I was so sad to hear about Chester Bennington yesterday. It is a sad reminder that mental illness and addiction is a thing that people struggle with every day. It is also a reminder that mental illness knows no social status. It doesn’t care if you are incredibly famous or just a regular every day person. Linkin Park is one of my favorite bands and has been consistent over the years for me. Sharing one of my favorites from them. Can you believe In the End came out 17 years ago???
Zoe and I stopped by my neighbors consignment sale to look at toys yesterday afternoon. I wont buy used clothes, but I am all about a good deal on toys. We scored some great finds! I cleaned them up and we got straight to playing. I think Zoe likes them, what do you think? I got everything for less than the full price of the yellow chair.
Somehow I picked up a huge bolt in my tire Monday on my way home from work. You don’t really think about how different life is with a kid until you have to run a simple errand like getting your tire fixed. Ummm a seven month old does not want to sit at a tire place for hours waiting around. I have been putting it off all week, but I need to just get it over with. Sorry to anyone who is at the tire place today when we go. I apologize in advance.
You guys!!!! The first five days after vacation are the worst, right? I am trying desperately to catch up on everything from work, to house chores to blogging. I think I finally answered all my emails from this past week and am slowly working on my Bloglovin’ list so bare with me! It is my favorite time of the year!!! The NORDSTROM ANNIVERSARY SALE!!! I have some of my favorites that are sitting in my wish cart below. Let me know what you are getting or if you posted your favorites. I would love to see!
Not sure what we have going on this weekend. I know our jungle needs to be tamed, again. And by jungle I mean the yard. I swear the rain this year has us looking like we live in the damn Amazon or something! I would like to get together with Laura at some point too because her little S turned TWO and Zoe needs to give him his birthday presents! And those two need a date for real.
Favorite Moments: A year ago from July 12, Chris and I found out that Zoe was a girl!!! It was pretty cool thinking back to that day. I remember making sure we had an early morning appointment because I didn’t want to sit around the office all day anxious to know. I had a strong feeling that I was carrying a girl….but it was great to have confirmation that my first intuition as a mother was right. Staring at her beautiful face a year later is so amazing.
My mom and I got to hang out for a little while this week. She brought Chris and I some Pepperoni Cheese from Delallo’s in my hometown. I don’t understand why they don’t sell this stuff all over the country???
We also made a trip to Nordstrom Rack where I accidentally spent lots of money. I am so happy we went though. There was so much awesome stuff there and I really needed some pieces that look good on my body right now. I got a pair of jeans,(the best kind when you dont want to look like a busted can of biscuits) a gorgeous navy shift dress with a ruffle 3/4 sleeve, a classic black tank with the perfect flow-y fit and tie back and two other tops. Apparently I like dark colors and neutrals. This should come as no surprise. I am most proud of the fact that I put back a black and white striped dress that fit super cute. Probably because I have three striped dresses already. Oops.
I treated my mom to a lunch at Macaroni Grill, and we both enjoyed salads and the bread. The Bibb and Blue is always a favorite of mine and I questioned why it had been like two years since I had last been there.
Not having my life together enough to remember my lunch on Monday meant a solo trip to Whole Foods for some sushi. I cant tell you the last time I ate a meal alone in total silence with no interuptions. It was delicious!
Favorite Purchase: Other than the Nordstrom finds, I really am in love with the Mom Knows Best Kate Spade necklace I ordered during their 40% off sale on the 4th. The mama and baby elephants are so sweet and can double for a Game Day necklace come football season. It is even cheaper right now at Macy’s if you want to scoop one up!!!
Favorite Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Picks: Are you guys tired of seeing Nordstrom picks?? The truth is, I love it! The sale can be so overwhelming because there are SO MANY items!!! I like seeing what everyone else is adding to their carts. It gives me good ideas. Besides Black Friday/Cyber Monday, this is my favorite sale of the year!
I love the Halogen brand. I just bought that gorgeous dress and I have a few other pieces over the years and they always hold up nice. I love the cut of this sleeveless top!
I can’t wear dangling earrings anymore and am all about a stud. How gorgeous are these???
This tie knot sweatshirt looks so cute and cozy!!! The white laced sleeve sweatshirt in my first picture is this same brand and they feel SO NICE. I really would love to add this to my collection as well.
This week has been a crazy one! I have been slammed trying to get work done, running errands, getting my car tag renewed, and then the whole issue with the internet and that cyberhack has been super frustrating too! To say I am glad it is finally Friday is an understatement. I am literally behind on everything else and it I just want to relax.
Favorite Moments:This week was extra special because my mom brought my grandmother down from Pennsylvania and they came to my house to visit. Zoe got to meet her other great grandmother! We just sat around and talked and played with Zoe and it was so fun. My mom also brought me my favorite chips and smiley cookies that we cant get down here. After she takes her back home, she is bringing us some pepperoni cheese. I can’t wait for that either!
Getting this sweet card and coffee treat in the mail from Lindsay!!! It surely brightened my day. My most favorite thing about blogging and the reason I wont quit more than anything, is the friendships I have made. I am waiting for teleportation or floo powder to be a thing so we can just visit our blogging friends much more easily!
