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 today is the last day of July. Time is flying by and I know August will go by quickly as well since we have a lot going on this month. August is a favorite month of mine because it holds my birthday and my anniversary!!

WHAT WE ARE EATING THIS WEEK...

Sunday: Family reunion dinner.

Monday: Family reunion dinner.

Tuesday: Family reunion dinner.

Wednesday: Probably take out since I will be doing laundry all evening and getting ready for the work day on Thursday.

Thursday: It is Rory's first softball game of this summer season, so the girls and I will probably get salads and grilled cheese (for them).

Friday: It is my birthday, so I am going out with friends!

Saturday: Going out with Rory for my birthday dinner!

WHAT I'M REMINISCING ABOUT...

August always makes me reminisce my childhood because I was born in August. And just 4 short days later is my dads birthday. So August is all about birthdays for my family. And then just two weeks later is my wedding anniversary. This year will be #6 for us. What is the item/thing for #6? I need to start thinking of a great gift.

WHAT I'M LOVING...

These Summer days. I feel like Summer is flying by in the blink of an eye, but we are soaking in all the sunshine, beach days and fun that we can. And Lake Tahoe. I am always loving Lake Tahoe. I feel so blessed to live near the most amazing lake ever!

And check out these beach babies at Tahoe.

WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO...

July brought us the 4th which we spent in Tahoe.

Then the celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe followed by a week of being a solo mommy. The girls first movie in a theater. And then a family reunion. I didn't post many weekend updates this month. I did post on IG though. So follow me there.

 Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton from Fresh Prince)

 Andy Dalton from the Cincinnati Bengals

 The girls seeing Toy Story 4

Park Life

WHAT I'M DREADING...

Just how hot it has been and how hot it will be in Phoenix. Ugh.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON...

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

WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT...

Our next Graeagle trip and the start of football. Our first Nevada home game is August 30th against Purdue. I can't wait.

WHAT I'M WATCHING/READING...

So I have been pretty bad lately. I got several books on loan from my library and I would start some of them and not finish. I just couldn't get into them. Like Into the Water. But I did read one book this month and it was It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. If you remember correctly, I LOVED Verity by the same author. I read the book in less than 24 hours. It was that good. Read it.

As for TV, I have been watching my usuals like Jane the Virgin, Big Little Lies, Master Chef, Younger and The Killing. The Killing came out several years ago, but it is available on Prime. I binged the first three seasons and I am on season 4 now. Soooo good. 

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO...

It is pretty quiet around here.

WHAT I'M WEARING...

I have been shopping a lot lately, so you can read my Friday Favorites for the month and see all the goodness that I purchased.

WHAT I'M DOING THIS WEEKEND...

It is my birthday weekend, so I am celebrating ME and then heading out on a work trip on Sunday.

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

August brings my birthday, my dads birthday, my anniversary, our second Graeagle trip and FOOTBALL!

WHAT ELSE IS NEW...

Not much. 

BONUS:

Would You Rather?

Last week, Dara wrote a post (that was linked up) with the topic of Would You Rather? I love this idea and I loved reading her answers. So I thought I would answer the same questions. Enjoy. And if you decide to answer them, let me know. I want to hear your answers.

1. Would you rather start your day without coffee or start your day knowing you had to stay up until 3 AM?

I like this question. If it is a weekday, then I would rather start my day without coffee. Weekend, stay up until 3 am.

2. Would you rather spend the day at a nude beach where you don’t know anyone there or spend the day at your neighborhood beach (or pool I guess!) wearing a skimpy bikini?

I would go with skimpy bikini. I just don't want to have to look at everyone else's parts. Ha.

3. Would you rather lead a glitter craft party for 6 year olds or put on a home fireworks display with 13 year olds?

I would totally do the fireworks display!

4. Would you rather wake up and discover a new space in your house that you didn’t know about or discover a bank account that you didn’t know you had with $10,000 in it?

I am going to go with the $10,000. Then I can renovate a space into my house to make it better or go on a vacation!

5. If you had one child permanently stuck at a certain age, would you rather have them stuck at 3 weeks, 18 months, or 3 years?

