THE DINNER | Herman Koch’s “European Gone Girl”

With a review from Gillian Flynn (the author of Gone Girl, if for some reason you have been living under a rock and didn’t already know that) on the cover saying “Chilling, nasty, smart, shocking, and unputdownable”, I knew I had to read The Dinner by Herman Koch!

How far would you go for someone you love? Is blood really thicker than water? And would you allow your own flesh and blood to be turned over to the police, or would you try to save them?

This book gets you thinking about the extreme… hence the multiple Trader Joe’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups I consumed while reading this book :) Hey, I needed some brain fuel with all those tough questions to answer!

This book contained violence (a whole bunch), plot twists, family feuds, psychopaths, murder, and a plethora of backstabbing, but sadly only gets a 3 out of 5 star rating in my book (pun intended).

Why, you may ask? It was called the “European Gone Girl”! How could the “European Gone Girl” only get 3 stars?

*Caution: This review alludes to spoilers!*

ZUCCHINI BOAT | Go ahead and eat it like a taco, nobody’s looking

I’m on a boat, I’m on a boat! Just kidding :) My meat is on a boat… a zucchini boat to be exact! And it’s the tastiest boat around.

If you love meat, zucchini, and cheese then this recipe is for you! Stop whatever you are doing, go to the store, get the following ingredients, and make these tasty things! You can thank me once you are done licking your fingers in satisfaction.

You see that cheese dripping down the side?? Yeah, I was drooling too. Let’s get right down to it, shall we?

DEEP BREATHS | When your workweek feels like it will never end

My roommate and I were talking last night, over a glass of wine as we sat on the couch working into the late hours of the night, that sometimes you just can’t do it all.

But if you’re a perfectionist (like we are) it’s very hard to accept that fact!

On weeks where you’re trying your hardest to keep your head above water at work, it’s important to breath and take a step back. Your work issues aren’t life or death (unless you are a nurse or doctor and then ignore everything I’m about to say!).

When the going gets rough, it’s important to remember that you’re only human (I will refrain from belting out the Christina Perri song right now, although it’s amazing!).

28 DOWN | POPSUGAR 2015 reading challenge

Wayyy back when I posted about my New Year resolutions for 2015 (It’s a good thing I just went back to review this because I have a lot of goals I haven’t met yet. Seriously why do people feel so motivated Jan. 1 as compared to Sept. 1?? I digress…) I said I wanted to complete the POPSUGAR reading challenge!

Basically the challenge is that you must read 50 books in one year, each related to a certain topic or with certain qualities (ex: book that became a movie or a book with magic).

I have to admit that around Jan. 14 I totally forgot to keep track of the different books I’ve read… #fail.

So this morning (over a few large cups of coffee) I racked my brain to try and remember all the good, bad, and ugly books I’ve read over the last 8 months and see which ones count as a point towards the 50 book reading challenge (technically 52 since one of the items is a trilogy)!

*Note, any books that follow in hot pink I strongly recommend you read :)

OVERNIGHT CHIA | Chia seed breakfast pudding

Ahhh, a long weekend. Thank you, Labor Day! To kick my day off the right way, I figured a tasty breakfast was in order!

The boyfriend has been on a chia seed kick this last month. I swear, he’s trying to put chia into anything and everything! He gets on these health kicks all the time (a few months ago it was coconut oil), but I try and support them as long as they are tasty :)

When he stumbled upon chia pudding he immediately sent me the idea to make since it would be “great for the blog” (aka great for his tummy).

So here we have it, chh-chh-chh-chia seed breakfast pudding!

TRAINING TIME | Getting the right gear for my half marathon

I can’t believe I’m about to say this…. but my half marathon in DC is in 14 days! 14 DAYS! I feel like it was just yesterday I was saying it was 4 months away (eek!).

So while I was home in Florida this weekend visiting the ‘rents, I put on my charming smile and asked for new running shoes. They can’t resist the “Amanda smile”, so off to Fit2Run we went!

“MEH” BOOKS | Books I didn’t bother reviewing and you shouldn’t bother reading

I’m opinionated, as you can probably tell by now. When it comes to book reviews, I don’t hold anything back. Either I give it a raving review and force all of my friends to read it… or I judge the book, the author, the publisher, and myself for wasting my time reading it.

But what about the books that are just, “meh”?? The ones that are definitely not good enough for a review, but not quite bad enough for a rant on the blog…. those books go here, to the “meh books” post.

GOOD MORNING | 5 things you should do every Monday before work

If you’re like me, you plan a hundred things to do over the weekend and then get about 30 of them done…

I get a little over excited about having two days of free time that I over plan and make my to do list a bit too unrealistic.

Feeling a bit behind before the week even starts like me today? Here are five things to do every Monday to make sure you’re on tract for a productive week!

LET’S GO | Three destinations I want to visit again

It’s Friday and I’m stuck in the office for 2 more hours until I’m finally set free! Cold beer, boating, and jet skiing is calling my name this weekend in Colonial Beach… I just have to survive a few more emails.

In the last few hours of the day my mind tends to wander and I begin to daydream of far off lands and all of the amazing places I’ve seen.

Since reflecting on these trips made me so happy this afternoon, I thought I’d share my favorite destinations I’ve been to (so far) around the world. Here are my top three destinations!

GIRL BOSS | 5 things you should never do at work

Oh the working world… There are highs and lows… but as long as there are more highs than lows, you’re in a good place!

Over these last 2-ish years in the “real working world”, I’ve learned a few things (I think). I’ve seen people get hired, fired, promoted, and demoted… all of which brings me to the creation of this list!

You can never really be prepared for the working world, but these 5 “dont’s” are a good starting point!