Big Reveal of Baby Reinert

Obviously, we are beyond excited that we will be welcoming a new addition to our family this November. And since we recently  celebrated another major milestone – buying a house – we decided to host a joint housewarming and baby gender reveal party for our family and friends.

I went with a blue and pink, mustache and lips theme and created this fun little invite a few weeks before we found out for sure what we were having.

I wanted to do something different to reveal our baby’s gender so I made a piñata and filled it with colored candies and streamers. (More on how the piñata was made in an upcoming post!)

We asked guests to guess “boy or girl” by picking either the blue mustache or pink lips. Here is a picture of everyone who guessed we were having a boy.

We had pretty even numbers between boy guesses and girl guesses. Even Millie joined in on the fun as she ran up to Brandon and I right before we took the “girl” picture.

We asked the son of one of Brandon’s softball buddies to do the honors and after tons of worry on my end that the piñata wouldn’t hold, it broke perfectly and a rush of streamers came out …

… in PINK! Even though we only found out we were having a girl a few days before the party, it was very hard to keep it under wraps – but it was definitely worth it!

Brandon and I are so excited for our little girl! We both wore blue AND pink for the party and I’ll admit I tried to throw people off here and there when I could. 🙂

Now that we know what we’re having, the clothes shopping and nursery decorating has officially begun! We’ve got a lot to do before November, but we’re looking forward to every second of it.

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Book Report: “Then Came You” by Jennifer Weiner

I actually picked up this book because I couldn’t find “Fifty Shades Free” at my local Target. I read the back cover and after realizing it was a story about pregnancy and having babies, I couldn’t help but buy it.

I took it with me on my trip to New Jersey and New York and finished it two weeks later on my way back from a trip to Phoenix. It turned out to be a really great traveling book – even though I couldn’t find much time to read it while I was running around in Orlando, whenever I was out of town I couldn’t help but pick it back up every chance I got.

The story is actually more about unconventional pregnancy options like egg donation and surrogacy but I still found myself relating to a number of the characters and especially situations throughout.

I would definitely recommend this one – and not just if you have kids or are expecting.

New York State of Mind

I have so many posts to catch up on! So, sorry if some of these get posted out of chronological order.

One of the things on my 30 Before 30 list (yay, I’m actually starting to cross a bunch of these off!) was taking a trip to the Big Apple. And while we were only there for a couple days, I’m happy to say we officially saw NYC!

We were able to tie this trip in with Brandon’s cousin, Troy’s, wedding in New Jersey. The wedding was beautiful, the reception was super fun and the couple looked absolutely stunning! Yes, even Troy! Here’s a pic of Brandon and I before the ceremony.

The day right after the wedding, we swiftly high-tailed it out of town to head to New York. Our friends Tom and Sandra picked us up and took us out for some hipster soul food – then the next day we went sight seeing! Our first stop was a boat tour where we saw Lady Liberty.

The tour went around the entire island of Manhattan and took a total of three hours! We got to see a lot of neat stuff along the way and I made sure we got a picture of BrandAnna (and baby!) in front of the city skyline. Look, it’s the Empire State Building!

Next stop was Times Square. I’ll admit it wasn’t as busy as it looks on TV, I expected a lot more hustle and bustle, but the giant screens and ads were just as I expected and very cool to see in person. We even saw where they used to film TRL!

Crossing another item off my little bucket list, we went to Tiffany & Co. and although I wasn’t expecting it, I walked out with my very own Tiffany-blue box with a very special gift inside! Brandon got me a Tiffany bean necklace – to signify our own little bean. 🙂

We made a stop at the gorgeous St. Patrick’s Cathedral and took a few minutes to walk through the beautiful aisles and pews. We didn’t know if we were having a boy or girl yet, but before we left, Brandon and I lit a candle and said a couple prayers for our little baby-to-be.

I love the show “30 Rock,” so I got really excited when I saw the front of Rockefeller Center! Something I would love to add to a future bucket list would be to come back and see the city – especially Rockefeller Plaza – at Christmastime … some day.

