4th of July Staycation
The last month has been BUSY – St. Lucia, family wedding, work trip to LA. So I have been yearning for some serious time to relax and spend quality time with husband, for longer than just a few hours after work.
As we approached the 3-day weekend I realized we (surprisingly) didn’t have any plans. And I told husband I wanted to keep it that way (again, surprisingly).
Though I did have a few moments of FOMO this weekend, I quickly realized I really wasn’t missing out on anything. Maybe I’m just getting old, but I was perfectly content spending my 4th of July weekend at home.
S A T U R D A Y : W O R K D A Y
{16 bags of mulch later …. the couple who gardens together, stays together.
ps – I’m STILL sore}
S U N D A Y : F U N D A Y
{lunch + fruit tart at the in-laws}
{beer + good conversation + silliness with friends}
M O N D A Y : R E S T D A Y
{slept in with my girl}
{brunching at home}
{yoga with husband}
{started a new show and loving it … does anyone watch?!}
Not Pictured: Sitting on our front porch Sunday and Monday night, watching fireworks all across the horizon without having to deal with any traffic. I’d say that’s pretty perfect.
xo xo
Picturebook: California Dreamin’
{Welcome to LA, and first stop at YouTube space!}
{Next stop BUZZFEED! With pretty awesome rooftop views}
{Dinner at an amazing restaurant, Rose Cafe, in Santa Monica. Check out this 48oz steak!}
{SO happy I got to see this lady in Cali!! The night before she got on a plane to Bentonville, ha!}
{Started day 2 with an early morning run on the Santa Monica pier}
{Maker Studio Tour}
{First (of 2) In-n-Out stops. Always incredible}
{Video set for Back to School influencer videos}
V I D C O N
{Amazing food truck lunch!}
{THE BEST PART OF THE TRIP – LUKE’S DINER FROM GILMORE GIRLS!}
{Fun times at YouTube party}
{More fun times at Kin Community party}
{The closest we got to Disney … meetings at the hotel}
{YouTube stars dressed in onesies playing video games … Where am I?!}
{Awesome dinner at Anaheim Packing House and so fun to hang out with these two!}
{The perfect way to spend my final night in Cali – beach and wine in The O.C.!}
Oh, Cali how I love you.
xo xo
Book Reviews: The Widow, The Housewife and The Lover
The Widow – Fiona Barton: I read this book a while ago and to be completely honest when I went to write this review I couldn’t remember for the life of me what the book was about. That wasn’t a good sign. Once I looked it up, I remembered the story and remembered how unimpressed I was. Touted as another “Gone Girl” type thriller, it was not. The twists were unsurprising and the characters were flat. Leave this one be.
Grade: C
American Housewife: Stories – Helen Ellis: This one on the other hand was exactly what I needed after The Widow. The short stories about American housewives were hilarious – everything you’d expect from and everything you wouldn’t. There were a few stories I skimmed over, but overall these were funny, engaging and made you wish you were an American Housewife (if only for the stories).
Grade: A-
Along the Infinite Sea – Beatriz Williams: This book captured me from the first chapter. It tells the story of two very different women, one growing up in WWII and one in 1960s America, and how their lives intertwine. This is a dazzling love story that will sweep you off your feet, thanks to the incredible writing. By the end I was bawling and dying for more.
Grade: A+
Attachments – Rainbow Rowell: It took me a bit to get in to this book, but it turned out to be a cute, easy read. Half the book is two friends writing back and forth to each other via email at work about their personal lives, and the other half is about the IT guy who’s reading these emails and falls in love with one of the girls. It’s quirky, it’s cute and it will make you think twice about sending that private email at work.
Grade: B+
xo xo
You can see all my book reviews here.
Picturebook: Weir Wedding
B R I D A L S H O W E R
B A C H E L O R E T T E P A R T Y
{amazing cookies from sweet little sugar}
{burlesque chair dancing}
R E H E A R S A L D I N N E R
W E D D I N G D A Y !
{mimosas + hairdos at luxe beauty fayetteville}
{seriously obsessed with my hair! hairdresser called it “Vera Wang in the woods” – LOVE}
{the guys getting ready aka drinking beer}
{love these two!}
{hilarious photo of the bride calming her pre-wedding nerves. also shoutout to marcus for an amazing snapchat filter!}
{how gorgeous is this picture?! photographer: megan hampel}
{and we’re pretty cute too}
{my handsome date and brother of the bride}
{and this is practically the only picture I have from the after-party – on the fayetteville square at 3am. we’ll just leave it at that}
xo xo
Now That’s What I Call the ’80s [Movie Edition]
Y’all know I love entertainment and pop culture. I blog about my favorite TV shows all the time, and have been to Sundance Film Festival (and Bentonville Film Festival!) twice. For some reason though, there are a lot of classic ’80s movies I seem to have missed.
