Nadine

Happy Friday! Halloween weekend is upon us!!! It is insane how fast October how flown! Last night, Zoe had observation night at dance. This is where a parent is allowed to sit in class and watch how far they have progressed. They also debut our recital costumes. which are so cute this year!!! And then there was a Halloween party. All the girls were allowed to dress up in costume, and they looked so darn cute! Zoe chose Queen Anna this year.

It was nice to see some of my dance mom friends. Four of the girls started dance together in 2019, and its crazy how much they have grown since then! We also started the last session of the year for gymnastics this week, it has been a busy one! I love seeing Zoe’s confidence grow as she is picking up new skills.

Today, Zoe has Fall Festival at school. We have a bye week this weekend for football, though I am sure we will catch some other games. I think we are going to make Halloween sugar cookies and watch a few movies. The temperature has dropped dramatically over the last few days, and it is actually feeling like fall here.

Favorite Finds: I love a lot of the dresses at Tuckernuck and had this antelope print dress on my mind for a long time. Finally pulled the trigger. The material/print is so pretty in person and the dress feels high quality.

I am obsessed with this Candy Cane Shea Sugar Scrub!!!! Full disclosure, I received this from BzzAgent, but I am not required to talk about it on my blog or social media. However, I already purchase scrubs from this brand all the time, and this is my absolute favorite scent!!! It is a limited time thing, so make sure you scoop it up!!! This is my favorite drug store brand scrub, you cannot beat the price. I grabbed another for when my current runs out.

I have been using this GloPro for two weeks and really loving the results. I wash my face and then do this all over before applying my serums a few times a week. The immediate glow I get on my skin is insane. I definitely can tell a difference already, and its only been a short amount of time using it. I will check back in with longer term results, but this would make a great Christmas present!!!

When my friend opened Cottage In the Hedge, she mentioned that she had a wish list that she shops from if you are looking for something specific. I immediately contacted her for some milk glass hobnail pieces. I have a few of my grandmother’s candy bowls that I am obsessed with, and have collected a few other pieces from antique shops over the years. After several months of collecting for me, I received my treasures in perfect condition last week! Alexandra is the best! Definitely check out her shop if you are looking for something special. I can’t wait to style these around my house.

Favorite Recipe: I have been making these pumpkin pancakes all year, but tis the season for all the pumpkin things and this is your reminder that you need these in your life!!! We are all in love with them over here and I swear at least once or twice a month they are made.

Favorite Workout: I really enjoyed Heather’s last AMWRAP workout, so I was excited to see this new one. It is a little bit shorter and hits all the major moves.

Favorite Funnies:

It’s coming…

I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend and a happy and safe Halloween! Linking up with Friday Favorites. I will *hopefully* be back Monday with a book post!

Happy Friday! Can you believe we are closing in on the last week of October?? So crazy! I still haven’t watched Hocus Pocus this month, need to get right on that! Zoe and I started watching the Harry Potter movies together last weekend. We finished the first and are a little ways into the second. I read the books for the first time in 2013, and had never seen the movies. I think she is a fan, though she got scared during the troll scene. She asked for dolls from the movie for Christmas…so that’s a good sign. They make Barbie sized Hermione and Harry.

This was Zoe’s first week back to school, and the girl has been all smiles. Every day I pick her up, she tells me how it was the best day ever. So happy to hear!!! We had a little bit of a rough drop off yesterday, she said that she was going to miss me. Sweet girl. Her teachers are really good about just grabbing them and pushing you off on your way.

Favorite Find: I had this jacket in my cart for awhile, and one day I decided to just pull the trigger. I am so glad I did! It is so cute in person!!! It looks much higher end than it is, and it fits true to size. I had both Chris and Zoe tell me separately that I looked cool when I wore it. If that isn’t a win, I don’t know what is.

Zoe has said that she was going to ask Santa for this food truck for Christmas for the last 8-9 months…so I felt pretty confident ordering it this week. It comes put together, even better! I ordered several other things this week, and am about 90% done with her Christmas and birthday presents now. I need to figure out some stocking stuffers and get her a pair of boots for fall/winter.