Alright, when I was younger I really wanted to be a Rockette. And then I found out that you have to be a certain height to even audition to be a part of the elite, high-kicking squad. So, needless to say, this is about as close as I’ll ever get to the Radio City stage.

A full day of downtown sight seeing was enough for me, so after resting a bit that night, we headed out again the next day to Coney Island. Brandon rode a bunch of the rides – while I sat and watched 😦 – but I was sure to get a Nathan’s hot dog before we left!

We crammed a whole lot into a very little amount of time, but it turned out to be a great trip! Thanks to our hosts Sandra and Tom for showing us a good time – we’ll be back soon!

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Book Report: “Fifty Shades of Grey” by E.L. James

Alright, unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve heard about the Fifty Shades series. I’m currently on the third book because at this point I am completely invested in the series and must finish it and find out how it ends!

To be honest, if you’re looking for a book to stimulate your brain and get you thinking – don’t bother wasting your time on this one. The writing isn’t great and a lot of the dialogue is extremely corny but I like the story – no matter how unrealistic it is.

Besides the content (which is definitely risque, so be warned!), the book feels like it was written for teenagers. It is full of repetitive and easy-to-understand language, which makes it a quick and easy read – you could probably read the whole series within a long weekend.

If you are like me and can’t possibly pass up a book that is such a hot topic pretty much everywhere you go, then definitely go for it! But don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Looking Back at 2011

I was inspired by one of my fabulous sorority sisters, Erin Davenport, and her recent blog post about her year in review for 2011. So I decided to come up with my own version of the idea and pick one defining event from each month of last year – it’s a great way to remember, record and reflect upon everything that has happened since this time last year.

January – A Family of Three

We started off 2011 with a new addition to our family: Millie Noel Reinert. If you’ve read my past posts, it’s easy to see that I am head-over-heels in love with my little, long-haired dachshund. Millie was a Christmas present from my husband, Brandon, and from the moment she came into our lives, we have become healthier, happier and wealthier (at least in quality of life) than ever before.

February – Meeting Finley Marie

In December we welcomed a niece, Finley Marie Reinert, to Brandon’s brother and sister-in-law. Due to the busy holiday (and beer) season as well as the fact that they lived in West Palm Beach, it wasn’t until February that we got to meet her for the first time. Seeing her in person was nothing compared to Skype and photos, she is one of the sweetest and happiest babies I’ve ever met.

March – Two Years & Counting

In March, Brandon and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary – it seems like just yesterday when we said “I do.” On our first anniversary we stayed at the Grand Bohemian (where we had our reception). Last year we didn’t plan anything big but we did have dinner at a fondue restaurant, Brandon had never been to one before. Each year keeps getting better, I can’t wait to celebrate three years!

April – Welcome to Wyndham

April brought a big change for me. I left my job of almost four years at a small, local publishing company to go to work for Wyndham – a large, nationwide organization with a more corporate setting. I still work in publishing and continue to do a lot of writing and editing, but I am constantly being challenged in new ways (which is a good thing) and getting tons of social media experience.

May – Phirst Time to Philly

There were a lot of May events that I could have picked to highlight: Brandon and I both turned 27, I started a blog and two of our best friends got married. But our trip to New Jersey/Philadelphia was too good not to mention! On a whim I suggested to Brandon that we visit his hometown and of course he was more than willing … as long as we made it out to a Philadelphia Phillies game.

June – I Added an @ to My Name

Yeah, that’s right, just like I said I’d never join Facebook when I was in college, I had no plans whatsoever of tweeting. That is until social media became a bigger part of my job and I was looking for more ways to spread news about my portfolio and blog. 🙂 So in June I finally bit the bullet and signed up, and I’ll admit I like tweeting and find a lot of great stuff for work (and for fun) through my account.

July – Carpooling to Coral Springs

The summer months were hot as usual so we decided to cool off with some of our buddies in Coral Springs in July. Our friends Ben and Alli invited us on a little road trip to Alli’s sister’s house and of course we were up for the adventure. We brought Millie along but she wasn’t alone – she had Ben and Alli’s dog Bella as well as two other dachshunds in Coral Springs to play with!

