1st Quarter Favorites – 2020

3 months into the year and it already feels like 2020 has had so much. As we are all trying to cling to a bit of normalcy, I figured I would start to move away from talking about the things we are all feeling anxious about and move back into some more “normal” content. Since it is the end of March, therefore the end of the 1stquarter, I figured I would share some things that I have been loving lately.

Skin/Hair/Body

Treseme Clarifying Shampoo

Let me tell you, I have been struggling with my hair. My hair overproduces oils and can be tough to manage at time with buildup. Add in the hard water of Germany and it’s been a struggle to find something that truly works. I was originally using the Redken Cleansing Crème and that worked so incredibly well, but they’ve changed their formula and the new Miceller version is just not as good. I can make it work, but I wanted something that I didn’t have to…try so hard with. I did a little look through of various clarifying shampoo’s and this one was actually raved about and, being a drugstore product, it is much easier to get here than some of the other options I was finding. Let me tell you, it works. I’ve been using it for almost a month when this post goes up and I’m really liking it. It helps remove the buildup, without stripping everything out of your hair and leaves my hair feeling really good. I can go back to going almost 3 days without washing my hair.

Simple Cleanser

I’ve been using this product for over a year now and still absolutely love it. If you are in need of a gentle cleanser that will let your skin breathe while still removing toxins, all without breaking the bank, this is an excellent option. It’s one of those products that I will always love because it does everything I want it to at a reasonable price point. Skincare can add up and get expensive fast, but it’s nice to know that there are good options on the lower end as well.

Food/Drink

Blue Corn Tortilla Chips

Ok, so I’m trying not to eat chips as much, but I’ve developed a little soft spot for these blue corn tortilla chips. They are absolutely delicious! I almost like them more than regular tortilla chips (almost, but not quite) and I try to opt for them if I can as they can be slightly healthier (or rather you can find a slightly healthier option).

Ninja Specialty Coffee Bar

This product has been life changing. I kid, I kid…kind of. I’ve been wondering about getting a cappuccino machine, or some sort of coffee machine that has the option of making specialty drinks, for a little bit now. I like to have the option to make these coffee’s on weekends when we are home, but I hadn’t decided what to get or bit the bullet to buy one. Then, I received this coffee bar for my birthday, and it’s been a game changer. Not only can you make fancy coffee (I’ve done latte’s and cappuccinos), but you can also just make a standard cup of coffee. You have a variety of sizes and an iced option as well. It’s completely idiot proof (coming from a coffee idiot) and the only thing it CAN’T do is actually heat your milk. This is a simple fix, but I will probably invest in a steamer at some point for my milk.

Multi-Media

Let’s talk TV first…

We’ve sure been busy on the TV front and I’ve got a lot to share about. First up, we have watched the second season of Sex Education and are still just as obsessed as we were with the first season. It’s just the perfect balance of humour, inappropriate-ness, and drama. We’ve also recently started watching 100 Humans and are really enjoying it as well. Next up is two reality shows that I’ve been all over, Love is Blind and Tiger King. These are so beyond different, but both were completely binge worthy to me. I watched both in a matter of a couple days. Love is Blind is the dating show that we all need in our lives, full of annoying personalities, drama, and will they or wont they questions throughout. Tiger King is on another level of crazy. It’s not quite as addicting as Love is Blind (you could easily walk away from it), but it is still something to watch. It is a mystery, unraveling story that involves exotic private zoos and a murder for hire situation. The back and forth, twists and turns, and just wild personalities make it an entertaining moment. I’ve also watched 3 Wives 1 Husband and that was a wild ride as well detailing out a community of polygamists. It’s not very long (a few episodes), but is quite the head scratcher.

Podcasts…

I’ve been bouncing between YouTube, Podcasts, and Music while I am doing chores, but I’ll start with a podcast that I’ve been loving, From the Front Porch. This podcast is brought to you buy the owners and employees of The Bookshelf in Thomasville and is just a pure spot of happiness to listen. Get a book recommendation, listen to them dissect a book, or just chat about day to day happenings in the store. In terms of books, I also enjoy Books Unbound which has a little bit of everything. I’ve also had a friend recently start a podcast, The Legacy Entrepreneur, which is a great option if you are looking into a semi business related, religious podcast (she incorporates religion into her business in a way that I enjoy).

Music…

I’ve been all over Spotify lately, but the two playlists I’ve been listening to the most (that aren’t mine) have been Beth Sandlands’ Social Distancing Kitchen Party, which is full of feel good hits that are the perfect pick me up. Put it on, crank it up, and dance it out. The other list is a playlist called mors vincit omnia- Ninth House which is by a local friend and features a darker theme. If I just need to feel like a badass for a minute or two then I put it on and get down to the issue.

