Recent Favorites (food, toddler, clothing, + home)
It’s been quite some time since I’ve shared a favorites post here! I absolutely love reading them on others’ blogs, or seeing other women share their favorites on YouTube. If you’ve followed the person for a while, then it’s like getting recommendations from a good friend! 🙂 As always, I only share products that I personally use and actually like!
The last favorites post I shared was my May 2019 Favorites! Wow. A lot of life has happened since then, so here are my tried-and-trues from summer 2019 till now!
Recent Favorites (food, toddler, clothing, + home)
Note: some links in this post may be affiliate links, which means I’d receive a tiny commission if you use the link to make a purchase. Thanks, as always, for supporting my blog! 🙂
Food:
You’ll notice a lot of these favorites are sugary this time – I’d say that this pregnancy, I’ve definitely had a huge sweet tooth! I’m also just hungry all the time these days. 🙂
Off The Grid Waffles // These are SO good! You can find them in the freezer aisle. We’ve been enjoying all kinds of frozen waffles for breakfast since last spring, but besides some occasional Eggo French Toast waffles, we’ve really settled into loving these the most. I picked them up because they were on sale and looked yummy, but upon further inspection, I realized they’re a healthier kind of protein waffle! 12 grams of protein in 2 waffles, and they’re made with 100% whole grains. Not to mention, they’re delicious! Sophie and I like the blueberry variety but the vanilla buttermilk is also great. We eat ours hot out of the toaster with butter and jam. 🙂
Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup // I always thought my only go-to wild rice soup recipe would be this one, but lo and behold, we’ve found another that we also really love! This autumn wild rice soup has the perfect blend of hearty fall ingredients like sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and wild rice, but it also has a perfectly light spice to it! (That’s thanks to the Old Bay seasoning – something I’d never used before making this!) I’ve made this a couple times now and even my husband (who normally isn’t a big soup guy) loves it! It’s amazing with a side of crusty French bread and Kerrygold butter. We’re making it again this week! 🙂
RELATED: Best-Ever Wild Rice Soup (our family recipe!)
Apple Cinnamon Straws // The perfect snack if you are craving a little crunch and something sweet, but if you still want something light! I found these in the health section of my grocery store. You may have heard of veggie straws, which we love too, but the apple cinnamon straws have the lightest little coating of sugar and they are DELICIOUS!
Larabars // I feel like I’m really late to the game on these, but they’re amazing! I always look for granola bars that won’t give me a quick high and then a sugar crash. 🙂 I love how Larabars are so few ingredients…but they somehow taste just like whatever flavor is on the label! Sophie loves them too. Our favorites: Lemon, Apple Pie, Coconut Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, and Peanut Butter Cookie. It’s like every flavor we’ve tried is a new favorite – although I do gravitate back to Lemon a lot. It seems like the main ingredients are usually dates and cashews, and then they infuse other yummy flavors or ingredients like peanut butter! Definitely try them out if you haven’t before! (PS – I’ve found them cheapest at Walmart compared to my grocery store, although one time they were on super sale at Target!)
Hy-Vee Grocery Pick-Up // If you have the ability to order your groceries online, try it!! It’s life-changing! 🙂 I actually enjoy grocery shopping, but I like to schedule our grocery pickup time on a weekday when Sophie and I already have a busy morning, so this saves us lots of time and effort! (And at 33 weeks pregnant, it’s nice not to have to push a heavy cart and wander a store.) I’ve also found it saves us money! It’s great being able to just type in the items I need, and see what’s on sale or what’s available without wandering or impulse buying.
Brach’s Candy Corn // A guilty pleasure this time of year! I try not to eat too much in one sitting. 🙂 I don’t like the pumpkins or the chocolate candy corns, but the originals are a definite favorite of mine!
Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Cookies // I hadn’t heard of cinnamon baking chips until I came across this recipe on Pinterest and added the ingredients to my grocery order! The cinnamon chips add the perfect amount of fall “spice” and interest to these cookies. They’re chewy and so good! I’ve made them 2 or 3 times by now and then I stick a bag of them in the deep freeze.
Turtle Chocolate Poke Cake // I made this for my sister-in-law’s birthday and it was a hit! It’s easy to make and full of all of the delicious caramel/chocolate flavors! Yum. It’d be a fun dessert to bring to an event, too!
Toddler:
Toddler Girls’ Sherpa Pullover // This is under $12 at Walmart (and Walmart.com too), and it’s the perfect simple, soft, cozy fleece for this time of year! Sophie looks so darling in her light pink one, and we’ve already used it a lot, so more recently I picked up another in the oatmeal color. It’s available in sizes 2T through 5T. I believe there are boy options as well! Definitely check it out if you have a toddler!
Little Blue Truck Board Book // I feel like I’m late to the game on this one, too, but I’d heard all the hype about the Little Blue Truck book and Bjorn and I finally purchased it for Sophie when we were at Barnes & Noble with her one day. (Side note: Barnes & Noble is one of our favorite places to go as a family – so much to learn about! It’s hard to leave without a new book!) Anyway, this book totally lives up to the hype! The rhymes are perfect, the little blue truck is such a sweet, helpful character, and it’s got such a cheerful feel to it. Sophie has much of it memorized and loves saying “ROOM went the dump around a curve, he saw a puddle and he tried to swerve!” 🙂 We also now own Little Blue Truck Leads the Way, and it’s really cute as well, but the best one of all is the original.
