Can you spot the owl on the tip top of the tree? We hear it a lot around our neighborhood. It’s really fun when it perches on our chimney and it sounds like it is in the house! I was excited to spot it after coming home from swim lessons one night with the girls. Here is our Life Lately February and what else we have been up to.
Books I’ve Read
- Spare by Prince Harry the Duke of Sussex– Harry finally tells the story of his early life until present day. I thought this was fascinating. Although I take it all with a grain of salt, I do think his version makes more sense than the one pushed out by the palace and media. With as much as this couple has gone through, it’s amazing they are still together. It says a lot about both of them. He is a great narrator as well. 5/5
- Wildwood Creek by Lisa Wingate– Allie Kirkland is offered a costuming assistant’s job on a docudrama in a mysteriously abandoned old town by Moses Lake. During filming, everyone starts act suspiciously even her handsome neighbor Blake Fulton. Of all the books I’ve read by this author, this is my least favorite so far. I just thought the historical part was a bit of a stretch. 3/5
- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus– Chemist Elizabeth Zott is remarkable. But in the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes no notice of her abilities. Except for one: Calvin Evans who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. But like science, life is unpredictable. This is a fantastically fun book to read even though it tackles subjects like equality, harassment, intellectual theft, and more. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it! 5/5
- The House by the Sea by Louise Douglas– When Edie’s ex mother-in-law, Anna DeLuca, dies, Edie is shocked to find she has been bequeathed a villa in Sicily. Edie is determined to leave Italy as soon as possible. But the villa starts to shed its mysterious secrets. I liked the healing story after tragedy and the somewhat mysterious elements. 4/5
- The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate– Tandi has just moved to Hatteras Island to start fresh when her landlord, old-timer Iola Anne Poole passes away. Tandi finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out the rambling Victorian house and begins to learn about her life through the discovery of eighty-one prayer boxes Iola has kept throughout her life. Iola sounds like one fascinating woman. Tandi’s character lacked a bit, but it didn’t detract from the story too much. 4/5
- The Seakeeper’s Daughters by Lisa Wingate– Restaurant owner Whitney Monroe is desperate to save her business from a hostile takeover. Selling her inheritance of a hotel on North Carolina’s Outer Banks may provide just the ray of hope she needs. But her estranged stepfather and the downstairs tenants are determined to save the historic building. I have really enjoyed the Carolina Chronicles from Lisa Wingate and this was no exception. I liked how Whitney finally began to open up throughout the story. 4.5/5
- Larkspur Cove by Lisa Wingate– Social worker Andrea Henderson moves to Moses Lake with her son after her divorce. She starts to work with game warden Mart McClendon when a little girl is seen with the town recluse. This was a redeeming, feel-good story that I enjoyed. Obviously I’ve been really liking Lisa Wingate! 4/5
- Lady Jayne Disappears by Joanna Davidson Politano- When Aurelie Harcourt’s father dies in debtor’s prison she goes to live with his wealthy family. Only she knows her father wrote under the famous pen name, Nathaniel Droll. I liked the plot of this book, but thought the author pushed a little too much religion into it which detracted from the mystery. 3/5
Products I’ve Tried
- Perfect Diary– I was gifted me some of their Velvet lip stains and Floating Lip Gloss. The colors are so pretty and give me a natural look no matter which color I choose. You can even use this as blush for a soft flush! It’s weightless and has a hydrating, yet non sticky finish. And the tube design is so unique! You can see the colors on me here.
- Skinny Mixes– Have you tried these delicious 0 calorie, sugar free syrups? I was sent some to try out and we are finding all kinds of uses for them. Check out the fun reel the girls and I put together with one! The kids love to mix in these 0 calorie, sugar free syrups to add flavor to their oatmeal, yogurt, and to make fancy drinks like pumpkin spice steamers at home. They are good in cocktails, too. It’s fun to play coffee shop with my girls in the morning without the crazy sugar and prices of going somewhere. Each bottle of syrup is less than a fancy coffee to purchase so it’s well worth it. I love to add mine to chai tea for a pumpkin spice chai latte that is low calorie. There are so many flavors but we like the pumpkin spice ones best.
