Happy Friday! When I opened the tab to write this post, I had to think really hard if Valentine’s fell this week. It did. It has been a doozy folks. Work has been crazy, as per usual. Yesterday we got the message that Zoe’s school was shutting down early and dance was cancelled because of the severe storms that were rolling in. Our weather alarm went off twice, luckily the first time it was a little ways north of us and south the second time. It was 72 when I went to go get Zoe yesterday and it is 36 right now. Talk about a drop, right?
Valentine’s Day falling on a Monday kind of stinks. We took Zoe to get heart donuts on Saturday morning and I made heart shaped cinnamon rolls Sunday. Chris ordered us a cookie cake, does he know the way to our heart or what?? And we had filets for dinner Sunday night. We got Zoe a few presents to open on Valentine’s Day, and of course she had a class party that day as well. All the kids looked so cute in their pink and red outfits.
Favorite Purchases: I grabbed this cookbook and am really enjoying it. There are so many delicious looking, healthy recipes in here that I cannot wait to try!
I have started Easter shopping. I don’t really like to give a basket full of candy. We usually have an egg hunt with Zoe and do a little candy, but mostly little trinkets, coins, etc. In her basket I usually grab a fun snack of some kind, maybe a Kinder egg or two…and then she usually gets a few toys and some spring/summer clothes, swimsuits, etc. Disney Store has 30% off today! I grabbed this cute Aurora Ballerina doll to put in her basket.
At Target yesterday, I grabbed the Annie’s Neapolitan graham cookies for her basket, and some fun marshmallow scented peep playdough, bunny shaped slime toys and how cute is that little furry bunny from the dollar section??? You can wind it up and it hops! I am tempted to grab two more so that we can all have one and maybe have a race with them. That sweet little old fashioned bunny was only $5 and I can’t wait to display it along with the rest of our Easter decor. It is my second favorite holiday to decorate for.
Favorite Recipe: I have made this Low Carb Cheesesteak Skillet several times and plan on making it tonight for dinner. We leave out the mushrooms because eww.
Favorite Listen: I really enjoyed listening to the Keep It Simple & Let’s Go Back To Basics episode of this podcast this week. They really hit it on the head that we ingest too much fear mongering every day, and gave great tips on how to make easy healthy steps in your daily life.
Favorite Reminders:
Favorite Funnies:
Linking up for Friday Favorites. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Happy Friday!!!! You guys, my oldest nephew turns 17 today. How crazy is that??? Chris and I have the anniversary of our engagement coming up later this month too, it’s been 12 years. What even is time?
This week has been a busy one. Work has been crazy, we had a mid-week home repair that had our kitchen in disarray for two days. And if I am being completely honest, it is still a mess because I just haven’t had time to clean it up. But, Zoe had her Valentine’s exchange at dance last night and she came home so happy. Her dance teachers are the sweetest. I also decided to change gymnastic gyms for her. I know it is mid year, but I am her advocate and I am hoping for a better experience at her new gym.
Through all of that, I somehow managed to listen to two books this week and physically read one. I love when I can binge several books in a row. I decided to create a book highlight on Instagram and review them all in my stories in addition to the times I share them here. I might start doing some empties over there too. It takes so long to write empties posts and I have an entire bin full of them from the last 6-8 months. Ridiculous, I know!!
Are you going to watch the game this weekend? I don’t really care for either team….but I am ridiculously excited for the half time show!!!! I am sure all of us in our 30s and 40s are!
Favorite Finds: I grabbed this dress for Zoe for St Patrick’s Day. I love that it is versatile to wear all spring/summer too. We LOVE this brand, everything is so cute on her and good quality.
Favorite Recipe: This was a quick dinner the other night. I roasted some brussels in the oven at the same time the chicken cooked.
Favorite Workout: This was a fun dance party to add on at the end of my workout this morning to get some extra movement. You could even try it on your lunch break! Love this girl’s attitude and motivation. I find myself doing several of her dance party workouts after arm or leg sets.
Favorite Funnies:
Linking up for Friday Favorites. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Happy Friday! February snuck up on us this week, didn’t it? It has been raining the last two days here, we even had a tornado warning in the middle of the day yesterday. Now that the rain is moving out, the temperature has dropped a lot again. Does anyone else get a major headache when these rain systems come in? It’s the worst.
Favorite Finds: I love the Buxom Lip Full-On Lip Polish so much. It is my absolute favorite lip product. I decided to grab the Buxom Lip Balm a few weeks ago to test it out. I got the color Dolly Fever and it is perfect for nearly any occasion. It feels so soft and light on my lips, and isn’t fussy at all. I don’t think that the color lasts as long as the Lip Polish, but it is also a completely different formula and isn’t as sticky.
This leopard heart sweater is perfect for Valentine’s Day. Really great quality and fit for the price! I sized up on to get a longer length. It is definitely a TTS fit though, and if you want it for work or “dressier,” I would order your normal size.
This smocked dress is such a great price, and a classic staple. The sizing is generous, it comes in three solids and some gingham prints as well. You could definitely order a size down.
I feel so helpless when I look at clothes lately. It is getting harder and harder to just find normal, classy wardrobe staples. Everything still looks very Little House on the Prairie, a flash back to the 80s or 90s in the worst way, or cropped.
Favorite Grocery Recommendation: This Lesser Evil brand has some really great snacks. They don’t use any of the nasty, inflammatory oils in their products. They have simple ingredients and taste amazing. This pink himalayan salt and the oh em ghee are my favorites.
Linking up with Tanya to share our Amazon finds over the last month. As most people do in January, I have been re-organizing different areas of the house. Mainly the pantry and extra closets. I also spent 2 days in Zoe’s bedroom and playroom.
