Book Before Movie: A Review of "Me Before You" by Jo Jo Moyes

**PLEASE NOTE...This is a book review and not a summary review like we all love/hate to read on Amazon. I will disclose the ending of the novel after the "Read More" option and my opinions on the novel.  If you are hoping to read the novel or see the movie please DO NOT READ AFTER THE "READ MORE" OPTION...Thank you! I really don't want to spoil anything for you!**

We've all heard about them...those epic "viral" books that has everyone ears buzzing. 

Gone Girl, Eat Pray Love, Water for Elephants (Still can't seem to finish this one), The Time Traveler's Wife, and lately "Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes.

I saw the book cover "Me Before You"  long before it was popular and a must read. The author choose a book art style that reminded me of V.C. Andrews "Flowers in the Attic" series. I passed then but alas I bought it anyway in the Newark NJ airport gift shop waiting to pick up a good friend from her trip to Iceland.

To be honest, I didn't want read this book. I don't read these tragic love stories that will have me crying and mad at certain characters for their actions. I read love stories but usually on a more risque note..But like the other viral novels I decided to give it a chance and put down my smut for a little while. 

Sunday Stolen Moments!

This weekend was officially the first day of Spring in my world! It was warm here in South Eastern NY and I was barely home for any of it! lol. 

I was running around, dashing to New York City and back, making a little bit of my husband's Aunt's 60th birthday, spending time with visiting family, and getting to celebrate my grandmother's 91st birthday!! I can't believe she's 91!! 

Friday Favorites: A Few Odds & Ends

Frankly Noted - Etsy

This week stressed me out. There wasn't just one thing but a full to do list. One of my favorite sayings is "This too shall pass" and once again I find myself muttering the words softly to myself. What I have on my plate is manageable and for that I'm grateful. Very grateful. It just needs to time to see it's see it's self through. 

This weekend should bring a lot of fun my way!! For all you Doctor Who Fans and Jessica Jones fans, I'm going get to meet David Tennant and Matt Smith at Wizard Con in Manhattan!! More to come next week on that! Then I have a 60th birthday celebration for Craig's Aunt! 

On Sunday, I have a very very special 91st birthday celebration for my grandmother!! God bless her, seriously! I never thought I'd be this lucky to have her in my life this long. I hope it's a good day. I really do! 

Married Life: Currently Edition

I've always been a fan of The Graduate...

Currently...

I can't believe we are no longer newlyweds!!! Our first year went by so fast!

Currently...
I'm feeling a little jumbled and all over the place. There are so many things on our to do list and I'm trying not to crack under pressure meanwhile I have a family event at least once a week until July. It's a little intense right now.

About Me: Ten Ways I need to Take Care of Myself Better!

A few weeks ago I started a new Pinterest board - Beauty + Self as motivation to start taking better care of myself. Do you think I actually started pinning helpful things in order to better my own self care? Not even close...

I had a good start though...I did pin a few homemade beauty treatments but I need to go further! I still feel like I'm rolling out of bed, scrounging myself together to look presentable, and sprinting to my college classes. Oh yes, I do miss the good ole college years and it's a bad habit I still fall into quite often.

March Savings: Several Ways I Saved Money in March!

To accomplish my yearly goals there is one important thing I need to move forward...Money! I'm grateful and lucky for my salary job and I need to stretch it a little further. 

Each month in 2016 I've been keeping track of my finances and attempting to make more responsible decisions to minimize my spending. 

I'm starting to truly see the difference, especially in my credit card statements. I still can't believe my AMEX bill was under $200?!?! That has happened in months!! I have to keep it up and I have to keep going! =)

Sunday Stolen Moments...

A long time ago I picked up a rose wine bottle at Stew Leonard's wines called "Stolen Moments". It stuck with me long after that day. I find myself living for those moments over the weekend that I always want to remember! 

I really need to find that bottle of wine too because it was soooo delicious!! =P

Saturday Musings and Snow??