Yes, I was born in ’89 so it does makes sense why I wasn’t watching movies in the ’80s, but as a film lover I think this is totally unacceptable.
And so do my co-workers. So they’ve started me a list.
Husband and I have started on the list, and so far have made it through 4 of 21 – though the list grows by the day, so I’m not quite sure how we’ll keep up. Here’s what we’ve seen so far –
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) – Hilarious. Love Steve Martin and John Candy. We would totally watch this again.
Groundhog Day (1993) – Bill Murray humor is everything. They just don’t make good, clean funny movies like this anymore.
Ghostbusters (1984)- Funny and entertaining. Again, gotta love Bill Murray.
Animal House (1978) – Pretty funny, but not hilarious. John Belushi had some classic moments, but overall movie was just so random.
The List:
Beverly Hills Cop
The Goonies
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Stand by Me
*Girls Just Want to Have Fun
*Splash
The Natural
The Money Pit
Better Off Dead
Rocky movies
Say Anything
*Can’t Buy Me Love
*Mannequin
Weird Science
Wall Street
The Lost Boys
Dumb and Dumber
*Denotes girly movie to watch without husband
What other classic movies should I add to my list?
(Note: I have already seen the following – All John Hughes movies, Top Gun, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Back to the Future, Dirty Dancing, Princess Bride, Footloose, When Harry Met Sally….)
xo xo
life lately
A little pre- and a little post- vacation, here are some photos of my life lately.
{enjoying this || time with family for Mother’s Day}
{working this || bentonville film festival with bexx}
{obsessing over this || peonies, peonies, oh how I love peonies}
{celebrating this || adorable guy at his first birthday}
{yelling this || “who’s number 1? the customer! always!” at Walmart Shareholders}
{drinking this || lots and lots of beer at our 4th annual fayetteville foamfest}
xo xo
Aldermans Go Global: St. Lucia
D A Y 1
{The first views of the hotel were amazing – Calabash Cove Resort & Spa. I’ll never forget husband’s face when he stepped out of the car and saw our hotel for the first time.}
{We got to our room just in time to watch the breathtaking sunset}
D A Y 2
{Of course it rained our entire first full day. Not just rained, down poured, even though it’s the dry season on the island.}
{We still found ways to pass the time and relax, with good food (prosciutto grilled cheese with mango salsa), good drinks (pina colada) and good books.}
D A Y 3
{We laid in bed and listened to more rain (ugh!), but then it stopped … and we went on the balcony… and saw this. Oh my gosh I couldn’t believe it. I’ve never seen two sides of the rainbow and this was more gorgeous than I could have ever imagined.}
{It still rained off and on all day, but we couldn’t wait any longer for the pool. Note the swim-up pool bar, that we frequented often where they made us fancy drinks ….}
{Cue fancy drinks – this one was called the Bob Marley and our favorite drink made by Chris aka Mr. Fabulous}
D A Y 4
{I woke up really early, so walked down to the beach with my book (check out my vacation book reviews here)}
{And then came back to our balcony for breakfast. We loved having breakfast delivered to our balcony every morning. How could you not, with these views?? (and french press coffee and fresh local fruit!)}
{Another day, another drink, another amazing day in the Caribbean}
{An end to an amazing day}
D A Y 5
{Our Catamaran for the day, leaving from the beautiful Marigot Bay}
{We met these two ladies from Missouri celebrating their 55th birthdays and decided to boat together}
{Amazing day on the water traveling from Marigot Bay to the Pitons and snorkeling (for the first time!). It was the highlight of our trip!}
D A Y 6
{Started the day off with an amazing couples massage in the gazebo – seriously, the best massage I’ve ever had}
{Then headed to our private beach for some paddle boarding (didn’t work out so well, ask me about the story) and some two-person kayaking (which was a lot of fun)}
{And back to the pool for our last round of drinks at the swim-up bar}
{Last night on the island – sipping champagne, watching the sunset and talking about our next trip to St. Lucia – for our 10-year anniversary!}
D A Y 7
{Before heading to the airport we had just enough time to drink one more Piton beer, walk the grounds again and take a final picture}
We had such an amazing time celebrating our 5-year anniversary in St. Lucia and at Calabash Cove. We would highly recommend this resort to anyone traveling to the island. It was small and quiet, but with everything you could possibly need. We felt like we were the only ones at the resort, with the pool and beach practically to ourselves.
