book review, books

Books

Another month of books have come and gone! Linking up with Jana and Steph.

The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews

The Weekenders

I devoured this book much quicker than I thought I would! I picked it up every chance I got. This is much longer than your normal beach read, but it didn’t lag in the least bit and I loved all the details and plot development. The beach town setting was perfect and I loved that it wasn’t always perfect through the story.

Bototm Line: This is the perfect beach read!! You get a little love, a scandal, some mystery and a storm.

Rating: 4/5

Brew or Die A Java Jive Mystery by Caroline Fardig

 

Brew or Die: A Java Jive Mystery

I best describe this series and the leading lady as a more competent Stephanie Plum. This is the forth book and I have to say, I am still enjoying the series! I love all the characters and the shenanigans. Jules is officially a licensed PI and takes it on as a second job. This one kept me reeled in because Jules teams up with someone you would least expect to work work on a case!! The love tangle between Jules, Stafford, Pete and Ryder had me hooked the whole time but then I ended up getting pissed at the very end of the book and slapping my head. I am hoping there is another installment and Juliet finally moves on in one direction or another. I am team Ryder all the way though. As for the mystery part, I sort of had suspicions early on in both investigation she worked on, but there were a few surprises and twists thrown in.

Bottom Line: If you are looking for a cute, cozy mystery or you like the Plum series and Janet Evanovich, then give this a try!

Rating:4/5

**I received a copy of Brew or Die from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

The Royal We by Heather Cocks

The Royal We

When I first started seeing reviews for this book, I rolled my eyes. I could care less about the royal family. I mean, I wish I had Kate’s closet and I think she is gorgeous….but that is about where my thoughts about them end. I was sure I wouldn’t care to read this book….but then all of you…people who normally don’t even read this type of book…gave it a great review. Ok fine, I will read it!!!

Anyways, I LOVED this book!!! It is a long one, and I managed to have it finished in a week which is a pretty big deal for me right now. There is so much character development and little details in this book and I loved all the little side stories leading up to the current time. This was just a super fun read that kept me interested the whole time.

Bottom Line: Read it!! This is probably one of my favorite books so far this year. I really just enjoyed it so much.

Rating:5/5

A Man Called Ove by Frederick Backman

A Man Called Ove

At first I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book. I sort of got lost a little in some of the details of the story at the beginning. I will be vague to not give any spoilers, I then realized what was really going on with Ove and what he was tying to do. That kept me interested and then I really started to enjoy the story. I liked how the book bounced back and forth between current day, and stories from his past that shed light to lead him to who he is. I like how Ove is strict with his routines, principals and views on life. I have a feeling we are all going to be a little cranky like Ove when we are older.

Bottom Line: This was a sweet book and I really enjoyed it.

Rating:4/5

Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber

Dashing Through the Snow

I seriously don’t follow the holidays or seasons when it comes to reading. I needed a little snow in my very hot July! This was a cute love story and I enjoyed the holiday aspect of it. To be completely honest though, I never really connected with any of the characters and the story felt a little cheesy to me and very predictable.

Bottom Line: If you are looking for a light holiday read, this might fit the bill. It wasn’t my favorite though.

Rating: 2.5/5

Currently Reading:

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

The Roanoke Girls

I am only about 60 pages in to this one so far, but I can already tell it is messed up, but I am intrigued and enjoying it.

weekend shenanigans

Weekend Shenanigans

Today is Zoe’s first day of daycare and I am sure to be in a puddle of tears right now. We went to the open house last week and one of her teachers asked to hold her and she was hysterical when I was right there. I can’t even imagine what it is going to be like when I drop her off this morning. I will for sure be the mom ugly crying in the hallway on the way out! Ugh, I can’t think about it anymore….

This weekend was a good one! We started our Friday night out with some turkey taco sweet potato nachos. They were delicious!!! Such a good and fairly healthy way to ring in the weekend!

Saturday morning during Zoe’s nap, I cut the backyard. Then we headed out to do a little shopping. We scored some major sales for Zoe at Nordstrom Rack and Bargain Hunt. Gotta start putting together her fall wardrobe for the next size up. Fun fact, Zoe loves looking through her new clothes when we get home. Just the way my mom and I always have a “day in review” after we go shopping. She even modeled a headband in her best pose.

