I can’t believe we are 5 days into July! This year is going by way too fast. My baby is now 8 months old. 8! Can you believe it? We will be celebrating his birthday before we know it. Ugh, I can’t even think about that yet.

Here are your favorite posts from the month of June:

I think my favorite was the Picnic post. Mostly because I really enjoyed having the picnic before writing the post. The uninterrupted time with my boys was so nice.

What was your most popular or favorite post from last month? Leave me a link so I can read it!

The One And Only by Emily Giffin
May 2014 by Ballantine Books

Pages: 432


Synopsis on Goodreads: Thirty-three-year-old Shea Rigsby has spent her entire life in Walker, Texas—a small college town that lives and dies by football, a passion she unabashedly shares. Raised alongside her best friend, Lucy, the daughter of Walker’s legendary head coach, Clive Carr, Shea was too devoted to her hometown team to leave. Instead she stayed in Walker for college, even taking a job in the university athletic department after graduation, where she has remained for more than a decade.

But when an unexpected tragedy strikes the tight-knit Walker community, Shea’s comfortable world is upended, and she begins to wonder if the life she’s chosen is really enough for her. As she finally gives up her safety net to set out on an unexpected path, Shea discovers unsettling truths about the people and things she has always trusted most—and is forced to confront her deepest desires, fears, and secrets.

Thoughtful, funny, and brilliantly observed, The One & Only is a luminous novel about finding your passion, following your heart, and, most of all, believing in something bigger than yourself . . . the one and only thing that truly makes life worth living.

Last Saturday, my awesome MIL took me and my sisters-in-law to a spa in downtown Montgomery. It was my first time ever in a spa. I stated a few days ago that I needed to get back to a simpler life and this is exactly what I had in mind. It was so nice to get away for a few hours and relax and be pampered. I also got to spend time with actual grown-ups which is always nice!

When we first arrived, I got a pedicure and then a manicure while my sister-in-law was getting a massage. I’ve never had a massage and neither had she. She loved it which makes me want to go back to get one very soon. My mani/pedi felt amazing. She even did a “Pinterest” design because I told her I was a blogger and she said “oh girl! I have to make you Pinterest.” haha. She was a really sweet girl and I even made a business connection with her so that’s always neat!

After we finished our appointments, we met in the “quiet room” to eat lunch. We headed out to the back porch and I ate the best cobb salad I have ever had. It was amazing. We then headed into the sauna for all of 2 seconds. It was a bit too hot and steamy for us, which I guess is the point, but wow. We ended our day laying by the pool where we met my MIL and other sister-in-law. We talked and relaxed and it was so nice. I will definitely be going back and hopefully sooner rather than later.

It made me realize how important it is to step away and relax. It’s okay to pamper yourself a little. As a mom, it is important to take care of yourself so that you can take care of everyone else. It’s okay to ask for help when you’re feeling overwhelmed. I’m so thankful for the time I got to spend with Ryan’s family. It was a true blessing and perfect timing.

Linking up with Katie!

Have you been to a spa? What do you do to take care of yourself?

Kimono: H&M here
Tank: Target here
Shorts: Old Navy here
Sandals: DSW here
Sunglasses: boutique similar

What do you think about the kimono trend? What are you loving this summer?

 

I made this by mistake one day. I literally threw the things that I had left over from the week in the blender and Wa La! New favorite smoothie! I have been addicted to this throughout the last few weeks of the bikini series and it has been my go-to post workout drink or breakfast smoothie. It leaves me full and most importantly, energized. And you know I need energy with my little 8 month old going ninety to nothing now!

Ingredients:
Ice
2 or 3 hand fulls of Blueberries
1 Banana
2 hand fulls of chopped Pineapple
a little Water

Blend it all up and there you go! It’s so simple and doesn’t require many ingredients, yet it is 100% natural and so healthy. I hope you enjoy!

Linking up with Katie!

