2018 Favorite Things

My favorite post of the year

Before I list my favorite things I wanted to share with you

some of my favorite ways to enjoy the holiday season by serving.

Go to justserve.org. 

Just put in your zip code and opportunities will be listed for your community.

It is a helpful resource for helping after natural disasters too. Hurricanes, Fires, etc.

I also love The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Light the World campaign that they put on each December season.

It's a great way to serve your home, family, community, and others globally.

Check out their website for how to involve your home and family this season.

Onto some of my favorite things from 2018:

1.Tillamook Ice Cream in White Chocolate Peppermint Bark. So Yummy!
2. A 2 cup measuring cup. This is so fun to have. Especially for all you bakers out there.
3. This KitchenAid chopper. It's the perfect size appliance. Not big at all. Easy to put in the dishwasher too. Chops up veggies, nuts, etc. I use it almost daily. I love it.
4. Larger size popcorn kernels. This is great for making popcorn recipes this time of year.
Sara Wells from Our Best Bites got me onto this. Try it with their Peppermint Bark Popcorn recipe.
5. These Spatulas. They are heat resistant and dishwasher safe, and they work so well when you're stirring, cooking, and baking. I can't live without them. They are 1 piece. My older spatulas kept coming apart, staining, and melting if I left them on hot surfaces.

1. Sherpa Hoodies for my kids. My boys especially love them. They refuse to wear coats to school or outside. We have 20 degree and under weather in Idaho. But they'll wear these.  They are extra thick because of the sherpa inside. You can find them at Wal Mart, Old Navy, Land's End, etc.
2. Cover Your Assets card game and Telestrations. Both fun games, that everyone enjoys.
If you need more games ideas, Mel from Mel's Kitchen Cafe does a fabulous game list every year.
Her blog is a favorite of mine for recipes and her annual family game post.
3. Penny Boards. My kids have enjoyed using these. They are smaller than other skateboards.
4. Simple Modern water bottles. They come in all sizes and colors. They are the same as HydroFlasks, just more affordable. They keep your drinks hot or cold no matter the temps. outside. The con is you must wash them by hand. My kids who are in sports love these.

1.  Loreal Burgundy Mascara. I LOVE, LOVE this mascara.
The color is fun, but it's more brown. Don't worry you won't have pink or purple eyelashes.
It just makes me happy every time I use it.
I think it works with every hair and skin color. It does smudge by the end of the day. I tend to wear it for nights out, or when I need make up for a couple of hours.
2. Cream eye shadows. I love them. It's easy to just pick a color and swoop it over my whole eye lid.
I just use my index finger to apply. Cream eye shadows simplify the everyday make up look, quickly and easily. Revlon has the drug store pricing, Bobbi Brown is the splurge price.
3. Jockey Bralette. I don't like sports bras. They are always uncomfortable, and I can never get out of them. I also get tired of other bra straps falling off my shoulders, This bralette from Jockey has been great. It is comfortable, and I no longer deal with annoying bra straps. Get one and try it out. If you like it, get more.
4. I'm not ready for an apple watch. I'm trying to do less social media. But I still like having a watch on my wrist for telling time, and for a piece of jewelry. I wanted a white watch that was semi-water proof. I picked this Caravelle one our for my birthday and I LOVE it. My teenage daughter who is fashion conscious told me to get a larger watch. She said small watches are for old ladies. I took her up on it, and I'm glad I did.
5. I love fresh flowers from Trader Joe's They are affordable usually under $5 and seasonal.

 1. We like using VidAngel. You can set filters on your movies or tv shows through amazon, netflix, etc. to take out inappropriate scenes, swearing, violence, etc. It's been helpful when my teens wanted to watch The Office, or Stranger Things. I worry less when they use VidAngel. I like it too. I DON'T think it's a free for all to watch everything. There are still DARK, inappropriate movies and tv shows that should still be avoided even with filters. There is a monthly $10 fee. But it's worth it for my family at this time. You can try it free for a month, and cancel at anytime.
2. Mailed DVD's. My sister got me onto this again. We used this service years ago, before Red Box and streaming. But Red Box never had the new releases we wanted, Amazon rental prices are too high, and Netflix streaming rarely had new releases we wanted to see. So back to mailed DVD's it is. You can keep the DVD's as long as you need, and the library is surprisingly large. There are different price points to fit your budget. Our mail is exciting again!

There you have it, my 2018 Favorite Things.
For more favorite things go to 320 Sycamore,
she did a week long post of blogger's favorite things.