Favorites of 2014

 

mascara  // Frozen dvd // Baby Jogger City Mini Double // gold bar necklace // monogram baseball cap // glitter studs // Seche Vite top coat // afterlight app // lanterns // avocado slicer // electric fireplace // iPad

I'm always curious to see what people use to make their lives easier or better. Here are a few of my favorite buys of this last year. 

1) Dior Overcurl Mascara- I don't wear makeup very often, so I don't mind splurging on nice makeup when I do wear it. This is my favorite mascara. It's thick and the blackest black, and the curved wand curls your lashes and ensures that you reach every last one.

2) Frozen Dvd- This is pretty self-explanatory. It's an adorable movie. And although I am so, so sick and tired of hearing "Love is an open door with you, with you, with you, with YOU," it's been totally worth it to get a few minutes of peace to bake a cake or feed a baby. Or scream into a pillow.

3) Baby Jogger City Mini Double Stroller- I will probably mention this a thousand times, but I am in love with our double stroller. Completely worth every penny.

4) Gold Bar Necklace- I have this with Bobby + Vivi stamped in it, and I wear it every day. It's a nice, subtle piece of jewelry that I rarely take off.

5) Monogram Baseball Cap- I'm not sure if it's because of my postpartum balding or because I only get to shower like once a year, but I wear hats a lot. A whole lot. Probably 4 days out of the week. I have all kinds of hats--panama hats, fedoras, beanies--but the hats I wear most often are baseball caps. While I do love my UGA and Mossy Oak caps, they are awfully masculine and don't make me feel especially good about myself. But this cap? I love. It gives a more feminine touch to a classic baseball cap and makes me feel just a little more put together than a manly baseball cap. 

6) Kate Spade Glitter Studs- These were a Christmas gift, so I didn't actually buy these, but I was fully prepared to. These are STILL sold out in muticolor, but I do hope they come back. They're amazing. That is all.

7) Seche Vite Fast Dry Topcoat- My friend recommended this to me after I was complaining about never having time to paint my nails with two babies. She swore that this would change my life. I was skeptical, but it truly has. It's revolutionary. It takes nails from wet to dry in less than 30 seconds, plus it's nice and thick and extra-glossy. I promise you won't regret this. 

8) Afterlight App- I rarely use Instagram to edit iPhone/iPad pictures anymore. Afterlight is a paid app, but it's worth the 99 cents. It has much more customization options than Instagram does, plus a bevy of filters. 

9) Ikea Lanterns- haha, oh, Ikea. You Swedish vortex of a rabbit hole. Going to Ikea is nuts, but every now and again it pays off. Luckily these lanterns are available online, so you can skip the maze and cluster*$%k of bargain shoppers. We got these lanterns in the small and large sizes, and keep them year round on our front porch. They're great for all seasons, plus they're the cheapest price for lanterns this size that I've ever seen.

10) Avocado Slicer- Another product that has revolutionized my life. Although I adore avocados, I used to avoid them like the plague because they are such a pain to work with. Enter this avocado scooper and pitter. Not only does it scoop and pit the avocado, but it also slices it into pretty little even slices the way restaurants do. It's one of the best things ever. And it's on a ridiculous sale now.

11) Electric Fireplace- Alex was wary about this when I suggested putting an electric fireplace in our kitchen nook, but now he also enjoys it. I'm all about ambiance, and a fire makes an area feel so cozy. It has a remote control, and you can have the "fire" blazing without any heat on, or you can turn the heat on for a chilly day and get toasty. 

12) iPad- I remember scoffing the iPad, thinking that I had a computer, and I had an iPhone. What would a person possibly need with an iPad? Isn't it just a big iPhone without the phone? And then I got one. And I was in love. I almost never use my phone or computer anymore. Now I'm embarrassed for making fun of it. 

What are your favorite buys from 2014? What's made your life better? 

In other news, my baby girl is trying to give me a heart attack. You know how Bobby is so full of moxie and mischief, crawling in and out of everything, and I have to watch him at all times?

I've always considered Vivi to be my easy, relaxed, immobile one. Until she did this:

 I mean, crap. Crap. Crap. Plus, shes been getting on all fours and bouncing there. It's only a matter of time before she crawls and then my life is over.

Happy Monday!

Keep on keepin' on!

-Annette