Nadine

I have been reading Life Less Throw Away, and it has been an amazing read so far. I have read a few books that are similar to this, Life Changing Magic of Tidying up the most popular of all. While I appreciate Marie Kondo’s organization skills and her theory of if it doesn’t spark joy, then let it go….some of the stuff in her book is ridiculous to me and a bit woo woo. Sorry, I don’t have time to unload everything in my purse every night just to put it back in the next morning. I have a full time job, a house, a toddler, and a life damnit!

But I am getting away from myself. I plan to do an in depth review on my thoughts of this book for the next Show Us Your Books Link Up. But I do want to say, don’t get the wrong impression…this isn’t just a book about getting rid of things or minimalism. It is a book about how our culture is a throw away culture. How we are constantly wanting the newest things, and are accepting the fact that companies are purposefully making products that are inferior to what they used to be (hello washing machines, I am looking at you) just so you have to replace them sooner. It is bad for our wallet, and more importantly, our environment and future.

In the book she mentions a post she wrote a long time ago called “Things I Don’t Need.” I thought it was a great idea to write down the stuff you don’t need and reflect back when temptation arises. Here are a few of the things I certainly don’t need.

I don’t need DVDs or blue rays.

I do not need freebies from friends and family that doesn’t fit in my life / style.

I don’t need an excessive amount of drink-ware.

I don’t need multiple pairs of colored flip flops. Or more than a few pairs in general.

I don’t need multiple notebooks at one time. (One is enough!!)

I don’t need lots of fancy pens.

I don’t need more than a few lip glosses. (Or to feel the need to buy colors that are out of my norm. Just because everyone else loves a red lip, doesn’t mean that I don’t feel like a three year old playing with my mommy’s makeup when I wear it.)
 
I don’t need more than a few bottles of nail polish.

I don’t need more than a nude bra, black bra and strapless bra.

I don’t need uncomfortable shoes.

I don’t need kitchen appliances that only serve one purpose (besides my coffee maker and my waffle maker.)

I don’t need home decor or chachkes that have no meaning to me, doesn’t fit my style or spark some kind of joy when I see it.

I don’t need trendy fashion pieces that I wont wear more than one season.

I don’t need to hold on to books that I will not read more than one time.

What are some things that you simply don’t need?

I feel like I just wrote the last book post a week ago, but here we are again! I have been averaging about one audiobook a week lately. I haven’t even touched a real book or ebook this month. I really want to get back to physically reading a chapter each day (minimum) in addition to the audiobooks, it is just so hard to fit in! I feel like any time I have a few minutes to spare, I mindlessly scroll through Instagram or flip through a magazine. 

I do enjoy magazines a lot! All those pretty, glossy pages. I subscribe to Real Simple, Family Circle, Martha Stewart, Southern Living, Health, Shape and Garden and Gun. I receive the Birmingham Magazine at my office, along with a GIS magazine that has some super thrilling stuff (LOL!!!!). I don’t really care for fashion or beauty magazines anymore. The fashion ones tend to be too trendy and expensive for my tastes, and the beauty ones try to lure me in to buying a bunch of new products all the time. I do love getting the fall “back to school issues” of those though!  It was a tradition my mom and I shared growing up, and I hope to do the same with Zoe. What kind of magazines do you subscribe to? 

Anyways, you are here to talk about books and I am linking up with Steph and Jana to share all the goodness!

Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson

Joshilyn Jackson is one of my favorite authors. Everything she has written has been so enjoyable for me. She is from Alabama and lives in Georgia, so I love that her books take place in the south. If you like messy family drama, this is your girl. This book had plenty of twists that you don’t see coming, and I really loved how it ended. I will caution that this book does contain domestic violence, in case that is a trigger for you. 

Bottom Line: If you have never read a Joshilyn Jackson book before, I cant recommend her enough. This book was very well written.   

Royally Screwed by Emma Chase

This was a cute little romantic comedy that sort of reminded me of the Royal We in many ways. There was a lot more romance and it was a quicker read, but just the plot line itself was similar. I couldn’t imagine dating a prince and having to deal with everyone being in your business all the time.

 Bottom Line: Cute, and definitely worth the read if you are in to the royals. I could take them or leave them, but I really enjoyed this and The Royal We. 

