Nadine

Cruising right into the middle of June, how is that even possible? I am seeing some back to school stuff being put out already. It feels wrong. Let the kids have at least one full month out before you throw that back at them! We have entered the stage of the year where every day is oppressively hot and humid here. I become less and less motivated to do outdoor activities, as I hate being hot. We still managed to squeeze a few in this weekend!

Friday evening, one of Chris’s friends came over for a few hours. We decided to order Ironstone, because everyone must try it. I didn’t think about taking any photos the night we got it, we all dove in as soon as I set it on the counter. We ordered some cheese bread, a Hawaiian Special, Pepperoni and a Buffalo Chicken. They were all delicious! This was what was left the next day…

Saturday morning after breakfast, I headed out to weed our front flower beds. Again. I just did this about a week or two ago, but with all the rain everything has become a jungle again. I am not an outdoorsy landscaping/lawn person. I hate it all. We pay someone to cut our grass and do all the maintenance with it. Life is too short to spend 5-6 hours of my precious weekends dealing with all that crap. So pulling weeds is up there among my least favorite activities ever. Add in that it was just miserably humid outside…and I decided I deserved some more pizza for lunch!

Zoe and I made a Publix run in the afternoon, and then we headed out to the backyard for her to run around in the sprinklers. I am so thankful for our covered patio with ceiling fan. I can stay fairly comfortable under there with a book…and Mac.

We had an ice cream sandwich party that night before dinner. I highly recommend those.

That evening I made pork medallions and mashed potatoes. A meal enjoyed by all. When I was buying the fennel at Publix for the recipe, the cashier asked me to remind him what it was and what I used it for and I was telling him about the recipe. He was like omg I need to make that!!! Fennel is so underrated.

That evening when we were walking Mac, we saw the lightening bugs and Zoe asked if she could get her catcher and catch one. I said sure, not thinking anything of it. She got one on her first try and was so excited, running into the house with it to show Chris. She named him Gaston and showing him around the house. I told her that we should probably let Gaston back out before bed, and she got all upset. I reminded her that he was a bug not a pet…and that if he stayed in her little holder overnight, he might not wake up in the morning. Or ever. Ensue the total meltdown. She was just beside herself. Crying for her love for her Gaston. It was so sad taking her outside to let it go. She cried out “Bye, Gaston!” Several times watching him fly away. She cried herself to sleep that night. She asked about him when she woke up the next morning, and looked for him last night on our walk with Mac. So many feelings.

Sunday morning after breakfast, we decided we wanted to have a homemade ice cream party. I set out to find an ice cream maker, and quickly realized that no where near us had any in stock. Rude! We did have some delicious enchiladas for dinner, and had a super hero smores party on the deck before bed. (Where Zoe wore a superhero costume and Chris had on his green lantern t-shirt.) Mac was Ironman and I guess I was supermom who supplied the party.

And just like that, the weekend was over. It is going to be another crazy week at work. I can feel it. I have several things I want to accomplish around the house this week as well. My office closet needs cleaned and organized, it has become dumping ground of sorts for things that do not have a home. I need to do another closet purge in our master. Our neighborhood is having a collective yard sale soon, and I have decided to participate. I am thinking about just pricing clothes and shoes a flat rate per item type instead of trying to price things out individually. How much do you expect to pay for clothes at a garage sale? What about home decor items? I haven’t been to one in forever, I want this stuff gone so it will be priced accordingly.

Linking up with Tanya. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Hey there, Friday! The amount of work that has come in this week is comical (as in I laugh every time my email dings so I don’t cry), the amount of technology problems I had this week is frustrating AF, and the amount of times I promised Zoe that I would do something “later” because a fire needed put out is…well it is sad but I am trying to make it up to her.

We did manage to make our first trip to the library! One of my favorite memories when I was younger was my mom taking me to the library. I remember walking around and being amazed by the number of books I saw. I was so proud of my first library card too, I actually think I have it in a box somewhere.

It is safe to say that Zoe is a fan! We have been choosing a different library book for bed each night this week…and reading a few during the day as well. She was so cute on the drive over, telling me how the library worked and that she knew these books were just being borrowed. She has asked me when they are due back, and when we can get new ones. I just love her enthusiasm for it! Our city playground area is right next to this, so hopefully one morning we can do both if it isn’t too hot. But we definitely plan to make regular trips for books all summer long.

Favorite Purchase: When we were walking around Target, I saw this dress. It was the only on there and it was my size, so I grabbed it with the thought that it was probably going to be returned…like 95% of the dresses I have tried from there this year. To my surprise, I actually liked it and decided to keep it! In most Universal Thread dresses, I find that I need to size down. With this one, and how it cinches in at the waist…I decided to try my normal size. That worked out perfectly. Oh, and did I mention it is still on sale?! I think tomorrow is the last day for the sale.

