The Real Deal

Since my family and I are 100% practicing social distancing right now, we have been staying home and consuming so  much content.  I realized I never posted a February content consumption post, but that's mainly because I read a ton of books and only watched one TV show...so it really would have been pretty boring.  Although March is already almost over, I thought I would just combine the two now in case you all want to read/watch what I did these past two months while you're social distancing! BOOKS The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown: 9.5/10 //  All I can say about this book is wow .  My family and I got this book for my grandpa for Christmas a few years ago and he still says it's his favorite gift he has ever gotten.  I had been wanting to read it, but I kept putting it off since I don't know much about rowing and I wasn't sure if I would find it enjoyable.  I finally borrowed the book from my grandpa and wow am I glad I did!...

These are some very scary times.  As someone who suffers from an anxiety and panic disorder, all of the uncertainty right now is not great for my mental health.  This is why routines are so  important, especially when all four of my family members are home all day and working from home/doing online school. These times are already scary and weird, but on top of the weirdness, I started a new job on Monday!  I am now working in the Alumni and Donor Engagement office at one of the local universities and I was so excited to start.  Well, I went in for my first day on Monday, and during the day they told everyone to start working from home the next day, Tuesday.  So throughout the week I've been doing online trainings, meetings, and offering to help in whatever way that I can.  It's definitely difficult to learn the ins and outs of a new job while working from home, but we are all figuring this out together since this is a first for everyone. So, in the...

Over Valentine's Day weekend, my brother came back home to St. Louis for the weekend, which usually means a family brunch on Sunday!  We had been talking for so long about trying this boozy brunch out, and we certainly were not disappointed! We started our meal out with bottomless mimosas!  The waitress gives you a bracelet to know which members of the party ordered bottomless mimosas and bring out pitchers for refills instead of having to wait for every time the waitress comes out, which I loved!  We started with a pitcher of the classic mimosas with just champagne and orange juice, and another pitcher of the Wheelmosa, which is pineapple, Sprite, Aperol, and rosé. The Wheelmosa ended up being a favorite at the table, although the original ones were good too! We also started with an order of donut holes for the table.  You can get them with powdered sugar, chocolate sauce, or cinnamon and apple butter.  We got chocolate sauce, and WOW these ended u...

A lot of the podcasts I listen to, YouTubers I watch, and blogs I read talk about what they have watched, listened to, read, etc.  I always love getting new recommendations for things to consume, so I thought that I would start tracking mine monthly.  So here are the movies, books, and TV shows from the past month and what I though of them! BOOKS Winter in Paradise  by Elin Hilderbrand: 7.5/10 This was my first read of 2020.  I love a good chick lit read every once in awhile, and her books are juicy and easy to read.  This book is about a woman whose husband dies while on a "work trip", and she finds out that he has a whole other family that she didn't know about in the Bahamas.  I enjoyed this book and it was a quick and easy read, but it wasn't my favorite of hers that I've read.  But you bet I'll be reading the sequel in the near future! Park Avenue Summer  by Renee Rosen: 9/10  This is a book that has been on my "Want to Read" ...

2019 was one of my better years of reading!  I actually accomplished my reading goal for the year, which was 25 books, and the books I read I genuinely enjoyed, even the ones that had lower ratings.  So today, I am listing all 25 of the books that I read last year with their ratings.  I seriously love reading and am excited to accomplish my 2020 reading goal of 30 books.  I am already two books in for the year and can't read to conquer some more! So without further ado, here is everything I read last year, and let me know some of your favorite books that you read lately! Girl Wash Your Face  by Rachel Hollis: 4/5 To All The Boys I've Loved Before  by Jenny Han: 4/5 P.S. I Still Love You  by Jenny Han: 3/5 Always and Forever, Lara Jean  by Jenny Han: 4/5 Smothered  by Autumn Chiklis: 3/5 Mercury: An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury  by Lesley-Ann Jones: 4/5 The Stranger Beside Me   by Anne Rule: 5/5 Ghosted ...

Happy 2020, everyone!  I hope you all had a great holiday season!  I seriously cannot believe that the holidays are already over.  Christmas is my favorite holiday and I'm already looking forward to next year's Christmas.  Now that it is a new year, it is time for some new goals.  I like making a post for this every year because it keeps me accountable, and I love looking back on the past year to see if I accomplished what I wanted and made myself that much better.  So, before I get into what I want to accomplish this year, here is a recap of my 2019 goals: BETTER DENTAL HEALTH //  This was probably my top goal for the year since I had surgery at the beginning of the year for not having great dental health.  I now brush my teeth twice a day and incorporate flossing once a day, and have not had any more gum problems since!  I also got a Sonicare electric tooth brush for Christmas so my dental health will continue to get better in 2020! REA...

We love the holidays.  And by we, I mean the women in my family!  My mom, grandma, and I would start decorating for Christmas on November 1st if we could.  Excessive?  Absolutely.  But the Christmas season is incredibly short, so we like to soak up as much of it as possible before it’s over. About a month or so ago, my mom made reservations for a pop up Christmas bar in St. Louis.  There are a few around St. Louis, but the one we were going to is called Miracle STL.  We had a kind of off time for a reservation, 4:30 on a Tuesday.  All of the tables in the bar are reservation only, but the bar is first come first serve.  You can also only stay at the table for a certain amount of time, depending on how many people are a part of the reservation.  We had 3 people, so we could stay for an hour and fifteen minutes.  That way people aren’t hogging tables and everyone can get a chance to enjoy the bar! There were two drink menus,...