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Sorry for the work bathroom selfie ya'll!

How far along: 37 weeks 

Gender: GIRL!

Weight gain:
About 26 pounds

Maternity clothes:
Every single day!

Stretch marks: .
Still only a few, I'm putting lotion on the belly to help.

Belly button in or out:
A little bit out

Sleep:
I wake up at least twice a night to go to the bathroom and unfortunately I had a slipped disk in my lower back last year that I ended up having to get a steroid injection to finally help get rid of it.  Well because of that I'm having major sciatica pain, so it's really hard to sleep on my right side and my back hurts like no other when I get up to go to the bathroom and when I get up in the morning.

Best moment this week:
We put baby girls nursery together this past weekend and it was definitely the best moment because I'm feeling way more prepared now.

Worst moment this week:
I'm constantly worrying about the flu, both my son and my husband had it recently and I got a virus a week ago so I'm just super paranoid about it right now.  I told my doctor that I wanted to keep her in as long as possible so she doesn't have to be out and around all of the germs. : (
And bonus: the swelling has returned.  Last pregnancy I had horrible swelling in my feet and ankles that started really early like probably around 25 weeks.  Luckily it's held off until now and I think part of the reason it has is because I'm so much more active this time around since I have a 4 year old that I'm constantly chasing!

Miss anything:
A glass of wine would be nice.  Kind of unrelated but I'm missing Summer and ready for the warm weather to return ASAP.

Movement:
ALL.THE.TIME 

She obviously hasn't run out of room yet because she is still moving all over the place.

Cravings:
Greek food, ice cream, I'll pretty much just think of something random and then I have to have it.

Queasy or sick: .
Nope, luckily that eased off in the 2nd trimester.

Looking forward to:
These last few weeks spending lots of time with my son before she gets here.  I'm having major first child guilt right now.

Oh hey!  

Book Review?  What's that?  Haven't seen one of those around here in a while!

Sorry friends, after getting pregnant and going through the first trimester fun, I wasn't really into reading and had to take a little hiatus.  

But I'm back with three books to review from November (a little late)!

Once I was able to pull myself out of my book lull I immediately started reading Murder on the Orient Express.  Obviously this one peaked my interest because of the movie that came out with all the big celebrities!

I'll confess I tried to listen to this as an audiobook and was instantly lost, too many names to try and keep straight in my brain.

So I tried reading it and that definitely worked better for me.

It was good but I have to admit, I kind of felt like I was reading a book that had been assigned to me by one of my high school English teachers.  Not that that is a bad thing it's just the vibe I got from the book.

To quickly sum it up, there is a murder on a train and everyone is a suspect. 

There happens to be a world famous detective on the train as well.

The ending is good.  Real good.

Next up was The Couple Next Door, now I'll be honest I picked this book up for two reasons.  The first reason is because of all the good reviews I'd read about the book.

The second reason is because the main characters last name 'Conti' is my maiden last name and you just don't hear it very often, silly right?

Summing it up, a couple leaves their little baby asleep while they go next door for a dinner party.  

The come back and she's gone.

Page turner that will have you guessing until the end.

The ending is good.

The last book I read was Class Mom and this one was probably my favorite because of the main character and how freaking funny she is!

I want to be friends with her in real life.

To sum it up, she's a mom who has two college age daughters from two different men and then she has a little boy who is 5 or 6 with her husband, so she's a little older than most of the mom's in her son's class.  
The book is very light and enjoyable - a true chic lit book.

So there you go, I'm currently reading the third book in Elin Hilderbrand Winter Street trilogy and it's so good!  I really enjoy her books.

Hey hey, Happy Friday!

Here's a little update on how my pregnancy is going so far.

How far along: 26 weeks 

Gender: GIRL!

Weight gain: So far I've gained 15 pounds, which I'm surprised it's not more with all of the delicious food I ate over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Maternity clothes: Most definitely!

Stretch marks: A very few in the same places that I got them before, luckily they aren't dark they're very light, but honestly not concerned about them.  I've started putting lotion on the old belly to help.

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Okay, not great but not horrible.  I'm exhausted by the time we get John down for the night and don't last much longer than him.

Best moment this week: Feeling all the kicking, she is so active and I love it.  This is my last pregnancy so I'm soaking up all the little kicks.

Worst moment this week: Getting over a cold/sinus infection and not being able to really take anything for it.

Miss anything: Wearing regular clothes.

Movement: ALL.THE.TIME 

She is a mover and a shaker!