Parents of older kids….where do you hide presents???? I have these in their shipping boxes in my office closet. She hasn’t figured that out yet…but I just know that maybe next year or the year after she is going to be too smart for them to be out in plain view.

Favorite Recipe: I cant remember if I shared this recipe or not after I made it the first time, but these boneless crockpot wings are amazing and so easy to make! We have been rotating them in our game day snacks and they would be great for a weeknight meal paired with a side as well.

Favorite Workout: Heather coming in hot with a no repeat! Sometimes I love no repeat workout because they always seem to go faster for me. Also, you know that move you hate isn’t coming back around on the second rep so it is easier to just get through it once and move on.

Favorite Funnies:

Linking up for Friday Favorites. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

This is the week that never ends! I thought Tuesday and Wednesday were both Thursday, so there is that. The Amazon holiday toy catalog arrived this week, did you get yours? I get really excited when I see it and Target. I absolutely love to sit down with Zoe and let her circle the items she wants for her birthday and Christmas. It reminds me of when I was little, and the Sears and Hills ads would come in. My mom, sister and I used to look at them together. And then I get the Hills jingle “Hills is where the toys are.” stuck in my head. Anyone remember Hills? I think Ames bought them out in the 90’s, and they were only up north. (And I still think the 90’s was the last decade, because when I typed that I was like…well that wasn’t that long ago. Oh wait.)

Anyways, Zoe circled about 10 things in the catalog, which is an improvement from the entire catalog like last year. She is really into Barbies, My Little Pony and dolls. I shared the Ily doll and accessories that we got her last week. They had the American Girl Wellie Wishers in the Amazon catalog. It says they are 14 inch dolls. Zoe already has an 18 inch doll, and the Ily doll is 18 inches. I wonder if it is even worth it? Or if we should just wait til next year and take her to get the regular size from the American Girl store in Atlanta. Girl moms, do you have the Wellie Wishers? Should we even bother?

Work has been keeping me pretty busy. I started decorating for fall on September 1st inside, but last weekend we put our Snoopy blow up outside. Zoe has to say hi to him every morning when we bring Mac out. I think we are all anxiously awaiting for the return of Gobbles, our huge disco lit Turkey. I am sure my neighbors are excited too, lol.

We have been talking a lot about the solar system, moon and stars, and have been working in an educational workbook about it all. Zoe decided she wanted to put her solar system puzzle together. It’s such a good one. We got it for her last year for Christmas.

Favorite Finds: I am a sucker for animal prints, I think you all know this. It is rare to see Zebra like this. And at such an affordable price from my favorite sweatshirt brand!

I am also obsessed with this sweater. It looks so much higher end than it costs. I have several pieces from this brand, and they do not disappoint. I can’t decide, all three colors are amazing. It is going fast.

And I am a fan of this sweater too. Me and stripes have a long history together.

Favorite Recipe: I made this sweet potato appetizer two weekends ago for game day. It was pretty easy to make and quite tasty! I candied the pecans myself and used cranberry goat cheese instead of getting a bag of cranberries. Delicious!

Favorite Workout: This low impact HIIT was a good one! I try to take it easy on my knees outside of leg day, so low impact is something I seek out a few days a week.

Favorite Funnies:

Linking up for Friday Favorites. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Friday! It was a rainy week here in Birmingham. There are some crazy stories of flooding in different areas. I heard that we lost four people due to flooding, and there are numerous homes that have water up to the top of the couches. While we got quite a lot of rain at our house, we didn’t experience it to that level. I am happy to see sun and dry days back on the forecast in time for the weekend, even if it is going to be hot. No one is more unhappy than a kid that can’t go outside.

I am in a bit of a reading rut this week. I started a book several days ago, and never really feel like picking it up. I think it might be a sign to ditch it. I have Apple Never Falls and I really want to start it, but man is it a long one! To give me some inspiration, I love looking at book lists for the upcoming seasons. Here is 14 books to read on a cozy Autumn night. And if romance is your thing, this is the best fall romances list.

