This June was different than any other June. It's the first June in 10 years that I didn't have to be at an office Monday-Friday. It's also the first time since Alexis was born that she's spending a summer at home. That means figuring out a new routine, one in which I still get my job done and post regularly on the blog while also fitting in activities we wouldn't normally get to do. One of those new experiences is weekly trips to the library for story and craft time, which has meant not having large gaps between books. What's different about this month's reading round-up is that I didn't read any of these on my Kindle. Each one came from my local library. The first and last books I read this month each took about a week for me to finish, but that's because they were so well-written I didn't want to rush through them.

The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern

Summary: Two young magicians are pitted against each other in a competition held within a black-and-white circus. Le Cirque des Rêves moves from city to city without any advance notice and is only open at night. The two competing magicians, Celia and Marco, fall in love. They have no idea that the competition will only end when one of them is destroyed. The stakes are high, both for the two young people as well as those who work within and come to see the circus. Will the two lovers find a solution that benefits them all?

My Thoughts: Magical. I know it's cliche to call a book about magic magical, but it's truly the best word to describe this story. In fact, The Night Circus might be the best book I've read this year. From the way the author seamlessly weaves all the characters together without leaving the reader confused to the characters themselves and the truly unexpected way in which the conflict is resolved, I could not put this book down. But don't let that trick you into thinking I gobbled it up in one sitting. Oh no. This book is meant to be savored over several days. My only regret is that I waited this long to read it.


Big Girl Panties
Author: Stephanie Evanovich

Summary: After the death of her husband, 32-year-old Holly Brennan turned to food, and now she weighs more than she ever has. When she ends up seated next to personal trainer Logan Montgomery on a flight and he offers to help her, Holly takes it as a sign and agrees. Soon, the training sessions turn into romance, but Holly isn't Logan's usual 'type,' and they both have some issues with themselves that need to be worked out.

My Thoughts: This was your typical romantic comedy about an unlikely pairing. I liked that this one had both the male and female perspective and saw both of them grow. I thought the author deviated away from Holly and Logan to another couple a few times too many. They weren't badly written; I just felt like the story didn't benefit from being told from their points of view. Note: there are sex scenes in this book, but I thought they were pretty tame. However, one of the supporting characters is into spanking so if you're weirded out by that, I'd avoid this one as it dominates several discussions throughout.

Black Rabbit Hall
Author: Eve Chase

Summary: Four siblings lose their mother in a horse riding accident one summer. Their father, devastated by his wife's death but feeling his children need a maternal influence, remarries to his old girlfriend who has a teenage son. That son and the oldest Alton girl fall madly in love, but the stepmother forces them apart even after the girl comes up pregnant. Another untimely death sends the family into a deeper spiral, none moreso affected than the oldest brother who goes a bit mad. Flash forward thirty years when the stepmother, in an effort to try to make Black Rabbit Hall profitable again, tries to rent the estate out for weddings. The first customer? The long-lost daughter of that forbidden love. But she has no idea.

My Thoughts: This book was so beautifully tragic. Told from the perspectives of the oldest Alton daughter, Amber, and her daughter, Lorna, it weaves between the late 1960s and early 2000s effortlessly. Essentially, this book is about a family falling apart and coming back together. I highly recommend it, but you may want to keep some tissues handy.

I've been speed reading through books by a newly discovered (by me) author. They're all little 200-page books, with 3-4 in a series, that I can read pretty much in an afternoon. The whole series, that is. They're different from anything else I've read before, and I'm enjoying them, but I'm not sure a majority of you guys would, so I've decided to withhold them from these reviews for now.

This post will be short and sweet, as it's pretty self-explanatory and requires very little of my wordsmithing skills... Since Alexis has been home for the summer, afternoon snack time has become a regular occurrence. We always have some little something in the pantry, usually gummies or Little Debbie snack cakes, maybe some chips, but those aren't things I want her to get used to having every day and unintentionally start a bad snacking habit. Thankfully, she discovered the yogurt parfait at Cracker Barrel and an idea was born.

The next time we went to the grocery store, plain/vanilla yogurt, granola, and fruit was on our list. We started with strawberries and blueberries, but have since mixed it up with bananas and apples. I like buying most of the fruit frozen so it keeps longer but we stick with apples and bananas from the produce section.


Here's how we make ours: granola on the bottom, a good amount of yogurt, fruit pieces on top with a little honey drizzled over everything. (Sometimes I just do granola and yogurt, especially for breakfast.) We typically use oat and honey granola, although I also like almond + dark chocolate. The first time we made them at home, I put everything into these cute mason jar goblets we have for some added fun, but mostly we just use regular bowls. Even my husband is on board with this healthier snack option.

Now if I could only get them both on board with hummus...

Animal Adventures with Big Bend Wildlife Sanctuary - Owls

Gene Cordova's puppet show at the library.

Animal Adventures - Reptiles (With grandma and grandpa. Mama doesn't do snakes!)

Storytime at the library featuring dragons.

After the stories we made our own dragons.

Celebrating the first official day of Summer with an ice cream cone.

It's so easy to fall into the shorts and t-shirt rut when it's 100 degrees outside. Trust me, I know. I've been living in this very basic combination for the past month. It's just too hot and humid for anything else in south Alabama these days. But that doesn't have to mean a summer full of boring outfits. Achieving an interesting shorts-and-a-tee outfit is actually pretty simple: make sure your shirt has interesting details. I'll demonstrate using my two new favorite pairs of shorts (from Walmart!)


This tank is a triple threat of interesting details. It's got stripes, a tie waist, and buttons. I picked it up from my local T.J.Maxx last week, but of course can't find it on their website (shop similar here, here, here). I like the wider shoulders, v-neck, and not-cotton material of this shirt. It makes it feel a little more dressed up, like I actually made an effort.

I paired it with these raw-hem white denim shorts from Walmart. They are so soft, I almost don't believe their denim. They're made from recycled materials and are under $20. I'm wearing size 8.

I finished the look with my casual white sandals. I feel like they made the outfit a little too light on the bottom, but I didn't like my brown or gold sandals and I didn't feel like wearing anything with a heel. These slides have become my go-to casual shoe. They've got a slightly cushioned footbed so they're comfortable to walk in. The buckles are silver so they're easy to match with jewelry. The only thing I'm regretting about them is the white bottoms. I cannot keep it from looking dingy! Otherwise, I recommend these if you're looking for a cheap alternative.


This is an example of a not-so-basic t-shirt. It may be a solid color, but the buttons and tie waist give it just enough detail to make it interesting on its own. This shirt is really soft, but I felt it ran a tad small so I sized up to a medium. I've been wearing it with patterned bottoms, but for this rainy day I paired it with my new favorite denim shorts (also from Walmart). These feel like I've been wearing them all my life. I like the lighter wash, slight distressing, and rolled cuffs. I'm wearing size 8. I added a white belt to break up the blue tones and my white sandals to match.

Below are four other ways I've been wearing shorts and a tee/tank, with links to their original posts embedded in the pictures.