Cravings: Peppermint, give me anything peppermint flavored.  And coffee, I look forward to my decaf cup of coffee in the morning so much!!  I feel like I've been eating a lot more chips and queso lately so that might be a craving.

Queasy or sick: Still get the gagging thing sometimes in the morning after I brush my teeth, other than that, I'm good!

Looking forward to: Enjoying the rest of December and all the festive fun we have planned!

Hi Friends!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and ate lots of Turkey.

Today I'm sharing our North Pole Breakfast 2016 (in case any of you need some last minute inspiration) 😉

I had such a fun time putting this together for John last year and I'm excited to do it again this year and keep the tradition going!

For anyone that's not familiar, the North Pole Breakfast is where the Elf on the Shelf returns to your house for the month of December to watch your little one(s) and report back to Santa each night only to return in the morning and usually causing some mischief.

I love our Elf, Elfie at first but towards the end I'm ready for him to hit the road!

Hi Friends!

Today I'm sharing our Holiday Family photo shoot with you.  

I love how they turned out!

We went to one of our favorite parks on Saturday and snapped our pics.  The weather was calling for temps in the 60's but I guess because we went out in the morning it was COLD! 

One of my favorites - I love that cheeky little grin of his :)

He's so sweet to his baby sister, he loves to kiss her every morning when I drop him off at pre-school.

If you haven't noticed my child is a bit of a ham in front of the camera! ; )

I wanted to try and recreate a photo that I took with him during our first holiday family photo shoot together.  

My what a difference 4 years make!

It's a....................GIRL!!!

We found out around 17 weeks that we're having a girl.  I wanted to do a gender reveal but without a whole lot of fuss.  So I painted two little pumpkins, one pink and one blue.  Took them to the appointment and asked the technician to put the right pumpkin in a box I had brought with me.

When we got home we let our son open the box and tell us what we were having.

It was super sweet and not a huge surprise to me because I've had a feeling since day one that it was a little girl.

Hubby on the other hand thought it was a boy, so finding out it was a girl was definitely a surprise to him.

Little man is excited he's getting a baby sister.

So here is a little update on how this pregnancy is going.....and a not so great picture, but I wanted to show off the huge bump ☺)

How far along: 20 weeks (5 Months)

Gender: GIRL!

Weight gain: When I went for my monthly checkup last month I had gained about 10 pounds.

Maternity clothes: Um, I have been wearing maternity clothes since week 12 and really should have been in them for probably 2 weeks prior.  The old saying that you start to show with the second one sooner is no joke for me!  I look like I should be at the halfway point ya'll!

Stretch marks: None yet, but I did get them towards the end last time but they weren't too bad.

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Complicated.  I am so exhausted by 8pm and then will always always always have to get up to pee at least twice in the night and sometimes that wakes me and I end up watching TV for an hour or more at which point I fall back asleep and am exhausted when I wake up, sigh.

Best moment this week: Feeling this little girl kicking around, never gets old.

Worst moment this week: Headaches. I keep thinking it's the weather but it's probably pregnancy related, I feel like I constantly have a dull throbbing headache.  Over it.

Miss anything: I love the pumpkin beer at Trader's Joe's and am seriously bummed that I won't be able to have any this year.  That's really it so far.

Movement: Yes!  She loves to move around at night!  I first felt her around 16 weeks while eating a slice of pecan pie and it wasn't a flutter it was a straight karate chop! 

Cravings: Orange Juice, same as last time.  I'm not an orange juice fan but have been drinking it like crazy.  I also craved cheeseburgers early on, not so much anymore.  Mashed potatoes.

Queasy or sick: Horrible nausea in the first trimester and I have a daily gag fest.  If I even think about gagging it sets me off.

Looking forward to: I get to have another ultrasound on November 6th so I can't wait to see her again!

Linking up with  Mel, Sheaffer and Shay for What's Up Wednesday!

Our little family is growing!  

We're expecting #2 in March and couldn't be more excited.  I'm in the 15th week right now and finally feeling somewhat normal again.  The first trimester was much harder this go round for some reason. 

And this little man is so excited that he's going to be a big brother!  He tells everyone that there's a baby in mommy's tummy (even before we made the news official, ha!)

More updates coming soon! ❤❤

Good Morning!

Linking up with Andrea for her Show and Tell Tuesday and I love this one!

I'm totally doing this post last minute because it's one of my favorite posts to read and I just love seeing what's in other ladies bags.

I'm just going to say it before I get started - my purse is a hot mess.

So here we go!

