Life By Nadine Lynn - Page 89 of 338

Things You Need To Know About

I have so many random pictures of things on my phone I took for a recommendations post, that I am sure there are probably more sitting in there. But these are the most recent of them. I try some good stuff sometimes, and I feel like more people need to know!!!

Parchment Muffin Liners – Did you know these existed???? For the longest time, I stocked the tin foil liners because they have less stick-age than the paper. But I still have issues with them. Scrolling in Target I found these and OMG!!! I will never go back to anything else. These are seriously amazing! Truly no stick. Go order you some here right now!!!

Skinny Foam – I found this Caramel Skinny Syrup Foam at either TJ Maxx or HomeGoods a few weeks back. You guys!!!! So good!!! Save yourself $45968 on Starbucks and just squirt a few pumps of this stuff in your morning coffee at home. Easy peasy and delicious!

Calidad Tortilla Chips – These chips were found in the International Food Aisle near the taco shells at Target. They are the closest to restaurant taste and texture that you will find. So good!!!

Waterloo Watermelon Sparking Water – I have tried the grapefruit and watermelon of these and love both so much! They taste better than La Croix and I found them at Whole Foods.

Rap Snacks Honey Dew – You guys, you might laugh but seriously. These are so incredibly delicious!!! Texture of cheese puffs with a sophisticated honey dew twist. The brand makes the coolest flavor combinations ever and you need to stop by your nearest gas station and check them out. These are my favorite, but I have enjoyed a few of the others like ranch white cheddar popcorn.

Avocado Salsa – We found this unicorn at Sam’s Club and it is so good! You get the best of both worlds, guac and salsa combined. This container is huge, but it didn’t last long around our house.

Lancome Skin Feels Good Hydrating Skin Tint – This stuff is so much better than the IT CC Cream. It smells better, it sinks into the skin better, and I like the color better. It gives you light-medium coverage and has an SPF that is perfect for the spring/summer. I have been grabbing this a lot over the last few weeks.

What products are you excited about lately? I realize that all but one of mine are food related. Clearly I have priorities.

May 4, 2018 by Nadine

about me, currently

Currently

Linking up with my girl Kristen to share what I have been up to lately.

Eating Around Birmingham: After my visit to Brat Brot last week, I knew I wanted to head there for lunch ASAP. Laura, Morgan and I hit up Brat Brot yesterday to try out their eats. I ordered the BirminghamBurger, Garten Fries with Smoked Mayo, and washed it all down with a Blood Orange Radler. Everything was delicious! Oh, Laura and I walked over there from my office. So clearly none of that food counts. 😉

Drinking: I stopped by Dunkin on my way in to work one morning because I needed caffeine stat! I was just going to order my usual caramel iced coffee, but they were out of caramel!!!!! (I mean you have ONE JOB Dunkin! COME ON NOW!) This was their second time they were out of it. WTF? Then the cashier was all, we have a coconut caramel if you would like to try it. Ummmmm why don’t you have that on your board?!?! Yes, please!!!! You guys, SO GOOD!

Reading: I just finished reading Any Dream Will Do by Debbie Macomber. It was different from every other Macomber book I have read, I will share my thoughts next Tuesday for the book link up, of course! I should be receiving my ARC of Arrogant Devil from RS Grey today!!! I cant wait to dive in and get started on it. Romantic Comedies are so of my absolute favorite to read, and I really loved RS Grey’s last book The Beau and The Belle!

Listening: Every Crooked Nanny by Mary Kay Andrews AKA Kathy Hogan Trocheck – This one is perfect on audiobook because the accents are so on point. This series takes place in Atlanta and the first book in the series was written in 1992, during the era of car phones and beepers, before social media and cell phones. It makes for some fun reading! Plus I recognize every single place they go since I lived in Atlanta for so long, it is nostalgic for me.

Watching: The Originals came back last week! Turns out this is going to be the last season, not really surprised there. I was excited to see Caroline in the first episode! Her and Damon were my favorites from Vampire Diaries. Of course, I cant get enough of Klaus and Elijah.

Working:I have been sitting complacent for a long time. Something has stirred in me recently to push myself and I have taken the first few steps to do that the past few weeks. Hopefully all my efforts and fire will bring some results.

Eating: I am trying hard to keep myself on the straight and narrow during the week. I was failing at breakfast the last few months. I think I wasn’t getting enough protein, so I was starving by 9-10am and snacking on things I didn’t need to be. I started back to drinking protein shakes this week. I am playing with some recipes, some are awesome…some….not so much. Send me all your favorite smoothie combos please!

