February Book Review

Welcome to my February Book Review! 

February proved a bit difficult for me and finding time to read.  We spent a lot of our free time working on the house and if we weren't painting, cleaning or organizing, I was busy working on my Thirty-One Business or my day job.  

That being said, I managed to finish one book! I am pleased with that number as it was a rather large book!  

This is the second book in The Illuminae Files: Gemina and I am excited to say that I enjoyed this book just as much as I did the first one (Illuminae).  This book definitely falls under the Sci-Fi category.  But my favorite part of the book is the fact that it gives the readers insight to what all of the characters are seeing and feeling at any given moment because the story is told from multiple narratives.  The book picks up where Illuminae left off, but now we are hearing more about what actually happened and learn more about why things happened as they did.  I honestly cannot say too much more about the book without giving away too much, but if you enjoy sci-fi books or multiple narrative books, I would recommend this one as a to be read for you!

This book covers the The Next Book in a Series You've Started category in the 2018 PopSugar Reading Challenge.  You read more about the challenge in my 2018 Reading Goals blog post.  

Okay that wraps up my February Book Review! What did you read this month?? I am always looking for new suggestions of books to read.  Please comment below and share.

To see a complete list of the books I've read this year plus a link to their reviews, go here.  

If you want to follow along on my reading challenge, let's be friends on Goodreads! Such a great site to keep track of what you've read and get ideas from fellow bookworms.  

I'd love to hear from you!

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Disclosure: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. Read my full disclosure policy here.

March: Month @ a Glance

Happy March Friends!

And happy baby Friday! I hope your week has been going well and you are looking forward to a fun weekend ahead! 

Yet again, it feels like the month has FLOWN by - and I think it's more dramatic because February is a few days shorter than the average month.  February was so much fun with all of the random evens we had and ALL of the snow we had dumped on us by Mother Nature.  At one point, we had over 16" (40.64 cm) in our front yard that promptly melted less than a week later.  Michigan sure does have chaos when it comes to weather.

March is going to be a slower month for us in our personal lives, but our work lives are going to be crazy.  Between his quarterly release and my digital summit, we're going to be exhausted.  That being said, I'm looking forward to the weather starting to warm and more sunshiny days ahead. 

So here's what we have going on this month!

On the Agenda this Month:

1. Eye doctor appointment for me!
2. All Committee Meeting for our HOA 

3. Allergist Appointment 
4. Justin's Quarterly Release
5. Seeing Cinderella with my Mother-in-law, sister-in-law and niece! 
5. Celebrate and Connect Event for Thirty-One!
6. St. Patrick's Day Dinner/Celebration
7. The Sound of Music Live with my mom, cousin and aunt! 

Goals for March

1. Read Two Books: I struggled to find time for reading in February and only managed to finish Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, but that works out because the third book in the series comes out this month! So for March I am planning to read Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff and if that doesn't eat all of my time, I'll grab another book from my list.  

2. Finish Decorating the Mud Room & Powder Room.  I'm excited to report that the mudroom and powder room have been painted! The next step will be to get the bead board hung.  Once that is done I can get to decorating the space! I have a few ideas, but I really am loving the idea of shelves above the toilet for the powder room.  Something like this:

See the pin here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/260575528423857538/

Justin is thinking he can build those shelves so once those are done, I will be spending some time looking for cute items to fill the space.  I also need ideas for how to decorate a mudroom/hallway.  It's a high traffic space, so I need to be cautious with what I hang there.

3. Finish moving boxes from the garage to the basement.  The garage has been emptied of all but 2 or 3 boxes with the rest being trash.  We've had to pilfer out trash week-by-week so we do not overload our trash pick up.  Once all of the trash has been removed, the last few boxes will be emptied and moved to the basement (or thrown away/donated).

4. Get blinds/curtains for the garage and guest bathroom.  So last month I talked about ordering blinds from Select Blinds, but I am actually thinking we will just go to Home Depot and get what we need from there.  That way we don't have to wait for them to be delivered.  {I know I'm super impatient, but I am just so excited!}.

5. Clean basement floors.  So one of the things that we have not done yet is clean our basement floors.  This seems like an odd one, but because our house was new when we bought it, the floors are extremely dusty.  This means, when we go to the basement and come back up, we bring dust into the main part of the house.  It's just a total mess at times.  So I would like to take some time in March to vacuum/mop the floors and get rid of any trash in the basement.  

Question of the Day: How do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day? 

Share your responses below in the comments! 

I'd love to hear from you!

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Disclosure: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. Read my full disclosure policy here.

What's Up Wednesday #18

How is it already the last day of February?! I cannot believe that we're already done with two months in 2018.  So it's been a while since I've done this series (since October 2017 actually) and I realized that I missed doing this series and thought I would pick it back up. 

The idea of the series is to post once a month (on the last Wednesday of the month) what you've been up to by using the prompts provided by Sheaffer, Mel and Shay.  There's always 13 standard questions with an additional bonus question - usually themed around something for that month.  Here's the questions:

1. What We're Eating This Week

I have been having such a hard time meal planning lately, so I am not entirely certain what we are going to be eating this week.  I tend to resort to the typical cheesy chicken and rice or nacho pie, but I'm hoping to break out of the slump soon with some new recipes to try. 

2. What I'm Reminiscing About

Lately I've been thinking about the apartment we lived in before our house.  I have so many funny and fond memories of that apartment and it makes me smile to think about it.  I am so glad we have moved out of apartment living, but every now and then I miss it.  

3. What I'm Loving

Even though it has been rainy lately, I have been enjoying the warmer weather.  Michigan has been all over the place this Winter with snow, freezing, warm and everything in between.  I look forward to warmer weather where I can roll down my windows and just enjoy the commute.  

4. What We've Been Up To

We've (more Justin then me honestly) have been working to get the powder room and mudroom decorated.  For the past 18 months, we've done a few small things to make the house feel more home-y, but we decided 2018 would be the year we'd try to get things more put together.  In mid-February, Justin took a long weekend and painted both the mudroom and the powder room.  I cannot wait to share the final result with everyone once it's complete! 

5. What I'm Dreading

We've sent our taxes over to our CPA.  I'm fearful we will owe money this year.  I doubt we will owe money, but I still fear that something was messed up and we will end up having to pay the government back (especially with Justin getting a new job last year).  

6. What I'm Working On

Baby blankets! Four of my cousins are having babies (yay!!) in 2018 and I have a tradition of knitting a car seat blanket for everyone in my life that has a baby.  I've already finished one blanket! Now I have three more to go!  

7. What I'm Excited About

I am excited about the mudroom/powder room.  I love decorating and having creative freedom.  While these are small places, I am excited to get them freshened up and organized! Such a fun and exciting way to make the space feel more like "ours". 

8. What I'm Watching/Reading

Honestly, most of my TV time in February watching the Olympics.  I love figure skating.  Isn't it just so amazing what they can do on the ice? Seriously so amazing.  

9. What I'm Listening to

I came across the Workout Beats Playlist on Spotify and have been loving it! I tend to prefer fast beat music, and almost every song on there is fast paced and upbeat.  It always gives me a little boost of energy when I listen to it.  

10. What I'm Wearing

This time of year in Michigan is always chaotic weather-wise so some days I'm in boots and sweaters and sometimes I'm in flats and a cardigan.  Mother Nature always throws us curve balls so I almost always have several layers and an umbrella at all times.  

11. What I'm Doing this Weekend

This weekend I have an all-committee meeting for my HOA on Friday then no other plans the rest of the weekend.  I'm hoping to get to a Cyclebar class while Justin is at his golf lesson on Saturday, but otherwise no real plans - probably just cleaning and doing laundry.

12. What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month

I have TWO plays on the agenda in March: Cinderella and The Sound of Music.  I am super excited to see both.  It will be so nice to spend some time with loved ones and I always appreciate going to the theater.  

13. What Else is New  

Not much, honestly.  I appreciate that things have been staying consistent for me lately.  It helps me focus on everything else I have going on.  

Well that is all for today's What's Up Wednesday! If you want to check out past What's Up Wednesday posts, go here.

Question of the Day: What's up in your life lately?   

I'd love to hear from you!

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Disclosure: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. Read my full disclosure policy here.