Reading, Watching, Listening, Cooking and Doing

Reading:

 

I just finished the first book of the Peach Tree Bluff series, and loved every page of it. It's easy, heartwarming, and summer-y. Overall, my perfect kind of read. 

My neighborhood started a summer book/wine club, and we had so much fun....we decided to continue it through the school year. I'm hosting September, and we voted to read this book, so it'll be my next read. 

 

Watching:

I'm really liking Very Cavallari.

 

She is a cool chick - and she has a way about her that makes you want whatever she is doing. Honestly, she makes coffee look cool. I will say - the exception to that rule is her husband. He is a total dud. 

I'm also happy to see Bachelor in Paradise back in action, I'm obsessed with this season of Younger, and I'm also loving Counting On - no joke.....it's honestly more entertaining for me than the housewives lately. 

Listening: 

I'm still listening to Podcasts when I get the chance too. I like them in the morning while I'm getting ready, while I'm running errands in the car, or when I'm doing things around the house.  I'm not following any this month that I've loved, besides the one's I've shared in the past - so please share if you have any that you've enjoyed. 

We have been doing a lot of Jack Johnson's station on Pandora, and Leo has really been into music lately and constantly requesting the Children's Disney channel, so that's been hitting the speakers often too! 

Cooking: 

I've been cooking a lot lately, but dinner time is our most chaotic time, so I haven't been getting around to snapping pictures of what we've been eating. During the work week, I try to get in as many salads as I can - and my most recent favorite dinner was Natalie's Greek Turkey Burgers over an Argula salad. They make quite a bit - are really hearty - and make for great leftovers the next day. 

Doing:

This entire summer I've had the opportunity to play in a tennis drill in the mornings from 9-10 and it has literally been my absolute favorite thing of this entire summer. My game has gotten a lot better, I have so much fun out on the court, and I honestly didn't realize how much I had missed having a competitive sport in my life!! I think I'm going to keep at it this school year and play in a drill with some of the women I've played with this summer which excites me as well.  

We've also been DOING summer right. Lots of walks, beach visits, library time, play dates, happy hours.....we've really been living it up and it's been so much fun.

 

---

 

Reading, Watching, Listening, and Cooking

Reading: Woohoo! I finally read my first book post-baby! 

I typically enjoy Elin Hilderbrand - and this book was no different. Easy, sweet, and a fast beach read. A perfect summer book. A few of my neighbors are putting together an easy Book Club for the summer and our first book is Mindy Kaling's "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" which I've been wanting to read for a while.

 

Watching: My sister has been telling me to watch Schitt's Creek for a year now, and I finally got a chance to on my flights from Chicago to Los Angeles. The episodes are hilarious, fast, and you can easily binge 5 or 6 if you get a few minutes to yourself.

And if you watch, did you know that Twyla (the server) is Eugene Levy's daughter (and, thereby Daniel's/David's sister?!)

Listening: I've really enjoyed the last few episodes on Coffee + Crumbs. I like hearing how other women and families do (date nights, meal planning, summer vacations, etc.). 

 

 

 

Also, now that the Bachelor is back on, I'm listening to all of the bachelor podcasts too. The Ben and Ashley I podcast and You're Favorite Thing are my favorites.  

 

Cooking: As you've seen in the last couple of weeks, I'm trying to cook a lot of salads around these parts. The weekends keep destroying my diet, and the scale is just not budging for me. I still have ten pounds to go to get to pre-baby weight, and I'm ready to get there already. 

With that being said, this weeks salad have included: an Italian Chopped salad, a BLT (and I added chicken) salad, and a Greek Turkey Burger salad - ALL thanks to Natalie at Designer Bags and Dirty Diapers. 

 

 

 

Would love to hear if you have anything I need to add to my RWLC list! 

Hope you have the best weekend

Must Haves

::: Old Navy Luxe Swing Tank Top ::: 

 

This one in particular....I love it. I bought the black and grey and wear them in constant rotation. I will say, for whatever reason, some of the other colors don't fit the same way, but I keep trying them on in hopes that they will. 