Not to mention the food … wow!! Chef specials every night made it so hard to choose what to eat. A few of our dishes included: Oven Roasted Whole Duck (the best duck I’ve ever had), Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa, Red Snapper Filet with Chorizo Risotto, Indian Lamb Curry (this was amaaaazing), Jerked Shrimp (that we ate every single night as an appetizer), Banana Flambe, Homemade Pumpkin Pie with Pistachio Ice Cream … the list goes on and on. We were all-inclusive, so every night we shared a different bottle of wine, appetizers, main course and desserts. Needless to say, we gained a few pounds and are now on the post-vacation diet, but it was oh so worth it.
Here’s to our next 5 years together!
xo xo
You might also enjoy: Alderman’s Go Global: London, Paris, Munich
Book Reviews [Vacation Edition]: Girls, Girls, Girls
We just got back from vacation (which I will be writing a post about soon…) and my goal was to finish 4 books. (Think: Beach, Read, Drink. Pool, Read, Drink. so on and so on) Thanks to my awesome fellow book nerds (Shelley, Susan, Rebecca) these 4 were suggested and lent, and so it began!
Girls in White Dresses – Jennifer Close: This was a great book to start out with for vacation – very lighthearted and easy to read. Following a group of college friends through their 20s navigating jobs and relationships, it was relatable and very cute. It took me a bit to get used to the style (it feels at first like you’re reading short stories), but once you get in to the characters its instantly likable.
Grade: A-
Brain on Fire – Susannah Cahalan: This is one of those books (like I’ve said before in my reviews) you just HAVE to read! Seriously, go buy it right now. It’s a true story about a 24-year-old journalist who gets very sick, very fast, and no one can figure out what is wrong. You will be fascinated by the medical and biological side of the story, as much as you will the personal and relational side. It’s non-fiction, but totally reads like fiction.
Grade: A++
Sam’s Letters to Jennifer – James Patterson: I was skeptical about this book at first. James Patterson? Yes, he’s a best-selling author, but doesn’t he just write cheesy books with no depth? (I’d never read one before.) I will admit – the writing was not great, a little elementary, but the story, oh the story! The story was so sweet and drew me in immediately. It’s also the perfect beach read, set at a lake house in the summer.
Grade: A-
Luckiest Girl Alive – Jessica Knoll: This book has been on my list for a while – it’s on all the “must-read” lists so I knew I had to give it a try, and I loved it. I tore through it, wanting to get to the ending so badly. Very suspenseful and well-written, I agree it’s a must-read of the summer. The only reason I won’t give it an A+ is because it wasn’t quite as big of a twist as I was expecting, but still a great book.
Grade: A
What’s on your summer reading list?
xo xo
You can see all my book reviews here.
Discover Arkansas: Mount Magazine – Paris, Arkansas
{Mount Magazine Lodge: views from our balcony were just breathtaking. I could have sat here all day!}
{But we decided to get a drink at the restaurant … I really could have sat here all day!}
{Gorgeous wedding in Blue Mountain – congrats Kelsey and Kyle! <3}
{Good morning, Arkansas – you sure are stunning.}
{We did a little bit of hiking on our way out – highest point in Arkansas!}
{And of course, when in Paris you must see the Eiffel Tower!}
We were here for less than 24 hours, and we’re already planning our next trip!
xo xo
See more Discover Arkansas posts here.
A Mother’s Advice
It has been a rough couple of weeks. Everything has just been so busy and insane and I just feel like I’m going to burst.
It seems like everyone is feeling this way. Maybe it’s the pre-summer busyness (is that a thing?) or we’re just getting older and we live busy lives. I don’t know, but it was really getting me, until I took my mom’s age-old advice to heart –
“Take things day by day.”
She has always told me that – in high school, when I had play practice every night and AP homework and was stressed to tears; in college, when I had books to read and papers due (in classes I could care less about) and was stressed to tears; now, when I work all day and dream about work all night and have a busy social life and am stressed to tears.
And when I really stop and heed her advice to take things slow, day by day, sometimes minute by minute, it really helps.
It also helps to remember all of the things I have to be thankful for. “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Yes, work has been super busy and stressful, but I really really do enjoy my job. How many people can say that? In the last two weeks I’ve had meetings with Snapchat, Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Pandora, Refinery 29 and more … how cool is that?!
I have amazing friends and we go to trivia night and events at Crystal Bridges and make surprise Snapchat filters for parties and try to solve clues to get out of an escape room and send silly text messages.
I have a loving family and a house to care for and food to eat and new clothes to wear, and generally want for nothing.