August – Revisiting My Alma Mater

After celebrating Bid Day with Chi Omega at UCF, I really started missing my own chapter at USF. So I planned a weekend where I could go visit the Chi Omega house and campus at USF (they have done a lot of renovations around campus since I left) as well as see my good friend Jamie. Being back in Tampa brought back a lot of memories, I hope to get over there more often this year.

September – Weekend in Death Valley

September brought a trip that we had been looking forward to for a while – returning to Clemson for a football game. Along with our friends Ben, Alli and Curtis as well as my sister Lina, Lina’s friend Emily, Brandon’s cousin Troy and Troy’s fiance Sarah we headed to South Carolina for an incredibly fun weekend and a great game against Florida State. (Clemson won, of course!)

October – Traveling Coast to Coast

In October I scratched the first item off of my 30 before 30 list by taking a trip across the country. I had never been to the Pacific Northwest before (or really the West in general) so I was very excited when my work sent me to Seattle for a meeting. I only spent a couple of days in Washington but luckily I was able to see most of the main sights including Pike Place Market and the Space Needle.

November – My Little Millie Turns 1

November brought the beginning of the holiday season but for the Reinerts it also brought Millie’s first birthday! Millie was born on 11/12/10 (although we didn’t bring her home until Jan. 1). We’ve loved every second we spent with Millie so far and look forward to many more years of love and licks from our little girl. She had a great birthday filled with treats and a couple new “big girl” toys.

December – From Beer to Wine

Brandon also had quite a few changes in his career last year. In the spring his company (he worked for a beer distributor) was bought out. As a result, his territory and hours were greatly affected and right before the holidays he was offered a job with a wine distributor basically doing the same thing. He is now off weekends and we are on similar schedules throughout the week. 🙂

2011 was a really great year all around … but we are hoping for an even better 2012! I’ll keep you posted!

Happy Owl-idays to You

So yeah, if you know me well then you know I have a slight obsession with owls. A few months ago I stumbled upon an owl-infused blog (see my Blog Report below) and was inspired to integrate my favorite feathery creatures into my Christmas gifts this year.

Owls seem to be everywhere lately – which is both a good and a bad thing for obsessed people like me – so it was easy to find the basics like wrapping paper (mine is from Target). It was a lot of work, but I created 20 of these cute little owl gift tags for the holidays.

I started by drawing the owl outline and the owl belly. Once I was happy with the shape and size, I created a template out of cardstock and proceeded to trace and cut out the shapes. I went with a red and green theme for Christmas, of course!

I bought a set of Martha Stewart holiday paper to make up the feathers of the owl. I tried to stick to my color scheme of red and green and chose sections of the papers that had plenty of color and Christmasy designs.

I bought a Martha Stewart leaf stamp cutter and I’m SO glad I did because it made cutting out all those little “feathers” so easy. I created a peanut-shaped stencil and cut out a bunch of those for the eyes section of the owl’s face.

After I stamped out all the feathers I took an assortment of them and arranged them in four rows of six. I made guidelines on the belly-shaped paper to keep my feathers in line. Then I glued the feathers on row by row starting at the bottom left.

I continued to layer on the feathers one row at a time until I reached the top of the tummy. After all the feathers were glued firmly in place, I turned the belly over and trimmed the top along the wavy edge I created with the template.

I glued the tummy onto the red owl shape, leaving enough room at the top for the eye mask (peanut-shaped) part. The final steps (which I didn’t take pictures of) were to cut out a small yellow diamond shape for the beak and two white circles for eyes.

I drew pupils in the eyes with a black marker and then cut a slit toward the top of the owl’s head to weave ribbon through. Then I wrapped my gifts in my owl-iday wrapping paper and attached the gift tags with curly, complementary ribbons.

I was very happy with the finished product and enjoyed the look of our Christmas tree with all the owl-themed presents stacked up underneath it! And I still have plenty of owl wrapping paper for next year (and maybe even the year after that!)