This is a tote that I got from good old Target and it's what I carry during the week to work.

And here's a peak inside.

My Michael Kors Wallet, planner and Thirty-One Organizer which holds my checkbook, phone charger, anti-bac and I think there's a tube of lipstick in there as well.

Next up, is a scarf (because it was a little cool here on Monday), my son's vitamins, a little clutch that holds gift cards and rewards cards that don't fit in my wallet, phone ear buds and my glasses in case something happens to my contacts.

Keys, Busch Gardens passes, and panty-hose.  

Here's a little secret that you may not know about, panty-hose remove deodorant stains like magic!  

#yourwelcome

And last this is all the stuff that is in the side zipper of my bag, everything from sunglasses and lipgloss to scissors and my sons toys.

On the weekends I carry a crossbody with just the essentials because we are usually on the move and I don't want to lug around a big tote.

That's it!  Hope you enjoyed taking a peak inside my crazy bag! 😃

Hi Friends!

I'm going to go ahead and say that June was a weird reading month for me.  

I tried to start a couple of books and just couldn't get into them, I hate it when that happens.  

I ended up reading 3 books and liked all of them.

 

The first one was I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh.

Man this one was intense.  

I didn't know if I was going to like it because it starts off with a little boy getting killed (not a spoiler, it's in the description) and I have a hard time reading that kind of thing.

But it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time and there were definitely some twists and turns that I didn't see coming.

Overall a good read!

The second book I read was Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris.

Ya'll, this one is crazy!

I read it in 2 days because I had to know how it ended.

Shew, I mean major suspense thriller and heavy heavy on the creepy.  

Like make your skin crawl creepy!

If that's your thing, read this book!

The third book I read was Cancel the Wedding by Carolyn T. D.

I have been wanting to read this one for a while since Shay raved about it in her  May 2016 book review.

It didn't disappoint.  

I put this book in my southern chic lit category.  

It was definitely a welcome change after reading Behind Closed Doors.

The two books that I tried to start reading and didn't finish were The Girls and Crazy Rich Asians.  I almost finished The Girls but another book became available so I discarded this one as I wasn't crazy about it.  I just couldn't' get into the story line and the characters weren't doing it for me.  I think I got 3/4 of the way through it so I will go back and finish it, but I know it's not going to be a favorite.

Crazy Rich Asians was hard to get into for me, all the different families and names and people were too much to try and keep track.  I've read such great reviews of this book that I will probably go back and try to finish it.

Happy Friday!

Happy Hump Day!

I feel like Summer is in full swing and I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am!

Linking up with  Mel, Sheaffer and Shay for What's Up Wednesday!

WHAT WE'RE EATING THIS WEEK: 

It's Summer, so that means I'm eating this.  A lot.  #yolo

Work lunch = amazing Kuban food

This past Saturday was a friends birthday party and they had an ice cream truck.

I guess you can't really tell how excited this guy was!?!

This was technically last week, but had to share the view from dinner with a girlfriend.

Nothing better than good food, good company and a gorgeous summer view.

WHAT I'M REMINISCING ABOUT:

This little nugget at his 4th of July class party last year.

WHAT I'M LOVING:

The fact that it stays light until almost 9pm.

Hearing the frogs and crickets in the evening.

Eating all the summertime foods: Hot dogs, corn, watermelon, etc.

WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO:

We've been enjoying summer with lots of pool days, birthday parties, movies and play dates.

WHAT I'M DREADING:

I'm not going to lie, I'm going to be undertaking a project next week to get John's art under control and I'm kind of dreading the work it's going to take.  I know that it will be great once it's done but the process is going to be painstaking.  Maybe I'll be surprised and it won't be as bad as I'm imaging though!  Stay tuned.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON:

I'm working on our stay-cation schedule.

I want to make sure we feel like we've accomplished a good bit of stuff by the end of the week.

I also want to make sure we enjoy ourselves too, it is vacation after all.😉

WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT:

4th of July!!!  Fireworks, cookout food, spending time with friends and loved ones and that summertime feeling.

WHAT I'M WATCHING/READING:

Getting ready to start reading this!

This is my guilty pleasure. 

And this, I can't look away!

Moana has been on repeat in our house this week.

John loves the Shiny song, especially when he says Hiney, boys.

This was hard to watch!!! I don't know what to think other than I'm scared to death for my son and what he will have to go through in school and beyond for that matter.

I feel like every generation before talks about how things have changed and it was so different in their day.  I felt myself thinking that multiple times while watching this.

