I recently finished reading all the books that were on my Spring TBR list, so I’m going to share a short review of each one.

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Song of Achilles was my favorite book I read this spring. This is a Greek mythology retelling about the events leading up to the trojan war, the war, and a brief moment after it. This was from Patroclus’ point of view. In the first half of the book I didn’t really care for Patroclus much because his entire personality was just being obsessed with Achilles, but his I loved his character development in the second half. I loved the way this author describes the scene…for better or for worse it made me feel like I felt the hot sand on my feet and the smell of rotting bodies.

Diana by Andrew Morton

While I don’t think this biography was bad, I didn’t finish it. I feel like you have to live under a rock to not know much about Princess Diana so I found myself a little bored while reading this book because it felt like nothing new. I also found the book to be really depressing and at the time of reading it I was more in the mood for something light hearted.

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I love Taylor Jenkins Reid- I think she writes page turners and creates interesting female characters but this was my least favorite book by her. This follows a professional tennis player as she builds her career, reaches the height of her career, and navigates retirement. I found the main character to not be very relatable and a little irritating. Most people learn to lose gracefully when they are five but we are reading about this character learning that lesson at forty. Carrie, the main character, does develop but at times it felt forced and not believable. I did like how the book ended with her next career move that seemed fitting.

Family of Liars by E. Lockhart

This book is the prequel to We Were Liars which is one of my favorite books. If you are going to read this, make sure you read We Were Liars first because Family of Liars contains major spoilers in the first chapter. I love this book and We Were Liars because the author creates really complex dynamics between characters. While I really enjoyed this book, I was comparing it to We Were Liars and while I still loved it, it wasn’t as good as We Were Liars.

Paris Letters by Janice MacLeod

Paris Letters is a travel memoir that follows a woman as she buys herself a sabbatical and sets out to travel but ends up falling in love in Paris and moving there. I love a good travel memoir so I really enjoyed this. I appreciate that the author doesn’t entirely romanticize travel…she talks about the less ideal sides of Paris. She also discusses how doing every days tasks in a country where you do not speak the language can be a challenge which I found relatable. This book is a travel memoir but also a romance. I typically don’t like romance, this only got cringey once or twice. I appreciate the book focused more on her personal development rather than the romance.

Despite it being a cold Spring for us, we are in full blown Spring. Below are all the items I’ve been loving this season.

Song of Achilles I just finished reading all the books that were on my spring TBR, so I will be sharing a full review of each one sometime next week including this book. Song of Achilles was my favorite book I’ve read this season. I absolutely loved it.

Sezane Will Knit Jacket This is the perfect jacket for spring. It’s great for layering on days that start of chilly but get warmer in the afternoon. This jacket is well made and I love the style of it because I can wear it with almost all the casual clothes in my wardrobe.

Gucci Perfume This perfume is so unique, it’s difficult to describe. It’s a very fresh perfume, and is florally as well. The floral scent is more of a green floral rather than a sweet floral. I feel like this perfume is the epitome of spring.

Dresser I was on the hunt for a new dresser for a while. I wanted one that was solid wood, beautiful, and reasonably priced. This one fit all my requirements and I love it. I did a full review of it here.

The Pink Stuff This cleaning product is a game changer. I have a stainless steel sink and as someone that loves to cook the sink gets grimy quickly. This stuff makes the sink look brand new again.

Last year we started off with our beloved cat Thakoon and sadly had to put her down after a battle with Kidney Disease. A couple of months after we put Thakoon down, a stray cat showed up at our front door. We took Orion in and after a few weeks of unsuccessfully trying to find his humans, we kept him as ours. Sadly, Orion had some underlying health issues that led to a detrimental stroke and we subsequently had to put him down as well. After so much loss I am so excited to share that we are getting a kitten!

Meet Anthony Bourdain our Polydactyl Maine Coon. We haven’t met him in person yet but our breeder says he’s incredibly sweet and social. We get to take him home in a couple of weeks.

Neither my husband nor I have ever bought a cat before, we have always adopted. I will always favor adopting instead of shopping with the exception of a few instances. We felt like we were robbed of time with Thakoon and especially with Orion. Since we felt like we were robbed of time we knew we wanted to get a kitten. Some shelters have kittens but the ones near us rarely do. Selfishly, I have a few dream breeds of cats I’d like to have someday and a Maine Coon is at the top of the list. I’ve wanted a Maine Coon since I was 15 so I’m over the moon excited for this chapter. Shortly before Thakoon’s health took a turn for the worse, I got diagnosed with LADA. At the time, doing everything I could to keep myself alive and doing everything to make sure Thakoon was as comfortable as possible didn’t phase me. After we put Thakoon down I realized how much of a toll all the health issues in our house took on my husband and I. You can certainly find healthy cats in shelters but it is a risk. I fully accept that buying a cat is still a risk, but it is a bit less risky. Our breeder does extensive genetic testing before breeding and I find comfort knowing our kitten is unlikely to develop health issues until later in life. Even if he does develop health issues early on, I’m emotionally prepared to take that on and do whatever is best for him knowing I did what I could to mitigate the risk.

