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Linking up with Steph and Jana. I have read some really good books this month!!! I felt like I flew through a few because I couldn’t put it down, but also couldn’t wait to get to the next as well. So many books to read, so little time!

The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

What a ride!!! The whole book is set at Le Sommet, a luxury hotel that was formerly a sanatorium. The creepiness factor was definitely there. This book took a few twists and turns that kept me guessing at what was really going on. I had a pretty good idea who it was going to be in the end, and I was right. I really enjoyed getting to know Elin and what happened in her past while watching her work out what is going on in the present. I could hardly put the book down and flew right through it! You have complicated relationships, family drama and secrets and a limited pool of suspects. My only complaint is that I felt the ending was a bit weak. I wasn’t entirely convinced of the motives for the killer. It still didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book.

Bottom Line: Read it!!!

To Have and to Hold by RS Grey

It is no secret around here that RS Grey is one of my absolute favorite reads. Her whit and sass gets me every time. Each of her novels is like settling in with an old friend for me. I know what to expect and that it is going to be a solid read. I absolutely loved the plot for this one. An arranged marriage/slow burn??? Yes, please!!!! I really liked Walt and Elizabeth. Their situation was unique and I loved to watch as it all came together and unfolded. I also really liked Walt’s brother and wish he could get his own book! The only thing I will say, is that other than the epilogue at the end…we don’t really get to hear Walt’s side of things. I wish I could have known him just a little more and what he was thinking in some of the early parts of the book. Either way, this was such a fun read and I blew through it in less than two days. I just couldn’t put it down!

Bottom Line: Read it!!!

**I received a copy of To Have and to Hold from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren

I think I discovered Christina Lauren books maybe two or three years ago? I can’t remember now. They had definitely had several out before I started reading them, include the Beautiful series. I am now going back to their early books when I don’t have anything new of theirs to read. I can definitely see why the early fans complain about some of the close door romances they have put out recently, because ummm this book is definitely not closed door. Wowza! This is hot and steamy. I think there are mixed reviews of this one, because Bennett would be cancelled in today’s society for the way he acts and some of the things he says. This book was written in 2013 and I wonder if anything like this will be written again? It is fiction romance, so it didn’t bother me. He definitely has a few cringy moments and things that he does. But I also could not stop reading this book. Their relationship was complicated, intense, and messy. I was hooked and blew through this book so fast.

Bottom Line: I can see some people having a problem with this book. But if you are looking for a hot steamy romance, it will definitely deliver on that. I definitely plan to continue on with the series.

Before I Saw You by Emily Houghton

This one had an interesting premise. A guy and girl meet (but never actually see each other) in a rehab ward at a hospital after life changing traumas. This book was very much more about personal growth than any romantic relationship, so if you don’t like romance but like women’s lit…this might be for you. It did drag just a little at times, and I felt like the ending was rushed. But I really did enjoy the story, one of the nurses, some of the patients, and of course Alice and Alfie’s story.

Bottom Line: It was an enjoyable read. A good book for grief and personal growth if you are looking for a book like that.

**I received a copy of Before I Saw You from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

This was a cute read. It was nice reading more of the male perspective than we get in most books like this. I enjoyed reading about a married couple working out their issues to change up from the meeting for the first time/friends to lovers/enemies to lovers tropes. Plus I loved the whole male book club idea.

Bottom Line: If you like romance or romcoms, this was a fun read.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Can you believe I have never read Pride and Prejudice? It has always been on my list and I never made the time. I decided to mark a “classic” off my to read list this year, and chose the ultimate romance novel. I had tried to read this book a few times in the past and got bored with it after the first chapter or two, finding it sort of silly. But I stuck to it this time, and started to really enjoy it and look forward to picking it up. There is not much to say other than I get the reason this is a classic and beloved by so many. And so many romance novels that have followed over the years have been based on or inspired this very book.

Bottom Line: Loved it. Find time to read it if you never have.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

I don’t always loves books that go back in history, and this one goes all the way back to the late 1700’s! However, I was instantly drawn into this book and loved going between present day with Caroline and the past with Eliza and Nella. I found the history of the apothecary so fascinating, as well as Caroline’s research into it. My only complaint of the book is that Caroline finds herself in a bit of a situation, and I felt like it was resolved too quickly/rushed. Other than that, this book has me wanting to take a mudlarking trip, and completely fascinated with the history of all the untold stories of real people.

Bottom Line: Read it!

Currently Reading

The People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry

Words cannot describe how refreshed I feel after this weekend. On Friday, we had some crazy storms roll through here…again. It was so dark at 2:00pm that the street lights came on! They rolled out of here after a few hours, and the sun came back out in the evening. We decided to pick up some pizzas from Irontsone, our favorite!

Saturday morning it was rainy, so after breakfast I cleaned up the kitchen and swept and mopped the floors on the main level of the house. After that, we got showers and decided to try to eat lunch out somewhere. Chris mentioned SoHo Social and I got the idea to text Laura to see if they wanted to meet us over there. We haven’t hung out properly in over a year. SoHo was packed, but Tostadas across the courtyard wasn’t, so we grabbed a seat on their patio.

