Recipe | Lentil Nachos

I posted this picture on facebook and got a few comments about how good it looked and a request to blog the recipe. So here we are.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry red lentils, rinsed well under cold water
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 3/4 cup Colby Jack cheese
• 1 package of taco seasoning
• Pita chips
• jalapeno is optional, for a bit of added spice

Instructions

• Put the lentils in a pot, with the water, on medium.
• Once boiling, reduce temp to low.
• Add in the taco seasoning.
• Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the lentils are soft and the liquid is absorbed. 
• Turn off the heat.
• Add in the cheese and cover for an additional minute or so, or until the cheese is melted.
• Serve over pita chips.

Book Review | A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride

 

A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing is Eimear McBride's debut novel, and I'm not going to lie to you, it's hard to get through. It's written in a kind of "stream of consciousness" style, and it's really choppy and hard to follow. It's from the point of view of a young woman and the relationship with her brother, and the shadow cast by his childhood brain tumor. It took my reading the description to figure that out though, it was hard to decipher from the text. The book is really intimate, it gives way to the inner thoughts, feelings and sexuality of an incredibly vulnerable and isolated main character. It's definitely not comfortable, it will feel awkward and that is something I really like about this book. It makes you feel something, even if it's uncomfortable. This novel touches on domestic violence, sexual promiscuity and even an incredibly unhealthy relationship with a family member. It covers the struggle of trying to remain intact after an intense trauma. 

This book is intense and really quite beautiful, in an almost unbearable way. The writing has a lot to do with that, and the beginning is quite hard to get through. I imagine that's because the main character is younger, so her thoughts are less cohesive. But as the book goes on it gets easier to understand what is happening around her, and therefore makes it easier to read. 

I gave this book 3 stars and if you read it - i'm incredibly interested in knowing your thoughts. This book left me kind of confused and a bit disturbed, so I want to know others thoughts. I've spent a substantial amount of time reading other reviews on Goodreads, which I don't do on the regular.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.

Five Things Friday

Five Things I Did:

1. MSU vs UM football game
It was a great game, with an outcome in favor of the spartans. I jumped around like a crazy person, shouting at the top of my lungs - alone in our house. I'm sure the people downtown were probably concerned, and it certainly didn't help my sore throat. Worth it.

2. A was out of town, so since I didn't have anyone to talk to i watched a lot of television. Caught up on Dancing with the stars, the mindy project, Americas next top model and code black. I've been real busy. 

3. My low tire pressure light came on, but I figured it out. It only took 3 days but it was my spare. Duh.

4. A was in Michigan and now he is back. He's a quick traveler that one.

5. The Mexican restaurant reopened downstairs!

Five Things I Ate:

1. Made some spaghetti. It was delicious.

2. Been really obsessed with mango peach juice lately. 

3. Ate an M & M cookie this week. It was pretty good.

4. Apple Cinnamon oatmeal is pretty top notch.

5. Dried mango is amazing.

Five Things I Read:

1. The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty

2. Awesome football game, if you're a Spartan

3. Anna Kendrick is great

4. Still Life by Louise Penny

5. I just started a new book that will be reviewed on her in a few weeks, hopefully. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

I am linking up over at High Five for Friday with Coffee with Caitlin, Cup of Tea, Bright on a budget and Della Devoted.

Beauty | Empties #7

Here we are with another round of empties. In case you're new to these parts, I collect all my beauty products until I get nice group of them and then I give a bunch of mini reviews about them. Pretty interesting stuff, right? Most of these products are samples that I got from Birchbox so, let's get to the good stuff.

I'm going to go through the products from left to right, in case you want to follow along.

Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray

This spray is part dry shampoo and part texturizer, meant to soak up the oils in your hair and give your hair some texture and volume. In my opinion, and my hair's, it fell flat. Get it? Hair joke. Maybe my hair has super power oils or something, but this spray did not 'soak' it up or add lots of volume. 

It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Product

This product boasts a load of different benefits: eliminates frizz, restores shine, protects from heat and prevents split ends. I'm not sure it did all that, but it worked pretty good. Still not up to par with my all time favorite spray, but a decent contender.

Wet n Wild MegaProtein Mascara in Very Black

I really think I bought this because it was like $2. It's supposed to condition your lashes and make them fuller and thicker. It didn't do that, at all, but it's okay because it only cost TWO DOLLARS.