Life can be crazy. I’m not downplaying that at all. But when it gets so crazy you feel like you’re going to lose your mind, here’s my advice – stop. breathe. remember all the things you have to be thankful for. and remember my mom’s advice, to take things day by day.
It’s all we can do, and the day is all we have.
xo xo
life lately
{enjoying this || fresh SPRING flowers}
{eating this || jeni’s ice cream from whole foods}
{loving this || happy hour with these beautiful ladies}
{crying over this || didn’t get out of the escape room in time … but we had so much fun!!}
{beaming at this || saturday sunshine on a bagel run with puppy}
xo xo
Book Reviews: Three Cheers (and tears)
Me Before You – Jojo Moyes: This book surprised me so much by how much I enjoyed it. It had been on my reading list for a couple of years now, and I finally decided to give it a shot when I saw it at the library. It is such a beautiful tragic love story that makes you fall in love with the characters and then cry your eyes out at the end. The movie is coming out this summer so go read the book before then! And don’t watch the trailer unless you want spoilers!
Grade: A+
(Note: I tried reading the sequel After You and unfortunately didn’t enjoy it, so I didn’t finish it. The book really didn’t need a sequel anyway.)
The Paris Wife – Paula McLain: Thanks to this book, I am now fascinated with Ernest Hemingway and Paris in the 1920s. If you’re a fan of either you will definitely enjoy this book. It’s historical fiction, so while not everything is exactly as it was, you learn a lot about the early days of Hemingway through the narrative of his first wife and true love. It was also incredibly well-written. (And you’ll want to take a trip to Paris immediately!)
Grade: A
The Nightingale – Kristin Hannah: I adored this book! Set in France in WWII following two stories, it was reminiscent of All The Light We Cannot See (my #1 book of 2015). The character development was phenomenal and the writer painted the scenes so well. At one point I was crying so hard because I felt like I was in an internment camp and told husband through bleary eyes how I just couldn’t get over the fact that this happened in real life. Yes, there are some sad parts, but I promise you will not regret reading it.
Grade: A+
Why Now Is The Time To Crush It – Gary Vaynerchuk: So I saw this author speak at a conference recently and was blown away. Seriously. He was so passionate and purposeful about everything he said, and really made me stop and think. A colleague lent me his book (after I came home raving about him) and I could practically feel him emanating from the pages. If you’re entrepreneurial or think you want to be, this is a great, quick book to read that will get you fired up about living your passion and turning it into a business.
Grade: A
What a great round of books I had this time – all A’s! I’ve already started on my next one, The Widow by Fiona Barton. Do you have any recommendations to add to my list?
xo xo
Whole30 2.0 – Alderman Edition
I’ve done Whole30 twice now, and it’s worked both times. I lost weight, and felt better in so many ways. But here’s the thing – it’s not practical.
Both times after I stopped Whole30 I went back to my old eating habits. Sure it took a few weeks, but it happened. I made some healthier choices overall, like eating more veggies and drinking more water, but I still ate crap way too often. And I realized, I can’t just keep doing Whole 30 every 3 months and thinking it’s going to stick. What’s that definition about insanity?
So I’m here to share with you the new plan that Husband and I developed and are starting together this week.
We love Whole30 aka Paleo and how it makes us feel. However, we know it’s not practical to eat healthy 100% of the time, yet don’t have enough self control to say “we’ll eat paleo majority of the time” without any specific guidelines.
I remember my friend Samantha telling me (via her friend Jillian Michaels) you should use the 80/20 rule for eating healthy – 80% healthy, 20% not. If there are 21 available meals to eat in a week that means 4 of those can be cheat meals. These are numbers I can work with. That sounds totally doable, right? That means I could eat 1 cheat meal Friday, Saturday and Sunday and still have 1 left over to use during the week. I don’t feel restricted like I can never eat pizza or ice cream again, but I have guardrails in place.
We also set up a few other rules – unhealthy snacks or desserts count as 1/2 a meal; if you don’t use ANY of your cheat meals for the week you get to spend $X (still undecided) on something you want, like new clothes, shoes, etc.
This is in our kitchen, and should be updated accordingly via the honor system. And if I needed any extra inspiration about looking good in a bathing suit, I can see how many days until vacation we have. (yay!)
What do you think? The hope is that this will help us turn healthy eating into a lifestyle instead of just a fad or a diet.
Have any other tips or ideas to share? I’ll keep you updated on how it goes!
xo xo
favorites, round 5.
Things I love and want to share with you, so you can love them too.
