Becky at Choose Happy has been running a fun link up party called Currently. I join Becky for her Currently link up series once a month. I thought it would be a fun way to update y’all on my life in a light way through photos and blurbs of text.
Currently…
IKEA
I went to IKEA with my husband for the FIRST time two weekends ago. This was one of my goals on my March Goals list and we had so much fun! We also ran into a ton of people we knew, I guess IKEA is the happening place on a rainy weekend!
And, who knew that the food at IKEA was so affordable and yummy? For lunch we had their traditional Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberries, salad, dessert (forget what it was called) and their cornbread. The cornbread was REALLY good! Then, before we left we grabbed a 6 pack of their cinnamon buns for breakfast the next day. Oh, so good. I want to try one of their ice cream cones at our next visit (which may be soon!).
We had so much fun browsing all of the areas in IKEA. I want to do some more research on possibly an IKEA kitchen makeover (has anyone actually DONE this in blogland? I’d love to read about it!) and we got some GREAT ideas for doing over the TV area/space in our family room. I did make two small purchases while at IKEA… I got this green house for $20 and the 3 tier push cart for $30! Such GREAT prices! Now I want to go back to IKEA to get those little potted plants that you can mix and match (they’re in the green house photo)- I can think of several great places where they’d go in our home!
Wood Meets Stainless {Konifer Watches}
Konifer Watch is introducing a new wood meets stainless watch with Japanese Citizen movement. You can watch the video to learn about the launch and how you can even make your watch customizable. Watch the video by clicking HERE. You can find them on Kickstarter by clicking HERE.
Marathon
I did it! I signed up for the Chicago marathon lottery and I will find out on April 21st if I am in. I’ve been trying to figure out which marathon I want to run and the Chicago one seemed like a good idea since it is popular, not too far from St. Louis, mostly flat, lots of spectators to cheer you on and I would feel honored to run in it. I had a friend that signed up for it last year and didn’t get in, so I am a little worried the same will happen to me. I have no idea what the odds are of getting in, but I HAD to try to get into it. If I don’t get into the Chicago marathon, I may just run the Go! Marathon in St. Louis next Spring.
I am also winding down my half marathon training for the Go! half in April. I finished my last LONG run of 12 miles today and next week I’ll be running 8 for the long run… and, it just tapers down more and more until the big race day! I am hoping to PR this year, I have been working harder and running faster. We’ll see… You just can’t predict how your body and mind will do on race day. Weather can be a huge factor, too.
Scary Air Bag Recall
I got a letter on Saturday alerting me that my 2007 CRV was part of the Takata air bag recall. I was a little shocked at just how bad of a recall this was, usually I ignore recall notices until my car lands up at the dealership for some other repair I need. If your car is on the recall list, it means that your airbag’s inflator can rupture in a crash and metal shards from the airbag can be sprayed throughout the passenger cabin. There is 9 deaths and 165 injuries from this recall. It is a pretty horrific death, too… I started worrying about myself and the kids and I called Honda and they gave me a rental car the next day. The kicker to this? The replacement parts won’t be in until MID-SUMMER of 2016! They have me down to have this rental for for possibly 5 months! I had to turn my CRV into Honda and they are keeping it and I came home with a 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan. I have never driven a mini van before, never saw myself as a van person… but, after a few days of driving it around, it is kind of nice! I am so glad that Honda provided me with an alternative means of transportation, especially since I didn’t want to drive my CRV around after receiving that scary letter! I secretly hope they get the parts in sooner and I get my CRV back before the 5 months, we’ll see.
StriVectin Hair #StriVeSTORY
I was sent a box of new products to try for color treated hair c/o StriVectin. They sent me Shampoo, Conditioner, Vibrancy Booster (use instead of conditioner once a week) and a UV Protective Spray (which will be great for the summer!). I get my hair highlighted and lo-lighted every other month and these products did wonders on my hair.
Shampoo & Conditioner – Maintains color vibrancy in-between salon visits, prevents color fade and wash out, gently lathers, seals in moisture
Vibrancy Booster – I used this once a week instead of the conditioner and I noticed a huge difference in my hair after using it. It really helped enhance my color vibrancy, my hair felt softer and shinier and HEALTHY!
UV Protective Spray – I used to use one of these when I was in my twenties religiously and somewhere along the way after having kids I stopped. This will protect your hair from the sun and also it helped detangle my hair and left it manageable.
Also, what I love about the StriVectin hair products is that they are free of sulfates, paragons, phthalates, phosphates AND synthetic dyes! They are available at Sephora and Ultra.
AND, while I was taking a bath and reading my Real Simple magazine, I saw that they were featured on their beauty page:
Reading
I finished TWO books this month:
Read:
Night Film by Marisha Pessl – I really enjoyed this book, but it isn’t a book I would normally read. It was about Scott McGrath who follows the murder of the daughter of a famous horror movie director, Cordova. This book goes on for awhile with all sorts of clues, photos of real newsprints, etc. as McGrath hunts down why Cordova’s daughter Ashley dies suddenly. When McGrath goes on Cordova’s old estate it gets rather… interesting and it seems almost like he is dreaming. Or is he? For as much as the book goes ON and on for the chase after Cordova and finding clues about Ashley, I found how it ended to be rather… abrupt and… not very exciting. I was a little bummed, honestly. I really enjoyed the writing style, the hunt, how McGrath’s character unfolds and his relationship with others in the book… but, I think the book didn’t need to be as long as it was… And, to finish off with such a… dry ending. Ahwell, I still give it 4 stars.
Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes by Shauna Niequist – This is one of my favorite books I have read this year, which surprises me. I went back and forth on this book on if I really wanted to read it. Well, I am glad I did! This book is about the authors love of cooking and how family and friends gather around the table to enjoy good food that gives comfort and to share stories. She shares stories about her family at their lake house, her supper club that she formed with church friends, personal stories of hurt and healing, infertility and pregnancy, special food requests, happiness, her faith, childhood, doing speeches out of town and being married to a musician. The recipes in this book sound amazing and I plan to make EACH and every one! That is unusual for me, but the way she describes them makes them sound fantastic! I think I’ll start with her Mom’s Blueberry Crisp! This book made me think… cry… and just left me with an overly good feeling after I finished it. I would refer this book to all my friends and even buy it for a gift!
Well, that is all I have today. Be sure to join Becky in this link up series sometime, it is a lot of fun!