::: Asics Gel Venture 5 ::: 

These are cheaaaap on Amazon ($60) and the most comfortable gym shoe I've worn in years. I don't love to wear gym shoes to run errands (I typically prefer like a new balance sneaker), but I've been wearing these constantly because they actually look pretty cute to hang out in all day. 

::: Cameron's Southern Toasted Pecan :::  

This coffee is SO good. It's stronger than Dunkin Donuts (which used to be my old go-to), but still has enough of a flavor taste that I'm looking for. They have some bags on Amazon - but I've been finding it at the grocery store for even cheaper. I'm obsessed. 

::: Splitting Up Together :::

 

The pilot premiered last week on ABC and I loved it. It's hard to judge a show by the pilot but so far, this one has all of the elements in a show that I like; not too serious, funny, sweet, and relateable.  

And I love Oliver Hudson. 

::: Burts Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Pink Blossom:::

 

I have one of these in every corner of my life - strollers, my car, my makeup bin, downstairs desk, and my purse. I've tried a few colors (hibiscus is a fail) and this one is the perfect pink to wear anywhere, anytime of day. 

::: Robert Mondavi Chard :::

I think I mentioned last week that I'm on a major Chardonnay kick....and I have another good bottle if you like a really Oaky taste. My girlfriend Vicky grabbed this one for me (from Target), and just this week I picked up another one because I liked it so much. 

Any other goodies I should add to my list? It's freezing and snowing here so please share some good things to make this week a little sunnier.

Popping In

I spent the whole (rainy and cold) weekend not feeling great. Thankfully my chest cold is starting to break, but as a result, I spent much of the weekend in bed laying low. 

The good news is that I was able to finish the Sophie Kinsella book and I was happy that after the first few chapters it turned into a really breezy, cute book. 

A perfect beach read if you're looking for one. 

Also, my best friend is begggging me to start watching Younger. I tried to watch a few episodes when it first came out a few years ago and couldn't get into it, but, possibly like the book, she swears it picks up. Have you watched? 

I feel like with summer TV being so lame, it might be a good time to get into it. 

Otherwise, things are pretty lame around here right now. I know this summer is going to shake things up and we're going to be begging for some of these quieter days, but I'm ready for all of the fun of summer (I think). Although, I truly cannot believe this weekend is Memorial Day! 

Time is a flyin.

Thursday's Random Thoughts

::: I have been in a ripe mood all week. It's been pretty gloomy all week and I haven't slept solidly since last week so by 2pm each day I turn into a lazy, irritated, headache filled, bitchtastic version of myself. :)

::: I've also been on jury duty which is another excuse I'm giving myself for being so grouchy. Every night this week I've had to check at 6pm to see if I need to report to court the following day. That means that I wasn't able to have any meetings set for this week, and everyday at home with nothing but my computer gives me horrible cabin fever - plus side - I haven't been called to report (yet).

:::Since January, I've been reading pregnancy books only and I was due for a little break in the action. I wanted a mindless beach read and Mary Kay Andrews always pulls through for me on that. I read Summer Rental in about a day and it's just an easy, light, cute book if you're looking for an something entertaining and fun.

::: I'm obsessed with 19 Kids and Counting. I stalk their hashtag, keep up with all of their corny YouTube clips, and watch their show all the time. I'm actually scared for the day that they cancel it. Although, these kids keep popping up with more story lines (Jessa's pregnant) so I don't see that happening any time soon.

::: I have a business trip in Palm Springs next week and I'm so excited for the little getaway. It's the perfect business trip because it's only two nights away and  only a two hour drive from home. . I'm looking forward to reading another Mary Kay Andrews book and just sitting out at the pool when my conference ends at 3 each day.

