All Posts By

Nadine

Weekend Shenanigans

We have a heat index advisory today. Hey summer, I see you. More like feel you. Gross. I will be chilling indoors with my AC on full blast if anyone needs me! We did get a little outdoor play in this weekend though.

Friday, Chris and I had an impromptu lunch date at Taco Morro Loco. I have been wanting to try this place forever and ever and just never made it over there. I have been missing out on the best tacos in Birmingham. I kid you not, they were seriously sooooooo amazing!!!! Unfortunately, the service was slow as shit because they had a million to go orders, and we ended up having to take our food to go because Chris had a meeting and we waited almost an hour after our appetizer came out. But it was totally worth it. I am already thinking I need to go back again. I ordered a chorizo taco, a beef one and The Pastor which was pork with pineapples. I can’t tell you which was my favorite, because each one was so fresh and amazing.

It was stormy and nasty on Saturday morning, so we spent the morning playing indoors and enjoying homemade waffles.

After Zoe’s nap, her and I made an Aldi run and then headed to her first classmate’s birthday party! She had so much fun running around and seeing a few of her friends from school. The mom did an amazing job on party decor. It was Peppa Pig themed and seriously a Pinterest Perfect event. I am going to have to step my game up big time if we invite school friends to her next party. She came home with a pretty sweet bag of loot too. I am glad that the rain had cleared out just in time for all the kiddos to have fun. Even if it was so humid that I stay soaked pretty much the entire time I was standing out there. Making a mental note to never wear my hair down to an outdoor party again.

Chris spent his Saturday getting this awesome Beat Saber VR game to work on his computer. It is insane the things that he is able to do.

Saturday night, I made a plate of black bean nachos and ended up watching The Notebook since it was on tv. Chris came up about half way through and admitted he never did actually see it, so I made him watch it with me.

Sunday, Zoe and I headed to the grocery store pretty earlier. When she went down for her nap, I made some Italian Sausage for Chris and I for lunch and let it simmer in the skillet while I cleaned the bathrooms, did dishes, put a few loads of laundry in, and started getting some stuff together for our beach trip. Zoe had taken a pretty long nap, because I had gotten a lot done! When Zoe got up, she had a snack and then we went outside to blow bubbles and draw with sidewalk chalk. We took a few quick walks as well. Zoe got her first skinned knees and handled it like a pro.

Sunday night, we ate the rest of the sausage for dinner and knocked out a few more episodes of Blue Bloods. It is seriously such a good show!

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend! Last week was so crazy, I am hoping this week will be a little less so. Linking up with Biana. Happy Monday!

June 25, 2018 by Nadine

weekend shenanigans

Weekend Shenanigans

I have a child who didn’t nap all weekend and woke up at 3am this morning. My favorite thing is, she fell asleep in the car on the way to school. Someone just hook me up to an IV of caffeine please. I got a call Friday that Zoe was running a high fever at daycare. After a doctor visit, it was determined that it was just a sinus infection. I don’t know if the antibiotic is contributing to her new hatred of sleep or what…but this mama is exhausted! Nothing got done this weekend, except a little laundry and the floors were cleaned. But Zoe was walking around with Goldfish crackers this morning, in an attempt to keep her occupied while I ran around trying to get us ready to go. I heard a few uh-oh’s and some giggles…soooooo I am guessing my floors are no longer clean lol.

This was when the Goldfish were still in the container. At least she was all smiles this morning!

Zoe’s daycare does Swim Fridays now for the summer. It is so cute seeing all the kiddos come in with their swim gear on. Zoe got her pineapple swimsuit here and it is on sale this week!

Saturday morning we met up with my dad, sister and nephews at Cracker Barrel for Father’s Day Breakfast with my dad. Aunt Tracy spoiled Zoe by holding her most of the time we were there. Zoe loved it of course!!! Our breakfast was mediocre at best, but the Smores Iced Latte I ordered to go was the bomb.com.

We had some errands to run after breakfast, and we stopped by Bargain Hunt in Pell City while we were out that way. We found two dresses for Zoe for $3 each and got started on our Christmas shopping! When we got home, we fed Zoe lunch and tried to get her down for a nap….but she wasn’t having it. So we played around the house and got in some outside fun before an Alabama Summer Thunderstorm rolled on in out of no where.

