A Few of My Favorite Things

It's been a long time since I've talked about the things I am loving so I thought maybe I should share... and let you become addicted along with me! Try not to be too amazed at the high quality photos included in this post... I literally just snapped a few quick pics on my phone to give you an idea of what things look like... I made zero effort to get nice, bright, quality photos. You know, professional blogger that I am.

the fire stick is in the middle

Amazon Firestick - So..two and a half years ago I bought a smart tv because I watch a lot of internet driven content. From the very beginning the sound would periodically go out and I'd have to unplug and plug back in to get it back. Then... about a month or so ago we had a power outage and it screwed up the internet capability of the tv. Basically, my smart tv became dumb. You know how it is with these modern tvs... it costs more to fix them than to buy a new one and I just don't have the spare cash for a new one. I spent a few weeks being really bummed about having to watch broadcast tv or navigate my laptop hooked up to my tv to watch Netflix or Amazon Prime... then I realized that an Amazon Firestick could bring the smart back to my tv. It's relatively cheap around $40 - in comparison to a new tv, anyways - and it allows me to again watch Netflix and Amazon Prime Video and YouTube on my tv easily. I just know enough to navigate so I'm probably only making use of a fraction of the things the Firestick can do BUT... It has changed my life. I'm not good with technical things but this was easy enough that I was able to install it myself.

Blue Diamond Almond Crackers... love these with roasted garlic and fresh mozzarella - but I had to give up garlic because my sweetheart could smell it on me days and days later, even after brushing and mouthwash and... well, I choose kisses over garlic but they are amazing with chicken salad. Or spinach dip. Or hummus or just by themselves. Love love love!

bathbombs - we have two bathtubs at the house here at the lake. One is too shallow for me to properly submerge and the other is in my dad's bath so I don't use it. But Marvin has a great soaking tub and I enjoy a nice long bath every time I'm at his house. I had heard so much about Lush bathbombs but had never tried them. However, when I noticed that Walmart was carrying bath bombs I picked up a few and YES! Best bath ever! Tasha gave me several for my birthday and now every week I really look forward to my bath bomb bath. I would recommend avoiding any with glitter in them as you will get out of the tub looking like a kindergarten craft project. A month later and I'm still cleaning glitter out of Marvin's tub. I think I need to order a few Lush Bathbombs still... and if I do, I'll review those for you.

Bolthouse fruit smoothies - I don't eat a balanced diet. I love fruit and veg but I just don't ever cook. Fresh produce goes bad so quickly in our house because it doesn't get used fast enough SOOOO... I try to have one of these smoothies every day. They have 2-3 servings of fruit in them and even though they are not low calorie, I feel like it's worth the extra calories for the nutritional benefits.

powerade - I must drink powerade every day of my life or I will get a migraine, plain and simple. I've tried NOT drinking it and the results are the same every. single. time. I don't know what it is that makes the difference but something does. It can be either powerade or gatorade but usually powerade is cheaper so...

ELF cosmetics - I love makeup. I love wearing makeup. I love trying new makeup but it's expensive and because I only wear makeup 2 or 3 times a week, it's not worth spending lots of money on stuff that will eventually go to waste. Then I discovered ELF Cosmetics. They are sold at Walmart and the Dollar Store and online. Products are priced ridiculously low... seriously... $1 for the mascara I use! Twice now I've seen them have 50% sales online and you bet your bottom dollar that both times I stocked up. That 50% sale may still be going on if you want to check them out. Their makeup remover wipes smell fabulous. I love their creamy eyeshadow sticks because the colors stay on ALL DAY for me which few products ever do. But the best thing for me is that I can afford to try new things and not worry that I've wasted big money if I don't like it or it doesn't work for me. If you're curious, ELF stands for Eyes, Lips Face.

photo of my actual refrigerator

Chobani Flip yogurt... I COULD LIVE ON THIS STUFF! Actually, I sort of do. I end up eating two of these a day most days. It's greek yogurt with a little side car of stuff that you add to the yogurt... usually nuts and chocolate bits and... really good. I also add extra almonds, chocolate chips and butterscotch chips to mine because if a little is good, a lot is DIVINE! My favorite flavor is Almond Coco Loco but I also love the Strawberry Rhubarb Shortcake and Nutty for Nana and there's a Salted Caramel Crunch one that is really good... seriously... running out of these = running out of toilet paper. It's that big of a crisis in my book.

Good Thins Beet Thins - if you like pickled beets... which I do... you will love these crackers. If you don't like pickled beets, you will think they taste like dirt... which Marvin does. They're a favorite snack for me and I always have them on hand. I eat them by themselves but I can see how they could be yummy with maybe some goat cheese or cream cheese based spread.

Voltaren Gel. This stuff has changed my life. When my pain doctor realized I had a new area of pain related to ulnar nerve damage, instead of increasing pain meds he prescribed this cream for me. It is like bengay on steroids. But there are no steroids. I use it on my back when the pain is bad and I'm in between doses. I use it on my elbows (where the ulnar nerve is). I use it on my boyfriend when he has aches and pains. It's just an extra weapon in my arsenal for me to use in my never-ending fight with pain. Ask your doctor for it! It's amazing!

Thus concludes this round up of my favorite things... I'd love to hear a few of your favorites! Comment below or on my Facebook page.

Love and hugs, y'all!