Friday Favorites: Hey There, Spring!

Happy Friday, friends! It’s been gorgeous, warm, and sunny all week, and I feel like I’ve done a total 180 from my post last Friday. Anyone else super affected by the weather? We also have several visitors coming in the next few weeks, which makes my heart happy.

Favorite nail color
One of my favorite winter to spring transitions is painting my nails in pretty spring colors. During the transition time, I like pastels, and Essie’s St. Lucia Lilac (afflilate link) is one of my favorites.

St. Patrick’s Day festivities
Can I just say how excited I am to see the Chicago River turned green? Here is some interesting information on how the tradition started. Chris is working on Saturday, but I am hoping to get over there and see it once he’s off work.

Favorite dog treats
Skyler turned 5 on March 8 (Seriously, where did the time go?), so of course, I had to give her some new treats to celebrate the occasion. Thankfully, Chewy had just sent us Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain-Free Chicken Tenders, and Skyler was a huge fan. I love that they are made with three ingredients: chicken, cane molasses, and salt and have no corn, wheat, or soy. The chicken is 100 percent grown in the United States. Sky and I love Blue Buffalo products, and this one was no exception.

I received the Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain-Free Chicken Tenders from Chewy, but all opinions are my own. 
Favorite (delivery) meal
When Chris is on call at the hospital, sometimes I like to order out when he is on the way home because I hate cooking a meal and watching it get cold when he get home four hours later than he thought he would be. My latest obsession is chicken burrito bowls from Carbon. Their salsa is amazing, and why hadn’t I heard of elote until we moved to Chicago? Tex-Mex is still my favorite type of Mexican, but elote is amazing.

Favorite cookbook
I am a self-proclaimed picky eater. I’ve gotten much better over the last few years, but sometimes I will still look through cookbooks and only like one or two of the recipes. Cravings by Chrissy Teigen was just the opposite. As I started flipping through the book, I wanted to make nearly every single recipe (except the ones that featured mushrooms since I’m allergic).

I don’t even like breakfast food, but recipes like dutch baby pancakes, creamy parmesan skillet eggs, and crab cakes benedict with avocado, look amazing enough to change my mind. The noodles and carbs section was speaking my love language with sesame chicken noodles and lemony arugula spaghetti cacao e pepe. Chris is a huge fan of gnocchi, so I know I have to make the sweet potato gnocchi with brown butter and sage as a special meal for him. There are plenty of healthier recipes too like chicken lettuce wraps, zucchini “lasagna” bolognese, and roasted cauliflower, feta, and orzo salad. Also, the descriptions for each recipe are so fun and hilarious, and the photos add a personal touch.

P.S-Can y’all tell I was hungry when I wrote this post?

I received a copy of this cookbook through Blogging for Books, but all opinions are my own.

Linking up with Amanda, Karli, and the High Five for Friday girls.

Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend! 

Winter to Spring Transition Picks

It has been in the 60s in Chicago for the past few days, so I have decided to believe that spring has arrived. Today, I thought it would be fun to share what’s on my wish list as I transition from winter to spring.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link, I receive a teeny tiny commission.

Flower scarf
Some days are still cold enough where I want to wear a scarf, especially with the wind. I love this floral scarf for a fun pop of color.

Neutral Cardigan
I love wearing cardigans during this time of year. I really love the mushroom color of this cardigan and think it would be a great addition to my wardrobe.

A lace dress
Y’all know how I feel about dresses, and I need this one in my life. Mint and lace? Yes, please! Since Easter is early this year, I'm including this in my winter to spring picks.

Colorful pants
These are basically on my wish list in different colors for different seasons. This winter I’ve been wearing eggplant and cranberry skinny jeans, and now I’m wanting these fun pink ankle pants.

A spring bag
Other than neutral colors, I don’t have a bag for spring. I’ve been really wanting a mint or light blue Kate Spade bag, but it’s out of the budget right now. One day!

What’s on your wish list for winter to spring transition picks?

Books I Loved in February

Since my last book post, I have read 12 books, and I think seven of them are worth sharing with y’all. I fell into a deep hole with NetGalley books and had to read like crazy to finish books by the March 1 deadline. I seriously need to stop requesting books from NetGalley because I have a bunch of other books I want to read, but I can’t help it if a book looks good.

All books are courtesy of NetGalley, but all opinions are my own. 

I’m Glad About You by Theresa Rebeck
I'm Glad About You surprised me in a good way. It follows Kyle and Alison and their lives after the end of their off-again on-again relationship. Alison is pursuing acting while Kyle is a pediatrician with a new wife (side note: as someone experiencing the medical journey, it really bothers me when books don't give a realistic portrayal of what it is like. You can't just decide where you want to go to residency a few weeks in advance). I enjoyed both of the characters and reading about their lives. This isn't a book I would normally read, but I'm glad I gave it a chance.