Oh geez. This is a tough one. Each age definitely has its ups and downs, but I am going to go with 18 months. At 3 weeks, they don't sleep a normal schedule at all, but I love those baby snuggles. And at 3 years old, they back talk, throw tantrums and are potty training or still having some accidents. I think 18 months is a pretty great age. They are walking, eating and finding out who they are.

6. Would you rather change a poopy toddler diaper or clean up dog poop from a rug?

The toddler diaper. You can throw that away and get rid of it easy. The dog poop is going to smell for a long time.

7. Would you rather have a huge surprise birthday party thrown for you or have everyone forget your birthday?

I would go with the surprise party. I am not a big birthday celebrator, but it would suck to not have anyone even mention it or think of me on my birthday.

8. Would you rather take a job you are a little under qualified for or one that you are way over qualified for?

If money is no object in this then I would take one that I am under qualified for, so I can work to becoming the best at my job and always have a challenge.

9. Would you rather have a full house of guests for a week or be alone in your house for a week?

I would rather be alone for a full week in my house.

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.

I am soooo happy that it is Friday. We have had a busy week and I am ready for the weekend. I have a busy couple weeks ahead of me and I am trying to mentally prepare myself for it. We have a family reunion, my birthday, a work trip to Phoenix and San Diego and then our second Graeagle trip. Then it is my 6th wedding anniversary. Seriously, so busy between now and mid August.

Onto Friday Favorites and Happenings.

ONE. Oh the joys of home ownership. Last year, we bought a new washer because ours basically stopped working, washing and smelled disgusting. We always use Affresh Washing Machine Tabs on it, but after 9 years, it just wasn't working anymore. Well then two weekends ago, my dryer decided to stop drying. The lights and the drum still worked, but the heating element did not. We cleaned out our lint traps (front and in the tubing/wall behind) and the piping to the outside, but it still didn't work. And it just happened to stop the day before Rory left to NYC for work. So the girls and I had to hang dry, put clothes on beds and furniture and do laundry basically daily. It sucked. And we are still in that boat. Ugh.

Last weekend, we ventured out to Home Depot and bought a new dryer. I was thinking we would spend $400 on it. Nope. We wanted ones with sanitizing features, athletic clothes drying and the steaming feature to get wrinkles out of things. So we dropped just over $800 and then with taxes and parts it was over $900. Ugh. Home ownership is rough. Ha. But this is the one we got if anyone is interested. And Home Depot has 30% off appliances.

LG 7.3 cu. ft. Electric Dryer with Turbo Steam

TWO. So I mentioned on Tuesday that I also ordered the Spanx Faux Leather Leggings from Nordstrom. I got them that night, tried them on and they were huge winners. I ordered a size medium even though the sizing said small for me. But I also read reviews saying they were too compressing when they were your correct size and they could roll down when you sat down. So I went with a medium and I am happy. They were comfy, long and held the tummy in.

Now I know they are sold out at Nordstrom, but you can get them on Spanx's website for the same price. And if you sign up for their emails, you can get another 10% off. That makes them $58.41 which is even less than I paid.

Once again, I am not a fashion blogger and laughed when I saw these photos because my face says it all. I have no idea what I am doing. Ha.

THREE. So J Crew got me again. Last time, I ordered a floral dress on clearance and it is a hit. I am wearing it right now as I type this. Well I bought another dress (mainly for my work trip) and I got it for $15.

J Crew Striped Off-the-Shoulder Dress

Then I ordered a pair of drawstring chambray shorts ($8) and a pair of the Gigi dress pants that I wear to work all the time.

J Crew Chambray Shorts

J Crew Gigi Pants

FOUR. This isn't sponsored or an affiliate link, but I wanted to share something with you all. We need a rental car for an upcoming trip and we both are Hertz members. Since we don't have many points left (we have used them on countless trips), we were going to just rent through them and pay for it. We have done that before several times. But then I remembered Costco does travel packages. So I went onto Costco's travel site to see how the rates compared to just booking through a rental company. The difference was insane. To get a car through Costco, it is costing me $300 and that includes all the fees and returning to a different airport location. When I checked Hertz, Enterprise and Alamo on their websites even with some coupons, it was over $500. Costco Travel for the win!

FIVE. Funnies for the week.