Favorite Recipe: I have shared this recipe a few times, but when I took a picture of my dinner on my stories the other night, a few asked me to share it with them….so I thought I would drop it here again. Sriracha meatballs. This comes together and cooked in about 30 minutes, and if I leave the sauce off a few…Zoe will eat the meatballs with ketchup so its a win all around. I serve with egg fried rice. Delicious!

Zoe wanted a fun snack earlier this week, and I think I delivered with these Apple Nachos! This isn’t a recipe so much…as just a suggestion for something fun and sweet. I just put some peanut butter in the microwave for about 15 seconds to get it drizzle-able and drizzled some on the apples and then sprinkled with mini chocolate chips and white chocolate chips. It was perfection.

Favorite Workout: I did this one earlier this week, it is a good one! I like that it incorporated some ab burners in it. This one is about 10 minutes longer than their typical stuff, and I am here for it.

Favorite Quote:

Favorite Funnies:

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Linking up here.

I hit a book lull this month. I flew through Malibu Rising in just a few days right before the linkup in May, and then it took me two weeks to get through one little romcom book. I don’t get it?? I just chose scrolling my phone over actual reading for awhile, it wasn’t really the books fault. And now I am three weeks on Imposter Syndrome and only 1/3 of the way through. They are still setting up character back stories and stuff 100+ pages in and I am bored. I really liked the premise of the book, and I am determined to finish it. I just don’t know when. I started Hello, Summer on audiobook this past week and I am further along in it than something I had been reading for three weeks….so there is that. I will hopefully have it ready for the next link up. Do you have ups and downs in reading? Linking up with Steph and Jana.

Too Good to Be Real by Melonie Johnson

ARC Copy – This comes out July 6, 2021

I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked the concept, and I liked the friendships between Julia, Andi and Kat. I really loved the side characters like Patrick and David, Harry and Sally. But if I am being completely honest, Luke and Julia fell a little flat for me? I am not sure what it was, maybe they were no developed enough? Or their relationship blooming wasn’t all that relatable or real?

Bottom Line: This passed the time just fine, and I definitely had a few LOL moments. It was a cute read, but nothing I would rush to get to.

**I received a copy of Too Good to Be Real from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

#IMOMSOHARD by Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley

If you are a mom, there is a good chance you have watched…or a friend has sent you one of the MOMSOHARD Youtube videos. Kristin and Jen crack me up!!!! I love the friendship they have together, and how open and honest they are about not having it together all the time…and their daily struggles. This book was like connecting with old friends. I enjoyed it, and it was one I picked up and put back whenever I felt the urge. I read it over several months and finally finished it up this past week.

Bottom Line: If you follow them on YouTube, chances are you will like this book. This one would probably be really fun to do on audio!

Currently Reading

Hello, Summer by Mary Kay Andrews

Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang

Tell me that Imposter Syndrome picks up!

Well, we survived our first dance recital!!! Even though this was Zoe’s second year of dance, this was her first recital. She did so well, I am so proud of her!!! Being a dance mom can be….intense. Between running her back and forth between the concert hall where they were preforming and the backstage area where the dressing rooms were at the right times and all that was a bit much! I got over 12,000 steps in that day, and didn’t do much besides recital!

Zoe and her friends were adorable in their outfits. Her class was part of a scene of a storybook, so they were Little Miss Muffet for their ballet number. For tap, they danced to Rock-a-Bye Baby and had the cutest purple sparkly outfits. They girls were so sweet backstage, holding hands, hugging each other, wanting to have their pictures taken together. The moms in our class are all so nice too. One of my friends made a comment about how all of us sounded so awful and mean while we were actually dressing the girls and doing their makeup and such. Sorry for the things I said in the dressing room! Haha! But it was such a great experience, Zoe had so much fun. She really loved watching the older girls preform between her numbers too. She cant wait to be able to dance like that. (Our studio is from ages 2.5-20.)

Before the recital, we met my mom and sister in Uptown to have dinner. We tried to eat at Southern Kitchen, but the wait was too long….so we ended up at Your Pie. It was pretty good. I ordered a peaches and prosciutto pizza. It had ricotta cheese as its base, and a delicious balsamic glaze drizzled on top.

We had ordered Zoe a bouquet of roses to give her after her performance, and our recital fee comes with a program….so that will be a nice keepsake for her to look back on. I am hoping that she ends up with at least a few of the same girls in her class next year. They all do so well together.

