Well this week sure did get away from me! I meant to show up Monday for weekend shenanigans, but it never did happen. Summer is in full swing down here in the south. Hot, humid, muggy, random thunderstorms. I am like, hey fall, where you at??? But, I so love spending time with Zoe outside in the evenings! We play golf, ring toss, bubbles, go for walks, ride her bike. It is just so much fun!

Favorite Meal: Last Friday, Laura and I went to East West Birmingham. It was my first time, I have been dying to go since they opened last year. They only do lunch on Fridays, so you have to plan ahead. We shared some fried cauliflower as an app, and I ordered a pork belly and short rib bao bun as my main dish. SO FREAKING DELISH!!!! Those buns are like tiny clouds. Freaking yum. I hope to go back again soon!

Favorite Treat: My friend and I have made a habit of stopping by Birmingham Candy Company after our lunches when we meet at Pizitz. They are amazing!!! There is so much to chose from, everything is delicious, and the people that work there are so nice and friendly. They are seriously passionate about what they do, and I mean, who wouldn’t be when you are serving up little happies to everyone. If you are ever in Birmingham, you have to make this stop!

Favorite Moments: We went to Rodney Scott BBQ last Saturday, and then walked around 5 Points with Zoe and showed her the Storyteller Fountain. Which honestly, is quite creepy, but a staple landmark and fun to see. By the way, Rodney Scotts has the best turkey and hush puppies in all the land, and their kids chicken meal is so delicious!

Favorite Purchase: My hair dryer caught on fire last Friday. What a way to start the day, am I right??? It was time for a new one, so I headed to Ulta and grabbed the Drybar, after so many people messaged me that it was the best. I have to admit, I am loving it so far!!! I noticed that it doesn’t get near as hot as my old one…but I am thinking that is part of its magic? My hair has been sooooo soft all week!! It was quite pricey, but I am thinking worth it.

Favorite Funnies:

I hope that you all have a great weekend!!!

Book day!!! I am having a hard time believing I only read two books this month. I am in the middle of an audiobook and a physical book right now, but two finished doesn’t seem accurate? Serves me right, not having this post going as the month went on like I usually do. It is really hard to remember what all you read over the last month, time blends together!

Anyways, I am babbling. Linking up with Steph and Jana. (Happy belated Birthday, Jana!!!) Both book were wonderful, so excuse me while I gush for a minute.

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

First of all, you have to read the introduction! It makes me want to be besties with the author! I absolutely loved this book. And some of the quotes are so fantastic! I have to share two of my favorites…

“Just do something. You might make a mistake, then you can fix it. But if you do nothing, you can’t fix anything. And your life might turn out full of regrets.” 

“Because life is like that, isn’t it? If you thought of all the tiny things that divert your path one way or another, some good, some bad, you’d never do anything ever again. And some people don’t. Some people go through life not really deciding to do much, not wanting to, always too fearful of the consequences to try something new. Of course, that in itself is also a decision.” 

I immediately found myself cheering for Nina, and can totally relate to her situations in some ways, having lost my job last year. I wish I had her confidence to push forward with a dream. There were so many great characters in this book, and you feel like you are experiencing everything with Nina.

Bottom Line: Read it!!! If for no other reason, but because you are a book lover and so is Nina and all the booksish things about the book are awesome! I absolutely adored this one.

Coldhearted Boss by R.S. Grey

I do love a good R.S. Grey book, and this has been my favorite of the last few I have read. Misunderstandings, family drama, mean boss, saucy girl, sexual tension, hot construction workers, small town feel, I mean this book has it all! This was a slow, slow burn romance and had me LOL’ing multiple times.

Bottom Line: If you like romantic comedies, read it!

**Thanks R.S. Grey for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.**

Currently Reading

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

It was a rainy weekend here in Birmingham. We needed the rain though, and sometimes it is nice to have a lazy day because of it…you know?

You know those days where the universe kicks you when you are already down, and you are just like….really??? Well that day was Friday for me. It started out alright, but when I got to work…my lunch plans got cancelled. We were going somewhere new that is only open on Fridays, but at least we have that to look forward to this Friday. But then a work email came in that enraged me. And then I had an accounting disaster with this software that I finally wrote over in black sharpie because there was no fixing the damn thing no matter how many times I deleted or switched out it was entered. On my walk to lunch, there was a huge ass puddle that I stepped in that splashed poop colored water ALLLLL over my pant leg. And the day just went on like that.

But I had a poke bowl and diet coke for lunch, and it was delicious!

And then the best thing ever was said to me in the car, right after I picked Zoe up at daycare. We were sitting at the red light, right outside of the school parking lot and she said “Mommy, you’re my best friend.” I sat silent for a second making sure I heard correctly. And I said, “I’m your best friend??” and she said “yes, mommy, you are my best friend!” I hope I am always her best friend. <3

When we got home, it was kind of wet outside and she decided she wanted to stay in. She is really into coloring right now, and I absolutely love it!! I have always loved to color. I find it really relaxing.