We grabbed a late lunch at the Tavern, where Zoe sat in a high chair like a big girl and had so much fun. She might have stared at our crab dip and my burger while she had her bottle. I think she wants the rest of her teeth to hurry on up!

There was a family that walked past our table on the way out. An older man was at behind them all and he looked down at Zoe and smiled and said, “You know, she was that small just yesterday….” Speaking of his daughter who was in front of him and probably my age. Funny how fast they grow, huh?

Saturday night we played many rounds of Zoe’s favorite new game. Peekaboo! She is obsessed! She even grabs the curtains behind her bouncer to hide behind now. It is the cutest thing ever.

Sunday morning I cleaned up around the house some, meal planned and grocery shopped. We picked up some Olive Garden to go for lunch. They were out of cheese ravioli, so I decided to try the three cheese stuffed shells. O.M.G. SO GOOD! I cant remember the last time I had stuffed shells, probably when I lived with my parents! My mom used to make them all the time.

I pretty much snacked off my plate the rest of the day while we caught up to the current season of Ballers. We also tried Goliath and worked through a few episodes of it. It really hooked us in!

Image result for goliath

Will Billy Bob Thornton ever be anyone other than Bad Santa? I think not. It’s a good show, check it out if you are looking for something to binge.

Sunday evening I started getting together everything that I need to send Zoe to daycare with and started reading Roanoke Girls. Can’t believe the book link up is tomorrow!!!

One more picture because everyone deserves to ride into Monday on a unicorn. She has the princess wave down.

Linking up with Biana. I hope you all have a fabulous week. If you are looking for me, you can probably find me under my desk crying and staring at the daycare cameras on my phone.

favorites, friday favorites

Friday Favorites

I looked at the calendar and I can’t believe it, Zoe is eight months old today!!! What???? Didn’t I just post her 7 month pictures? This week (and month) has just flown on by and August is already all up on us. School starts back up here next week, and Zoe also starts daycare. I have been in denial all week and on the verge of tears just about every five minutes soooo it’s been an interesting one. I am not sure what our plans are this weekend. I know the backyard needs to be cut. At least I will get a good sweat in. What are your plans?

Favorite Moments: This week, Zoe started army crawling!!! She had started pulling up on things a week or two ago, and has mastered that skill as you can see from the evidence above. She’s holding her bottles and sippy cups like a pro and basically all grown up now. We got to spend some time with two of her cousins this week, Zoe loves getting to hang out with them.

Favorite Delivery:I had won Kate’s SOAK giveaway a few weeks ago, and my shoes came in this week! They are super comfortable and perfect for a hot summer day. I really like that they aren’t completely flat and provide a little arch support. That is hard to find in a summer shoe. I love that these shoes are vegan, recyclable, eco-friendly and made right here in the good USA! You can find them on sale here. Kate had a code GREEN15 to save from their direct site. Not sure if it still works or not.

Favorite Recipe: These Zucchini Taco Roll Ups sounds fun! I am always looking for different recipes to switch things up in the kitchen while trying to stay healthy.

Zucchini Taco Roll Ups Recipe - Family Fresh Meals recipe

Favorite Funnies:

Emperors new groove when the llama walks through that resataurant and that guy gives pacha a thumbs up, i laughed so stinking hard.

Linking up with Amanda. Have a great weekend!

about me, currently

Currently

Linking up with Kristen and Gretch for a little What’s New With You currently post!

Reading: I just finished Brew or Die and will have the review in the next book link up! I am now on to Dashing Through the Snow. A little Christmas in July/August anyone?

Dashing Through the Snow

Watching:Chris and I just finished watching Ozark on Tuesday night. Get on it!!! SO good!!!

Image result for ozark

I also catch episodes of Young and Hungry here and there. It’s a cute show that doesn’t make you think and you might have a laugh or two. We are talking about starting Game of Thrones. We have resisted this long but everyone watches it. Maybe we are missing out? We’ve never given it a chance. I can’t wait for fall TV to start back up!

Image result for young and hungry

Snacking:Carrots and blue cheese, Italian Roll Ups and cherries. I love when cherries go to $1.99 per pound. I take full advantage!