My favorite part of my mantel

~ Like most the eastern U.S. we got snow today on April 9th. Yup, so happy I did not got married this year, but last year when the weather was more normal March/April...not like November/December. Ha! ~

Friday Favorites...10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week!

{Pin}

"What do you want from me, I'm not americas sweetheart, but you love me anyway..."

"America's Sweetheart" - Elle King

Wasn't it just Monday? I swear blogging each night makes the week go by wayy too fast.  I really enjoyed this blogging week too. I feel like because everyone pretty much everywhere is thrown off with the funky weather people tried to bring a little more brightness to the blogging world to offset the doldrums. 

I think Southern NY is going to get snow on Saturday but luckily my plans are local. A mini go cart place opened up in my local mall and my best friend is having her birthday party there on Saturday. I've driven a bumper car but not a go cart before. It should be interesting!! They even have a indoor track for mini races and everything!

Currently + Thursday Thoughts

Currently...

I'm exhausted, but it was so worth it. For one of my best friend's birthdays we went to a dinner theater who was playing Romeo & Juliet (1996) with Leonardo Dicaprio & Claire Danes. 20 years later and it's still amazing! I know I have the soundtrack on CD somewhere...I must find it!

Currently...

Dreading the dentist tomorrow morning...I hate the dentist. I go every 6 months for a cleaning, so usually I don't have cavities, but there is something about the dentist I just hate. I think it's the picking at the teeth with the instruments gets at me the most. Oh and the sound of the water cleaning drill...I know I'll have a headache the rest of the day!

Married Life: "What's for Dinner" Debacle + Pinned Recipes

The #1 topic Craig and I fight about is the dreaded "What's for Dinner" conversation. It happens everyday between 5pm-5:15pm. My husband is a picky eater and I'm trying to eat healthy. It creates an uneven battlefield.

The only possibile way to dig out of this is to try some new recipes...and keep on trying even more new ones.

It would be so easy if we could have tacos everyday. I swear my husband could eat a bacon egg and cheese on a bagel everyday for breakfast and a taco/burrito for dinner without one complaint. =P

What I Learned in 5 Years at the Same Company...

On April 4th, 2011 I started working at my current job. The realization that it's been 5 years since I first walked through those doors has completely thrown me for a loop. 5 whole years. Fuck, that went fast. 

I remember panicking after my job before this announced they were closing their doors. The recession was over but it was still hard for a small programming company to dig above all the rest. I had just bought my little studio condo and had a mortgage so the anxiety was high.  

 Immediately I marched myself to a job agency and was a 100% honest in what I was looking for and my qualifications. I asked for full-time work, health insurance options, and 401K options. Within a week the scout had something...

Weekend Shopping: My Successful Day Shopping at Torrid!

Fashion for me is an uphill battle I've tried to win for years. I'm a plus size girl who has been forever stuck in the middle of two sizes, longing for Stacey & Clinton from What not to Wear to save me one day, and it's tough road to find clothes in stores that fit me in the right places.

But somehow in my 30 years I have found a middle ground - kind of a stalemate - where I am comfortable in my clothes and not pulling at my garments every 10 minutes because they are sticking to me inappropriately. 

My favorite stores to shop for clothes are Torrid, Dress Barn, Kohls (Def. frenemies though), Fashion to Figure, Target and Forever 21 (another frenemy). With the exception of my two frenemies I can always find something that makes me smile and makes me feel pretty in the other stores. Even though I might have to try on a lot of styles and sizes the small victories are very refreshing!! 

A Few Ideas for a Quiet Saturday...

I just love this photo...These beautiful cherry blossoms are blooming outside my office buidling! I still can't believe I took this picture with my phone!

I just love rainy Saturdays! This weekend is one of my last weekends before the birthdays and the family events completely take over my life for the next few weeks! It's going to be a rough one, but fun nonetheless. 

Today I'm on a hunt for a cafe who does Latte art in my county without venturing into New York City. I have a few places to scope out and I'm hoping it's a success. My first stop has a maple bacon donut that is calling my name!!