Blogger Love v.43 + Chits & Giggles

Happy Friday friends!  I hope you all had a great week - I know I did.  It's finally summer here and we have been taking full advantage of the sun and heat.

In blogland, I announced the beginning of Blogging: A to Z, which is a series I'm starting with tips on what has worked for me while starting and growing this blog.  I'm excited to hear what works for you too!

I also shared my exciting night with New Kids on the Block with you all - and I'm still in love with them as I was 25 years ago.

If you haven't entered yet, there is a giveaway going on for a Target giftcard!

Today, I have a special blogger to introduce you to - Kristyn from Chits & Giggles.  Kristyn writes about blogging tips to book reviews and everything in between.  Want to learn a little more?  Keep reading below!

You have some great book reviews on your blog.  What are some of your favorites, and why?

Reading is something that I absolutely love to do.  Just ask my husband...he doesn't understand how I can just read book after book.  List out my favorite books is going to be so hard.  I have reviewed so many books, but I think that some of my favorites are ones that I remember.  Either something shocking happens (like in Gone Girl), or the story just resonates with me (like in Firefly Lane).  

I also think that where you are in life can affect how you feel about a certain book.  There are books that I enjoyed, but probably would have loved much better if I had been in a different place in my life.

How did you come up with your blog name?  What were some of the other options?

My husband (boyfriend at the time) gets full credit for coming up with Chits & Giggles.  He loved that it was a play on words and that it was something memorable.  I just liked that he came up with it randomly one night.  My old blog name was complete BLAH and it needed to be changed.  I have stuck with my husband's suggestion ever since then. 

What's the best piece of blogging advice you've received?

I think the best thing I realized too late was that to be consistent doesn't mean you have to post 5 times a week.  I remember there were all these bloggers saying you had to post 5 times a week, and I'm sorry but that just doesn't work for everyone.  I can't come up with decent content that often, so I really suffered in that arena for a while.  Now, I post M-W-F and usually have my week's posts up by Sunday night.  That just is such a relief and something you need to do if you want to keep a home life/blog balance.  

If you could go back in time, is there any part of your life you would do-over?  When is it and why?

I think I would change high school.  I loved parts of it, but I was so involved in colorguard and winterguard that I couldn't really have a life in high school.  I was also so busy that I couldn't really get into trouble - I barely had time to breathe, let alone start drinking alcohol.  

 Thanks Kristyn!

I also wanted to share some of my favorite posts with you for Blogger Love!

"How to Manage Multiple Instagram Accounts" by Love the Here and Now

"Anyway." by Flowers in My Hair

"Facebook: The Beast Has Died" by Chits & Giggles

Link up your favorites below, and find some new to you bloggers this weekend!

An InLinkz Link-up

Introducing: Blogging A to Z

First things first, I'm the realest I'm not a blogging expert.  I don't think any of us are.  Each of us knows what works for our blogs, and know that those things vary from blogger to blogger.  With that said, I have found some things that work great for me over the past year, so I am here to share those with you!

Every couple of weeks, I will share a tip or two - making my way from A to Z.  With some help from Melissa, I've come up with a list of items to share, but I'm happy to share my thoughts on specific items you would like to hear about.  Let me know in the comments if you have any burning questions!

I've also changed a few things to my sponsor program, which will be in effect starting in June.  I am planning on a new way to highlight you, my sponsors, which I think will be fun!  If you'd like to be a part of it, check out all of the options here.

I can't wait for the first post in this new series - check back next week! 

Dreams Do Come True (+Giveaway!)

This past weekend was a big one for me.  If you follow me on Instagram, you already saw that I spent Sunday night with my five main guys from childhood.  Those guys would be New Kids on the Block - and I'm here to tell you that it was just as amazing as my 10 year old self had wished it would be!