Other than breakfast, we have taco bowls, chicken tenders, turkey burgers, meatloaf muffins and pork chops on the menu for this week. Lunch (other than my outing yesterday) has been carrots and hummus, apple, turkey sausage and some pasta salad. I am trying to get back on my lunch game as well after phoning it in lately. I just dont feel like meal prepping most weekends, you know? But that is the only way I find success during the week.

Lusting: I need a few pieces added to my spring/summer wardrobe. I have noticed that most of my black dresses have seen better days, they are faded and some of the fabric is pilling. I just cant seem to find any that I LOVE to replace them. I wont buy anything unless I absolutely love it these days. I have my eye on these sandals from Target. I think they would be so cute with my navy dresses that I have.

These blush beauties are calling my name. DV is one of my favorite brands!

I also like these ones in black. I feel they look really cute in person and I like the tiny little heel they have. Can you tell I have a thing for slides? I am going to need them to put their shoes back on sale! I hate that I missed 20% off last week.

Planning: Not too much going on this month. It is Chris’s birthday month, so hopefully I can plan a date for the two of us. Of course we have Memorial Day which I am looking forward to having off!!! And there is always Cinco De Mayo! I need to find a fun recipe to make this weekend to celebrate. And Mother’s Day is already next weekend. Crazy how fast it is all going to go, right??

Sassing: Seriously though, this pose!!!!!

Reflecting:

Laughing:

May 3, 2018 by Nadine

weekend shenanigans

Weekend Shenanigans

It was a gorgeous GORGEOUS weekend here in the south! Low humidity, mild temperatures, lots of sunshine. We don’t get many weekends like that before it becomes ungodly hot and humid, so you have to take full advantage!

I kicked Friday off with lunch at Zoe’s with my old Friday Lunch Club (minus the one who moved.) It was fabulous catching up and eating a delicious Greek salad. I even scooted out of the office 15 minutes early to get Zoe. I was shocked that the traffic was horrific. I guess everyone left the office early on Friday to enjoy the weather. I know mine was empty and I was one of the last out.

Saturday morning I had the house cleaned before 7am. After Zoe woke up, we hung around and played some while Chris cut the front and back yard. When Zoe went down for her nap, I cut the side yard. Our self propeller isn’t working in the lawn mower at all, and it took me forever to push that thing around the side hill! What should have taken about an hour took closer to two. My shoulders hurt so bad when I was done! Plus, our sunscreen was expired from last year, and I got burnt on my back and a weird random spot on my arm. I burned 974 calories according to my watch though, so score!!!!

When Zoe got up from her nap, we headed over to my sister’s house. My BIL’s birthday is today, and they had a cookout and bonfire this weekend to celebrate. We ate delicious burgers and my sister made a peanut butter pie that was to die for!!! Zoe loved getting to hang out with all her cousins, and the freedom of running around in the country suited her well. Our yard is hilly and sucks so bad, so she took full advantage of my sisters!

Sunday morning we had a big breakfast, knocked out the grocery shopping early and got Zoe down for a decent nap. I made burritos for lunch and Gorgonzola gnocchi for dinner. We got to hang outside a little in the afternoon and let Zoe blow bubbles and have a little walk. Though, it was cut short because my piece of shit neighbors cant keep their dogs contained in their own yard. You guys, I am SO SICK of my neighbors!!!! Between all the crap they leave out in their yards, their dogs roaming the streets and chasing after cars, and how ridiculous they act in our neighborhood facebook group…we cant move fast enough. Chris said he saw one of their dogs trying to dig a whole under OUR fence. I love dogs you guys, but not when uncontrolled ones ruin our enjoyment of our own home. You know??

Anyways, after Zoe went down to bed…Chris and I caught up on a few shows and called it a night.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Linking up with Biana. Let’s slay Monday!

April 30, 2018 by Nadine

favorites, friday favorites

Friday Favorites

Hey there! Friday couldn’t seem to get here fast enough, am I right? The rain has moved out and it is supposed to be a gorgeous weekend down here in the south! I am not sure what the plans are this weekend, but I know for certain I am going to soak up some nice weather.

Favorite Moments: Laura and I met up for an on the fly lunch at Avondale CommonHouse to celebrate some good news for her. We both tried the Buffalo Cauliflower Po’Boy and shared the Bruleed Banana Pudding. Cream Brulee and banana pudding are my top two favorite desserts ever. So when you combine them??? Magic you guys. Pure magic.

