I'm constantly in search of things to make our daily lives easier. When I find something good, I like to give shout outs about what I've found because it usually is a good find, something fun, and beautiful. Last week was a bit insane with throwing a Mardi Gras party, influenza hitting our household, and going on a quick getaway with the Hubs. As usual, there were things that made the week just a bit brighter. Here's what I found that made life better:
1.) The kids were soooo excited to celebrate Mardi Gras and requested beignets for breakfast on Fat Tuesday "like we did last year." Except last year I grabbed them from Cafe du Monde and brought them home. That wasn't an option this year and I really didn't want to spent $20 on mixes from Amazon. At my request, Hubs found Cafe du Monde box mix at World Market, along with many other canned products and foods we've discovered on our travels and love them. Looks like we'll be shopping at World Market more often for some of those specialty items we just can't get elsewhere.
2.) I did Rent The Runway for my Gala dress again this year and was once again blown away. Not only was the dress amazing, but the service is also great. I highly recommend them for specialty events if you don't want to wear the same dresses over and over again.
3.) Whenever we go to a National Park, our first stop is usually a visitor's center to pick up a reusuable bag (and get park info directly from the Rangers). We have sooo many now, but we use them all of the time for everything. Groceries ✔ Go bags ✔ Beach toys ✔. So many uses, plus I find they tend to strike up conversations with strangers when anyone sees one. I always love to hear where other's have travled to, so I very much enjoy this aspect of the bags.
4.) A friend posted this cloud slime recipe on FB, we gave it a try, and LOVED it! Very stretchy, soft, and not sticky at all, so I didn't have to remind the kids every two seconds to keep it off the carpet and their clothes. The only downside is that the Instasnow comes out and can get everywhere. Easy clean up, though so it's a mild complaint.
5.) Lauren got me an Echo Wall Clock for my birthday and we love it! I love setting a timer via voice activation and then the kids can have a visual for the countdown. It's now very normal to hear "Alexa set a 10 minute clean up timer" during the days!
6.) We've been to many beautiful places. With each new place we see, I have new favorites. My new favorite drive I've ever taken is Midway to Provo, Utah via 189. Stunning views of snow capped mountains along a mountain lake. Instant love.
7.) I finally started Handmaid's Tale season 3 and it's soooo good. Not one of my "fluff shows" I can watch when I'm writing or multi-tasking. I have to sit down and fully watch it, which means it's also a little bit of relaxation for me too.
8.) A couple of weeks ago we tried out the Adventureland Inn cabana rentals for the indoor pools and loved it! Great option for indoor winter fun. Next year I'd like to do an all day rental instead of just the four hour rental.
9.) We scored all of our favorite products in travel size bottles for our getaway to Utah. It's been awhile since we've flown and I remember the pain of finding my favorite toiletries in travel size bottles. So much so, that our first stop was usually to a pharmacy for hair products. This time I found nearly all of them in Target's travel size section! It made my life so much easier and saved us time once we landed.