The majority of my elementary school years were consumed with NKOTB.  I had t-shirts, oversized buttons, a sleeping bag, countless posters, and of course all of the cassette tapes.  Joey was (is) my favorite - after all, he was one of my first crushes.  Every Friday night for a year straight, my best friend and I would have sleepovers and watch the videos of their concerts.  We'd dance and sing along with them, wishing and hoping that they would come to our hometown and we could see them.  They never did (or, my parents have a lot of explaining to do), so that dream eventually faded.

When my besties and I learned that they were coming to Chicago, we jumped at the chance to see them.  Even better, Nelly and TLC were opening - which was a complete college flashback and absolutely enjoyed.

After dancing and singing/yelling for three hours, my ears were ringing and I was exhausted but it was all so worth it.  My head was flooded with memories of my childhood and it reminded me of the days where my biggest concerns were getting my next perm or catching the ice cream truck in time.

I might have waited 25 years for this moment, but it was worth the wait!  Here is my main man, Joey, singing directly to me.  Isn't it obvious?

Now, on to your dreams!  Who doesn't dream of Target - more specifically, free giftcards to Target?  I've joined with six other amazing ladies to bring you a $70 Target gift card! Enter below and good luck!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blogger Love v.42 & SEDiva Abroad!

It's Friday - can you hear my excitement?!  Another week has flown by, another weekend to enjoy.  Before we get to enjoying the (hopefully) nice weather, let's look back at the week in blogland - I have some great favorite posts for you!

Also, I have a blogger I'd like you to meet - Sarah Elizabeth from SEDiva Abroad.  Sarah Elizabeth writes about life abroad, how she got her name, and other fun adventures.

To get to know her a little better, Sarah Elizabeth is answering some fun questions for us!

In your opinion, what is the best part of living in Ireland? How long have you been there?
Irish people - like Americans, actually like most people - are a little full of themselves. It’s been expressed to be by several Irish that I am the luckiest woman in the world to be allowed to live here and to experience the truly wonderful hospitality of the Irish. Perhaps the way I have phrased that sentence has given you some inclination of my feelings toward this sentiment. However, Ireland really is wonderful, and you don’t need anyone telling you that to realize it. Living in Cork City feels like a small town with a larger than life atmosphere, and from the corners of town, you can see the green hills rolling up and surrounding the city. A good walk will bring you straight to the countryside and a good frolic in the fields picking daffodils will always brighten your day. Oh and an Irish sunrise after a good rain? Epic. And don’t even get me started on the chocolate. I moved to Ireland semi-permanently on August 28, 2013 and have been here almost nonstop since. But I first came to Ireland in August 2010, and really haven’t left spiritually since. Guess those Irish people are right. I am super lucky to be here again.

What do you miss most about the United States? Psh, the most things. I wrote a whole post about this once. (see here). There are certain foods I miss (though it’s probably a good thing Peanut Butter M&Ms are hard to find here honestly). I do miss a little variety in the drink department. Ireland’s only just getting into craft beer, and since it’s so trendy, everywhere seems to be copying each other, making something that should be super exciting, super boring. It’s very steady and comforting that everywhere has the same beers, but I was hoping the craft beer revolution would help that. But now all the pubs just have the same craft beers! Oh, and the coffee’s weak. But food and drink are superfluous really. (Except coffee. Coffee’s not superfluous). I definitely miss my adorable little puppy, Angus, and mostly, I miss my family and friends. Though I’ve made some wonderful friendships here in Ireland, you can’t replace those people you’ve known for ages who get every Boy Meets World reference you make. It’s funny because there are so many little, ridiculous things I miss, but I suppose generally I miss the way Americans do and talk about things. I often find myself saying things like, “that’s just Irish people” as an excuse for something that I find odd or rude. But the truth is it’s just people generally. It’s hard to separate the culture from the people sometimes. It’s difficult to remember how stupid we Americans can be as well. :)

Where can we find you on a typical Saturday morning? Nowhere like the blogger’s Instagrammed coffee date with the boy or morning jog through the sunshine. These I save for my Sunday mornings. For as long as I can remember, I’ve worked on Saturday mornings. I spent a year back home in Virginia after graduating college and before coming back to Ireland, and I worked full-time at a dance studio that I had worked at for years. Saturdays, as you can imagine, are the biggest days for recreational baby-princess ballerinas, and I’d be at work from 8:30AM! These days, I’m back in a dance studio, but luckily Irish people don’t get up too early, and I only have to work from 10. Saturday mornings you’ll find me frolicking around with my little princess ballerinas, singing Disney songs and learning pliés. After work, I love a good long stroll through the city, grabbing a coffee and working on the blog. And there’s nothing better than snuggling up for a few cozy pints in the local pub with the boy after a long, dancing Saturday.

