Nadine

Happy Spring! I didn’t even realize that yesterday was the 21st, missed opportunity on the Spring party! We are definitely feeling the season already, our grass has turned green and all the Bradford Pears are blooming and killing my sinuses. I welcome the few weeks of nice weather that we will have before it gets to hot and unbearable. I am sure Zoe and I will appreciate the outside time.

This weekend we ventured out to grab some donuts from Heavenly Donuts. Their lavender lemon ones are my absolute favorite, and they only have them for a limited time each spring. Zoe enjoyed an M&M and strawberry one.

Zoe also found this Fancy Nancy tea party set that she wanted. She has played with it ALL weekend, so totally worth it. It also fits her Disney “toddler” dolls and the American Girl size dolls. Now to just find somewhere to keep it. Toy storage is the bane of my existence.

I even put on real clothes Saturday for the occasion. I haven’t worn jeans in forever. They are definitely not my favorite and I am glad that dress season is just about here. I much prefer dresses to pants. I got these Kut From the Kloth jeans several years ago from Nordstrom Rack for like $8!!! They are the exact style of the boyfriend/mom ankle cut jeans that seem to be trending right now….minus the rips and tears. I do not like buying jeans that are “distressed.” It isn’t my “look” that I go for. I am not cool enough to pull it off.

Sunday morning, Zoe was up early and we cleaned up her playroom and bedroom. I organized a few things differently to see if it helps keep it nicer longer. We came downstairs and made breakfast, and then cleaned the floors and picked up around the house. I had an order from Publix that we needed to pick up, so we decided to go to Freddie’s for Diet Pepsis for Chris and I….and some vanilla custard for Zoe. Ice cream and donuts in the same weekend….lucky kid! The look of pure bliss on her face was priceless. She said it was the best ice cream in the whole world.

For dinner last night, I made the chicken enchilada with cauliflower rice recipe again. I promise I will post it this week! It is pretty easy to come together and looks fancy in the skillet cooking. If you are looking for a healthy, low carb chicken recipe….it is definitely a keeper.

Other than that, we mostly hung around the house this weekend playing games, taking walks and reading books. I finished Before I Saw You and started The Bromace Book Club, which had just come in from the library. I got The Lost Apothecary from BOTM and I really want to get to it…but the library book was one I was on the wait list for forever for…so I must read it first!

I also got a fun package from BzzAgent in the mail. Lancome has been super kind to me lately. They chose me for a foundation and mascara campaign a few weeks ago, and this time I got a full size bottle of La Vie Est Belle Soleil Cristal. It smells so amazing and is in a GORGEOUS iridescent  holographic bottle. It has a light floral scent with a hint of mandarin and bourbon vanilla. It is soft and feminine and the scent lasts alllllll day which I really appreciate. It is definitely up there with my favorite scents and is perfect for spring/summer. Look how pretty the bottle is!

Linking up with Tanya for Hello Monday.

Happy Friday everyone! Thanks to those of you who reached out this week to check on us after all the storms rolled through here. Our weather radio went off several times that day with warnings, but luckily for us…they stayed on the western side of our county. We didn’t have any damage here besides a few tree limbs and a whole lot of rain. Unfortunately, areas south and west of us didn’t fair as well. There are many homes damaged and businesses destroyed. There is some crazy footage of a few storms I have seen going around. Lots of pictures of helmets being wiped out at stores, I am glad most people take these threats seriously and prepare!

I had a few people slide in my DMs who are new to our area, and they were asking me what we do to prepare and what should be taken to their safe space. I always say to have a helmet for each person, and infants in their car seats. You want to have something that makes noise, like an air horn or whistle for rescue workers to find you. And some water and snacks if you are trapped. I also read that it is smart to write on your young children’s bellies or clothing their name, address and a phone number in the event you are separated from them. It is just the beginning of tornado season down here….so best to be prepared!

Other than that, it has been much the same around here. Lots of work work work. Zoe has returned to her daily princess costumes and parties.

We have been playing Zingo every night. Sometimes Zoe wins/loses gracefully…other times…most of the time…she does not. I am trying to remember this is a life lesson and to be patient. It really is a fun game, Chris and I enjoy playing it as well. One of us **CHRIS** is definitely more competitive than the other.

