April & May Favorites 2016

It's that time of the month again! This time around I'll be featuring a list of things I enjoyed from April and May.  So here we go...

Lifestyle

Levi Mid-Rise Skinny Jeans

These are my new favorite jeans! Good bye ill-fitting muffin top inducing Old Navy jeans! I hadn't bought jeans in a while and the ones I had been wearing were so worn in they had holes. After a day at the mall unsuccessfully jean shopping the only thing that I liked were a pair of Levi's, but they were too expensive. My husband had also found a pair of Levi's he wanted (his favorite brand). So when we got home he check online to see if he could find some deals. At the time there were some good clearance deals and I got my hand on two pair of jeans. It was a little more then I would of liked to spend, but my husband assured me that the quality was much better. I love them! It's going to be hard to top these jeans.

Succulent Plant

I have always wanted a succulent plant, so when our local Whole Foods Market started stocking small succulents I had to have one. My husband actually got it for me for "Dog-Mom's Day" aka Mother's Day. I haven't killed it yet! I might have to get a few more when we move into our new apartment.

Books

I've been reading so much I haven't been able to keep up with writing my reviews. I promise I'll have more soon, but in the mean time here are a few of the books that I have loved from April and May.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Bring Me Back by Micalea Smeltzer (review)
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Hopeless & Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover
Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

Electronics

Kindle Text-to-Speech

I love reading, but sometimes I can't put the book down even when I have other things to get done. I found the Text-to-Speech function on my Fire Table and I'm in love with the ability to read hands free. While this function is not as nice as listening to an audio book, the robotic voice is not bad to listen to. I typically use this function while working or after I have already read a book and I want to go back and re-read quickly. However, some books should be read in the tradition fashion to better feel all the feels!

Food & Beverage

Yuengling's Ice Cream

Favors: Back & Tan and Salted Caramel
This has been our latest ice cream obsession. My husband and I love ice cream and while we typically get his and her's pints we both love these two favors from Yuengling. It reminds us of getting soft serve from the local ice cream place back in Ohio. The Salted Caramel is my favorite and the Black & Tan is the best of both worlds with the added chocolate twist that my husband loves.

Reyka Vodka

This vodka is a small batch vodka which is hand crafted using lava rock filtration, arctic spring water & geo-thermal energy in Iceland. How awesome is that?! I also love the design of the bottle, because I'm a design nerd, and the vodka isn't bad either! This brand has become our go to when we visit the ABC store.

Entertainment

Reality TV Obsessions

It's the summer and most of our regular tv shows have taken a break for the summer. So what is there to watch? Reality TV! Here are some of our recent binge watches and guilty pressure shows:

• Hells Kitchen
  Who doesn't love when Gordon Ramsey yells at people?!
• Master Chef
• Top Chef
• Master Chef Jr.
  These kids are adorable!
• Shark Tank & Beyond the Tank
  There are some really cool business on this show.
• Pawn Stars
  Chumlee is halarious! 
• Hotel Hell
• Property Brothers
  Who doesn't love a good house hunting/reno show!?
• American Grit
  I just like listening to John Cena's voice. "... AND THIS IS AMERICAN GRIT"
• The Bachelor & The Bachelorette
  Because some of these people are crazies!
• The Millionaire Matchmaker
  Who doesn't want to watch people in awkward situations?!

The Real O'Neals

This show has become one of my new favorites. Honestly, I would watch Noah Galvin in anything! This show is about a wonderfully flawed and quirky family. I love how the drama isn't just centered around one issue, but each family member has their own issues and struggles that blends together to make an episode entertaining.





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What were some of your favorite things from the month of April and May? Let me know in the comment section below.

February Favorites 2016

This is about the time of the month were I run down a list of things I enjoyed from the previous month. So here we go... 

Netflix

The Railway Man (R)

Eric Lomax (Colin Firth), a former British army officer and POW, discovers that the Japanese interpreter who tortured him is still alive. He and his new wife (Nicole Kidman) set out to confront the man who caused him so much pain.