I hope to keep a good line of communication open with my son and instill in him that it's okay to come to us for anything and everything.  Did anyone else watch this, what are you thoughts?  I'd love to hear.

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO:

Review on this coming soon!

WHAT I'M WEARING:

My weekend staples right now include shorts, t-shirts and sandals.

For work I found this cute green shift type dress.

BONUS: I got it from Costco and it's only $16.99!

WHAT I'M DOING THIS WEEKEND:

We are meeting John's college roomate for dinner on Friday which should be a lot of fun.

Saturday we are doing the Home Depot workshop with little man.

Sunday is Church and then heading to the parents on the river.

WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:

Vacation Stay-cation

My Birthday

Beach Trip

WHAT ELSE IS NEW:

Nothing really, just enjoying Summer!

Yay for Show and Tell Tuesday!  

This is one of my favorite blog posts to read (because I'm super nosy) so I had to join in!

And Andrea, can you please fly to Virginia and style my house for me?  Thanks! 

I absolutely love her taste and creativity.  

I find myself saying "What a great idea!", whenever I visit her blog.

So here's what you came for -  

**Disclaimer - I did not clean or straighten before snapping these pics so this is real life ya'll! 

Welcome to my House

Before moving here back in 2009 we lived in a studio apartment downtown (hence the name of my blog, Downtown Southern 😉)

I scoured my old photos to find the pics I took of the house right after we moved in to give you some before and after shots.  (I love those, btw)

So come on in - this is the entryway into the living room 

(pay no attention to the mountain of shoes to your right)

Kitchen Before:

Kitchen After:

  Dining Room

Living Room Before:

Living Room After:

We just got these bookcases over the weekend and I need some major help in styling them!!  Any ideas are welcome!

Laundry Room

Heading upstairs.....

This is the office - sorry it's a bit dark.

Master Bedroom

Nook (En suite) to the Master

Hall Bath 

Little Man's Room 

This room has gone through a couple of changes since we used it as John's nursery and then changed it to his big boy room.

I can't wait to share Fall/Halloween and Christmas home tours!

Summer is definitely my favorite season (with Fall very close behind).  

Maybe it's because I was born in the Summer, maybe it's because of Summer vacation as a kid.

There's just something about the warm weather and long days that makes my soul happy!

I also love a good bucket list, so here you go.

1. Make homemade play-dough - we've actually already done this and it was super easy and fun!

2. Pool Days - going to the pool with a 4 year old is a lot of fun, not to mention a good workout!

3. Homemade Peach preserves - I made blackberry preserves this past winter and now I want to try peach, it was easier than I thought it would be!

4. This project - I have an old tire that's been sitting in our garage for over a year and I decided I'm going to do something with it!

5. Beach vacation (Outer Banks) - my family has a house in Carova, you have to drive on the beach to get there, it's amazing.  It's also where all the wild Outer Banks horses live.

6. Fireworks on the Fourth - looking forward to fireworks with little man this year.

7. Miniature Golf - this will be a first for John.  Can't wait to see how he likes it.

8. Go camping (in the backyard) - This one is all my husband!  I don't do camping, but I'll enjoy watching them from the comfort of the house!

9. Farmers Markets - There are so many great farmers markets in Richmond!

10. Grill grill grill - Summer = grilling

11. Lay in the backyard and look at the stars - I saw an idea on pinterest where you put blankets and pillows in a blow up pool and look at the stars.  Love this idea!

12. Drive-in Movie Theatre - Ya'll, I can't wait to do this one!  All I can think of is the scene in Grease.  It's probably going to be way better in my head but I don't care I still want to do it.

13. De-cluttering John's artwork by making art books - I've saved every scrap of artwork that John has brought home since he started in daycare at 3 months old.  Needless to say it's taking over so this project is a must.  Even though it's going to be time consuming I'm excited to do this and see how it turns out.  Oh and get back half his closet space too!  I'm planning on saving my favorites and then recycling the rest once the books are done.

What's on your summer bucket list?

Book Review day!  Yay!

In May, I read/listened to 4 books.

Up first, The Handmaid's Tale.  It was not my favorite.  I've been wanting to read this book for a while since it got such good reviews and was recently a TV series.

But it fell flat for me.  

I hated the ending as well.

I also have not watched the series yet, let me know if you've watched it and what you thought?

Next up is Fall of Giants.

This was my first Ken Follett book and I enjoyed it.  

I will say that I listened to this one and I'm glad that I did because I think I would have had a hard time reading all of the war negotiating parts.