Let The Good Times Roll Face and Body Cleanser

Made with maize flour, polenta and popcorn, yeah that's right popcorn. It smells ah-mazing and works like a dream. It's so gentle that even my sensitive, pale skin isn't bothered by the scrubbing. It brightens and cleanses - this product is great and if you even find yourself in Lush try it!

W3LL PEOPLE Expressionist Mascara

This is an all natural beauty product and it even has a clump resistant wand. Plus, the packaging is pretty sleek. This mascara definitely lifts and separates the lashes, but unfortunately it transfers and causes some under eye smudging. My quest for mascara continues.

Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk

This dry shampoo does actually soak up some of my super power hair grease, and it even feels great afterwards. My hair felt super hydrated, silky smooth and clean. Miracle.

Rusk Texture Spray

Claims to do the same as all other texture sprays, but it didn't. It actually made my hair feel greasy (greasier) and limp. No thank you.

Radha Beauty Vitamin C Serum

The link is a little bit different than the product pictured, the one pictured is a pump dispenser as opposed to a dropper. I much prefer the pump dispenser - so much simpler to distribute. My issue with vitamin c serums is that they can be quite sticky when applied. This one does not have that issue and it definitely brightens up your skin and helps reduce the appearance of dark spots. Two thumbs up from me.

In retrospect, this post is kind of heavy on the dry shampoo/texturizing sprays - so sorry about that. Hope that it was helpful and see you on Friday!

Recipe | Cheeseburger Pasta

This recipe probably has no health value, but it's so easy. Literally only five ingredients - it's quite pathetic. But sometimes, a quick and easy meal - that makes a good amount for lunch leftovers - is just what is needed. So, in case you're ever in the situation that requires a meal with little health value, is super easy and makes a ton - here you go. You're welcome.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef (I used venison)
• 1 can cheddar cheese soup
• 1 can tomato soup
• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 2 cups uncooked medium shell pasta

Instructions

• Cook the beef in a 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat until well browned. Pour off any fat.
• Stir the soups, water and pasta into the skillet.
• Heat to a boil. 
• Reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender but still firm.

There you go. Don't judge me for this recipe. I know it's lame, but seriously it was so tasty. I ate it for lunch the next day and it was still good. That's a winner in my books folks.

Book Review | The Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

Of course right on the cover of this book it says, "With the cunning and verve of Gillian Flynn..." Because all suspense books must now be on the same level as Flynn, or at least they need to say they are so that people will read it. I will admit, it got me to read it. So that propaganda must work. Before I started reading this book though, I read some reviews on Goodreads about it and was not too impressed. People seemed to think it was not Flynn-esque (which I was already assuming) but a decent read. I closed out of the reviews and decided to form my own opinions.

 

This book follows Ani ,formally TifAni FaNelli, and she is now living the New York with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe and rich fiance. But she is hiding something, a huge secret from her days at the prestigious Bradley School. While attending school there she was humiliated; which has caused her to reinvent herself now as an adult. But, there is even more hidden just beneath the surface. 

So, I don't want to give stuff away because I was honestly surprised by the turn this story took. I will say, it is upsetting and quite graphic. So if those types of scenarios are bothersome to you, I would recommend steering away from this book. A lot of it is the usual teen pressure to be "cool" and fit in. Ani comes from a family she is embarrassed by and tries so hard to play it cool and fit in with the "right" crowd. Then something terrible happens and it's incredibly hard to read - and frustrating because I wanted to throttle the adults and her lack of guidance from them. 

This book definitely had twists and turns, but Ani is a character I do not like and was not rooting for. Which considering what has happened to her, makes me feel like a terrible person. I gave this book 3 stars.

Five Things Friday

Five Things I Did:

1. Our community library had a book sale on this past Friday and Saturday, so we hit it up right after it opened on Friday. We got like 20 books for $7! Just what we needed, right? More books. (If you've never seen our place, it's kinda library-esque with all of our shelves of books)

2. I'm so lucky that A and I both work in town so we can meet for lunch weekly. 

3. Wednesday was A's birthday, he's not a huge fan of his birthday so it was just a low key evening.

4. We watched the debate, we always watch the debates. This isn't a political space, so I won't delve into my thoughts but I enjoy watching both parties debates.