Sunday morning, I made homemade biscuits and gravy for Father’s Day breakfast for Chris and then Zoe and I headed out to do the grocery shopping while Chris fixed our lawnmower and cut the grass. When we got back, we attempted to get Zoe down for a nap again with no success. So more outside play it was!

I made sweet potato gnocchi for lunch, and Chris had requested enchiritos for dinner. I found a recipe online and got to work. The food looked good, but it was just ok. The sauce was from scratch and it came out really bland. It definitely needs some tweaking. Maybe we will try them again but I will just do it my own way without following a recipe. We also had some orange chicken from Trader Joe’s this week that was so delicious!

After Zoe went to bed last night, we caught up on The Originals and watched some more Blue Bloods and called it a night. I have a feeling it is going to be a long Monday at work! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Linking up with Biana.

June 18, 2018 by Nadine

Friday Favorites

Friday!!! For some reason, I couldn’t keep the day straight this week. I don’t think we have anything major planned this weekend. We have a few little errands to run and my sister mentioned taking my dad to breakfast one morning. She said that she has to see Zoe at some point this weekend…so I am sure we will figure something out.

Favorite Moments: Laura and I had lunch yesterday at Urban Cookhouse. I love that in addition to the many guilty pleasure restaurants we have here in Birmingham, we can still get a healthy DELICIOUS lunch to keep ourselves in check too. It is all about balance, am I right? I forgot to snap a picture of my salad, we were too busy catching up since she was out of town last week.

When I dropped Zoe off on Thursday, her teacher was chatting to me about how she is doing so well in class. Zoe is the second youngest in there, and I was so worried when we moved her up at the beginning of the year that she might not be ready for the big kid class just yet. They are treated much more like toddlers than babies in that class. I have to say, after the initial adjustment period, she has just thrived!!! Last month they did some testing with the older kids, but Zoe was too young for the test to matter so I didn’t have a parent/teacher conference scheduled. Yesterday her teacher told me that there is nothing specific that she can pinpoint that I need to work on with Zoe. She does great sitting in her desk, eats her lunch with a spoon and no assistance, enjoys craft time, participates in circle time (when they learn), is the biggest helper in the class at clean up time and naps great. She doesn’t throw her food on the floor and they aren’t having to get on to her about being mean to other kids. Her afternoon teacher always tells me she is such a delight. This makes my mama heart swell so big! I know that Chris and I are so very blessed to have such an amazing little kiddo. It really has been so fun looking back over the last several months and seen how much she has grown and develop. I am going to be sad when she moves up in August, all of her teachers have been so amazing this year.

Favorite Recipe: How delicious does this look? I love that more grocery stores are carrying different kinds of veggie noodles already spiralized! Saves so much work, time and cleaning. The ingredient list for this recipe isn’t too long.

Favorite Purchase: I have a confession to make. I had never been in Athleta before. I just assumed it was tailored towards skinny fit people who worked out a lot. I was wrong. I mean, it is mostly workout type clothing…but their sizing is more than generous and their quality is amazing!!! I went in there the other day not sure what to expect. Honestly, I was nervous to walk in. How silly is that??? I thought for sure I would feel so out of place. The two sales people that I interacted with were so inviting and friendly. I was surprised by how many things I liked as I looked around. They were running a huge sale on swimwear and I found the most amazing swim shorts!!! I have some tankinis that I plan to wear in the pool and stuff, but I wanted something that provided more coverage for chasing a toddler around on the windy beach. These shorts were a price I expect to see at Target, but made so so so so much better!!!! I seriously cant sing their praise enough, and I definitely plan to be a regular shopper now.

Favorite Link: The Every Girl did a post earlier this week on all there is to see and do in Birmingham. It really shows our city off well. Though, I will say, there are a TON of amazing restaurants that do not get mentioned in here. All the more reason you all need to come visit me!!!