Sunday was a rainy day, so we spent most of it at home. Zoe and I hung around and played in her room for awhile. We went on a car ride, and decided to eat lunch at one of our favorite Mexican spots, La Cazuela. They seriously have the BEST street tacos. Their queso is also the best around. Zoe was so excited to go there, she had told us earlier that she was wanting tacos. Girlfriend cleared her plate.

That is really all there was to our weekend. Zoe and I did some grocery shopping at Target last night to prepare for the week. Is anyone else tired of meal planning, cooking and doing dishes? Ugh! It was so nice to eat out twice this weekend and not worry about it for those two meals. Coming up constantly with fun things to eat and stay relatively healthy (minus the times we ate out) is so exhausting. I poured over three cookbooks yesterday afternoon, and nothing was popping out at me.

It is supposed to rain pretty much all week. Ugh! Our grass needs it though. We haven’t joined the library in our town since we moved. I am still a member of our old city one. I am thinking about trying to take Zoe one day this week to sign up and let her pick out some books. I think it would be a great summer activity with her since she is home with me. Our local candy store is doing summer reading themed candy boxes right now too! They had a Hungry Hungry Caterpillar, Wizard of Oz and Harry Potter box so far. I definitely want to incorporate some of our reading with what they are doing to make it extra special for her. With all that, and summer dance starting in a few weeks…at least she will have some fun stuff to do! We also have her signed up for one week of camp this summer. It is just a few hours for 4 days, but she is really excited about it. Do you have any fun summer plans or trips coming up?

Linking up here. Have a great week!

Are you officially an adult when it starts pouring and you think, “I am glad it is raining, the grass really needed it?” That was me yesterday. Follow me for this and other riveting thoughts.

This week just flew right on by. I know it was a short week, but wow! This afternoon I have to drive downtown for dress rehearsal with Zoe. Tomorrow is her dance recital! I know she is excited. She worked so hard this year, and I am proud of her. I am sure I will be sharing a million pictures of her this weekend. I also have low key dance mom anxiety. Hair, makeup, outfit changes, leaving in and out between numbers at the right time to find the fitting rooms. Hopefully I will be a pro after this year.

Favorite Purchase: I know I shared this dress a few weeks ago, but I picked up another color and wanted to throw it out there again. This tiered dress with the ruffle sleeve is good! It is under $15, and I receive compliments every time I wear it. Definitely size down, as it tends to run pretty big. Even a size down, it fits loose on me.

Speaking of dresses, Lindsay shared a round up of great summer dresses and swimsuits! Be sure to check it out, I think there is something for everyone on her list.

I saw someone on Instagram post a link to the jeans they were wearing in a photo, and they were from Mott & Bow. Has anyone tried these? I saw this graphic at the bottom of their site, and I was blown away!!!! Why can’t more brands do this? It is genius. The pricing is a little high, but not crazy.

Favorite Supplement: I was taking collagen powder in my acai bowl every morning. I ran out a few weeks ago, and decided I would wait to repurchase and see if I noticed any differences not taking it. I am about 3 weeks without and my hair is super dry and brittle on the ends, my skin is all itchy again and my knee and hips hurt SO BAD. Sooooooo it is safe to say that it was working and doing its job!!! Now, when I first started taking collagen powder, I got Vital Proteins and performed a similar test. I noticed no difference. I have since tried SR and Thrive Market collagen powders, and both have shown great improvements.

The reason I switched from SR to Thrive is because Thrive is organic and grass-fed. It is supposed to help with your hair, skin, nails and joints. I always get the unflavored kind and mix it in my acai bowl or smoothie at breakfast. If it is the weekend and I am having something else, I can mix it in my coffee. This time around, I might try Ancient Nutrition, as it has three more types of collagen than SR and Thrive. It is also supposed to support gut health. I will report back, but can confidently recommend Thrive to anyone who is looking to get started in collagen.

Eating: I didn’t get anything fun at Aldi this week to share. We have changed up our meal planning this week and focusing on anti-inflammatory foods. We really need to cut the crap out of our daily lives. By crap, I mean the processed shit, sugars. We are also cutting way back on red meats as well. Really sad about that, as you know I love my burgers. I will say….we made some turkey burgers on the indoor grill the other night and they were pretty damn amazing! Anytime I make burgers at home, I skip the bun and just do fun toppings like avocado or a new sauce I make up.

Favorite Workout: This is definitely a total body workout! I was feeling it in this one. So good.

Favorite Funnies:

Haha that last one, right? Have a great weekend! Linking up for Friday Favorites.