SOCIAL MEDIA

Friday, August 30, 2019

Friday Favorites

*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 can't believe August is already over. That means that Summer is winding down. While I am grateful for some cooler days, I just love beach days even more. I am hoping we can still get a few beach days in Tahoe during September and possibly October. Fingers crossed. Anyways, we have a long weekend and I am looking forward to it. We have our first home football game tonight and then camping.

Onto Friday Favorites and Happenings.

ONE. When we were recently at Scheels, I was browsing boots and I came across the cutest pair for Fall/Winter. I didn't buy them, but they have been on my mind ever since. How cute are these? I am hoping a sale comes around that I can get at least a little money off of these.
Sorel Emelie Conquest Boots

TWO. This week, American Eagle had a sale going on and you all know how much I love their jeans, so I scooped up another pair (for $23) and a super soft long sleeve tee (for $17). And now they have another sale going on. You can get 25% - 60% off right now.

I have bought many jeans. Expensive jeans to cheap jeans and for some reason, these jeans are just the best. I have had them for over a year now and I LOVE them. They are in amazing condition and they are always on sale.
AE Ne(X)t Level Jegging

AE Plush Long Sleeve T-Shirt

THREE. Last weekend we went to our favorite Summer place...Lake Tahoe. If you read my blog last week then you saw that we were not able to go to Sand Harbor for the day because the parking lot was full by 9 am. Well this time, we got there at 8:30, got right in and got a prime beach spot. We probably could have come a bit later, but we wanted to make sure we got in.

It was a beautiful day. It was in the 80s and we spent over 5 glorious hours there. And the girls didn't get fussy when we were going to leave. Usually we leave too late and they are grumpy and in need of a nap. Well they weren't grumpy and promptly fell asleep once we were driving home.

Seriously, if you have never been to Lake Tahoe, you need to add it to your bucket list. It is the best lake in America.




This is a local brewery here in Nevada and this beer is amazing!

FOUR. The girls started dance class again and I snapped this cute photo. It is hard to see my girls since they are the furthest from me. But look at how cute they are!

FIVE. Funnies for the week.




I am linking up with AprilA Little Bit of EverythingMeet @ the Barre and Becky.

Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, August 28, 2019

What's Up Wednesday

*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.

We only have a few days left in August. Where has the time gone? Some months drag on, but lately, they have been flying.


What's Up Wednesday

WHAT WE ARE EATING THIS WEEK...



Tuesday: BLTA's with Homegrown Corn on the Cob

Wednesday: Out to dinner since it is the girls swim class evening.


Friday: Tailgate Food. It is the first Nevada football home game!!!

Saturday: Potluck while we are camping!

WHAT I'M REMINISCING ABOUT...

Being in college. They always say that college are your best years and I couldn't agree more. Sure I have had some pretty amazing years since then, but college was just so dang fun. I learned a lot about myself, I worked hard, made a ton of friends and had a lifetime of fun.

Since school started back up, it just brings back all the memories. It also happens that football is back this week and that brings back all the memories as well. I LOVE Fall!!!

WHAT I'M LOVING...

That we still can hit up the beach, but knowing that Fall is coming. I can't wait to wear all my new Fall clothes. And maybe get out of the 100s/high 90s. 

WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO...

August brought my birthday, a work trip, my anniversary and school starting back up.
My actual birthday with my girlfriends.



 Some amazing ramen in San Diego

 Del Mar beach

 View from Coronado Island to San Diego

 Tacos at La Santisima Gourmet Taco Shop in Phoenix




 Anniversary dinner


WHAT I'M DREADING...

Not too much. I would like it to cool down a bit, so when we go to dance class, it isn't so hot. The girls now have dance class on Monday afternoons and it has been toasty in there.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON...

Just getting ahead on my blogging schedule and a few collaborations.

WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT...

FOOTBALL, FALL, my tv shows coming back, cozy Fall dinners and hopefully my final nose surgery.

WHAT I'M WATCHING/READING...

Last week, I wrote about my Recent Reads and since then I finished The Switch. Now I am reading All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover.

As for TV, I have been watching Orange is the New Black (final season), The Working Moms, Bachelor in Paradise, and patiently waiting for Younger to come out on Hulu. 

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO...

Just some Sirius XM.

WHAT I'M WEARING...

Lots of dresses, work clothes and shorts. It has been pretty hot around here.

WHAT I'M DOING THIS WEEKEND...

It is Labor Day weekend and we are going to our first home football game on Friday. Then we are going out camping with my family!

WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH...

September brings football, Fall, cooler weather, relaxing and a work trip.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW...

Not much. 

BONUS:
Monday, August 26, 2019

Why I Chose to Pierce My Daughters Ears

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a follower asking me about my decision to pierce my girls ears. She said she was toying with the idea of it, had some questions she wanted to ask and wanted my honest opinion on it.

After I wrote her back, she responded and was extremely grateful for me writing her back. Since I know this is something I have been asked before, I wanted to share my answers to her questions with you all.

Please don't bash me on my decision to pierce my girls ear and/or the age that I did it. I am not for that. I just wanted to share my experience and maybe help some of you out.

And if you have any other questions you want to ask me regarding ears piercing, please ask away.

1). How did you decide to have their ears pierced as an infant? What age were the girls when you did it? 

The girls were about 9 months old when we got their ears pierced. We had to wait until they were 6 months old in Nevada. Since I had identical twins, I needed a way of telling them apart. Not necessarily for me, but for their daycare teachers and family. When they were babies, it was VERY hard to tell them apart. So I got them different colored earrings. I held each of them in my lap while they got each ear pierced. After about 6 months, we got them new earrings from a high priced piercing shop that the balls thread into the backing and the back has a flat surface instead of the long stem. 


2) Was there a "tipping point" or person who influenced you to have Sutton and Avery's ears pierced young? Of course identical twins with different color earrings would be a easy way to tell them apart for sure. However, don't think this was your main idea in having them pierced early. 

It wasn't my main reason for getting their ears pierced, but it was a top 5 reason. I had my ears pierced when I was about 5 years old like others had suggested to you. I remember every bit of it. My girls don't even remember getting their ears pierced. That was another reason. Plus it is easier to care for their ears at that age than when they are 5 or 6. I was able to clean them two to three times a day and they didn't touch the earrings while they healed. Another reason that is farther down the line is they were always called boy girl twins or boys. Even when dressed in pink. That isn't a serious reason, but it did round out my reasons why. But the cleaning one is a huge one because at 5 years old they will touch that area more than you would like. As an infant, they don't touch it.

3)Where exactly did you take her to get her ears pierced? How did you chose exactly where to take her? Any specific recommendations? 

I took them to a local body piercing shop. Not the ones in the mall where they quickly turn out kids. I looked online and found the best place for their ears to be pierced. Plus I had went to this place when I was 16 and had my belly button pierced. So I knew the reputation and it was still just as good when I took my girls there. The place we got their other earrings at, you had to be older, so we did wait to get those earrings there. I would look to yelp and trip advisor for piercing shops where you live. Read the reviews, look at their websites and see the youngest that you can get your daughters ears pierced. 

4) How did you decide what earring to chose for them? 

When you get your ears pierced, you have to get a certain kind of earring put it. Those earrings have to stay in for at least 6 to 8 weeks. Then you can change them from there. So I chose pink and purple for my girls since one wore pink a lot and purple a lot for the other. When it came to choosing what I wanted for the girls, I went to a higher end piercing shop. I chose earrings that they couldn't take out themselves since Sutton kept losing the back of one earrings. I also made it so they had a flat back and a ball that threaded into the post. They were very expensive, but worth it. They have held up for years. I love the earrings you posted, but you have to wait for those to be put in until after the 6 to 8 weeks. 

5) Did they do them one at a time or at the same time?

Mine had them done one at a time. They wanted to make sure that they were even and one guy did the piercings. Even though you are inflicting "the pain" twice, it made it so they didn't have to do any corrections and that they are even.

6) Am sure both girls must have gotten lots of compliments on her earrings ?

They get tons of compliments and we get asked where we got their earrings at. My friend even asked a lot of these questions to me recently. She waited until her daughter was 4 and she cried a lot and had a harder time keeping them clean and untouched.

7) Have other moms asked you about getting their daughter's ears pierced also? Any moms inspired to go ahead and do it?

Haha, I think I answered that question above. Yes others have asked me and then gotten them done as well.

8) Any other thoughts, suggestions for convincing my mother that early is better?

The cleanliness is a huge one. Plus the pain factor. And remember that your daughter is YOUR daughter. Even if your mom doesn't approve, she will come around once she sees how adorable your daughter is with them in.

9) Have you ever thought about little gold hoops for your girls? Know she would look so ingenue with little gold hoops poking out of their hair. 

Oh I have definitely had thoughts about little gold hoops. I have even been approached to do that for my girls. But I do have to go to a piercing shop to get their earrings out and changed. I will, but I wanted to wait until they went into Kindergarten. 

10) If you had another little girl, would you pierce her ears early too? Any specific age? 

I would definitely pierce her ears. Even if I just had one girl. I would still get it done at 6 or so months. Probably before they were 2 at the latest due to the reasons I listed above: cleanliness, pain factor.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Friday Favorites

*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 can't believe August is almost over. This month has flown by. I haven't been around that much this month with travel for fun and work. But things are going to slow down a bit and I don't have any travel until the first week of September (just a short overnight) and then in October. But we have football starting very soon and I CAN NOT WAIT!

Onto Friday Favorites and Happenings.

ONE. Congrats to Missy from My Shitty Kitchen for winning the $75 PinkBlush gift card!! I know you will find something amazing from there.

TWO. Did you see that Sephora is having another Summer sale? It started on Monday (for Rouge members) and it goes until Tuesday August 27th. I didn't need a ton of things from Sephora, but I had a few restocks that I will need soon. Use code SUMMERSAVE. So what did I purchase?
Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder

I love this stuff. I use it everyday and I was tempted to buy the small and regular size so I could have one for home and one for travel. But I just bought the regular size. When I originally bought this stuff, I got the puff that went with it.

Patrick TA Major Glow Lip Gloss

I have been wanting to try this stuff out for awhile, but never did. And my local Sephora never has it in. I got it in She's An Influencer.

Stila Kitten Eye Shadow

I have bought this eye shadow many times. It is a pretty amazing dupe for Tarte's Funny Girl. I LOVE that color in the Tarte palette and go through it way too fast. So I find that if I get a Stila Kitten as my back up, then I can keep my favorite look going. I often change between Tarte's In Bloom palette and my new Charlotte Tilbury mini palette that I got at the Nordstrom sale.


I got this at my salon as a reward. Every time I purchase product at my salon, they give me reward points. I had a ton and I got this full size product for free. Well I have been out of it for about a month and I LOVE it. It helps with thin, fine hair that is color treated and can get damaged easily. I feel like my hair is softer, healthier and doesn't break as often with this stuff. So I bought a new bottle.

If you don't get anything else at this sale, I would get the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Complexion Brush and the Tarte In Bloom Palette. I couldn't live without either of these things. I LOVE my brush. It makes my concealer and foundation go on beautifully. And that palette is nothing short of amazing and I have bought it about 4 times already.

THREE. Last weekend we tried to go to Sand Harbor for the day, but when we arrived at 9 am, they had already closed the parking lot. Ugh. I was hoping since school was back in, not a lot of people would be there, but there were a ton of Californians there. So we decided to walk the new trail that connects Incline Village to Sand Harbor. We walked about 3 1/2 miles out of the 5.



FOUR. On Saturday, Rory and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. Crazy that it has been 6 years already. On Friday, I had a facial and massage that Rory gifted me for our anniversary. It was pure heaven. Then on Saturday, I gave him a card and personalized iron golf ball markers since year 6 is iron. He loved them and will be using them today at his golf tournament.

We also went to a casual dinner. We haven't been to this Asian place in years. At least 2 or more. But they have amazing peel and eat seafood. We over ordered, but we stuffed ourselves. Then we took a walk around and went home. It was a perfect little date night/anniversary celebration evening.


FIVE. Funnies for the week.



I am linking up with AprilA Little Bit of EverythingMeet @ the Barre and Becky.

Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Top 10 Binge Worthy Shows

So I have been playing catch up and reading everyone's posts. Last week, many of my blogger friends posted their Top 10 Binge Worthy Shows and I loved reading theirs and adding new ones to my list. Though many of us had a lot of the same shows.

So here's my list:

1. The Office
I have seen every episode of the Office many times. I even own a couple of season. My girls love watching Michael Scott and often ask to watch it. Maybe that isn't the best idea, but it is just sooo funny.

2. Gossip Girl
I binged this when I was pregnant with the girls and I still love it. I have seen the series three times and I should start it again since they are remaking it. Plus the fashion and Lonely Boy.

3. Friends
Does this even need an explanation? I have seen Friends hundreds of times. I own the series, I watch it all the time and can't get enough of it. I watch it on the road to fall asleep to. Just so comforting and the best lines.

4. Gilmore Girls
I was late to watching this show and binged it after the series was over, but it was still so good. I loved the dynamic between Lorelei and Rory. I watched the mini-series that came out years later and I am hoping for another one as even more questions came about. I definitely need to watch this one again.

5. Parenthood
This was one that I had not expected to like, but I did. Kyle Chandler is amazing in it and so is, well the whole cast. Rory and I watched this together and both loved it. It is for everyone. And the ending. Ugh. So good.

6. Breaking Bad
This is another one that I started late. It was already in season 3 and Rory loved it. I binged the first two seasons and caught up on the third season. This show catches you from the first episode and follows Walter White and his drug making escapades. And then they made a prequel, Better Call Saul which is just as good!

7. Bloodline
This show I found on Netflix and binged very quickly. It also has Kyle Chandler in it and follows a black sheep brother and how he gets his family involved in drugs. The family owns a little beach b&b and has to go to hell and back due to some bad decisions by the black sheep brother.

8. Grey's Anatomy
This show is still on and I feel like the first many seasons are binge worthy. I would totally watch those again. A few of the more recent seasons weren't as good, but last season got better. I am sure you all have at least heard of this show, so I won't go into the details of it.

9. Ozark
Another Netflix show that I fell in love with. Jason Bateman is such a good actor. He is a financial guy who gets brought into money laundering through drugs and has to move his family to the Ozarks. This show is crazy, real and just insane. They are going to release season 3 soon, so binge this one now.

10. Dexter
This is a long time favorite of mine. I watched the first three episodes of Dexter and hated it. This was when it first came out. I couldn't identify with Dexter, so I had a hard time connecting. Then I watched a late episode in season 2 and was intrigued, so I went back and watched it. I still had a hard time identifying with him, but pushed through and it is one of my favorite series ever now. Each season has a different serial killer that we follow Dexter and Miami PD try to catch while Dexter does his own vigilantism.

What are your favorite binge worthy shows?
Monday, August 19, 2019

Recent Reads

*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.

Wow what a crazy month it has been so far. I am checking up on my blog reading, I am answering comments and just trying to get back into the swing of things. I wrote this post on Friday and at that time, I had been home for 4 days out of the last three weeks. Some of it was vacation and some of it was work. But man it feels good to be home.

But when I was away, I did read several books and I am trucking away on another couple as we speak.

It Ends with Us - Colleen Hoover
It Ends with Us - Colleen Hoover

I love Colleen Hoover. I haven't read a book yet that I haven't loved. Here is the synopsis:

Lily hasn't always had it easy, but that's never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She's come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up - she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily's life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.
  
Ryle is assertive, stubborn, and maybe even a little arrogant. He's also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily, but Ryle's complete aversion to relationships is disturbing.
  
As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan - her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

I went back and forth on who I wanted Lily to be with. I loved reading her journal entries from when she was a child and her relationship with Atlas. The book kept me guessing as to what was going to happen with Lily and how the title, It Ends with Us comes into play. This story is raw, honest and beautiful. Definitely read this one!

Ugly Love

Another Colleen Hoover book that I loved.

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she doesn't think it's love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past. 
Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated. 
Promises get broken. 
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly.

I loved Tate from the beginning and I was intrigued by Miles. This book gets going right out the door with Tate coming to live with her brother and bumping into a very drunk Miles at her brother's door. From there you see Tate struggle with an unrequited love towards Miles. Most of the time I wanted to shake Miles so hard and see what was wrong with him. But as the story unfolds you get the reason why he acts this way. It is heartbreaking, UGLY and a good read.

An Anonymous Girl - Greer Hendricks

This book has been on my to read list for awhile. So when it became available through my library, I quickly finished my last book to read this one. I thought this was a good book. I would give it 4 stars out of 5.

Looking to earn some easy cash, Jessica Farris agrees to be a test subject in a psychological study about ethics and morality. But as the study moves from the exam room to the real world, the line between what is real and what is one of Dr. Shields’s experiments blurs.
Dr. Shields seems to know what Jess is thinking… and what she’s hiding.
Jessica’s behavior will not only be monitored, but manipulated.
Caught in a web of attraction, deceit and jealousy, Jess quickly learns that some obsessions can be deadly.
From the first meeting of Jessica through the twists and turns of this research project, I kept guessing who had an actual part in all of this. I am sure that doesn't make sense, but when you read it, it will. Dr. Shield's is creepy, obsessive and just crazy. I couldn't wait to get to the end to see what happens and it is good. Read this.
The Breakdown - B. A. Paris
I loved the Couple Next Door by this author and I have Behind Closed Doors in my que to read. I read this book just last week on my trip and I really enjoyed it. 
If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust?
Cass is having a hard time since the night she saw the car in the woods. It was on the winding rural road, in the middle of a downpour, and a woman was sitting inside—the woman who was killed. She’s been trying to put the crime out of her mind; what could she have done, really? It’s a dangerous road to be on in the middle of a storm, and she probably would have been hurt herself if she’d stopped. Not only that, her husband would be furious if he knew she’d broken her promise not to take that shortcut home.
But since then, she’s been forgetting every little thing. Where she left the car; if she took her pills; even the alarm code.
The only thing she can’t forget is that woman, the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt.
And the silent calls she’s receiving, or the feeling that someone’s watching her…
This book starts off as described above and then the story starts to unfold. She find outs who was murdered, that she knew her (not really a spoiler) and it just tears her apart. It starts to break her down and then the story unfolds even more and you see why. It is a good read. I would give it 4 stars. I didn't see the end coming and had no idea who was making the silent calls.
Into the Water - Paula Hawkins
I had started this book late into my rental. I got about 20% through and it just didn't catch my eye as much as I thought it would. I have read several of Paula Hawkins books and this one just wasn't for me. I probably would have finished it if I had purchased it, but I only rented it, so I never re-rented it to finish.
What books have you read recently? I am now reading The Switch by Sandra Brown.