- Nutiva Coconut Spread– This spread is a great alternative to other dessert spreads! It has only 5g of sugar or less per serving, is vegan, and tastes so good on toast, with fruit, oatmeal, or smoothies. We love the chocolate flavor the best. Do you think you’ll like the almond, chocolate, or vanilla flavor best?
- Good molecules– I received some PR samples of this just to try out. The VERY low prices of these products impressed me, but I wasn’t sure if they would be effective. I’ve been using the Discoloration Correcting serum for 2 months now. It was important to really see if I got results so I have been using it once daily each morning. After having Avie, I have melasma on my cheeks. The difference is not dramatic, but I do notice that the melasma is lighter which is wonderful. I certainly recognize it takes time and will definitely continue to use it! It’s available at Ulta or their website.
Recipes I’ve Made
- Ragin’ Cajun Eggplant and Shrimp Skillet– The taste of this was good. But the recipe called to boil the eggplant prior which made it mushy. When I make this again, I will likely try to sautee the eggplant instead.
- Cranberry Bliss Cake– I couldn’t find cranberries anywhere! In place of them I used blueberries. This was delicious and Matt recommended orange zest on top which made it even better!
- Cajun Chicken Pasta Soup– I really liked this soup. Great comfort food.
- Maraschino Cherry Cake– I made this for Valentine’s Day. The kids loved it. It would be better if it was a touch less sweet.
- Layered shortbread bars– I will be honest, they are a pain to make with all of the layers. But they were gone in about 3 days. So the entire family loved them and are already begging me to make them again.
- Spaghetti pie– I have so much spaghetti sauce in my freezer that I am looking to use up. This was a delicious meal that we all really liked!
Currently
- Loving– I really enjoyed making this LOVE wreath for Valentine’s Day. I didn’t get a chance to post it to my stories, but it only cost around $4 to make. The wire wreath forms, flowers, and word were all Dollar Tree finds. I like the minimalist look.
- Starting- I’m starting a few new seasons of shows I watch. I deep into OBX, Carnival Row, and just started Derry Girls.
- Finishing- I’ve been finishing a lot of books lately. Normally I read about 4 a month, but it’s been nice to read more the past couple of months.
- Trying- I’m hoping to try a sewing project. It’s been a while since I’ve done any sewing. I have a midi skirt I want to chop off and shorten and use the extra to make a matching skirt for Claire or Avie.
- Where we’re going- We have plane tickets, train tickets, and a VRBO for spring break in Arizona. We are excited! We are visiting my in-laws, but also seeing the Grand Canyon. I haven’t been there since I was a kid and the rest of the family has never been.
- Family Update-
- Matt- Matt loved seeing Claire swim so much! He is even looking into being a judge this summer. He enjoyed taking Claire to a daddy-daughter dance. Later in the month he had a daddy and daughters day by taking the girls to the zoo.
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- Me- I’m really looking forward our spring break and getting some sunshine! I’ve continued to run during the winter for the most part, but have been feeling sore lately. Not sure what that’s about. The kids love the massage gun we have though so they’ve been giving me some awesome massages when I read them bedtime stories at night. Haha!
- Claire- Claire is working on her project for the science fair. Fingers crossed it turns out. I will be sure to share more next month. She finished the swim season with a couple of PRs. Late in March she starts soccer and I also am in the process of signing her up for swim lessons to help her with starts and turns.
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- Avie- Avie leveled up again in swim lessons this past month. She also LOVED having her Nonni and Poppa as mystery readers at preK. They visited and surprised her at school and stayed for the weekend. It was darling!
February Goals Recap
- Organize basement storage room-
- Plan a date night- I tried! But our typical babysitters have been busy. We are planning on going this Friday though.
- Decorate secretary cabinet- Done! This was a fun project. I challenged myself and didn’t buy anything new.
- Work on blog income- Done! And Matt got the taxes submitted!
March Goals
- Do push-ups or pull-ups 5 days a week- I got out of habit of this when I had surgery on my wrist last year and would like to do this again.
- Shorten my skirt- I have a midi skirt I want to shorten this month.
- Organize basement storage room- Hopefully I get done this month.
- Get a massage– I enjoyed getting a spa treatment so much, I want to book another one!
LINKING UP WITH WHAT’S UP WEDNESDAY & OVERFLOWING WITH THANKFULNESS
