March Favorites (2017)

So, I'll just go ahead and admit that the only reason I'm blogging my favorites this month instead of posting a YouTube video is because I simply don't feel like lugging out the lights and setting up the camera and all of that prep work.  Furthermore, I'm not in the mood to edit a video this week.  Lots of times I am.  This time--not so much.  And it's okay, because I have a blog I need to utilize more often! :)

As I stated in last month's video, I'm going to try to post my faves each month because I love the idea of people sharing with people (unpaid) what they love and what works for them.  It's my favorite way to hear about stuff, and I want to "pay it forward," so to speak.

So, without further ado, here are some of my loves from the month of March!

Musically Speaking

Switchfoot.  All month long.  My favorite is still Dare You to Move.  For years it has encouraged me when I have felt paralyzed or uninspired.  Sometimes you've just got to make yourself make a move of some kind, even when--especially when?--life isn't going the way you planned.

But I love many of their songs!  Here's a playlist I like to listen to.


Foodliness

Oolong Tea.  Have you heard of it?  I hadn't!  But it has many health benefits, and it tastes great!  Hubby, Son, and I drink it daily.  I buy this one.

Pioneer Woman Quart-Sized Mug
"The Shrinker" is a lovely, sippable beverage, made with the oolong tea and several other ingredients, that I drink almost daily.  I found the recipe in the Trim Healthy Mama cookbook.  THM is the eating plan I've been following since January 16, and have had great results so far--both in losing weight (rather slowly, but it's still happening!) and in how wonderful I feel because of how healing it is for internal systems--including lowering blood sugar.  Anyway, they have all these crazy-sounding drinks like Good Girl Moon Shine and the Singing Canary and Secret Shakes (or something like that--the secret is that they contain okra, and you probably wouldn't know it if someone else made the shake for you).  All of the above are favorites of mine, not only because they are healthy, but because they taste good!  And somehow they look and taste even better in my yellow-topped Pioneer Woman mug from Walmart.(It appears these are sold in-store only.)

Sanity Savers

I'm quite satisfied with my choice in planners for this year.  As I talked about in my "New Year, New Habits" video, I felt it necessary to ditch my more modern way of keeping track of everything on my phone, and to find a good hard-copy planner.  The MAMBI Happy Planners are so fun!  You can decorate them each week, or not, and keep all your appointments, to-do lists, and other important info organized.  It may be old school, but for me it is much more effective.  I guess I'm an old fashioned kind of girl or something.  Who knew?

Then there's my pink spiral notebook from Walmart.  It's by Studio C, and it contains my life.  Well, the parts of my life that don't fit in my planner.  It includes five dividers, each with a pocket for loose stuff, and following each divider is a section of notebook paper.  Most of the sections are for brainstorming different aspects of my role as independent author/publisher.  A lot of details go into every part of writing and publishing, and I have to write down my ideas or they might slip away into oblivion!  I also have a section for prayer requests, so I don't forget when someone asks me to pray for something.  This photo does it no justice--it's really pretty in real life! :)

Pretty things inspire me, so I guess I try to surround myself with things I find pretty! :)

Home Theater

I just love Hallmark's When Calls the Heart.  I'm probably behind, because I watch it on Netflix, and I'm not sure how current they are, but whenever a new season comes out, my son and I binge watch it (yes, my fourteen-year-old boy likes it--because of the rustic, adventurous side of it, I guess) (and, okay, when I say "binge watch," I mean our version of binge watching, which means whenever we have some free time we watch it, but it takes us several weeks instead of a weekend to make it through a season.  Hey, we try!).  I love seeing the books I read several times as a young adult come to life on screen.  As always, the books are way better, but this show is quality entertainment, which isn't always easy to find.

Beautify!
So, I had some time to browse in Dollar Tree recently--what a fascinating place (when one is in the mood) to find . . . stuff!  In the makeup aisle, a couple of lipsticks caught my eye, but somehow only one of them made it home with me.  (Did I put the other one back?  Did it fall through the holes in the cart?  Did I leave it in the cart at the checkout?  Did the cashier leave it on the belt?  Like more and more things tend to be as I age, the answer to what happened to that other lipstick is and will remain a mystery to me.)

The one that made it home with me turned out to be a lovely find.  I don't usually have high hopes for lipsticks (or anything else) that cost only a buck, but it called out to me (??) and turned out to be worth the risk.  The brand is L.A. Colors, and the shade is "Sorbet."  Not the best in the world, but not drying, and the color is soft and pretty.  (I couldn't find a good pic of it online, or a link, so I snapped a quick pic of myself wearing it--lame, I know.  And you'll have to check your local Dollar Tree to see if they have it--kinda lame, too, but worth it if you can find it.)

Another "beauty" product I have to mention is Jamberry nail wraps.  I never used to do my nails because the payoff wasn't worth it to me.  I didn't have an hour or two to spend doing all the different layers to try to get a mani to last, only to have it start chipping away on day two!  With Jamberry, I spend less than an hour applying them (good time to "binge watch" something--ha ha!) and my mani lasts at least two weeks.  I hosted an online party this month, so Jamberry is especially on my mind, but I just love the variety of styles, whether you like plain shades or super fancy patterns--there's something for everyone!  And it's definitely cost-effective compared to having a mani/pedi professionally done.  My beautiful consultant (also my sis) doesn't know I'm mentioning Jamberry in my Faves (unless she happens to read this), but here's her link if you'd like to find out more. :) BTW, not only do they have 200 or more styles of wraps, but they also have lacquers and a gel system that's supposed to be stellar!

Well, that "wraps" it up for this month!  (Ha! See what I did there?)  May April be filled with blessings for you! :)

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