Favorite Funnies:

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

June 15, 2018 by Nadine

book review, books

Books

Cant believe it is the second Tuesday of the month already! Though, I am not sure why I am surprised since last week was a year long. Just me? Anyways, we are here to talk about books now, so let’s jump right in! I cried, I laughed, I was shocked, I had all the feels. Here we go! Linking up with Steph and Jana.

Still Me by Jojo Moyes

Funny, romantic, and poignant, Still Me follows Lou as she navigates how to stay true to herself, while pushing to live boldly in her brave new world.

I just really love Louisa Clark and was excited to dive back in to her life. I was surprised by how much this book really touched me and pulled at my heart strings. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it! I loved the new characters that we got to meet in this one, and who doesn’t want more of ambulance Sam in their lives?

Bottom Line: I do love this series! I found this one to be just as enjoyable as the first two!

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

Anna Fox lives alone—a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. The Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother, their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble—and its shocking secrets are laid bare.

This book! Is the main character reliable or is she not??? Is what happened real or made up? I went back and forth as to what I think really happened. I just love a book that throws me for a loop! I had a suspicion about everything from the very beginning, and I ended up being right. But I had changed my mind a few times along the way.

Bottom Line: If psychological suspense is your thing, read it!

Homemade Sin and Happy Never After by Kathy Hogan Trocheck AKA Mary Kay Andrews

I read books three and four in the Callahan Garrity series and am still loving it! You get all the regular elements of a cozy mystery with these books, but they are a little bit deeper because Callahan isn’t your amateur sleuth. She is a former Atlanta police officer that has real experience. I am constantly guessing “who done it” and usually change my mind a few times before the end of each book.

Bottom Line: This is such a fun cozy mystery series!

Here’s To Us by Elin Hilderbrand

Celebrity chef Deacon Thorpe passes at his beach house in Nantucket. Now Deacon’s three wives, his children, and his best friend gather on the island he loved to say farewell. Secrets are revealed, confidences are shared, and improbable bonds are formed as this unlikely family says goodbye to the man who brought them all together.

I have been meaning to get around to reading Elin Hilderbrand, and I thought this beachy book would be the perfect start! I enjoyed this book way more than I anticipated. This book was a little bit deeper than I thought it was going to be. You really get to know the characters, as different chapters of the book alternate between them. You also get some back story for each of the characters and their relationship with Deacon as well. I was sad when the book was done, and I have been missing some of these characters. That is the signs of a good read to me. I rated this five stars, I don’t always throw those out for a beach read. Just sayin’.

Bottom Line: If you are looking for the perfect beach read and enjoy a little family drama, this is for you! Also, there are recipes throughout the book that sound divine!

Believe Me by J.P. Delaney

A struggling actor, a Brit in America without a green card, Claire needs work and money to survive. Claire agrees to become a decoy for a firm of divorce lawyers. Hired to entrap straying husbands, she must catch them on tape with their seductive propositions. When the wife of one of Claire’s targets is violently murdered, the cops are sure the husband is to blame. Desperate to catch him before he kills again, they enlist Claire to lure him into a confession.

What is up with me and books this month where you are trying to decide if your narrator was reliable or not? Sometimes you have a hard time deciding where the acting ends and the real life begins. I am going to be honest, I had a really hard time connecting with this book. I really enjoyed The Girl Before, but this one didn’t blow me away. I didn’t care about any of the characters or what happened to them, so it took me awhile to read through this one. The writing wasn’t bad at all, so I am not sure why I couldn’t connect. The premise was really interesting though. I did enjoy the physiological aspects of the book, both in the acting classes and with the therapist who was invested in the case.

Bottom Line: This one had an interesting premise, but fell a little flat for me. I just didn’t care about any of the characters. However, it still held my interest and was well written. If you enjoyed the writing of The Girl Before, I think it is worth the read.

**I received a copy of Believe Me from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand

Kelley Quinn is the owner of Nantucket’s Winter Street Inn and the proud father of four, all of them grown and living in varying states of disarray. When he walks in on Mitzi kissing Santa Claus, utter chaos descends. It might be up to Kelley’s ex-wife, nightly news anchor Margaret Quinn, to save Christmas at the Winter Street Inn.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the family dynamics. There was just enough drama to be realistic, and sometimes funny. The book move along quickly. I didn’t feel like it dragged at all, which is sometimes appreciated. I am all for backstory and getting to know the characters, but I still feel like you get to in this one even though it moves quickly. There is a cliffhanger at the end, so I cant wait to dive in to the next one when it becomes available from the library.