- Onyx Coffee – Husband and I are officially coffee snobs. Every morning, we grind beans and make coffee using a french press. We’ve tried quite a few brands and let me tell you Onyx.Is.The.Best. Seriously, the coffee is sooo good. We prefer the more modern flavors versus traditional. (There’s a scale on the bag.) Also, now you can get an Onyx subscription where they mail you a new flavor every week or every two weeks. Of course we’ve already signed up. And you should too.
- Tan Physics – There once was a time when I was addicted to tanning beds, then I was addicted to spray tans (still am, but the price at my place doubled, so…) now I’m addicted to Tan Physics. Shoutout goes out to Mom who gave me my first bottle for Christmas. I was shocked how well it worked, and how quickly! I don’t think I’ve looked orange at all, it hasn’t looked weird on my ankles/elbows/knees, and it only has a very faint smell.
- Younger (TV Show) – This show is so cute! And funny! And Hilary Duff is in it! (Talk about nostalgia.) And the main guy is gorgeous and reminds me of Husband. What’s not to love?! Really though, you should check this show out. It’s about a 40-year-old (Sutton Foster) pretending to be a 26-year-old working in publishing in NYC. The millennials, and the millennial wannabes will love this.
- Quote Tees – For some reason I’m all about the graphic tees with quotes on them these days. I bought one from Target that says “But First, Coffee” and I’ve been wearing it nonstop around the house. Tomorrow I’ll break it out for my first barre class, and later in the season it will be perfect farmer’s market attire. Another one I bought recently – “Today calls for Tacos + Champagne.”
- Chi Hairdryer – I’ve always been the girl who fought spending money on a hairdryer. How could it be that much better than a $20 Revlon? Well, I’m here to tell you – my life has been changed. I used a really nice one when I was staying at someone’s house recently and couldn’t believe what it did to my hair. Since I purchased this one (Chi Rocket) two weeks ago, my hair drying time has been cut in half and I haven’t had to use my straightener once. My hairdresser also told me it’s so much better for my hair. I’d say that’s a win win.
- Deep Sleep Pillow Spray – Another shoutout to Mom on this one. She gave me this for my birthday and I’ve been obsessed ever since. You spray it on your pillow before you go to bed and it helps you fall asleep faster. It’s lavender scent, so smells great (though a little overpowering if you use more than 1 spray). This combined with taking melatonin before bed, and I promise, you will sleep like a BABY.
xo xo
See more of my favorites here: favorite things: gift edition, favorites, round 4.
I Went to Trader Joe’s For The First Time With a Fanatic, and Now I’m a Fanatic Too
You saw the title of this blog, and you’re thinking one of two things right now –
Person 1: OMG I love TJs too! It’s amazing!!
Person 2: I really don’t understand the hype. It’s a GROCERY STORE.
Well, this is the story of how I turned from person 2 to person 1 within hours, thanks to my dear friend Samantha. (And yes, I now lovingly call it TJs, like all the cool people.)
How this trip came to be: Samantha is obsessed with TJs and was telling me how one was opening in Tulsa and how excited she was. I’d never been, and her birthday was coming up, so I decided my birthday present to her would be to take her on a road trip to Tulsa for the day so we could go. Some people thought this was weird to drive 2 hours solely for a grocery store, but it’s me and Samantha – the same people who took a day off of work solely to have a Stars Hollow Staycation aka Gilmore Girls marathon.
The week before our trip, Samantha sent me a text with her TJs list. My jaw literally fell to the floor. It had 49 things listed. Not just things she’d purchased before, but also things from TJ “best-of” lists. I responded with my list:
This was one thing I did know about Trader Joe’s – Two-Buck Chuck ($2 wine!). I couldn’t wait to buy a case for only $24 purely to keep my wine rack full. Come to find out, due to some crazy Oklahoma laws, they don’t even sell it in this store. Needless to say, I was devastated. However, we continued on and made the journey to Tulsa.
You guys. This store is a GOLD MINE. There are so many unique finds here and for so cheap!! Case in point, Samantha had read about pickle flavored popcorn. Sounds weird/most likely disgusting, right? Well, we get in the store and it’s proudly displayed on an endcap for only $1.99. One dollar, and ninety-nine cents. So obviously, I had to try it, right?! Let me tell you – if you like pickles, and you like popcorn, you will love this stuff!!
{Yes, we took a selfie with the popcorn}
Other items purchased include: Scandinavian Swimmers, Frozen Macarons, Pear Champagne Dressing, Brownie Bites with Sea Salt, Porcini Mushroom Pasta, Dried Mango, Fancy Almonds, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Burrata and Prosciutto Pizza …. the list goes on.
We spent an hour and a half in the store, spent way more money than both of us were anticipating, and filled my Mini Cooper to the brim (including two coolers in my trunk).
