Nadine

Coming in hot with another Amazon favorites post! We needed a few new kitchen items this month and a few other gems. Linking up with Tanya.

Lodge Dutch Oven – It was time to replace our soup pot, and I opted for a dutch oven instead. I absolutely love this! It is a fraction of the price as certain brands, and every bit the quality. I got blue, and it is such a pretty color. There are several other options to fit your aesthetics. I am all about investing in long term pieces, and this was a great addition.

Small Oven Pan – Our toaster oven pan needed replacing, and I found the perfect size pan for it! This is heavy duty, sturdy and has a lifetime warranty. Score!

Makeup Sponges – I refuse to pay $20 for one Beauty Blender. I feel like over the years, their quality control has gone way down. I used to love the Real Techniques ones, and those two are hit or miss anymore. I found these on Amazon and you get a container of them for the price of two RT one. These work great, and hold up against both other brands, only I think they are better! I have been loving my foundation brushes lately, but I like to have these on hand as well for when I wear CC creams or was too lazy to wash my brushes.

Pencil Sharpener – With homeschooling, we are using all kinds of writing utensils. I have a Dollar Tree manual pencil sharpener, and it keeps eating our pencils, breaking them, doing a horrible job. I decided it was time to invest in a better option. This works great and is small enough to keep in a drawer or on your desk.

Toilet Pumice – I saw a few people share this and decided to give it a try. It is every bit the miracle worker for getting those hard water stains out of your toilet with minimum effort. Highly recommend! Our toilet bowls look brand new.

Remote Control Car – Chris enjoys remote control cars when we are outside. He drives them on our family walks sometimes…and Zoe really loves when he brings it. He ordered a new one, and this is insanely cool. It goes so fast and has drawn attention from many of our neighbors who are out and about.

Put Me in the Zoo and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish – Dr Seuss books were some of my favorites growing up, so I always try to make some fun on Dr Seuss Day for Zoe each year. (It’s tomorrow.) I always get her a new book, and come up with some kind of fun theme for a meal or snack. She will be wearing her Dr Seuss dress tomorrow, and at least have the table decorated when she wakes up. I need to come up with a fun snack, I am slacking this year.

Sharpie Highlighters – I had quite the undertaking with some data this week at work. I realized, I don’t have enough highlighters when this type of thing arises. I tried to order some from Target for a pickup, and wouldn’t you know the ones I pick they were out of and of course they don’t give me any alternatives. Ugh! I made do with some of Zoe’s markers…but ordered these for next time. I love Sharpie brand.

Hangers – I love these hangers and having the same color in my closet. It gives a cohesive look that makes my OCD heart smile. We needed more, and I am happy with this purchase. My other ones came from TJ Maxx…and these fit right in.

Food Processor – We have a small, inexpensive food processor/immersion blender that someone got us as a wedding present many years ago. It has worked fine for most things, but any time a recipe calls for major food processing…I tend to skip it unless I think I can make it work in the blender. It was time to invest in one, and this had great reviews and is reasonably priced. I love it.

What are you loving lately?

Hey there! I thought I would do a little What’s Up Wednesday this month. Steph shared a really good post the other day about not having a lot to say, and our moods from all the shit we have survived through this past year. I felt it deep in my soul. I have started many posts on here, and abandoned them because I am like…what do I even have to say anymore? I have been living life Groundhog’s Day style for almost a year now. Lots of the same old same old. But blogging is one of my only adult interactions I have throughout the day, and my only creative outlet right now, so I cling to it like a life preserver.

What We are Eating – I have been on a kick to try new recipes again lately. I get stuck in food ruts pretty easily, I am just tired of cooking 3 meals a day forever and ever, you know?? Anyways, I have been really focusing on my nutrition lately, as it is a constant struggle for me. The effort it takes to keep it just right in order to lose weight is exhausting. No matter how much I work out and go hard in the mornings, it can all be undone with just a few bad food choices. The good news is that finally. FINALLY. I am seeing the scale move again.

This week we have had some fun new additions. We tried a taco casserole on Sunday. I made a chicken fajita pan meal Monday night, secret sauce kielbasa for lunch yesterday and coconut chicken tenders for dinner last night. The secret sauce kielbasa is an oldie but goodie, everything else was new recipes. We liked all of them and will be adding them in to the rotation.

I usually do acai bowls for breakfast, but switched it up Monday with this oatmeal from Purely Elizabeth. It was really good, and I loved the addition of the nut butter it came with.

What We’ve Been Up To – Honestly, much of the same. Work has been insane the last two weeks. So many new jobs came in, and I am thankful for them…but damn! Last night we had virtual book club, and I listened to everyone while I worked and contributed none.

What has been bringing my spirits up, is the amazing weather we had this weekend and early this week. Today the high is 72. What?! So we did manage to sneak in some walks outside yesterday, and I hope to get some outside play in today too. Maybe I will even make a batch of chalk paint for Zoe. One of our favorite past times last spring/summer.

What I’m Loving – Target has 20% off on dresses right now. While I don’t always have luck with the fit/quality of some of their items…I am tempted to pick up a few dresses during the sale. I basically live in dresses from March – October.

