Friday Favorites

Hello and welcome to my Friday Favorites! Today I am linking up with Andrea!

1. I picked up these pretty flowers at Trader Joe's for June. 

2. We went up to visit my brother and celebrate his birthday a couple of weeks ago, and in addition to the birthday cake I made for him, I also made French macarons!

More specifically, I made baby Yoda macarons.

I didn't have the exact coloring one of the recipes recommended, but I just mixed a few colors together that I did have and I think I got it pretty darn close! 

They turned out perfectly and my family was very excited about them!

3. After visiting with my brother and sister my mom and I decided to visit old town Occoquan, VA. My sister had been there and said it was a neat little town, so my mom and I spent the morning walking around and exploring the area.

4. While we were in Occoquan we stopped by this really cute paper goods store, Hitchcock Paper Co. (They have an online store you can order from which I definitely recommend! They have tons of great gift items and you can't go wrong with supporting a small business!) My sister came across it last year and bought a bunch of Christmas presents there, and she thought my mom and I would really like it. And we did! My mom bought several puzzles and I bought this nice picture! I got a frame from Ikea and I really like how it looks!

5. In case you missed it, on Monday I shared some of my recent purchases, and on Wednesday I shared a review of the book The Nature of Small Birds!

Hope you have a great weekend!

The Nature of Small Birds Book Review

The Nature of Small Birds by Susie Finkbeiner

From back cover:

In 1975, three thousand children were airlifted out of Saigon to be adopted into Western homes. When one of those children announces her plans to return to Vietnam to find her birth mother, her loving adopted family is suddenly thrown back to the events surrounding her unconventional arrival in their lives. 

Mindy's father grapples with the tension between holding on tightly and letting his daughter spread her wings. Her mother undergoes the emotional roller coaster inherent in the adoption of a child from a war-torn country, discovering the joy hidden amid the difficulties. And Mindy and her sister struggle to find the strength to accept each other as they both discover who they truly are. 

I found myself a bit disappointed with this book. I mean, it was a nice story, but it was a story in which nothing really happened. There were some nice, heartfelt moments woven between briefly mentioned struggles, but they are never expounded upon so you don't really get more than a passing glace at them. 

Between the war, struggles to have more children, family issues, Mindy growing up and trying to fit in, her search for her birth family, etc., I felt there were a lot of missed opportunities to go deeper. For instance, I was really hoping for some sort of redemption with the relationship between Linda and her mother-in-law.  There is just a very brief little moment between them towards the end.

Also, I had hoped that Mindy's search for her birth family would have played more of a role in the story. The resolution just has a brief mention at the end and it just felt like it needed something more to really give the reader closure on the subject.

It took me a long time to get the characters straight. And not just that, you are dealing with 3 characters across 3 different timelines. I really enjoyed this author's previous book, All Manner of Things, where we follow one character, Annie. I really felt like I got to know her. This book had so much jumping around with POV it made it hard for me to connect with the characters. At first, they all seemed to have similar voices which made it harder for me to differentiate.

That said, once I got into the book I enjoyed the characters. It just took me longer than it should have to figure everyone out. Bruce's reflections on raising a family, Linda's recollections on early motherhood, and Sonny's relationship and growing up with Mindy during the 80's all give the reader a beautiful glimpse of a middle-class American family.

Overall it was just an okay book. I liked it, but I just don't think it's one that will stay with me quite like All Manner of Things did. 

I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from Revell through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The Nature of Small Birds releases July 6, 2021.

Recent Purchases 10

Women's High-Rise Tie Waist Shorts in Black:  I went back and forth with these shorts for a while. I like them, but I just couldn't find a top to wear with them. They aren't as high waisted as I would have liked, therefore if I tuck a shirt into them it just looks bunched up. I just couldn't get them to look right on me so I ended up returning them. They're nice shorts and I wish they would have worked. Also, it was impossible to get the belt to tie as nicely as in the picture!

Dot Maxi Skirt: This is listed as a maxi skirt but I'm 5'8" so it's more of a midi length skirt on me; which is what I prefer! The waist is really stretchy and I was able to size down in this skirt. It's just a really pretty skirt and the material feels really nice. 

