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Summer is officially here in Alabama. It was HOT this weekend. I knew the days of beautiful weather were numbered, as they always are. I am mad with myself that we didn’t have the time to take more advantage last week. We did manage to see my sister for a little while on Friday and go to lunch with her. These street tacos were amazing.

Saturday morning I was able to knock out a job before Zoe got up. We made some breakfast and got ready to head out to her friend’s birthday party. This was our first party since December of 2019, and Zoe lives for a party. She has been talking about it for weeks, had her outfit and swimming suit picked out, poured over what present she was going to bring, we even had to make a special trip to find the perfect wrapping paper. They had a bounce house, sprinkler, and outdoor games set up. She had so much fun and is asking how long she has to wait for her own birthday.

When we got home, Zoe asked if we could pull out our sprinkler. I let her run around under it, and play with her water table for awhile before dinner.

We had pork medallions and mashed potatoes. It is definitely a labor of love to prepare, but we all enjoy it so much so it is worth it.

Sunday morning I got another job knocked out before Zoe woke up. After breakfast I decided that it was time to wash all our outdoor cushions and hose off the deck. Pollen had coated everything, as it always does down here. I felt like the worst of the pollen had come through, and I wanted to be able to enjoy that space again. A good washing and hosing and it looks so good out there!!!!

After lunch, Zoe and I ran to Publix to grab a few items and came home and got the sprinkler out again. While she ran around enjoying that, I hung up our string lights on our deck. I didn’t love them after I got 3/4 of them hung, so I took them all down and started over. Now I am in love and cannot believe the transformation. They are so beautiful at night time! I know we are going to enjoy them a ton this summer.

I still need to order some lanterns or plants for our hanging hooks, but it is about done! We keep Zoe’s water table stored up on the deck when she isn’t using it so it doesn’t collect water in the yard. Those things are mosquito attracters if you don’t empty them! Since that is the state bird here, I try not to do things to make it worse.

I have one more row of lights that are pinned to the ceiling that will run above near the toy box storage on that side of the deck. I needed to get an extension cord but wanted to be able to use the lights until then. I got the lights here, very affordable and currently on sale. They come with extra bulbs. The furniture was purchased last year, here is the link. It is from the Hawthorne light, they have other pieces like a bar top table and barstools, and a few other pieces. The quality is amazing for the price. I have seen other pieces that are much more expensive that look essentially identical to ours. I am so happy with it, and the cushion covers unzip and clean up really nice.

I had meant to measure and hang our shelving above the coffee bar, deep clean the floors and go through and do another closet purge this weekend…but none of that happened. I am fine with it though. I really enjoyed taking Zoe to her friends birthday party and getting to see her enjoy the sprinklers outside. All of those tasks will be there next time.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Tell me something good that is going on for you. Anything, big or small. Linking up with Tanya.

Happy Friday! This week has been another blur for me work-wise. I feel like I am just moving on from one assignment to another without even remember what I just worked on. Anyone else crazy right now? You know who isn’t in a hurry…this guy.

He always lays down and lets me know when he has had enough outside. Cracks me up.

Other than working, there hasn’t been a ton going on over here. Zoe and I ran and got groceries this week. The weather has been amazing, and I wish we had more time to get outside and enjoy it. Next week it is going to be in the 90s here everyday. Ugh! Summer is here my friends.

Favorite Purchase: I ordered some art from a small artist for my office, and ordered this frame (which is on major sale right now if you need a larger frame) for it separate. It all came in this week and I hung it up. I am obsessed!!! I had never ordered from Juniper before and I loved the selection they have from many different artists I wouldn’t have find anyways. You can see it up on the wall behind Zoe. The lighting in my office is bright during the day, so I couldn’t get the best photo hanging. I will share a photo of my whole office when it is finished. I am still working on a few things.

I grabbed this No 7 mask on my last Target order after Lindsay talked about it. I used it this week and really liked it!!! Even if I did freak out Zoe and had Chris tell me he couldn’t look at me when I had it on haha. My skin has been weird the last month or two. I think some stress is the cause, but I was also not the best with foods. It definitely shows on my face.

Favorite Aldi Purchase: My favorite Aldi purchase this week was not food, but a book for Zoe! This one was $4.99 and is such a sweet story about a girl who loves Unicorns. The pictures were so colorful and beautiful. We have read it every night for bed since we got it. Here it is on Amazon if you do not have an Aldi. Would make a great present.

I didn’t get these from Aldi, but the nacho Hippeas are so good! A better alternative to some other snacks out there when you are on the go. Or your kid wants cheeseballs.

Favorite Workout: I really enjoyed this one earlier this week. Paired with a walk, this was the perfect workout. I have been having some knee pain, so this one was gentle on that.

Favorite Recipe: I made a version of this chicken the other night, and it was really good. I say a version, because I cooked it in the oven at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes but I followed this marinade recipe.

