Friday, you could not have come sooner! My husband was away on business most of the week, and let me tell you, being a single parent is no joke. I am utterly spent. It’s amazing how having an extra pair of hands at the end of the day can make life so much easier. I definitely needed a little pep talk around dinner and bath time, and quickly reached for a cocktail once everyone was tucked away for the night. My hats off to all you amazing women who do this on a regular basis. I will happily give you a virtual cheers for this Mommy Happy Hour.
I have some awesome stuff to share with you, and don’t forget to enter to win $100 to Sephora in my blogiversary giveaway!
♥ Life After Life by Kate Atkinson – People are always asking me for book recommendations. Most of the time, I have to dig back into some of my favorites to make a recommendation that I feel a variety of personalities would enjoy. Life After Life, however, is the kind of book that I would recommend to nearly anyone. It is a deeply felt, witty, dark, joyful, complex weaving about life and how the smallest choices we make can have the most extraordinary consequences. If you are looking for a moving and memorable summer read, I would definitely check this one out. Full review HERE.
♥ 10 Reasons Running Doesn’t Suck As Much As You Think – A hysterical, and completely true post by my good friend Meg. You will love her!
♥ Dinner at MaisonO. One of my in-the-know friends picked this for a girls night out this week. MaisonO is a modern Japanese Izakaya in Soho offering small plate dining in a very hipster cool space. They are known for their grilled meats and veggies, but also had a great sushi selection and lots of fun, inventive drinks. The pricing was very reasonable, the service attentive, and the atmosphere lively but cozy. Great spot for groups.
♥ Goodies from Momofuku Milk Bar. This is a must visit sweets spot in NYC (also now in Toronto). The cake balls will blow your mind (birthday cake being my personal favorite). The picture above is of the candy bar pie (which is decadently fabulous in its own right), since the cake balls were eaten before I could even reach for a camera. Oops!
♥ Drinking Hitachino White Ale. This beer isn’t easy to find (I’ve seen it at random restaurants and also at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods), but is one of my absolute favorites. It’s light and crisp and perfect for summertime.
Since we are having a big Sephora Giveaway, I thought I would share some of their products that I’m currently loving:
♥ Stila CC Color Correcting Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 20 – Perfect for summer when you need a little coverage, but not as heavy as foundation.
♥ Sephora Ultra Shine Lip Gloss in Shimmery Blushing – Beautiful, flattering color and the gloss has a nice, smooth feel.
♥ The Bombshell – Easily creates those gorgeous, beachy waves.
♥ Sephora Colorful Palette in Taupe Model – Love to bring this with me when I’m traveling, since the colors work well for day or night. I also find these shadows have great staying power.
What’s your favorite beauty product? Do you tend to go more low key with make-up during the summer?
Have a great weekend and enjoy the summer weather – can’t believe we are almost done with July!
You read so much! I love it! Do you buy all your books in hard copies? Or have some sort of device..kindle, iPad? If you buy, you must have a library FULL! Its awesome! I wish we lived closer so I could join your monthly book club! 😛
This is the third time Ive seen this beer, now I have to find it! Hopefully my local TJ’s carries it! Beer is probably one of my must-have, favorite summer things!
One more reason I wish I lived closer..its NYC! You always talk about the most amazing restaurants..I LOVE going out to eat, I would go crazy with all the options! How do you ever decide?! haha
Alaina @ Fabtastic Eats recently posted..Peanut Butter Swirled White Chocolate Ice Cream
I am highly susceptible to “book grip” and will stay up late reading a lot of nights. It’s a problem! I do like real books, but also have a kindle that I use a lot too. Kindle is awesome for good deals and I love indie books (self published ebooks), so it’s great for those. And I tend to give away books, since space is at a premium in nyc. *sigh*
At TJ look for a big bottle (almost like a wine bottle), because tha’s how I’ve seen it sold there. And I TOTALLY wish you lived closer! We would have so much fun!! Hubs and I keep a running list of restaurants to eat at – so we would have lots of great options for you.
A good book sounds great – been struggling through one and need a break. I too love the palette in taupe! It works with everything! Glad the hubby is back safe – must admit, when they’re gone a lot you learn to adapt, but then when they return, it’s even harder having them around. LOL
I think my most-used make-up item is mascara, but my favorite would be a tie between lip glosses and nail polishes because I like trying new colors.
It hasn’t been a conscious decision, but I’ve definitely been skipping make-up more often this summer.
Claire @ Lemon Jelly Cake recently posted..Blueberry Cobbler
I’m loving my Juice Beauty makeup right now and I definitely where less makeup in the summer. Just powder, blush, mascara during the week and generally nothing on the weekends. Have a great weekend!
Em @ Love A Latte recently posted..Cool Air & Run Chat Four
Thanks Em, hope you had a great weekend! I’ll have to look into Juice Beauty!