Historical Fiction is not my favorite genre but I did like this one.  

I'll definitely read the other two books in this trilogy.

I had really high hopes for, One True Loves, and it was good but not as great as I thought it was going to be.  

I have read so many amazing reviews of this book that maybe my expectations were too high?

I would definitely recommend this book if your looking for a good beach or pool read for your summer vacation.

Ending the month on a high note with, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

LOVED!

I'm a huge Harry Potter fan so I figured I would enjoy this book, and it did not disappoint.

I finished it in two days, it's quick paced although it's also written in screenplay format which is a little odd but you get used to it. 

That's it!  What books are you all reading/listening to?

Any recommendations?! 

Happy Friday-eve! 😍

Definitely feels like a Monday over here friends!

We had a very busy weekend with lots of running around and good fun!

How funny is this camp chair!  It was sitting in front of Bed, Bath, and Beyond and it was HUGE!

This pic is actually from last weekend, we went to the movies to see Boss Baby and little man had to take a pic in the Shark!

We hung out at the pool yesterday.  Pool days are my favorite!!!

I'm working on perfecting my pool snacks.  

Anyone have some yummy pool snack recipes they'd like to share?

I'm all ears!

Saturday hubbies soccer team made it to their cup finals and they WON!

Very proud of him and his team!

Saturday night bedtime (I love how it's still light when he goes to sleep!)

Sunday night bedtime was a different story.

I thought for sure he had gone to sleep when he walks into my bedroom like this!?!

Trying on his too small helmet and rain boots.

Does he look ready for bed?  Nope!

He did fall asleep about 20 minutes later, thank goodness!

These are my go to summer nail colors!!!

The pink is BRIGHT!

And the red is the perfect summer red with a hint of coral!

Happy Monday!

I'm so excited to share this post with you!  

Day in the Life posts rank in my top five favorite posts to read (along with home tours, holidays, and peaking in your bags, because I'm nosy)

So here we go....since it was Saturday, we slept in a little.

Started the day with some snuggles and cartoons on the couch...

With coffee of course.....

Then it was time to get dressed and ready for the day....

Before makeup....

After makeup.....much better 😏

Our first stop was going to be the Farmers Market but they weren't open yet so we headed to Ross to kill some time and had to pick up a Dory school supply set.

Then we headed over to the Farmers Market and I failed to take any pics, I got too excited about all the fresh produce.  Here's what we got....

After the Farmers Market we headed across town to run some more errands and made a stop at the Starbucks in Target (there was a pirate cake pop purchase that I didn't get the chance to take a pic of because it was eaten too quickly)

After we finished with our errands we headed back to the house for some quiet time.

Little man and Dad worked on some legos.....

 While I read a little of my book (got this recommendation from Mix&Match Mama)

Then I headed to PlantNite at 3pm....I had gotten a Groupon for this because it was going to be done with my team at work but I wasn't able to go when they went due to a conflict.

So this was my makeup day.

If you've never heard of it, it's a lot like the PaintNite that people do but it's plants.  

Super fun!

The PlantNite was actually in our local Kroger so I did a little shopping afterwards and then headed home.

After all the groceries were unloaded we headed back out to Mexican with some friends. 

I was so busy talking and eating that I didn't snap any pics, but my shrimp tacos with goat cheese were amazing!!!

After dinner we walked over to the bookstore (my happy place) and perused for a little while.

The kids enjoyed the bookstore, especially the unicorn masks! haha!

We headed home to feed Flynn....

And read our new book...Dragons Love Tacos 2....really cute!

(sorry the pic is blurry)

And once little man was asleep, John and I started watching The Keepers on Netflix.  This one is hard to watch ya'll.

I fell asleep at 9:45pm.

And that was our Saturday!  I hope you enjoyed it!  Let me know if you've done a Day in the Life post, I'd love to read them!

Happy Monday!

Happy Friday ya'll!

Linking up with Andrea and Narci for some Friday Favorites today.

Also linking up to Christina for 5 on Friday!

My number one Favorite is something special I get to do with my little man every year and that's "Muffins with Mom" at his daycare.  

It's so sweet and all the kids are so excited.

The teachers always help the kids make something special for Mom and this it's this little tray.  

Not gonna lie, I teared up when I opened it up.  #allthefeels

He also made me this drawing.  

I can't.  It's so sweet.  

I love seeing his little stick figures!  

Next up is my love for the Pioneer Woman, she never disappoints and her line at Wal-Mart is so whimsical and adorable that I just want to have it all!

