#I’d love to give her that as a present 🙏🏽

[doulayogimama]

The holidays stress me out so much. Ever since my parents’ marriage crumbled, I dread the holidays. Holidays became worse to endure than usual, then the divorce made it so driving all over town = my holiday… add to that going nearly bankrupt to “show your loved ones” that you care… why would I look forward to this season??? 😬

I’ve said for many years: “One of these years, I’m not going to be home for the holidays. I’m going to be traveling and I’m skipping all of this BS.”

It’s official, tickets are booked, we are going to be in Amsterdam + Copenhagen for Christmas / New Years!! 😭😭😭😭 My brother and our NYC friends are staying in Copenhagen at the same time too ✨ Then in the new year, we will fly or take trains to Portugal, meet some colleagues in Spain, and travel up the coast to Barcelona where we will fly back to Miami before Sky’s 3rd birthday at the end of March 🙏🏽

This year, trips are the gifts. I’ll get Sky something while abroad but just one material thing. I grew up with too much money, where the entire holiday was about gifts and how much you could spend to show love. The years we couldn’t “show love” with expensive gifts as a family, we experienced so much unnecessary suffering.

Whether I’m rich or not, I don’t want my kids to think this time is about getting THINGS. It’s about marveling at the world, remembering that Jesus was a truly amazing man (whether you ascribe godliness to him or not, he lived in unconditional love and service for all). It’s about appreciating the lights in the darkness. Spending more time with your loved ones when the weather has us down. Giving to those less fortunate than us.

We are just a non practicing catholic + non practicing Jewish family who are trying to make our own version of this capitalistic mess 😅

[puresolacex]

𝗢𝗛 𝗚𝗜𝗥𝗟, 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗘𝗟𝗦𝗜𝗘 𝗦𝗜𝗟𝗩𝗘𝗥 🙏🏽😭🫶🏽💖

I ended 2023 with a 𝗛𝗨𝗨𝗨𝗚𝗘 dark romance obsession, not being able to find interest in another genre of book. Come 2024, giving birth to my son mid-January, I was in the 𝗕𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗦𝗧 reading slump of my life. (Granted, how in the world could I find the time to actually read with a newborn while recovering from an emergency c-section myself?!)

With my son in the NICU and not being able to bring him home for 14 days, I found myself with minimal time to actually be able to read but still, nothing picked my interest quite as deep as the few dark books I had read. However, thanks to one of my little book clubs, I discovered the wonderful, talented Elsie Silver. 💖

I started with the Flawless in the Chestnut Spring series and breezed through the Gold Rush Ranch series over a span of two, nearing three months. All these small town romances has captivated my mind and heart, relighting my fire and love for reading. It was a bummer finishing the last book, A False Start, but as soon as I put it on the shelf, 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 of the Rose Hills series was released.

Within a span of 3 days, (which is a new record as a first time mom with a three month old), I finished Wild Love with tears in my eyes and clenched heart strings. I never thought I’d be a sucker for these small town romances but here I am, clinging to this new series with single hot dads finding true love in Rocky Mountains.

Not to mention, second chance, childhood, enemies to lovers, “forbidden” romance? 𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐋𝐓𝐘 𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐄 💖

Rosie Belmont is everything I adore in a fmc. Though she’s hit some rough and lumpy bumps in the road, she manages to keep her head held high and maintain courage and tenacity while dusting herself off in a bunkhouse and caring for her room rat, Scotty. (We love a fmc who doesn’t lose herself to a man and love itself!) Rosie is a firecracker who isn’t afraid to dish the truth and stand up for herself and her beliefs. She’s independent and fierce, and doesn’t allow her past and present to hinder her wants and desires.

… and what does she want?

Her hot new boss, Ford Grant Junior (don’t forget to emphasize the Junior or Ford will hate you for it 😜)…who just so happens to be her brother’s best friend and man she can’t stand since childhood.

Ford Grant, voted Worlds Hottest Billionaire, is everything and more. He isn’t the cliche hot billionaire brooding, arrogant mmc. In his thirties, he’s still the awkward and nerdy guy, who hopes to please and help everyone around him. He’s wise and logical with his reasons, romantic and caring, and truly isn’t afraid to face his feelings head on (with the exception of Rosie). He’s a first time father, balancing ropes of raising a coming of age witty teenager and making time for himself and his own wants. The character development between becoming a dad, starting his own business from the ground up once again, and allowing himself to be happy, love and he loved in return is just *𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗙𝗦 𝗞𝗜𝗦𝗦.

