What's Up Wednesday: Practically Penrose | January

Hello! Today I'm linking up with Mel, Sheaffer, and Shay for What's Up Wednesday, the first of 2016!

1. What we're eating...
Honestly, this week has been a hot mess.  Jake and I have both gotten head colds, so by the time we are home it's all we can do to feed Ryleigh and the dogs some dinner and relax until her bedtime, then we quickly close up the house and head to bed ourselves by about 8:30!  That's super early for me, but I'm trying to get all of the extra rest I can.  Monday, Jake made spaghetti & meat sauce for dinner while Ryleigh & I made a quick stop at the preschool program she will be in this fall.  We ended up having tons of leftovers so that's what we ate Tuesday for dinner.  Tonight, we are having dinner out to Mexican, and tomorrow night we are going to Chima for Charlotte Restaurant Week! I'm so excited for that because I've heard so many people rave about Chima and I have never been.

2. What I'm reminiscing about...
Well this one is pretty easy.

Last Friday morning, I had off of work for the snow storm, but I woke up around 7:40am and checked my emails on my phone. I saw one from a gentleman in my networking group saying that he had 4 PSL tickets to the Carolina Panthers' playoff game versus the Arizona Cardinals, and as a "special" he would sell them to a group member for true face value.  It was a heck of a deal so I quickly emailed him, hoping that nobody else had done the same yet.  Around 8:30 I got the response that we were the lucky winners and we got to see one heck of a game Sunday night!!  Our "Cardiac Cats" were no where to be found, they played a stellar game from start to FINISH, and although my feet were freezing while standing on ice (they hadn't totally cleaned the seating areas) in 25 degree weather, we were standing, dancing, and screaming the whole time!

3.  What I'm loving...
Our calendar filling up! We have received invitations for so many fun events to celebrate with friends lately--birthdays, babies, and bridal showers!

4.  What we've been up to...

Snow, snow, ice, snow.  After 5 days it's finally mostly melting away.

5.  What I'm dreading...
Can't really think of anything? #lifeisgood :)

6.  What I'm working on...

We are in the throws of Silent Auction planning for the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte 7th annual Girls Night Out event!  This amazing night of glamour and giving will have you dancing, crying, and loving time with 400 other ladies!!  This year we will have LIVE music from dualing pianos in addition to the boutique fashion show, silent auction, amazing food & drinks, and Model Mom stories who share their hearts and the trials of what they went through while their child was, or still is, receiving treatment.  

If you or someone you know would be willing to donate to our silent auction, please leave a comment on this post!!  I love the connections that this blogging community can make!  We have been receiving all sorts of artwork, books, vacation rentals, etc. from all over the country that women attending this event in Charlotte, NC, can bid on to raise money for our Ronald McDonald House! 100% of all money raised at this event goes to the house for taking care of the families staying with us who have children receiving critical medical treatment at one of our local medical facilities.  All donations are tax deductible and I would be happy to provide more event information and our 501c3 form! 

7.  What I'm excited about...

So many things, but I think Superbowl 50 takes the cake! #letsgopanthers #keeppounding

8.  What I'm watching/reading...

We have a few shows that we have been watching lately.  Jake never really watched Friends (gasp!) and I have gotten him hooked on watching it. We are starting with Season 1 and going to watch them all. I'm loving watching all of the old episodes!

Jake loves Hawaii Five-0 and he's gotten me hooked on it as well.

Shameless...gosh the Gallaghers are such a trainwreck but it's a great show.

As for reading.....Remember when I told you I was excited for these books?! They arrived this week!  I love the way that the recipes are cataloged by season!

My Pages of Penrose January book review will be up on Friday, so you will have to come back to see all of what I've been reading! I will give you this little preview that I am so wrapped up in right now...

9. What I'm listening to...

A whole random combo lately.  Chris Stapleton, Adele....

10.  What I'm wearing...
Blardigans on repeat.  I found the deal of the century a couple weeks ago when a friend told me Barefoot Dreams had Winter Clearance going on and the Bamboo Chic wraps were on sale for $27.60!!!!! Yes, you read that correctly.  I quickly bought two for myself and one for a gift.  The Winter sale colors are no longer available (Opal and Amethyst Heather).

11.  What I'm doing this weekend...
Some shoe shopping for Ryleigh, my company party (we do a New Year thing instead of Christmas because of scheduling issues), and a 1st birthday party! Also hopefully a haircut. I've been toying with the idea of some caramel highlights. We shall see.

12.  What I'm looking forward to in February...

My little Valentine is turning TWO!  Where has time gone?!  #puddleofemotions



That's about it! See you on Friday for my Book Review!

Show & Tell Tuesday: About Practically Penrose

Hello! Today I'm linking up with Andrea for Show & Tell Tuesdays! The first of 2016...

So, about me...

I'm Stacey. 

 I am a wife to Jake and a momma to Ryleigh.  

We have two dogs, Reece [our chocolate lab] and Kona [our white siberian husky].  

We just moved into our new home back in October, 

and we are slowly getting everything in their right places.

Most of the time, our life looks like this:

 

By day, I'm a commercial office furniture designer.  By dreams, I'm one of those artistic types that can never keep my mind from concocting new ideas. I love to draw in my spare time [when do I have that anymore?!] particularly charcoal portraits. I wish I was more handy with power tools and saws because I think I would build project after project for our house.  

And who knows, maybe I will write a book someday.

