I don’t even know how it is Monday already!?! It feels like I didn’t even have a weekend! Or maybe that is because I worked yesterday.
I did manage to escape for lunch club on Friday. We went to Hickory Tavern again. I can’t get enough of this place! I ordered the pimento grilled cheese sandwich and a side salad as my entree, and we split a small order of chili nachos. Everything was fabulous!
Chris surprised me on Friday night with a dozen roses and a decorated fire place! Just look at all the cute Mickey decor that he got. I didn’t touch a thing, this is exactly how he set it all up for me. So sweet!!!
Friday night we hung out with Chris’s parents. His dad got the new Samsung Virtual Realty Goggles and we were playing around with those. So freaking cool!!! I hope Apple steps up their game with things like that.
Saturday morning we cleaned and organized our house for several hours. We thought we might be having a realtor come by to look at it because we were thinking about making an offer on a new house and had an appointment to see it at noon. The house was a short sale and it turned out that there was a lot of deferred maintenance so we decided to pass. There are a few things I want to do around our house before we seriously put it on the market anyways so now I have time to focus on that.
Since we were so busy in the morning, we didn’t get a chance to eat. We headed down to Hickory Tavern for a late lunch and it was awesome!!! You would think I would be tired of this place but every time we go I order something different, which I have been trying to be better at doing. Say hello to the philly cheese steak sandwich with fries. So good!!!
Saturday night we got caught up on Chicago Med and Fire and then I watched The Best of Me and cried about twenty times. I really loved the book and the movie certainly did it justice! I knew what was coming and so it kept me all emotional. Damn you, Sparks!! After it was over, I watched Drive Me Crazy just to lighten the mood before crashing for the night.
Sunday I got our meal planning and grocery shopping done early and we headed to Chris’s sister’s house to celebrate their grandmother’s birthday. Then I came home and worked for several hours (BOOOOOOO) and made our traditional lasagna dinner for Valentine’s Day. Yum!!!
I may have finished off half that bottle by myself…
I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend!!! I am still trying to play catch up on my blog reading. And my book reading. And well basically everything! Let’s do this, Monday!
Favorite Song: You have to listen to Jasmine Thompson’s version of Like I’m Gonna Lose You. You just have to!!!
Favorite Moments:
–It hasn’t happened yet. I am waiting for 5:30pm tonight! Haha! You guys, this has been a LONG week and I am so slammed at work I don’t even know how I am going to make some deadlines so I am ready for this weekend.
–Spying on these two sweeties. Our backyard is very large and they have free roam of it when they are out there. However, I would say about 95% of the time you look out there…you see them right next to each other. True best friends!!!
Favorite Recipe: With Valentine’s Day coming up this weekend, I always make a pan of my homemade lasagna with homemade sauce. I have been making this for Chris and I since our very first Valentine’s Day! In fact, this might have been the first dish I ever cooked for him? The picture isn’t that great, as this post is from 2013 and like 5 iPhones ago…but the recipe is still spectacular!
Favorite Workout:I need to get a foam roller so I can do the beginning of this new Popsugar workout but the rest of it is awesome and it is to fight cellulite. I think we could all work on that, right???
Favorite Lust: Most of the time when people comment on my makeup, I am wearing some form of purple shadow. Purple has been my favorite shadow color since high school to be honest. Anyways, I have been scraping the very bottom of my last favorite one that they no longer make and have been on the hunt for some new ones. I have my eyes on this Amethyst Glam palette from Lancome!!! What is your favorite purple shadow?
Favorite Inspiration:A little reminder to all of you this Friday…
Favorite Links:
–Instagram has finally set up an account switching feature!!! Long time coming, am I right?!?!
When you see someone drinking Bud Light at a bar that offers a million craft beers…
How I feel when I get transferred to six different people (after going the the whole spill of what I need) before the right person can answer my questions…
So, I was all sad because I thought I missed out on this month’s box due to the asshole that stole my debit card last month. Then, I went to check my mailbox mid-month and there it was!!!! And this month was a good one you guys! A GOOD ONE!
