Friday Favorites (3): Amazon Finds

Hey party people! How are ya?

I can’t believe it’s 4th of July weekend, that just doesn’t even seem possible. Growing up in a small town in Vermont meant that everyone went to watch the 4th of July parade and you knew everyone who was walking in it. Our town’s fireworks were held that night and it was an important rite of passage to be able to watch them with your friends as a teenager. Speaking of watching fireworks with friends, I hope my best friend Meredith (aka my only blog reader) knows how much I miss her and despite my utter hatred for fireworks wish we could be in the “Lew Spot” watching them this year! Per usual I would only be coming for the company and the Ben & Jerry’s cart though 😉

My family was fortunate enough to have a pool in our backyard… yes in Vermont and yes we actually had warm enough summers to actually swim in it! Part of having a pool meant for my family anyway hosting the annual 4th of July party! In true Irish Catholic tradition my dad is one of 13 kids so anytime family gatherings happened it meant hundreds of humans! I remember vividly watching my mom make lists of people to invite, who was bringing what, what Costco runs we still had to do which is probably where I got my love of list making. Every year my dad would throw on a Hawaiian shirt and start the grill, our front yard would be covered in cars, the pool filled with kids and the kitchen overflowing with delicious food. Cousin Jane if you are reading this send me some taco salad!

While my 4th of July plans look quite different this year I am always happy when I get to think back on all of those fun memories of the holiday.

I suppose I should get to the purpose for today’s post which is linking up some of my favorite Amazon finds from this past few months… I’d say these are more summer/travel items but it’s also kind of a hodgepodge of items. Everything on this list is under $25!

 

This Foldable Fedora makes for the perfect summer sun protection. This may be my favorite thing I’ve ordered in a long time! I think I first saw it on Lauren from Lauren McBride Blog and I’m so happy it caught my eye. This hat is incredibly packable! I’ve traveled with it a few times now rolling it into the corner of my suitcase and every time I pull it out it snaps back into shape perfectly! I love how many different color options they have, I personally have the Khaki color. $22.99

This Silicon Make up Brush Cleaning Mat that does wonders for quickly and easily getting all of that bacteria off of my makeup brushes. I HATE cleaning my makeup brushes so anything that makes it easier for me is a big win in my book. This is a smaller mat which I actually prefer because that means it doesn’t take up much space which in my life on the road is a necessity. I’ve actually liked it so much that I bought a second one for my paint brushes. $5.99

These PEDS Cotton Unseen Liner Socks that ACTUALLY don’t show. These socks are a game changer! I am not a big fan of no-show socks, they never seem to actually be low enough or very comfortable but let me tell you, I love these things! They have a little gel piece at the heel and over the toes and are low enough for even a brand like Ked’s or slides like Vans.  They come in a pack of 6 for $12.97.

I had been looking for a cute Boho Lumbar Pillow to go with an accent chair I bought (and built myself insert arm flex emoji here) so I ordered this one and absolutely love it! I love the color and the texture of it, plus the tassels at the sides are such an adorable addition. My style is very Boho/Mid-Century Modern and lots of natural colors so I know this will work even beyond using it on this chair. It is $14.99 but I do want to note that this is just the cover, you will need to purchase the pillow insert separately. I bought this pillow insert also on Prime for $9.99.

If there is one thing flight attendants are proud of it’s their nails. If you ever see a flight attendant with a band-aid on their finger its because one of their nails broke and they haven’t been able to get to a salon to fix it yet. This is a fact! I’m virtually the 1% who does their own nails thus more likely to chip and look shitty pretty quickly. I’m not exactly going to carry around a bottle of acetone in my bag so I rely on these individual nail polish remover pads. I keep them in my bags so that even if I remember on my way to the airport that I never took my nail polish off I can do it quickly in the employee lot. They come in a pack of 50 for $12.95.

If there is one thing you buy off of this list (besides the fedora that should already be in your cart) let it be this glorious Scalp Massager! Men, women, children, pets, everyone loves this thing and for good reason. I use it when I’m washing my hair which not only feels great while applying my shampoo it also makes my scalp feel like I actually cleaned it. I’ve also used it on dry hair just to give myself a head massage or get rid of a headache and it makes me so happy. Seriously, if you need a little treat for yourself get this! Get it for your mom, your dad, your fella- it’s that good! It’s like a little salon in a $6.99 package.

Who doesn’t love a good bathing suit cover up? This adorable Pom Pom Kaftan is the perfect piece for summer. I loved the embroidery down the front in addition to the pom-pom details. It covers well but doesn’t look boxy or shapeless like some can. I bought it for a Puerto Rico trip that didn’t happen (wear a mask people) so I’ve only worn it once and can’t speak to the quality over a long period of time but I will say the reviews make it seem like it holds up! I hand washed it/hung it up to dry. I bought a medium and I think it fits TTS plus the length in the front and back is good which is what I always look for in a cover up. I love how many colors there are to choose from and it’s only $20.99.