Sophie’s Brown Fall Riding Boots // My own go-to fall outfit is a top with skinny jeans and tall brown riding boots…so I was thrilled to find similar brown boots for Sophie this year! (As she says: “Match! Sophie boots, Mama boots! Both boots!”) She loves boots – her rain boots, her cowgirl boots we got for her upcoming birthday (she calls them her “cow boots”), and now these are another favorite of hers! 🙂 These are technically from The Children’s Place but I scored them for even less on my Kidizen app! (This is the app I use to buy 95% of Sophie’s clothes!!) If you haven’t heard of Kidizen, it’s an amazing way to buy and sell new and used kids’ clothing and shoes from moms all around the country. Get $5 for free to use HERE!
IKEA Duktig Play Kitchen // This kitchen is one of my very favorite things!! (And Sophie’s, too!) It’s so aesthetically pleasing and it fits perfectly in our kitchen so Sophie can “cook” near me as I prep meals. The best part? I’d had my eye on this exact kitchen and then scored it at a local garage sale, fully assembled (yay!) for $50! I almost cried, I was so thrilled! It retails for $89. It even comes with legs to extend the height later on, so the kitchen actually grows with your kids over the years! I know we’ll get so many years out of it, with Sophie and her brother playing alongside each other!
Re-Play Sippy Cups // I may have mentioned these before. They’re awesome! While we still like and use the Munchkin 360 cups, those will spurt out liquid if your toddler hypothetically throws them or drops them down hard enough. 🙂 So, enter these Re-Play cups! We’ve used Re-Play cups for quite some time. They’re more of a traditional sippy cup. I just have to share them in this post because we recently got them in 3 new colors for Sophie!! They’re gorgeous. 🙂
Clothing + Beauty:
Physicians Formula Eyeliner in Deep Brown // I’ve used this for about a month now and I’ve been so pleased with it! I like using more of a liquid eyeliner but I wasn’t thrilled with how my old one was looking (or, I guess, how I was applying it), so I was in the market for a new eyeliner. This one has been amazing! The brush tip allows you to draw a line of whatever thickness you like. I prefer brown for my eyeliner so I was excited to see that this one comes in Deep Brown.
Beautycounter Blush in Nectar // I’ve been following Madison from Espresso & Cream for a long time, and she kept talking about this awesome blush that is their universally flattering color! I tried it out and I’ve been so pleased! It’s such a pretty color!
Beautycounter Touchup Skin Concealer Pen in Fair // I also tried this concealer pen out, and I love it! It’s helped me feel like my makeup looks more natural, but it still gives some nice coverage where I need it, like under my eyes.
Maroon Floral Sweatshirt // I wish I could find it on their site, but this was a Jane.com deal that I snagged last month. Just imagine the T-shirt above with the same design but as a deep maroon-colored sweatshirt. I love it so much! It’s simple and cozy, and still fits over my baby bump. 🙂 The shop is called Little Jonesies and I believe they plan to have the sweatshirt I got back up in stock before long!
Ellie In Her Element Earrings // I got several pairs of her earrings back when she had a sale, and I’m in love! For a long time I got out of the habit of wearing dangle earrings, even though I love them. (I’m not naturally a big jewelry person but I do love a good pair of statement earrings.) I have a couple pairs of Ellie’s tassle earrings and they’re light, comfortable, and beautiful! Definitely follow her on Instagram to stay up-to-date with her and any upcoming sales or new collections!
Home:
The Better Mom Devotional // Under $10 on Amazon! I’d heard about this book and decided to give it a try. I’ve enjoyed it! (Now that the school year has started, I’m actually in a Bible study – an international one called CBS – and CBS is a lot “meatier,” since it’s a study with homework and all!) However, I still wanted to mention this book in today’s post, because this devotional is full of quick reads to encourage moms in their faith/motherhood, and I think it can be quite valuable during certain seasons of life!
Mrs. Meyers Dish Soaps and Hand Soaps in fall scents // Since I’m a homemaker, I do a lot of the dishes and cleaning around here, so my cleaning products (even their scents!) matter to me. 🙂 When I was starting to decorate for fall, I knew that my cleaning products had to be a part of that! I tried out two fall scents from the Mrs. Meyers brand, and I have not been disappointed! If you love fall scents, then you really should give these a try!! Apple Cider is always good, but trying out the Acorn Spice scent was a really good decision! These add so much to your home’s atmosphere! Here’s what I do: I use the Apple Cider Dish Soap every day, the Acorn Spice Multipurpose Cleaner Spray (it is SUCH an incredible fall smell!!), and then in the kitchen I use the Acorn Spice Hand Soap, and in our bathroom I have the Apple Cider Hand Soap. Even little things like these can totally make my day. Hence, they’re in my favorites post! 🙂
Knee Pillow // It’s funny how something so simple can make such a huge difference! I’m at the point of pregnancy where I need to sleep on my side, but my hips were killing me. So I finally caved and bought this knee pillow… and I had instant relief!! It’s not just for pregnancy. Great for side sleepers or anyone with knee/hip pain. It was less than $14 and it’s incredible! My new favorite thing! So far I’ve been able to get away with it being my only pregnancy pillow (besides a pillow for my head). We’ll see! But I think I’ll honestly want to sleep with this every night even after baby is born. You can instantly feel your body breathe a sigh of relief since your knees and hips are better aligned!
That’s it for this post! I actually have a good amount of fall favorites in terms of seasonal decor, but maybe I can share those in a separate post. 🙂
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post! I always love sharing favorites, and hearing about others’ favorites, too! What’s something new you’ve been loving lately??