Tuesday, June 12, 2018

I Can't Stop Reading

I missed last month, but don't worry I'm back with some good ones today! I'm also in the middle of a few good ones as well that I'm looking forward to sharing next month! Linking up with Steph and Jana!

FICTION

Little Fires Everywhere // Celeste Ng
Rating: 4/5

I was on the waiting list at the library for SO long with this book. Possibly the longest wait I've had so far. It was definitely worth it! I was expecting a little bit more of a thriller but it was extremely character driven. I enjoyed this, though, because it really got my thinking and involved in the characters.

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The Broken Girls // Simone St. James
Rating: 3/5

I enjoyed this book because of the mystery/who dunnit aspect and the characters were easy to get into BUT it had a... supernatural side that I wasn't prepared for that I didn't feel was wrapped up well so I was left with quite a few questions at the end. Yes, the mystery was mostly solved but there were still questions.


The Wedding Date // Jasmine Guillory
Rating: 3.5/5

If you've read any of my book recaps, you know I much prefer a thriller, but I had seen a few bloggers post about this book and I was interested. This book was a great modern romance that I definitely found myself swept up into. It was a quick read and somewhat realistic which was nice. Yes, there were some big gestures that most people can't relate to, there were also a lot of really relatable moments. If you're looking for a lighthearted beach read, look no further!

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After You // JoJo Moyers
Rating: 3/5

I will be honest and let you know that I did not read Me Before You because my friend wanted to see it in theaters before I had time to read it. I realize I still could have read it after, but reading after seeing the movie always lets me down so I just started with the sequel. This book was okay. I felt that it dragged on a little too much in a few places but overall, another good beach read. I'm on the waiting list for the final book at the library now which I hear is better than this one!

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Still Me // JoJo Moyers
Rating: 4/5

Still Me was SO MUCH BETTER than After You. So much so, I almost lowered my rating on After You after reading it. But I rated it right after reading it, so I'm going to stick with it. I loved the journey Louisa went on during this book and it was very inspiring.

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DEVELOPMENTAL:

The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck // Sarah Knight
Rating: 3.5/5

This was a quick read (I read it in about an hour on a flight) but it was definitely a new way to look at life and making sure you're doing things that you enjoy without hurting people around you. We have to be a little selfish with our time in order to be the best version of ourselves. I'd like to revisit this book and take a little more time to do the activities within it that I didn't do on the plane.

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Body Love // Kelly LeVeque
Rating: 2.5/3

I thought this book was relatively common sense and most of it can be found on her blog. I'm glad I checked it out from the library instead of purchasing. I do follow Kelly on Instagram and I found that is good enough for me!
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Currently Reading: 

You Do You // Sarah Knight
Grace Not Perfection // Emily Ley
A Simplified Life // Emily Ley
A Simple Favor // Darcy Bell

Have you read any of these? Is there anything I should definitely add?





Wednesday, June 6, 2018

What happened to May?

I think I wrote two posts in May? And when I started this post, I actually forgot about that and had to go back and look... May was possibly one of the craziest months I've had in recent memory. I thought I would do a little recap of the month because there were a few fun things that happened!

My Birthday! 

I flew out for a work trip on my actual birthday so the night before, my husband took me out for dinner and ice cream. Ice cream is my love language so this was a big win in my book.
At work, my co-workers decorated my desk, brought my cupcakes and bought my chicken nuggets from Chickfila before we headed to the airport for San Diego!

Thankfully, we had a direct flight to San Diego in which I made it through multiple podcasts, a book and a little nap before we got there. I love time change sometimes, but after waking up early to workout, working most of the day, and flying almost six hours, I was exhausted! But, my boss had made dinner reservations for my birthday and dinner was AMAZING. I had crab legs and lobster :)

San Diego. 

We were out in California for a work conference with the Association for Training and Development and it was one of the most exhausting things I've done but I was nerding out so hard over all the training/employee engagement/development stuff! We also had some time at the zoo, in Old Town San Diego, walking around and eating in Little Italy with plenty of ice cream throughout the week.

BUT, the best hour and a half, BY FAR, was being in the same room as the best key note speaker that has ever happened at a conference... BARACK OBAMA. President Barack Obama. We were outside the conference center at 6 AM and he didn't start speaking until 8:30... thankfully, we did get relatively close - as in I could see him with my own two eye balls without looking at the screens. Truly a once in a lifetime, unforgettable experience. To read a little about his speech, click here.

Mother's Day. 

We got home just in time for Mother's Day, my father in law's birthday, and my uncle's visit from Maui. We had our annual Mother's Day/ father in law's birthday cookout with my in law's neighbors - which turned into their impromptu vow renewal! It marked their 20 year anniversary and Vickie surprised Susan with a minister who (re)married them by their pool!

For actual Mother's Day, we spent the day with my entire family: grandparents, mom, brother/his girlfriend and all four of my uncles. It was so fun to have the entire family together and thankfully we were able to get together a few other times before he left.

Wedding fun! 

The next weekend - we had a wedding to attend! And not the Royal Wedding - even better - our friends Alyssa and Kevin finally tied the knot! We have a group of 4 best friends from college and Alyssa was the last of the four to get married and we all had so much fun celebrating them. It was also supposed to rain the entire day and it barely sprinkled around 9:30 pm that night and by that point, it was refreshing because it was so hot and humid!

Dallas. 

Towards the end of May, I was out in Dallas for a few days to do some training for our new employees out there. Let me tell you... being someone that hates summer, Texas is not a place for me in May. That is a different kind of heat. I swear that the sun was laying directly on top of me. It wasn't as humid in Charlotte, in my opinion, it was just WAY hotter somehow.

Memorial Day. 

Sadly, I had to work Memorial Day #transportationproblems but we did have a good weekend relaxing, being productive and catching up on life after an entire month of being busy or away from home. I think that was the first grocery store trip I had made since the end of April... I'm pretty embarrassed but there was literally no time to cook or shop.

So there we have it - one of the busiest months of my life... and June is shaping up to be pretty crazy too. help.