::: Are you a Today Show fan? Joel and I watch it everyday and then I watch the 9'oclock hour when I'm at the gym. Does anyone else pick up on majorly weird vibes between Natalie and Tamron? I'm pretty sure Natalie hates Tamron and is very fake nice with her. I find their dynamic super uncomfortable. Am I alone on this?

::: I'm on a TV show kick here (time to find a hobbbbby!), but what are we thinking about the Full House reboot? Do you think you'll watch? I loved Boy Meets World growing up, never missed an episode, and haven't seen one of Girl Meets World, so I'm thinking I probably won't watch Fuller House either, but who knows....

::: I had a family friend who lives out in LA offer a LOT of baby goods for Joel and I to just have. It was such a kind and generous offer, and it was so out of the blue, it just made my whole week. Not having my family and cousins here in LA, I really didn't anticipate many hand-me-downs like I would have had we been living in Chicago. We are likely going to take everything she offered and see how it all works, which means I might have a whole lot of baby stuff in my house a lot sooner than I bargained for! Just imagining touching a crib or a bumbo seat feels surreal, so I know when it's in our house it's going to be a crazy feeling.

::: We've got another action packed weekend with a lot of fun things planned, and a lot of necessary to-do's, but I'm going to really try and kick up my good-mood attitude and really start putting a little more pep in my step. Life is good and we have so, so, so much to be thankful for.

Five on Friday

 

:::1:::

 

Weather wise, this has probably been my most favorite week in Los Angeles....ever! Our weather is always close to perfect, so to have 3 days this week that were cool, rainy, and windy was basically my heaven. Roscoe was not a fan of the rain, and neither was our dry earth here in LA, but I really loved the chance to cozy up and just enjoy the rain.

:::2:::

 

After our Thanksgiving bender, I needed more than a few days to detox so Joel I tried to be  intentional about getting into bed really early this week, working out, and keeping things light around here (I need a few months of that, but life goes on!). 

:::3:::

My (current) favorite tea is this gem from Trader Joe's....it's a good one after dinner because it's very soothing but feels *kind of* like a treat.

 

:::4:::

 

Did you watch? Whoa, it's good. It was intense, funny, sad, and real. The first two episodes were on my OnDemand and I couldn't leave the room while they were on. Joel and I watched one together, and I could tell it really freaked him out. Watching the breakdown of a marriage is not exactly light, but the show was good and I'm anxious to see where it goes throughout the season. 

:::5:::

I have to work a conference most of the weekend, so besides a little Christmas shopping on Sunday, we're not doing too much around here. I hate how fast Christmas seems to be creeping up so I'm trying to spend as many nights at home in front of the tree, and basking in some of the holiday fun as I can.

5 on Friday

 

:::1:::

 

You know what helps a shitty day? A case load of our favorite Milbrandt Vineyards. They had a stellar case deal go through their email list, and I think we got each bottle for something like $17 dollars a bottle. If you are in need of delicious and affordable wine, this is a safe bet.

:::2::: 

We leave for NY next Thursday and I am officially excited!! I love the idea of New York in the fall and we have so many fun things planned for our long weekend there. We booked dinner on Friday night at The Breslin  (after drinks with my girl Mallory), Saturday we are spending the day in Westchester and then hoping to snag a table at Ardesia or Waverly Inn. Sunday is a full family day; we're hoping to take our niece and nephew out and then we our celebrating Joel's Aunt's wedding. It'll go quick but I'm so excited for a fun weekend away. 

:::3:::

And, to prepare for our trip, I'm spending my lunch hour today at Bloomingdales to take advantage of the Friends and Family sale.

:::4:::

Umm, caught a few new TV pilots this week, and let's just say I was really disappointed. 

Selfie and Manhattan Love Story?

If they last longer than 3 episodes I'm going to fall of my damn chair.

:::5:::

Tonight Joel and I are heading to our favorite wine bar in Santa Monica - Bodega - and then Saturday we're watching football, making pizzas, and enjoying a chill weekend.