Words cannot describe how amazing it felt to hang out with them! Chris and B talked, the kids hung out and played, we ate some delicious queso and tacos…it was so good for the soul!

When I was tucking Zoe into bed that evening she said, “Mommy, today was the best day. I got to see S.” Heart melted.

Sunday morning I read several chapters of The Sanatorium before everyone woke up. I decided to take a day off work, as I am usually up and working very early, even on the weekends. It was so nice to just sit and read. I am almost done with the book ahhhhh!!! Have you read it yet? So good!

After breakfast, Zoe and I took Mac out on the deck and I shaved him. It takes about 2 hours and is exhausting. He looks so handsome and much less like a mop. We grilled some burgers for lunch, and made homemade fries in the air fryer.

We hung out for awhile after that, and decided to have an ice cream car picnic! We went to Freddies and grabbed some custard and parked in am empty lot and sat in the back and ate our ice cream.

Zoe was obsessed with this hate yesterday. She cracks me up. We hit up Best Buy after, and there is still nothing to be had in our store. The shelves are so empty, is that the case for any of you? I guess it is going to take a long time to make up for production shut down at the beginning of all this?

Chris likes to have steak on Sunday nights, so I stopped by Publix on the way home and grabbed him a steak and me some spicy shrimp sushi with brown rice. So good. And that was a wrap on the weekend!

I slacked off big time last week on my workouts. There were a few mornings I just needed to get to work and wasn’t in the mood to work out. I didn’t take that time for myself, and after a week of it, I am not feeling my best. I think it is important to listen to your body, and if you need a break, take it. I was honest with myself last week, and realized I was really just going through the motions of my workouts the last few weeks in general without any purpose. My eating has been horrible, no help from the Cadbury eggs that were available the last month. I lost my mojo for meal prepping/planning and I was just tired of thinking about food for everyone every day.

I am feeling refocused this week. I knocked out my usual upper body Monday this morning and it felt good. I need a new plan. I do better when I have a plan and some rules to follow. I am not going to do anything restrictive like Keto again. I need something sustainable. Something that allows pizza Fridays, queso with friends and ice cream picnics. I need to reinstate our daily walks before lunch, and family walks in the evenings. And I think I am going to work on organizing the fridge and pantry again this week. I feel like if we have a better way of showcasing the healthier options and making everything look appetizing and organized…I will feel more excited about it all in general.

Mainly just throwing all that out there for accountability for myself. Do you ever feel the need to refocus like that? Maybe a spring cleaning of my lifestyle. Though, the house could use some spring cleaning as well! I hope you all have a great week!

Linking up with Tanya.

Happy Friday! It has been….a week. Anything that should be simple was incredibly difficult. I spent hours on the phone yesterday, which is a rarity for me in my job. Most everything I do is online. Zoe and I did get a trip in to Target to get our grocery shopping done on Wednesday, and she had fun during virtual dance last night. She is really getting good at their recital routine!

Favorite Moment: It has been so fun watching Zoe drive around in her Jeep this week. She is having so much fun! We were also able to sneak a few walks in. She has been killing it in her lessons. It is so fun to see how much she has grown in changed over the last year. She is so smart. She reads the letters on the street signs during our walks now, her idea. She is also really good at guessing what letter words start with based on sound.

Favorite Purchase: I have the worst time finding short sleeve t-shirts. I have a short torso, so most regular t-shirts are way too long on me. It is fine for leggings, but I wear Under Armor shorts to bum around the house and outside in the summer. I found the perfect length for me this week, and plan to order several more! I sized up one size to get that oversized look. I think if I got my true size it still would have fit, but been much more structured. I got the pink above, and it is so pretty! They have several colors and even a few prints available online. Best part? Under $10!

I chose two books for Book of the Month this time. I am really loving this service. I know several of you have it, and I love seeing what books you pick each month as well. They make them all sound good when you are choosing, don’t they? I always pass my books on to my mom so that they are getting more love. I remember her and my grandma sharing books when I was younger. It is fun to get to do that now.

Favorite Surprise: Yesterday someone was banging on our front door, scared the crap out of me! I went down to see who it was…and there was a delivery guy telling me I had some furniture on his truck. Say what??? Apparently I had been selected for a Hayneedle campaign through Bzzagent and I didn’t even know. I am in LOVE with this oversized chair I was sent! We have it in our bedroom right now, but I am still playing with the placement and styling. I have always wanted a seating area in there. I will share when we finalize how we like it!

Favorite Recipe: The warmer weather is here, and I am here for all the cold pasta salads and other cold foods. This thai cucumber salad looks lovely, and you don’t need a ton of ingredients.

