My Two-Item Penelope Pop Collection

In all honesty, I'm not a Pop collector or toy collector in any capacity.  But yes, I am a Nicola Coughlan fan, so these are the only "members" of my current collection--and I love them SO much. My guys and I had been keeping an eye out for them but every time we'd go to a place that sold Pops, these items were not available, which was fine...I wasn't actively hunting them or anything.

The Penelope in the green outfit was found by my Youngest in Hollywood at the big Pop store that is located there. He was in line for a concert and just walked over and luckily found it.  The Penelope in yellow was found by The Huz when he carpooled with a co-worker, meeting up at a parking lot adjacent to a small business toy shop. And again, by chance, they had her there.  

Both finds are super special to me and I cherish them--my current two-item Pop collection.
 

A Product Review: Breyers No Sugar Added Vanilla

The Huz and I are on a self imposed "lower our sugar intake" journey. I am taking full accountability for my choices and fully admit that over the years, I've freely indulged in desserts and sugary drinks. I have no judgement for other people's choices--you do you and your health journey is your own. But for me (and The Huz has joined in on my realization), I feel it's time to make a few food intake adjustments. 

Enter stage left, the Breyers No Sugar Added ice cream. It appears to be an "all natural" product with all the usual suspects except for the fact that no sugar is added.  Usually, something that claims all these is not going to taste very good. I'm happy to say, that this product is quite decent. The Vanilla flavor shines through and as expected, isn't super sweet. The texture is creamy, but not overly so, and in some moments has an "icy" consistency (I couldn't figure out another way of describing this observation. LOL!)  We liked it and will be purchasing it for our ice cream cravings. 4 out of 5 stars. ☆☆☆☆

As with everything, please do research on the ingredients to make sure it doesn't contain any allergies you may have. Also, moderation is key for anything.  

All opinions are my own. 

Filling Your Days With Books

Honestly, reading is pretty much a form of self-care for me. I love diving into a good story and getting lost in it. And I'm thankful to all the talented writers that make this "pampering" possible.

Hearts on Fire by Julia Gabriel: This story is emotional with plenty of levels of feelings between the main romantic leads Becca and Jack. Both characters are hiding secrets that not only affect themselves directly, but also their family and each other. Their connection toward one another is strong and it feels like fate plays a hand in the events of their lives. They both seem so guarded, but open with each other—such a sweet bond. There’s lots of joy, love, pain, healing forgiveness and all sorts of emotions in between in the telling of their story. 

 

 

Wild Irish Rose by Ava Miles:  Becca O’Neill suffers from agoraphobia but it hasn’t stopped her from creating a successful business on her family’s land. Now her livelihood and her way of existing is being threatened by a family business that seeks her land. Trevor Merriam has a job to do for his family’s company and that’s basically acquiring Becca’s land with as cutthroat a means as he’s allowed within the confines of the law…and he’s feeling that family pressure to get the goal accomplished. But he never  planned on getting all up on his feelings.  **wink, wink**  The surrounding characters  in this story are amusing and charming and I found myself giggling many times, as well as feeling intense care and sympathy for certain moments. 

 

 

Tessa Ever After: A Brother’s Best Friend Romance by Brighton Walsh: The male protagonist, Jason, lives a seemingly charmed life with mega-rich parents and a legacy position at a family company. But we quickly learn he doesn’t quite fit in in that life. I love that he’s not “perfect”, ultra-successful lead character that is often featured in romance books. He’s flawed and figuring things out while still being awesome and a great romantic catch. The female protagonist, Tessa, is completely amazing and definitely someone I wanted to root for—she’s comfortable in her life choices and makes no apologies for it. Bring in a 4-year-old, an overprotective brother, a loyal best friend and all the intensity of love and romance, and you’ll have a great story that is hard to put down and enjoyable.