5. We finally watched Undateable Live. I love Ron Funches.

Five Things I Ate:

1. Made my world famous Chicken Tortilla Soup! It's a crowd pleaser.

2. Warm apple cinnamon Danish for breakfast on a Saturday morning = utter perfection.

3. Made some White Chicken Chili on a balmy 70 degree day. Sometimes you need to will the cold weather to come in by eating cold weather foods.

4. Lentil Nachos were made. I received a request to blog my recipe for that, so stay tuned!

5. Lots and lots of lemon poppy seed muffins. I'm obsessed. Seriously obsessed.

Five Things I Read:

1. Nice little story

2. For all the kids with divorced parents

3. A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride
I received this book to review on here, so I suppose you can expect that at some point.

4. Stones for Bread by Christa Parrish

5. I read a lot of articles about Lamar Odom and I'm not proud of getting sucked into it. But I do hope he's okay...

I am linking up over at High Five for Friday with Coffee with Caitlin, Cup of Tea, Bright on a budget and Della Devoted.

Travel | Minneapolis, Minnesota

I don't want to assume you know much about me, but my partner-in-crime and I like to do little road trips. I'm not the best road trip companion, at times, due to my blinding headaches and tendency to get car sick - but for some reason we still manage to have a good time and we continue to partake in them. Some highlights are the Iowa State Fair, Detroit Institute of Arts and the dog sled races in Marquette, Michigan. So now since we're in a new area, we figured we better get to traveling around these parts. I have some things in the works for places to visit in our little Iowan town, but first up is our recent trip to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

We left town around 11:00 am on a Friday morning, and with a few breaks we made it to our hotel (right downtown) around 3:30 pm. After checking in, admiring our beautiful street views and adding on a few layers we headed out to find a place to eat around 6:00 pm.  We had tickets to the Twins - Royals game, which started at 7:05 pm. I figured it would be nuts downtown and it would be hard to find a place to eat. I was wrong. Minneapolis had clearly given up on October baseball and was not bustling with fans. We stopped into Hells Kitchen where I had some lemon ricotta pancakes with a locally brewed cider and Alan had a burger with peanut butter and bacon on it or something else crazy. After that we headed out to Target Field where we got free (!!) beanie's and got to see the beautiful skyline. I know, I'm talking about all this but I am not putting any pictures to back up my claims. Sorry about that. Then we went back to our hotel and crashed.

After a decadent night of sleep and an incredible breakfast, we headed out onto our adventures. First up, was Minnehaha Falls.

As you can see, they're awesome. It totally sneaks up on you, it would be so easy to not even realize that they are there. I absolutely love waterfalls, and A surprised me by taking me to see these ones. Absolutely amazing and I highly recommend.

After the falls, we drove over to Lake Calhoun to take in the views and relax by the water for awhile. In Iowa, there is not a lot of water and being from Michigan that can be an issue at times. So it was nice to just sit by the water and take in the peacefulness. 

 

After the lake we went by Sebastian Joes for a quick pre-lunch dessert. I had strawberry  basil sorbet and it was INCREDIBLE. Seriously. The flavor. Oh my. Then we headed out to the Mall of America. As we were walking in, I noticed there was an aquarium. I happen to love aquariums and paused to admire some sea life. A asked me if I wanted to go, and I immediately declined because it's rather expensive. He encouraged me to get go down to the ticket booth with him anyway, and I agreed - but was curious why. It turns out he had purchased tickets online for us because he knew I loved aquariums! Yay! 

 

That starfish is just the cutest little thing. After the aquarium we wandered around the mall and shopped for a bit until I had a mini panic attack and we left. But not before admiring the large Peeps store.

 

I actually don't like Peeps, but I am an appreciator of all things candy. I think the MoA would have been something teenager Esther would have loved but adult Esther was overwhelmed and stressed out. I appreciate my little Iowan town more and more after trips like that. I did love Minneapolis though - there were people out everywhere on bikes, walking, jogging - it was awesome to see. I could definitely live in a city like that - and no, I'm not hinting at anything.

Beauty | October 2015 Birchbox Review

This month I actually chose one of the curated boxes, mainly because there were a few products I wanted to try and a product I already knew that I loved. It seemed like a win-win. The box is all about breast cancer awareness, which is a cause near and dear to my heart. All of the brands in this box help support breast cancer research, which is a great thing.