I really like this short sleeve dress from Wild Fable, and this tank dress that is similar style to my favorite from A New Day last year. I also like the look of this tiered dress.

I am still really loving these sandals from Walmart. Really comfortable and supportive for my bad foot.

I also have my eye on this top. I ordered a tshirt from the Free Assembly line, and it is high quality for the price. I was pleasantly surprised.

What I’m Reminiscing About – Basically just life pre-covid. A memory from February 23, 2020 popped up on my phone last night, it was of Zoe eating pancakes at Metro Diner. I thought to myself…that was the last time we had gone out for breakfast there before all this happened.

What I’m Doing This Weekend – Probably working in the mornings for sure. Hopefully hopping into another good book too! I am reading Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane right now, and it is so good! It is an ARC copy, the book comes out in May.

What I Am Excited About – I am excited for the nicer weather and Easter. I have been decorating around the house for Spring/Easter already. Excited to see the pops of pastel. Hopefully we can do some fun outdoor activities soon.

What I Am Listening To – I have been listening to a little of an audiobook on the treadmill this last week. My library was offering a virtual book club and immediate download of Love Lettering. I missed the discussion since it is during my working hours, but I have enjoyed the book so far.

What I Am Watching – We have been catching up on The Resident this week. Wow, what a ride!

What I Am Working On – I signed up for an Instagram class that is actually happening this morning. I am hoping I can tune in for a bit and see if I learn anything. One of my local friends is hosting through a local non-profit.

I have also been working on things around the house. I ordered a shelf for the master bathroom that will hopefully be here in the next week. I am going to hang it over our bathtub and put some products on it and a few decor items. I really liked the look of it, and it was on sale for a great price! I had seen a similar one at Target for $104. So I feel like I got a really good deal.

I hope you all are doing well. Let me know what you are up to. What you are loving lately.

We are in the final week of February, crazy right? I am not going to lie, I am nervous for March. I still have PTSD or something from last March. I am sure we all do. Not a lot happening over here this week, just keeping it chill.

After some snow and freezing weather last week, it was nice to see warm weather return just in time for the weekend! It was around 50 on Saturday and 60 yesterday. We definitely took advantage and spent time outside both days.

Zoe is obsessed with her new raincoat. I had purchased her a new one last year, but it fell apart after just a few wears. So sad. I went back to this one, as we had one previously that lasted us two years. The only reason we retired it was because she grew. I love the Cat and Jack ones because they are wind and rain resistant. Of course, she sported it all weekend.

Saturday morning, I rearranged the coffee bar and our china cabinet in the kitchen. I am still trying to decide how I want to display all of my glasses. I am also looking at some open shelving for above the coffee bar. I want somewhere I can have a few canisters and other decor. Maybe some hooks to hang some mugs. I haven’t fully decided. I also started pulling out our Easter decor. Christmas is my all time favorite holiday to decorate for, but Easter isn’t too far behind. I love all the bunnies and pastel colors.

I ordered some bunny garland to add to the fireplace, and I have a few more things I need to dig out for the dining room and kitchen. I will share when I am done. Zoe has always been obsessed with this bunny that Chris got me the year I was pregnant with Zoe. She has been carrying it around all weekend.

We made some buffalo chicken for lunch. This is definitely one of my favorite chicken recipes. It is easy, low carb and delicious! Zoe even likes it without the hot sauce.

I finished reading The Wife Stalker…I have lots of thoughts…just in time for book club. I started Just Last Night and I am having a hard time putting it down! I love Mhairi McFarlane! This is an ARC copy, I believe it comes out in May. Definitely something to add to the list!

Sunday morning we made breakfast and did a deep clean of the house. For all the time we spend at home, I rarely have time to do more than touch clean most weeks. And when the weekend rolls around, I just don’t want to spend my time cleaning…you know? It felt good to knock everything out. After, we went outside for a few hours to enjoy the beautiful weather!

For dinner last night, Chris found a low carb taco casserole recipe he wanted to try. It was super easy to make, and quite tasting. We are going to add it to our regular rotation.

And just like that, the weekend was over. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I know may of your are still covered in snow. It has been a wild winter. Linking up with Tanya.

Happy Friday! This week has been a crazy one for the south. Most everywhere has seen winter weather in some form. I can’t believe how awful it is in Texas, Oklahoma and Eastern Kentucky. My heart goes out to everyone. I cannot imagine going without electricity and water for that long. It is 2021, this should not be happening. Lindsay has a blog post on ways to help in Eastern Kentucky, so I am dropping that here.

Here in Alabama, we were under a winter storm warning Monday going in to Tuesday. They had predicted ice, but when I woke up Tuesday morning…I was shocked to see it snowing! It snowed steadily for several hours, but we only accumulated maybe 2-3 inches. It was completely gone by the afternoon. It is still cold here, but not Texas cold. I think it is warming up here this weekend.

When I went outside to see the snow, I saw 7 deer walking in our caldesac into the neighbor’s yard. It was so cool. They stared at me as I stared at them. I saw three of them a few week ago casually hanging out in my front yard. They must live close by.

