Nadine

What up three day weekend!!! Why does the week leading up to a long weekend last the longest?? We are supposed to get off at 2:00 pm today, and I cant wait! I don’t even have any concrete plans, just ready for a much needed break.

Favorite Moments: Tuesday night I watched my oldest nephew graduate from 8th grade with amazing grades, a member of beta club and he made the high school basketball team. I am so damn proud of that kid. I remember when he was just a little thing calling me “Dedine” with his curly hair (that is no more). Now he is a handsome young man that is taller than pretty much everyone in my family and destined to do amazing things!

On my walk through the sauna yesterday, aka downtown Birmingham in the summer with the 90+ degree heat, I admired the Catholic church near my office. There are a few old churches down there, and I just love seeing them and all their beauty!

Favorite Purchase: Revision Intellishade Matte SPF 45 Moisturizer was recommended by my dermatologist. It is a little pricier than I like to pay for a moisturizer, but the stuff is amazing. It has a tint to it that customizes itself to your skin color. It feels so smooth going on, minimizes the pores, gives the slightest bit of coverage, and just feels really comfortable. Holla for SPF 45 too! So basically it is a few products in one!!! Plus I could totally wear it alone on the weekends, as it balances out my skin tone.

I would recommend the original over the matte if you have dry skin. I think I will use the matte all summer, and switch over to the original come winter.

I plan to do a whole post on my skincare, what I tried to desperately love for months that didn’t work…and what I am doing now that I am already seeing results.

Favorite Workout: I whipped out an oldie but goodie lower body workout this week. I forgot how much I sweat and how quickly you burn calories with this quick workout!

Favorite Funnies:

Lord, give me patience….

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and get a moment to reflect on why we have a three day weekend!

I just looked at the calendar and realized that Memorial Day is next week?!?! Say whaaaat? This is the last week of school for most kids here in Alabama. I am ready to not have to deal with school traffic every morning, but Zoe is going to be so sad not to see 15 buses on her way to school in the mornings. The kid is obsessed. My sweet nephew graduates 8th grade tomorrow night. I cant believe how fast time goes by!! Speaking of time, look at me showing up for a post on Monday!

This weekend was a hot one! Close to 90 degrees and humid. That didn’t stop us from having some fun though. Chris stopped and grabbed Papa Murphy’s Friday night and we settled in for The Big Bang Theory finale. I am so sad to see that show end, it is my favorite. I wont say any spoilers, but I was happy with the last episode.

Saturday morning, Zoe and I were out the door early to run a few errands before a daycare friends birthday party! It was a PJ Mask house party, and the kiddos bounced in the bounce house, and played with the water tables and in the kiddy pool. We ended up staying around 4 hours! I just loved watching Zoe play with her friends! One of the little girls that was there was a party in a few weeks, and Zoe is already excited about it too!

After the party, Zoe and I grabbed some Mexican for a late lunch/early dinner, and then ran a few more errands. Kohl’s sent me a 40% off coupon and I had something to return there….so we walked around there in search for some shoes for Zoe. I think we found a winner!!! She LOVES them and she matches me!

We met up with my sister at Target Sunday morning to knock out our grocery shopping and spend some time with her and Cooper. We checked out the Vineyard Vines collection, and I was a little underwhelmed but what they had. Just not a lot to offer in my opinion. I really liked the big navy wagon with the pink whale, but we still use one that Zoe can ride in right now, so I passed. They had a cute dress, but only had tiny sizes in it. Not sure if they carried a full range or not, my store had nothing.

Yesterday evening I cut the grass while Chris and Zoe watched Beauty and the Beast, her latest movie obsession. My favorite!!! So I am not minding one bit watching it on repeat. Chris got to watch the whole thing for the first time last night and he enjoyed it too.

We had spicy chicken rigatoni for dinner and caught up on Greys…and just like that the weekend was over!

Happy Friday!! This week has been one full of events over here. I am ready to get this work day knocked out and start the weekend!!!

Favorite Moments: Zoe moved up to a new class on Monday. She is the youngest in there by 6 months!!! She looks so tiny compared to all the other kids, but she is fitting right on in and carrying her own in there. First day pictures are mandatory!

Tuesday was Chris’s birthday. I always hate when our birthdays fall during the week, but what can you do? I stopped by and grabbed cookie cake slices on the way home to celebrate.

Wednesday I had a dermatologist appointment. The skin under my eyes was really dry and peeling, and I have been battling acne on the lower half of my face for basically two years, so I decided it was time for some self care. I didn’t care for the last derm I saw, so I was in the market for a new one and a co-worker mentioned that her bestie is a doctor, so I checked her out. She was AMAZING!!! She spent so much time with me, did a full body check and addressed my issues. I was misdiagnosed last year, which shows my gut was right about not liking the other doctor. She has me started on some new skincare items and a few prescriptions and I will go back to her in two months for a check up. If you live in the Birmingham area and need a good dermatologist who is really smart, but also has great people skills (because most doctors do not) message me and I will share her practice!

I visited an old friend after my appointment. And obviously, I mean Farm Bowl. I freaking LOVE their acai bowls and can no longer make it over that way on my lunch hour. What a wonderful mid-week treat.

Last night, my company hosted a family open house with dinner, drinks and some entertainment to allow our families to come check out our new space and see where we work. The space really is incredible. Everyone gushed over Zoe, and she talked about where I worked the entire way home and said she works, too. How amazing is this centerpiece when you walk in our lobby??? IT IS REAL!!!