What is the best piece of blogging advice you have had or given? The best blogging advice I’ve got for you and your dear readers (because let’s be real, Meagan, you don’t need any blogging advice xx) I have both received and given in relation to blogging and everything else in life. (Epic-sounding enough?) Here it is: do what you love. We all started blogging and writing because we love to write, we love the community, and we love having our own personalized piece of the Internet to speak with those around us. So do what you love. I mean, apply to your writing - write about what you love. Apply it to your blog design - make sure it’s something you adore and are excited to see every day. Apply it to your days - blog because you love it, take a break and a walk because you’ll love it, go back to school because you’ll love the work and where it takes you. Apply it to your life in general. There are so many career paths, college programs, travel destinations, life milestones, and just general options in life. Don’t choose something because you feel like you’re supposed to. Don’t continue to do something because you said that you would. Don’t treat blogging like another item on your to do list (unless you’re already filling your to do list with only things you love!) Think about all of your choices and choose the ones that bring you joy.

Find Sarah Elizabeth:

Blog || Twitter || Facebook || Pinterest || Instagram

I also have some great posts by others to share with you today for Blogger Love!

"Lessons" by Bourbon, Lipstick and Stilettos.

"26 Amazing Things About Having a Sister"  by The Lady Lawyer.

"A Love Letter" by Southern Komfort.

"Do You Want to Play with Me?" by Dancin' with A Dolly.

"Printable Packing List for Travel" by The New Wifestyle.

Want to share your favorite posts by other bloggers?  Link up below, and find some new to you bloggers!

An InLinkz Link-up

Quatro, Shi, IV, FOUR.

Well friends, somehow I managed to mess up my entire blog layout/design.  At least I have my designed header - but the titles, dates and page names are messed up.  All this has done is speed up my desire to move to Wordpress.  I mean, if I'm paying someone to fix a design anyway, shouldn't I just pay someone to get me to the wonderful land of Wordpress?  Decisions, decisions. 

In the meantime, the wonderful Whitney tagged me to do this fun "four" survey that I'm sure you have seen in other posts.  Humor me, ok?

Four Names People Call You
Meagan
Meg (most common)
Mama/Mommy
Honey

Four Jobs You've Had
Daycare Worker
Pharmacy Tech
Parking Lot Attendant
Various positions within Fundraising

Four Movies You've Watched More than Once
Love, Actually
Clueless
Serendipity
Elf

Four Books I Recommend
The Storyteller
Reconstructing Amelia
The Secret Keeper
Hunger Games (all of them)

Four Places I Have Lived
Iowa
Minneapolis, MN
Chicago
Suburbs of Chicago

Four Places I've Been
Japan
England
France
St. Thomas/St. John/BVI

Four Places I'd Rather Be Now
On the beach
Iowa
In bed
On a Girls Trip

Four of My Favorite Foods
(not healthy!)
Pizza
Pasta
Chips and Salsa/Guac
Baked Sweets

Four TV Shows I Watch
All the Real Housewives
Married at First Sight
Orange is the New Black
BIG BROTHER

Four Things I'm Looking Forward to this Summer
Nights outside with cocktails
Sunshine
My Birthday!
Weekly playdates with my besties

Four Things I'm Always Saying
"No way!"
"I mean, really?!"
" I love you!"
"Oh, stop!" (to my daughters)

I think most of you have already done this, so I'm not tagging anyone.  If you haven't and want to participate, please do and let me know!

