Friday Finds

Hello! Welcome to Friday! We made it!

How is everyone? Did you make it through the week ok? Or are you just barely scraping by? I'm a little of both. I'm pretty tired and ready to rest (and read) this weekend.

Here's a little of what I've been into this week:

• I'm attempting to give up dairy. Because acne. I'm a grown a$$ woman still dealing with acne. Giving up dairy is my last ditch effort, and then I'm giving up and just accepting that I look like this now. But giving up dairy is hard, guys! I freaking love cheese. And greek yogurt. And dairy is in so many more things that you would think! Ugh. Feel for me for a moment and then move on with your lives, please.
• I accidentally dutch braided Isla's hair the other day when I was trying to french braid it. (I've been trying to master the dutch brain FOREVER and it accidentally happened.) So, of course, I dutch braided it every day for a week.
• I just discovered Josephine from Word Revel through her #bookstagram series on her blog and I just love her blog. There are so many book blogs (or just blogs period) out there, it's very easy to get lost in the shuffle, but her's really stands out. Love it,
• I have no occasion to make these glitter letters, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to.
• I would love to make a butcher block kitchen island like this, but I have no room in my kitchen. Maybe a coffee table?
• Sadie is the queen of at home workouts. I need to try this at home yoga flow.
• Are we friends on Instagram? Find me @bigreadslittlereads. I would love to connect.

That's all I have this week. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Finds

It's been a little while. I'm sorry. BUT, I have some good things coming your way in the next few weeks. I've been reading some really great books.

Anywho, how about some Friday Finds?

• This peach pineapple agua fresca from How Sweet Eats looks amazing.
• How cute are these pineapple oven mitts? I may have to try my hand at sewing just to make these.
• How about these slow cooker burritos? Def going on my meal plan this week.
• Modern Mrs. Darcy's 25 books to read when you feel like the world is falling apart is so timely, because I feel like the world is falling apart.
• I love Janssen's new mantra that basically boils down to just do it.

What have you been up to this week?

Around the Interwebs

Here's what I've been into this week:

Food I need to make soon:

• Sushi Bowls with Sriracha Mayo from Budget Bytes
• Broccoli Cheddar Baked Potatoes, also from Budget Bytes
• Honey Lemon Chicken and Broccoli Bowls from Damn Delicious

I loving Kelle Hampton's summer reading picks for moms and kids and the darling incentive program she found - bribery is king in my house too!

Love these super cool flat iron waves from The Beauty Department. It makes me want to cut my hair somewhat short again, but something tells me it would never look this cool.

I saw this shared from multiple people I follow on Twitter this week.  Pulp Friction: If Barnes & Noble goes out of business, it will be a disaster for book lovers. I frequent Barnes & Noble; it our go-to place after dinner on date night, but I don't buy from them very often because Amazon always tops their prices. I guess I'm going to have to change that and split my dollars between the two. 

Janssen's Tell Me What To Read: Summer 2016 is adding more books to my TBR list (as if it wasn't already long enough.)

Five Steps to Producing a Powerful Photography Series. Endless inspiration from clickinmoms.

Get your pegboard on fleek from A Beautiful Mess.

That's it for me.  What are you into this week?

P.S. It's Paddington Bear's birthday today! Well, one of them at least. He's like the Queen of England that way.

Around the Interwebs...

Still really into the rainbow books.

Here's what else I'm into this week:

I found this blog, Pop Goes the Reader.  Jen is running a series right now called Her Story: Ladies in Literature and it's been so interesting!

HER STORY: LADIES IN LITERATURE is a special, month-long series on Pop! Goes The Reader in which we celebrate the literary female role models whose stories have inspired and empowered us since time immemorial. From Harriet M. Welsch to Anne Shirley, Becky Bloomwood to Hermione Granger, HER STORY: LADIES IN LITERATURE is a series created for women, by women as thirty-nine authors answer the question: “Who’s your heroine?”

 Check that out - it's super cool!

I tried this best way to side part and it has revolutionized my life (or at least how I part my hair.)

I read this article in defense of unlikable women. It came to me at an interesting time - right after my review of The Girl on the Train, where my main complaint was the unlikable characters (all women.) It made me wonder if I would have felt the same if they were men instead of women... I would hope so, but it's definitely something to think about.

Also, I'm joining Our Shared Shelf for the first time this month with a reading of Persepolis. I read Persepolis several years ago, so I'm rereading it for the discussion. Have you read Persepolis? Are you part of any online book clubs?

So, that's all the new things I've been into this week. What about you? Anything interesting to share?

Friday Finds

It's Friday, ya'll! Look! I roy-g-biv-ed our picture books and I LOVE how it looks!

Here's what I've been into this week:

Janssen at Everyday Reading just shared 100 picture books to read this summer. Time to max out that library card! (And then pay a ridiculous amount of late fees because I can never remember to return books on time. Seriously. I owe something like $22 right now. How ridiculous it that? I might as well just buy the dang books.)

I found this through How Sweet Eats, but could you give up TV for a month? I think I would like to, but Netflix is a siren song I can rarely resist.

I joined Jenna Kutcher's 7 Days to Cracking the Instagram Code challenge. It's going pretty well so far.  I've nearly doubled my followers, but more importantly, I'm getting more engagement with my followers - I'm really hoping to build a community where we can talk books and other things we enjoy.  :-)

I'm thinking about quitting my gym and trying the Sweat app instead. Have you used the Bikini Body Guide? Do you workout? How? I struggle so much... Help...

I'm still working my way through The Darkness That Comes Before. I had hoped to finish it this week, but I've gotten almost NO reading done. It's been kind of a crazy week. Maybe I should stop watching so much Netflix...

Speaking of Netflix, what are you watching now? I just finished Parks and Rec for like the third or fourth time and I've started Gilmore Girls again. Funny story about Gilmore Girls, it's kind of ridiculous how many times I've watched that show. When it was still airing, I would get the DVD set of the previous season every year for Christmas. So every Christmas, I was start back at season 1 episode 1 and watch through the season I just received. I really should be able to recite every episode line-by-line by now. Still not my favorite show of all time though - just the most watched. The Office will always and forever hold the title of greatest television show ever made. And I know, because I watch a lot of TV.  Have I told you how many times I've watched Gilmore Girls?

What are you into this week? Watching any good shows on Netflix? Seen any good movies? Reading any good books? Let me know friends!

Around the Interwebs

Some things I'm into this week:

This beautiful half-updo from Kate at The Small Things Blog (or the HAIR GURU as she's known in my head.)  Definitely trying this over the weekend.  (I've have to be at work at 7 every morning - I'm lucky if my hair gets brushed most days.)

Janssen at Everyday Reading covered one of my favorite reads this year, The Nightingale. 

These Mama Confessions had me rolling because that's real life, ya'll.  You are definitely not the only one, Amber.

Are you going to see Me Before You?  Did you read the book?  Did you ugly cry?  Is Sam Claflin hella fine?  The answer to all of those questions should be yes.  Check out this book-to-movie post from Delicious Reads.  

These sausage, potato, and green bean foil packets from Damn Delicious look damn delicious.  I need to add these to my meal plan for next week.

And I basically want to eat everything over at How Sweet Eats.  Seriously - DO NOT visit that site if you're hungry.  It won't end well.  

What kind of blogs do you like to read?  What are you up to this weekend?  Reading any good books lately?  Let me know!