Favorite Purchase: We never really got the change to decorate around the house after we moved in. We moved in back at the end of November of 2019, had Thanksgiving, Zoe’s birthday and Christmas, went to Gatlinburg and were barely getting settled when everything shut down. After being home for a year, it definitely still feels more like a bachelor pad with bare walls and minimum décor. It is time to start adding our homey touches!

I have had my eye on this splattered vase at Anthropology, which I shared last week. While I was ordering it, I also stumbled upon this gorgeous piece. I feel like it will look so good in our dining room! I want the bowl and platter too, but figured I would start with this. They are having a 20% off sale right now, so it is the perfect time to stock up!

Also, this tie dye sweatshirt is on clearance right now! LOVE! And if you are making your way in stores, you can grab my favorite sweatshirt of all time from $3 to $7 right now! I live in these things from November to April.

Favorite Aldi Find: I love the Emporium cheese selection at Aldi. They always come out with holiday/seasonal ones and I was able to score all three Easter ones this week! I already broke into the honey lemon one, and it is so refreshing and delicious!

Zoe and I grabbed Starbucks after we picked up our Aldi order yesterday. The line is ALWAYS wrapped the entire way around the building….but I know it has been a long week for Zoe while she tries to be patient with me as I work and try to get stuff done around the house…and I felt she was definitely in need of a little Thursday fun. She is obsessed with the birthday cake pops there. She was telling me how old she was in that picture. I wanted to try the new brown sugar oat milk shaken expresso drink…but they were out of brown sugar. Of course they were. The drive thru guy suggested subbing pistachio for the brown sugar, and it was QUITE tasty!

Favorite Recipe: I made these keto lemon bars last weekend, and they are GOOD!!!! Even if you aren’t doing a low carb diet, these are still amazing and need to be made!

Favorite Workout: This is an oldie but goodie that I know I have shared before. But if you want a quick arms and abs workout, this is my favorite.

Favorite Funnies:

Linking up for Friday Favorites.

Well, spring has sprung here in Alabama this last week. The dogwoods are blooming, my grass has turned back to green seemingly overnight, and my allergies are in full force making me question if it is allergies or the ‘rona every single morning when I wake up with a pounding headache. Fun times.

A few weeks ago, basically after Valentine’s Day, I started decorating for Easter and added some more stuff around the house this past week. I have a few more things I want to add eventually, but this is probably it for this year. Besides Christmas, Easter is my favorite holiday to decorate for. I love all the white, pastels and bunnies.

This weekend we pretty much hung around the house, only leaving to grab a Best Buy pick up and some burgers and diet cokes from BBQ Stop on Saturday night.

I had to work for a few hours each morning. I swear anytime I think I start to catch up, we have a new load of jobs in and my list keeps growing. I am thankful for the work and hope the economy continues in such a way, but then I also worry that it is just a bubble ready to pop. This last year has rocked all of our lives in such a way, hasn’t it?

I made a new dish yesterday for lunch, low carb chicken enchilada. Basically it is chicken breast with enchilada fixings on top, and some cauliflower rice. I might share the recipe later this week. It came together pretty easily and was full of flavor. It also looks pretty.

We managed to get outside some, with the weather near 80 the last two days. My allergies got the best of me yesterday afternoon, and we had to come inside. I felt like my eyes were going to explode. Still, lots of fun to be had!

I had someone reach out to me on Instagram a few weeks ago, offering a small discount in exchange for a post on the product. It was for Little Creators playdough kits! I have purchased a few kits from various Etsy sellers before, and it was time for a new one. The dough in these kits isn’t meant to last forever, as it is naturally made and tends to try out after several months. The toys inside are always so fun, because you can use them with slime and regular play dough too. I let Zoe get on the site and chose her favorite kits. She picked a large ballerina kit and a small rainbow/unicorn one. They arrive last week, and my goodness they are wonderful!!! These kits are better than the kits I have purchased before. The dough is larger and softer and smells incredible. Her large box is also much bigger than the others I have received, definitely giving us room to store the dough in the box. The other boxes we have, I can never get everything to fit back inside after opening.

