Fun Finds from January

 

I’m not an influencer, but I do love to share something fun when I find it, and today is the day for that. No ads, no compensations…just my opinions!

Our sweet little lake cottage doesn’t have the largest kitchen in the world, which would probably have deterred some from purchasing it at all. But we love our little kitchen and find its spatial challenges an exciting puzzle to solve – one piece at a time. And this past month, we took another step in solving this puzzle. We have a dishwasher and use it for everything we can, but we do have several pieces of cookware that aren’t supposed to go in the dishwasher. We have two fabric dish-drying mats that we place on the counter to hold dishes while they finish drying, but sometimes, especially when many large pots and pans are involved, our two little blue mats aren’t enough. So for Christmas, I bought Ryan this over-the-sink dish drying mat. It rolls out over the sink and then rolls right back up for storage. It’s working beautifully and doesn’t take up space we don’t have when it comes time to store. He loves it and has commented several times on how handy it is! (He’s the resident hand-dish-washer.)

My sister gifted us these reusable food storage bags as part of our Christmas gift. I’ve seen similar products before, but we had never owned any until now! If you grew up in an era where your mom/grandma washed and reused plastic baggies, you might have to overcome that mind hurdle in doing the same, but these are certainly more durable and long-lasting than the washed baggies of our childhood. The multi-pack came with a handful of sizes, and we have found them very convenient for storing grated cheese, freshly made tortillas, veggies, and other snacks! They are top rack dishwasher safe, but we are still figuring out the best method to fully dry them. So far we’ve placed them over a drinking glass to dry as much as we can and then we finish drying with a towel. There are super handy and I think they will serve us well in travel, too!

I shared the story of Ryan gifting these to me, but now that I’ve used them, I want to tell you how much I love them! Ryan researched and found for me these erasable gel pens so I can write in my day planner without crossing through things that get rescheduled. The pack has a bunch of colors, they write well (both in continuity and in ease of visibility) and they erase perfectly. They have revamped my day planner game – allowing me to continue to color code, but also to make changes without the whole thing becoming messy and unwieldy. I’m excited to have these in my writing utensil collection!

I do not own this, but I’m sharing it because I’d never seen it before this month, and it fascinated me. Brooke from Pumps and Push Ups shared some of her favorite athletic wear, and I browsed her suggestions. She’s petite and I’m not, so sometimes her links don’t translate for me, but sometimes they do. I was reading through her post for suggestions on joggers, when I found this cinch sweatshirt. WHAT? Those are a thing? I love the idea because I love the comfort of a sweatshirt, but sometimes I don’t want the bagginess that comes along with it. This is comfortable (looking, anyway) AND cinches in the middle for some shape. Brilliant. (Indeed they must be a thing, because a couple of days later, a different blogger posted a link to this more affordable version!)

One thing we learned on our anniversary trip was that my gloves are not adequate to keep my hands warm! I had two different sets with me on the trip, and my hands froze in both. So…Ryan bought me these for Christmas, and I love them. I’ve had gloves before that are supposed to work on touch screens, but they don’t. These actually do a pretty good job with it! (Not foolproof, but far better than any I’ve owned before!) They also have a lining that keeps my fingers warm, but they still allow me to move my hands easily. I don’t feel like a puffalump in them. They come in a variety of colors, are very affordable, and I call them a win!

Not long after Ryan and I married, we ended up with a couple of free yoga/workout mats. We have used them in each of our homes, and they have served us well. But they really aren’t much thicker than a sheet of paper, and now that we work out on a very hard floor, that thinness is becoming (literally) painfully obvious. Earlier this month, whilst strolling the Aldi Aisle of Shame, we ran across these plush, thick workout mats, and we decided they were worth it. We bid farewell to our super-thin freebies from a dozen years ago and welcomed these much more supportive mats. Our backs and knees thank us every time we do a workout!

                These have been some of my favorite finds this month. I am looking forward to rounding up some more interesting discoveries to share with you next month!