Favorite Teas: In an effort to wean myself off the diet sodas….again. You guys, it is a constant struggle. I have been brewing some tea after lunch and pouring it over ice in a very large mason jar. It has been quite refreshing and has kept my cravings at bay. I am really enjoying the Juniper Honey Mint and Elderberry Blackberry.

Favorite Reminder:

Favorite Funnies:

Pulling an old favorite out….

Linking up for Friday Favorites. Have a great weekend!

I packed up all our Easter decor yesterday, it makes me sad. I love decorating for Easter just as much as Christmas. There is something about all the white and bright colors to ring in spring, you know? Plus, bunnies are cute! Now our coffee bar and dining room are looking sad. I need to figure out how I am going to decorate both areas for the months of no holidays!

Did you all have a good Easter? We spent most of our weekend with Chris’s family, and it was perfect. We hadn’t seen anyone except his parents in person in over a year, and it was long overdue. Our nieces and nephew all grew so much! Zoe is the youngest grandkid on both sides of our families, by a lot, but it is so nice seeing them all play with her and include her. She had so much fun!!!

Friday evening, Chris called me and asked if I wanted to go grab some Ironstone Pizza for dinner. HELL YES I DO! Zoe did not hesitate to go run and grab her shoes when she heard me say Ironstone on the phone. There is no pizza place anywhere around here that is quite as good as theirs.

Saturday morning we started with an egg hunt after breakfast. Trying to spread the fun out over two days. I stuffed the eggs with little trinkets, erasers, rings and stickers. I never was real big on doing lots of candy for Easter, or any holiday for that matter.

When we came back in, we decided to make cookies before we headed out, planning to share some with his family. Zoe had wanted to cut out some eggs and paint them to hand out. She also colored a few coloring sheets, but I think we forgot to take those.

Zoe got to dye eggs for the first time ever with her cousins. We didn’t really do this growing up, but I definitely hope to do it with Zoe every year. The older kids were getting really creative with their eggs, they were cracking me up. My SIL and Zoe did these.

After we left Chris’s parents house that evening, we ordered Papa Sal’s to go, knowing we had a busy evening ahead of building a Frozen Jeep and getting all the Easter basket things ready. I cant really take any credit for the Jeep, it was all Chris. I just put the stickers on at the end. Why can’t the stickers already be on??? Or paint the graphics on??? They are the worst.

Finally, we settled in with our pasta and some Stabler!!!!!! So glad to see him back on SVU and his new show!

Sunday morning, Zoe opened her Easter basket and I made bunny shaped cinnamon rolls for breakfast. They turned out pretty cute, and obviously taste better as bunnies! We showered and got ready, and then let her ride her Jeep outside for a few minutes before we headed back over to Chris’s parents house.

And in true fashion, I forgot to take pictures on our porch before we left…and didn’t really take many outside of these selfies later in the day. Zoe had me laughing with her silly faces, not wanting to be serious.

The weather was gorgeous, and it was so nice getting to spend some time with family. I hope you all had a great Easter weekend as well.

Back for some more Amazon finds! Linking up with Tanya. Found anything good lately?

Picture Frame – This frame is gorgeous and relatively inexpensive compared to others I have seen. I needed an 11 x 14 frame for the Atlanta artwork I ordered for my office. This actually has a mat inside for an 8 x 10 picture, but it also works great for my purpose. It comes in a few different finishes.

Here is the picture I ordered in the frame. I ordered it from NattyMichellePaperie.

Nixplay Smart Digital Picture Frame – We saw this frame at Chris’s parents house. His sister got it for them for Christmas, and she has one as well. It is really neat, there is an app that you can upload your pictures from and you can friend your family so you can send photos to their frame as well. This is the perfect way for us to share pictures of the kiddos with the grandparents.

Motivational Water Bottle – I have been the worst about getting enough water throughout the day since I have been home. This has truly helped me drink more water, no lie! It is huge, but has a handle to make carrying it around the house easier than a normal glass. It is perfect to have outside as well. Also, it’s pretty. Highly recommend.

Monitor Stands – A year later, I finally have the rest of my office set up complete. I was using one of Zoe’s plastic sensory bins to lift my laptop when I was on Zoom calls. Now that I am basically on Zoom for several hours a day, I needed something more permanent….and a wireless keyboard. I really like these stands. They are very sturdy and hold both my laptop and extra monitor. I like that they are vented so my laptop isn’t getting overheated either.

Highlighters – When you are analyzing a 300+ property rent roll by hand, you need some highlighters!

Green Pan – I am still working on replacing some of our pots and pans. I am in love with the Green Pan! It fries up an egg so perfectly, and everything else I have tried in it as well! You all can keep those $100+ Always pans. This is perfect and much more affordable!

Osmo Princess Studio – We got this princess super studio drawing game for Zoe for her Osmo for Easter. It is super fun!

Trolls Surprise – This was also in the Easter basket. I had no clue that the container turned into a super fun pair of glasses to wear! Zoe has been sporting them ever since. The little troll it comes with can be worn as a ring, or attached to the glasses too.