Life as we go it

Sharing some of my current favorite things...

Female Support Aromatherapy Perfume by Wild Roots Herbal Skin Care

My cousin-in-law gifted this to me shortly after Liam was born. Her friend owns the Wisconsin-born company and hand crafts each product in small batches with pure ingredients. I've had this oil for 5 years and it still hasn't run out! It's made with 100% pure rice bran oil, ylang ylang, geranium, lavender, grapefruit, clary sage, fennel, palmarosa and wild orange. It smells amazing and I use it whenever I feel STRESSED or want a little scent on my wrists.

Beauty Water by Olivu 426

Coconut Body Milk by The Body Shop

OXO Good Grips Grape & Tomato Cutter

I'm convinced that EVERY mom, dad, grandparent, daycare teacher and caregiver should own one of these! I found it at a local kitchen store and have loved it since. You just pop the grape or olive or tomato into the hole, push the green stick down and BOOM you have a quartered grape, etc. It's pretty safe too - I let Liam use it with my observation. 

Micro Tops Microwave Covers

I bought these at a local kitchen store as well and love them. The package comes with four different sizes. I store them in a cupboard above our microwave for easy use. They lie flat and don't warp or curve or stain and they're dishwasher safe. Also important - they're BPA free and FDA approved.

Ceramic Berry Baskets

I'm a ceramic berry basket dork! I love them. Because they're PRETTY and I can display an ordinary thing (fruit) in a pretty way. I got mine as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago and have since gifted them to other people. They can be hard to find at actual stores (although I have seen/bought them at Pier 1, Crate & Barrel and HomeGoods). Online is your best bet.

Fizzy Chill Red wine-in-a-can 

I love a glass of wine or champagne after the kids are in bed. But I do not want to open an entire bottle of champ or wine and let the rest go to waste (I'm not a fan of corking wine or champagne). So these work out perfectly for me! I found this Fizzy Chill Red, which I drink cold. It's a sweeter, fizzy wine that's a nice little treat at the end of the day.

Mini Korbel Brut champagne bottles

I pour myself one of these on occasion too. And no wasted champagne afterwards!

Water WOW! by Melissa & Doug

Calling all parents/grandparents: you need to let your kids try these. Completely mess-free coloring, other than a few water drips here and there. Perfect for the CAR, for restaurants, in the church pew, on an airplane. And it keeps them occupied for a while.

Marble Run

My kids love this thing. We've had it a couple of years and we play with it at least once a week. We got this one at Target. A great gift idea as well.

Magna-Tiles

Love, love, love these. They get played with EVERY day in our house by both kids. They're expensive but some things in life are just worth it! My kids will spend a good hour at a time playing with these. The only downside is that they end up everywhere! 

Unroll.me

A friend suggested that I use this after I told her I have thousands of emails in my inbox (eek). I signed up and it significantly helped lighten my inbox. This is FREE to use and really easy to sign up. If you're someone that gets lots of emails, I highly suggest you try this out!

Cranberry Almond Maple Granola by Bakery On Main

I'm a granola snob. I'm picky about the texture and flavor. I've never eaten a granola like this one before and I LOVE it. Chloe loves it too! It's not giant, chunky, hard bites (not a fan) - instead it's these light, crunchy bean crisps that pair so good with the almonds and cranberries and seeds and yum-o maple syrup tossed in with it all. We like to eat it dry as a healthy snack. Heading to my cupboard now....

To see other things I love, click here:

Things I'm Diggin' Part 1

Things I'm Diggin' Part 2

Please let me know what YOUR current faves are in the Comments below!

Threshold Oil Can Soap Dispenser found at Target

KIND Maple Quinoa Granola Clusters with Chia Seeds

Yum. Yum. Yum. Yum. Yum. That's it.

Wool Dryer Balls, found on Etsy here

I pretty much despise dryer sheets (I don't like the smell, the chemicals). I haven't used them in years. So these natural dryer balls, which are hand-felted and have no dyes or chemicals added, work AWESOME to help keep our laundry fluffy. The only downfall is that they sometimes get lost amongst the bedsheets. But I'll take lost balls over dryer-sheet-smelly shirts any day :)

Boots Botanics Micellar 3 In 1 Cleansing Solution, bought at Target
I trio this with my Botanics 100% Organic Facial Oil and Botanics Cleansing Foam Wash. When I want to 'freshen' my face during the day I'll apply it to my face quick and let it air dry. Then at night when I'm lazy I use it to remove eye/face makeup, let it air dry and then finish with the facial oil. I love that it's easy, smells good & is fine for my sensitive skin.



Braun Thermoscan Forehead Thermometer



And last but not least...the sweet treat that keeps me sane going during the month of October...

Russell Stover Caramel & Marshmallow Pumpkins
Also shaped like eggs during Easter and shaped liked Santa during Christmas :) :) :) I pretty much can't sum up anything better than a) milk chocolate b) caramel and c) marshmallow all in one little nugget. I can't leave Walgreen's without handful of these babies. Who else is obsessed with these?




For more things I like, check out Things I'm Diggin' Part 1

If I still feel 'awake enough' after my Internet routine, I check out some other websites that are my go-to's. I love, love, love science and like to keep learning all of the time, so all of these sites involve science, weird news or nerdy stuff!

