Books, books, books! [September 2020]

 Ahh! I have been so excited to write this post! 

At the beginning of this year, I told myself I wanted to be better at reading. 

...and then like everyone else's 2020 hopes and dreams... that went up in flames, fast!

Listen, I am not much of a reader these days.  I love to read, have always loved to read but I just never make time to read.  Since #momlife came along, when I have had the time, i'll be honest - I just sit and play on my phone.  Which is a PROBLEM and terrible habit that I really wanted to be intentional about breaking.  

So since reading is not just 'second nature' to me, I set a goal for myself to read 1 book a month.  12 books in the year 2020.  Surely I can do that.

But, it's September.

....and I think I'm well on my way to being able to achieve my goal...

Because I've read FIVE books this month.

Whhaaaaatt?

I know. 

I can't stop.  

When I FORCED myself to put my phone down in my spare time, a book fell into it's place and I haven't been able to stop reading.  

Yay!

Ok, so here we go... What I read... starting with...

I mentioned this book when I talked about my Book Club night!  The Family Upstairs was the book that we chose to read for our September book club meeting and.... it was just okay for me.  The story starts out with the main character being informed that she has inherited a multi-million dollar mansion where she was found as a 10-month old baby.  Along with it, she learns that she has two siblings who have disappeared, who her birth parents were and also about their death, which was deemed to be a suicide pact.  Sounds suspenseful, right? It really was! I am quickly realizing that I'm very into mystery/ plot twisting books but this one's ending didn't quite live up to the hope I had given it.  That being said, I did enjoy reading it, but definitely would say it was my least favorite book that I had read this month. 

Aww! I loved The Mother-in-Law!  Now, let me tell you, when I bought this book, I had no idea it was going to be so suspenseful! The story begins with one of the main characters finding out that her Mother-In-Law had committed suicide.... or did she? I won't spoil it for you! I loved everything about this book.  I loved the characters, I loved the story, I loved that it kept me guessing throughout! I did NOT see the ending coming at all! Read this book! 

Okay. Wow. This book was good. And Intense. The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on a true LOVE story about a Jewish man who was assigned the role of tattooing the prisoners of Auschwitz.  Now listen, it is heavy, deep, so REAL and powerful and so just, ugh (it's based on the Holocaust, so obviously..) but it's definitely a book that  I am so glad that I read. I'll never forget reading this book and reading this man's story.  HIGHLY RECOMMEND! 

I can already almost guarantee that this book is going to land in my top 5 this year.  I am a SUCKER for psychological thrillers... I nerd. out. for anything psychology in general (I have a minor in Psychology!) and let me tell you, I have NERDED OUT with this book.  I've already given it to one of my good friends to read, told my father-in-law to read it, and geeked out on social media about it.

This book is good.  Okay, maybe I should stop gushing and tell you a little bit about the book, haha!

This book is about an artist who was accused of brutally murdering her husband.  Once the police finds her, she goes radio silent and hasn't spoken since.  Now she is spending her days in a psychiatric ward. I won't go much further, but I'll tell you, I NEVER EVER EVER saw the ending coming.  It literally blew my mind so much that when I read the ending I shouted "NO WAAAAAY!!!!!" 

This one will keep you on the edge of your seat. I LOVED The Silent Patient!

Okay... My FAVORITE book of September was....

How to Walk Away.  Oh Katherine Center, you got me on this one.  This one has left a lasting impression on me.  The story is about a girl who survives a plane crash and how her life unfolds afterwards.  Let me just tell you that so much of this book resonated with me.  Maybe that won't be for everyone and maybe that's why I LOVED this book so incredibly much, but I thought the message behind the story was so powerful.  If you read ANYTHING this month, read How to Walk Away.

Phew! Such a great month of reading!!

My plan is to get into the habit of reading at least 3 books a month, so we'll see how I do! 

Any suggestions for the coming months? 

#gotitfromAmazon: Kitchen Finds

 

Isn't it crazy how tweaking such a small thing in your decor can give you all. the. feels.? 

I have been eyeballing all things Amber glass lately and thought this little tray and kitchen aids would be the perfect addition to my kitchen.

...and it's ALL from Amazon.

1. Amber Glass Soap Dispensers.  This set comes with 2 glass bottles, a funnel, caps, pumps AND the cutest stickers.  There's a variety of stickers to choose from to suit your needs.

2. Ceramic bubble up soap dispenser and bamboo dish brush.  This also comes in a set, but you have the option to purchase either/ or separately!  I wanted the white brush, but unfortunately they were sold out (mine's green as you can see from the picture - it's barely noticeable!).  I have always been a dish wand girl, but i've been using this dish brush A LOT since i've gotten it! 

3. Oval Resin Tray in Marble White.  This is a perfect tray to fit the dispensers and soap dish!  I LOVE the marble white design.

There you have it! A super quick kitchen facelift - all from Amazon!

Lake is TWO C O O L!

On September 7th, our sweet Tyler Lake turned TWO YEARS OLD!

T.W.O.

We celebrated him being TWO COOL at our house with family and friends (after a fun day at our town's Splash Pad was rained out - bummer!).

We rented a bounce house and the Birthday Boy had the BEST TIME!

Ummm, Erica, didn't these babies just look like THIS yesterday?

....babies don't keep, ya'll... babies don't keep...