Like I said, these tags turned out to be a lot of work, but I love the way they came out and I got a lot of compliments on them when everyone received their presents. Now I need to start planning on my holiday gift wrapping plans for next year!

Hope you had a great holiday season … I’ll see you in 2012!

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Blog Report: My Owl Barn (MyOwlBarn.com)

Through one of my other favorite blogs, How About Orange (HowAboutOrange.blogspot.com), I found a great DIY tutorial on how to make adorable little owl tags! Once I looked through the tutorial, I started browsing through the other projects and products featured on the site … and I was hooked.

My Owl Barn is an owl lover’s dream. It has tons of craft ideas, printable owl designs and nifty finds from all over. I could seriously browse through the posts for hours.

I love the gift tags that I made this year and hope to get more ideas from this blog for future owl projects. If you’re an owl lover, like me, or simply a lover of crafts, this site is one you should definitely check out!

It’s That Time of Year

The busy fray of the Christmas season is definitely here! I have been overloaded and overwhelmed with everything from work, wrapping presents and attending holiday get-togethers, leaving me little time to post new content on my poor lonely blog.

No worries though, I have some free time coming up and plenty of ideas to keep you busy through the New Year. Let’s start with getting in the spirit of the season – one of my favorite things about the holidays is going to all the events and parties. Here’s a few of the ways I got into the Christmas spirit this year …

Lina and I started off the Christmas season by taking Rory and Millie to Pet-a-palooza in early December. The two doggies were very excited to get out of the house and spend some time together!

Pet-a-palooza was great. There were tons of dogs, free treats and even pictures with Santa! After walking around for a while we found a spot on the lawn and settled in for a live performance by Hanson!

A couple weeks ago I had a jam-packed week with three different holiday parties back to back! It all started with my Chi Omega advisor gift exchange which was held at a fellow advisor’s, Suzanne’s, house.

My “Secret Santa” was Monica – the same girl who got me last year, go figure – and she did a great job! I got lotion in my favorite scent and dark chocolate covered strawberries! The super cuter owl purse was from Shanna.

The next day I had a holiday get-together at a small bar in the Dr. Phillips area. This one was for RCI, a company we work closely with at Wyndham. A few of the other Corporate Communications girls were there, too!

I was invited to the RCI party by the same people that took us out to dinner at the Space Needle in Seattle. But, the best part of this party was seeing my good friend, Teresa, who used to work with me at my last job!

The culmination of my holiday festivities week was the Wyndham Vacation Ownership holiday party which was held at the Amway Center. And guess who was there to greet us during cocktail hour … my favorite mascot, Stuff!

The majority of the Communications team made it out to the party and a good time was had by all! The food was great, we all hit the dance floor and I won a $50 American Express card … which has already been used up.

We really enjoyed the Christmas festivities that we’ve participated in so far! We got a late start on decorating at home as well as finishing up our Christmas shopping (I still have  one or two more things I need to run out and get) but it was well worth it. I hope all of you have a fabulous holiday season, too!

Happy Hanksgiving!

We have so much to be thankful for this year! We’re thankful for new additions to our family – our new niece Finley and of course our furry little Millie. I’m also thankful for my new job and a new set of wonderful work friends. But probably most of all we are thankful for being so close to family and friends!

This Thanksgiving we spent the day at my mom’s house. Lina had to work but was able to hang with the fam for a few hours.

The Reinerts enjoyed the day and especially the food! And of course Millie had a great time hanging out with her “aunt,” Rory.

A couple days after Thanksgiving we celebrated my aunt’s birthday and got to hang out with the Graefes: Noe, Elena and Maxi!

My youngest niece, Elena, is such a ham! She kept asking to have her picture taken – and then smiled so hard that her eyes closed.

Brandon got to spend some time with my brother-in-law Nicolas, who’s apparently joining in on the beard craze that’s going on.

Elena always comes out of her shell when Uncle Brandon is around – and she was happy to give him a quick bump before we left.

Later on in the day we headed to our friends Brianna and Jimmy’s (Brimmy’s) house to celebrate Thanksgiving with their families.