This outfit is getting me in the mood for a beach vacation! 2 weeks and counting! It can’t get here soon enough! Laying in the sun on a sandy beach with un bon livre is just what I need in my life.

Are you going to the beach this summer? What are your travel plans?

Lately we have been going non-stop – graduations, birthday parties, weddings, holidays, baby showers, and the list goes on and on… Ryan and I both come from large families and with both families living in the area, there is always something going on. I am a pretty simple person. It doesn’t take a lot to please me. I am laid back for the most part and Ryan is extremely laid back. We enjoy peaceful weekends more than busy ones. We function better if we are able to spend quality time with one another rather than going constantly. When we are busiest is when I start to notice a change in our relationship. Not a bad change necessarily, but a change. We lose sight of our relationship and spending quality time with our son because we are so worried about everything we have to do that day – packing Hampton’s things, figuring out what to wear, what to do with our dog while we are away. We get so caught up in the hustle and bustle that we forget to take care of us and it can start to show.

We have busy weekends over the next couple of weeks. I am starting to feel like we are never going to have time to just stop and relax. It is tough. I don’t mind being busy and, in fact, I usually prefer it, but when your weekends have been full for the last 2 months straight with no end in sight, it begins to wear on you a bit. Honestly, we are just going to have to start saying no to things and that will have to be okay. I have a hard time saying no because a lot of the time, I would be saying no to something that I really want to do. Plus, sometimes our families aren’t crazy about us not being able to go to something, but it will just have to be okay from now on. I’m learning more and more that you can’t please everyone and the more you try, the more miserable you’re going to be.

There is nothing wrong with living a slower, simpler life. There is nothing wrong with spending a quiet weekend at home and turning down your family for a pool day or ball game or whatever may be going on so that you can spend time with your husband and children. There is nothing wrong with saying no when you are feeling overwhelmed or have other plans. If others aren’t okay with that, that is something they will have to deal with. I know that I don’t get my feelings hurt when someone tells me no. I don’t understand why some people do. I guess I’m just not wired that way. The fact is though, most people don’t do well with hearing the word no.

Bottom line, after God, your husband and children come first. Everyone else comes after that. That’s the way God designed it. We are going to get back to a simple life after these next couple of weeks roll by. I am really excited for the one on one time I will get to spend with my family.

Do you have a problem saying no? Do you ever feel overwhelmed with life’s obligations?

photo credit: Marcio Cabral de Moura via photopin cc

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Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner
July 2009, Atria Books
Pages: 368

Synopsis from Goodreads: One of the nation’s most beloved and successful writers of women’s fiction, Jennifer Weiner has become a literary phenomenon with millions of copies of her books in print. Her latest work, Best Friends Forever will delight fans and critics alike, following the ups and downs of a long-time friendship between two young girls who grow up to be two very different women. Addie Downs and Valerie Adler were eight when they first met and decided to be best friends forever. But, in the wake of tragedy and betrayal during their teenage years, everything changed. Val went on to fame and fortune. Addie stayed behind in their small Midwestern town. Destiny, however, had more in store for these two. And when, twenty-five years later, Val shows up at Addie’s front door with blood on her coat and terror on her face, it is the beginning of a wild adventure for two women joined by love and history who find strength together that they could not find alone.




My Thoughts: I love the Jennifer Weiner novels I’ve read in the past, but this one fell a little short. I’m not sure why exactly, but the only word that comes to mind to describe this book would be “silly.” It started out so “silly” that I thought it was going to be a comedy. Maybe it was? It was just really hard to take seriously. It was an extremely light read – descent for a lazy beach or pool day. It made me laugh a lot, but it was also a bit ridiculous at times. Obviously not everything I read is deep, I enjoy light-hearted books, but this one was almost too ridiculous, even for me. I hate it because I really love Jennifer Weiner’s other novels, but this one just wasn’t good. I gave it 3 stars.


Be my friend on Goodreads!