My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren 

This is my second book by the author. I found it to be really cute, and I appreciated the dating profile plot line. Chris and I met through a dating site a long time ago, when it was still a little taboo. So I can certainly relate to coming up with stuff to put in your profile, all the dates you have to go on, etc. I absolutely loved all the characters in the book, and the friendship between them. I felt that the situations and the feelings Millie had about her family, and the way everything played out were all very realistic. The female lead had a hard time expressing herself sometimes, and that is completely relatable. Feelings and emotions are messy. Families are messy. Sometimes it is hard to open up and share that with others. There were several LOL moments and I definitely want to continue reading other books by this author. 

Bottom Line: Loved it, definitely check it out! 

Sweet Secrets by J. A. Whiting

This is the third book in the series. It is a cozy mystery series, that has a little bit of paranormal activity thrown in. Mainly two cats that have a keen sense of awareness and some sisters that have powers passed on from generations of women. While it is a common theme throughout the books, the stories and characters themselves are quite interesting. This are quick, fun reads and you don’t always guess the who-done-it right away. 

Bottom Line: Fun cozy mystery series if that is your thing. 

Currently Reading

A Life Less Throw Away by Tara Button

What are you reading?

It was another beautiful weekend here in Alabama! The sun was shining (for the most part, we did have thunderstorms Saturday night) and the temperatures were in the upper 70’s.

Saturday morning we were out the door early to drop my car off to get new brakes. Ugh. I hate paying for shit like that, you know? We made the most of our early excursion by stopping at Metro Diner for breakfast!!! They just opened in our town a week or two ago, and the place has been packed out ever since. It was soooooo delicious and our service was wonderful! We will definitely be back.

We ran some errands, picked up my car and were back home in time for lunch and naps. Zoe was wore out, and took a glorious nap. I got so much stuff done around the house. Three large trash bags full of stuff were purged from our spare room, and I got some cleaning done.

Sunday morning, Zoe and I checked out the new Aldi that just opened this weekend. It was soooo nice inside! I was really impressed with their stock, the store was so clean, and our cashier was super friendly. We got SO much stuff for the amount we paid, and I plan on doing most of our grocery shopping there from now on.

We did have to go to Target to get Zoe some pullups, a new pair of shoes and a few things Aldi didn’t have. I swear Zoe’s feet grew an entire size over night. The shoes she was wearing just a week ago no longer fit. We grabbed these rose gold Cat and Jack sandals, and they are sooooo cute on!!!

I made some afternoon lattes for Chris and I, and Zoe said she wanted one. Obviously, I am not going to give her coffee….so I made her a “special chocolate drink” which was chocolate milk with a spritz of Reese whipped cream. She was soooooooo excited and basically licked her cup clean. Its the little things! We also made “dirt cups” this weekend, and she was totally amazed by them.

Sunday night we settled in, caught on Greys and had some roast beef au jus sandwiches that were delicious!

I feel good having gotten a lot straightened up and purged this weekend. I am ready to tackle the week!!! Linking up with Biana.

Linking up with Kristen for What’s New With You!

Reading: Sweet Secrets – This is a cozy mystery, the third in the series. They have all been cute, and they are super fast reads.

Listening: One of Zoe’s new favorite songs is Meant to Be by Bebe Rexha. I am just thankful that we can throw a few non disney songs in every now and again. It is so cute hearing her sing the lyrics her way “meant to be meant to be baby meant to be.” It came on the radio one day and she had the lyrics down by the second round and asked to add it to her playlist.

Watching: I finally got the chance to watch Wonder this past weekend. It was soooooo good. Also, I cried about a hundred times during it.

I also watched two cheesy Christmas movies that were totally adorable, Falling for Christmas and A Very Country Christmas. I think both were on Prime. Other than that, we have been trying to catch up with all of our usual shows. I want to start watching the new PLL spin off, and who else is totally stoked for The Hills!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I totally hosted watch parties in college. It was the best!!! Don’t tell me you didn’t squeal in delight when you heard the news too!

Working: Work has been so crazy, that I haven’t really had the chance to do much else. It is totally a good thing, you know, job security and all. And I love what I do!!! It’s just….damn! I need a minute to breath some days. I am still constantly being told thank you and good job. Nothing makes you feel more appreciated than that.

I did do a big purge with all of the clothes I was storing in our guest room closet. It felt so good to be free from all of that mess! The guest room itself now needs tackling, maybe next weekend. I wanted to start small with the closet first.