Zoe has played with these kits for hours already, they are so much fun! Little Creators has offered my followers a discount code: LITTLES if you want to order some of your own. They posted some Easter boxes last week that look soooooo cute!!! They shipped really fast.

Sharing these kits on my blog wasn’t part of the deal. I just really loved the hits and highly recommend them for anyone that is looking. I only share good stuff with you guys, I hope you know that! I am not getting anything on the kits that are sold with my code.

Some seriously beautiful scenes Zoe has made with these over the last week!

I could talk about how it has been a year now since I left my office March 13th in the middle of the work day to go to the grocery store and get prepared for the 2-4 weeks we were told we would probably be home in quarantine. I remember thinking wow, up to a month??? So naïve were we, right??

This past year, I have been more than thankful that we have been able to keep our family in a safe little bubble and work from home. We had the means to have groceries and supplies delivered to our door, to be able to set up home offices comfortably, and live mostly unscathed this last year. At least physically. My mental state leaves a little to be desired if I am being honest. This virus isn’t really going anywhere anytime soon, but I spent a year doing my part and I am honestly over it. I have watched so many live like nothing changed, and if I am honest…I am a little jealous of those who still took trips, went to Target whenever they felt like it and weren’t scared. While I am not an extreme risk, I do have asthma, and pneumonia has put me in the hospital more than once in the past. The fact that this was known as a raspatory illness scared me, I won’t lie. I have watched family members, friends, coworkers, etc get sick. Luckily they have all come through on the other side. I actually have a family member that was just diagnosed this past week. Hoping he has a good recovery.

But right now, I am over it. Obviously, I am going to continue to be careful and take precautions. But we are slowly taking steps to take some parts of our lives back. I think it is time. I was never really a hugger before. Just with family and close friends…but if you know me even a little…don’t be surprised to get a huge hug every time I see you forever and ever….once I am not afraid of you giving me the plague. It’s amazing that such a small gesture is something I miss the most.

Anyways, back to work for me! We have some bad weather coming in on Wednesday down here. I am hoping things change between now and then, but if not…stay weather aware! I hope you all have a great week!

Linking up with Tanya.

Happy Friday! After a crazy week last week, I feel like I can breathe a little easier now. Doesn’t mean I won’t work this weekend….but maybe not as much! The weather has been so amazing here all week, sunny and in the upper 60s/low 70s, I even managed to get outside with Zoe a few times to take a walk and play. I had grabbed some outdoor toys from Five Below that we broke in this week. A giant soccer ball, ladder ball, slam jam and yard pong…all for $5! I love that place. Zoe was most excited about the large soccer ball and has played with it every day since.

Favorite Purchase: My night lip balm was running low, so I grabbed this Milk Melatonin Overnight Lip Mask, and I am in love. I don’t necessarily notice any melatonin effects, but I will say that this stuff stays on for a really long time. It smells amazing, and gives me an instant cozy feeling as I am applying it. It is working better at hydrating than my last balm, and had pretty packaging. What more do you want?

For whatever reason, I seem to drink less water when I am home, than when I was at the office. It is an ongoing problem with me. I feel like these time cups with the times on them are sort of arbitrary, but clearly free styling it wasn’t working for me. I ordered this one that holds 64 ounces, and wow is it big! But I tell you, I am not one to back down from a challenge when it sits in front of me…so now I am trying to beat the times on the cup. I have the 9am one down before 6am. The color is super fun and reminds me of summer too, so there is that. It has a huge handle on it that allows me to carry it all over the house.

Favorite Recipe: I have made this chicken satay recipe a couple times. It is from carb manager, so it is a great low carb option. Last night I served it along side an Asian salad and it was delicious. I don’t always have all the ingredients for the sauce…sometimes I don’t add coconut milk and it still turns out fine. I throw in red pepper flakes to spice it up sometimes too.

Favorite Workout: This is a great one for those of you with knee problems or don’t like mat work. It was a standing workout with no lunges or squats. It went by quickly, and definitely gives you a full body burn.