And we had so much fun! Seriously. I was pretty much a convert when I stepped in the door, but it certainly didn’t hurt to have a fanatical friend show me all the exciting finds and to peruse the store with in search of new finds.
{before and after}
Happy GOLDEN birthday, Samantha! I hope our trip to TJs makes the list of memorable birthday adventures.
And to anyone else who has a birthday coming up and going to TJs is your birthday wish, call me.
life lately
I’ve been horrible at blogging lately. In fact, it’s been 2 1/2 months since my last life lately, which is typically a bi-weekly post. Oops. I just haven’t felt like blogging when I come home from work, and with a personal blog like mine, if you want to take some time off you can. No pressure.
But good news, friends, I’m back! The last month hasn’t been too eventful, which has been a nice change of pace. Especially since April-June are already booking up quickly … but before we get into that, let’s look at what I’ve been up to lately.
{dying over this || when I got pulled onstage during a local production of Spamalot because the “Holy Grail” was under my chair}
{eating this || amazing meat + cheese tray for a friday night in with husband}
{loving this || quick beach time in florida for a work conference}
{hosting this || Oscars party! #savewaterdrinkchampagne}
{enjoying this || beautiful weather at a ping-pong tournament at our favorite brewery}
{planning this || a trip to St. Lucia for our 5-year anniversary in May}
Tomorrow, I’m headed to Tulsa for my first trip to Trader Joe’s … with a Trader Joe’s fanatic … this will most definitely be a blog post next week.
Have a beautiful Easter weekend!
xo xo
All The Tears for Parenthood
Let me start out by saying, I originally thought I was going to hate Parenthood.
In fact, Husband and I started watching it a few years ago and couldn’t get over the “realness” of it. The son is diagnosed with Aspergers in the first episode. And there was drama, and crying, and intense relationships. All things I normally love in a TV show, but for some reason it just felt too real, and I didn’t want to watch that when I was already living real life.
Fast forward to Christmas, when all my shows were on hiatus and I decided to give it another chance (sans Husband and his complaining) because a) everyone just looooves it b) Lorelei Gilmore’s in it c) I read a buzzfeed article talking about how many Friday Night Lights characters are in it d) Jen Hatmaker’s posts about binge-watching it.
So, I started. And here I am 4 months later, after watching 6 seasons, and I’m pretty sure I’ve cried more than I ever have watching a TV show. (Something Husband just doesn’t understand. Why would I want to watch a show that makes me cry?? Men.)
In honor of all my tears, good and bad, and all of yours that you definitely shed watching this show, here are my top 13 crying moments: (Of course, I cried at least once an episode, so this is 13/103)
- When Amber got in the life-threatening car accident, and Zeek set her straight, and we all cried in the junkyard and wished Zeek was our grandfather.
- When Christina found out she had breast cancer and told Adam in the parking lot, while Max was looking at puppies.
- Christina’s videos. (all.the.tears.)
- When Julia realized she wasn’t taking home Zoe’s baby, and lost it in the hospital. (like I lost it in my living room)
- When Victor hit the baseball, and the entire family was there, and it felt like he was really part of the family now.
- When Victor was officially adopted into the family. Happy tears!
- When Julia begged Joel not to move out and he was stone cold, and she was trying so hard.
- When Joel met Julia and the kids at the ice-rink, and we knew it was all going to work out.
- When Max told his parents his classmates peed in his canteen and said he was a freak. (Oh.my.gosh. How can I ever be a parent if I was this upset over a TV show?!)
- When Zeek met great-grandson Zeek, and everything was right in the world.
- When Zeek walked Sarah down the aisle, and everything was right in the world.
- When Camille found Zeek in the chair, and everything was not right in the world.
- The entire.final.scene at the baseball field. So amazingly perfect. May God bless you, and keep you always.
And, I’m crying again just thinking about it. I’d say that’s the mark of a great show.
What was your most cry-worthy moment from the show?
xo xo
Picturebook: Birthday Week + NYC
B I R T H D A Y W E E K
[kinky boots + bordino’s with the family]
[birthday tradition: hostess cupcake in bed]
[the best surprise at work!]
[drove a van to downstream casino, ate, drank, gambled, danced, partied like I was 27]
N E W Y O R K C I T Y
(work trips can be fun too)
[it may be touristy, but I still love times square]
[dinner at serafina]
[meetings at hearst tower – dreary day, but still amazing central park views]
[lunch at carnegie deli – pastrami + pickles]
[our hotel was right next to colbert, so we might have hung out near the talent access door a few times to have a celeb sighting, which we did – bernie sanders!]
