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Happy Friday! Did anyone shop the Prime sale this week? I will be honest, I didn’t order anything from it. There were some ok deals, but nothing that I just had to have. What I am thankful for, was that everyone else was jumping on the sale train too! Target had such an amazing deal on toys and board games!!! They were up to 40% off PLUS you got to use a $10 off $50 or $25 off $100 coupon on top of the sale. That coupon is still good through tomorrow, by the way. A few things I had my eye on for Zoe were part of the sale, so I got some more birthday and Christmas shopping done. Hurray!

And then Amazon sent the toy catalog, and she circled the entire book. One of my friends gave me the idea to give her a few star stickers to pick what she really wants from it. It reminded me of when I was little and lived in PA, we had Hills. Their Christmas commercial jingle was always “Hills is where the toys are.” And we got the Hills and Sears catalogs in the mail, and my mom would pour over them with us, letting us dog ear pages and put stars next to things we liked. It was like the kick off to the Christmas season!

It was announced Wednesday that Coach Saban tested positive for Coronavirus. I hope that he recovers quickly. It is said that he has been coaching via Zoom meeting. Chris sent me this yesterday, and I about died laughing. Roll Tide!

Maybe if the football god himself came down with the virus, some of these people who still think it is fake will take it more seriously?? I am ready for this shit to be over.

Favorite Purchase: I found the CUTEST sweatshirt from Target! It is so soft and is true to size. It fits like a regular sweatshirt, and is plenty long to wear with leggings. I absolutely loved the leopard print.

Favorite Aldi Finds: I think I might make this a regular thing on Friday posts, since I find so much good stuff there! They had some really fun halloween treats this week. We are going to decorate these ghost pops this weekend! Zoe loved this sticker book, it kept her entertained for quite awhile. We also got salted caramel hummus that both Zoe and I are obsessed with! They make a pumpkin pie one too, but the caramel was more our speed.

Favorite Workout: I have been killing on my workouts lately. I have been doing mostly Heather Robertson stuff this week, and then taking a walk after. Those early morning walks are so good for my soul. I always come back energized and ready to start my work day. It is always fun to see the moon still out while the sunrises.

Favorite Funnies:

Linking up with Steph and Jana. It is the six year anniversary of SUYB! I have been linking up with them faithfully each month since the beginning. I think I only missed one month right after I had Zoe. I have found so many amazing books through this linkup, and I love that it is still going strong!!! I read a few really good ones this month, so let’s jump in!

His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie

I want to start out by saying that I absolutely loved the main character, Afi, in this book. She grew so much, and was such a strong character. Reading about the Ghana/Accra culture, the social pressure, how women are treated and what was expected of them as a girlfriend/wife, just everything was very interesting. I feel like even though Afi went into the relationship knowing there was another woman, I can really appreciate how she felt later on and how it all unfolded. I especially liked Evelyn in this book as well. I feel like she helped bring Afi up. I thought about this book often as I was reading it, and it still sits with me now.

Bottom Line: Read it!

**I received a copy of His Only Wife from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

Rosie’s Traveling Tea Shop by Rebecca Raisin

This is my second Rebecca Raisin book. I like her writing alright, she is very descriptive, which I appreciate. I liked the characters in this book, and the idea of traveling from festival to festival, letting the sun guide you along. The Van Lifers sounded like a fun life! Rosie grew as a character, and I definitely appreciated that. The rest of the book fell a little flat for me. It passed the time just fine, but I wasn’t dying to find out what happens next. I pretty much predicted the whole book immediately. I hate when there is a Jason Momoa character in the book. I didn’t watch that show, and that isn’t my type. Why does everyone default to him? Also, I felt like Rosie could be a little too clueless at time, for as strong of a person as she was. The romance was definitely missing from this book for me. Maybe it wasn’t classified as a romance? It was definitely more chic lit-y.

Bottom Line: It was a sweet read that passed the time just fine.

**I received a copy of Rosie’s Traveling Tea Shop from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

This book grabbed me right away, and I couldn’t put it down. I loved how the story wove between a case going on today and one 25 years ago. You really get invested in the town and it’s people. I feel like this book really shows what it is like to be a rape victim, how they always seem to be the one on trial and not the perp. This book did a really good job going back and forth between the two cases, the views of Hannah and Rachel, and the podcast episodes. I had it pretty much figured out, but there were a few surprises for me. I liked Rachel’s character a lot, and I felt like with the way the book ended….there maybe could be more?

Bottom Line: Read it!

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not by Iris Morland

This was a fun little romantic comedy that had me smiling. Full disclosure, I did not read the first book in this series. I don’t feel like I needed to to enjoy this one…but now I want to read the next one about Kate! Liam is your typical tall, dark, handsome, brooding Irishman. Mari is a fiery redhead, who thinks she is boring, but was wrong. The beginning of the book starts with the two of them in bed the morning after they drunkingly got married. While this might be a story told a few times, the author found a way to keep this interesting and fresh. I really loved how each of them helped the other grow. My only complaint was that I felt there was an excessive amount of crude words. I like a hot romance…but the amount of times the author used certain words, was a little much for even me.

