Awkward family photo

Happy Friday y'all!! 

One of these Fridays I'm going to post before 10pm...

How was everyone's Christmas?!

I got tons of goodies! Including a barnes and noble gift card AND The Book of Totally Useless Information :) yea yea I know. My brother, Parker, and I took an extremely awkward photo. That's our only picture from Christmas lol. The dogs got a TON of stuff. Sophie was super excited to open her presents! I had a great time relaxing with the fam on Christmas Day. Can't believe it's already over :( 

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I finished reading The Lost Wife by Alyson Richamn and WOW. This was so heartfelt and romantic. This is another WWII/Holocaust book and it was so touching. I cried through the last 30 pages. Lenka, an art student, and Josef, studying medicine, fall in love and marry in prewar Prague (which I learned is in Czechoslovakia). Their dreams are shattered by the Nazi invasion. Josef becomes a successful obstetrician in American but has never forgotten the wife he believes died in the war. But in the Nazi ghetto of Terezin, Lenka survived. Then decades later, an unexpected encounter in New York leads to once more chance for Lenka and Josef. I can't give anything away but this was such a wonderful story. It does go into the details of the Holocaust, which is still so horrifying and we go through Lenka's struggles. She becomes such a strong character. It's a love story wrapped in tragedy and survival. A must read! 

Up next, possibly Michael Connelly? :)

Check out more H54f posts on Lauren's blog!

4 days till Christmas!

Happy Friday, y'all!! 

It's the Friday before Christmas and shoppers are getting crazy! 

1. There will be a BIG change for me starting in 2013...I got a new job as a labor and delivery nurse at Woman's in Baton Rouge! I'm super nervous but beyond excited! 

2. My best friend Katee is home all the way from London with her hubby! Tomorrow we're having a big barn party at her house. It's a much needed quality drinking time for all of us! 

3. My friends. I hate to brag but I really do have the best friends in the whole. Throughout the whole job interview, getting the new job and resigning from my current job extravaganza, my friends have supported me and stood by my side, especially when I panic and overreact. Jenny and Danielle have been my rock and kept me sane. I wouldn't know what to do without their love and support! Thanks y'all!! 

4. If you can't take the heat, get out the kitchen... I finished Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer. If you don't read anything else, READ THIS ONE NOW. I laughed out loud throughout the whole book. Basically it's about southern Italian mobsters and a food columnist who is trying to throw a wedding at her house. The wedding turns into a fiasco but with the help of mobsters and a hitman, they'll get through it...with a slight body count. It's a witty, page-turner you don't want to miss! 

5. PITCH PERFECT IS THE GREATEST MOVIE! I bought it Tuesday and watched it twice before I had to go to work Wednesday night. It's hilarious and heartfelt with singing and dancing...who doesn't love that??! PLUS it has Rebel Wilson... "excuse me bitch, you don't have to shout"... funniest part of the whole movie! 

Hope everyone has a fabulous Christmas! 

Check out more H54F posts at Lauren's blog! 

Happy Friday!

It's Friday!!...and I'm off for the weekend :)

1. First off, I have to mention my new obsession interest, The Walking Dead on AMC. This show is phenomenal! It's an edge of your seat thriller and I never know what's going to happen. The writers do a lot of unpredictable/non- traditional things, which is CRAZY and mind-blowing Just adding this to my long list of shows, which include The Vampire Diaries, Parks and Recreation, Supernatural and of course Pretty Little Liars...just to name a few.

2. My apartment is a Winter Wonderland! All my decorations are out and starting wrapping presents. I love the holiday season! 

3. Fixed this little treat last night dinner for dinner and it was delicious. Thanks again Pinterest :)

4. My first Kardashian Kollection purchase. I love this shirt! Saw Kourtney wearing it on Twitter and HAD to have it. Check out their collection here.

5. Almost done with this one! I've been on the edge of my seat. Michael Connelly never fails. I'll be sad to see Harry Bosch come to an end :(. As a side note, In the Woods by Tana French will be a Dublin Murder Detective series. Her other 3 books focus on murder detectives but not the main characters from the first book, except for the second book. The Likeness follows up Detective Cassie Maddox. This one is definitely on my list. 

Check out more H54F post on Lauren's blog

How was y'alls week?? 

Hit or Miss

I started Pulse and Prejudice by Colette Saucier (who also wrote All My Tomorrow's) but couldn't finished it :(. This is a vampire adaption of Pride and Prejudice BUT Saucier used Jane Austen's language and I had a hard time following it. I was really disappointed because I had high hopes for this one. I couldn't understand what they were trying to say and got bored. Don't let this discourage you from her other books. I loved the first one I read. If you like Jane Austen, I'd recommend this. 

Instead...

I read In the Woods by Tana French. I discovered this little gem in the new authors section and Barnes and Noble during one of my hour long loner trips. I love this section because I usually find an new awesome author! This is her first of three books. In a small Dublin town, mothers call in their children from playing in the woods but they do not return. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children hugging a tree trunk in terror, blood filled sneakers and unable to remember anything that happened. Twenty years later, Rob Ryan, the found boy is a detective on the Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve year old girl was found in the same woods, he and his partner and closest friend, Detective Cassie Maddox begin investigating a familiar case to the previously unsolved case. Ryan has a chance to uncover the mystery of the case and his past. I loved this book and French's writing style. It reminded me a lot of Michael Connelly and a Harry Bosch case. One of my favorite things about this book is the setting- Dublin, Ireland. This wasn't your typical big city in the United States. French uses a lot of Irish slang, which is cool. As Ryan and Maddox begin investigating this case, it begins to take a toll on Ryan. You'll love their relationship; it's very brother/sister. But this book does not have a happy ending. This is another thing I liked about the book because it was unpredictable. Throughout the whole book I wasn't sure how it would end. It was beautifully written about past returning to haunt, murder, cops and Ireland. Definitely an outstanding first novel for French. Check out her other stuff here. 

Up next...

Michael Connelly of course! I have to read one of his books every few books. In City of Bones, a doctor's dog finds a bone in the woods. Bosch is called to the case on New Year's Day to identify the bones, which belong to a child murdered twenty years before. This investigation takes Bosch into his past as an orphan but a beautiful rookie cop keeps him alive in the present. No official warning can break them apart or prepare Bosch for the explosions when the case takes a few hard turns. Bosch is fighting to keep control and is driven to the brink of an unimaginable decision. Very excited for this one! 

I was reading on my Connelly app that he signed partnerships with a production company and the writer has written the first episode of the Harry Bosch TV series!! Imagine my excitement :). The first season will focus on City of Bones so I have to finish this one quickly but also Concrete Blond. It'll most likely be on Netflix also, which is awesome. I'm a big Netflix junkie fan. This is very exciting and can't wait to start watching this! It'll be adding to my VERY long list of shows. Thank God for DVR, Netflix and Hulu plus. You can read more here.