Favorite Public Health Message: I want to share the graphic above that I pulled from the CDC website because I think it is important to remember that Covid19, while real and awful, has been the worry of everyone this last year….it wasn’t the leading cause of death in our country. Or the second leading cause of death. Heart disease and cancer are always our biggest issues in this country. The FDA allows total shit into most of our food, beverages, products, etc. Many ingredients that other countries have banned. I am not sure why our government hasn’t taken the opportunity this last year to educate the general public on ways to stay healthy, besides staying at home and avoiding everyone. I mean…sure that works for awhile, but life has to go on eventually.

The fact that they aren’t out there telling people that the things that we do in our every day lives is what is in fact killing us, and that maybe if we all moved a little more, got better sleep, and fought for better ingredients in the foods that we eat…we would all be in a better place right now. I know I am guilty of letting stress and depression over the last year push me a few steps back in my health journey. But I am back on the train now with a new outlook. Our government wants us sick and dependent on them. Everyone makes money when our country is unhealthy. Look at the pharmaceutical companies after this last year!!! I believe in science, and modern medicine and all that. There is a time and place for it. But let’s also use common sense and biology. Why are we giving away free donuts and fries with a vaccine? I saw someone who had Covid get a care box from their city, and it was filled with Doritos and those packages of peanut butter crackers. While it is a nice sentiment, how is that going to make them better from Covid?

I have a family member right now who is going through some major health things. She said to me something along the lines of “I just didn’t realize that the stuff I was eating was going to do this to me. I know what is considered “healthy and unhealthy” but I never really thought about all the processed stuff and all the different things we have been told over the years to avoid or get more of.”

I am not here to debate Covid, the vaccine, or anything like that. I am here to tell you that you have to take your health into your own hands. You are responsible for it. The government does not care about you, and they aren’t always going to do what is in the best interests for you with their messaging, policy, etc. And that goes for both sides of the aisle.

Favorite Funnies:

Linking up for Friday Favorites.

We had a great weekend celebrating Chris’s birthday! His birthday was Friday, and we kicked off the morning with breakfast at Metro Diner. It is definitely our favorite breakfast spot in town, and it had been far too long since we have been. I ordered the spicy honey chicken biscuit and hash browns, Zoe devoured her waffle.

After breakfast, we headed back home so that I could work for a little bit. And so that Chris could talk to his girl at the Infiniti dealership in Georgia. He found the exact car that he has been wanting. I knocked out my assignment that was due, talked to a few coworkers and then we headed out to Ferus for a late lunch. We all ordered burgers and enjoyed one of our favorites places in our little city.

While we were sitting there eating lunch, Chris messaged his girl and said “Let’s do it!” And so just like that, we were the proud owners of a brand new Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400. Happy Birthday to Chris! (I can’t wait to see what I get for my birthday…LOL)

Since he bought it from a dealership in Atlanta (from the same person he bought his QX70 from), we would have to wait until the next morning for them to drive it out to us. Such an awesome service. We headed back to the house for a bit, a cookie cake from his sister was there to surprise us! And Chris’s parents dropped by for a little bit.

Since we had a pretty big breakfast and lunch, we decided to order Tazikis for dinner. I hope that Chris enjoyed his day!

Saturday morning, Zoe and I headed out to the Target in Homewood to get her a new carseat for Chris’s car. Her current one is way too heavy and bulky to lug into a sporty car like that. We got back home pretty fast and got ready…just in time to see the car pulling into the driveway!

Here is his new car with his old one behind it. It is sexy AF!!!! Red leather interior, two screens, all the fun technology, paddle shifters. Such a cool car! We pretty much spent the rest of the way driving around. We stopped by his parents house to show them the car, and Zoe played golf outside with his dad for awhile. We then dropped by his sister’s house to visit their two new kittens.

Sunday morning I made breakfast, cleaned three of our bathrooms, meal planned for a few days and headed to the store to pick up some food. The rest of the day can be summed up in this picture of Mac…

Doesn’t he look like a cat snoozing up there? Ridiculous.

That pretty much sums up our weekend. Chris is going back and re-watching The OC. I had never watched it the first time around, it came out when I was in college and I remember my roommate being obsessed with it, but I never got into it. Anyways, I found myself watching some of it yesterday with him. Chris was like recognize anyone?? Of course, Rachel Bilson and Mischa Barton are in it….but so is Link from Greys! He looks the exact same, different haircut. So crazy! Also hard to believe that show is nearly 20 years old. I still consider the 90s the last decade. Oops.

I hope you all had a great weekend. Linking up with Tanya.

First of all, shout out to Chris!!! His birthday is today. He took off to have a long weekend, and I hope he enjoys it.

This month is just flying right on by, isn’t it? It has been quite a week. Clearly, no one has learned from the toilet paper shortage of 2020…as gas became quite the commodity. I legit needed some and had to go to 3 different gas stations before I was able to fill up. Speaking of gas, why is no one talking about how damn expensive it has gotten? We are up over $1 a gallon here from where it was just 6 months ago. There are a lot of things that no one wants to talk about. The border crisis, the shooting in Time Square, how the president says he isn’t allowed to answer any questions anytime he actually comments on anything or he will get in trouble, the dictatorship tweet he sent out yesterday.

