Friday Favorites

I've found a few things lately that make my life easier, were great finds, or things that I almost couldn't live without right now and thought I would share them. I have found some of my greats from others and hopefully you will find my list helpful too.

1. Chris introduced me to the Contigo stainless steel mugs about 9 months ago and they are great for my coffee. Does anyone else have a problem with brewing a cup of coffee but then it is luke warm or even cold by the time you get a sip? If you do, then you are problem the mom of little ones too. I love them because they do the best job at keeping your drinks hot or cold and don't sweat or leak. Believe me when I say they don't leak, because time and again I throw it in my purse as I'm running out the door. No free hands when you are trying to chase down a very busy toddler from running in the street. I'm a bit OCD, so Chris and I each have our own for coffee and then I have two for water. You can find then at Target for around $20, but even better is that Costco has a two pack for $15.99 right now. Trust me when I say you won't regret this purchase. Being able to enjoy hot coffee 2 hours after you brew it will be worth every penny.

2. I am a great lover of Amazon and being able to have everything from diapers to books to laundry detergent arriving on my doorstep in two days and not dragging two kids out to the store. So when they send me various emails about new books I usually glance over them, delete, and then move on with the craziness of our house. A few weeks ago, a list of great Halloween books caught my eye and I started shopping. Room on the Broom is the cutest book for kids and does a great job about reinforcing manners(aka please and thank you) without being obnoxious. Yes we have that Polite Princess book that wholly consists of reminding kids of polite manners and it is not this at all. Room on the Broom is a cute story and both my girls ask for it all the time now.  I was in Target yesterday and they also carry this book.

3. With two kids, going out to eat is not an great experience so I try to cook more. I've even started planning out dinners a month at a time and find it saves lots of stress and helps plan grocery shopping. I wish I was better at taking cute pictures and showing you great recipes from my kitchen, but most of the time I have Lizzie screaming at my feet while I'm trying to keep her from reaching in the oven and no one wants to see those pictures. Instead, I'm going to direct you to the best soup recipe that Annalee did a great job of taking pictures of. Chris has become a bit skeptical of my pinterest recipes since we've had a few flops but he is open to anything I say is from Annalee. He is constantly tells all his friends about meat cupcakes and how they are one of his favorite dinners. I get some weird questions from other wives wanting to know what "meat cupcakes" are and why their husbands are bugging them to get the recipe. If you haven't made them, do it. And then plan to make her potato soup too. Both easy dinners that now have a place in our dinner rotation. And no, our kids don't eat the dinners either, but that just means there is plenty of leftovers for us.

4. Scarves are one of my new favorite accessories. They are so great for Texas weather that can be cold in the morning and scorching hot in the afternoon. An easy way to pull together jeans and a simple t-shirt to make everyone think you put lots of thought into your outfit. Plus when was the last time you had to worry about a scarf not fitting(like your jeans from last fall that you swore fit when you put them away in the spring)??? My personal favorite style right now is the infinity scarf. It's the loop one that looks like a giant circle. Just loop it around your neck twice and pull the layers a bit to adjust to your liking, fluff and your done. It really is that simple. I have a turquoise one that I got at Sam Moon for less than $10. I am tempted to go back and get a few more colors. I am really into the look of navy and lime green right now, so I think I need a lime green one to go with some of my navy cardigans.

 

5. I had to bring snack for Taylor’s soccer game this week.  It is still weird to me that I truly am a soccer Mom(minus the minivan).  It was an evening game so I was trying to think of something that wouldn’t be too sugary since most kids wouldn’t eat dinner until after the game.  I ended up making Applesauce Raisin cookies(stay tuned for the recipe bc I actually took a few photos for you).  The problem was that the dough is crazy sticky and the idea of scooping the dough seemed like a big mess until I remembered my Mom giving me this great scoop for Christmas.  It was awesome and made for the perfect cookie size without ending up with dough all over my hands.  Lots of stores sell similar items, so you don’t necessarily need to buy Pampered Chef, but I promise this will be my new favorite kitchen tool with all the cookie baking coming up with the holidays. 

What are your favorite items or things that have made your life easier right now?