So...if you're really into checking out websites that involve interesting science-type/oddball stuff, then you may want to check some of these out if you have not already! But beware - they are all a bit addictive once you start perusing through them.

Here are my Top 5 Favorite Time-Sucking Science/Oddball Websites:

Site: Messy Nessy Chic

Why I think it's cool: There's always something interesting to learn from this site. There are intriguing photographs from abandoned buildings, cafes around the world and secret swimming pools. Stories about a secret atomic city, a lady with a pet lion and art deco cinemas. And the author's posts called 13 Things I Found On The Internet Today are simply the best!




Site: Daily Overview

Why I think it's cool: Every day, on this site's Feed, you can view a new photo of Earth from up above. Whether it's a photo of farm fields, a cramped city center or a road interchange, the photos are simply stunning, some beautiful and some devastating.



Site: IFLScience
Why I think it's cool: This site keeps me up-to-date on all of the latest science news. Without it I would have no clue how MUCH we're learning about outer space right now! And that scientists are getting closer to understanding what might be causing Alzheimer's, that an ocean-cleaning system will be launched in 2016, and that there's now Google Underwater Street View for the oceans. Who knew!



Twisted Sifter

Why I think it's cool: It's just an interesting site. It's feed is filled with cool videos, photography and interesting stories based on art, science, travel and architecture. Once you start scrolling down it's hard to stop...



Site: Listverse

Why I think it's cool: A lot of the Top 10 lists on this site are flat-out bizarre. I wonder sometimes if all of the information is correct (so I take some of the lists with a grain of salt), but it's still fun to peruse through. This is another one that's hard to stop scrolling once you start. Top 10 Explanations For UFOs anyone?




I hope I gave you some great ideas on how to waste your time!

Are there are any time-sucking sites that you thoroughly enjoy??? Please let me know!



(all opinions above are completely my own)

Why I love it: 

It isn't full of fake crap. It's ingredients are nonfat milk, heavy cream, sugar and natural flavor. It tastes good. And it's not so overpowering that you can't taste the coffee too.

Trumpette socks for babies

Aveda Mosscara

Sculpey Oven-Bake Clay

 Why I love it:

It's so much fun! I picked up some packages at HobLob recently and have been messing around making some things with it. It's so easy to use and the colors are great. It feels good to get my hands on some art supplies again...

Bath & Body Works Shea-Infused Lounge Socks

Newman's Own Virgin Lemonade

Botanics Facial Oil

Dreaming Cow Maple Ginger yogurt

Taylor Swift 1989 album

Okay -- so what are you diggin' lately?

Please share!

______________________________________

Also, you may have noticed I changed the template and look of my blog? I'm pretty excited about it and it's a work in progress. Stay tuned for a few more changes...

This Heel Stix product from a Sheboygan store called Olivu is amazing. I have those 
post-summer-I wore flip flops too much-heels going on.  I scrub my heels in the shower with a foot scrubby thing and then apply this afterwards. It smells good, feels good 
and after a week of use I could tell a HUGE difference. 

I love this Raw Shea Butter Wash by Shea Moisture. It's great for my sensitive skin. It's organic, I can understand the ingredient list and it smells good too. It's one of the first products I've used that doesn't seem to make my skin freak out.

Oh my gosh. I love this! I got it as a gift from my cousin-in-law Beth. It's Nursing Nipple Salve from

WILDROOTS and it works wonders. It's all natural, smells AMAZING, doesn't bother Chloe at all and really, truly works. I will be gifting this to all new moms I know in the future. It's that good.

I had been slacking in the 'eyebrow' department lately. But I recently did a much-needed

plucking and a little coat of this clear mascara by Cover Girl helps keep the strays tamed.

Dark under eye bags anyone? I'm usually pretty skeptical of age-rewind type stuff. But the foam tip
on this thing applies the concealer and I swear it covers some of the wrinkles. I had to try it to believe it.

What I used for my recent eyebrow plucking. I highly recommend this Tweezerman that you can
get for cheap at Walgreens. And the pink color makes tweezing slightly more bearable.

I've been a fan of this for a long time. And with the Winter months rapidly approaching, this Smoothing Serum from Aveda works wonders on the bottom half of my hair. It tames & smoothes out the dry and unruly ends.


Everyone who knows me knows that I'm obsessed with all things turquoise/mint/aqua/blue. This polish by Maybelline is my latest toenail color. It reminds me of the Caribbean.
The color is called Green With Envy.

What are your favorite beauty products as of lately?
Please share!

Decor8

If you're looking for remodeling or crafting ideas, this is a great resource. Blogger Cassity shares great do-it-yourself projects that are actually doable!

Some of my favorite creative blogs...

Mom and blogger Sarah takes you inside her home and shares bits of her family life and her fresh, simple style.

I wish I were friends with this girl! Blogger Natalie shares stories of her family & home and is full of creative inspiration (she has an Etsy shop). Her blog is filled with beautiful photos and it encourages me to want to live more simply.

Natalie Creates

I came across Sarah's blog when my Crafty Club re-created one of her crafts (an eggs-in-a-nest necklace which she sells on her Etsy page). She has a beautiful family and posts the most incredible photos on her blog.

Spoon Fork Bacon