Moving on to happier things…Zoe and I visited my mom on Tuesday. We had the best day. We drove out to her house and picked her up and headed out for a little shopping in her area. She had been telling me about a home décor place that she wanted me to check out with her. She was right, I absolutely loved it!!! I snagged a few pieces for around the house, and now every time I look at them…I think of the fun day we had. Of course, Zoe wanted to ride the little merry-go-round we passed in the mall.

I grabbed this vase that is so beautiful in person, this quick photo I snapped doesn’t even do it justice. I had also grabbed 2 cutting boards for the kitchen, a soap pump for our guest bath, and a really beautiful bread bowl. Next to our vase, is our nixplay frame that I shared last month. We love it so much that we got another one. It is so nice to upload photos to it and get to see them in our home versus just living on our phones forgotten.

Favorite Purchases: Besides the pieces I picked up with my mom, I had ordered a few tops from Walmart that came in this week. I got this really pretty off the shoulder top that I think is such a classic in any summer wardrobe. It is very true to size. It comes in several other colors as well.

I also got this peplum tank top that I LOVE. It looks so good alone, or under other things. I was impressed with the quality of the material. I ordered my normal size and it is fine on me, if you are between sizes, I would order down. It runs just a little large in the arm holes and a relaxed fit. I definitely want to grab it in another color at this price point!

I had ordered this dress in black last month, and it runs very large. I wanted to get a smaller size but they sold out before mine was even delivered to me. They have restocked in several colors, so I am going to grab another! It is under $15!

And this dress, which isn’t from Walmart, but still a really good price point under $20! It runs large, definitely size down one. I love the green color, it comes in several others as well.

My Tory Burch shoes came in at the beginning of the month and I have been wearing them constantly. They are insanely comfortable, and my arch doesn’t hurt when I wear them which is a miracle. Highly recommend. I have the color below, but I would also really like to have a black pair as well.

Favorite Workout: I did this legs and glutes workout yesterday and paired it with a walk, I enjoyed all the moves…as much as one can, right? I recommend Mr and Mrs Muscle workouts if you are are pressed on time. They really pack a punch and are usually around the 20 minute mark. They are perfect to do two or pair with a walk if you want something longer.

Favorite Funnies:

Linking up for Friday Favorites. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Linking up with Steph and Jana. All of the authors this month are some of my favorites!!! Though, when you start reading my reviews….these aren’t all necessarily my favorite books by them. The stand out for me this month was People We Meet on Vacation. I just loved it so much. I did read the new TJR this month as well. Let’s dive in, shall we?

People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry

Happy release day!!! This book comes out today, I had my copy from Book of the Month. I absolutely adored this book. I love a good friends-to-lovers story when it is done right, and this one sure was. I have a feeling this will end up on my favorites for the year. Alex and Poppy’s chemistry was palpable. The book goes back and forth between present summer and past summers, so you really get to see how the two meet and become friends…and watch their dynamics unfold and grow. Plus, reading this book after being home for a year with no trips gave me all the wanderlust!

Bottom Line: Read it!! You are going to see this one all over the place, and for good reason.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkin Reid

I love TJR. I know I am in the minority when I say this, but I enjoy her older stuff so much more than her most recent books. Give me One True Loves, Maybe Another Life, After I Do. Those are when I fell in love with TJR. I have enjoyed Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones and the Six and Malibu Rising…but not as much as the older stuff. I don’t get star struck, I am not obsessed with Hollywood and the rich and famous. I don’t resonate with them and I don’t care a lot about them. And the last three books have been mostly about that famous life style. I feel like she has been writing to turn them into movies.

With all that said, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t found the books interesting. I definitely got sucked into the Mick and June story line in this one. I loved how we went back and forth between past and present. (Present being 1983.) I think I enjoyed the Mick and June story, and watching the relationship of the siblings bonding and how they grew up, more than I did the last half of the book. But TJR is such a phenomenal writer, that she keeps me coming back. I will read anything she writes, even if it isn’t something I think appeals to me as much.

Bottom Line: Read it!!! I know I said what I said, but I still gave this a 5 star. The writing is fantastic.

**I received a copy of Malibu Rising from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne

I thought Ruthie and Teddy were so cute! This was such a fun read. I enjoyed the whole setting at the retirement community, it was something different. I loved the vulnerability and quirkiness of the characters. I will say, I was expecting just a little more, as The Hating Game is one of my all time favorites. This one had started out a little slow for me. But when I did get in to it, I got in to it. So there is that. All in, I thought it was a super cute read.

Bottom Line: So cute, read it!

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren

This is an older one from CL, and it had mixed reviews so I was never in a hurry to read it. It isn’t as much romance, as it is more chick lit in my opinion. There is a lot of back story, a good 1/3 of the book was spent in the past. But I really got sucked into the story, and ended up quite enjoying it! Was it my favorite CL book? Well, no. But the writing was great, and I enjoyed the ride. I liked it better than Second First Impression.

Bottom Line: Read it.

Currently Reading

Hello, Summer by Mary Kay Andrews