A Few of my Favorite Things.... August 2014

I decided I wanted to start a new series talking about things I have found that make life just a little bit easier for this eating real food, health and fitness wannabe, trying to limit unnecessary chemicals in my home,  momma.

So here are a few things that are making me happy. Right now.

Wool Dryer Balls

I have been contemplating the idea of dryer balls as opposed to dryer sheets for a while. Dryer sheets in my house had become the fodder for, well, my husband getting super annoyed with me. Laundry is one of those things I just despise doing and I tended to not be the best at cleaning up my laundry space. I would let dryer sheets float around everywhere (which made him crazy.) So in an effort to help the situation, I switched to the dryer bar. It made me crazy. It always fell off the side of the dryer and clunked around the entire time. Or I would forget to check it and it would be gone and I would have static-y clothes. And I was always worried about the bar getting gooey or getting whatever its bar-ness is made from all over my clothes. It just stressed me out.

So on a whim I ordered some dryer balls and have been so happy (and wonder why I waited so long to do it.) I am really pleased with them. They claim to shorten dryer time, I am not sure about this but am working with an old dryer. (Plus I am one to leave my dried clothes in the dryer forever hand have to re-fluff them to get the wrinkles out. Worst laundry doer ever.) So while I have noticed it reducing drying time a little bit it doesn't make a huge difference in my life either way.

I do love that there is no scent whatsoever. I have always been the girl that hates having my sheets and clothes smell like summer breezes or ocean winds and all those weird laundry scents. They make me itchy and give me a headache. So the fact that these come unscented makes me super happy. (If you are in the opposite camp as me and love opening your closet to yummy scented clothes, you can actually scent the dryer balls with essential oils. Custom smelly laundry which could be kind of awesome.)

The brand I picked up was Smart Sheep 100% Premium Wool Dryer Balls . It is a smaller company and they have actually emailed me a few times to make sure I was happy with my purchase. (Yay for awesome customer service!) So that makes me have warm and fuzzy feelings about them too.

Simple Sugars Facial Scrub

I saw this product on Shark Tank and as I have super sensitive skin and I LOVED the idea of supporting a local business run by a young lady (Yay Pittsburgh!) I was eager to run out and grab one of these. I will tell you that it has become a staple in my daily beauty routine. 

Thanks to all the amazing oils in them I have been able to ditch my super expensive moisturizers. Now I only use a little bit of coconut oil in the winter. In the summertime I don't even need it. 

Check out Lani's story and all of her awesome products here. Or if you are in the Pittsburgh area you can pick up Simple Sugars in Giant Eagle's beauty department. (I have also seen her featured on Zulilly a few times too.) The coffee face scrub is the best! 

Disney Wonderland Tea

I am not a HUGE tea drinker and those that are will probably mock me or chastise me for talking about Disney tea. But this is something I tried on one of our trips to the parks and I became an addict. I LOVE it. (I also love their Coffee  too. So there's that.) It's kind of fruity and yummy and on rainy days a book and a cup of tea is kind of magical. 

My absolute favorite? The Mad Tea Party Blend (Loose Leaf). It totally saves me when I have the afternoon munchies hit or I am not in a coffee drinking mood.

Curly Hair

It's summer. It's humid (in theory) and hot and the last thing I want to do is spend tons of time in a hot bathroom with a blowdryer and flat iron trying to tame my hair. (Only to have it turn frizzy the moment I walk outside.) I have temperamental curly hair. Not truly curly. Pretty wavy bordering on curly but the front kind of stays pretty straight. And it frizzes. Even without humidity.

I love the idea of being able to let my hair just air dry. Wash and go. And still look super cute. So I have tried every curly hair product that lines the shelves of my Target. And of course none of them worked. I figured I was destined to have to straighten my hair every day until my stylist convinced me to try Unite "BOING" Curling Cream. This stuff, albeit a little pricy, is the best. It leaves my hair almost totally frizz free, wavy to borderline curly and soft. No crunchy 80's waves happening. And it lasts forever. I don't use it daily so I have had the same bottle for like a year. For me, it is totally worth the investment on those days where I don't have 40 minutes to dry and straighten my hair.