Yesterday Chris texted me asking if I had ever been to Brat Brot. It is a new Biergarten and sausage house that just opened literally RIGHT behind my office building. He had sent me a few pictures of the inside of the place, so I went and grabbed two of my co-workers and decided to crash his party. I ordered a radler which was made with a delicious pilsner and blood orange sparkling water. OMG It was so good!!! This has to be the coolest place ever!! I cant believe I can just walk to it anytime I please from the office. Definitely going to go back to try out the food. Laura, wanna do lunch there next week???

Favorite New Beauty Products: I have always been a big time fan of Lancome. I switch between their foundation and Estee Lauder as my two holy grails. Influenster sent me a VoxBox of a bunch of new products from Lancome and I squealed in delight when I opened them!!! You guys!!! I am so excited to share some of these with you. I have been using all of them for two weeks now and these are definitely something you are going to want to check out!!!

The Skin Feels Good tinted glow moisturizer is amazing!!!! It reminds me of IT CC Cream only about a million times better. The IT CC Cream never settles in to my skin so I can’t really make it work for me. This stuff is a light weight SPF tinted moisturizer that really provides a light/medium coverage. It has a good smell to it and it stays allllll day long on me. I am going to LIVE in this stuff for the spring summer! The color they sent me (01C Cool Porcelain) was perfect!

The Lancome – Advanced Genifique Sensitive Antioxidant Serum has been a game changer as far as makeup application goes. I never wear a primer because they never do anything for my skin. I put this stuff on under all my other face treatments in the morning and notice a huge difference in how my makeup looks when I am finished. MUCH smoother appearance!!! A little drop of this stuff goes a long way, so I see the bottle lasting a really long time.

Next up was the Lancôme – Renergie Lift Multi-Action Ultra Firming and Dark Spot Correcting Moisturizer SPF 30 which is another amazing product! Super light weight, but also very moisturizing. I love my Clinique moisturizer, but it has zero SPF and will not work for me in the summer. I think an SPF 30 moisturizer that is working to combat my dark spots is a wonderful switch up. I am loving this stuff and have had no adverse effects since starting it and you all know I have sensitive, finicky skin.

Last but not least is the lipgloss!!!! The Lancome – Prismatic Plump Lip Gloss is sooooooo stinking cool!!!! They sent me the shade Effervescent, which is like a lavender/pink holographic color that looks so neat by itself, or over any of your favorite colors. I am seriously so impressed with this stuff and plan to purchase a few more. Though, I have to say the color I got is my favorite. It feels so good and nourishing on my lips and it really gives a multidimensional effect!

Favorite Read: I am majorly lacking in passion and creativity lately. Of course, I have a huge passion for my husband and daughter. I love being a mom more than anything I have ever done. But when I am at work, or after Zoe goes to bed…I just exist. I am doing the bare minimum to get by. I have zero light burning inside of me. I feel unbalanced and unmotivated. I read this post on how to find what you are passionate about as an adult, and it really resonated with me. If you are feeling this way, please tell me I am not alone. Or if you have been there, what did you do to make it better?

Favorite Recipe: How yummy and easy does this look for a snack??

Food For Thought:

Favorite Funnies:

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

April 27, 2018 by Nadine

recipe

Stupid Simple Mexican Brown Rice

I love rice. There. I said it. I don’t care if it is a grain, a form of a carb, it is delicious! One of our go to weeknight meals is a taco bowl. We opt to skip out on taco shells, but I like to have at least rice with it! Lately it has just been extra lean ground turkey, black beans, a little cheese, taco bell sauce, jalapenos…all over some rice. I don’t like buying the 99 cent rice packets at stores. You know which ones I am talking about, the Knors or the Rice a Roni boxes. Sure, they are delicious. But do we even know what is in them? I mean, besides ridiculous amounts of salt.

I prefer to make my own rice, and have found a super cheap and easy way to do so. Without losing any flavor, of course! You probably have most all of these ingredients sitting in your pantry right now, so let’s get started.

What You Need

1 cup brown rice

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

1 teaspoon chili powder

What You Do

–Heat olive oil over medium-high heat, then stir rice around for a few minutes until it starts to get a golden color

–Pour in the chicken broth and stir. (Careful, the pan will be hot and the sauce will sizzle and bubble when you first dump it in. Often I turn the heat down until I add all my ingredients, then turn it back up.)

–Add in the tomato sauce, garlic and chili powder and stir. Bring to a boil.

–Cover and reduce heat, allowing the rice to cook until all the liquid is gone. This usually takes 20-30 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

April 24, 2018 by Nadine

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