Fun Finds from April

 

NOTE: Apparently when I was writing the blog last night, I was paying too much attention to the show we were watching simultaneously and not enough attention to what I was writing. I titled it favorite recipes and then proceeded to write about fun finds. Oh, Bekah. Bless your heart. I really will tell you my favorite recipes tomorrow, but I have retitled this post to match the content: fun finds from April! 

Good morning! I have some Monday fun for you today. I’ve stumbled upon a handful of fun things throughout the month of April, and I thought I’d share them with you, in case you need some fun finds in your life, too!

·         Insulated Bag: Ryan proposed to me on a Thursday, and I am pretty sure it was Saturday of that same week that I went to a Thirty-One party. (Are those parties still a thing? Oh! I just looked and it appears the company closed last fall.) Anyway, I purchased an insulated cooler that was big enough to hold two large pizza boxes. I had it embroidered with “Shaffer”, and it became the first thing I ever bought with my future last name on it. (Sentimental there, Bekah?) That bag has served us VERY WELL for twelve and a half years, carrying thousands of loads of groceries and vacation food and even some pizza boxes along the way. But I guess it wasn’t a lifetime adventure, because the whole bag had started to break down and no longer provided full insulation. I feel like we got our money’s worth, but it was time for a new bag, and this month we purchased this non-monogrammed, but much cheaper version from Walmart. I am excited to know my food will stay cold (or hot, as needed) again!

·         Faux Plant: Speaking of Walmart, on the same shopping trip, I found an adorable little faux plant for just under $5.00. I bought it to put inside my bird nest planter, which is sitting on a ledge away from a good light source. When spring is over, I plan to relocate this little plant to my office at the church, which also doesn’t have natural light, so…artificial plants for the win in there. They had a whole endcap of various plants for this price, so you could pick your favorite. (I bought a faux boxwood at Walmart when Ryan and I lived at WillowBridge, and I’m impressed with how it doesn’t collect dust or look super fake. We still have it on display in our home.)

·         Cheerios: Ryan and I used to eat cereal every night, and over time, we’ve given up that habit. (Cereal is EXPENSIVE – and most kinds aren’t that great for you, anyway.) But this month we discovered this spin on Cheerios, and I hate admitting how yummy this is. We don’t have it every day, nor in great quantities, but it does make a tasty little snack.

·         Maurice’s Dresses: When shopping for my Easter dress this year, every thrift shop failed me. I have regular good luck at three different stores, but I started a couple of months before Easter and came up quite empty. The week before Easter, when I had my last round of womp-womp shopping, I was about to go home and look at the ones I’d marked on Amazon, but Ryan remembered Maurice’s. Why did I forget that store?? I found three dresses I liked and all three fit well…so I bought all three! (They were all on sale, too, so that was a win!) I purchased this one in the outer space blue combo. I like some of the others in this cut, but they didn’t have them in the store where I shopped.) I got this one – also in the outer space blue combo, though the fabric is not the same as the first one with that name. That’s strange! And this was the third one!

·         Front Pages site/app: I follow a lot of photo managers on social media, and one of them shared a link for the Front Pages app (also a website). She said she uses it when making photo books for her kids – if she wants to save the headlines from a significant day in history or in their lives. The app/site shows the front pages of major newspapers around the country, and you can save the image. I’d never heard of it!

·         Old Man Slippers: A couple of years ago, I purchased some fuzzy slippers, and I love them. I plan to wear them until they develop holes in the bottom, and then I’m going to buy the same ones again. The only problem with my beloved fuzzy slippers? They make my feet SO HOT when the weather warms up! I’d found these “old man slippers” as I call them online and put them on my wish list about a year ago. Ryan bought them for me (in eggplant) for Easter, and I am so happy!! They are much cooler (in temperature) than my pretty fuzzies. If we had more carpet in the house, I’d probably just walk around in socks, but I don’t love walking on hard floors barefoot or in socks. I love my new old-man-slippers!

·         Sandwich Holders: When Ryan and I first got married, we had a couple of Tupperware sandwich holders, and I used to make a peanut butter and honey sandwich to eat every morning on my way to the radio station. I’d pack it in my little, plastic sandwich holder, and off I’d drive! Well, over time I’ve lightened up on my sandwich eating, and we’ve tried to scale back on plastics in the kitchen, so those little holders no longer live here. But Ryan has been taking PB&J to work lately, and we didn’t have a good sandwich-sized holder for him. I found these stainless steel sandwich holders and put them in his Easter basket. I purchased the two-pack so we always have a clean one, but you can buy them in one, two, or three packs!