I made some decent lunches and dinners this week, trying to change it up a little. I get stuck in ruts making the same things. We had Korean beef and stir fry veggies one night, pot roast, bbq chicken stuffed sweet potatoes and pork chops this week. Two days for lunch I made sweet potato noodles.
Zoe and I have been having lots of fun with the Instagram Story filters.
Favorite Lust: I tried this purple ruffle back dress on at Loft this week and it is soooooo cute on! I love the back detailing that you cant see in this picture. Now I wait til it goes on sale. Because you know it will. They had it in a print too.
Favorite Funnies:
How I felt about the PLL Finale. If you watched it, lets discuss please!!!!!!!!
I hope you all have a fabulous and safe Forth of July weekend!!!! Linking up with Amanda.
I look forward to the Add it to Your List link up every month because it gives me a place to share things I really love that don’t really get a spot light anywhere else on my blog. It also has introduced me to a ton of fun things as well! Linking up with Lauren and Bre!
Garden Lite Muffins
The first two ingredients on the list are zucchini and carrots and it is gluten free, so these have to be healthy right? There isn’t a crazy amount of sugar and the calorie count is low and these things are seriously delicious!!!! I am definitely going to be keeping them in mind for Zoe when she gets a little older too. They come individually wrapped in the freezer section. You pop one (still in it’s wrapper) in the microwave for 35 seconds and boom! Bakery tasting quality in your hands in under a minute. Perfection. I have also tried the Carrot Berry and Banana Chocolate Chip ones and they all get my seal of approval.
Cigar City Salsa
I was down the aisle where all the Mexican and Asian inspired items are in Publix and came across Cigar City Salsa. Now I am not sure if it is linked to the amazing Cigar City Brewery or not?? But this stuff is seriously SOOOO good!!!! (Obviously since this jar is practically empty before I hurriedly snapped a picture.) I grabbed a jar of the Mild and it has the most amazing, smokey flavor. Chris was a big fan of it also and we plan to go back and grab a bunch of jars to take to the beach with us! Bonus points for pretty packaging.
Bosch
Last summer, Chris and I watched an episode of Bosch. We didn’t really give it a fair chance, and I think Chris had fallen asleep and missed most of it. We decided to give it another try and we have really been enjoying this!!! If you like police/crime type shows…give it a shot! I think there are three seasons out currently, so it is totally binge worthy.
I am picky about deodorants. I have tried so many natural ones, extra strength ones, etc. I find that I have to switch it up often to get them to work for me. I loathed Dove. I have tried many times in the past with their roll on stuff and never had any luck. I picked this one up on a whim after getting irritated with a few others and was pleasantly surprised!!! This stuff smells so good for a deodorant! It is light and delicate and I really like the scent a lot. Other than that, it is what it says…a dry invisible spray. I wear a lot of black and I have never had a single deodorant stain on any of my clothes since using this stuff. It lasts all day and I will purchase this again.
My mom got me this necklace as a push present when I had Zoe and I seriously wear it nearly every single day. It goes with just about any style outfit that I put on, dressy or casual. It lays so perfect, goes great layered with other jewelry or on it’s own and I have gotten more compliments on this simple necklace more than any other piece I own. I cant say enough good things about it and I am going to add some KS pieces to my birthday wish list. I totally get the hype over this brand.
We had quite the scare yesterday in Birmingham! Figures, the one day I was in the office this week the tornado sirens started going off right around the time I got a call from my MIL telling me that she was on top of the weather and was getting ready to take Zoe to the basement. The sky looked SUPER sketchy and there were so many clouds that looked like there was rotation. Tropical Storm Cindy can go ahead and get the hell away from here anytime now!!! We are supposed to have a threat of tornadoes again today from about noon til 8pm. I have my helmet, supplies and Zoe’s car seat in the basement so we are ready at anytime.
Anyways, I cant focus on that right now or I will go insane! The good news is that it is Friday!!! Our beach trip is going to be here before we know it! I ordered some sunscreen, a beach tent, two quilted sheets for Zoe’s pack and play (supposed to help with the awful noises the mattress makes anytime she moves) and a few other necessities this morning. I still haven’t found a swimsuit or cover up for me. I have one swimsuit but we are going to be there for awhile so I need more than one. I tried on 15 the other day and walked away with nothing. Ugh. Swimsuit shopping is the worst, am I right?
Favorite Moments:
This week has been pretty low key, minus the whole storm thing. Besides work, it has been lots of playtime with this cutie!!!
Favorite Recipe: I enjoyed my three bean green salad this week, I think I want to try this next!
Favorite Delivery: My Sephora package came and it was filled with lots of goodies!!! I am finally trying the IT CC Cream. I have only used it twice, but so far I am enjoying it. I ordered a special additions set that came with two deluxe samples of their eye cream and confidence in a cream. I also ordered the Buxom lip gloss in Kimberly. Love the light pink color for summer and it has the slightest hint of shimmer. I scooped up the Bobbi Brown cult favorites with some points I had saved up. They had a special for VIBs who ordered that day to receive Too Faced Hangover Primer and Better Than Sex deluxe sized samples. Then I got three free samples of perfume.
Favorite Blog Post: Steph’s post, The Here and Now, this week was such a great reminder to stop putting things off for later when this or that is better and treat yourself better now.
Favorite Funnies:
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. If you live in the south in the path of the storms today, stay safe!!! Linking up with Amanda.