[dinner at greek restaurant uncle nick’s – I will dream about this fried cheese!]
[obviously couldn’t leave without a bagel (or two)]
[had to wear my favorite shirt from shop written – new york, los angeles, bentonville]
[it sure was cold, but can’t leave NYC without a walk through central park (especially for levain cookies!!)]
xo xo
You Are My Sunshine, My Only Sunshine
My dear friend Erica Keller passed away this morning.
And it’s hard. It’s so hard. Death will always be hard.
But I am rejoicing and celebrating in the life she had because it was truly incredible. Erica was dealt a difficult hand early on, diagnosed with cancer at 14 months. Her parents were told she probably wouldn’t make it to age 2. Today, she passed away at 34 years old.
[Me + E at the Memphis Zoo]
She lived 30+ years longer than the doctors thought possible. But here’s the thing, she didn’t just live. She LIVED. Whether you knew her for a minute, a day or a year – she could put a smile on your face, and she had the most infectious laugh. I’m seriously laughing now just thinking about it, and about how many times we got into giggle fits because of it.
[Me + E during one of her annual summer visits]
She taught everyone around her not to take life for granted and to live life to its fullest. What’s there to be sad about? What’s there to complain about? To her, there wasn’t anything. She was a beaming ray of sunshine on even the cloudiest of days.
I’ve always known E was a special person, but looking back on it now, I truly think she was an angel on earth. Every single person who knew her is better because of it, and they would tell you that. She taught me so much and brought so much joy to my life throughout the years – with our summer sleepovers, endless dance parties and days wasted at Locomotion with Pops.
[Me, E + Husband during an annual summer visit]
We will all miss her so very much, and it still doesn’t make this easy, but it is so amazing to know she is in a better place. She has no more pain. She’s laughing. She’s running. She’s talking my dad’s ear off.
She’s our angel, looking down on us all.
xo xo
life lately
{watching this || Star Wars in IMAX 3D}
{doing this || a lot of post-Christmas shopping
PS – Boots from Walmart.com for $32!}
{feeling this}
{reading (and sobbing over) this || more to come in my next set of book reviews}
{drinking this || Onyx coffee in our new french press}
Dolce Far Niente
Sometimes, you just need to decompress. Breathe. Relax. Let the busyness fade away. And not feel guilty about it.
Husband was away on business (VEGAS for CES, ha!) for 4 nights. 3 of those 4 nights I did absolutely nothing.
I came home from work and put on my sweats. I leisurely made myself dinner, blaring obnoxious pop hits Husband wouldn’t have liked. I watched several episodes of my latest binge Parenthood, again which Husband wouldn’t have liked. Then I crawled in bed, cuddling with the pup and read until I fell asleep.
Sounds great, right? And it was. It was so great. Usually I would get bored of doing that after 1 night, but I think after the busyness of the holidays this was exactly what I needed. Of course in the back of my mind I kept thinking – There’s so much I should be doing. There’s so many people I could be catching up with. Why am I wasting my time doing nothing?
But then I thought, I don’t think it is a waste. Your body and mind have to relax, sometimes longer than 1 day. Doing Whole30 is all about listening to your body’s needs, and mine was telling me I deserved time to do nothing.
I also reminded myself I have a very busy month coming up – 3 baby showers, 2 birthday celebrations, a weekend in Vegas and a week in NYC for work. So I have plenty of time to be busy, see people, do things and long for time at home like I had this week.
So for now, I will enjoy “Dolce Far Niente” – the sweetness of doing nothing.
xo xo
Whole30, we meet again.
Okay, technically this time it’s Whole20: Jan. 4 – Jan. 23.
(Why Jan. 23? That’s the start of my birthday WEEK. Another post for another day.)
I went back and read my blog posts from my last Whole30 and remembered how amazing I felt while I was doing it. As I said in one post, I was a walking infomercial about clean eating – my cravings diminished, I slept better, I had more energy, I lost weight, etc. etc.
So, here we are again. 1 trip to Europe, 2 fattening holidays, and countless cocktails later, I need a cleanse. Meat, veggies, fruit, water, coffee. No grains, no sugars, no dairy, no alcohol.
Tonight I’m making Spaghetti Squash Carbonara for the first time, and can’t wait to try it. (Who knew it took spaghetti squash an hour and a half to cook though?!)
I’m currently on Day 4 and feeling good. I’m not joking when I say I’ve already seen and felt a difference in my body and weight.
The hard part will come tomorrow night, when all I’ll want is a glass of cabernet …
But instead I will drink my Pellegrino and remind myself, nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.