I love this little Pill Box for storing my vitamins while I travel. I’m certainly not going to carry around 4 different bottles of vitamins every where I go so for awhile I was just dumping a bunch into a plastic bag which looked… suspect at best haha. This little guy is a fun solution to that problem plus it’s an obnoxious blue so I can’t forget to take them when I open my makeup bag every morning. It’s on the small side which is fine because it still fits about 2 weeks of daily vitamins in each slot and I’m not usually gone longer than that. It’s $5.99.

Speaking of travel items this mini Jewelry Box is one of my favorite purchases of the last few months. I love how dainty it is but it still fits a bunch of my earrings, necklaces etc without them getting tangled up with each other. If you travel with a lot of jewelry this will not work for you! It is definitely small but it works for what I usually travel with. I do wish it came in other colors as it is just this pink but for the price/quality I’m happy with it. It’s $11.99.

I’m finishing up this list with one of my favorite quarantine purchases, these Oalka Yoga Capri Pants. These are AMAZING! Where do I even start? I love high rise pants because anything that tucks the tummy in is a win for me. The material isn’t too thick that it feels so tight you can’t breathe (you know the type) but it’s still squat proof! I love the length of the capri, it fits in the perfect spot. I’ve run in them, done a HIIT class, hiked and yoga and they’ve held up every time with little movement. I’m not saying I’ve never had to yank them up mid-workout but not much which is A+ in workout pants.  They have a little pocket on the waist for your phone, a key, etc. I bought the long version as well which I also love, they hit the same spot on my waist but I do have to roll them at the ankle which is pretty normal for me and would be great for people with longer legs! I’ve washed them with no issues and they don’t expand as the day goes on. These are great people, you should buy them! The Capris & the Pants are both $19.99 and they come in a ton of patterns/colors. I’m on the larger side of a medium in pants but I usually get Medium for workout pants and they are perfect so I’d say TTS.

Okay I’ve babbled enough for one post, I hope wherever you are you have a safe, happy and healthy long weekend!

Is anyone going anywhere?

What are some of your favorite Amazon finds?

Love, Kari

Friday Favorites (2)

Hello beautiful people, let’s get into some of my favorite things over this past week shall we?

First of all I just wanted to say the biggest congratulations to my wicked handsome, smart and thoughtful boyfriend for graduating at the top of his lineman program yesterday. I couldn’t be more proud of all of his hard work if I tried and I can’t wait to find out where this next chapter takes us!

Now let’s talk “beauty”. As a completely obsessive Trader Joe’s shopper (there will be many a blog posts about this in the future- I literally have more tips and recs for TJ’s than probably anything else in my life) I love looking at their health & beauty section.

I once flew with a senior mama who told me the best thing I can do for myself is find some tea tree oil and a good hand cream. Tea tree oil to dab on your heels when you get to the hotel room because we have to wear heels and walk all over airports day in and day out.  The hand cream because airplanes are so dry, we wash our hands so often and the soap is the least moisturizing thing ever.

Senior Mama = “experienced” flight attendant, often has been flying “since before you were born” and potentially once shared a jumpseat with Jesus. They have a lot of opinions and rarely wear the uniform correctly however most are amazing and should be protected at all costs.

Insert Trader Joe’s Ultra Moisturizing Hand Cream here. THIS STUFF IS AMAZING! It feels like you’re wearing L’Occtane but for a fraction of the price, I think it’s $4.99 in stores? There is no strong smell to it which I also like because I can’t handle my hands smelling like a baked good or something out of the produce section. I don’t have to re-apply every five seconds like with some hand creams but it also doesn’t leave my hands feeling greasy. This shit is legit, I swear. I probably own 5 tubes of it to keep in different bags, lunch box, my car etc. I even used to give it away to new flight attendants because I just knew they’d love it as much as I do (it’s TSA friendly).

Another TJ’s beauty section find was this Nourish Antioxidant Facial Serum. I bought it three weeks ago when I got to Boise and realized I left my Vitamin C serum in Denver but didn’t want to go out and spend the hella bucks on a new one. At $9.99 I was very willing to take the loss on this and almost kind of assumed it would be a bust but I am so happy to report I was very wrong. I love how gentle and velvety it feels on my skin and so far I haven’t found it to be greasy or heavy at all. I put it on after I’ve cleansed and toned in the morning and right before I use my beloved GlowScreen tinted sunscreen. I have read reviews that it really helped with people with dark spots. So yeah if you’re in the market to try out a serum but don’t have the budget for some of the higher end products I’d suggest trying this as a start!