Favorite Purchase: I bought a set of copper skillets at Sur la Table awhile back. They have a lifetime warranty (life less throw away!!), are absolutely gorgeous, and now that I have been using them regularly for awhile, I can say that I LOVE them!!!! If you are looking for some new pans, check them out!

Favorite Reminder:

Favorite Funnies:

It’s book day! I didn’t get to read a lot this month, but there are a few good ones in the mix! Linking up with Steph and Jana.

Life Less Throwaway: The Lost Art of Buying for Life by Tara Button

This book!!! I highly recommend this book! I didn’t really have any expectations going in, as it was available at my library when I was looking and thought it sounded interesting. What I found was a powerful read about how our culture is today. How companies are purposefully making things that don’t last as long as they used to, forcing you to be a repeat customer. How marketing and advertising really messes with your mind. And confirmation that I in fact don’t need to follow fast fashion trends.

I have always had the mindset that you get what you pay for. I would much rather invest in something high quality that will last a long time over something that I need to repurchase next season, or replace because it goes bad/breaks/doesn’t work after just a short amount of time. And that is basically the point of this book.

The main message of the book is to buy self-curated items that you truly love and fit your needs and lifestyle. And to buy them once, with the intention of keeping them for a long time/lifetime.

The only negative thing I have to say, is I could imagine someone reading this who cannot afford the “nicer, luxury items” that are mentioned in the book. I think she talks about an umbrella that is like $125. I have one from Amazon that is around $25 that is just fine thanks. As my non-stick pans are needing replaced, I am choosing ones that have a lifetime warranty. They are a pretty penny, and maybe not everyone can afford to do that. So I could see how this book might be geared more towards the middle and upper class.

Bottom Line: Definitely worth the read! I took more away from this book than Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. It has a much more important message.

The Precious One by Marisa de lost Santos

This book is told in alternating views between Taisy and her 16 year old half-sister, Willow. I have never read a book by this author, but she is a wonderful storyteller and has a poetic way of writing. I don’t want to say too much and give away the story, but I enjoyed watching Willow grow throughout the book, and all the complicated, messy relationships between each of the characters.

Bottom Line: I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it!

The Last Mrs. Parish by Liv Constantine

OMG, this book!!!! The first half of it was moving along a little slow for me at times, and I was getting annoyed. There are so many unlikable characters in it. But then all of a sudden I was like whhhhhaaaattt???? And it got so good. Some of these characters are diabolical! It really makes you realize that things aren’t always as they seem.

Bottom Line: Read this! I promise the second half of the book is worth the slow bits of the first half.

Look Alive Twenty-Five by Janet Evanovich

This is the first series of books that I have ever made it to 25. I just love Stephanie Plum, Lula, Grandma Mazur, Morelli #teammorelli and Ranger. The books really just follow a formula at this point, and I feel the characters really haven’t grown or learned any life lessons that stick with them. Yet their antics and shenanigans keep bringing me back for more. I am in deep, ya’ll. (PS-I never say ya’ll in real life, the northern blood runs too deep.)

Bottom Line: This is a fun cozy mystery series that I can’t quit, not matter how ridiculous certain situations play out.

Well, hey there May! We are just cruising right along through these spring months, no? We had a bit of a rainy day Saturday, but the weather yesterday was absolutely amazing!!!! It was in the low 70’s with mostly sunny skies all day. I live for the few weeks we get like this! Of course, we spent most of it outside playing with all the things and soaking in the fresh air.

I completely forgot about Cinco de Mayo. It sort of didn’t sink in that it was May already for some reason. No need to worry, I eat enough tacos on the regular to naturally have celebrated it! Laura and I went to El Bario on Thursday for lunch. I love that I can walk to this place from my office!! I have been meaning to go forever, and it finally happened! We split the guac, because duh!!! And I got the carnitas tacos. Delicious!!!

On Friday, I met up with a dear sweet friend of mine for lunch at The Pizitz. I got a poke bowl, but was talked in to stopping by The Birmingham Candy Company on our way out. And by talked into, I mean, I mentioned when we got there that I wanted to stop, but I was going to keep on walking when we were leaving and someone decided to “just take a look” and I followed. Best. Candy. Ever. That is all I am going to say!

That night, Chris stopped at Papa Murphy’s on the way home and grabbed a meat lovers pizza, a tuscan chicken pizza and some cheesy bread. It was delicious, especially the bread! I love their take and bake concept and I am sure we will do it again.

Saturday, we spent the day hanging around the house. Zoe and I went outside in the morning to play before the rain come and Chris went to run some errands. During nap time, I purged some more out of our dresser and guest bedroom and did about six loads of clothes. When Zoe woke up, we chilled for a little while being lazy and had fun with play-dough. That evening, the rain went away and we spent a lot of time pushing Zoe’s baby around and taking walks. Alllll the walks.

Sunday morning, my sister and the boys came over and went grocery shopping with us. I did the majority at Aldi, picking up a few things at Target. After naps, we headed outside and took a lot more walks with the baby stroller, played some golf and soaked in the amazing weather.

I had picked up stuff earlier in the week to make Carnitas Street Tacos on Sunday evening, happy accident that it happened to be Cinco de Mayo. That pork slow cooked alllllllll day long and it was falling off the bones when it was time to put together our dinner. Delicious!!!

I also made chocolate chip cookies this weekend, and prepped some veggies for snacking this week. Gotta keep that snacking under control!!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!!