Or some BS like that.
xo xo
2015: My Top 5 Movies, TV Shows + Books
M O V I E S
5. The Martian: This was a great movie, and an even better book (see below). I put it as #5 only because there were a few things they changed in the movie that I didn’t like, but I still really enjoyed it.
4. Sisters: Husband couldn’t possibly believe I put this movie before The Martian (or Star Wars), but I laughed my booty off at this movie, harder than I have in a really long time. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler can do no wrong.
3. Still Alice: This one is hard to watch and really sad, but the acting is phenomenal. Julianne Moore absolutely deserved the Academy Award for Best Actress.
2. Inside Out: All the emotions! Seriously. I watched this on the plane to Europe and had to stop myself from full on sobbing. It was so sweet. This is the best Pixar in a long time.
1. Ex Machina: I was shocked by how much I liked this movie. I wouldn’t have even watched it unless someone convinced me, because the trailer makes it out to be a horror movie, but it’s not at all. It’s a little creepy, but so so good. Also, currently in love with Oscar Isaac.
Still on the list to see: Spotlight, The Big Short, Creed, Carol, The Room, The Danish Girl
T V S H O W S
5. iZombie: I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again, this is such an underrated show! It’s a zombie comedy like you’ve never seen before, and you will fall in love with the characters.
4. The Jinx: This HBO docu-series was incredible. Husband was literally pacing the room during the last episode because it was so intense. If you don’t know anything about it, don’t read anything, just go watch it.
3. The Walking Dead: This show always makes my list of top shows, but I haven’t loved this season. It started out amazing and steadily went downhill, with kind of a dud of a mid-season finale. But still, of course, one of my favorite shows.
2. Pretty Little Liars: Guilty pleasure. Guilty, guilty, pleasure. But it continues to be one of the shows I look forward to watching the most every week. #HalebForever
1. Jane the Virgin: I don’t know how it happened, but I fell fast for this show and Gina Rodriguez. It’s hilarious, it’s dramatic, it teaches life lessons – it’s seriously so much more than you would imagine.
Honorable mentions: Hart of Dixie, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Making a Murderer
Editor’s Note: The below is my true #1, but not counting it in the 5 since it didn’t come out this year.
Friday Night Lights: I know I’m like 10 years behind on this show, but I binged it this summer and absolutely fell in love with it. Like, so much so, that I immediately bought a t-shirt and mug after finishing it (see below). Definitely on my list of top shows of all time.
B O O K S
5. Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins: I loved the way this story was told, through 3 different perspectives and in morning/evening narratives. It kept your mind reeling throughout, following different leads of what could have possibly happened to girl who disappears. Totally worth the hype, and I can’t wait for the movie.
4. The Martian by Andy Weir: I started and finished this on the plane ride home from Europe. I loved this book! It was fascinating. It was written so well and in such a unique way that you were hooked from the beginning.
3. Why Not Me by Mindy Kaling: Her second book wasn’t quite as entertaining as her first, but still a great, easy read that made me laugh out loud and gave interesting behind the scenes insight into the life of a comedy writer (and my celebrity spirit animal).
2. The Good Girl by Mary Kubica: Oh.My.Gosh. I cannot say enough good things about this book. It’s definitely one of my top books of the year. The character development was phenomenal, and it is so so suspenseful. Speaking of the ending, I did not see it coming at all.
1. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer: This is a truly beautiful story with incredible writing. Though it’s a lengthy book, it kept me interested by switching perspectives chapter to chapter. I think I loved this so much because I’m not typically a historical fiction reader and this captivated me.
xo xo
2015: my year in pictures
{January: celebrated my GOLDEN birthday with a #26shadesofgold blowout}
{February: Vegas with my new sisters + celebrated Mom’s marriage}
{March: chopped my hair + traveled to Pinterest and YouTube HQ}
{April: went to our first crawfish boil + hosted our first dinner party}
{May: worked (and played) at Bentonville Film Festival, drank lots of beer at Fayetteville Foam Fest + had a wonderful weekend in Little Rock with friends}
{June: enjoyed time with an old friend in town, hiked Hawksbill Crag + ate our weight in food at the NWA Food Festival}
{July: tried for the first time – aerial yoga, lip syncing + paddle boarding}
{August: celebrated this 80’s born gal + hosted the FIL}
{September: #AldermansGoGlobal – London, Paris}
{October: Munich/Oktoberfest + Halloweening}
{November: cabin weekend with these favorite people}
{December: a lot of Star Wars, a lot of amazing family time + the best NYE a girl could ask for with my two loves}
xo xo
[a catalog – my year in pictures] 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010
m.davis xoxo 