May 21, 2015

Confessions of a shopaholic

I am turning in to a shopaholic. And it's not a good thing.

I guess it's not an entirely true thing either. I've gained a little weight since last summer. Enough that I don't feel fully comfortable in all my warm weather clothes. Since we're heading to Washington in (let me just check my countdown app...) 17 days I figured I needed to bite the bullet and head out shopping for some outfits that I felt good about having my picture taken in.

One of the two new pairs of sunglasses.
(J hates them, but I love them!)
I spent about $200 yesterday, the bulk of which was at Marshall's. This was my first trip to Marshall's, but it felt just like being in Winner's. I was super successful there though, and came home with a pair of cropped jeans/denim capris (I have no idea what the correct word is, all I know is they're longer on me than they would be on a normal person but I love how they fit) and four tops. Three of the tops are casual and one is a little dressier and will be perfect for a nice dinner out. I also ended up with five pairs of flip flops, two pairs of sunglasses, and four head bands from Ardene. I also bought a pair of capris from Reitman's but ended up taking them back when I found a pair of denim bermuda shorts that I LOVE at Wal-Mart of all places. (The Wal-Mart shorts were by far my favourite purchase of the day.) I grabbed a couple plain t-shirts at Wal-Mart too, I just can't pay $20 for black v-neck tee when I can get one for $7 at Wal-Mart, it just doesn't make sense to me.

The shopping continued today with two tops and a necklace at Old Navy, and two necklaces and two earring sets and Icing. (How I managed to get out of Icing with only four items is a mystery - everything was on sale for $5. One of the necklaces I bought was regular $22 and I spent $23 total including taxes.)

I was so excited to find so many things I actually felt good in! I was going to order a couple other things online but I think I'm just going to wait and do a little shopping when we're away. (I have to admit that I can't wait to check out Torrid in person - there are definitely a ton of things on the website I want to try on.)

Now, I know a good fashion blogger would have pictures of all of her purchases. But I am so not a fashion blogger! So you'll have to wait to see my purchases until I recap my Washington/West Virginia trip in about a month.

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May 20, 2015

Book Review; "Summer Rental" by Mary Kay Andrews


Summer Rental
Mary Kay Andrews | June 2011

Amazon Synopsis: Sometimes, when you need a change in your life, the tide just happens to pull you in the right direction…


Ellis, Julia, and Dorie. Best friends since Catholic grade school, they now find themselves, in their mid-thirties, at the crossroads of life and love. Ellis, recently fired from a job she gave everything to, is rudderless and now beginning to question the choices she's made over the past decade of her life. Julia--whose caustic wit covers up her wounds--has a man who loves her and is offering her the world, but she can't hide from how deeply insecure she feels about her looks, her brains, her life. And Dorie has just been shockingly betrayed by the man she loved and trusted the most in the world…though this is just the tip of the iceberg of her problems and secrets. A month in North Carolina's Outer Banks is just what they each of them needs.

Ty Bazemore is their landlord, though he's hanging on to the rambling old beach house by a thin thread. After an inauspicious first meeting with Ellis, the two find themselves disturbingly attracted to one another, even as Ty is about to lose everything he's ever cared about. 

Maryn Shackleford is a stranger, and a woman on the run. Maryn needs just a few things in life: no questions, a good hiding place, and a new identity. Ellis, Julia, and Dorie can provide what Maryn wants; can they also provide what she needs? 

My Thoughts: I picked this book up at work on a day when I had forgotten my e-reader. Truthfully, I think I grabbed it because the main characters were all in their mid-30s and since I recently turned 33 I felt like reading something about characters my own age. (I read a lot of YA dystopian fiction, so it's rare for me to read something with characters who aren't teens.) Anyways, long story short, I couldn't put this book down. I wouldn't say it was super deep and thought provoking, but by the end of the book I felt like I really knew the characters. Their lives felt real to me. (They could have been my girlfriends I wrote about yesterday.) The setting and the situations all felt very real. Yes, things were all neatly tidied up by the end of the book, but it didn't feel contrived in any way. I definitely recommend this book for a beach/patio read this summer. I don't think you'll regret it!

The best part of the book for me though, was that it got me thinking about a weekend away with my girls. We're just trying to nail down dates now, but it looks like we'll be spending a couple nights away together for the first time in close to two decades of friendship. I can't wait!

What are you reading this summer? Anything I should check out?


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May 19, 2015

My Week in Pictures!

I think I like the idea of doing a phone photo dump each week. I take so many random pictures with my phone it's hard to narrow it down though. Okay, that's totally a lie. At least half of the pictures on my phone are either food or one of my fur babies. But I managed to find some that show what I was up to last week.

1. This is Lil Eatily. It's one of the "food trucks" at Truckside, a new indoor food truck food court in Dartmouth. We had supper there Saturday night. I had pasta from Lil Eatily and J had fish from U-Pick Fish. We both enjoyed our meals. 
2. I was in charge of the nursery Sunday morning at church and I couldn't resist snapping a picture of these two cuties colouring together. 
3. For Mother's Day J and all of his siblings gave his mom a family ring with all their birth stones. She burst into tears before she even looked at the ring. As soon as she saw the box from People's the waterworks began. 
4. My amazingly smart friend Jenn was interviewed in the local paper as part of a nurses' week feature. She's a labour and delivery nurse and a strong advocate for breast feeding. 
5. My staff spoiled me with lots of birthday treats. (Including chocolate covered jujubes which are my absolute favourite.)
6. We are finally starting to get some sunny, warm, spring weather here in Nova Scotia. Two evenings in a row I laid outside reading while Daisy played in the yard. It was wonderful!
7. At work this week we presented a cheque to Threads of Life. We raised $1305 as well as providing a barbecue for participants in their annual Steps for Life walk. I love that my job allows me to do stuff like that. 
8. After supper at Truck Side Saturday night we headed to the Middle Spoon for dessert and drinks. If you're local and you've never been I highly recommend it. Dessert ended up costing more than dinner, but it was totally worth it. 
9. This picture shouldn't even be included because it was taken today but I absolutely love this picture of J and Daisy and I couldn't wait until next week to share it. 

I love that it's so easy to take pictures with my phone, but I find I never get pictures printed anymore. I need to start getting prints again I think! (And I might start with that shot of J and Daisy.)

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May 18, 2015

Grateful for History

I am one of those incredibly lucky people who has had the same best friends since practically forever. And by forever I mean junior high. I met Jenn (who was my maid of honour at my wedding six years ago) on the first day of grade seven. She came right up to me (not shy my Jenn...) and told me she had the same shirt I was wearing. We've been friends ever since. (I still totally remember the shirt too. It was a cream coloured blouse with a vest attached. Made of rayon. My mother hated it.)  Kerry was Jenn's friend from elementary school and she and I didn't really become friends until grade nine when we ended up in a hotel room together on a band trip.
I have so many memories with these girls and on Saturday night I was lucky enough to make more. We all went out for supper together with our husbands. (It sounds so weird to say that, Kerry only got married about a month ago and this is my first time we've all gotten together since they got married.) We don't see each other nearly as often as any of us would like, but when we do get together there are never gaps in conversation and we laugh harder than should be possible. (I have to admit the conversations were a lot different with the guys around though!)

These girls were there for me when my brother was diagnosed with cancer and they were there by my side when I said "I do." I am so grateful to have them in my life. Our lives are all so different but we can always make time for each other. We decided this weekend to plan our first ever girls weekend away and I couldn't be more excited. I can't imagine a life without them in it - they remind me of who I am, and they made me who I am too.
Grateful Heart w/ Ember Grey

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