For both of our Thanksgiving celebrations we made macaroni and cheese muffins (get the recipe here), they were pretty good!

We had a jam-packed, but very fun Thanksgiving this year, I can’t believe the holidays are here already! I was hoping the season would slow things down a bit but it seems it has only given us more to add to our December calendar. Hoping you all had a great Thanksgiving and are gearing up for a fabulous holiday season!

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Book Report: “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins

If you loved the Twilight Saga, get ready for your newest obsession: “The Hunger Games” series. We decided to read this in my book club, even though the books are geared mainly at young adults – but hey, so was “Twilight,” right?

Right from the beginning, I couldn’t put it down and I read the entire first book in just a couple of days (I broke down and bought the other two books and am currently reading the third). It is suspenseful and full of surprises with a sweet love story woven in.

The end of the first book leaves a lot of questions unanswered – which I why I needed to get my hands on the others pronto. I recommend just going ahead and buying (or borrowing) the whole series at the get-go, because you won’t want to wait once you’ve finished this one.

The Hunger Games has already been made into a movie which comes out this March, here’s hoping they make the other two books into movies as well! Watch the trailer … I’m so excited!

Having a Ball

One of my favorite things about fall is sports. While college and professional football are in full swing by October, it’s the year-round league sports that get me really excited! I don’t actually participate … I am more of a cheerleader. But I am fully supportive of Brandon whether he’s playing soccer, softball or his newest obsession: kickball.

Brandon has been playing softball for a few years but this season is the first that he has managed the team. He plays with a group of friends from high school and for once I’m not the only one in the cheering section!

Brandon started the season playing first base but has recently started pitching (which can be scary). So far the team has only lost two games and sits in second place in the league. Not bad for a first-time manager!

A knee injury during a league soccer game a couple years ago meant Brandon had to switch to a sport where he didn’t have to run as much. He’s still pretty quick on his feet, but his hitting has gotten a whole lot better!

This team is totally different than the last few Brandon has played with. All the guys are around our age and their girlfriends, fiancees, wives and even parents come out in full force to cheer on the boys!

Our friends Ben and Alli started a coed kickball league this year and although they tried very hard to get me to join the team I just show up to support my sister Lina (and their newest team member: Brandon!)

The first game we went to was against a team that hasn’t lost a game … in the last couple of seasons. Even though they dominated us, we were able to make it on the board. And Lina was the one who scored the run!

Because this league is more about having fun than actually winning games, it pretty much turns into a night of drinking with our buddies. It’s a little bit different than our Tuesday-night softball games!

Brandon plays first base on the kickball team, but I think sometimes he forgets to have a good time and can get pretty competitive! It’s in his nature because he likes to win, but overall I can tell he has a really good time!

For now I’m going to stick to the sidelines and remain supportive of Brandon, Lina and all my other friends who play. I’m not completely ruling out the possibility of joining in some day … but every team needs fans, too!

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Book Report: “Harry Potter” by J.K. Rowling

This time around I’m writing about one of my favorite book series: Harry Potter! The movies are awesome but they don’t hold a candle to the books.

You may think the series was written for kids but it is so complex and complete that it appeals to and draws in readers of all ages. The first couple of books are a little bit juvenile but they are really fun.

Once you get into the middle of the set it starts to get a bit dark and almost scary. And by the end, if you haven’t been keeping track you could easily get lost in the numerous characters and storylines.

I’m really not sure how Rowling kept everything straight, herself. Every single piece of the story is developed throughout the seven books and completely wrapped up by the end. Even the small details that you didn’t think mattered turn out to be a major factor in the story.

If you haven’t tried these books out, give them a chance. Once you start you won’t be able to stop! My favorite way to go through the whole series is to read each book and then watch the movie.

Adventures in Tigerland

I realize I’ve been seriously slacking on my blog posts, but rest assured annatomy readers – I am back on schedule and already have my next several posts ready for publication (and maybe even a couple of special mid-week treats)!