What it is: All natural, vegan and cruelty free deodorant. The key ingredients are baking soda, arrowroot powder, and shea and cocoa-seed butters. It has a clean lavender scent that isn’t too overpowering, it is just right. They have other scents like Cedarwood + Juniper and Bergamont + Lime as well.
My Thoughts: So, I tried Piper Wai a few months ago and while I thought I liked it…after a month I ended up going back to my original Degree. I got tired of trying to smear it under my arms with my fingers and I wasn’t a huge fan of their scent after the first few weeks.
This stuff is a different consistency. It is sort of waxy? It’s weird. BUT!!! It smells really good and has actually been working pretty well. I really, really wish they would make this in a stick because I really do like it. I think I am going to keep trying with it, but it takes awhile to put on because of the consistency and the finger application.
Repurchase: Maybe, if a stick form came out 100% yes!
What it is: Waterproof gel eyeliner with a built in brush
My Thoughts: This is a great formula that glides on super easy. You have about 30 seconds to smudge if you want before it really starts to set. It stays put all day.
Repurchase: Honestly, I have some drugstore brands that I love for eyeliner and usually can’t justify spending more than $10 because of that. But if you like to try new liners and prefer more luxury brands then I would give this a go. It certainly feels high end to me and I have been having fun with this one! Not to mention that the color is gorgeous!
What it is: A liquid lip color that has a firm, angled tip applicator for precise delivery. This has a creamy formula that glides on pretty easily. It is not sticky at all.
My Thoughts: I liked how easy this was to put on, but I must say that you need a lip primer or liner to keep it from bleeding around the edges. The formula is surprisingly moisturizing. With my super dry, chapped winter lips this went on without any chapstick underneath! This Ruby color is actually really pretty. I am usually not a fan of red on me, but this works.
Repurchase: I think this is a great option and would consider purchasing this brand if I want to splurge a little because it is a really great formula with a pigmented color. You can tell it is of great quality.
What it is: An eye cream that plumps skin, decreases fine lines and wrinkles and moisturizes. Ingredients include Pullulan, glycosaminoglycans, algae extract, glycerin, shea butter, olive oil, avocado oil, vitamin e, cranberry-seed oil, rosemary extract, and peptides.
My Thoughts: I really like this stuff! Not only did it seem to hide some of my fine lines, it left my skin moisturized. Let’s be honest, under the eye area is the trickiest, most delicate of skin that is super finicky and can dry out so quick.
Repurchase: While I actually really like this product, I can’t get over the $105 price tag. I simply just don’t have $105 to spend on eye cream but if you do, I would give this a try!
What it is: A rich night cream with glycerin, hyaluronic acid, vitamins a, c and e, panthenol and aloe.
My Thoughts: The scent reminds me of St Ives Apricot scrub, which I like. I have been using this stuff for a month now and I am in love!!! It just glides right on and soaks in to my skin at night. I wake up feeling refreshed and soft.
Repurchase: I will most certainly be repurchasing this. It is so hard to find a night cream that I really love. This works great and I think anything under $30 for a night cream is fantastic! I am interested to try other products from this brand, I had never tried anything of theirs before.
What it is: A glittery gold polish that is five free. The formula is thick and creamy.
My Thoughts: First of all, the packing is so cute!! I love the box that it came in and the shape of the polish bottle. I applied this without a top coat because I wanted to truly see how the formula tested for $15. Sadly, I had chips and dings in the polish the same day I painted them with no top coat. With a top coat I got to about day 3/4 before the chips were really starting to look bad.
Repurchase: I am up in the air. The color of this polish was so beautiful and deep but if you are looking for a five free polish I would suggest Julep for the same price range. Their polishes tend to hang around just a little longer for me. Now if you can find this polish on sale, scoop it up! The color really is gorgeous and I like that it is five free.
