November Faves

This month is flying by! I’ve been caught up in all the holiday planning for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and even some projects for January(!), which has definitely kept me on my toes. With all that fun in mind, here are a few things we love lately…

1. BAGGU reusable bags.

I’ve had BAGGU bags for the last 4 years and they are THE BEST. They have a huge capacity, they fold up to a tiny size you can tuck in a purse, and they come in lots of cute colors and patterns. PLUS, they’re machine washable, which means you can use them to hold wet swim suits or stinky gym clothes just as easily as you can use them to haul groceries or carry the classroom snack to preschool.

My original (4-years old) set of standard bags is still in good shape (only one is beginning to show fraying), but I got a few new ones 2 years ago since I needed a few more for our weekly grocery trips and they’re in perfect shape with VERY regular use.

They make a great gift, too. I got my mom a few a year or so ago for Mother’s Day and she has loved them like I have. Order from Amazon or straight from their site. (Depending on sales, one will be less expensive than the other).

(Jeggings, left & Skinny Jeans, right)

2. Tiny Jeggings & Skinnies.

Aaaaand go ahead and judge me. Sophie did great in cute pairs of leggings when she was little. There are SO many girl choices. It’s been a different story for Milo. I don’t know, guys. All I know is that my short-legged, chubby toddler just doesn’t fit into most jeans. I’ve literally had him try on at least a dozen pairs of pants (which, you can imagine, he just loved) and found that they all had one of these problems:

• They fall down after two minutes (even with the waist cinched)
• The legs are so wide that they trip him up when running (seriously)
• They are (really and truly) 4-6 inches too long for his legs and even a double-cuff isn’t cutting it.

So, my two favorite pairs of pants for Milo are the Old Navy toddler boys’ skinny jeans and the Old Navy toddler girl’s elastic waist jeggings. (There aren’t any details on the jeans that would scream “girl.”) Both stay up on his waist even after a few wears. He doesn’t trip when he’s playing and they look great with his favorite sweater. Win all ’round.

3. Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara by Tarte. 

This is the mascara I’ve been waiting my whole life for. I’ve tried a LOT of mascaras, including basically every popular one at the drugstore and Younique 3-D mascara. While I loved the length and thickness of the 3-D mascara, I always found that it “bled” onto my eyelids or crumbled as the day went on, even when I was making a point of not touching my eyes. I don’t have especially oily skin, and I never could nail down what the problem was for me.

Then, my sister comes for a visit this summer with her already long eyelashes basically fanning me when she blinked, and I was like “I’ll take whatever you’re wearing.” She was wearing this one by Tarte.

Thickness, length, good coverage. Hardly any clumping (unless I, you know, sneeze while applying) and it doesn’t crumble or run as the day goes on (even in the 100-degree heat). It’s the most expensive mascara I’ve purchased at around $21, but each tube lasts me about 2 1/2 months. You can find it at Sephora or Amazon.

4. Jamie Oliver’s Everyday Super Food. 

I am a huge, huge Jamie Oliver fan. I love watching old episodes of his show online and catching short videos of him and his family on his FoodTube. One of my favorite cookbooks to read is his Comfort Food book, and his newest book, Everyday Super Food was the perfect counterpoint to Comfort Food. In fact, he even says that was part of his intention in writing it. He eats Super Food recipes during the week and eats Comfort Food recipes on the weekend. I loved that.

He did the food photography, which was very impressive (and also made me wildly self-conscious about my comparative lack of food styling & photography skills). Each recipe in Everyday Super Food has been reviewed by a nutrition team and is made to be delicious, visually appealing, and full of nutrients. That’s my kind of food. The breakfast section especially blew me away. I wanted to make nearly everything I saw and my library copy is peppered with page flags so I can do just that before it has to go back.

5. A Very She & Him Christmas.

Don’t shoot me for discussing anything Christmas-related before Thanksgiving. I wanted you to have plenty of time to track this down so you can play it as soon as you let yourself listen to Christmas music. I’ll also take this opportunity to tell you that I may or may not have already started listening.

This has been my favorite Christmas album for the last four years. I love Zoe Deschanel and this is such a good compilation of songs. My mom told me last year that if she could choose a singing voice to have, this would be it. I totally get it. She can even make Blue Christmas and Little Saint Nick sound amazing. And that’s saying something.

So. Track this one down (library, Amazon, Pandora, whatever) and pop it in while you’re baking Christmas cookies, wrapping gifts, decorating the tree, or hosting a holiday party. You won’t be sorry.

p.s. My favorite track of the bunch? The Christmas Waltz. Hands down.

What are your favorites lately?
Anything you swear by?