Over the last month I have basically started nesting for the cat. Below is everything I’ve bought for him.

Brush Drinking Fountain Placemat Set Cat Bowl Clipper Set Dino Nugget Catnip Toys Fish Oil Bowl Set Comb

Over the last few months I have added a few new things around the house that I have been loving.

When my late grandma passed away I got some of her cat stuff, including some artwork. The one below is my favorite. It might not be worth anything, but it’s one of the most valuable things to me in my home. I love having things in my home that remind me of people I love.

Last year I found the perfect chairs for the lounge room which are still available here. Since I found the chairs I have been on the hunt for a drink table to sit between them. I found one I love last Fall and I was so close to ordering it, but unfortunately it got bad reviews. I ended up buying the drink table below which is unfortunately now sold out. I’ve never shopped at Kirkland but I’m so impressed with the quality considering it was under $100. Having the chairs and drink table near the fireplace has made for the perfect reading spot. I added these coasters to protect the drink table.

A couple of years ago I commissioned an artist on Etsy to create a portrait of our now late cat Thakoon. It felt wrong having a portrait of her in the house and nothing to remember Orion. When my husband and I were in NYC last August missing Orion, we saw The Great Nebula in Orion by Etienne Leopold on display and it reminded us of him. For my husband’s birthday this year I got him the print. It was a tear jerker of a gift and we have it proudly displayed in our upstairs hallway. The print I ordered is from a seller based in the UK so it’s a bit of an odd size, making finding a frame in the US a bit difficult. Custom framing can get super pricey but I used Art to Frames and it was definitely the easiest and most cost effective way to frame the print.

A few years ago my husband and I bought our first smoker. We love using it year-round but especially during the summer months. Below are my favorite accessories.

Silicone Basting Brushes Since these basting brushes are silicone, they don’t shed when using them. They are also heat resistant (not heat proof though) so more ideal for grilling and smoking. They are also dishwasher safe.

Gloves Using and cleaning a smoker can get messy and when I’ve used my dish gloves in the past, I found them to get stained with the ash so I prefer using disposable ones. These are great when prepping meat with rubs or cleaning the grill. I’ve used a couple other brands before and they’ve all been prone to tearing but these don’t tear. You can reuse them a few times if you are not handling raw meat with them.

Whisky Barrel Pellets These are my favorite pellets to use. I’m not the type to have different pellets for different meats; I like a pellet that will pair great with anything and this is my personal favorite.

Bamboo Dish Brush Cleaning the smoker is a bit of a process but this brush makes cleaning the grates much easier. I usually soak the grates in the sink overnight with soap and water after using them. Then in the morning I use this brush to clean them off before putting them back on the smoker for the next use.

Tongs Despite us having a Traeger smoker, I usually don’t like buying their accessories because I feel like they are typically overpriced. These tongs are the exception to that because they have a better grip than any other grilling tongs I’ve used.

We had our old dresser for nearly 9 years. My husband and I got it when we lived in our first apartment together. We sadly broke one of the legs when we moved into our last apartment, and fixed it with some wood glue. I though for sure it wouldn’t survive the move into the house but sure enough it did! Over the last 5 years I have been looking to replace it, but it was either on the back burner, or I couldn’t find a dresser I liked. I finally found one I love, that’s good quality, and reasonable priced (especially for the quality). I am a sucker for anything with cane detailing so I love the cane panels on the front of the drawers.

Our new dresser is from Green Row which is owned by Williams Sonoma. They have a pretty small selection of furniture. All of the furniture they have is very much my style. They aim to be a sustainable furniture company. This particular dresser is made from Mango Wood. I did some research and found that mango wood is great for furniture because it is classified as a hard wood so it’s going to be durable, and it’s a sustainably sourced wood.

I styled up the dresser similarly to our old dresser. I like to read in bed at night so I like to keep my TBR and all the books I have read so far this year on our dresser. These sea lion bookends are so adorable!

On the other side of our dresser I have a piece of antique cat artwork that I inherited from my late Grandma. The agate clock I have is no longer available but I found a similar one here. I have the clock resting on an antique atlas. I also like to keep a candle and a tray of my perfumes on our dresser. The tray is the perfect size to hold my perfumes. This side of the dresser is a bit of a wok in progress. I’d love to find the perfect lamp for it.

I used to have some of our engagement photos hanging above our dresser but they were not printed on high quality paper, and they were in sunlight most of the day so unfortunately they faded pretty substantially. The engagement photos were really more of a place holder for artwork I’d like to hang over the dresser. I’m still on the hunt for the perfect piece to hang above it.

