Y’all! How is it already September? Although, I will say I’m pretty excited to be able to start putting out fall decorations and to spread the aroma of all of the autumnal essential oils around our house with abandon!
Any-who! I’ve been working towards being better about posting and growing my little corner of the internet... So I figured a great way to stay on track would be to share a few things I’ve appreciated and enjoyed throughout the previous month. Everything from jewelry tips, beauty & recipes to smart tricks to save a little money! Hopefully you’ll find some new things to give a shot yourself. Because sharing is caring, right?!
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1. Pure Joy: 31 Day Bible Reading Plan
I had actually purchased this daily devotional back in June with the intent of completing it in July. But, as I mentioned the other day, over on Insta, life stepped in & knocked me down a few pegs and I lost a lot of my spiritual momentum (amongst other areas).
Thankfully, it seems things have finally calmed back down and now I'm back at it, still in awe of how well Rachel Wojo laid out these daily reflections. Each day is centered around a different source from scripture to read, soak up and study. The book outlines how to get the most out of your daily study and she lists out prompts to further consider after sitting with God and reading the Word.
I'd forgotten how just 10-15 minutes of talking with God really helps to shape the rest of my day. (but I guess that's easy when things go sideways.)
2. My Brand New Library Card/Membership & the Libby App
Recently, I've been looking for areas to cut costs to save a little bit of extra money each month. Rather than spending nearly $250 a year in various subscriptions & memberships, I now have my new shiny Cobb County Library card. AND it cost me ZERO DOLLARS for access to any book my nerdy heart desires! (as well as magazines, DVDs and certain streaming content too!)
Not to mention, I also have FREE access to this glorious little app called Libby! All I had to do, after downloading it on my phone, was search for my Library system and log in with my Library credentials. Then BAM! my literary horizons were broadened even further to both audio & eBooks! I've already listened to 3 of the books from Reese Witherspoon's "Hello Sunshine Book Club" and am currently reading another, the Whisper Network. And I think I'm up next to get to listen to The Huntress by Kate Quinn!
Let's just say I am CRUSHING my nonexistent, but now existent, year-end "reading" goal!
3. Café Con Leche & Café Bustelo Nespresso Pods
One of my favorite, and tastiest, memories from childhood is when my stepmom introduced me to the glorious world of coffee and café con leche. To this day Café Bustelo is something I consider to be THE GOLD STANDARD in crafting the perfect STRONG, deliciously creamy & sweet cup of heaven.
Well, for our wedding M's sweet coworkers gifted us a Nespresso machine and soon we found ourselves needing to place an order for more pods. Except, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, Nespresso pods aren't exactly the MOST budget friendly, especially if a near daily shot of espresso or latte is your thing. So imagine our surprise when we stumbled upon these Nespresso-friendly pods from Café Bustelo on Amazon! Cue angels singing on high!!
We were definitely a little skeptical since they weren't "official" but after reading through the reviews of everyone singing their praises we felt more at ease. So we ordered and we couldn't be happier! At just about 50 cents a pod, they're the perfect addition to our morning coffee on those days we just need an extra kick and they make THE BEST cup of CCL! (I may or may not have one siting next to me as I type this… no shame!)
4. Poshmark
I'm probably not giving you any earth-shattering information by mentioning Poshmark on this list. But I do need to give it a big SHOUT OUT!
During quarantine I've become painfully aware of the excess of clothes I have hanging in my closet. The duplicate pieces, the items I've worn once then never again and even some clothes with the tags STILL on them.
Over the last few months I've rummaged through my closet in cycles to remove what I know I won't be wearing moving forward and sorting them for donation or consignment. That’s where Poshmark comes in! So far I've been able to sell off quite a bit of what I've posted recently and I'll be able to put my earnings towards a few things I've been eyeing in other women’s closets.
I still have a handful of other pieces to add, so if you're interested feel free to check out my closet.
5. Our New Smoker
This one falls more in M's realm as I am the indoor kitchen chef and he has now claimed the outdoor duties! (And I'm completely ok with it/love getting to watch him eagerly pour over all of the recipes!)
Clearly based on the above, we recently bought a smoker with the help of yet another gracious wedding gift — M did his due-diligence and made sure to read up on as much as he could to make sure we were making the smartest purchase within our budget and we ended up going with this one. So far, thanks to all of the rain we've been getting, he's only been able to dabble with making some DELICIOUS steak jerky that we very quickly(and greedily) gobbled down. And I'm pleased to say he'll be breaking out his culinary skills again this week and weekend to make us some smoked wings and ribs for the upcoming holiday!
I'll definitely keep y'all posted on how our tasty escapades progress!
6. Ben Platt, Pomplamoose and PEABOD
Not gonna lie, I had forgotten how much I love each of these artists. So I'll keep this portion straighforward and list off/link my current favorites by them. Oh! and if you're as big of a Parks & Rec fan as M and I are, you'll really appreciate the last one!
Ben Platt
Pomplamoose
PEABOD
7. Avalon Organics Vitamin C Gel Cleanser
Ok we're almost done, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention this last little gem that has given my face back it's healthy glow! God bless Avalon Organics for this magic potion.
You see, around the time of our wedding my skin decided to freak out and for the life of me I could not get it to stop. So I was forced to widdle everything down to the basics — which for me are Cetaphil, Freemans ACV Cleanser/Mask/Scrub, a salicylic acid spot treatment, a simple gel moisturizer for the AM and my Origins night-a-mins for the PM. Thankfully, this approach did the trick, though not in time for our nuptials, but that's what photoshop is for, right?
The only downside was ever since then my face has looked and felt lifeless. So after nearly 3 months of letting my skin calm down I decided to introduce little vitamin C back into my arsenal. I figured a face wash would be my best option to avoid upsetting the happy balance I'd found and have been alternating this cleanser with my Freeman's ACV one — 2 days with Avalon, 1 day Freeman's! I just apply it to my face, neck & décolletage while I'm in the shower and let it sit/soak in while I shave my legs/underarms then wash it off. I've definitely seen a difference and for under $10, I couldn't be more pleased!
And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this, I'm going to do my best to make this a monthly feature to share with ya!