It’s been about five years since Brandon and I went to a game in Clemson, so we started talking to our friends in the spring about planning a trip up there. We ended up recruiting seven other people to join us at the Clemson/Florida State game on Sept. 24 in South Carolina: Benli (Ben and Alli Stout), Lina, Lina’s sorority big sister Emily, our buddy Curtis, Brandon’s cousin Troy and Troy’s fiance Sarah.

After a relatively painless seven and a half hour drive (we left at 5 a.m. and pulled up to the hotel at 12:30) we headed out to lunch at Loose Change and even had a little extra time for some shopping – notice Brandon’s new shirt, hat, croakies and koozie.

At night we made our first trip to Triple Ts (Tiger Town Tavern). We got there early to save a table with a good view of the TVs and the UCF game for Benli and Curtis. Alli, me, Lina and Emily hogged the booth most of the night while the boys kept the drinks coming.

One of my favorite things about Clemson is the school spirit that runs throughout the entire town. Every so often Triple Ts would play Clemson’s “Tiger Rag” and the entire bar would join in. Brandon liked to take it as an opportunity for some friendly family taunting.

The next day we got a great tailgating spot and spent the morning and early afternoon shopping, drinking, killing it in cornhole and playing drinking games. Emily, Lina and I put on our Chi O pins and threw up a couple of Xs and horseshoes!

Brandon and I – the cornhole champs for the day (my back is still hurting from carrying our team) – both got new game-day outfits for our trip and ended up leaving with a whole slew of other Clemson souvenirs while we were in town.

While we were walking to the stadium from our tailgate spot we passed a friendly tiger who was willing to take a picture with us. This was right around the time that my new purple sandals started killing my poor little feet.

We had awesome seats (thank you, Curtis!) that were technically in the visitors’ section but we didn’t care and there were plenty of tiger fans around to cheer along with us. And I love how you get a good view of my orange paw print in this shot!

After the game – and a Clemson WIN – they brought down the goalposts and all the fans rushed the field. It was a really great game and a great weekend overall, we will definitely be back before another five years go by!

I found this highlight video online. Of course it’s not as good as being there in person, but watching it brought back a lot of the excitement that was in the stadium during the game. Enjoy!

Of course we couldn’t leave Clemson without bringing something home to our little Millie. She now has a new scarf to wear on game days – it’s a little big (they didn’t have her size) but she looks good in orange and purple!

We had an absolute blast and can’t wait to take another trip up there for a game. It’s been a week since we got back and I haven’t been able to get “Tiger Rag” out of my head, I guess that’s just the price you have to pay for a “Clemson good time”!

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Book Report: “South of Broad” by Pat Conroy

I picked a novel set in South Carolina for my report this week – it seemed appropriate – although it takes place in Charleston rather than the western side of the state. This was a Chi Omega Book Club pick and although it started off a little slow I ended up really liking this book.

I have a bad habit of looking up reviews on books before I read them and then forming a preconceived opinion. I did that with “South of Broad” but was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out.

The story had a ton of twists and was full of suspenseful surprises. It’s about a young man, his mix-n-match group of friends and how their Southern upbringing shapes their lives and friendships.

Pat Conroy is the same author that wrote “The Prince of Tides” and “The Great Santini.” Most of his books are set in South Carolina where he grew up and currently resides. I’m thinking of trying out some of his other novels because I really liked this one!

Doxiepalooza a.k.a. Our Trip to Coral Springs

Thank goodness for awesome friends. Brandon and I have been so busy for the past couple of months that we haven’t been spending much time relaxing and really enjoying the summer.

So, we were more than happy to take up an offer to visit Alli’s sister and her family in Coral Springs for a long weekend full of swimming, sun and a whole lot of dachshunds!

Ben, Alli, Bella, Brandon, Millie and I packed up the car and made our way down to South Florida. Millie got comfortable in her favorite car-ride spot.

We were greeted at the Smith house with a warm welcome from our hosts: Stavid … or Dacey, I’m not sure if they’ve decided on an official couple name.

A total of four dachshunds were running around the house the entire weekend. Bella, Guinness, Millie and Finnegan had a great time and became fast friends!