Summer is coming up and I know Europe is the ultimate romanticized destination for a summer vacation. Below are some book recommendations to put you in the mood for a European summer.

Paris Letters by Janice Macleod

This is the book I am currently reading and I have really been enjoying it. It’s a travel memoir that follows a woman as she buys herself a sabbatical. As the title suggests, the book mostly takes place in Paris but she does travel to the UK and Italy as well.

The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward

This book follows an older woman as she submits and wins a trip through Europe. She takes her adult children with her on the trip as she hopes to reunite and reconnect with her estranged children. This book takes place in Greece, Italy, and Spain.

Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

This is the only YA book I have listed here. This book follows a teenage girl that travels to Italy to meet her father after her mother passes away. Things go south quickly as she uncovers some family skeletons. This book is incredibly endearing and sweet.

Our Italian Summer by Jennifer Probst

Our Italian Summer is about a mother, daughter, and granddaughter as they travel through Italy together trying to rebuild their relationships. They each battle their own personal obstacles too. I loved reading this book.

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

I was on the fence on whether or not I should include this book. This book doesn’t exactly romanticize Europe. While the other books are mostly light hearted this one touches on more deeper subject matters. I decided to include it because it’s an incredibly beautifully written book and about half of the book takes place in Cyprus which is a little more off the beaten path European destination. The book jumps back and forth between two time periods, a young couple as they navigate forbidden love in a war torn country, and their future daughter as she tries to find her place in the world by untangling the web of secrets surrounding her family and her parents relationship.

Over the last few years I have developed a habit of sleeping with a humidifier running on my nightstand- not a bad habit to develop. I started using one because it was a particularly dry winter and I found myself getting nose bleeds at night. I figured I’d try to start using a humidifier and now I hate sleeping without one running.

There are a lot of benefits from using a humidifier at night but the benefits I’ve noticed the most is that I feel like I breathe better when I wake up in the morning and my skin seems to lose less moisture at night.

The humidifier I started with was a basic and inexpensive one from Target. It worked fine, but when it broke I knew I wanted to replace it with a Canopy bedside humidifier. I knew I wanted one from Canopy because they make it so easy to clean. Humidifiers are prone to developing mold and Canopy has designed their humidifiers to prevent that. It was also appealing that it is dermatologist recommended.

I’m really happy with the humidifier because it has lived up to all the reasons why I purchased it. Most of the components are dishwasher safe so it’s super easy to clean. It does contain a filter that you have to replace every 6 weeks. I don’t mind having to replace the filter, because of it’s design it’s preventing mold and bacteria build up. I ordered the filters in bulk so I saved some money and don’t have to reorder them for a while.

Compared to other humidifiers, I have not noticed a difference in my skin with Canopy. Like the other humidifiers it seems to help prevent my skin from losing moisture at night.

I could see the sound of this humidifier being off putting to some people. The bedside humidifier has three setting. The first setting is very quiet and I can’t imagine the sound would be bothersome to anyone. The second setting is a little louder but it doesn’t seem too loud to sleep with it on (I keep mine on the second setting). The third setting is what my husband refers to as “the jet engine” because it is extremely loud.

Overall I’m super happy with this humidifier. I feel like it has made an improvement to the quality of my life and sleep. If you live in a dry climate like I do, I think having a humidifier is a must.

Tee Jeans Knit Jacket Boots

Dress Cardigan Shoes Bag

Top Hat Pants Shoes

Mother’s Day is just about a month away. From personally experience, it’s really hard to get a reservation at some places on Mother’s Day so it might be a good idea to do that now. In addition, it’s time to start thinking about what to get her. Flowers are always a great Mother’s Day gift, but sometimes it’s nice to get something more personal. Below are some Mother’s Day gift ideas.

Happy Indoor Garden Book This would make a great gift for a mom that loves to garden but maybe doesn’t do much indoor gardening. This would also be great for someone that would love to garden but doesn’t have outdoor space.

Facial Steamer I’ve had a facial steamer for about 13 years now and I still love it. It’s a skincare tool that would benefit someone at any age, with any skin type.

Beach Towel With beach season coming up, a beautiful beach towel would make a great gift they’ll be able to use in the upcoming months.

Pitcher I definitely fall into the school of thought that you can never have enough serveware. This etched floral pitcher is stunning and would look great on a tablescape for Spring and Summer.

Garden Basket Garden baskets get beat up and dingy pretty quickly so it could be a nice gift to upgrade or replace one. This would also make a very cute gift if you include seeds or other gardening supplies in the basket to make a gift basket.

River Sing Me Home If you have a mom that is an avid reader I highly recommend getting her this book. At the core, this book is about motherly love and it’s deeply moving.