Rosie and Fords chemistry and banter truly tie them together. Neither one of them are afraid to push the other and return what’s given. They fit each other’s sarcasm and balance each other out of being the completely opposite to one another… and their sexual tension could definitely set a room on fire.

All I’m going to say is— 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗘𝗡 𝗦𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗘. I’ve found a new need and reason why I should keep a fine felt pen in hand. Oh, and also blue paint.

While some stories tend to lose its plot with intense smut, Elsie Silver does the exact opposite. She has well developed plot lines that connect characters through each of her series, realistic character growth and development, and steamy moments that’ll have you gripping your sheets. What more can you ask for?!? 10/10.

[marlaluster]

Emptying the cliptray...

1. Liked by jennifer.garner and 19,206 others worthfeed Her dad told her, "If you marry that man you will never set foot in this house again." Mary soon learned that most people felt the same way. The first years of their marriage living in Birmingham were hell-- no one would speak to them, they couldn’t find anywhere to live because no one would rent to a black man, and they had no money. But they didn't give up. Gradually life became easier. Mary got teaching jobs, ending up as a deputy head teacher. Jake worked in a factory and then got a job at the Post Office. Slowly they made friends, but it was difficult. Mary used to tell people, "before I invite you to my home.... my husband is black." Some would never talk to her again. Last year they celebrated their 70th anniversary and they are still very much in love, and never regretted what they did. View all 332 comments miss_flowerday @susan_schmidt_brianswife so everyone who has sex before marriage also goes to hell? Good luck with that in todays... more miss_flowerday @susan_schmidt_brianswife ah what the hell you also support trump who molested women and put babies and children into... more 2 DAYS AGO 2. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_X_t5aHgCd/?hl=en 3. “In comparing religious belief to science, I try to remember that science is belief also.” — Robert Breault 4. https://quotefancy.com/quote/1579414/Robert-Breault-In-comparing-religious-belief-to-science-I-try-to-remember-that-science-is 5. https://youtu.be/39lRCTT8tjQ 6. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_X_t5aHgCd/?hl=en 7. https://www.instagram.com/smilesneverlie/?hl=en 8. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_ZvPRinpJw/?hl=en 9. 19,823 likes smilesneverlie I wasn’t looking for anything at all when I met you. Actually, I wasn’t planning on falling for anyone so soon. But then I met you. And that was it…I guess things just happened. I found you and I found myself slowly wanting to spend time with you. It was simple. It was easy. And I think that’s how the best relationships begin. You’re not looking for anything and then suddenly you realize; you have something. View all 79 comments _danielamedeiross serendipity🙏🏽💛 hellubia @victoriapahr cry🥺🙈🙊 3 DAYS AGO 10. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_QLa09AZOt/?hl=en 11. "... But I do have something you can put on your page," the devil said. It keeps pressing bad boredom and it keeps pressing really bad irritation I'm supposed to feel toward it. Its insanely irritating. "I have to stop doing that. But the thing I have to tell is this: I'm not here but I'm not able to go on," the devil said. But it was pressing bad irritation with it as I was saying in the previous post it was sad how my life has been or is now rather. I dont think I'd really think that though without the devil attacking, as I said in the preceding post. But the devil is pressing bad feelings like before a couple of days ago when things felt better. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE THINGS THAT CAN HELP ME, PLEASE HELP ME!! PLEASE STOP THE DEVIL FROM ATTACKING ME!! PLEASE DISCONTINUE THIS PRESENT REALITY, WHICH IS AN ATTACK ON ME!!! 12. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.space.com/amp/aliens-time-traveling-humans-ufo-hypothesis.html?espv=1&fbclid=IwAR2hCoh6IFdPswipoo8JUWSGVgXLTkj-Sx2xNM_Tc_29lCPU6kHyHJEQzZg 13. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_Squ9PhnVJ/?hl=en 14. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_QqBz3DAI3/?hl=en 15. Small minds are the first to condemn great ideas. 16. 4,242,765 views chrishemsworth Check out @flowhive . Australian owned and designed. First of its kind. A brilliant knew way of harvesting honey without disturbing the bees at all!! 🐝 We’ve got two in our backyard and our sugar hit covered for the year #flowhive View all 9,726 comments suribanez @soykarito27 barbaridad paulinho01pa @clauclaudecir da uma olhada 🔝 5 HOURS AGO 17. The devil said this post not being apparent of social distancing may be a mistake... 18. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_j0DpFpriY/?hl=en 19. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_X2NozAnhA/?hl=en 20. https://www.google.com/amp/s/people.com/movies/chris-hemsworth-on-the-complication-that-kept-wife-elsa-pataky-from-changing-her-last-name/%3famp=true