So much love and just the best time celebrating our smallest of the bunch!

Happy Birthday sweet Lake! We love you so much!

Go GATORS! [Gainesville 2020]

 Now that it's football season, I thought it would be the perfect time to show my little Gator fans first trip to THE SWAMP!

We are HUGE Florida Gator fans living in Tennessee, so getting to be at The Swamp is an extreme rarity.  Since we found ourselves at my Grandfather's funeral at the end of our vacation, we thought we'd surprise the boys by inching our way north to Gainesville on our way out.

We didn't tell them where we were going so when we pulled up to the stadium they were SCREAMING!

Obviously there wasn't a game going on, but they were still so happy to see where the Gators played!

Fun fact, Lake is sitting in the exact seat that I was sitting at when his Daddy asked me to marry him :)

My favorite thing about this little mini trip was that just the other day when the Gators were playing in the Swamp, the boys all pointed to the TV and said WE WERE STANDING RIGHT THERE!!!!

It made my Gator lovin' heart SO STINKIN' HAPPY!

Now let's all cross our fingers that we will get these Gator fans to a football game... SOON!

Anna Maria Island 2020 [part 3]

Our last few days on the beach were, well, the same! Ha!

Lots of playing in the sand, boogie boarding and yummy food to end our day!

...I also did not take hardly ANY pictures and tried to enjoy the last few days with my boys :)

BUT, here's a few!

This was them coming in from their 'last dip'!

It is so hard saying good bye to this beautiful place every year!

...NO CLUE why the Lord blessed me with these 5 boys. I love them so much.

We grabbed sushi on this night and it was THE BEST SUSHI we'd ever eaten! We've NEVER gone out and gotten sushi on the island before and I'm still kicking myself that it took us this long to finally go out and find some! 

On our last night we went to The Waterfront (my FAVORITE restaurant on the island!)... It was the perfect way to end the week!

We had the best time getting to just hang out and spend time together.  Especially with all the craziness going on, we all sure needed it! 

I love making memories with these boys in the same place I made my summer memories!

Counting down the months til we head back! 

How we Wednesday... UPDATE!

 Well, the last time I mentioned this my computer was broken by a 9 year old... So here's hoping that doesn't happen again ;)

If you weren't around when I originally mentioned 'How we Wednesday', you can read about it here.

At this point I was suppose to have already addressed staying active, managing little league season and TODAY I was suppose to talk about our evening routine/ bedtime routine.

Ha. Aren't plans great? 

So here I am, telling you that I have nothing prepared for any of those topics and that I'm going to *attempt* to give this another go! 

So, 'How we Wednesday', let's give this another go, but I think I'm going to take it one month at a time so not to jinx myself...

NEXT WEDNESDAY I am going to be talking about How we MEAL PLAN.

Ahhh! Yes!! Literally one of the main reasons I started/ was told to start a blog.

Listen, I could write a book on meal planning.  I am the QUEEN of meal planning. 

It is so second nature to me that I could do it in my sleep.

I can tackle 4 kids, with 4 different schedules, with 1 adult having a schedule of his own, during little league season, during basketball season and all the ways in between.

SO if you have ANY QUESTIONS between now and Wednesday regarding meal planning, please let me know and i'll try to address it!

Now, I'm going to go and tuck my laptop away somewhere safe :)

#gotitfromAmazon: August review!

I've got 5 great, super affordable Amazon finds to share today! 

1. Simplee Apparel Pom Pom Wrap Dress.

This dress made an appearance at our friend's wedding this past weekend!

There it is :) 

 I LOVE IT! I love the unique style and the fit is GREAT! I will say that the V is LOW.  Like, LOW LOW, so if you're looking for a modest option, I'm not sure i'd recommend this (or you could always wear a cami underneath it!).  

2. Sojos oversized square aviators 

I had originally purchased these aviators from Sojos back at the beginning of summer, but they just weren't big enough for me, so I purchased these instead and listen, they are awesome! I love how light weight they are AND that they're polarized.  I have been wearing them all summer long! 

See?

Love them! 

I have the silver frame/ silver lenses which looks to be sold out but it looks like they're still carrying the gold framed ones! 

3. Rolling Stones Tank Top 

This is the cutest tank top and does the job for just $15! It's lightweight, isn't see through and fits true to size!  They also have other cute designs that I'm eyeing as well! 

4. A line polka dotted midi dress

Okay. So when I was trying to decide on what to wear to the wedding this past weekend, it came down to the dress I chose and this cute, cute dress! Honestly, the ONLY REASON I didn't chose this dress was because it was sleeveless and the wedding was in a cave... Last I had checked, caves were kind of chilly.  Soooo, I wore it to my mom's birthday lunch that afternoon instead!

The fit is so flattering and the material isn't thin at all! I LOVE the color I chose but it also comes in a lot of other colors as well! Definitely one of my favorite purchases I've made from Amazon! 

5. Blue mirrored male aviator sunglasses

I bought these for Tyler right before our beach trip and he loved them! They're also polarized and are well made! 

...sorry, the baby does not come included with the glasses ;) 

They come in a bunch of different colors, too, if your man isn't a 'blue man' ;) 

Woohoo! 5 OVER THE TOP Successes this month! Now let's cross our fingers that we can find some cute things to welcome fall in :)

See you tomorrow!