 

 

1.  Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer

Full size $36

This is one of the products I wanted to try, so that is why I chose this particular box. To say I'm disappointed in the sample size would be an understatement. It is tiny. .25 fl oz tiny. I have a rather big face I mean, don't we all? I hope I can at least see if it's worth the $ to buy a regular sized one. This is a primer that is oil free and is supposed to create a nice, smooth, flawless finish for your foundation/tinted moisturizer/whatever. 

2. Clinque Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief

Full size $39

This is super lightweight cream-gel that is meant to soothe and plump skin, along with hydrating it. It's very creamy and sinks right into the skin, not leaving any sort of oily, greasy residue on your skin. It's also very cooling, it feels really nice when you apply it. The price is a bit much for me, personally, but I think this sample is perfect and should last awhile. 

3. Clinque Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Color Balm in Mega Melon

Full size $17

I already have the Clinque Chubby Stick Baby Tint Moisturizing Lip Color Balm in Coming Up Rosy and to say I love it would be an understatement. Also what is with the long names Clinque?! This tinted lip balm is full of shea butter and other hydrating products. I already know that I love the formula, just from using the other one I own. I'm particularly excited about the color because it's a nice, natural, nude-pink shade that will look great for everyday use.

4. Darphin STIMULSKIN PLUS Multi-Corrective Divine Cream

Full size $295

This is a luxury product, as evidenced by the price. I will never spend that much on a beauty product, but I'm happy to try a sample for next to nothing. This is a rejuvenating corrective cream that claims to visibly soften lines, nourish and brighten your skin. It's definitely a dream to apply, it's super creamy and soft - it feels really nice. But the scent is reminiscent of a flowery grandmother perfume - which is not my cup of tea. I will definitely use up this sample, and then move on to my more affordable products.

5. Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Serum Synchronized Complex II

Full size $65

This a highly potent overnight eye serum that is supposed to dramatically reduce all signs of aging. That is some mighty big claims. I won't see results with the tiny little sample size I got, but I like the packing with the pump dispenser. The product itself is incredibly light, which is great for under the eyes - but I like to apply something heavier at night and really let it soak in. Also, the price point is way out of my range again.

I would consider this box a success because I got to try some products I have been wanting to try, I got a product I already knew I loved in a new color and I got to try some high end products that I would never be able to afford otherwise. This is just a small reason as to why I'm incredibly pleased with my Birchbox subscription! 

Recipe | Mexican Lasagna

 Ingredients 

• 1 pound ground beef (turkey would work too! I used venison)
• 2 cups of your favorite salsa (I used Momma Theresa's, it's local and fab!!)
• 16 oz refried beans
• 15 oz black beans, rinsed and drained
• 10 oz enchilada sauce (I prefer green, so that's what I used)
• 4 oz chopped green chilies
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 6 flour tortillas
• 3 cups, divided, shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 2 cups crushed tortilla chips

Instructions

• In a large skillet, cook the meat over medium heat until no longer pink. 
• Drain and then stir in the salsa, beans, sauce, chilies and taco seasoning.
• Once heated through, spread about 1 cup of meat mixture in a greased 13 x 9 baking dish.
• Layer with two tortilla's, a third of the meat mixture and 1 cup of cheese.
• Repeat layers.
• Top with remaining tortilla's and meat mixture.
• Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese and top with tortilla chips.
• Bake another 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

This made a lot of leftovers, which I am personally enjoy cause it means easy lunches for me! It was really delicious and cheesy, which is pretty much all I need in a meal. Happy eating!

Books | On My Nightstand | October 2015

 

About once a month I like to do a little round up of books that are currently sitting in a pile on my nightstand, waiting to be read. Often times, one or two of those books will deem themselves worthy of a full review of their own. I read so many books that I cannot possibly do full reviews on all of them, or else I would drive myself nuts. 

A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride

I will definitely be doing a full review on this book because I was given it to do so. I just started it this past weekend, and I'm definitely intrigued. The writing style is a little hard to get used to, but I'm told it adds to the story. So stay tuned for the full review.

Stones for Bread by Christa Parrish

This book has been on my to-read list for a few years now and I'm excited to finally read it. It combines life with baking and sometimes that's just what I need to read. Some nice food/baking puns wrapped up in an identity crisis. Delicious.