Favorite Purchases: I am about out on my Dior Primer and I have got to say, I really love this stuff!!! I love it even more than Lancome. It really makes a difference with my lashes and I highly suggest it.

Had to grab a big box of the caramel apple pie kcups! I fell in love with them from Aldi, but of course they sold out the first week and haven’t been back. So glad to find a big box of these to get us through the season.

I have been working my way through Zoe’s birthday and Christmas lists. She asked for this Ily doll for her birthday, and it came in last night. It is soooo cute in person! I love that they are princess inspired without actually being the princesses. You can get all sorts of princess inspired outfits and different accessory kits to go with them. The best thing is that these are 18 inch dolls so they can share clothes with the American Girl and Our Generation dolls. We haven’t gotten into buying the actual American Girl dolls yet, but I have a feeling next year we will take her over to Atlanta and do that whole experience. What are your kiddos into this year for Christmas?

Favorite Aldi Finds: I haven’t made it to Aldi this week, but over the weekend I placed an order for pumpkins and coffee. This caramel cappuccino is SO GOOD! I am going to order a few boxes next time. I love how big their pumpkins are, Zoe and I placed them immediately on our porch when we got home.

Favorite Recipe: For game day last weekend (Roll Tide Roll!!!!!!!!!!) we made Olive Garden style Fried Lasagna in air fryer. It was so good! Zoe said it is her favorite. Definitely need to check it out!

Favorite Workout: I am loving the new structure of Mr and Mrs Muscles’ workouts. Instead of doing several moves in 4 sets, it is broken up to a a few moves twice then you move on. There is also a stretch at the beginning, when before there wasn’t.

Favorite Funnies:

Linking up for Friday Favorites. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Linking up with Tanya. Had a lot of Amazon purchases this month. such a random assortment, but aren’t they all? Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? I have a good chunk done, I need to go through and inventory what all I have collected the past few months.

The Pink Stuff – This stuff is seriously a miracle worker!!! I used it to clean our flattop stove and wow!!!! It looks brand new. I love that it works great, but it also uses natural ingredients and it smells pleasant. This will be a staple in our house.

The People We Keep – I had to order this one for book club last month. Despite the rest of my book club not loving the book, I quite enjoyed it.

Kitchenaid Whisk – I bought a new whisk from Homegoods about a year or so ago, and it already broke. I should have gone with one of my favorite brands to start with! This one is study and pretty, and dishwasher safe…unlike the other.

Garden of Life Vitamins – I switched over to these a few months ago and have been loving them. Have you looked at the ingredients in gummy vitamins??? Horrifying.

Sight Words – I grabbed this for Zoe, as we are starting to learn letter sounds and working on site words. She thinks it is just a game and hardly realizes that she is learning. Love this!

Dance Outfit – Zoe had a major growth spurt recently and we are needing to replace a lot of her dance outfits. This color is GORGEOUS in person, and the back with the criss-cross looks so fancy. The body is really soft too.

Dance Outfit – Zoe loved the colors of this one. Another winner. This reminds me of the 80s for some reason and I love it.

Clifford We Love You – We have checked this out of the library so many times, we decided to just buy it. It has a song that you sing for half the book and Zoe LOVES it. You can only find it used, and it is hard sometimes to get it.

Bike Seat – Chris ordered an exercise bike and man is the seat so hard and uncomfortable! This makes it a little more bearable.

Paddington Pancake Day – Chris ordered this for Zoe when it was international pancake day a few weekends ago. We made pancakes and read the book while breakfast was cooking.

Cherry Juice – Going to try daily Cherry Juice and see how it goes. Did you know all the benefits of pure cherry juice??

Halloween Face Stickers – How cute are these?? Going to add them to trick-or-treat bags for school and dance. I am the mom who puts lots of fun toys/activities in the bag and only like one piece of candy or a bag of Halloween themed veggie chips or something lol.

Halloween Treat Bags – Ordered these bags for school and dance friends for all our goodies.