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

Have a great weekend!

oNecklace: Personalized Jewelry

Do you ever see those cute bar necklaces? I have seen them in a lot of places, but never got one. I have always wanted one with my girls names on them. So when oNecklace contacted me to see if I wanted to collaborate with them, I jumped on it.

oNecklace is an online jewelry shop where you can personalize almost any piece of jewelry. oNecklace has been featured in British Vogue as well as the tv show, Pretty Little Liars. And we all know how much I loved that show.

Anyways, I started browsing their website and immediately picked out the double bar necklace in rose gold with the box chain. I had my girls names, Avery and Sutton added to the bars. When I received the necklace and saw it, it was perfect.

oNecklace Vertical Bar Necklace

As you can see the names are cut out, they stand out and are beautiful.

Next, I started browsing the bangles. I have always seen an inspirational quote on a bangle and wanted one for myself. Once again, I chose rose gold and a thin band. And then I added the quote, "Live What You Love". A close second was "The Best is Yet to Come", but it was too long for the bangle I chose. The bangle I chose, allows you to add up to 5 words. I love both of those quotes and plan to get the other one on another bangle later on.

 Inspirational Bangle

Both pieces of jewelry are very sturdy, well made, beautiful, 24k gold plated and of great quality. 

Thank you oNecklace for sponsoring this post. All opinions are 100% honest and completely my own.

What I Thought of My Nordstrom Purchases

* 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 got a few of my packages in from the Nordstrom sale and I thought I would share my thoughts with you all. I even included selfies. Be kind. I am in no way a fashion blogger, nor do I know how to take selfies.

BP. Longline Cardigan - Normally $49, Sale $31.90 KEPT

I got this and I love it. It fits well, will be perfect for the Fall and Winter and was soft.

 BP. Longline Cardigan

 Walter wanted in on the photos

Here is a close up of the knit

Sam Edelman Riza Flats - Normally $109.95, Sale $69.90 RETURNED

I didn't take a picture of these and I don't know why not. I took them out of the box and the front of both shoes as smashed a bit and had indentions in them. I am sure they would come out as I let them air out, but when I put them on, it looked like I was wearing witch shoes. Maybe because I wear a size 8 in them, but they didn't flatter my foot. If they were rounded toes, I am sure I would have loved them more. I did like the wavy sides of them.

Sam Edelman Riza Flats

Charlotte Tilbury Smoky Eye Palette - $55 KEPT

I love everything from Charlotte Tilbury that I have tried so far. I opened this right up, saw the colors in person and fell in love. I even used it on Saturday morning. Totally worth it and I feel like I will use all of the colors which rarely happens.

 Charlotte Tilbury Smoky Eye Palette

BP. Long Leopard Cardigan - Sale $45.90 RETURNED

So this cardigan was hyped up by all the bloggers. I got it, pulled it out of the packaging and was a little disappointed in the quality of the cardigan. It felt like it would pill after one wash. It was soft and I liked that, but I just couldn't keep it for $45.90.

 BP. Long Leopard Cardigan

 Don't mind that my top doesn't match.

Love By Design Chenille Sweater - Normally $39, Sale $25.90 RETURNED

When I was ordering this shirt, I noticed it said it was a juniors size, but had sizing for women, so I ordered what I would need in the women's, size medium. Well I got this sweater and it was incredibly soft. I put it on and my girls loved it, but I did not. It is more of a crop top on me, so sadly it has to go back. If you are 5'3" or shorter, this sweater is perfect for you.

Love By Design Chenille Sweater 

Something Navy Easy Tee - Sale $15.90 KEPT

This isn't one that I put on my original post, but I did buy this shirt after seeing some great reviews from other bloggers. I am not a Something Navy fan, but decided to give this shirt a try and if I didn't like it, I could return it. Well, I actually like it. It is a great price, it has some stretchiness to it and has a higher neck. I got it in the black.

Something Navy Easy Tee

Sorry about the smudges in the mirror. I didn't notice them until I was writing this post. Kids, I tell you.

Hanky Panky Underwear - Normally $22, Sale $16.90 KEPT

I have several pairs of these and stock up on them each sale.

Hanky Panky Underwear

I still haven't gotten my Spanx Faux Leather Leggings in yet. They come in tonight. And they are sold out at Nordstrom already, but you can get them at Bloomingdales for the same price.