Bottom Line: If romantic comedies is your thing, and you don’t mind hot scenes and some crude language…read it!

Winter’s Kiss by Sienna Carr

Apparently, it is time to start the Christmas books! For me, anyways. Honestly, I will read them anytime of year. But this year, I want as many Christmas romances as I can get! First of all, our characters names are Merry Nicholls and Dylan Fraser. How cute is that? This was a sweet little love story that took place in a cute little town. It is everything you expect a Christmas love story to be.

Bottom Line: If you are looking for a light Christmas Hallmark type movie book, this was sweet.

Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand

Goodness, there are a lot of characters that Elin throws at you in the beginning of this book! Obviously, she has to build up the town and give you all the details so you can figure out what is going on. But still, you definitely have to pay attention. I ripped through this one. I loved the whole story line and all the mystery and secrets behind it. This book ended on a total cliffhanger!!! Thank goodness my library had the second one available.

Bottom Line: Read it!!!!

What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! It was a rainy one here, with Delta moving through our area. We spent most all of the weekend indoors, which I didn’t mind.

Friday evening we ordered from our favorite Mexican place. It has been a long work week, and was well deserved. Zoe’s favorite thing is always refried beans. It is the first thing she finishes off her plate, and is always asking for more.

Saturday morning we did a Halloween craft from our box we got at Target. It was $5 for 4 crafts. I cant find it online anymore, otherwise I would share the link. The crafts are so cute, and Zoe turned the box into a spooky dollhouse for her Little People princesses.

That afternoon, we went for a car ride and then settled in for some football. There were some upsets in the SEC this weekend. Sorry Missy! I won’t lie, Chris, Zoe and I were chanting MISS IT MISS IT during the end of the Auburn game. LOL. We got our karma back to us during our game when things were hairy for awhile. We pulled out the big W though, so Roll Tide! Of course with football, comes lots of snacks! With her mouthful, Zoe squealed “I LOVE FOOTBALL!” I made seven layer dip, bbq smokies and we had the Mexican left over from the night before. Took pictures of none of it and went straight to eating!

Sunday morning we had french toast for breakfast and had a slow morning. It was lovely.

The rain really knocked down a lot of leaves in our backyard. Good thing Zoe loves to play with her rake! I plan to put her to work soon.

I declared Sunday Halloween Movie day, and we made popcorn and settled in for some Hocus Pocus. It was Zoe’s first time watching it. I was worried that it might be too scary, or that she wouldn’t be interested in it since it isn’t animated. I was wrong! She sat there and watched the entire thing. She kept commented that she didn’t like the witches, but that they had beautiful costumes. I hope that she always looks for something positive to say about people, even when she doesn’t like them.

We got the candy apple pretzels from Target, but they aren’t near as good as the caramel apple ones from Aldi. I also made homemade brownies and made it a la mode with some ice cream and hot fudge.

And we finished the night off with some personal pan deli pizzas from Publix. To Zoe’s delight, “A whole cheese pizza just for me!!!!” Calm down, Kevin!

And that was a wrap on our weekend. Chris has off today, and I don’t. The real estate world cares not about Presidents Day. I started out this morning with an hour long Heather Robertson workout that she just posted. I had to make up for all the calories consumed this weekend. Oopsy. Got to get back on that train! It was a great workout and I burned over 400 active calories. Definitely check it out! Have a great week!

Happy Friday! It has been a week. Hasn’t it been a week all year? I have been slammed with work, which is better than the alternative, but still, busy! I have also read two books this week, finally got my haircut (it has been a year since my last hair appointment!!) and got a pumpkin cream cold brew (and a cake pop for Zoe).

Favorite Watch: I watched Father of the Bride Part 3ish on YouTube while working this week. It was really short and cute. I loved seeing all the characters again, and how the two babies in the 2nd movie grew up! The way they did it was very relevant to today.

Favorite Purchase: I was mad about the leopard barefoot dreams cardigan selling out quick during the N Sale. But now I am glad it was sold out, because I love this so much more!!! It is soft, love the color and print, and it fits perfectly. (This runs large, I sized down.) The best thing, the price!!!

Speaking of great finds, I have the hardest time with tshirts. They are always SO long on me. I have the shortest torso ever. I found these boyfriend tshirts at Walmart for under $10. They are super soft, the perfect length on me, and come in lots of colors and even stripes. I find they run true to size, and you can size up one if you really want the oversize fit and to get a little more length. I have rose blush, amber green and white with black stripes. Perfect for every day around the house or running errands with a casual look. If you have a really long torso, these may be too short for you.

Favorite Recipe: I have made these skewers twice, and I really love them. They are delicious and low carb friendly.