Tomorrow I have a fun blogger to share with you, along with my favorite posts from this week! 
 

You Ate What?!

Fun fact: When I got to college, most of my new friends were from the suburbs of Chicago, even though I went to an in-state school about thirty minutes from my hometown.  Anyone that has gone to the University of Iowa will tell you that 70% of the students are from Illinois.  (note - this is probably not factual, but it sure seems realistic).  My new friends quickly pointed out that I ate "weird" things, that apparently didn't exist where they came from.  Today, I'm linking up with Amanda and her co-host, Anne to tell you about some of this food in the "Tell Me About Your Town" link-up!

Of course, the beauty of Pinterest helped us all learn about different foods we might not have known about before, so I'm guessing that most of these won't be new for any of you.

Puppy Chow.  Oh how I love this combination of crunchy rice cereal, peanut butter, chocolate, and powdered sugar all kept together by too much butter.  When I first introduced this to my roommates, they were amazed and requested it at least once a week. Of course, it now has delicious variations such as cake batter, cookies and cream and samoa. 

Maid-Rites.  Otherwise known as "loose-meat sandwiches".  Have you had one?  It's like a sloppy joe, without the sauce.  I would always get the "cheese-rite", which is deliciously (and chemically) made with the orange, nacho cheese.  Here is a recipe to make one at home!

Tator Tot Hot Dish.  I'll be honest here, "hot dish" was a term that I didn't know until I moved to Minnesota.  Hot Dish = Casserole.  A tator tot hot dish is ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, mixed vegetables and of course, tator tots.  There are variations, but it almost always has those four ingredients.  (Recipe here). 

Corn on the Cob and Pork Chops.  This one is not uncommon, but the fact that it is so common where I grew up deems it special.  Iowa is known for our sweet corn - and buying it from the back of a truck on the side of the road is completely normal.  The other thing Iowa is really good at?  Pork.  A meal of a grilled Iowa chop and corn on the cob is completely normal and frequent in the summer months.

There were a few items that were "Meagan and her sister-isms", but they deserve an honorable mention as well:  Tacos with ketchup, peanut butter and butter sandwiches, "special sandwiches" (tuna and cheese whiz on an english muffin - gag), and ice cream with jelly.  Maybe we were just weird kids - which is entirely possible. :)

This topic fascinates me - please tell me if you had ever had these things before Pinterest shared them with the world?  What is unique to your region?

Healthy Snacks On the Go!

I'm sure I am not alone in saying "I'm so busy!"  The words are thought at least once a day, if not said out loud multiple times a week.  I work, I take care of small children (not to mention my husband and dog), clean, cook and find some time for rest.  I think I speak for most of us when I say that taking the time to make myself healthy meals and snacks doesn't usually happen.

So imagine how excited I was to receive this Fit Snack box in the mail!  Healthier snacks that I can easily grab and go. 

Complete Energy Bites: I'll be honest, I haven't tried these yet.  When I do have caffeine, which isn't often anymore, I get really jittery so I wasn't sure how these would affect me!

Simply 7 Snacks:  I've had these before, and they are so good.  Salty and crunchy like chips, but so much better for you!

Level Life:  I grabbed this protein bar for breakfast one morning, and was pleasantly surprised.  Low calorie, delicious and managed to keep me satisfied until lunch.

Oven Baked Organics:  Did someone just tell me that this cookie was ok for me to eat?  Yes, and it was the first thing I ate when I received my box! 

Sunbutter:  Because of A's peanut allergy, we don't keep peanut butter in the house.  This butter, made from sunflowers, was really good and satisfied that peanut butter craving I've been having lately!

Nogii Protein Powder:  I love throwing protein powder in a smoothie, and these flavors (chocolate or vanilla) would be great with strawberries and bananas!

Fit Snack Raw Almond & Pumpkin Mix:  This was delicious sprinkled on vanilla yogurt!

Fit Snack Veggie Chips:  Chips you can feel good about.  Win-win!