The best part is it's not expensive, these mugs are less than $5!  

 And this adorable little cake stand is less than $15! 

Somebody buy this for me please!

 I had to pick up this 'lovely' tea towel at Wal-Mart because it will be perfect for Summer and it was less than $2!  #winning

Who else loves a work bathroom selfie!  Haha! 

 I took this pic because my rose gold shoes are one of my favorites, they instantly brighten up any outfit and they make me happy 😊

My final favorite for this week is a new adventure that we had last weekend.  We live in Virginia and are a stones throw away from Colonial Williamsburg so decided to spend Saturday at an amazing park there.  They have a zip line and obstacle course in the park called GoApe.  John loved it!

There were two sides to the course, one with ropes to hold on to and another that didn't.

He didn't care for the side without the ropes but LOVED the side with the ropes to help you across.

The end of the course has a zip line and that was probably his favorite part.

If you live in this area, you should definitely check it out!

That's it for this week!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mama's out there, I hope you have the best weekend!

Happy, Happy Tuesday!

Linking up with Andrea for Show and Tell Tuesday.

I'm an 80's / 90's child and I wouldn't have it any other way.  Man the 80's and (early) 90's were awesome!!!

I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to the nostalgia of my youth.  Follow me if you're another cool product of this generation. 😎

Here are a few of the my favorite childhood things.

Strawberry Shortcake dolls, Cabbage Patch Kids, Rainbow Bright and Care Bears were all the best!

I swear if I could smell this again, I would be transported back to middle school.

I loved this lip gloss!  Does anyone else remember these?!?

Annoying siblings and parents for decades!

The Book It!  If you got all your stars then you got a free pizza lunch! #winning

Honorable mentions:

Saturday morning cartoons

TGIF

Canadian Coolers

Anne of Green Gables (the original mini series)

Hee-Haw

Jelly Shoes!

Scholastic Book Fairs

NKOTB

MASH - I played this game all.the.time. I needed to know how many kids I would have and if I was going to live in a mansion or apartment!

Good times people, good times!

I've been on a reading kick for a while now so I thought it would be fun to do some book reviews on here.

March - I read two books

Summer Rental was the first Mary Kay Andrews I had ever read and I enjoyed it.  It's about three friends who live very different lives and are all going through their own stuff and they end up in the Outer Banks for a couple of weeks in the summer. It has mystery, romance and intrigue.  It would definitely be a good beach read.

I had to read this one after Mix and Match Mama gave it such a great review and it did not disappoint.  It was a real page turner and I loved everything about it.  Highly recommend.

April - I read five books

Rules of Civility is actually my book club book.  I am in a book club that meets sporadically and we met in February and picked this one.  I had to request a hold at the library so didn't get it until April.  I don't usually gravitate toward early 20th century fictions but this one was pretty good.  It had a lot going on but was well written and kept my interest.  I would recommend this to others.

I hate to say this but I wasn't a huge fan of Yes Please.  It was just okay.  I don't think I would recommend this one.

Loved, loved, loved Woman of God.  I read some of the reviews on Amazon and a lot of people rated it poorly because they said it wasn't believable, it's fiction.  Anyway the story telling in this one is just great, it's fast paced and a page turner and I really enjoyed and would highly recommend.

 I'm a huge Harry Potter fan!  So I really like a good young adult sci-fi series and this one is excellent!  The Sorceress is part of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel series and I believe there are 6 books in all.  I will definitely be reading all of them.

The last book I read was Boy, 9, Missing and this was a Christmas gift from my husband that I instantly put at the bottom of my book pile because, hello, I have a little boy and I don't want to read about one missing!  But I decided it was time to pull it out and give it a try and it was an excellent who dun it?  Had me guessing until the very end and gave a nice twist!  I would definitely recommend this one.

So that's it for March and April!  

What books have you been reading, any recommendations for me!?!?

Today I'm linking up with Mel, Shay and Sheaffer for their What's Up Wednesday series!

What we're eating this week:

I made tortellini with spinach in a creamy tomato sauce that was super easy and yummy last night.

Sushi tonight

Flat bread pizza tomorrow night.

What I'm reminiscing about:

This little cutie.

What I'm Loving:

FOOD!

This time of year when the weather starts to warm up I get so excited about food, in particular:

Pasta Salads

Hamburgers and Hot dogs on the grill

Corn

Watermelon

Pretty much anything that screams cookout and summer!

What we've been up to:

It's been raining for the past couple of days here so I've had to get creative with the indoor activities.

Indoor picnics

Hide and seek

Heading to the movies (we went to see Smurfs on Sunday afternoon, it was cute)

What I'm dreading:

I don't think I'm dreading anything right now.

What I'm working on:

I've been feeling overwhelmed by the amount of stuff we have so I'm working on going through everything and getting rid of all of the STUFF!!

I'm doing it a little at a time but I'm starting with my clothes and then moving on to closets.

What I'm excited about:

Going to Lowe's and getting some plants for the yard and around the house.

This time of year everyone's yard's look so nice and fresh and our yard does not because we've been busy and not able to get out and cut the grass.  So I'm excited about getting to clean everything up and have it looking nice and ready for summer!

What I'm watching/Reading:

Watching:

Southern Charm

The Discovery on Netflix

Fortitude on Prime

Reading:

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

What I'm listening to:

I listen to books during my commute so I'm currently listening to Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

At night we listen to trolls and sing soundtrack during bath time 😃

What I'm wearing:

I got this UGG robe and it's pretty amazing.

What I'm doing this weekend:

Yard work

Pool

Shopping for Teacher Appreciation Week next week

What I'm looking forward to next month:

The pollen going away so we can spend more time outside and gear up for Summer!

What else is new:

Not a whole lot.  Look for a book review roundup and some teacher appreciation inspiration next week on the blog!

Bonus question this month: What is your favorite spring/summer shoe?

I love my Tom Wedges, they're great for work and for the weekends!

Happy Friday, friends!

I'm linking up with these amazing bloggers for some Friday Favorites. Erika, Narci and Andrea.

It's been a while and that's because March and April are always crazy times in my house, we are in full on Birthday mode during these months and then throw in Easter and it's out of control.

I'll catch you up on what we've been up to (that just happen to be my favorites as well).

This guy had a birthday at the end of March and we celebrated with a delicious dinner and the yummiest Neiman Marcus bars!

Next we celebrated my sweet mamas birthday that fell in early April and my parents are adding on to their house so there were some diggers in the yard and Grandpa let little man in for a ride. #yearmade

 A little strawberry shortcake with store bought angel food cake.

 Blooming Rosemary, so pretty.

Then this one turned 4, I mean how is he 4 already?!?!?  

He was just born! #holdme

These past 4 years have been a blur and the best in my life.  

I just wish time would slow down so I can savor it more. 

So Mr. Man turned 4 and we celebrated with a dinosaur bowling party that was a hit!  

We had the party the day before his birthday so on his actual birthday we spent the day opening presents, jumping in his bouncy castle and just enjoying the beautiful day!

 4 year old on a mission!

 Birthday kisses from Daddy

 Birthday family selfie

Showing off some of his presents.

And then it was time for some Easter Egg hunts and Peter Cottontail coming to town.  I can't believe I didn't take a picture of his Easter basket but we were rushing around getting ready for Church and I completely forgot. Oh well.  

A non-party favorite is this book!  I'm going to do a proper book review next week of what I've been reading, but this book gets a favorite mention because it's definitely an amazing read!  It's a page turner ya'll and by far my favorite book of 2017!  

Ann-Taylor Loft is another recent favorite.  I haven't shopped there in years but they had a 40% off everything event right before Easter and I was in need a new Easter dress so stopped by there and found 2 gems that went home with me.  Love them both!

 dress

dress

And that's it for now.  

Weekend plans are another birthday party and lots of running around to do.

Happy Weekend ya'lll!

Woohoo it's Friday!

 I wanted to share some of my favorite birthday gifts ideas with you today.

We are well into birthday season over here for John's friends and it can be tricky to buy for a number of different 4 year old's.  Their little personalities are developing so fast at this age that they could be into any number of things.  I find that games are an easy universal go to and can work for both girls and boys.

Little Ones

So my go to gift is Yeti in My Spaghetti - fun, easy, the kids love it and bonus - it won't break the bank!

amazon

John actually doesn't have this game but he will be getting it for either his birthday or Easter.

The cheapest place I've found to purchase it is actually on Amazon.  It's less than $11 - I mean what a steal!

I always like to throw a little something in with it, usually a small transformer or doll or even a book.

This ends up being a less than $20 gift that the kids love!

Family Members

I love gifting these throws with special pictures on them!

collage

Collage.com is awesome, they always have good sales and they are quality products with super fast shipping and great customer service!

I'm actually ordering one of these blankets for my mom's birthday in April with a picture of the wild horses in North Carolina's Outer Banks.  My mom loves them!

The Hubby

John's birthday is at the end of March so I've been brainstorming what to get him.  

Why are men so hard to shop for?

I end up getting him a couple of things....

1. Something he's asked for

Like this hoodie

amazon

2. Something sentimental

I'm getting him a canvas print of little man and I (which he also asked for)

You can get a 24 x36 canvas for less than $40!  

I got him one for Christmas and it was great!

3. An experience

This can be tickets to a concert or in our case, taking him to dinner.

Haven't finalized this one yet but will probably end up going to one of our favorite places, The Boathouse.

boathouse

It has everything, amazing food, atmosphere and it's close to home!

So there you have it!  Some of my go-to's for gift giving!  I hope you got a little inspiration out of them.

Linking up to these lovely bloggers!

Round 2

If you missed the first round you can catch up here.  I decided to try this recipe that I found on pinterest and I changed the name of it to Hulk Muffins because I have a three year old little boy who is obsessed with superheroes.  #whateverworks

These muffins are not hard to make at all and if I can get my son to eat spinach then that's a major win for me!

The verdict?  

He loved them!!  

The next day he even asked for them for breakfast!  Yes!!

Kid: 1

Mom: 1

You seriously can't taste the spinach at all, they just taste like a sweet bread.
If you have a picky little eater in your house you should definitely try these!

Happy Tuesday Friends!

Thought I would share some of what been going on in our world lately. 😃

When you run out of ideas for what to give your toddler for lunch, go with the ice cube tray.  It's a great way for your little one to try a variety of things.

 Following his daddy while coaching a soccer game. #bless #allthehearts

 Nothing like a good game of Pie Face.  He loves this game, mainly because he gets to eat the whipped cream!

 Bowling, he's crazy about bowling!  His 4th birthday is coming up in April and we're planning a bowling party, he's so excited!

 #coolkid

Okay, cuteness overload ya'll!  His pre-school does bunny pictures every year with REAL bunnies!!! I mean these poor little critters, but how cute is this?!?!

 And last, I had to make this delicious popcorn chex mix that Jessica has shared on her blog many times.  It's even better than I thought it would be! Yum!

That's it ya'll.  We're in the middle of birthday party season and have already been to two and have two more lined up.  I'll share my go to present for 4 year olds later this week!

Question for you - do you have a go to present for little ones around this age?

Happy Friday friends!  Wow, what a week!  Is it just me or should Tuesday really have been Friday!?!?  Linking up to Erika, Andrea and Narci to share my favorites from this week!

Let's get started with the obvious....

Valentines Day

 Definitely a favorite this week!  

John had so much fun at his class Friendship party! #allthelove

Just a little Elton John inspired Snapchat Valentine

All of his valentine's loot

I loved doing this for him!  Andrea shared this idea on her blog and I started doing it as well.  Definitely a tradition that I will continue to do every year!

Monday....

was not a favorite.  But this coffee cup got me through.

#truestatement

Warm Weather!

OMG - it's been so up and down where I live in Virginia.  One day it's in the 70's and then next the low is in the 20's.  But let me tell you when it was warm you better believe we were soaking it up as much as we possibly could!

This is a trail right beside my office at work and when it's warm I walk the river at lunch.  It's great!

We took advantage of the amazing weather on Sunday and headed down to my parents house at the river after Church.

As you can see we were very happy about the warm weather!

DIY Necklace, big flowy cardigans, Lauren Condrad Cords, and Tom's wedges are my favorite this week!

Flowers

I got these flowers from Aldi's the day after Valentines for $1.99!!!  

Can you believe they were only $1.99??? 

I was so excited, nothing beats a lovely bouquet of flowers on your bedside table....and for $1.99 - what a steal!

Salads

Trying to eat more salads and so far I'm loving them!  

So easy for a quick weeknight dinner.

#givemealltheveggies

Love this little Hulk!

Funny story I have to share - after I took this picture he took off the mask and hands and was trying to take off the shirt but it got stuck over his head.  I asked him if he needed help and he said no he could do it himself.

After trying to take it off with no success I went over and pulled on one of the sleeves to get him free and he exclaimed, "ugh, why did you do that!?  You ruined my life!!!"

I mean I had to slap the magazine I was reading over my face to keep from laughing out loud!  I ruined his life at 3 years old!!!

Heaven only knows what I'm going to do when he's 13?!?!

#Ihaveathreenager

But then he looks like this when he falls asleep and it's just the sweetest thing ever!

Happy weekend friends!!!!