absolutely adored this book. I read it in like two sittings, which says a lot for me these days! Mel is a girl who works in the tech world, and it is definitely “the boys club” at her company. I mean…how many of us have been there??? I don’t think I have ever worked somewhere that it wasn’t “boys club.” And she is also fed up with her co-workers and the online dating world, so she develops an app to expose the gross pervs and cheaters that are flooding the swipe right world. Her co-workers have no clue how talented she is, because she is stuck at the help desk. I loved Mel’s character and the whole story line. I definitely laughed several times throughout this book, and found the characters totally relateable.

Bottom Line: Totally cute romcom with a bad-ass female lead, read it!

** I received a copy of How to Hack a Heartbreak from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**

My Own Miraculous by Joshilyn Jackson

This is a prequel to Someone Else’s Love story. I don’t think that I have ever read a prequel before. I really loved Someone Else’s Love Story and Shandi and Walcott, so I loved getting to see more of them. This book was focused around Shandi’s son Natty, who Shandi realizes isn’t a “normal kid.” Shandi sort of discovers her place a mother in this book, and it was really fun to see. If you are a Joshilyn Jackson fan, definitely check this one out. It is a short read, maybe about two hours, but it had a lot of depth!

Bottom Line: If you have read Someone Else’s Love Story, or are a fan of Joshilyn Jackson, read it!

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

I liked this one! I thought that the relationship between Alexa and Drew was totally realistic as they went from fake date through to a real relationship. The issues that they had with long distance, commitment, race, circumstances, etc were all relateable. I really liked the side stories between Alexa and her sister, and the conversations between Drew and his friend Carlos. Also, we get a lot of depth in Alexa and Drew characters through their commitments to their careers. I really enjoyed reading about Alexa’s community involvement. I would certainly pick up another book from this author!

Bottom Line: I really liked this one, it has a little more depth to it than your usual romcom, I couldn’t decide if it was a romcom or chick-lit.

Roomies by Christina Lauren

This is my first book by this author, and I know I have several more on my TBR. This was a super fun read that had me laughing out loud many times. I am rating this book high, but I had a few issues with how quickly things get fleshed out with immigration and how other issues are glossed over. Like, if I were pushed off a platform at the subway, I sure as shit wouldn’t be hopping right back on it again! I like how we aren’t sure if Calvin is playing Holland or not, it made for a more interesting read. I loved Holland’s uncles, and that we get some depth to their characters also. One of the things I really appreciated, was the side plot between Holland and her BFF. It was totally relateable to me, because in my twenties….my BFF did a complete 180 and we had a falling out. It was completely realistic and relatable to me.

Bottom Line: Fun read!!

Currently Reading:

Royally Screwed by Emma Chase

This week has completely gotten away from me! I had every intention of linking up with Kristen yesterday for a good old currently post, and that so did not go down. Work has been crazy busy, which in commercial real estate, that can only be a good thing. And while I am not at work, keeping up with a toddler and getting stuff down around the house makes me realize there simply just aren’t enough hours in the day!

Anyways, I just finished reading Make Me Bad by R.S. Grey and a few other books this month and can’t wait to link up Tuesday and share all the goodness. Today, I wanted to share a few new things that I am lovely lately and absolutely recommend.

Chirp – I have been a member/subscriber of Book Bub for years. Super discounted and free books? SIGN ME UP! Well, a month or so ago, they emailed me to tell me about Chirp. Basically it is the same thing, only for audiobooks!!! I have downloaded several really great audio books for $1.99 – $3.99. A really good deal for audio books, if you ask me!

Ninja Coffee Bar – I know I have talked about it before when we purchased it, but the Ninja Coffee Bar has been a game changer in our house. Buying freshly ground beans and having different types of barista style coffees in our own home has been amazing! We have this kitchenaid coffee grinder that we purchased the same day and love it!

Car Seat Pockets – I can not tell you the number of times Chris and I have lost our phones in my car. And not just my phone, change, food, debit card, pens. Everything falls through the cracks between the front seat and console. I don’t know why I waited so long to purchase these, they are amazing! A 2-pack for under $15 that makes life easier? SOLD!!!!

It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In – Lindsay and several other people have mentioned this stuff, and my hair has been total garbage lately. I have got to take better care of it! I instantly noticed a difference after buying this! Good bye bad hair days!

What have you been loving lately??

Heading into the last week of February at 100 MPH! I swear January lasted a good three months, but this month was about a week. And here I am Tuesday *hopefully* getting my weekend post up!

We had so much fun this weekend! Laura and her crew came over Saturday and we celebrated Mardi Gras with hurricanes and sugar cookies. And lots and lots of BBQ.

Sunday morning, we headed out to the grocery store early. When we got home and were feeding Zoe lunch, Chris’s parents called to say they were on the way to see her. They stayed over for awhile, and we decided to take Zoe’s new kite for a spin since it was the first day it wasn’t raining in FOREVER. Unfortunately, the minute we got it up and flying…the wind stopped! We still had a good time.

Zoe never got her nap in, because shortly after they left…we were off again to meet up with my mom and sister at Logan’s for an early dinner. The oldest niece and youngest nephew came…so it was good to see all of them. Zoe thoroughly enjoyed their rolls and her fries and decided to bring her burger home for later. Good family time!

It is always heartbreaking when we part ways, Zoe cries for my sister every single time.

And just like that, our weekend was coming to an end! We had lots of good food, got to see lots of our favorite people, and finally enjoyed a little sun!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!