Working: We need to baby proof the house!!! Zoe started arming crawling this week! Not full on crawling, but couple that with the fact that she can pull up on things around the house, it is time to get serious! I rearranged her room yesterday so that she cant knock over her book shelf or side table. I also removed her swing and then cried for like 10 minutes. She is getting so big and she changes every day!

I also started filling in Zoe’s baby book this week. I don’t know why I have waited for almost 8 months to do it, but we are caught up to current on it now. I really want to make photo books for 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months and 9-12 months. I have yet to start any of that, so we shall see how that goes. I was going to do one book for each month the first year of her life but that sounds a little excessive to me now. Though, I have thousands of pictures and I have a feeling I am going to have a hard time narrowing them down for the four books I want to do. Who knows. Mom’ out there, did you do either?

Purchasing: My Sephora order came last night. I repurchased the Murad Time Release Acne face wash and my coveted Clinique Moisture Surge Intense moisturizer. You guys, both of these are seriously amazing. I have been using the moisturizer for almost a year now, and I started the face wash a few months after I had Zoe. My face is the clearest it has been in a long time and it feels super soft! This is my second bottle of face wash and my third or fourth jar of the moisturizer.

 

Excited: The solar eclipse is this month! It is also my birthday month! Though, turning 34 isn’t anything to get too excited over. It sounds so old, doesn’t it?

What are you up to?

weekend shenanigans

Weekend Shenanigans

I had to double check the date this morning, last day of July already?? Sometimes I sit on the couch Sunday night winding down and I think….how is the weekend already gone? What did we even do?? Work days never go by that quickly, am I right??

Saturday morning, I was out bright and early during Zoe’s morning nap cutting the side yard. Man was it HOT!!! I got 3/4 of the way down that huge hill and decided to quit for the day. I had stepped in no less than about 15 aunt piles and had bites all up and down my legs. And a damn armadillo decided to dig holes all over the place, and I had rolled my ankle in one of them. I hate those nasty animals and their gross looking tails. Ew.

Chris’s friend was coming over to watch Tomorrowland with him, so Zoe and I decided to have a girls day! We headed out to JcPenney and Target. JCP was having a Black Friday in July sale and I scored all the clothes for Zoe in that picture above for $17!!! Target had some toys on clearance, so I scooped up that tea party set for $8.98. Every princess needs tea party supplies!!! Cartwheel had a coupon for 20% off all BlueRays and DVDs so I grabbed my favorite, Beauty and the Beast, for Zoe to kick off Christmas shopping. I want her to have a strong collection so what better time to start! I also grabbed some groceries and then headed over to Moe’s BBQ to pick up some lunch for the boys.

Image result for catfight

Saturday night I wasted an hour and a half of my life watching Catfight on Netflix. Have you seen this movie?? I had really high hopes for it because Sandra Oh and Alicia Silverstone were in it. You guys, if you haven’t watched it….DONT!!! It was the dumbest movie I have ever seen. I don’t even know why I finished watching it? I think out of curiosity to see what the point of it was? Spoiler, there wasn’t one. Sandra Oh should have stuck with Grey’s.

Sunday morning during Zoe’s nap, I finished cutting the side yard and then tackled the front. I have to say I have our grass looking pretty darn good!!! The rest of the day was spent playing with Zoe, making sweet potato BBQ nachos with the leftovers from Saturday, and Chris and I make a huge dent in the first season of Ozark. Now that is a good show!!!!

Image result for ozark tv show

This is my last week working from home, so cue all the tears. I am going to be soaking up every last second of this extra time with Zoe and enjoying my mornings without that nasty commute downtown. I woke up this morning and worked out to get my week started right. I lost 2 pounds last week and 2 pounds the week before that. My goal is to be at my pre-pregnancy weight before Zoe hits 40 weeks old. I figure 40 weeks on, 40 weeks off. I have 8 more pounds to go! I will be getting a little time in with one of my nephews this week. Hopefully finish up the audiobook I have been listening to before it is due back to the library. And I am hoping my new glasses will be in so I can go pick them up one day this week!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Best wishes for a quick and painless Monday! Linking up with Biana.