Friday Faves Edition 47

 

Friday Faves. Edition 47.

Another Friday and the first one of the new year! On Wednesday, I shared some of the lessons that I learned during the Gratitude Challenge. I found it so helpful to take the time to focus each day on what I was grateful for. I am reminded of how grateful I am for those of you who come by each week to check out my Friday Faves.

I hope that you all have had an amazing beginning to 2018.

Cold Weather.

My teenagers did not go back to school until the 3rd…and school was cancelled today due to this cold weather with dangerously low temperatures.

If you’ve been watching news of the United States, then you might be aware of the bomb cyclone over the East Coast. I have relatives in central and upper Florida that got snow! Snow in Florida!! I lived in South Florida for my first 36 years of life and never saw more than frost (our pipes froze in the winter of 1988. This is seared into my memory because I had chicken pox and my mom had to heat water on the stove).

I do realize that some places have school when it is much colder, but I think each city makes its judgement on the norm for their locale. Having children walk to bus stops and wait in coldness without owning clothing in preparation for that kind of temperature increases a danger of hypothermia. While my teens are lucky enough to have me available to get them where they need to go, not every family has that luxury.

Needless to say, I haven’t returned to a normal routine.

But I do have some faves to share this Friday!

Bath Bombs.

One of the gifts that I got for Miss Sunshine was a set of bath bombs. She had been asking for some every time we saw them.

A few weeks ago,I mentioned in my Friday Faves that I am trying to move toward greener, cleaner living. In fact, that’s something I’m steadily making strides in and is its own future post. I’ve always been pretty particular about what products Miss Sunshine uses. Believe it or not, her skin is more sensitive than mine. While I’ve always checked to be sure her soaps are paraben free, I haven’t read most of the ingredients much closer. In looking at bath bombs, I was appalled by the amount containing artificial dye. I’m not a huge fan of ingesting dyes (my kids rarely drank colorful drinks) and I don’t think soaking it in with you skin being your largest organ makes too much sense either.

Beauty by Earth.

After scouring Amazon, I found these Beauty by Earth bath bombs. I like that they listed all of their ingredients. In fact, the information says their product line is gluten-free, non-GMO, and mostly vegan. The company was formed by two families looking for safe, natural products to use and are made in the USA.

As you can see, Miss Sunshine already put one of them to use.

Also, I’ve linked the product for your information only. I’m not an Amazon Affiliate.

Columbia Gloves.

I can’t find gloves to fit my hands…like, ever. The hubby tries every year to purchase some for me and they NEVER fit. Finally…as I head into my 5th Virginia winter…he has found success. Let me just start by saying, gloves are apparently like all clothing. There isn’t any consistency to sizing. It’s just trial and error. I have very long fingers and can’t stand a glove that doesn’t come down all the way. I’m also guessing I have a wide span. I want to be able to move my opposable thumb and not feel constricted in the palm. These Columbia gloves actually fit! And in case you’re wondering…I took an Extra Large in Women’s.

Marmot Gloves.

Now I’ve been able to find some thinner gloves that fit, but the biggest struggle has been a set of thick gloves. In the past, I’ve taken to layering thin gloves. This still didn’t help enough with the cold weather. The ones the hubby got me did not fit this year either… BUT…we went to the sporting goods store to try them all on and I found success. Not perfect success because the palm is a little big, but enough success to claim victory! These Marmot gloves were hanging in the men’s section and are an XL, so I’m guessing they may run a little small. While I do have big hands, both of my teenage sons have hands larger than mine.

Pecksniff candle.

I popped into TJMaxx the other day and while I was checking out, I was looking through the items lining the checkout line. A candle with a “Made In England” tag on the lid caught my eye. When I saw that it was Pecksniff, I suspected that it would smell wonderful. The hotel we stayed at in Edinburgh carried Pecksniff toiletries in the bathroom. I fell in love with the Calm hand and body moisturizer, so much so that I absconded with my mother’s and aunts and brought them home to use and savor each time I apply it. The Pecksniff candle scent is bamboo & vetiver, so it doesn’t smell like the calm lotion, but it still smells wonderful.

 

Bath Bomb Relaxing Collection.

You didn’t think that when I bought bath bombs for Miss Sunshine that I wouldn’t buy any for myself did you?!  For myself, I purchased the Bath Bomb Relaxing Collection,which was a 2 pc set instead of 6. The size of the bath bombs in this set are about the size of a tennis ball and the 6 pc set is only slightly smaller. This set came with Keep Calm and No Stress vanhazelnutty.

Since January 1st was a full moon (a supermoon even!), I decided to take a full moon ritual bath. I don’t know why I always feel like I need a justifiable reason to soak in the tub, but I do. Moving beyond that need is part of my self-care growth process, but I’m not there yet. I’ve read about water rituals on full moons. I didn’t really follow any. I just lit the candles around my tub (including my Pecksniff candle), put on some music, dropped in the Keep Calm bath bomb, and then thought about what I wanted to release from last year and what I wanted to carry into next year.

Clean Eating.

Part of what I’m carrying into this year is trying eat better. I don’t know if the term clean eating is the best term, but I do want to eat less processed foods. I am on day 5 of the January Challenge of eating vegetarian. Originally, I planned to cut out dairy and gluten for the first two weeks as well. My husband laughs at me because he says that I always try to take everything as far as I can. As it turned out, I didn’t eat any eggs either, thereby, being effectively vegan so far. However, I’m finally catching up with a girlfriend tomorrow over breakfast. Since the ultimate challenge is vegetarian, I will be focusing on enjoying my time with my friend more than being concerned about eggs, dairy, and gluten.

We recently got an Earth Fare grocery store. The grocery store only carries foods that fit their food philosophy. This philosophy involves the banning of certain ingredients from their shelves. I found fresh ground Almond Butter when I visited Earth Fare. I love that there aren’t all types of preservatives and almond butter is one of my daily sources of protein.

Kate Spade Agenda.

One of pitfalls of owning a puppy is that they like to eat your stuff. As cute as Maverick is, in this department, he is no exception. I left my little pocket calendar on the coffee table and found it strewn throughout the house the next morning. I’d been wanting a larger desk-sized agenda so I can keep track of my daily schedule (instead of just calendar appointments) as well. I needed to replace it rather quickly so I popped over to TJMaxx to see what they had.The first agenda that my eyes fell upon was this Kate Spade Agenda. The agenda had the setup I was looking for. I will point out that the downfall to spiral bound things is that it creates some awkwardness for us left-handed people. However, I’ve been living in a predominately right-handed world for 40 years, so I’m quite adept at being adaptable.

While I didn’t include the front cover, it has a silhouette of a woman looking through the telescope at the stars. I’ve always found the stars to be fascinating. I used to lay out upon the grass and star up into the night sky, pondering the enormity and mystery of it all.

I thought that the drawing summed up where I see my journey for 2018.

Growing beyond my boundaries.

Finding who I have always been.

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Native – Oceans

The song choice this week came up on my recommended YouTube videos. I am from the ocean, so the words drew me in. I tried to find a background to share about the musician. He shares the links to his other media channels on the video. If his hashtags on his Instagram are any indication, then he is Swiss, but don’t quote me on that.

I hope that you all have a glorious weekend and that the week ahead brings you many moments of joy.

 

Let your light shine!

Amy