Straw Sun Hat in Mix Beige: I get sunburned so easily yet have always been a bit reluctant to buy a sunhat because they always seem ugly and awkward. I found this one on Amazon and so far have been pretty happy with it! I like that the brim is stiff so it doesn't flop down in my face and it's not too big either. There is a sting on the inside so you can adjust the hat, but it's a bit awkward to use as you can't be wearing the hat when you tighten it. At under $15 it's a pretty great hat for the price!

CUSHIONAIRE Women's Luna Cork Footbed Sandal in Brown Nappa: I was very surprised at how comfortable these sandals are! I have always kind of hated sandals because my feet and lower back will start to hurt if I walk for any longer than a short distance, but after walking several miles in these I was pleasantly surprised to find I felt fine! At just $25 they're a great price and feel like higher quality than the price might lend you to believe. They have a ton of 5 star reviews and come in a bunch of different colors too! 

I will mention that I ordered my normal size and they were fine.

Champion Cotton Jersey Shorts in Black: After looking in countless stores for some inexpensive mid-length shorts, I finally found these on Amazon. I like just a cotton athletic-style short to wear around the house and these are exactly what I've been searching for. These were cheap (I paid like $7 for them!), are just the right length (not too long or too short!) and are very comfortable! These unfortunately do not have pockets.

Champion Women's Knit Sport Short in Ebony: I purchased these from Amazon as well. Again, I just wanted something to wear around the house or out on a walk that was comfortable. I really don't like the nylon running shorts that pretty much everyone sells. I prefer something with some stretch to it and the little bit longer length. These do have pockets.

High Waist Polka Dot Midi Skirt in Green: I don't really like wearing shorts (I have a hard time finding ones that fit right!) so I decided for this summer that I was going to lean more into finding skirts. I don't know why I never did this sooner as I definitely prefer skirts over shorts! But anyways, I really like this one! It's really lightweight, has decent pockets, and comes in a variety of colors! If you look through the photo reviews on Amazon it's flattering on all body types. I've gotten compliments on it every time I've worn it!

The sizing on this one is a little misleading, I could have sized down in it as the skirt itself is very flowy and the waist is very stretchy.

High Waist Midi Skirt in Blue: This was another Amazon find. I just really liked the casual style and length. This also comes in multiple colors. The buttons are non-functioning so you don't have to worry about gaping. I would say this one runs more true to size.

Black/White Dotted Pajama Pants: These fit maybe a little closer to a legging style than a jogger (so size up if you're wanting a jogger style) but I like them. The material is pretty thin (which I prefer) and they are just a nice, inexpensive pair of pajama pants!

Tie Belt Shirt Dress in Light Blue/Purple Floral: I think this dress was the biggest surprise of this list for me! I almost didn't buy it because I didn't think it was going to work for me; but I'm really glad I went ahead and bought! It's just such a pretty dress! 

I don't like cap sleeves so that is where the hesitation was for me. Luckily the sleeves are a bit longer than they appear in the picture (not quite a cap sleeve but not quite a true short sleeve either.) so it fit me much better than I expected! The dress is very lightweight and perfect for summer! It has an elastic waistband in the back, as well as a tie belt, and functioning buttons. It does not have pockets which is maybe the only negative about it! It is very long. I'm 5'8" and it's a little too long for a midi length but not long enough for a maxi length. My mom said she could hem it for me which will make it perfect! Overall I'm really happy with this dress!

Have you bought any new clothes lately?

Friday Favorites

Hello and welcome to my Friday Favorites! Today I am linking up with Andrea! It's been a while since I've done one of these! I haven't really done enough to justify writing one of these posts each week, but I finally now have a few things to share!

1. I bought some pretty flowers for May.

2. We have gone strawberry picking three times over the last month or so. The first time we went was May 1, which seems weird that they were already ready at the beginning of May, but they were! They have a long growing season here too. We've really been enjoying them! 

3. We've tried to get out and go for walks when we can. It was nice for a few weeks and then it got really hot and humid. And then this week it wasn't too bad again. I always enjoy going out to Fort Monroe to walk along the water. There is almost always something interesting to see! 

4. Maybe kind of random but my mom and I both got some new bedsheets at Costco recently. They had these organic cotton ones on sale and they are really nice! They are very lightweight and so soft!

Bonus points because they have a tag on them telling you which side is the top or bottom!

Hope you have a great weekend! Let me know if you've been up to anything fun or interesting lately!