Friday Favorites and Happenings

*This post contains affiliate links. When you click a link, it is no cost to you and I make a small commission (pennies) from it. Thank you for supporting Sparkles and Lattes.

Happy Friday all! The girls started their Christmas break today, so I am working from home and enjoying some time with them. We have some Christmas light looking planned for this weekend and a little Christmas party on Sunday. Other than that, we are going to soak in the upcoming holiday by baking cookies, snuggling by the fire and watching Christmas movies.

Onto, Friday favorites and happenings.

ONE. I posted about this last week on my Instagram stories, but I thought I would share it again here. I bought the girls some things from Abercrombie and Fitch and decided to throw in a long sleeve tee for myself since it was on major sale. 

Well I got it, wore it and loved it. So much so, that I checked to see if they were still on sale and they were. And this time I got it in three more colors. You can beat the price reduction from $39 to $19.89. Now I know I am not supposed to get myself anything in December, but I love these tees so I grabbed them. Basically a Christmas gift to myself. 

These shirts are so soft, cover your butt (so can be worn with leggings), have size slits and actually button/snap. I now have it in brown, white, dark gray and olive green. 

Ignore my selfie taking skills.

A&F Women's Cozy Oversized Henley

TWO. Last weekend we did our first night out for Christmas light looking. We are going again tonight or tomorrow with some friends. Our first area was Hidden Valley. We go here every year. They have a community contest, so I save the addresses each year and update them.

Here is a glimpse at the displays. Also, two of these are closer to my house, but we stopped by them on the way home.

THREE. Saturday night was Rory's company Christmas party. It was at a steakhouse and it was so good. It just started late (8:30 pm). And Rory wasn't really feeling well. But we stayed out until 11 pm and had the best time.

And as promised, here is my outfit.

The skirt was amazing, but it rode up a little too much when I was sitting down. I didn't notice it until I saw this picture. But the whole outfit was a hit and so comfy. Also, that purse is an early Christmas gift from my girls and soooo pretty in person. You can buy it here.

FOUR. Last week we went to our friends house for their annual gingerbread house decorating party. It was a Thursday night, and the girls had a blast. And us moms got to hang out, catch up and get some advice on an upcoming trip.

And the boys hung out in the garage bourbon tasting.

FIVE. Weekly funnies.

Have a great weekend. I am linking up with A Little Bit of Everything. 

Our Christmas Card 2021

Today I am sharing my Christmas card with you all. I usually do a collaboration with a card company for my Christmas cards, but this year, I dropped the ball and didn't work out the details in time. No biggie.

This year I went with Snapfish for my Christmas cards. I have used them in the past for wooden photo panels and loved how they turned out. They have great customer service as well. When I got the first wooden photo, it was damaged slightly in one corner. They let me keep that one which I gave to my parents (it is very small and minimal) and sent me a new one. And the quality is beautiful.

Anyways, I ordered cards from them this year and I plan on ordering some wooden panels/canvases for our house with our Fall photos (which I will share soon).

So without further ado, here is our 2021 Christmas card:

And here is some cards from years past:

2020

2019

2018

2017

 2016

 2015

2014

Crazy to see how much we have changed over the years.

Show Me Your Books - November

*This post contains affiliate links. When you click a link, it is no cost to you and I make a small commission (pennies) from it. Thank you for supporting Sparkles and Lattes.

I read one book last month. I started a second one and got half way through it. But hopefully I finish it this month and read another or two. 

So what did I read this month?

Every Vow You Break - Peter Swanson
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense 
Rating: 4 Stars

Every Vow You Break - Peter Swanson

A fellow blogger posted about this book one day and the next I was reading it. It had no wait in my library que. I read it in 2 days. I love when a book captures your right away. 

Abigail and Bruce meet in New York City right before Abigail decides to move home, back to Massachusetts. It is a whirlwind romance and within a year they are getting married. But when Abigail goes on her bachelorette party, she has a drunken one night stand. Should she tell Bruce?

The two get married and go to an island for their honeymoon. It seems perfect. No computers, no cell phones and the most amazing food. But then her one night stand appears and threatens to ruin her. But something isn't right. 

This book had me guessing the whole time what was really going on behind the scenes. I only guessed part of it and it really isn't the twist of the book. There are some touchy subjects in it, but nothing bad. I read this quickly and would recommend it.

Here is Amazon's synopsis:

Abigail Baskin never thought she would fall in love with a millionaire. Then she met Bruce Lamb. He’s a good guy, stable, level-headed, kind—a refreshing change from her previous relationships.

But right before the wedding, Abigail has a drunken one-night stand on her bachelorette weekend. She puts the incident—and the sexy guy who wouldn’t give her his real name—out of her mind, and now believes she wants to be with Bruce for the rest of her life. Their honeymoon on a luxurious, secluded island will be the beginning of their blissful lives together.

Then the mysterious stranger suddenly appears—and Abigail’s future life and happiness are turned upside down. He insists that their passionate night was the beginning of something much, much more. Something special. Something real—and he’s tracked her down to prove it.

Does she tell Bruce and ruin their idyllic honeymoon—and possibly their marriage? Or should she handle this psychopathic stalker on her own? To make the situation worse, strange things begin to happen. She sees a terrified woman in the shadows one night, and no one at the resort seems to believe anything is amiss… including her perfect new husband.

Have you been slacking on reading as much as I have? I find it harder to read during the holidays, but I should read more to unwind from all the chaos going on.

Friday Favorites and Happenings

*This post contains affiliate links. When you click a link, it is no cost to you and I make a small commission (pennies) from it. Thank you for supporting Sparkles and Lattes.

Happy Friday all! This month is flying by too quickly. I really love to soak in all of December. I love turning on our Christmas lights, sitting by the fire and enjoying the evenings in. And here we are already through the first 10 days.

I am trying to finalize plans for the girls birthday party, start wrapping my gifts and attending so many events. We have Rory's company Christmas party tomorrow night. Stay tuned for my outfit that I chose.

ONE. Last weekend was sooo much fun. Friday, I took it easy. I ran a ton of errands, made dinner and got ready for the weekend. Saturday morning I had a spa day with my mom and my sister. It was for my birthday (yes that was in August). 

We arrived at the spa at 10 am and spent time in the salt room, hot tubs, zero gravity chairs, steam room, massages and pool. It was heavenly. I stayed until 3:15 and wish I was able to stay the whole day. 

You are not allowed to have phones in the locker rooms where the steam room, one hot tub, a cold tub, showers, etc. are. But I did have it towards the end of the day in areas where I could. And no, you can't talk on your phone, but I basically read on it in the salt room. Note to self: take my kindle next time.

TWO. After my spa day, I headed home to shower, change and get ready for a fun night out. We were celebrating my friend Heather's birthday at a steakhouse followed by seeing Iliza Shlesinger. If you haven't watched any of her Netflix specials, do yourself a favor and watch them. She is hilarious. 

We laughed for over an hour and had the best time. After the show, we walked to a dive bar and had a drink, danced, and talked before heading home. I was home around 11 pm and it was the perfect day!!

The birthday girls (we were celebrating Heather (on the left) that night and the next day was Jess's)

Sequins and Fur (fake of course)

I didn't get any photos from the show as it was dark in there and I was too busy laughing my butt off.

THREE. The next day was Jess's birthday, and her husband had planned a surprise brunch for her. And the best news was kids were allowed. So I brought the girls and we met up with our friends to celebrate Jess. 

I only have one picture from that day as the others were videos of the kids playing yard games and wishing Jess a Happy Birthday!

I have some pretty amazing and beautiful friends!

FOUR. At the beginning of this post, I talked about Rory's company Christmas party and what I was wearing to it. Remember how I posted this post about Holiday Party Dresses? Well I chose none of them. I am hoping to wear one for his regional holiday party in January.

For this Christmas party, I shopped on Poshmark for a sequin skirt (but found it at Saks online) and then went to Express for a top. Both are on major discount.

Here is my outfit:

Express Velvet Bodysuit

DKNY Sequin Pencil Skirt

FIVE. If you love Sex and the City, then I am sure you started watching And Just Like That yesterday...or maybe today. I am beyond excited about this except for the fact that Samantha is not in this series.

I also saw some "trailers" and photos that made me upset about Carrie and Big's relationship, but the previews seem to debunk that. So let's hope this new series is good and gets picked up for another season.

Image

SIX. Weekly funnies.

This is more of something that is interesting than a funny.

This was one of my friends this last weekend.

Have a great weekend. I am linking up with A Little Bit of Everything. 

Smile Brilliant cariPro Water Flosser Review

*This post contains affiliate links. When you click a link, it is no cost to you and I make a small commission (pennies) from it. Thank you for supporting Sparkles and Lattes. 

Three years ago I worked with Smile Brilliant. I tested out their Teeth Whitening Kit and I loved my results. Here is my big change.

So much brighter.

Smile Brilliant’s oral care products are custom-formulated with the latest research to improve oral care through real science and innovation. Their lab-direct process makes achieving professional results at an affordable price easy. In the last few years, they've taken this model and expanded their line of oral health products to include something for everyone - from the newest in the cariPRO line - a cordless water flosser that allows for easy and effective cleaning, to a custom night guard system to protect the teeth from nighttime grinding.

They have also added a Plaque Highlighter which both kids and adults can use. The Plaque Highlighter is an oral dye that highlights the areas where you have plaque present. I have had this done in the dentist office, but now you can do it at home.

Another product they have added is the Custom Night Guard System. This is great for people who grind or clench their teeth at night.

And then they added the Oral Probiotics which replace healthy microbiome after brushing to repopulate with good bacteria.

This time I tried out the new cariPRO Water Flosser. Now if you have been following me for awhile, you know that after I had my kids, I have had some teeth issues. The girls sucked out all the nutrients from my body and changed the ph balance of my teeth. That means I have to brush at least twice a day, floss and use a protective mouth wash.

And who really likes flossing? Not me. But I still do it. Using the new cariPRO Water Flosser has made daily flossing so much easier. The flosser/water pick uses a long tip to shoot water between your teeth, so I'm able to easily reach the back of my teeth and the water is super gentle on my gums.

Here are some great highlights about the cariPRO Water Flosser:

• It has been shown to be 50% more effective than string floss
• Using the water flosser results in 99.9% less plaque in the treated areas
• Ergonomic slim design that easily fits on the bathroom sink (which is optimal if you don't have a lot of space on your bathroom counters)
• 3 floss modes (normal, soft, pulse) with 4 specialty floss tips for even those with braces, restorations such as crowns and bridges, as well as periodontal pockets 
• Easy interval timing 
• Waterproof for shower or bath (because sometimes you have to floss and brush your teeth in the shower)
• 60 day easy return & 2 year manufacturer warranty 

To get 20% off any Smile Brilliant products, you can use my code: sparklesandlattes20

best electric toothbrush

Thank you Smile Brilliant for sponsoring this post. I received this product in exchange for my honest review.