And now for the Target beauty section because well it’s probably the only other place I’ve been besides the Trader Joe’s in 3 months. I honestly can’t remember where I found out about this Winky Lux Uni-Brow brow pencil but I am so glad I did. I have really jacked up eyebrows from years of over-plucking and taking a field hockey ball to the eye my junior year (screw you, St. Johnsbury). One section of my eyebrow literally just never grew back in which means I have to draw it in quite a bit. Finding a pencil that looks natural but doesn’t run when I sweat or it rains has been a real mission so I’m wildly impressed with this Winky Lux one because it just doesn’t move! I actively part my hair to cover the shitty eyebrow (and didn’t do a great job of filling them in before I took this photo but still you can see it’s a good “natural” color).

Seriously the quality of this brow pencil is the best I’ve used by far plus I love when brow pencils have the spooley tip to brush on the opposite end. If you have really light eyebrows this pencil may not be for you as it is a “universal shade” but I think otherwise it’s a pretty well matched color for most people. I believe it’s $16 so it’s not exactly cheap but compared to the likes of Anastasia and Urban Decay being closer to the $30 mark I think it’s a steal. I will say if $16 is still too high for your budget the NYX Micro-Brow pencil is my favorite in the less than $10 range. You can find Winky Lux at Ulta and in a limited line now at Target.

I finished reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and I’m not completely fine with talking about it yet. I wish I could re-read it again for the first time and get to experience it all over again. I loved this book so much! Eleanor’s story, her (unbeknownst to her) witty outlook on life, her trauma and the heartwarming way she begins to deal with it, ah I just loved it so. Please read it, just do yourselves a favor and read it.

OH and if you want to be friends on GoodReads you just let me know because that site is so fun for experienced and newbie (like myself) book nerds alike.

“Such a Fun Age” by Kiley Reid is the story of a black woman being wrongly accused of kidnapping a child while babysitting and has been on my list to read ever since my teacher sister told me about it. This week I ordered it from Semicolon Bookstore, a Black Owned Bookstore in Chicago that I found from this list of Black Owned Bookstores that do online orders I shared from Monday’s post.

This week in podcasts I caught up on a few episodes of Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard which if you are a pop-culture lover like I you should absolutely give a listen. I had no idea how funny Rob Lowe was and Allison Brie what a freaking sweetheart she is! I just saw today that he did an episode with Ibram X. Kendi, the author of How to Be an Anti-Racist which I immediately downloaded. I’ve been hoping to read How to Be an Anti-Racist but it’s been out of stock in a lot of places so I look forward to listening and learning from that episode.

Moving on to things my favorite thing I baked this week were these 2-ingredient bagels that have been allllllll the rage lately. Bagels are my favorite food, ever so the thought of being able to easily make a few was just plain heaven to me. I followed this “recipe” in quotations because honestly you barely need a recipe it’s that simple! They came out great! The texture on the inside is a little more biscuity than a true bagel but I attribute that to the yogurt being the only other ingredient.

Now to the important part, I switched up the Trader Joe’s Everything But The Seasoning for Teeny Tiny Spice Company’s Montreal Seasoning which is my absolute favorite Montreal Seasoning! My favorite bagel shop in Vermont, Myer’s Bagels does a Montreal Spice bagel that was essentially my breakfast every day for 2 years when I worked in an office building. I have been desperate to “recreate” them and let me just say if you like a more savory bagel you will not be disappointed! Honestly, I’ll probably talk about these bagels again- I’ll shout it from rooftops until everyone knows how delicious a Montreal Spice bagel from Myers Bagels is. Sponsor me! Send me bagels!

Shout out to the man in Boise Co-Op for telling me about Fort George Brewing out of Astoria, Oregon because Fields of Green may just be my favorite juicy, hazy and hoppy IPA I’ve tried in months! I’m talking THE BEST! I would plan a trip to Astoria, Oregon specifically just to go to Fort George Brewing. Naturally it’s sold only in the PNW and in limited batches because of course I couldn’t just have access to it always alas if you find yourself around these parts and are a fellow hop-head I highly recommend it! I used to try to hide the fact that I was a Vermont beer snob but I don’t even try anymore, it’s so much better than the rest of the country and then I find a Fields of Green and I gain some hope. To my roommate Jessica, if you’re reading this- I’ll be bringing some back to Denver for you to try.

Okay folks, I think that is all for today’s Friday Favorites. I would just like it to be known I’ve been listening to angsty 90’s music while writing this entire blog post and it’s been amazing.

Now I’m off to plan a road trip back to Denver, any suggestions?

Love, Kari