Books

I’ve got my March Reading Wrap Up here (here is January and February), but I figured I would take this chance to talk about some of my particular favorites from the first quarter as well as a book or two to maybe avoid. In the first quarter of the year I’ve read a total of 27 books. I’m feeling pretty good about my reading at this point and have overall enjoyed most of what I’ve picked up. The top 3 have been World Without End by Ken Follett, A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer, and The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff. The disappointing reads have been The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, The Wives by Tarryn Fisher, and Misery by Stephen King.

And that about does it for my first quarter favorites! What is something you’ve been loving over the past few months?

 

acuppacosyLeave a comment

3rd Qtr Favorites 2019

Good morning and Happy end of September/Beginning of October! We have reached the end of another quarter in 2019 and today I’m going to be talking about some of the things that I loved over the past few months. I’m switching things up a little bit and I’ll be doing a separate post talking about books and such that I loved. So, this post will focus on food/drink, makeup/skincare, travel, multimedia (tv/podcast/music/movies), and some kid things.

Food/Drink

Oh hi, I’m going to talk about alcohol. Yep, alcohol. I don’t really drink much, but…ya know…being in Europe/Germany. There is an early “baby” wine that is produced here called Federweißer (Federweisser) that is made up of freshly fermented grapes. It tastes like a carbonated grape juice and is absolutely delicious. It is available from September through to October, although it continues to Ferment as it stands in the bottle, so later batches may taste different and be stronger than earlier batches. I’ve only had the white version, but there is also a Rose and Red. It’s a nice light option if you would like to have a drink, but nothing too strong.

Makeup/Skincare

There isn’t really a lot new on the makeup and skincare front to chat about as I’ve been mostly sticking to our standards. I do want to say; I’ve been using the Gold Bond intense repair hand cream on my poor dry hands (the weather change that comes with cooler weather is NOT kind to my hands) and it’s been working relatively well. We also made copious use of sunscreen over the past few months with the height of summer hitting. I have found that the best sunscreen for both myself and the kids has been the Aveeno sun products. I would like to go a little bit higher end if I can, but honestly with Andrew’s skin being as sensitive as it is, this is what works, and I don’t want to chance changing it.

Travel

I don’t really know what to do with the travel section of my favorites. Do I talk about a favorite spot? A Favorite tour? Or, do I just talk about the trips we’ve taken as a recap? Or, do I talk about an item that I really loved while traveling? Let me know what you think. For today I’ll do a bit of a combo post. We had a couple of trips over the past quarter, our big Summer Holiday, and then a couple smaller day trips. I think my favorite spot of all was our little cottage in The Highlands of Scotland. Scotland has just captured a very special space in my heart. To go along with that, one of the best purchases we’ve made is purchasing Rain Jackets. Not only did they come in handy on our Holiday, but they’ve been very handy at home as well (when we remember them).

TV/Movies

So, we have very limited time with two very active toddlers for TV. This isn’t me trying to be all up in my own attitude, it’s just a statement of fact. Even when we get a chance to turn the TV on to adult related tv, chances are we can watch about 5-10 minutes before needing to handle something for the boys. So, for the most part I am reading or doing re watches of shows that I love and have already seen. For myself I am rewatching Suits, Gilmore Girls, and Friends, depending on what I’m in the mood for/how much time I have. I am actually desperate to watch Mind Hunters as well, but I have to wait for the right time to appear. Together we are re watching Big Bang Theory and first time watching the most recent season of Designated Survivor. Once we finish that, we are going to watch the most recent season of The Ranch.

Podcasts/Music

Ah, I’ve been bouncing between a Classical Music playlist and just a standard Top Alternative playlist lately for music. So, nothing really new there. I guess I could comment on Taylor Swifts new album- not the biggest fan. I only like a couple of the songs off of it. As for podcasts, I’ve been sticking to book related podcasts picking and choosing and then also listening to older episodes of She Percolates.

Kids’ Stuff

A Couple of random things for the kids’ section…they’ve been loving the soccer net that my husband purchased for them for our backyard. They’ve also both found a love for this specific style of swing. It’s like a spider net swing and when they see one, they have to be in it, swinging to new heights.