House: I had mentioned a little while ago that we finally got our house listed. A day later, it was promptly taken off the market. Several people have checked in with me to see how it was going, so I felt like I needed to mention it here. Our first showing went horribly wrong. The agent and his friend he was showing the house to basically went through all of Chris’s stuff in our basement. Posing with pictures, videoing with their phones, just completely violating our privacy. Then to make it worse, when Chris got home that evening….he discovered they left our door unlocked. More than likely, they were going to send someone in later to rob us or something. I don’t even want to think about it. I guess the morons realized we have cameras everywhere. It completely turned us off from the whole process, and our agent acted like she didn’t care at all when Chris called with our concerns. Of course, she started to care after we told her to come get her sign out of our yard. We are just going to wait awhile now before we want to go through all of that again.

Shopping List: I want to get Zoe a water table for Easter. Since our yard absolutely sucks, we can’t really do a baby pool or much else…but at least this water table can sit in our drive way and I can put it away after each use. I am looking at this unicorn one! It looks so fun! Anyone have one that was just a huge hit??

Zoe calls unicorns “corn corns” and I think she would really have fun with it! I scooped up some clothes at H&M and Children’s Place for her too.

I ordered the Pura D’or shampoo off Amazon after doing some research and reading a ton of reviews. I have super fine/thin hair and I always feel like I lose a ton in the shower and in my brush too. I cant really afford to lose so much! I am hoping that this stuff works well, I will definitely report back. Anyone else use it?

After reading Lindsay’s post and seeing Olaplex 3 on a lot of other sites….I have decided to try it out too. Anyone else have the same hair and find a product they absolutely love??? Send recommendations my way!

Things to Think About:

There were some other things I had in my mind to discuss for this post, but I have lost them! I have probably babbled on enough for now, anyways. I hope you all have a happy Thursday!!!!

Spring break was last week for most schools here in Alabama. It was fabulous, traffic was light and we had some decent weather for a few days. Friday my sister took Zoe for the day and they went to Noccalula Falls and played on the play ground and rode the train. Zoe hasn’t stopped talking about the “choo choo train” since.

I took a solo lunch to Urban Cookhouse, I just needed to get out of the office!! The walk was so pretty and I enjoyed sitting there with my delicious salad and people watching. Its funny all the different conversations you hear when you are eating alone. Makes you wonder what people think about when they overhear yours!

The weather was really pretty on Saturday too. Zoe and I hung around the house in the morning playing with her magic sand and had some fun outside with bubbles and sidewalk chalk.

After nap, we took Zoe to get some ice cream!!!

I had found a bag of cheese gnocchi at Target a few weeks ago, and we had that for dinner Saturday night. To add a little something to it, I fried up some bacon. It was soooooo good!!!! A reminder that you don’t have to put a lot of effort in to have a good meal. I think the bag of frozen gnochhi was $3 or $4, you really can’t beat it!

Sunday was our usual grocery shopping and hanging around the house. It was much cooler Sunday, we didn’t really get any good playtime outside. During nap time, Chris and I put together our new headboard for our bed! (You can partially see it behind Zoe in a photo below.) After that, I went on a guest room closet purge and nothing was safe. I have a HUGE stack of clothes sitting on our bedroom floor that needs donated. I tried on every dress I own, and some are a good ten or fifteen years old. Why am I holding on to them??? It felt good to get rid of so much!

While Zoe played in the tub Sunday night, I cleaned all of my makeup brushes. I shared the cleanser I used once before…but it needs to be mentioned again. It is THAT good! It is the Makeup Brush Pro Starter Kit from Cinema Secrets. It comes with a little tin that you actually pour the cleaner in and dip your brushes, then you just wipe them off into a clean towel. It is magic!!! Even Zoe was impressed and wanted to help. She got so excited when she realized that some of the brushes were actually a different color when cleaned.

Scary Mommy wrote an article on visiting Birmingham recently. I don’t think people realize how cool our city really is. We aren’t a tourist city, in that there isn’t a major attraction that pulls people here. But we have some of the best restaurants in the country, parks, museums, civil rights institute, lakes, mountains, beaches. It is definitely worth a weekend family get away!

I was talking to a co-worker yesterday who is from California, and she mentioned how much she loves it here and how she will never go back to the west coast. I told her that I was surprised by how much I love it as well. I sure as heck didn’t ever guess I would end up here, but I am glad I did.

Anyways, that was our weekend. I am going to try to link up with Kristen for What’s New With You. It has been awhile, and I rarely get to sit down and write more than just a weekend recap or Friday Favorites post lately. I think that will be a good way to get back to other stuff!