After we arrived, we unloaded our bags and left the dogs with the kids while we went to Mai-Kai for happy hour. Brandon got the Barrel o’ Rum while I had a Mai-Tai.

On our way out of the restaurant Ben and I posed for a BenAnna picture before the boys got all excited about seeing Joe Thiesman – apparently he is a Hall of Fame football player.

The next day was dedicated to spending some time poolside and playing cornhole. Bella was the only dog brave enough to jump right into the pool!

For dinner we had a delicious boil with shrimp, scallops, sausage, corn and potatoes. It was very yummy and was complemented well by my Honey Moon.

After a long day and night of swimming and drinking, we ended the night at Tiki Springs. The next morning David went outside to assess the damage.

Two days of playing, swimming and chasing lizards was enough for Millie, who was definitely ready to head home. She was a very good girl the entire weekend and made a few new four-legged friends.

The dogs were so exhausted from their fun, doxie-filled adventure that they were passed out the entire ride home. (They were even holding hands!)

I’m really glad we got the chance to get away for the weekend, the trip was a blast! Brandon, Millie and I all really enjoyed ourselves and we are very grateful to Stacey and David for having us – hopefully it is just the first of many trips down to the Smith house!

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Book Report: “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot

I heard a lot of really great things about this book, so I decided to offer it up as a recommendation for my book club. Another member had also heard good things so we all gave it a whirl.

The book is about HeLa cells which a. have lived for about 60 years and contributed to the development of numerous scientific discoveries and b. were taken from Henrietta Lacks in the early ’50s without her knowledge.

Throughout the novel, the author, Rebecca Skloot, searches for Henrietta’s surviving family members and describes how the cells progressed from a woman’s personal battle with cervical cancer to major breakthroughs like the polio vaccine, in vitro fertilization and cloning.

If it sounds really science-y and a little bit boring … well, yeah it is. I had a hard time getting through some of the more medically concentrated chapters but the history of it all is pretty interesting.

See below for a video about the book!

A Day in the Life of a Dolphin

How do you celebrate the Fourth of July? For most Americans, even mixed heritage residents like me, July 4 is a reminder of how lucky we are to live in the U.S. I like to spend the day not only enjoying the country I live in – but the state. And what better way to celebrate living in the Sunshine State than by soaking up some of the fabulous Florida sunshine at the beach?

Playing third wheel yet again to Benli (the newly married Ben and Alli Stout), we headed to Cocoa Beach to celebrate Independence Day as well as Ben’s birthday, which was July 1. We were joined by Will and Christie later in the afternoon, so if you’re keeping count that put me at fifth wheel.

Luckily, I made a friend in the form of an inflatable dolphin who kept me company and had a pretty good time meeting new people and frolicking along the beach.

The dolphin snuck a kiss from Mrs. Stout … don’t tell Ben!

In addition to sharing some love with all the ladies, the dolphin made a comfy seat on the beach.

Will took the dolphin out for one last ride among the waves before we left.

The dolphin and I spent a little time tanning our tummies.

It’s been a while since I’ve spent the day at the beach, but I’m glad I took the trip out. I got a nice tan out of it, spent the day with good friends and made a new one! I hope you are having a great summer so far and that you were able to celebrate the Fourth of July in a way that makes you proud to be an American!

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Book Report: “Girls’ Night In” by Red Dress Ink

Here is a book that’s worth the cost. There are a lot of things I love about “Girls’ Night In.” My friend Sandra gave me the book when we were in college. It is actually a collection of short stories by a myriad of popular female writers including Jennifer Weiner, Sophie Kinsella and Marian Keyes, to name a few.

I like bringing this book with me to the beach because the shorter stories are easy to flip back and forth between and it is chock full of funny, light, chick lit stories perfect for a sunny, summery day. My favorite story is by Meg Cabot told through a series of laugh-out-loud office emails.

The best part of the book? It supports a great cause. Each of the writers submitted their stories for this book at no charge and all proceeds benefit War Child, a program that supports centers for abandoned and orphaned children in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The version on my bookshelf was given to me second hand, but there are a slew of other editions available online that I’m looking at buying!