I'm not big on New Years Resolutions, but I do have some goals for the year that I hope to accomplish.  

*I want to take Ryleigh to the Aquarium for the first time, and take her to the zoo again.

*I want to get even more involved with the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte.  My work schedule hinders some availability but I'm thinking of volunteering for the cookie crew on the weekends.  I know dates fill up fast but maybe I can get a couple Saturdays this year!

*Last year I decided I wanted to start reading more.  In 2015, I read 25 books.  I want to read at least 30 books this year as part of my Goodreads 2016 challenge!

*I want to host a successful church fundraiser and already have a really fun idea in the works!

I can't wait to see what 2016 brings!

Pages of Penrose: Books of 2015

I cannot believe that 2015 is nearly over! This week is filled with the excitement of Christmas, but I am also really excited about this post! Back at the beginning of the year, I made a commitment to myself to read more.  I love reading, and wanted to find time in my day for books.  I've done that in two ways, audiobooks during my commute to and from work, and reading books or e-books.  At the beginning of the year, I made a goal of reading 15 books during 2015.  I have far exceeded that! I am so glad for the wonderful books that I came across this year, and I already am looking forward to a bunch of books that I want to get to in 2016!

Isn't that the truth??

Print or Kindle:

The Fault in our Stars by John Green

For the Right Reasons by Sean Lowe, Nancy French

Going Off Script by Giuliana Rancic

Bridesmaid Lotto by Rachel Astor

The Divorce Papers by Susan Rieger

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

Audiobooks:

Can you Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

The Perfect Letter by Chris Harrison

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

A Piece of Cake: A Memoir by Cupcake Brown

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

11th Hour by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

The Search by Nora Roberts

The Witness by Nora Roberts

14th Deadly Sin by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

Invisible by James Patterson, David Ellis

What I did for Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Now You See Her by James Patterson, Michael Ledwidge

Kill Me if you Can by James Patterson, Marshall Karp

Pages of Penrose Review: The Divorce Papers by Susan Rieger

I am so excited about this book review!  This is a somewhat long book, but mainly because it is written entirely as correspondence between the characters.  I had the perfect opportunity for long hours by myself to finish up this book over the weekend...

What you don't see in this photo of the Detroit airport is that it was -4 degrees outside! There were about 15 birds flying around inside the concourse because it was too cold for them outside!  I cozied up near a window view of snow falling...

Flights, layovers, a Gingerbread Tea Latte, and a great book...I also may have repeated this exact moment on the way home, those darn lattes are just so good ;)

I was surprised to learn that this was Susan Rieger's debut novel.  I found the characters of The Divorce Papers witty, intelligent, and the plot of the story curiously exciting.  As I mentioned before, the book is written entirely as correspondence, made up of inter-office memos, letters to the other law firm, invitations, personal notes, and emails.  I really liked this aspect of the book, and thought that it added to the interest of the book.  Unlike a typical novel, I felt myself keep turning the pages because I could not wait to see what happened next, not just turning pages trying to end at the start of a new chapter.

Although I have an entirely different career and family than Sophie Diehl, a bright, young lawyer who typically works on criminal cases, I found moments of her life easy to relate to.  Trying to make a name for herself as a young professional, the playful exchanges with her best friend, complicated relationships with her parents, clients, love interests.  These are all things that many 20-somethings either deal with, or have a friend dealing with, on a regular basis.

Rieger did a wonderful job developing the characters, playing off of stereotypes, entertaining us with the plight of the high-end divorce client that this plot surrounds.  As long as you like the unique correspondence format, I highly recommend this book to other readers!
    




*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. All opinions are my own.



Have you read The Divorce Papers? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below!


Read more about my book reviews here, and friend me on Goodreads to see what's next!

Plates of Penrose: Red Velvet Cookies

If you or someone you know loves red velvet as much as my husband does, you will want to make these cookies! 

I took inspiration from this recipe that I found on Pinterest, but changed it a little because I do not like rolling cookies in sugar.  These. were. so. good.


Follow me for more ideas on Pinterest here!

Pages of Penrose Review: The Perfect Letter by Chris Harrison

I did not know what to expect from The Perfect Letter, but I have been a fan of Chris Harrison/The Bachelor franchise for years so I wanted to see how he was at being an author.  My first impression was that the plot was another mimic of the movie Sweet Home Alabama, but the further I read the more I realized that Harrison is a very talented writer. There was so much storyline and depth packed so much into this novel.  The twists and details of the story really build on each other, and I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a love story.



 

Philanthropy & Penrose: Cyber Monday Deals!

I'm pretty much bursting with excitement for our Angel Tree child. This little boy scored so many gifts on Cyber Monday!  Check out all of the loot that we were able to get for him off his wish list, thanks to Cyber Monday deals from Crazy8 and Amazon...

What we know about him....He's from our hometown, and he's a 7 year old little boy that loves action figures, especially Superman!

Now, I like to pride myself on my bargain-shopping skills, but I am so impressed with all that we could find for him.  I used the code CYBERWK20 on Amazon to get an additional 20% off the jacket, sneakers, socks & undies, and got at least 50% off the action figures and books there as well.  We also have Amazon Prime so all items ship for free!  The rest of the clothing items are from Crazy8, which was having a great cyber sale and emailed me coupon code for an additional 20% off my purchase with free shipping.

Total, we purchased everything above for under $160.00.  The shoes and jacket alone would have cost almost that much!  I am so excited to start receiving the packages in the mail so that I can get them all wrapped up :)