Have you thought about having a great selection shipped right to your door every month?  Fit Snack is $24/month (cheaper if you buy multiple months at a time) and is completely worth the investment, in my opinion. 

What are your favorite healthy snacks on the go? 

(Fit Snack was provided to me for review - all opinions are my own.  Links contain referral credit, if you should sign up - thank you!)

Blogger Love v.41

Happy Friday, friends!  We've made it through another week, and for that I'm very grateful.  This weekend will be somewhat relaxed and very much needed.

This past week, I've felt like I was being pulled in ten directions - which is still accurate - but I've made "me time" a priority in the last few days.  Even the smallest things like a glass of wine, chocolate, or a few minutes to blog or read have done wonders for my state of mind!

I also shared with you my latest Stitch Fix, which was less than exciting.  Here's hoping June's fix is better!

I have three special posts I want to share with you for Blogger Love today!

"My Move from Blogger to Wordpress" by The Rachael Way.  I'm not going to lie, Wordpress freaks me out, but I feel like I would love it once I figured it out.  All of the fun plug-ins, and my itching for a new design have me leaning towards it.  We'll see!

"Twelve Months of Bliss" by Ember Grey.  This came at the perfect time for me.  Check it out - you'll want to join!

"The True Meaning of Mother" by Love the Here and Now.  Yes, to all of this.  Anne reads my mind, I swear she does!

Want to share some of your favorite posts by others this week?  Link up with us below, click around, and find some new-to-you bloggers!

An InLinkz Link-up

I hope you all have a great weekend - what are you up to?  Check back next week, I'm making some additions to my sponsorship program!

Stitch Fix - May

By now, I'm assuming most of you know how Stitch Fix works, yes?  It's one of my favorite parts of the month for me - a nicely wrapped little package, full of clothes and accessories picked out specifically for me and delivered to my door.  What's not to love?

Let's get right to it.

 Market & Spruce Dafne Chevron Maxi Dress - $88.  The maxi dresses I have received in the past were always too long, so I didn't have high hopes for this one.  It ended up being a great length, but I didn't love it enough for $88.  Returned.

 

 Liverpool Mira Skinny Pant - $88.  I primarily wear black skinny pants to work, so I was excited to see these.  The fit was just ok, and the material was the kind that picked up everything.  With two littles and a pup, that was the deal-breaker.  Returned.

 

 Market & Spruce Colibri Polka Dot Print Top - $48.  Hi, I'm Meagan, and I'm obsessed with polka dots.  I had pretty much decided I was keeping this before trying it on.  Unfortunately, it was huge on me and was Returned.

 

 Staccato Raelene Striped Draped Front Cardigan - $48.  Although a lot of my wardrobe is black and white, this cardigan was just ok.  "Just ok" for my wallet is not good enough, therefore it was Returned.

 

Market & Spruce Sawyer Space Dye Dolman Sleeve Knit Top - $58.  Excuse the poor photo quality, the color of this was more of a burgundy.  This type of top is one that I usually go for, so I was happy to see it.  However, it was not flattering on, so it was Returned.

If you are keeping track, I sent everything back!   This was definitely a first for me, and it pained me to lose out on my $20 styling fee, but I thought $20 was better than more for something I wouldn't wear often.  And honestly, the only possibility was the maxi, which I wasn't too crazy about.  So, this month - there was a lot to not love.

I gave very specific notes on each item, so I'm crossing my fingers that my June box will be out of this world!  What do you think?  Would you have made the same decisions?

(This post is not sponsored, I did not receive anything for free.  All opinions are my own.  There are links, that if you should click and sign up, I will receive a referral credit - thank you!)

Multiply by Ten

Life is really great at a few things - one of which is pulling me in a million directions, all at the same time.  It's completely reasonable that I be in three different places at the same time, wearing four different hats.  Right?  Wrong.  I can't do it all.  I try most days, but then on some days, I want to give up and just focus on a few of my responsibilities.  I need to have ten of myself. 

Mom Me needs to play with my children all day, teach them new skills, and mold them in to great people.  Real Me is able to get them dressed and fed, and is able to read a book or two throughout the day.