Favorite Funnies:

Linking up for Friday Favorites.

Linking up with Steph and Jana. This month I was able to knock off a few Netgalley books and received a few books from the library that I was on the wait list for quite awhile.

The Wife Stalker by Liv Constantine

This was the book club pick for February. I enjoyed the main plot of this book, and I felt like we got some decent character development….but they were all unlikeable except maybe the daughter, Evie. The main issue for me in this book, was that when the ending revealed itself…I felt like there were some major plot holes. It wasn’t the mind blowing twist you expect in a book like this…it was more confusing and left me scratching my head a little. Also, the middle of this book was so repetitive and weak, a lot of it could have been left out.

Bottom Line: Skip this one and read The Last Mrs. Parish

Writers & Lovers by Lily King

I am trying to decide what I want to say about this book. I neither loved it nor hated it. I was really bored with a good chunk of the book, but then I got into the writing style more and wanted to see how Casey’s life was going to play out. I really loved the last 1/3 of the book. I feel like the writing style is very….dry? I think that is the word I am looking for. It wasn’t my favorite and not what I was expecting, exactly.

Bottom Line: This book gets very high ratings on Goodreads. I thought the overall story was lovely, but it was a struggle for me to get through the first bit. I did love the ending.

Lover Lettering by Kate Clayborn

I was super bored in the first half of this book. I actually considered quitting, but saw several of my book friends say they loved the second half…so I hung in there. And they were right, it definitely picked up in the second half. I wasn’t a huge fan of Reid or Meg at first to be honest, but both grew on me. I also liked the side stories with Sib, Lark and her friends from the shop. I enjoyed watching Meg grow as a person, becoming more confident in herself. The second half of the book definitely redeemed it for me, and I can say that I would recommend it now. I really enjoyed it and appreciated the first half after seeing the whole picture.

Bottom Line: This was a cute read, I would recommend it if you like stories about relationships of both friendship and romantic relations.

To Sir, With Love by Lauren Layne

ARC Copy – Release date is June 29, 2021 so put it on the TBR/Pre-order

This is not my first Lauren Layne read, I enjoy her work. I was instantly drawn in to the You’ve Got Mail feel of this book. That is one of my all time FAVORITE movies!!! This book was absolutely delightful!!! I loved Gracie, Sebastian, Lady and Sir. I especially loved all the side characters, from May and Keva….to Gracie’s siblings and the drama between her sister and BIL. It all came together so lovely, and they all had their spot in the book. Nothing was forced or out of place. I really loved Gracie as she tried to keep her father’s store alive, but also realizing that she had been living her whole life to please others and their dreams. There was a lot of growth and bravery in her that I very much admired.

Bottom Line: This is such a sweet, fun book. Definitely read it!

**I received a copy of To Sir, With Love from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane

ARC Copy – Release date is May 4, 2021

I have come to absolutely love Mhairi McFarlane! And this book is exactly what I love about her. It grabbed my attention immediately and I couldn’t put it down. I had all the feels, and I just loved Eve. She grew so much as a character throughout the book. And I am going to tell you, I liked Finlay immediately, even when he was being an “arse.” I loved the darker tone, as this book deals with grief. I had no clue that the main grief event was coming and I was like WHAT OMG?!?! I don’t want you that don’t love romance novels to toss this out. This doesn’t have any of the physical steam in the book, it is more about relationships with friends, as complicated as they can be. And family relationships as well. As I said, I felt all the things reading this book and I highly recommend.

Bottom Line: Read it!!!!

**I received a copy of Just Last Night from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

This Close to Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith

I immediately liked both Tallie and Emmette. The writing style of the book was great. The book deals with grief and suicide, but it did it in a hopeful, not so depressing way. It also talks about divorce and infertility. I really enjoyed the story, and I am not going to give any spoilers away, but there was an action in the book that I didn’t care for so much and felt like it was out of character for one of the characters. It made it seem less realistic, maybe? But either way, it was a beautiful story, and I am interested to read more from this author. I really liked the bible verse at the end from Thessalonians 4:11-12.

Bottom Line: Read it!

Currently Reading

Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren