Thursday, August 8, 2019

Five on Friday - August 9, 2019

Happy Friday! Three cheers for the weekend! At the end of the day, I'm on vacation for a week so I'm hoping to get tons done at work today and leave feeling like I accomplished all the things I need to get done. Before I tackle my work load, here's my five for today ~

1. The Art of Racing in the Rain
Grab your tissues if The Art of Racing in the Rain is the movie you're seeing this weekend! It's opening today and if it's half as good as the book, it's going to be a masterpiece. Here the synopsis from Fandango ~

Based on the best-selling novel by Garth Stein, THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN is a heartfelt tale narrated by a witty and philosophical dog named Enzo (voiced by Kevin Costner). Through his bond with his owner, Denny Swift (Milo Ventimiglia), an aspiring Formula One race car driver, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition and understands that the techniques needed on the racetrack can also be used to successfully navigate the journey of life. The film follows Denny and the loves of his life - his wife, Eve (Amanda Seyfried), their young daughter Zoe (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), and ultimately, his true best friend, Enzo.

If you haven't read the book, add it to your to be read list. You won't be disappointed!

2. Pioneer Woman Luggage

Pioneer Woman does it again. Just look at this adorable new luggage! This lightweight carry-on size piece of luggage comes with an impressive price tag ($59) and is available at Walmart. One thing any piece of luggage I buy these days must have is 360 navigation, which this one does have. Also, it comes with a 10-year warranty. Which one is your favorite?

3. Lucky Charms Marshmallows

Guess what - you know those little marshmallows found in Lucky Charms cereal. Well, picture them full size and on shelves near you for only $1.50 for a 7 oz. bag. That's right - the cereal company is collaborating with Jet-Puffed to bring the enlarged version of the little pink hearts, green clovers, yellow stars and blue moons we love from the breakfast treat. I'm going to be on the look out in my stores for these babies! Let me know if you sight any.

4. Isle Jacobsen Slip On Shoes

I spied these shoes on a blogger friend's post and immediately knew I had to have a pair. When they arrived, I slipped them on and truly thought I'd never take them off! There are no words to describe how comfy they are. Besides the comfort factor, they are also waterproof. If you are looking for a fun pair of casual shoes, look no further! These are for you.

5. I need a nap....

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Okay guys - I'm off to enjoy vacation. Hope you have all kinds of fun this weekend! See you soon!

Linking up with:

The Peaceful Posse

Amanda at Meet At The Barre
Erika at Little Bit of Everything

Simply Sweet Home
High Five for Friday

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Thinking Out Loud Thursday - August 8, 2019

Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday! Thanks for popping in! Hope you link up below and share what you're thinking out loud about today.

Today I'm reflecting on the books I have locked and loaded on my Kindle ready to read on vacation. We leave later this week for our trip to Ireland, so we have some serious plane time for reading and relaxing. Would love to hear your thoughts on them.

Currently I'm 75% through The Lost Girls of Paris. With only 25% left in the book, I'm feeling putting good that I'll be able to cross this one off as read before our vacation is over. The book has definitely pulled me in and I'm anxious to finish reading it.

The Lost Girls of Paris: A Novel by [Jenoff, Pam]

1946, Manhattan

One morning while passing through Grand Central Terminal on her way to work, Grace Healey finds an abandoned suitcase tucked beneath a bench. Unable to resist her own curiosity, Grace opens the suitcase, where she discovers a dozen photographs—each of a different woman. In a moment of impulse, Grace takes the photographs and quickly leaves the station.

Grace soon learns that the suitcase belonged to a woman named Eleanor Trigg, leader of a network of female secret agents who were deployed out of London during the war. Twelve of these women were sent to Occupied Europe as couriers and radio operators to aid the resistance, but they never returned home, their fates a mystery. Setting out to learn the truth behind the women in the photographs, Grace finds herself drawn to a young mother turned agent named Marie, whose daring mission overseas reveals a remarkable story of friendship, valor and betrayal.

Vividly rendered and inspired by true events, New York Times bestselling author Pam Jenoff shines a light on the incredible heroics of the brave women of the war and weaves a mesmerizing tale of courage, sisterhood and the great strength of women to survive in the hardest of circumstances.

Next up is The Latte Factor. I first heard about this book on a Rachel Hollis Rise podcast and immediately purchased it. Who can't use a little help with their finances?!?

The Latte Factor: Why You Don't Have to Be Rich to Live Rich by [Bach, David, Mann, John David]

In this compelling, heartwarming parable, Bach and his bestselling coauthor John David Mann (The Go-Giver) tell the story of Zoey, a twenty-something woman living and working in New York City. Like many young professionals, Zoey is struggling to make ends meet under a growing burden of credit card and student loan debt, working crazy hours at her dream job but still not earning enough to provide a comfortable financial cushion. At her boss’s suggestion, she makes friends with Henry, the elderly barista at her favorite Brooklyn coffee shop.

Henry soon reveals his “Three Secrets to Financial Freedom,” ideas Zoey dismisses at first but whose true power she ultimately comes to appreciate. Over the course of a single week, Zoey discovers that she already earns enough to secure her financial future and realize her truest dreams—all she has to do is make a few easy shifts in her everyday routine.

The Latte Factor demystifies the secrets to achieving financial freedom, inspiring readers to realize that it’s never too late to reach for your dreams. By following the simple, proven path that Henry shows Zoey, anyone can make small changes today that will have big impact for a lifetime, proving once again that “David Bach is the financial expert to listen to when you’re intimidated by your finances” (Tony Robbins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Money: Master the Game).

A book I've been hearing a lot of good things about is Save Me the Plums. I'm excited to read what Ruth is dishing out in this one.

Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by [Reichl, Ruth]

When Condé Nast offered Ruth Reichl the top position at America’s oldest epicurean magazine, she declined. She was a writer, not a manager, and had no inclination to be anyone’s boss. Yet Reichl had been reading Gourmet since she was eight; it had inspired her career. How could she say no?

This is the story of a former Berkeley hippie entering the corporate world and worrying about losing her soul. It is the story of the moment restaurants became an important part of popular culture, a time when the rise of the farm-to-table movement changed, forever, the way we eat. Readers will meet legendary chefs like David Chang and Eric Ripert, idiosyncratic writers like David Foster Wallace, and a colorful group of editors and art directors who, under Reichl’s leadership, transformed stately Gourmet into a cutting-edge publication. This was the golden age of print media—the last spendthrift gasp before the Internet turned the magazine world upside down.

Complete with recipes, Save Me the Plums is a personal journey of a woman coming to terms with being in charge and making a mark, following a passion and holding on to her dreams—even when she ends up in a place she never expected to be.

Have you read any of Cindy Kirk's Good Hope books? There are a bunch of them and I've only read the first. These are just fun reads and can be knocked out pretty quickly.

Summer in Good Hope (A Good Hope Novel Book 2) by [Kirk, Cindy]

A widow at twenty-six, Primrose Bloom returns to idyllic Good Hope, Wisconsin, with her two rambunctious young boys, seeking the beauty of the lakeside landscape and the comfort of home. After the loss of her husband and her job, all she’s looking for is peace.

Prim is resolved not to date again until her boys are in college, but her will starts crumbling whenever she’s around her former high school debate partner, Max Brody—who just happens to live in the charming cottage next door. Max has reservations of his own about giving love a second chance and is determined to keep his distance. But when the two pair up to work on the town’s Fourth of July celebration, the fireworks over Green Bay aren’t the only sparks flying. Are Prim and the small-town boy she left behind perfectly wrong for each other…or perfectly right?

What books would you recommend for vacation reading? There's still time for me to add more to my list!

Now it's your turn - what are you thinking out loud about today? Looking forward to hearing from you!

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - August 7, 2019

Welcome to our party! Thanks for joining us! Before we start this week's party, please be sure to visit some of our featured posts. Let the bloggers know that you like what they've done! Leave a nice note in the comments and sharing their posts, too.

Featured Favorites of the Week

Checking Off My Checklist - Stilettos and Shiplap

Kefir Mango Lassi - Kiku Corner

Flatware Chest Makeover - Across the Blvd.

How To Get Rid Of Odors In Your Home - Chas Crazy Creations

Sewing room storage and pegboard organization by The Style Safari

Sewing Room Storage & Pegboard - The Style Safari

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Monday, August 5, 2019

Weekending - August 2, 2019

Every year I try to venture back to my home town for the annual Old Settlers Picnic, which was held this past weekend. Once again, the event went off without a hitch. The committee that worked tirelessly all year to pull this event together did a great job. Hats off to them!

My mom is a long time member of the Lady Lions, the organization sponsoring the cake walk. I wanted to donate a few items, so I left work early on Friday to go home and bake. Holy cow, it was the best afternoon! Me in the kitchen with Ed Sheeran playing in the background - I really need to do that more often! The three creations at the end of the afternoon headed to the cake walk were a cinnamon roll cake, chocolate peanut butter poke cake and a lemon poppyseed bundt cake.

Eric and I drove the hour and a half to my home town on Saturday morning and arrived in time for the 11:00 am parade. We met my family on Main Street and I busted out the bottles of bubbles to keep the kids entertained until the arrival of the firetruck-led parade.

The parade had all the good stuff - fire trucks, floats, the Shriners, horses and antique cars. And candy! Lots and lots of candy! The kids LOVED it!