The plan was to watch this movie passively one night while I was working. I continues to work, but this movie was better than I expected. I have always like Colin Firth as an actor, but I wasn't sure if I would like this movie because of the topic -- war. However, this movie is more about the humanity of the characters and what they endured. It's also about bravery, survival and most importantly forgiveness. While this movie is not for everyone, also it's rated R, I would suggest you give it a watch if your in the mood for something a little heavier.

Hulu

Superstore (NBC)

"The Office" producer Justin Spritzer returns with another workplace comedy, this time forsaking a desk-bound environment for the world of retail. The giant megastore where Amy works is staffed by employees with a wide range of time served under their company-issued smocks, from summer hires to committed-for-life managers. Together they all must face the daily grind of bargain hunters, the madness of door-busting sales and painfully boring training sessions, forging relationships along the way.

This show is hilarious! I'm not surprised that The Office producer Justin Spritzer is involved in this show. The cast of misfits is exactly what TV needed after shows like The Office and Parks and Recreation are no longer a thing (sad face). Having worked retail there are many situations that are true to life and just pure comedy. I'm a fan of both America Ferrera and Ben Feldman so it wasn't hard to immediately love their Superstore characters. I need more episodes of this show in my life! PLEASE DON'T CANCEL IT NBC!

Grandfathered (FOX)

"ER" and "Full House" star John Stamos plays a version of himself: a charismatic, longtime bachelor named Jimmy who finds his life turned upside down when he learns that not only is he the father of a grown man named Gerald, but also a grandfather to Gerald's baby daughter. This sophisticated coming-of-age comedy proves that not everyone grows up at exactly the same time as Jimmy must learn to adapt to the sudden changes in his life, connect with his newfound family -- and perhaps reconnect with Gerald's mother. Stamos also serves as an executive producer.

This show is also great! The story line might not be truly original but with John Stamos as the principle character there is just something you got to love about this modern family. I feel like this maybe FOX's version of Modern Family and I'm okay with that! Each characters struggles with find themselves and define their roles in the new family dynamic, which is perfect because they can get themselves into some pretty messy situations. I look forward to the next episode every week!

Electronics

Amazon Fire Tablet

My husband surprised me with the Amazon Fire Tablet for my birthday in February! I have been wanting to read more and found myself reading on my phone before bed more and more. I mentioned to him that I would have used my Motorola Xoom Table we got back in 2011 for reading but it's too heavy and large for me to hold over my head in bed every night -- so I was beyond exited when I got this thing!

It took me a little bit to get used to the Fire interface they have. While it is an android you only have access to the Amazon market place which limits your choice on apps and downloadable content. That's fine for me at the moment. I decided I was going to make this table just for leisure and not about business or social media. I have not downloaded Twitter, Facebook or even connected my email on my Fire Table -- I'll leave that for my phone. I have, however, downloaded a number of inexpensive books and even started a little book club with my mom (she reads more then I do). I'm looking forward to some new literary adventures and maybe more blog post about books!

Lifestyle

HelloFresh

A co-worker of my husbands sent us a code for a free week trial of HelloFresh and boy was it nice! Honestly, I'm not the one who does most of the cooking in our house -- my husband is a much better cook. However, even I was excited for this box to arrive! We got the three meals for two people option and selected the following meals:

Honey-Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Mazzarella-Crusted Chicken
Fusilloni Al Forno (Pasta)

Each meal was good and paired with a side of vegetables and potatoes except the pasta dish. The instructions for the meals were SUPER simple and gave me the confidence to cook 1.5 of these meals by myself. My husband helped me out for one of them. (Side Note: It helps if you have a fully functional kitchen with appliances that work properly. We live in an apartment with small appliances that cook unevenly, but we made it work). Each meal was yummy and I would have loved to receive more of these boxes but they are a little pricey -- so our week of HelloFresh was a highlight from February!