3 pictures!!

I'm back with Everyday in July Blogging Challenge. I haven't been very good at it, which I'm sad about, because these ladies had fun and cool prompts. Click here for all the ladies prompts.

Today's prompt is:  3 pictures  1 of anything, 1 you took and 1 selfie.

The picture I always look for motivation, that one day I hope to travel to Santorini, Greece. {source}

My tattoo and my reminder to love myself and offer love to everyone every single day!!

I'm bad at selfies!!! 
What are your favorite three pictures?

Sunday Social

Hope you all had an amazing weekend!!! Here's to starting a new week, and wishing that the weekend gets here fast again!! :) 

1. 3 Favorite songs right now I love summer songs!!! They can just hold so many memories. The ones I'm obsessing over right now are. 

Bailando by Enrique Iglesias

2. 3 Favorite movies that remind you of Summer Summer Catch, 

Dirty Dancing  and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights

Bridemaids

3. 3 Favorite articles of clothing you own Black Maxi skirt that I got at Old Navy. Any of my scarves!! My brown boots!!!

4. 3 Items on your wish list New iPhone!!

New Laptop!!
New Wardrobe!! ;)

5. 3 Books you would recommend to someone These are my top favorite books that I've read this summer: The One & Only by Emily Griffin After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid {Summer Reading Challenge Review}

This post is sponsored by BookSparksPR in honor of their 

4th annual Summer Reading Challenge. Check out all the details here.

Title : After I Do

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Release Date: July 1, 2014

Summary from GoodReads:

From the author of Forever, Interrupted—hailed by Sarah Jio as "moving, gorgeous, and at times heart-wrenching"—comes a breathtaking new novel about modern marriage, the depth of family ties, and the year that one remarkable heroine spends exploring both.

When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes.

Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?

This is a love story about what happens when the love fades. It’s about staying in love, seizing love, forsaking love, and committing to love with everything you’ve got. And above all, After I Do is the story of a couple caught up in an old game—and searching for a new road to happily ever after.

Quotes:

"That was always the way it was with us. The I love yous and I'm sorrys, the I'll never do that agains and the I don't know what I'd do without yous always eclipsed the thing we were fighting about in the first place. " - pg 23

"We had plenty of time to decide what we wanted. We were still young. And yet I couldn't help but feel a type of disappointment that I'd never felt before: a sense that the future might not turn out exactly the way we pictured it." - pg. 40 

My Take: I've been anticipating reading this book. The book has been all over the place, and I just couldn't wait to read it. 
And it did not disappoint. I got sucked in to the love that Lauren and Ryan had for each other. I feel in love at the same time they feel in love. I was happy when they were happy. And at in those moments when they fought and their relationship started unraveling, I was heartbroken.
In today's world, sadly the divorce rate is higher than it was generations before. And Lauren and Ryan's marriage seems to be heading toward divorce. They have been arguing over little things more often, getting mad at each other. 
Lauren and Ryan soon enough realize that their marriage was not working. They decided to separate. They wanted to use the time apart in order to find a way to fall back in love with each other. During that separation they both learn a lot about themselves and their relationship. 
I loved this book because Taylor Jenkins Reid, doesn't put a blame on one person in the relationship. Instead this book paints a realistic picture of a relationship that is real to a lot of couples a days. I loved it. It was full of emotion, good and bad. It's a book that will make you smile, laugh and maybe even tear up. I highly recommend it!!!  

My other Summer Reading Challenge reviews: Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan Cure for the Common Breakup by Beth Kendrick The One and Only by Emily Giffin The Witch of Belladonna Bay by Suzanne Palmeiri The Revealed by Jessica Hickman The Walk-In Closet by Abdi Nazemian Find my other reviews here: Book Thoughts

Customized Dress from eShakti {Fashion Thoughts}

This post has been sponsored by eShakti. I was given a customized piece for an honest review. 
 Let me begin my just saying that I love love this dress!! It fits perfectly!! And I love it.
. 
Here is eShakti's story:

eShakti believes that all women have the right to wear affordable fashion that is made for them and makes them look their absolute best.

Our Story: eShakti began as a small website offering basic cottons and modestly embellished pieces. As we grew, we were tasked with providing design and fit solutions to meet our customers' needs. Today, we are an international fashion design company making custom clothing. Offering both style and fit customization for women size 0 through 36 is the heart of our business.

eShakti is a company who customizes clothes at an affordable cost. And at least for a body shaped like mine, it is hard to find clothes that fit perfectly. With this dress, I found that eShakti hit the nail on the head it is great.

Make sure you visit the esShakti at their website eShakti, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest

The Walk-In Closet by Abdi Nazemian {Summer Reading Challenge Review}

This post is sponsored by BookSparksPR in honor of their 

4th annual Summer Reading Challenge. Check out all the details here.

Title : The Walk-In Closet

Author: Abdi Nazemian

Publisher: Curtis Brown Digital

Release Date: May 21, 2014

Summary from GoodReads:

Kara Walker has never found much glamour in her own life, especially not when compared to the life of her best friend Bobby Ebadi. Bobby, along with his sophisticated parents Leila and Hossein, is everything Kara always wanted to be. The trio provides the perfect antidote to what Kara views as the more mundane problems of her girlfriends and her divorced parents. And so when the Ebadis assume that Kara is Bobby’s girlfriend, she willingly steps into the role. She enjoys the perks of life in this closet, not only Leila’s designer hand-me-downs and free rent, but also the excitement of living life as an Ebadi.

As Kara’s 30th birthday approaches, Leila and Hossein up the pressure. They are ready for Kara to assume the mantle of the next Mrs. Ebadi, and Bobby seems prepared to give them what they want: the illusion of a traditional home and grandchildren. How far will Kara be willing to go? And will she be willing to pull the Persian rug out from under them when she discovers that her own secret is just one of many lurking inside the Ebadi closet?

My Take: While I was reading the book, I thought I was watching a TV show. You the ones that your don't want to admit you watch, your guilty pleasure shows, that you can't  miss. I liked it. It kinda reminded me of the Shahs of Sunset, anyone else watch it? It was such a fun read. 
I really enjoyed reading it mostly because of the characters. They were each intriguing, and I was wanting to know what was going to happen with them. Kara Walker gets swept off her feet by the lavish lifestyle that her friend's family live. She gets so swept up by it, that when her friend's family assumes they are boyfriend and girlfriend neither of them contradicts it. Kara likes being Bobby's "girlfriend" because she gets to go to lavish parties, and gets pricey hand-me downs from Bobby's mom. Bobby, uses the so-called relationship to his advantage, and uses it to hide one of the biggest secrets from his conservative, wealthy Persian parents. 
I really enjoyed reading it, and it's a great book for the summer. It was wit, and humor, an inside peek of cultures you might not otherwise read about, fun characters, and great plot twists. 

Rating 4 out 5 
My other Summer Reading Challenge reviews: Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan Cure for the Common Breakup by Beth Kendrick The One and Only by Emily Giffin The Witch of Belladonna Bay by Suzanne Palmeiri The Revealed by Jessica Hickman
Find my other reviews here: Book Thoughts