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty 

After finally reading Big Little Lies by Moriarty and loving it, I immediately checked out the next book I could find. This book doesn't appear to have the same mysterious, suspenseful allure that BLL had - but maybe it's tricking me. I probably won't do a full review on this one, but definitely watch my Goodreads for mini reviews and updates on what I'm reading.

Still Life by Louise Penny 

This book was recommended to me and I cannot remember by whom. It's the first in a series, a mystery series nonetheless. I need to delve into a good series and I'm hoping this will be the one.

We That Are Left by Clare Clark

This a book that a publisher sent me to read and review, so that will be coming. This is probably not a book I would have picked out for myself, but isn't that the fun of doing this whole blogging thing?  This book appears to have kind of a historical fiction/romance vibe which is NOT my thing, but I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

There you have that, the books that are currently waiting to be read. What is on your nightstand currently?

Five Things Friday

Five Things I Did:

1. Friday was Plaidurday so we donned our plaids and headed to Minneapolis for a quick getaway.

2. On Friday night we went to a baseball game. It was fan appreciation night so we got "free" hats and I was irrationally excited. Also the skyline view was stunning from the stadium. 

3. I tried this pancake shot with my breakfast on Saturday morning. Yes that is bacon and no, that is not egg yolk. It was an orange juice chaser.

4. I am going to be putting up a whole post about our trip to Minneapolis so be on the lookout for that one!

5. The local library is having a book sale today (Friday) and you know I'm going to hit that up. I'm actually really looking forward to it.

Five Things I Ate:

1. Lemon Ricotta Pancakes from Hell's Kitchen. 

2. Our delicious breakfast spread from The Hen House. 

3. We stopped by Sebastian Joes for a little treat. I tried the strawberry basil sorbet and it was so good. A really interesting blend of flavors. I am on a big kick of basil in my desserts recently.

4. Strawberry Rhubarb yogurt by Noosa is perfection. I am a huge fan of their yogurts - they are so creamy and I feel like the fruit flavor is not artificial at all. Another favorite by them is the pumpkin. Pick up some next time you see it, it last a delightful little snack.

5. Made a cheeseburger pasta, that really has no health value but it was easy and made lots of leftovers. Sometimes that is all I can manage.

Five Things I Read:

1. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
This book was meh. I can't really think of a better way to describe it. It seemed like it should be good, but I just was not into it. It took me over a week to read it, which tells you right there that it was not very engaging. 

2. Whales are cool

3. Super love this author

4. I have been loving the Hipster BBQ station on Pandora. It's been the background to my work days all week long and I don't see it stopping anytime soon.

5. Like I need more of a reason to become a hermit

I am linking up over at High Five for Friday with Coffee with Caitlin, Cup of Tea, Bright on a budget and Della Devoted.

Beauty | Lush Haul

 So a full on post about our quick 24 hours in Minneapolis will be coming, but while there we obviously had to stop by The Mall of America. That place is literally the most overwhelming place I have ever been in my life. 

We decided to stop into Lush because well, why the heck not? Last time I was at Lush I got my husband some beard and face wash - he is apparently a fan and wanted to repurchase!

   

Kalamazoo - This is a beard and facial wash that I purchased for my husband last time I went and he ended up enjoying. It's made with pineapple juice, jojoba oil, almond oil and a bunch of other great stuff to help cleanse your face and hydrate your beard. He says he notices a difference in his face cleanliness while he is using it so that's good enough for me.

Aqua Marina - I think I have mentioned on here that my skin is in rough shape recently. So I wanted to look for some good, all natural cleansers while in Lush to help settle this mess. This is a face and body cleansers that is made with nori seaweed (which is super rich in minerals) to help nourish the skin. It also has calamine and aloe to help soothe sensitive skin. It smells gross, and looks like a pink beach but I am sure it will very beneficial to my face.

Ultrabland - This is a cult favorite beauty product, so I decided to give it a try finally. It's a blend of oils, honey and beeswax designed to help take your makeup (and the day!) off your face. But it doesn't just strip it all off, its gentle and nourishing with rosewater and iris extract. I'm so excited to use this.

There you go, my recent three Lush purchases. I still have a little bit of Let The Good Times Roll left over before I start in on one of these new products. Do any of you have a favorite Lush product?  I would love to hear your recommendations, especially for finicky skin, and try one out next time I go.