Have you tried any of these products? What have you discovered recently that you love?
–Was anyone else a little devastated to hear that The Good Wife was being cancelled? Like why did they have to announce that in the middle of Super Bowl? #breakittomegently
–Speaking of shows, I really want to know what the “big secret” is all about for The Big Bang Theory. Better not be some BS! #secretssuck
–I have to be honest with myself, I did not feel super great Sunday after I consumed a ridiculous amount of buffalo chicken dip. Maybe there is something to eliminating certain foods. #butcheese
–I stared at WordPress themes for about three hours this past weekend and yet here we are with my same old theme. #indecisive
–Adding coffee creamer back to my life last week has been the best thing to ever happen. It brings me joy, I care not to eliminate it any longer! #givemecreamerorgivemedeath
–Someone recently asked me what the coolest thing about blogging was. I told them it was probably the fact that some of my closest friends are people I have never actually met. #bloggersrock
–I was looking at my Instagram account yesterday and realized that i need to get a life. Literally all the pictures lately have been food or my dogs. #needalife #foodporn
–Do you ever find yourself out at a restaurant and you are trying to Shazam a song but its not picking up? Oh yeah, me neither. #shazamed
–I might be feeling up my own biceps a lot lately. #ticketstothegunshow
–I can’t tell you how many times I pick up my phone to do something or look something up and get distracted by whatever notifications are showing on my lock screen and actually forget what I meant to do in the first place. #oldandforgetful
–My nephew is turning 11 on Thursday. How is that even possible?!?! #theygrowuptoofast
Confessions in ecard
Link up with Kathy and I and get some things off your chest!
It is book day once again!!! One of my favorite days of the month 🙂 I think I read more books this month than any other month ever!!! Let’s jump in, shall we? I am going to go ahead and give you a spoiler now…I loved all the books I read this month!
My love for Moriarty only grows deeper with each novel that I read. This book follows along a set of triplets in their 33rd year of life. There are ups and downs and laughs along the way. You really get to see what life is like as a multiple and see how different their personalities can be.
Bottom Line: Read it!!! I did this through audible. People complained about this narrator and while she is no Caroline Lee or Tamara Lovatt-Smith….once you get used to her it is completely fine and enjoyable.
Amelia uses her savings to plan a surprise Hawaii vacation for her and her boyfriend. At the last minute, her boss tells her she cant go and she gets fired. When she comes home to surprise him, she finds her boyfriend in bed with her favorite barista! She decides to take her fortune-telling aunt to Hawaii instead and instantly clicks with Dude. A stoner snorkel instructor, or so he portrays to her. Little does Amelia know that Dude is actually the super rich owner of the resort she is staying at. Will she still feel the same way once she realizes who Dude really is?
The only thing I didn’t like about this book is that I felt like the ending is a little rushed.
Bottom Line: Read it! If you are looking for a quick and hot love story with a focus on the hospitality business and Hawaii thrown in, this is for you!
*I was provided a copy of Life’s a Beach by the publisher and author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I was instantly drawn to this book when I read the synopsis. It is about Anna, who is 38 with Alzheimer’s and moves into an assisted living facility where almost exclusively, seniors live. She meets Luke, a 41 year old with a similar condition as her. Then there is Eve, the single mom who “wastes” her culinary skills to take a job at Rosalind House so that she can keep her daughter Clementine in the same school district. And poor Clementine. She is being bullied at school.
This book actually tells the story in first person from all three female characters: Anna, Eve and Clementine. It will tell you at the start of the chapter the view which you are reading from.
I actually deal with senior living facilities on a daily basis in my line of work, so that is what first inspired me to read this book. Alzheimer’s is one scary disease, if you have ever known anyone to have this…you know how hard it will inevitably be.
Favorite quote: “You don’t waste time with regrets. In the end, you just remember the moments of joy. When all is said and done, those are the things we keep.”