Favorite Workout: I am awful about training my abs. I just hate ab work so much. I found this Lily Sabri 5 minute video that I did every day this week. The first day about killed me, and I felt myself getting stronger each day. While I don’t think that you can get abs in 7 days, or any other attention grabbing thing Lily’s videos claim…they are great to do a few to make a full workout, or do one on a morning you don’t have a lot of time and just want to get some type of movement in.

Favorite Funnies:

Time to share some of my recent Amazon purchases! I love Amazon link up day with Tanya! As always, I have a super random mash up of items.

LED Candles

I don’t really buy a lot of candles for our house, since most bother Chris’s allergies when I burn them. It’s sad, I know. One of my favorite things about candles is the ambiance that they give off. I found these LED remote controlled candles on Amazon. You get eight, two of each size, and you can turn them on and off and change the dimness and flicker with the remote. I am obsessed! Zoe was so excited when she saw them, she asked to keep one in her room too. I have them scattered all over the house now. I cant wait to use them in holiday decor too!

Folex Carpet Spot Remover

I jumped on the Folex train after seeing so many people rave about it. I really got it to see if it could help get the stains off our outdoor furniture. I have no clue what got on it??? Long story short, it didn’t work for that. But it is a great carpet stain remover to have on hand for regular carpet stains!

Isotoner Slide Slippers

Apparently, I can’t walk around barefoot for 6 months. My feet have been KILLING me lately. I have a pair of Ugg slippers that Chris got me for Christmas last year. They are so cute and I love them. However, they are way too hot to wear unless it is freezing outside. And honestly, the bottoms are flat and pretty hard. They don’t help my current pain situation. I found these super cute slippers that have memory foam. They are so soft and don’t make my feet too hot for daily wear. I love that the bottoms have a real sole on them, so you could wear them outside if you needed to.

Pilot V7 Pens

I am a pen snob. When I find a pen I like, I buy it over and over until I can no longer find it. And then I am sad and lost and try a million until I find my next “it” pen. I think I originally picked a pack of these up at Walgreens one day when I stopped to grab a diet coke on the way back to my office. It was love at first strike to paper, and I wont write with anything else. My one lonely pen that was left from a year ago, died a tragic death this week. I took to google to find some. Thank you Amazon!!!

Operation

Chris got me Operation as part of my birthday present because I love playing games as a family. Such a fun, classic one!

Counting/Sorting Bears

This set is so perfect for a toddler! You can do so much with them. You can start with sorting colors, and learning motor skills with the big tweezers. Then when they are older, they can start counting bears, working on patterns, addition and subtraction, and they even have model cards to build things with the cups and bears to follow instructions. Such a great investment with tons of lessons you can build around them! I love that this comes with box to store them all in too. We have used these in so many different lessons, and Zoe just likes to play with them as well.

Jumbo Colorful Eyedroppers Set

This dropper set has been the talk of lessons lately in our house. We did an experiment with baking soda and vinegar in a muffin tin, mixed food coloring to learn about colors and just sensory play pouring them in and out of different things. These are the perfect size for smaller hands (and adults too!) Zoe loved that they were all different colors and had their own stand to keep them in. Which is great for when she didn’t empty them all the way. They weren’t leaking all over the table.

Little Kingdom Disney Princess Royal Friends

Do you know how hard it is to find the “friends” of the princesses??? Zoe has been obsessed with Rapunzel and wanted her own Pascal to play with her dolls. They made a stuff beanie size, but she wanted ones to fit in the doll house. This set is perfect, because you get so many friends in one! Plus it came with a Rapunzel doll, and skirt and animals on her detach to change up the outfit. Zoe has been all about her smaller toys and independent imaginative play lately. This was a great find!!!

Kinetic Sand Sandisfying Set

Zoe is a big fan of kinetic sand. We have a sensory bin that we do often with a bag of kinetic sand and some safari animals that we bury, and she digs up. I wanted to do more with the sand, and this is the perfect kit! You get 2 bags of sand (red and blue) and a ton of tools to do all kinds of fun things! There are circle and square shaped ones, as well as cutters, squishers and molds. I had just as much fun as Zoe doing all kinds of things with it. Would make a great gift!

DenTek Kids

Our dentist recommended these flossing sticks to us when Zoe was 2, and we have been buying them ever since. I had normally just grabbed a bag at Target when needed, but these are such a better deal on Prime!!! One bag at Target is around $3, and you can get six bags on Prime for less than $10. Zoe loves the colored ones, getting to “pick” one each night based on her mood gives her the feeling of control. These are great for reaching far back in her mouth with no issues.

LOL Advent Calendar

I know some people think it is early to start shopping for Christmas, but this year I am not taking any chances. I want to make an advent calendar a part of our traditions with Zoe, and I thought this LOL one would be the perfect for her elf to deliver on December 1! You get a doll, and each day you open an outfit or accessory to go with her. How fun is that??? We don’t have any LOL stuff, so I figured it would be something new and exciting.

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? What is on your wish list? What are you planning on getting for the kiddos?