Career Me needs to work 40+ hours a week, make outstanding goals for myself (and meet them), and make everyone happy here.  Real Me gets my work done, but doesn't have much time for new projects.

Chef Me should cook great, nutritious breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks for my girls and husband.  Real Me is lucky to get the girls to eat fruit once a day (veggies do not go well), and we end up eating out 1-2 times a week, mostly because of showings and laziness.

Homemaker Me is getting the most attention these days.  Have you ever been in a house with a 5 and 2 year old?  Chaos.  It's up to me to keep it clean, picked up and tidy, because you never know when you'll get a showing request.  We have a cleaning lady once a month, but recently needed to step it up to every other week because I couldn't keep up.

Wife Me should take more care of my husband.  He's lucky if I ask how his day was, and this makes me sad.  He works hard for us and deserves more attention!  He also gets the brunt of my stress, and that's not fair.

Friend Me should be texting, emailing, visiting my girlfriends, just keeping in touch better.  I definitely feel like I haven't seen them as much, and that's partly on me.  They are the best friends, and understand my craziness lately, but I miss them!

Daughter Me needs to go home and visit my parents.  I haven't been there since Christmas!  That is unacceptable.  Thankfully, I have a wonderful family who understands everything that is going on right now.

Dog Mom Me (of course I couldn't leave out my buddy Charlie!).  He needs me too!  He gets so anxious in the car, and he has been having to leave a lot due to showings.  He needs me to cuddle more, walk him and play fetch more.  Real Me feeds him, lets him out and only cuddles while I sleep.

And, of course, let's not forget about Me.  I would love to take a bath, relax, read, craft, maybe go shopping.  Right now, all of these things feel selfish to me - it's hard to tell myself that "me time" is important.

I know I am not the first person to be busy, or stressed out by the million directions I feel I'm being pulled in.  How do you handle all of the hats you wear? Are there any really good tips for getting the most out of the few 24 hours we have each day?  I'm all ears - all 20 of them!

Blogger Love v.40

Here we are on Friday again, and yet another week I am saying it went too fast.  I am extremely happy about the weather we had yesterday - 80's and not a cloud in the sky.  Too bad I was in an office all day!

This weekend I am co-hosting a baby shower for my sister in law and am so excited!  This baby will make me an auntie and I can't wait to spoil her - although I sort of have already started, oops!

Speaking of co-hosting, this week for Blogger Love, I have Christine co-hosting with me.  You might already know her, or remember her from this post, where she shared with us her love for amusement parks and how some tips for real estate.  Christine is part of my #tribe and I'm happy to have her here today!

"On Telling Your Story" by Living in Yellow.  I can't pinpoint why, but Erin's post spoke to me.  Tell your story - you never know who is listening, and who needs to hear it at that moment.

"My Mother-Daughter Bucket List" by Macaroni and Mascara.  I absolutely love this idea.  I plan on making one myself, after reading MacKensey's list!

"Where Are All the Mediums?" by Venus Trapped in Mars.  100 times yes.  I love fashion, the random fashion post, but find that post of the items don't apply to my body type.  I am craving a size 8-12 fashion blog!!

"Tell Me About Your Town Reminder" by Amanda Moments.  This month's prompt is fun - local food choices!  I often hear that what I grew up eating was "different" or "weird", so I can't wait to hear what is normal for others.

Want to link up with Christine and I?  Please share at least one post by a blogger other than yourself.  Click around below and find some new-to-you bloggers!

An InLinkz Link-up

In case you missed it this week, I shared what I was currently up to, and reasons why May is awesome.  I also tweeted that I am ready for a complete redesign of the blog.  It's been about a year, is that too soon?  I don't want to keep changing things up on you!  Who are your favorite designers - for a reasonable price?  Do tell!

The Awesome List - May

Am I right??  I hope that most of you wouldn't argue this fact - there are just too many good things about this season.