Bottom Line: Read it!! This book will pull a little at your heart strings and is a great reminder to enjoy the little moments.
*I was provided a copy of The Things We Keep by the publisher and author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I really loved listening to Mindy’s first book because it was like one long episode of the Mindy Project. Or like Mindy was riding along in my car telling me stories. This book was no different. I related to her when she talked about spending most of her life getting people to like her. I laughed through her beauty routine. And well, the way she described sorority’s and who she would cast in a movie about them was pretty spot on. Or at least for my school it was. I liked the stories she shared about a guy that she dated. And I related to her about some struggles of body image and eating.
I absolutely hated the fake emails of her being a teacher back in 2005. It was all made up, I didn’t understand the point and it went on a bit too long for my liking.
Bottom Line: If you liked the first book or The Mindy Project, then you would probably enjoy this book. I liked the first one better, but this one was still enjoyable to listen to.
Hot pocket! Even if you don’t know anything about Jim Gaffigan, you have had to have heard his hot pocket skit. If you haven’t, go you tube it and come back. I will wait…
Ok, now that you are laughing, you understand this book better!
In the first part of the book, Gaffigan talks about food around difference regions of the country. I had to relate to him on his feelings about things like oysters. I am not a fan. And his spill on grits? I died laughing. Grits = gross! He also talks about how we as a country have an unhealthy relationship with food. How we are constantly eating and how food is a social activity. Isn’t that the truth?
I listened to this book while doing Whole 30 and I gotta say, there were a few sections when I would have killed to have a burger, donut, cheesecake or just anything unhealthy. I was thinking…why???? Why did I listen to this when I can’t eat any of it? It was probably for the best! I laughed out loud more times than I could count.
Bottom Line: I find Jim Gaffigan’s comedic approach on food to be refreshing and enjoyable to listen to. We spend so much time on reading articles and watching documentaries on what not to do, it is nice to laugh about some of these problems.
I basically want to move to Scribbly Gum Island! Sophie Honeywell inherits a beautiful house from her ex almost fiance Thomas’s Aunt Connie when she passes away. Then there is the whole Monroe Baby mystery. What ever did happen to Alice and Jack?? When Sophie moves to the island, she gets closer with the whole family and realizes that she can create her own fairy tale ending.
I loved listening to this book. I love how much depth Moriarty gives her characters and this book goes deep.
Bottom Line: Loved this one, I would suggest reading it if you are a Moriarty fan!!
I absolutely adored this book! You meet Kara, a US Senator’s daughter who is constantly in the spotlight of the media…and her critical mother’s eye. She has kept her true self so hidden from the world that she almost feels she has lost who she is. Somehow she became a food critic for an LA paper.
Then you have Logan Rye who grew up on a farm and has opened a trendy farm to table restaurant in LA.
Kara and Logan met in Paris back when they were in college. Logan knew Kara as Winnie Parker then and they had the perfect relationship blooming. That was until Kara’s parents sent someone to come bring her back home. Kara left Logan in Paris and broke both of their hearts.
Kara is now given the task of doing a three part write up on Logan’s new restaurant. Will their love be given a second chance?
This book was considered Women’s Fiction/Romance. This isn’t some fast pace romance book where the characters are constantly in bed. This is much more about the struggles these two have to overcome and in their relationship as well as with their own selves. This is a love story that builds and builds over time. So much so that I felt there was a spot or two where the book dragged a little, but it was more to build depth to these characters.
Bottom Line: If you love a book about second chances, then check this one out! I loved it!
*I was provided a copy of Taste: A Love Story by the publisher and author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I do have a question for those of you who are reading my book post today. What is your favorite format to read book reviews like this? Do you want a synopsis of what the book was about and my opinion…just my opinion. A few short lines about each? Just curious. For the books I review for Netgalley and Blogging for Books I need to go a little more in depth but for the books I read on my own I wasn’t sure what everyone prefers.