Favorite Purchase: My favorite soup pan was starting to flake along the bottom and I had to get rid of it. I decided to purchase a Lodge Dutch Oven instead, since they come with a lifetime warranty and shouldn’t need replacing. I am very impressed with the quality and the actual look of it. Very pretty and sturdy. I don’t really see the need to spend $350 on Le Creuset when this is the same thing for a fraction of the price.

I also grabbed this Soap & Glory cleansing balm. I tend to use Garnier Micellar Water to remove my makeup before washing my face at night because it is easy, but my favorite is the Clinique Cleansing Balm. I don’t feel like spending $35 on a face wash, when I do a double cleanse every night…this is half the price.

I started putting stuff aside for Zoe for Easter, and I loved this unicorn soccer ball! Ships free from Nordstrom.

Favorite Recipe: I made a keto taco soup from Stay Snatched this week. She shares a TON of amazing looking recipes on her Instagram, so definitely follow her if you are looking for healthy and/or low carb options.

Favorite Aldi Finds: Aldi has stepped up their Keto and health food game lately. I found a lot of new products this trip. The Flex Popcorner chips are a GREAT way to add some protein to your diet. I grabbed some Keto cookies for Chris, they are a lot cheaper than the High Key version found at Target. Chili Lime Pork Rinds? Sign me up! We also love all the Parmesan/Cheese crisps flavors, Aldi has these Everything ones now. YESSSSS.

Favorite Workout: I usually stick to Heather Robertson workouts most days of the week, but I was in the mood to switch it up. I tried out Sydney Cummings, and I am quite enjoying her. I did this arm workout Monday, and not joke…by the second circuit my arms were burning, and half way through they were starting to shake. My arms never shake during workouts, so I KNOW this one worked. She also killed my legs Tuesday.

I did a shorter circuit workout on Wednesday, and I needed like 10-15 minutes of something to pair with it. I had A LOT of fun with this love dance workout from Pamela Reif.

Favorite Funnies:

Linking up with A Little Bit of Everything. I hope you all have a great weekend!

This post is not sponsored, I just wanted to share my thoughts on Thrive Market after placing a few orders. If you don’t know what Thrive Market is, it is a online market/grocery store that has lots of organic, GMO free foods and allows you to shop by your dietary needs whether you are keto, gluten free, vegan, etc. They have filtered by 70+ dietary and lifestyle needs.

The annual membership costs $59.95 (or $5/month) and is billed once yearly. If you opt to do a monthly membership instead, you’ll pay $9.95 per month. You’ll get free shipping on your first order over $25, plus all orders $49 or more.

If you use my link here, you can save  25% off your first order and sometimes get a free item. I will get a credit to my account if you join, so a win win.

They claim that their members save an average of $32 on every order. Plus, if you have an annual membership and you don’t make back your annual membership fee in savings, they will give you store credit. I am going to say that in my experience so far, they have the lowest prices I have seen on many of the items they offer, or the same price as some stores. The thing for me, is that most of these brands are very hard to find in stores around my house. We have a Whole Foods, but it is about a 35-40 minute drive from me, and I just am not going to make that trip on a regular basis. This is much more convenient!!!

My initial impression is that the items come packaged very well. I was impressed by how everything was separated and wrapped. I didn’t have crushed bags of chips or broken glass bottles, which was nice. None of the canned items had dents in them…which is more than I can say for my grocery deliveries from local stores.

Above are some of my recent hauls. As you can see, there are plenty of repeat items…and a few new each time. Some of my must haves are the organic coffee, the brown rice thin stackers, Whisps (which are $2 cheaper on Thrive than at Publix), plantain chips, chomps, Simple Mills Almond Flour Crackers and Mary’s Gone Crackers Real Thins. The only thing I have not loved, was the HU pizza crackers. Maybe I was spoiled by pizza Goldfish? I don’t know. Not a fan of those, but it is literally the only thing I have ordered out of all my orders that I did not absolutely love.

It has been a great resource for me to find healthier alternatives for things that Zoe likes to snack on. She is obsessed with this Pipcorn. I feel much better about giving her this, than the orange cheese balls from Target! We have really liked the Alaffia shampoo and body wash for her as well. It smells like delicious strawberries and we haven’t seen any bad reactions on her very sensitive skin. That hazelnut butter HU bar was YUMMMMM.

I have also loved their selection of the harder to find items like cacao nibs, cacao powder and some flour substitutes. They have a lot of healthier candy options as well.

The Thrive brand has been great for basic pantry staples like like olive oil, almond milk, organic canned beans, coffee, etc. On my next order, I plan to try their collagen and some other vitamins and supplements and I will report back. Chris really liked box of Ultima hydrate that I got on our last order. He said it was perfect for a day he wasn’t feeling his best after consuming a few adult beverages the night before.

Also, for every paid Thrive Market membership, they match it with a free one for a low-income family, student, teacher, veteran, or first responder. Which I think is awesome.

Have you thought about trying Thrive Market? If you are a member, let me know some of your favorites to order! Drop me any questions you might have, I am no expert….but I may be able to help.