Based on the types of days I've had this past week, focusing on something fun like summer is good for my soul.  Luckily, my friend Anne hosts an Awesome link-up on the first Tuesday of every month, so let's dive right in!

|| Sunshine.  Sure, there is sunshine in the winter.  But I've found that the sunniest days are usually the coldest.  In June, July and August, bring on the sunshine and hot days!

|| The lake.  Have you been to a beach in Chicago on Lake Michigan?  So much fun.  I also enjoy Lake Michigan on the other side, on the shores of Michigan.  For a moment, it feels like you could be on the beach somewhere!

|| June birthdays!  Not only my birthday, but my Dad's, sister in law's, my Mom's, father in law, brothers in law are all in June.  And A's follows up in early July!

|| Drinks in the backyard.  Nothing better than sitting in the back, eating dinner with my family, putting the kids to bed and sitting around the fire.  Drinks with neighbors can't be beat!  (No driving and no babysitters needed.  Win-win).

|| Big Brother.  This is by far Amanda and my favorite show.  Can't wait!

|| Weekly play dates with my besties.  Three of them have summers off - so getting together is much easier!

|| Cottages and Boats.  My husband's grandparents have a lakehouse not too far from here.  We don't make it up as often as we should, but when we do the days are full of sun, boating, beers and family.  Perfection.

|| Flip flops and pedicures.  It's pretty nice to be able to just slide sandals on and go.  Long gone are the days of taking five minutes to bundle up, just to walk to the car.  Twenty if the girls are with me!

What are you looking forward to the most this summer?

Currently...

Sometimes, my mind goes in a million different directions and I can barely remember to put on deoderant in the morning.  (That really happened yesterday - good thing I realized it on my way to work and made a detour to Walgreen's!) 

When my mind is racing, I find it calming and grounding to take different aspects of my life and just focus on them, one at a time.  Today, that comes in the form of a Currently post!

Currently, I'm...

Reading:  Summer Island by Kristin Hannah.  I just finished the first chapter, so I can't say whether I like it or not.  I just finished Sharp Objects, and was a little disappointed.  Unlike Gone Girl, I predicted the ending about half way through the book.

Listening:  To Shark Tank.  These entrepreneurs are so inspiring!  I also like seeing new products, and meeting their creators.  I've bought a few things that I've seen on the show! 

Thinking:  I'm still thinking about my budget, and I'm still trying to figure out what a decent number is for me.  I have an idea, so I'm going to tally my spending for May and see how close I am.

Wishing:  That everything will work out the way they are meant to be. 

Hoping:  That I can believe in the above, and trust in the timing.

Loving:  My new Kate purse that arrived today.  I bought it on a whim when they had an additional 25% off clearance, and am so in love!  I'll share pictures in another post.  Who says you can't buy your own Mother's Day gifts?

Wanting:  Peace, Happiness, and Clarity.  Is that too much to ask?!

Needing:  A good nap.

Eating/Drinking:  I just had a peanut butter Snickers - I don't get peanut anything too often because of A's allergy.  Also drinking water - I'm trying to focus on drinking more!

What are you currently up to?

Blogger Love v.39

I have been thrown off all week.  I changed up the days I was out of the house, which had me thinking that I was a day ahead all week.  No bueno when you love weekends!  So needless to say, I'm happy that today is finally Friday - even if my mind thinks it's Saturday.

This week, I wrote one of my favorite posts to write - a birthday letter to celebrate E's fifth birthday.  I can't wait until she is older, I am planning on sharing the letters with her!

Also... April ended and so did my spending freeze.  And the most surprising part?  I didn't fail.  Seriously!

This week for Blogger Love, I wanted to share Becca, from Becoming Adorrable's post "7 Tips for Being Productive While Working at Home".  I work from home often, and always find myself procrastinating by "just watching one show" or "taking a little rest".  I loved the tip about putting shoes on - who can get comfy on a couch with shoes on?

Do you want to share your favorite posts by bloggers other than yourself?  Link up below and tell us what you loved this week!

An InLinkz Link-up