 

Recipes | Chicken and Chile Stew

 

Just a little warning, this dish can be a bit spicy due to the jalapenos in it. Also, please remember to be careful when dicing and seeding hot peppers. Wear gloves or wash your hands immediately after preparing. Don't be a loser like me who touched my lips and then they were on fire for hours and hours, so I dunked my face in milk and then broke out into a rash all over my face. Don't be like that guy.
 

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 pound small potatoes, diced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 14 oz diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano

Instructions  

• Place the chicken, potatoes and jalapeno in the slow cooker.
• Combine broth, tomatoes with juice, chili powder and oregano in a large bowl and mix. 
• Pour into slow cooker and stir.
• Cook on low for 8-9 hours.
• Pull out chicken and shred.
• Place chicken back into crockpot and mix.
• Serve!

 I'm sure you could replace with whatever kind of peppers you prefer, this might also be good served over rice. Mmm, I might try that next time.
 

Book Review | Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

 

So this book was released in 2014 and has probably been sitting on my to-read shelf since then. For whatever reason I wasn't in a hurry to read it, even with all the the 5 star ratings from friends and other book lovers. I honestly can say part of it was the cover, it didn't really reel me in. I know, I know, don't judge a book by its cover. But at first glance, or first 5000000 glances, I never realized that it was like a lollipop shattering. Duh Esther. Suddenly, I was way more interested in reading it. I don't get it either.

The Plot

This book follows three women who are all at a crossroads in their lives. There is a Madeline, who has always been a force of nature. Her ex-husband (Nathan) and his yoga loving wife (Bonnie) have moved into the community she lives in with her husband (Ed) and children. To make matters even worse, Nathan and Bonnie's daughter is going into the same kindergarten class as HER daughter. Plus, Madeline and Nathan's teenager daughter is choosing Nathan over Madeline constantly. Even though he abandoned them when she was an infant. Next is Celeste, who is a stunning, seemingly flustered woman who is married to Perry and together they have twin boys. People assume Perry and Celeste have the perfect marriage. Putting on that show for everyone comes with a price and Celeste must decide how much she is willing to pay. Lastly is Jane, who is new to the town and a single mom to a little boy. Jane is kind of plain, quiet, unsure of herself and Madeline immediately takes her under her wing. Jane is sad beyond her 24 years and harbors great worry about her son and the situation which caused him to enter the world.

My thoughts 

This book covers a lot of ground and the thing that I love the best is that you aren't really sure what exactly transpired until the end. All three of these women have fascinating stories to tell and the way in which they interconnect is flawless. Moriarty's writing is spot on, I couldn't put this book down. I give it 5 stars and definitely recommend to anyone who wants a good, solid read.

Five Things Friday

Five Things I Did:

1. I ended up having to go to urgent care on Saturday morning. I have had a itchy red rash on my neck and it started to spread up to my face and benadryl wasn't helping. I got some steroids to take for 12 days. Now to try and figure out what caused it...

2. Worked some longer hours so I could take a half day on Friday. 

3. The weather really took a turn towards fall, which I am totally for. Bring it on!

4. National Coffee Day happened. I love coffee and any excuse to drink it all day is good by me!

5. As you're reading this I am working a half day and then we are off to Minneapolis for a little weekend getaway, so be sure to read my Five Things Friday post next week to see what were up to in Minnesota.

Five Things I Ate:

1. Been obsessing over gala apples. So yum.

2. Taco Pizza is a real obsession here in Iowa. So we tried a different version of it and was pleasantly surprised. But then again, isn't putting Doritos on anything going to make it delicious?

3. Made a Mexican Lasagna that was pretty darn delicious. The recipe will be coming eventually.

4. Bought some lemon poppy seed muffins from a local market. Lemon poppy seed are just my absolute favorite, so good.

5. I bought some mentos gum on a whim, and I'm not really a fan. Big life things going on over here guys.

Five Things I Read:

1. This video made me smile

2. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Check back on Monday for a review!

3. People are wacked

4. October Book Page as usual! Love the beginning of the month!

5. I guess that's it? Light reading week again for me! Sorry :(

I am linking up over at High Five for Friday with Coffee with Caitlin, Cup of Tea, Bright on a budget and Della Devoted.