It was about 15 degrees when we headed out Sunday morning for a quick venture downtown. We were scoping out a few coffee shops for next weekend. We're looking for a place with more of an open feel for a change up. We strolled around the Grove Arcade, grabbed a breakfast sandwich on a beignet and wrapped it up with a little shopping at Coda in Citizens Vinyl. We're hoping to head back next weekend for a productive coffee shop morning at the cafe inside.
ANYWAY, this full length cable knit maxi sweater dress kept me so warm that I had to rip my coat off whenever we got inside anywhere. Toasty!!
I don't have the link for the exact one but I did find some more options below.
I promise I do wear more than just sweatshirts! I love quirky tops and fun tennis shoes. I got these shoes as a Christmas gift one year and at first I thought, "I won't have anything to wear these with!". Little did I know I have quite a bit. They always brighten up my outfit.
I discovered author Michele Campbell on a random visit to Barnes & Noble in the fall of 2021. I kinda wondered in, not really knowing what I wanted but knowing that I needed a good book. I was pandemic tired of tv and internet and I needed something really juicy to get me back into reading books. I checked the Best Sellers rack and all that kinda stuff but I didn't really know what I needed. Then I found myself back in Mystery and Thrillers section. An old favorite that never disappoints. I forget how I landed on Michele Campbell but I was glad I did.
I saw she had 4 books so I checked to see what order she wrote them in and decided to read them in that order. I'm kinda organized like that I guess.
Her first novel (and the one I think is the best) is It's Always the Husband.
It was exactly the book I needed to get back into reading. It felt a little bit like a YA novel and I wasn't mad about it. I didn't need stuffy and boring. It was a fun read, a tight plot that moved along at a great pace. I really liked it.
Kate, Aubrey, and Jenny. They first met as college roommates and soon became inseparable, even though they are as different as three women can be. Twenty years later, one of them is standing at the edge of a bridge... and someone else is urging her to jump.
How did things come to this?
As the novel cuts back and forth between their college years and their adult years, you see the exact reasons why these women love and hate each other—but can feelings that strong lead to murder? Or will everyone assume, as is often the case, that it’s always the husband?
Her second novel, She Was The Quiet One, was great! I really liked it. I loved the characters in this one and the twists were excellent.
For Rose Enright, enrolling in a prestigious New England boarding school is the opportunity of a lifetime. But for Rose’s vulnerable twin sister Bel, Odell Academy is a place of temptation and danger. When Bel falls in with a crowd of wild rich kids who pressure her into hazing Rose, the sisters’ relationship is shattered. Rose turns to her dorm mother, Sarah Donovan, for advice. But Bel turns to Sarah’s husband Heath, a charismatic and ambitious teacher. Is Heath trying to help Bel or take advantage of her? In a world of privilege, seduction, and manipulation, only one sister will live to tell the truth.
A Stranger on the Beach is her third novel and I could feel it was a little bit different than her first two. That's not a bad thing! I really loved her first and second novel and this one is probably my least favorite. Don't get me wrong, it was still a good read, I just found myself a wee bit bored it a few spots.
Her spectacular new beach house, built for hosting expensive parties and vacationing with the family she thought she'd have. But her husband is lying to her and everything in her life is upside down, so when the stranger, Aiden, shows up as a bartender at the same party where Caroline and her husband have a very public fight, it doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary.
As her marriage collapses around her and the lavish lifestyle she's built for herself starts to crumble, Caroline turns to Aiden for comfort...and revenge. After a brief and desperate fling that means nothing to Caroline and everything to him, Aiden's obsession with Caroline, her family, and her house grows more and more disturbing. And when Caroline's husband goes missing, her life descends into a nightmare that leaves her accused of her own husband's murder.
Her final novel (for now I guess?), The Wife Who Knew Too Much, was pulpy and full of wealthy lifestyles and gossip. Juicy! A great whodunnit. If I had one complaint it would be the ending. I just wanted something a little different I guess.
Tabitha Girard had her heart broken years ago by Connor Ford. He was preppy and handsome. She was a pool girl at his country club. Their affair should have been a summer fling. But it meant everything to Tabitha.
Years later, Connor comes back into Tabitha's life—older, richer, and desperately unhappy. He married for money, a wealthy, neurotic, controlling woman whom he never loved. He has always loved Tabitha.
When Connor’s wife Nina takes her own life, he’s free. He can finally be with Tabitha. Nina’s home, Windswept, can be theirs. It seems to be a perfect ending to a fairy tale romance that began so many years ago. But then, Tabitha finds a diary. "I’m writing this to raise an alarm in the event of my untimely death," it begins. “If I die unexpectedly, it was foul play, and Connor was behind it. Connor—and her.”
As Tabitha is drawn deeper into the dark glamour of a life she is ill-prepared for, it becomes clear to her that what a wife knows can kill her.
Have you read any of Michele's books? If you have, let me know what you think! I'd love to compare thoughts.
I saw this beautiful wool coat at a thrift store a few weeks before Christmas. I passed on it because at the time I was looking for something a little more festive for the holidays. I kinda forgot about it until I passed through the little thrift shop again in January. I saw it, remembered how much I liked it and thought What Am I Doing?! I better get this ASAP! It was $4.99 and it was money well spent!
Almost got a fully thrifted look! My little rain boots were a gift from my mom for Christmas but the pink fuzzy sweater and faded black jeans were thrifted.
We got about 9 or 10 inches of snow dumped on us Sunday!! It snowed and snowed allll day. Honestly, I thought it wouldn't stop! We have been slowly digging out I'm looking forward to some warmers temps tomorrow.
Before the snow, we had a sweet, playful visitor to have a grand ole time with the rope swing we have in the backyard. She behaves like a kitty!
She came back later on in the snow late at night and played again!
A lot of you guys liked the matching sweat set I posted a couple of days ago. I did a little digging and found some more sets that are on sale! These are all from Walmart and are the Time & Tru brand which I have had success with in the past.
The bottoms are all $10 or under right now! Most say they are a relaxed fit so I do NOT size up when it says relaxed.
Last year, I downsized my large tote handbag to this much smaller bucket style bag. I love this one from Coach Outlet. It has been so fun to carry!
Fast forward to this year. I decided it would be the perfect time to downsize my large, chunky WALLET to a more compact one. I went with this trifold wallet from the Coach Outlet website and I'm really enjoying it. I kinda never knew I could carry something this small. I have everything I need. I haven't missed anything yet! I don't have any plans to get rid of my old chunky LARGE wallet but who knows, maybe it won't get used again, maybe it will.
This one is called 'Small Trifold Wallet" and this color is Gunmetal/Forest. They do have other colors and patterns. I have a video of the unboxing on my Insta if you want to see how big it is, how it looks inside, etc. Just follow my insta link on the right of this page.
Over the Christmas holidays I found myself without a book and a lot of extra time on my hands. I love to rent books from the library because...the cost savings! Also, storing more books at this point would just be adding more stress to my life. Unfortunately, the library was closed when I realized I didn't have a great book to cuddle up with on New Year's Eve. So I ended up running down to CVS and hoped for the best. I grabbed this little paperback thriller for $9.99 and was pleasantly surprised. It turned out great!
So good, in fact, that I am going to read the rest of her books! This one had a lot of local mentions of Western North Carolina. The mystery was great, it was not fussy and overly wordy or complicated. Just a good solid mystery with a great ending!