The afternoon was full the cake walking, bingo and the baby show.

My nephew, Teagan, was so smiley ten minutes before the baby show began.

But five minutes before the show was set to start, he was sound asleep!

Even sound asleep, he pulled off getting second in his age category! And he woke up just as the show was ending.

And of course there were blue snow cones!

In the evening, there was lots of dancing. Overall, it was a great day spent with family and friends. Already looking forward to next year!

Sunday we spent hanging out at my parents. The weather was perfect for being outside. Uncle Eric captured some funny face selfies before we had to head home.

Another fun summer weekend in the books! Hope you had a great one also!

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Five on Friday - August 2, 2019

We've made it to Friday! Here we are at the beginning of August already. It seems like June and July flew by. I'm hoping August is a bit slower so we can soak up the remainder of summer.

Check out my five for today ~

1. Vogue - Forces for Change Issue
Are you a Meghan Markle fan? If so, you might want to get your hands on a copy of the British Vogue September issue which hits the newsstands today! Meghan is the guest editor and it features a candid conversation between her and former First Lady Michelle Obama. It's quite a big deal because Meghan is the first guest editor of the September issue in the magazine's 103-year history. The issue also has an interview between Meghan's hubbie and Dr. Jane Goodall. Curious to see how many copies are sold of this baby!

2. Jenna Bush Hager's Latest Book Club Pick - Patsy

"Today" star Jenna Bush Hager announced her August read and it's Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn. Jenna first started choosing books in March and it's become a very popular part of her job. She is hoping that this month's selection will "open a lot of minds". Here's the synopsis from Amazon:

When Patsy gets her long-coveted visa to America, it comes after years of yearning to leave Pennyfield, the beautiful but impoverished Jamaican town where she was raised. More than anything, Patsy wishes to be reunited with her oldest friend, Cicely, whose letters arrive from New York steeped in the promise of a happier life and the possible rekindling of their young love. But Patsy’s plans don’t include her overzealous, evangelical mother—or even her five-year-old daughter, Tru.

Beating with the pulse of a long-withheld confession, Patsy gives voice to a woman who looks to America for the opportunity to choose herself first—not to give a better life to her family back home. Patsy leaves Tru behind in a defiant act of self-preservation, hoping for a new start where she can be, and love, whomever she wants. But when Patsy arrives in Brooklyn, America is not as Cicely’s treasured letters described; to survive as an undocumented immigrant, she is forced to work as a bathroom attendant and nanny. Meanwhile, Tru builds a faltering relationship with her father back in Jamaica, grappling with her own questions of identity and sexuality, and trying desperately to empathize with her mother’s decision.

Expertly evoking the jittery streets of New York and the languid rhythms of Jamaica, Patsy weaves between the lives of Patsy and Tru in vignettes spanning more than a decade as mother and daughter ultimately find a way back to one another.

As with her masterful debut, Here Comes the Sun, Nicole Dennis-Benn once again charts the geography of a hidden world—that of a paradise lost, swirling with the echoes of lilting patois, in which one woman fights to discover her sense of self in a world that tries to define her. Passionate, moving, and fiercely urgent, Patsy is a prismatic depiction of immigration and womanhood, and the lasting threads of love stretching across years and oceans.

3. Velcro Ties

We are huge users of zip ties, but I have to admit I have a real love / hate relationship with them. I love the way they keep our extension cords all neatly tied together. But I hate that they have a one-time use and every time I use the cord I have to snip the zip tie. Well, problem solved! We got a pack of these velcro ties and they are reusable!! They securely hold our big, bulky cords and cables together AND easily releases them when we want to use them. Am I the last person on earth to learn about these?!? Check them out HERE. For under $10, you can get a pack of 100. What a deal!

4. Expresso Morsels

Okay coffee lovers - this could very well be a game changer for you. Nestle now has espresso morsels. That's right, you can add a bit of roasted coffee into all your desserts. Just imagine them in your brownies or scones. They are made with real coffee so get ready for that little caffeine hit. Be on the lookout at your local Walmart if you want some.

5. I'm easily distracted...

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Hope you have a wonderful first weekend in August. We'll be enjoying the Muny tonight and seeing a production I've not seen before - Paint Your Wagon. Then tomorrow we're headed to my home town for the annual Old Settler's Picnic. My dad will be frying the best fish sandwiches and my niece and nephews will be a blast to watch as they play in the corn pit. There will be bingo and a cake walk too. Can't wait! Pop in next week to hear all about it.

Linking up with:

The Peaceful Posse

Amanda at Meet At The Barre
Erika at Little Bit of Everything

Simply Sweet Home
High Five for Friday

This post contained affiliate links. I may receive a small commission if you click on the link and purchase. Thanks