Sippin' Saturday - Nestle Lemon Splash

This is a lemon flavored water that was actually much better than I expected. It's quite sweet, which surprised me. It tastes like I would imagine a lemonade flavored Propel would.

Reading Wednesday - Mistaken Kiss by Kathleen Baldwin

This is book two in the Regency Trilogy. While I found the premise sort of interesting, the book itself was sort of bland. The book follows Willa, who is incredibly nearsighted. When someone sort of boring proposes to her, she creates a plan to kiss him to find out if their marriage could ever work... but she ends up kissing the wrong guy. A series of events follow which involve a duel, a near-drowning, and possibly more proposals.

Learning Spanish

Spanish is the first foreign language that I've learned. I know it a lot better than a lot of the other ones I've dabbled with. I want to share with you some ways that I reinforce what I know.

Duolingo

I already shared this app with you in my post Learning French, but I wanted to mention it again, because it's awesome! While I learned most of the Spanish I know through school, this app is great for keeping me in practice. It now has bots, where you can "chat" with different characters. I love this because it gives you practice speaking conversationally, and not just in an informational way.

Watching Movies/TV Shows in Spanish

This is a great way to learn new vocabulary, and to practice listening to Spanish - which I find more difficult than reading. I tend to choose to watch children's movies/shows that I have seen before, so I'll understand the story even if I get a little lost with the Spanish. :) Netflix has Spanish language options for different Disney and Dreamworks movies. I like watching Home, Barbie's Life in the Dreamhouse, and The Emperor's New Groove. I watch without subtitles, otherwise I find I'm just reading the whole time.

Pop Music
There is a lot of great Spanish music out there! Some of my favorite songs include:

* Quien Le Va a Decir by Luis Fonsi
* Danza Kuduro by Don Omar
* Wavin' Flag by K'Naan
* A Dios Le Pido by Juanes
* La Gozadera by Gente de Zona
* Bailando by Enrique Iglesias
* Ai Se Eu Te Pego by Michel Telo
* La Copa de Vida by Ricky Martin
* La Vide Es Bella by Ana Isabelle
* Moviendo Caderas by Yandel
* Vivir Mi Vida (Version Pop) by Marc Anthony

Books

I also practice my Spanish by reading different books. I find that picture books are (surprisingly) harder for me to understand than early reader/chapter books, just because they lack surrounding/supporting text for words I don't know. I've found that the Magic Treehouse series and Scooby-Doo novels in Spanish are about at my level. ;)

💗 Annette

1 year ago: Learning French

Sippin' Saturday - Caramel Cappuchino from Mike and Rhonda's The Place

There is a wonderful breakfast restaurant up in Flagstaff, Arizona called "The Place". I recently went there while on a road trip and it was definitely a good choice! The food was amazing (and filling, and reasonably priced, and did I mention delicious?). I also got a caramel cappuccino there (I believe that's what it was...) and it was delicious. It had a stronger coffee taste than something you'd get from Starbucks, but after adding a tad of sugar it was a great drink! It fueled me for the hike (and drive back to Phoenix) we had planned for the day.

Reading Wednesday - Save the Cupcake! by Papademitriou

This is a middle grade novel about a girl named Hayley. Thanks to her parent's recent divorce and her Mom's job loss, she now lives with her grandmother and spends many afternoons at her grandmother's bakery. She has two best friends, but thanks to the fact that they are seventh graders and are all discovering themselves, they run into some problems along the way. She transfers her troubles into unique cupcakes recipes, which are included in the book as well!

After I fell into it, I sort of liked the pacing and voice in this story. The first couple of chapters were really weird and unnatural, but after that things started to click. There are also a couple of time jumps in the first couple of chapters. It took me a little bit to figure it out, but for the novel she's in seventh grade. I thought this was a super cute book and I've already ordered the next one on Amazon. :)

Sippin' Saturday - Starbucks Pink Ombre Drink

This drink is Starbucks' Lime Cooler, Coconut Milk, and Berry Hibiscus Tea all mixed in one. It tastes exactly like those three flavors. Which is to say, not very good. Lime and milk and hibiscus just do not go together. To be fair, I'm not a big fan of their lime cooler in the first place, so you might still want to try this drink if you're a big fan of the lime cooler.

Also, love my pic? :P I didn't have time to get a fancy picture, so here's the drink on top of my car. :)

Reading Wednesday - Happily Ever After by Kelly Oram

I. Loved. This. Book. After reading a lot of cheesy, stereotypical romances, it was great to read a book where the characters have actual challenges to work through. I loooooved the first book and this book definitely lived up to expectations. If you haven't read the first book, Cinder & Ella, go read it! Not only because it's awesome, but because otherwise this post contains spoilers. :)

Okay, so now that "Cinder" and Ella are together, they've got quite a bit to work through before they get to their happily ever after. Together (!) they work through the different problems facing them - how his fame affects their relationship, how she still struggles with self-image after the accident, how even though they are meant for each other, they might have different ideas on how fast they want the relationship to move, among many more. In my paltry words it might not sound so exciting or dramatic, by Kelly Oram brings the story to life. I don't know how many more ways to say that this book was fantastic - go read it already! 💗

Sippin' Saturday - Starbucks White Iced Tea

If you're looking for something refreshing and not too sweet, this is a great option. It's a pretty classic iced tea, which is sometimes just what you need on a hot Arizona day!

Sippin' Saturday - Starbucks Mango Black Tea Lemonade

This drink is super refreshing and is the perfect drink to go with Arizona's crazy summer heat. It's sweet but not crazily so. The mango tea flavor blends nicely with the lemonade. The lemonade isn't overdominant in the flavor profile either. It may be a new favorite. :)

Reading Wednesday - Only His by Susan Mallery

I think this is the book that will finally end my streak of reading romances. Because it was just that dull. The characters in the last three books all claimed to be different - but then reacted to situations in the exact same way. You could simply substitute out different jobs for the characters and these books would be nearly identical. Not only did the characters all react similarly, they didn't react in a way at all conductive to real life. How many awkward conversations have you actually just walked out on? Yeah, me neither.

This book follows Nevada, a construction manager who is starting a new job... with a boss who happens to be someone she knows from the past who has recently come back to town. And if you've ever read a romance novel, I'm sure you can guess pretty much the rest of the book.

Sippin' Saturday - Sonic Cherry Limeade

I love this drink, especially in the summer times. It's basically Sprite with cherry flavoring and limes. It's quite refreshing. :)