And that pretty sums up my favorites for the past quarter! I’m sorry it wasn’t the most exciting round up I’ve had, but to be completely honest, aside from July it’s been a pretty bare bones quarter over here. We’ve just been trying to keep our heads above the water as it’s been especially busy. What is something that you’ve been loving over the past quarter?

acuppacosy3 Comments

2nd Quarter Favorites

We’ve reached the end of another quarter and I want to take a minute to talk about some of the things that I’ve been loving lately. I really enjoy sharing my favorites with you and I hope that you may find some favorites too! I cover anything from home to style/fashion to food.

I will say- I did do a mid-quarter post about some of my favorite books/media options which you can read HERE. I’ll try not to repeat anything that I included there in this post.

Clothing/Accessories

I’ve got two clothing items to share with you today that have become staples in my “hotel” wardrobe. I feel like I am constantly reaching for them and I know I will continue to do so even when we get our household goods after moving in to our house.

6313769200629878336_IMG_4809The first item is this skirt. The brand is called Review and I found it in one of our local shopping stores. It fits like a dream and is just comfortable enough to wear all the time. I haven’t worn a jean skirt since I was in high school and was wary to pick one up, but I just really love the way this one looks. I usually pair it with a tucked in tea, but know I will be pairing it with my tank tops as well.

IMG_5375Another item is this dress. I talked about this in my last What I Wore post, but this dress is just…everything I love in a dress. It’s flowy and airy, can be paired with just about anything, and compliments a wide variety of body types. It is by the same company as the skirt, Review, and I found it in the same shop. Such a classic!

IMG_7195An accessory item that I have recently purchase and am loving is a new watch! I’m a big watch person, wear one every day, and am not the biggest fan of the smart watches. I just wanted something classic, that would match everything and do the time telling job. I switch between this one and my Skagen. This particular watch is the MVMT (Orion). I have found it easy to adjust to seeing multiple clock faces, and love that I can see what time it is in the states, along with the time here.

Multi Media (Podcasts/Music/TV)

Alright, music wise not much as changed. Still obsessing over Charlie Cunningham, The 1975, Muse, and Billie Eilish. I have, however, found some new podcasts that I’ve been binge listening to…ShePercolates is the first, My Favorite Murder, and All the Books. I’ve really found a stride with podcasts over the past couple weeks and it’s kind of what I want right now, more so than YouTube videos or anything. As for TV, we are still watching The Ranch and re runs of a show called Lost Girl (? Not sure about this one- it’s been the one that they are playing right now on the English channels on our German Hotel TV). We’ve recently watched a Holocaust documentary, which we enjoyed, and are hopeful that once we move in we will get a couple other shows to watch.

Books

Books that I’ve read recently, obsessed over and haven’t talked much about…hhmmm. Well I’ve just recently (like a couple weeks) read Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng and loved it. Such a beautifully written story and I highly recommend that. I did also enjoy the thriller of I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh, although I found one twist to be a bit unnecessary. Both of these books do come with Content Warnings. I’ve also read Normal People by Sally Rooney recently and while I did personally enjoy it, I don’t know that it would be for everyone.  Most of the other books that I’ve read have been fairly average or I talked about them in my last blog post (you can read that HERE).

Food/Drink

Ah, we’ve recently once again become obsessed with Pesto Sauce. There is something about having a side dish of rotini with pesto in the summer months that is just so light and refreshing. It’s almost like a perfect complement to whatever you are making. I found a delicious, easy recipe for Chicken/Pasta with a Creamy Pesto sauce and we’ve been loving that.

I’ve also found a gluten free Chocolate Macaroon that is absolutely delicious. They are called Mrs. Crimble’s and they are just so good. They are made with coconut, bottom dipped in chocolate, and drizzled chocolate over top. So good and such a nice little treat!

Beauty

My beauty pick for this post is going to be my Garnier Micellar Water. I use this every evening to remove my makeup and it is just so incredibly refreshing. It removes all my makeup in one go without breaking or drying my skin out. My skin always just feels refreshed afterwards before I’ve even washed my face.

Other Random Bits (Kids/Travel)

We recently celebrated a birthday in our home, Andrew’s second, and once again, there were two presents that were big hits. The first being a Winnie the Pooh Stuffed animal. For Colton’s birthday we got him Tigger and he absolutely loved it, and I had wanted to give Andrew a Winnie one as well. He loves it, calls it his “baby” and carries it all around the house. The other gift that was a big hit (and was with Colton as well when he got them) are the Lego Duplo toys. These are such great gift options, they have so many different options (for example, Colton got the part/outdoor one and Andrew got a train one) and they are the perfect size for kids ages 2-4/5.

And that is all I’ve got for this quarter! I hope that you enjoyed this post and let me know what some of the items are that you have loved over the past couple months.

acuppacosy2 Comments