Bottom Line: Great Christmas-y read if you enjoy chick lit and family drama. I did laugh a few times or say oh snap! Which I always like in a book.

Currently Reading

I might be on a Hilderbrand kick. You know me, I love a good binge read of an author!

The Rumor by Elin Hilderbrand

June 12, 2018 by Nadine

weekend shenanigans

Weekend Shenanigans

We are just cruising right through June, aren’t we? I quit doing monthly updates with Zoe after she turned a year old. Sometimes I don’t think I realize how much she changes from month to month, or even week to week since I am not doing them. She turned 18 months old on the 4th and I snapped a few pictures of her in her chair where I had been doing the monthly photos. Just look at my toddler. Cue all the tears.

She is walking and running and climbing all over the place. She wants to do everything on her own these days. Gone are the days when I would carry her out to the car after daycare. Oh no, these days Zoe wants to walk like a big girl and carry her own nap mat that is the size of her. She says hello and goodbye to everyone that we pass. She likes to put her own stuff away when we get to class. She seems to know which days the nap mat gets put up or taken home. She is eating with a spoon all on her own and cleans her face up by herself when she is done. She says a handful of words now, can bark like a dog and can point to every body part when I name them. She has learned that in the evenings, everything goes back where it belongs. She can’t have a single thing out of place before she takes her bottle. And you guys….this Saturday…..she climbed out of her crib. Well, it was more like fell out with a huge bang and lots of tears. I am SOOOOO not ready to transition to a toddler bed yet. She is only 18 months old!!!! Where did my tiny little baby go????

This weekend we had a lot of fun outside, despite the heat. Zoe loves going out and blowing bubbles, taking walks and riding in the wagon.

Silly girl has spent too much time around Mac apparently, now she is eating like him. I have never seen her do that before, she thought it was hilarious.

When she woke up, we decided to try out the new Mexican restaurant in our tiny town for a late lunch. So many people were raving about it on our neighborhood page, so we were excited. It was mediocre at best. Apparently these people around us don’t get out much. Zoe really liked the beans.

We ran some errands and then stopped by Chris’s parents house for a little while. Zoe loves running around their yard since she cant really do that at our house. (Too many hills.) Chris suggested we stop at BBQ Stop to grab some dinner to go on the way home. They seriously have some of the best BBQ and their fries are soooooo good! If you are in the Clay area, I insist that you stop!!! I ordered a cheeseburger and fries and Chris got pork and chicken to eat off of for dinner and lunch the next day.

On Sunday we knocked our grocery shopping out early and came back for lunch and nap time. Chris and I got caught up on The Originals while Zoe napped. We took her outside after she woke up and had a snack. She had so much fun with the bubbles and we took a family stroll. Thank goodness we have afternoon shade in the front of our house! It wasn’t too bad sitting there in the shade, even though it was around 93 when we were out there.

In other news, have you tried the Cascara Cold Foam Cold Brew from Starbucks? I cant remember who mentioned it last week, but I finally decided to order one. It was amazing!!! And way less calories than some of the other drinks there. Definitely give it a try!

This week I am just focusing on knocking out as much work as possible. I am trying to stay ahead so I dont feel doom for taking a week off in a few weeks. I am trying to get through the rest of Believe Me for the book link up tomorrow. And work outs. Ugh. I am trying so hard to stay on the work out train. Why is it soooooo hard to get my mojo back and keep it? If any of you mommas out there have any advice for transitioning to a toddler bed, please tell me!!!! I am hoping that the fall this weekend was an isolated incident for awhile longer…but my heart cant take another! How do you keep the kid in the bed??? I could totally see Zoe getting up and playing for hours when she should be sleeping.

Linking up with Biana. Happy Monday!

June 11, 2018 by Nadine

Older Posts

Newer Posts