Saturday morning, we met my sister and nephew at Chick Fil A for a super late breakfast/early lunch. Then hit up Target to do our grocery shopping. Did anyone else take advantage of the extra 5% off for redcard holders this week??? What a deal!

I bought Zoe some non-toxic kid nail polish while we were there too. She has been asking for weeks to have pink toes. She was so cute trying to decide what color she wanted to paint her toes. She settled on the darker pink color, which I did them all in. And then decided she wanted purple and blue toes too….soooo basically each toe is a different color now. They are so cute! We grabbed the piggy paints if you are looking for a good kid polish!

Saturday afternoon, we ran some errands and then headed over to Chris’s parents house because it was his dad’s birthday. We skipped nap time, so Zoe was exhausted when we got home and promptly went to bed!

Sunday it rained on and off all day. We ended up riding bikes and playing in the garage for a little bit with the door open. Zoe has a new obsession with Fancy Nancy, so we watched lots of that and she was attached to her Nancy doll and Frenchie dog, and we even had an ice cream party Sunday afternoon on the living room floor since there was a thunderstorm outside.

I even made homemade banana pudding since we had so many extra bananas sitting around! It was delicious!

Just like that, its Monday morning! I started and finished RS Greys new book this weekend, and plan to talk about it tomorrow for book day!!! Cant believe it is time to link up already! Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Linking up with Kristen for What’s New With You! On the right day even, look at me go!

Reading: I just received the ARC of Coldhearted Boss from R. S. Grey yesterday and I am in deep! Love her! You can pre-order it now for like 99 cents, so get on it!

Listening: Lindsay and Christine went live yesterday with Influenced The Podcast!! I am so proud and happy for these two. I listened on my way in to work in the morning, and it was like they were two friends chatting with me in the car. I cant wait for their next episode to drop!

Watching: Riverdale! We finished the current season Tuesday night. Goodness! Who else??

Eating: A combination of all the healthy things, and not the healthy things. Balance, you all. I don’t know why I am struggling so hard with it right now, but I am. We do pretty good during the week, and that is good enough for me right now. I have upped my workouts in the morning and hoping that helps! Because…..

Planning: Our annual beach trip is coming up! I cant wait to experience all the excitement and wonder through Zoe’s eyes this year. It will be her third beach trip, but I feel like this year is going to really be fun for her. Here is a picture from last year, and two from her first trip. EEEEE she has grown so much!!!!

Just look at her now!

But seriously, can we talk about this little fashionista? The girl can pull off a tutu skirt.

Loving: The Harry’s shower gel!!! I got the fig scent and OMG!!!! It is amazing! I had been using a sensitive skin, no fragrance one but my whole body is itchy and spotchy so I had to make an emergency switch. This is clean, no sulfates, parabens, dyes, etc. I absolutely love the scent!! I cant quite put my finger on what it is about it, but it sort of reminds me of the winter candles from Bath and Body Works but better. I found it in the men’s section, figures they get all the good shit, right?? How fun is the packaging?

Excited: I am meeting up with two of my former co-workers for lunch today. Haven’t seen them since September, so it will be nice to catch up!

Laughing:  

Short weeks are the best weeks! You know what else is the best, summer hours. Who knew that was a thing??? But my company closes at 3:00 pm on Fridays from Memorial Day to Labor Day!!! I will probably just wander around Target alone for 30 minutes before I get Zoe from daycare…because that is what moms do when they have alone time. Its like a vacation, lol.

Favorite Moments: Laura and I grabbed lunch yesterday. We had plans for today, but I had to do a switch-a-roo on her, so we rescheduled our original outing for next week and went to Carrigan’s yesterday. It has been in Birmingham for quite some time, but I have never been. such a fun spot! They have a lot of outside area, and would be really nice on a summer night! (You know, after the sun goes down because we are flying close to 100 degrees here already.)

Anyways, we decided to split our meals so we could have some tastes of each, I got the corn dog and Laura got the au jus sandwich. Both were freaking amazing and they have REALLY good fries. We totally burned all our food off on the several blocks walk back to our offices in the hot hot sun.

We also spotted the Before I Die…mural wall on Morris Avenue that has really filled up since it was done!

Favorite Finds: Another product my dermatologist recommended for me was Elta MD PM Therapy. My morning moisturizer is tinted and has spf in it, so I needed something else for evenings. I am really loving this! I feel like it is a pretty affordable option considering the ingredients and how much some moisturizers can be. (Its half the price of my morning one!) There is no scent, so it works for most skin types. I notice when I get in the shower the next morning…I can tell that my skin just soaked alllll those peptides up overnight. Also, I really prefer pumps to jars where you have to stick your fingers in.

Favorite Podcast: I have gotten back into listening to some podcasts again. I am really loving the Lauren Conrad one! Thanks Emelia for the heads up!

Favorite Funnies: