Friday Favorites

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Happy last day of January. We survived. I feel like January was about 5 months long, hence my weekly funnies below. This month has kicked my butt. I am ready for February, change and hopefully life settling down a bit.

ONE. The biggest Friday favorite for me is that my 49ers are in the Super Bowl this weekend. And I am hoping for a win after 25 years. I have been the biggest fan since I was a little girl. It only took one trip to an NFL shop on Pier 39 to make me a Niners fan. I have stuck with them through the many awful seasons. And to think we went from 4-12 to 13-3 and have won all of our playoff games. I just can't wait for this weekend!!!

image via

Yes, my husband is aware of my love for Jimmy G. No shame.

TWO. Since I haven't been writing weekend updates lately, I thought I would share some fun that that girls and I had last weekend. Rory has been in Japan for the last week, so we have been trying to keep busy and have fun.

Last Saturday, the girls had a birthday party at their favorite trampoline park. I had never been to this one, but they often go with my in-laws. It seems like it would be fun, but it was so packed. I plan to take the girls back on a weekday when it won't be as crazy. But there was so much to do and the girls had a blast.

THREE. Saturday evening, I took the girls to the Nevada mens basketball game. Rory has season tickets with his mom and since he was out of town, I figured we should go. Another friend of ours gave us his two tickets, so the girls and I went for free. My in-laws came as well. We had lots of popcorn, burgers and some sweet treats at the game. And the Pack won, so that is always a plus. The girls had a great time!!

FOUR. You will all be happy to know that Walter is doing better. He finished his antibiotics and probiotics on Monday and he is back to his ole self. I am so thankful it wasn't worse than it was and he is back to normal. I captured this picture with my little guy.

FIVE. Weekly funnies.

I am linking up with April, A Little Bit of Everything, Meet @ the Barre and Becky.

Have a great weekend!

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.

I can't believe we are through the first month of 2020. This month has flown by. I think it is because we are decompressing from the holidays, almost done with our renovation and Rory has been on a work trip. And all the stress, ha.

Onto this month's What's Up Wednesday...

WHAT WE ARE EATING THIS WEEK...
Sunday: Weeknight Spaghetti Bolognese (my MIL made dinner!)
Monday: Take-out after cleaning and moving my house back.
Tuesday: Take-out as it will be our first night back in our house.
Wednesday: Take-out as I have no groceries and the girls have swim class.
Thursday: Take-out as I have no food at the house.
Friday: Hopefully will be able to cook dinner at home since Rory will be home from his work trip.
Saturday: I have a baby shower and then family dinner after.

WHAT I'M REMINISCING ABOUT... Nothing really. Ok, maybe the thoughts of living in a house that isn't being renovated. I am sooo over the renovation this time and really hope we are almost done.

WHAT I'M LOVING... I love my NeilMed Sinus Rinse. This has saved me this winter season. Yes, I did get strep, but my nose has been pretty amazing. I can breathe, my nose is clear and I have been rinsing out all the crud that is in my house from the renovation.

NeilMed Sinus Rinse

I love wearing leggings when I can which is pretty much only on the weekends. Yes, I wear jeans more, but I love a good comfy pair of leggings. These are amazing. I cleaned my entire house and moved my entire house back in while wearing these leggings and they were awesome. You can't see through them, they hold their shape all day, they hold their color after washing and don't snag. Real winner!

Reflex 90 Degree Leggings

WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO...Renovating our house. That has pretty much consumed our existence. Rory has been on a long work trip and we are just over here trying to survive through the renovation. 

WHAT I'M DREADING... After all of my tests, we came to the conclusion that surgery is the best option. So I am sort of dreading that. I am happy that my pain will be gone (fingers crossed) and hopefully my blood test results start to normalize. My surgery is Friday February 7th, so I am dreading the countdown and the actual surgery.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON... Work, putting my house back together, cleaning my house and getting things back to normal.

WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT... Living in a basically brand new house, having my husband home, getting my body healed and hopefully start traveling for work again!!

WHAT I'M WATCHING/READING... Last month, I read these two books and then I quickly read Her and now I am reading Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover. I have another book that I just received that I want to get started on, so hopefully I can read Maybe Someday quickly.

I am watching all of my usual favorites like: This is Us, Grey's Anatomy, Riverdale, The Bold Type and Botched. I can't wait for Ozark Season 3 to come out and Better Call Saul!

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO... Pandora.

WHAT I'M WEARING... It has been very weird weather here. We had weather in the low 60s this last weekend, but then yesterday it was in the 40s and VERY windy. So I have been wearing a lot of sweaters, jeans, leggings and work pants. I did get three new shirts from J Crew and I am really loving the sweater I got. It has the perfect bubble sleeve to it and the jewels add the prettiest touch.

 J Crew Sweater with Jewels

I am also wearing my new Sorel boots since we have had some rain lately. These are amazing and super cute too.

Sorel Emelie Conquest Boots

WHAT I'M DOING THIS WEEKEND... I have a baby shower on Saturday and then Sunday is the Super Bowl and you best bet that I will be watching since my 49ers are in it!!!

I asked around if I should wear a dress to the baby shower and I got a resounding yes. I didn't wear one to my best friends shower last March, but decided I should this weekend. Since it is still winter, I opted for a fall/wintery color that I can wear to work. I purchased this dress.

DB Moon Long Sleeve Dress

WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH... Having my surgery be over with, date night at a Steakhouse since Rory has been on a foreign trip, having my house renovation be done, relaxing at home, spending time with the family and hopefully going on a work trip at the end of the month!

WHAT ELSE IS NEW...Not much.

Show Me Your Books

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I had every intention on reading four books this month, but then renovations, Rory's big work trip and Walter having problems got in the way, and I only got half way through my third book. Maybe in February, I will be able to read three books.

The Last House Guest - Megan Miranda

The Last House Guest - Megan Miranda

I had been waiting for this book for months. Just like the next book. I read All the Missing Girls about a year or so ago and really liked it. This book was a quick read for me.

The book just dives right in. Avery and Sadie are best friends. They meet at a party that is set up after all the tourists leave at the end of Summer. They are inseparable. And then Sadie dies. They believe she died by suicide, but did she? The book explores Avery and what her life is like after her best friend dies. She continues managing the books and properties for Sadie's parents for a year and then when everyone is back for Sadie's one year anniversary of her death, the secrets start coming out.

I know this book has mixed reviews, but I did enjoy it. It is a good Summer read (even though I read it in the Winter) and I didn't figure out the whole twist. Just part of it towards the end of the book. I wouldn't call this book a thriller, more like a mystery.

I would rate this book a 3 1/2.

Here is the synopsis:
Littleport, Maine, has always felt like two separate towns: an ideal vacation enclave for the wealthy, whose summer homes line the coastline; and a simple harbor community for the year-round residents whose livelihoods rely on service to the visitors.

Typically, fierce friendships never develop between a local and a summer girl—but that’s just what happens with visitor Sadie Loman and Littleport resident Avery Greer. Each summer for almost a decade, the girls are inseparable—until Sadie is found dead. While the police rule the death a suicide, Avery can’t help but feel there are those in the community, including a local detective and Sadie’s brother, Parker, who blame her. Someone knows more than they’re saying, and Avery is intent on clearing her name, before the facts get twisted against her.

Another thrilling novel from the bestselling author of All the Missing Girls and The Perfect Stranger, Megan Miranda’s The Last House Guest is a smart, twisty read with a strong female protagonist determined to make her own way in the world.

The First Mistake - Sandie Jones

The First Mistake - Sandie Jones

I had first mistake on hold for a really long time, so when it became available, I had no idea what the book was about. I quickly looked on Amazon and knew that I was going to like it. There are a few twists in this book and I figured out some of them, but I was completely surprised by one of them. I knew something was up, but wasn't sure who to trust. 

Alice loses her first husband to an accident and she is on husband number two. He comes into her life 3 months after her first husband dies and he seems like the perfect husband. That is for about 9 years. And then Alice starts to think he is cheating or something is wrong. She turns to her friend Beth for comfort, but has even more questions. Who can she trust?

I would give this book 3 1/2 stars only because I predicted a big twist pretty early on. It is a good book though and worth entertaining.

Here is the synopsis:

THE WIFE: For Alice, life has never been better. With her second husband, she has a successful business, two children, and a beautiful house.

HER HUSBAND: Alice knows that life could have been different if her first husband had lived, but Nathan’s arrival into her life gave her back the happiness she craved.

HER BEST FRIEND: Through the ups and downs of life, from celebratory nights out to comforting each other through loss, Alice knows that with her best friend Beth by her side, they can survive anything together. So when Nathan starts acting strangely, Alice turns to Beth for help. But soon, Alice begins to wonder whether her trust has been misplaced . . .

The first mistake could be her last.

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.

Some of the below items are not necessarily favorites, but happenings in our life right now. Let's just say that 2020 has really been a crazy start to the year and decade.

ONE. What a week it has been. Do you ever feel like you are just being swallowed up by life. Yep, that is me right now. I am stressed, tired, worried and just want things to normalize a bit in my life. Dramatic a bit? Probably, but life has just been kicking me. I know some of it is my doing, but wow, it just came on all at once. I can't wait for these renovations to be over with. They are kicking my butt. We spent last weekend moving everything out of our house into the kitchen (which was remodeled three years ago) and the garage. We also had to put plastic up over all of our belongings. 

Then we have moved into my in-laws house which has been amazing. We get home cooked meals every day, we get the support and help of my in-laws and get to be with our dog. But being with our dog has maybe caused him some unnecessary stress.

Tuesday when we got home from work, Walter was acting weird. He kept wanting to be let outside to go to the bathroom, he wouldn't sit still, he was pacing and just not himself. He did cuddle Sutton for awhile and we thought he was fine. Until he wasn't.

We were eating dinner and towards the end, I called Walter over to me and he got up from sitting on a door mat and there was a lot of blood and mucus. We quickly scooped him up and checked where the bleeding was. It was coming from his booty.

We cleaned him up, and I called my friend who is a vet surgeon. She didn't answer, so I turned to google. It was bright red blood, so that meant it was new and probably from his anus or rectum. We took him to the emergency vet to be seen. They examined him and said that he had a lot of blood in his rectum upon using the thermometer and doing a rectal exam. They recommended blood work, x-rays, an overnight IV and to go from there. We said let's start with the blood work and go from there. 

Walter's blood work came back normal except that he was dehydrated and his blood cell count was high, but the percentage of blood was normal for his size which means he had thicker blood since he was dehydrated. We went ahead with a 90 minute outpatient IV next.

He responded well to his IV, so we were able to take him home that evening. We were given antibiotics and probiotics, some bland wet food and care instructions. He was doing better that evening and was a bit restless between 2 am and 4 am, but he was very active and happy.

 From my story on IG.

Walter the next morning.

Walter is still on his bland diet, taking his meds and doing better. Thank goodness. I can't imagine anything happening to my little dude. 

TWO. We are currently shopping for dressers. Well, we have been shopping for them for about two months now, but I can't seem to get these babies on sale. During Black Friday and Cyber Monday, they had a sale on these dressers, but since then it has only been about $80 off each item and that is just a special. Does anyone know when Pottery Barn will be having a furniture sale?

These are the two dressers we are looking to buy.

 Brookdale Tall Dresser

Brookdale Extra Wide Dresser

THREE. I love a good pair of leggings and I usually wear leggings from VS Pink, Prana or Lululemon, but after so many people raved about these Reflex leggings, I decided to give them a try. The reviews said that you can't see through them, they are high waisted and suck everything in, the don't dig in, cause chaffing and are comfy. I thought since they were $27.99 per pair, I would try them out. Verdict: they are pretty amazing. I have worn them a few times and washed them and they are still pretty amazing. They will definitely be worn when I travel and on the weekends. Do yourself a favor and try these out. For reference, I bought these in a size small. 

Reflex 90 Degree Leggings

FOUR. Weekly Funnies.

I am linking up with April, A Little Bit of Everything, Meet @ the Barre and Becky.

Have a great weekend!

Disneyland Part 3

We left off at the end of day 2. You can catch up on day 1 (here) and day 2 (here).