I ordered this for Zoe’s room. She has way too many stuffies, and they just make her whole room look a mess, even when they are all put away in one place. Now, we can stuff these ottomans with them and it provides extra seating! I really feel like this is such a bargain for what it is. Would work great to hold blankets or sweaters in other rooms.
Zoe and all of her friends are obsessed with pop-its. We got this pack for her to give out for school and dance Valentine favors. I am going to put them in a bag with some candy and a note that says “You make my heart pop.”
These wreath holders are a lot bigger than I thought they would be, they hold a lot! I can fit both our wreaths in one. Definitely glad to have these for any future ones we get.
I am starting out the year strong, reading 7 books for January! (One of these I finished at the end of December.) Do you set reading goals in Goodreads or elsewhere each year? I usually set my goal for 52 books, averaging one per week. I often read more than that each a year, but I don’t like pressure or arbitrary numbers/goals for things I enjoy like reading. It is more like a wish…I hope that I have the time for a book per week. I never want to not be reading something, you know? Anyways, this was a pretty good reading month with some gems in it. Let’s dive in.
This is my second Rachel Hawkins book, and you can definitely tell that she writes YA more than adult books. Listen, I cuss a lot. But the use of fuck in this book was even too much for me. It was just unnecessary and childish. I felt like all of the characters were very selfish and immature, I didn’t really care for any of them. The plot and what was going on was interesting enough to keep me guessing, and I flew through this one…wanting to know where it was all going. I liked the remote island/boat atmosphere, but I felt like it was missing something for me? I wasn’t on edge, like I like to be when reading this type of book.
Bottom Line: If you are into mystery and a good story, read it! I don’t think it had quite the “thriller” vibe it was going for though.
While Jake and Naya’s meeting was a little too insta-love for my liking….I really enjoyed their story. I loved Jake and Naya’s friends, and all the banter between them. There is a much deeper issue of abuse covered in this book, I think it was done really well. I flew through this one, as it definitely held my interest the entire time and even got a little intense for awhile. Loved watching Naya get stronger and grow. I definitely want to read more from this author.
I did this one on audio, as I have many other Hilderbrand books. I have to say, I really love the narrator she uses. I feel like she makes the books even more enjoyable. While this wasn’t my favorite from Hilderbrand, I did enjoy it. The book goes back and forth between the main character, her children, other people in the town and the past and present. The whole premise of the book was interesting, with Vivi’s time in the in between and her nudges. I found the concept fascinating. Parts of the book dragged for me, and could have been left out. I felt like the ending was far too rushed! We spent the whole book wondering who killed Vivi (I actually figured it out really early on), and at the end it all comes together in a rush in a very anti-climatic way.
Bottom Line: If you enjoy Hilderbrand or family dramas, read it.
With everything happening over the past few years, if you haven’t figured out that you need to take control of your health and that being healthy is the best way to prevent a lot of serious health issues, I am not sure what to tell you. In my research, it seems that our gut health is the basis for everything. If you have an angry, inflamed, leaky gut….you aren’t going to feel good, look good and will get sick easily. I have been taking steps to heal my gut and have better health overall. I really like that this book walks you through that process, gives you some healthy life style tips, has several recipes that are easy to follow, and even has a food plan at the end you can follow. I tagged at least 15 of the recipes to try, and am going to incorporate some of what I read into my daily life. I liked the pictures and the way the book was laid out. The only negative I see is that a lot of the recipes have sweet potatoes, so if you don’t like those…you might be out of luck. I personally love them.
Bottom Line: This was an interesting read and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to get serious about their health.
**I received a copy of The Paleo Gut Healing Cookbook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**
I grabbed this one for free on Amazon one day. It was the fifth in a series, but reviews said it could be read alone. I want to go back and read the first four after reading this one because I really enjoyed it! This is a clean romance, nothing more than a kiss if you aren’t into the steam…it would be a great read for you. It is not overly Christmas, but the way they do bring Christmas into it was so much fun!!! I really liked Paisley and James and loved to watch them grow and change through the book. Just an all around solid read.
This book goes back and forth between present and the past. I loved getting the back story of both Shane and Eva, I really felt like it was such a strong part of their story. We deal with so many deep issues with both characters. I feel like the author did a good job with chronic pain. And man, what a complicated romance. I also really loved Eva’s daughter, Audrey. She cracked me up! I will say, the big “issue” at the end of the book let me down a little. It was such a strong story up to the very end and then the “issue” could have all been alleviated with just a simple text. I also think that the author might have thrown in a little too many social issues and stereotypes. I understand trying to be relevant, but it took a little awhile from the story at times.
Bottom Line: Overall, I really enjoyed this book and can look past my few annoyances to still give it a 4-star.
No one does enemies to lovers quite like R.S. Grey. The banter and wit that she creates is my favorite. I flew through this book in a day and thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved Noah and Audrey so much. The book was written from Audrey’s point of view, we only get Noah’s in the epilogue. I do wish we had a little something from him, I was dying to know what was going through his mind throughout the book. I loved to see feuding two school teachers in Rome for the summer with a group of middle schoolers, it just made for an all around fun plot.
Bottom Line: Read it!
** I received a copy of Enemies Abroad from R.S. Grey in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**
I love Tessa Bailey, so I was so excited when I finally snagged this one. This is supposed to be Schitt’s Creek inspired, but I have never seen that show or know anything about it to confirm or deny. I loved the premise of the book, a spoiled socialite having to rough it in the real world. Tessa writes the hottest romances, and this was no different. I loved how much Piper grew throughout the novel. It was an all around great read, and I can see why it was on the list of top romances from 2021.