No Ordinary Life by Suzanne Redfearn
No Ordinary Life was a fascinating account of how sudden child stardom affects the child and the rest of her family. Molly is discovered after a viral YouTube video, and her mother Faye becomes her manager while still being a mother to her two other children and dealing with a broken marriage. I loved the behind the scenes look of making a television show, and Faye and Molly were both great characters. No Ordinary Life hooked me in from the first page, and I couldn't put it down!

Flirting with Fame by Samantha Joyce
This story was better than I expected. Although I did get frustrated with Elise quite a bit, I thought it was a great coming of age tale. Some of the topics discussed were deeper than I expected, and it is well-written. Now I am eager to read Veronica's story.

The Passenger by Lisa Lutz
The Passenger is a wild ride. The story opens up with a bang-the main character runs away because it looks like she killed her husband, and the suspense never stops. It's not the best thriller I have ever read (I figured out the big revelation pretty quickly, and I wanted more closure with the ending), but it was a quick read that kept me interested.

In Real Life by Jessica Love
This book was much better than I expected. I liked the concept, and Hannah and Nick were great characters. I thought it was cute story for those who like to read YA.

Someone Else’s Love Letter by Deborah Blumenthal
This was a sweet chick-lit about a woman who finds a love letter in a taxi and is determined to see who wrote it. I really liked Sage. She was quirky and fun, and I thought her job as a wardrobe consultant was interesting. This was a cute read, and I think it would be great as a summer beach read!

Somewhere Out There by Amy Hatvany
This was a beautifully written story about a young mother who, after some bad decisions, agrees to sign away parental rights to her two daughters. Natalie was adopted right away while Brooke grew up in a state facility and in and out of foster care. I loved how the story was told by all three women, so the reader understands both Jennifer's circumstances and the impact on her daughters. Amy Hatvany wrote three interesting, complex characters in a story that kept me turning the page. Once I got to the end, I didn't want the story to end.

Linking up with Steph & Jana.

I love book suggestions. What have you read lately?

Real Talk: It’s About the Journey, Not the Destination

Lately, I have been feeling stuck. The medical journey is incredibly long, and sometimes it feels like there is no end in sight. I am constantly counting down to a milestone: Match Day, the end of medical school, moving to Chicago, the end of intern year, and eventually, the end of residency and fellowship.

There are days when I wish we were closer to the light at the end of the tunnel. It would be nice to know where we are living for longer than a few years and to have a little financial stability. Looking ahead gives me hope that never seeing my husband now will be worth it in the future.

That said, I don’t want life to start when we are 32. Intern year has been the hardest year of my life, but I will always treasure the memories of the adventures we had in Chicago on Christopher’s days off. Do I wish he was around to explore with me every weekend? Of course. Still, we try to make the most of our time together every chance we get. Honestly, we should be spending as little money as possible this year, but I know I will regret it if we don’t see as much of the city as we can.

We will be 32 in the blink of an eye, and our time in Chicago will be a distant memory. I remember thinking medical school would take forever, and here we are, already discussing plans for moving back to Texas. When we finally reach our destination, I want to look back on our medical journey and feel like we actually lived it…because a life is a terrible thing to waste.

Have you ever felt stuck in your life?

Life Update: Nine Months in Chicago

February in Chicago has been all about trying new restaurants (let’s face it—that’s pretty much our favorite thing to do in the city).

We started off the month by trying a new barbecue place close to us: Belly Up Smokehouse & Saloon. As displaced Texans, we never pass up a chance for Southern barbecue, and thankfully, this place didn’t disappoint. We had loaded brisket fries (which were truly loaded with brisket), and I had the half brisket plate, which was tender and delicious. It's definitely not the best brisket I've ever had, but it was still good. The best part of the meal to me was the Windy City Sauce, which was one of the best barbecue sauces I’ve ever had. They told me they are going to start selling it in bottles, and I will definitely be buying some!

Chris had to work on Valentine’s Day, but he still made it special. It was snowing on Valentine’s Day, and he took Skyler to the dog park in our building once he got home. I was watching them (I can see the dog park from our balcony) and noticed Chris stomping around. When he finished, I realized he had written C ❤ O with his feet in the snow. The little things are truly the best things. 

Chris had the Monday after Valentine’s Day off, so we went on our Valentine’s Day date to the Bohemian House, a delicious Eastern European restaurant. We had Hungarian langos as an appetizer, and I had lobster egg noodles with a pistachio sauce as my meal (seriously amazing). I would love to go back to Boho, but there are so many amazing restaurants in Chicago, so I don’t know if we will make it back.

One of my favorite days in February was when Christopher had a Saturday off on a gorgeous 50-degree day. We spent the day going on a long walk to the Chicago River and then walked the Lakefront Path along Lake Michigan. It was the first warm day we had enjoyed in a while, and there was no better way to spend it than by the water with my love.

Our last new restaurant in February was an invite from a childhood friend who has lived in Chicago for several years. We joined her and her fiancé for a fun night of Irish food and live music at Galway Arms, a pub in Lincoln Park. The food was delicious, the music was fantastic, and the company was even better.