Day 3 started off in California Adventure. We headed right over to the Radiator Springs Cars ride and only had to wait about 15 minutes. We LOVED that ride and rode it several times that day.

The girls had Minnie Mouse outfits to wear that were capris and short sleeves, but it wasn't as warm as they forecasted, so they opted for these outfits instead.

We spent the morning in California Adventure riding our favorite rides and then had lunch on the Pier at the soup place, Pacific Wharf Cafe. The soup was really good. Then we headed into Ghirardelli's Soda and Chocolate Shop for some treats.

We then headed back into Disneyland. We went straight to Thunder Mountain since we didn't go on that one the first day.

 The girls waiting in the Thunder Mountain line.

We met up with my parents after this and went back over to FantasyLand. We rode the carousel and a few other rides in there and I talked the girls out of riding the Tea Cups as I was worried about Sutton getting sick on them.

We then headed over to Toon Town to meet Minnie and Mickey again.

Minnie's House was up next.

Then we went over to the Gadget's Go Coaster. After the rollercoaster, the girls played in Chip 'n Dale's Treehouse.

After that, my parents took the girls to the Star Wars Land, so Rory and I could go grab some Fast Passes for later in the day. We took the girls tickets and go some on their accounts too.

We were going to get one for the Matterhorn, but the wait was short, so Rory and I just rode it.

Then we headed over to Hyper Space Mountain and grabbed a Fast Pass. Then we headed over to Indian Jones Adventure and grabbed another Fast Pass. We checked on the girls and my parents and they were still waiting in line, so Rory and I went over to Splash Mountain. We got pretty soaked!

 The Haunted Mansion

We met up with my parents and the girls again and my parents rode Indian Jones Adventure as their Fast Pass was in effect at that time. We took the girls on the Jungle Cruise. After the Jungle Cruise, we met up with my parents and they took the girls back to the hotel for dinner and to rest. This was around 5:30 pm. We said our goodbyes near the Main Street tree and then we had the rest of the evening together.

We had dinner in Disneyland in the French Quarter area and then went over to Star Wars Land and rode the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.

Then we headed back to the Tiki Juice Bar for Dole Whip. Rory had a churro, so I enjoyed this all to myself. I did give him a bite though. So worth it.

Then we walked over to Indiana Jones to use our Fast Pass, but saw this beauty again.

After Indiana Jones, we went over to Hyper Space Mountain and used that Fast Pass. Rory loved that ride and wished we had the chance to ride it more. I told him it was one of my favorite rides...and next time to listen to me when I say we need to go on it.

 I love Rory's face in this one and the people in front of us knew exactly where the camera was and to pose.

We made it over to Sleeping Beauty's Castle in time for the "show" at 8:30 pm. They lit up the sides the buildings with snowflakes and shot out snow over everyone. It was so beautiful!

Rory and I then headed back over to California Adventure for the World of Color show and some rides over there. We grabbed some beers and people watched for awhile. Then we went back to the Radiator Springs Cars ride and the fireworks were going off in Disneyland at that time.

We found a spot to watch the World of Color Show and within 5 minutes, they let a bunch of us in the VIP area, so we had great seats to watch the rest of the show.

The show was really beautiful and they played Christmas music to it. So worth it. After the show, we made our way back to our shuttle and took a picture with this guy.

At this time, it was setting in that our trip was coming to an end. Rory had told me on our way down to LA that he wasn't looking forward to actual Disneyland. He was excited to see the excitement through the girls eyes. But after spending 3 days in the parks, he LOVED it and said we are definitely going back. What a change of tune.

We made it back to the hotel and my mom left our room and went back to theirs. The girls didn't make it to watch the fireworks from my parents hotel room and were exhausted.

We got up, packed and headed to the airport only to be delayed due to major fog. We had a three hour delay from Orange County to Las Vegas, so we hung out at the airport. We ended up getting home just after 4 pm. We were supposed to be home around 1 pm. We picked up our dog, headed home and started unpacking. It was the end of our amazing trip. I can't wait to go back!

The girls got Anna and Elsa dolls the last day. They also got other items, but the dolls were their favorite.

So what else do you want to know about our trip? Tricks and tips? Places to eat?