COOL SH*T I LOVELOVELOVE - Monthly Favorites, March 2025

Aaaaaand it’s April. But March’s favorites were GOOD. Without literally any adieu…

Call off the hunt – the search is off. WE HAVE DONE IT, FOLKS.

We have found not only a tolerable non-alcoholic red wine, but an actually terrific one! Now, this is wildly huge for a few reasons. 1.) Up until now, we’d found a handful of fabulous NA options – and even replacement-worthy dupes – for other favorite alcoholic beverages (like this non-alcoholic champagne that I’m obsessed with!), but red wine is notoriously seemingly impossible to replicate sans booze.

Most NA reds that we’ve tasted have, quite frankly, sucked. I mean, truly sucked. Like thin, sour grape juice, not at all comparable let alone replaceable.

Enter, Oddbird.

I first heard of the brand in this conversation with a life coach for sober-curious women – and she had heard from multiple clients that it was an actually good red option. It’s most popular bestseller has been sold out EVERYWHERE since our conversation and I still can’t find it – but based on how fabulous this one is, I’m sure it’s just as good and then some.

This actually tastes like red wine. It’s got BODY – and that’s thanks to the dealcoholization process, which is specific. Not all NA wines are created equal in that some are created non-alcoholic from the get go, and others are created WITH alcohol first…then DE-alcoholized, so that you get a fuller flavor and body without the actual alcohol. And that’s exactly why this one is so good…it has flavor and body and depth.

I’m now on subscribe-and-save! 😉

2.) Butcher Box

Anyone else feel like getting enough protein is a daily struggle? Between weightlighting and momming and getting older, at this point the running theme song of my life is from the Greatest Showman….never! never! never enouuuuuugh!

Protein, that is! 😉

Friends, I found a solution. It’s no secret we’re big meal kit people – we’ve been getting different meal kits and subscription services on and off for over six years, literally ever since we brought Olivia home from the hospital. Meal planning and recipe making and healthy cooking from scratch all the time just felt impossible (it WAS impossible!), but we still wanted to have nourishing, nutritious, fresh homecooked meals.

Butcher Box is a subscription service for your proteins specifically – top quality, ethically sourced meats (+ seafoods, if you’re a seafood fan!), delivered right to your doorstep. You choose your box and your delivery frequency – you can change both anytime, change or skip delivery dates, etc. Total flexibility, with free shipping always. You can do a curated box that they curate for you (you just pick type of meat, like “beef and chicken”, etc), or you can opt for a completely custom box (which I do!), picking from 25+ different cut options to fill your box. A custom box ends up with about 30 meals worth of meat inside, for reference! I like to do a mix of good things for the kids, like ridiculously healthy + yummy chicken nuggets, meatballs, etc, and then good preppable options for my lunches at home (like ground meats), and fun treats for the grown ups (like steaks for the grill!).

They so kindly gave us a code to save you some $$$ if protein has been a problem you’d like to solve for your family, too – so I did some quick math to make this easy. With this link and promo code ERICA at checkout, you’ll get a FREE protein added to every single one of your boxes for A WHOLE YEAR, as well as an additional discount on top of that, so it comes out to *about* $4.66 a serving. WHICH IS AWESOME, if you ask me!

3.) Leopard bag

They’re saying leopard is “back” – but baby, was it ever out? In my book, leopard is, was, and always will be a neutral. Bless it.

I had low expectations for this leopard bucket bag given the price point, but it’s actually SO cute in person! No organization inside so it’s just a throw-in-and-go kinda tote, but totally chic and fun for the season.

And can’t beat the price!!!

4.) ARMRA

I had been seeing ARMRA ALL OVER my social feeds and was finally #influenced to try it myself – so far, SO GOOD. It’s actually a colostrum (bovine!) concentrate – and just like our own colostrum is considered “liquid gold” for newborn babies, this stuff is looooooaded with goodness!

It’s got over 400+ functional, bioactive nutrients inside for maximum immune system support, fortified gut health, and more radiant skin and hair (among other health benefits!). They did a study measuring immune cell response to a toxin; ARMRA Colostrum performed 32% stronger and faster. It’s research-backed to boost not just your immune system, but also digestive health and gut health, brain, mood, energy, sleep, metabolism, as well as boosting cellular regeneration to help your skin radiance, hair growth, and even athletic performance and recovery. I mean, sounds like a freaking super supplement am I right?!

No artifical additives, all ethically sourced from grass-fed cows on family-owned US dairy farms…just a good, good company and product.

You just pour your scoop or packet into any cool beverage (has to be cool to not mess with the bioactivity!) and mix it up well. I just take one serving daily and put it into my water tumbler; sometimes I do flavored for something fun, other days I use the unflavored and add in something else flavored like my LMNT electrolytes (below! 😉 ).

5.) LMNT

LMNT has been my favorite electrolytes for a HOT sec now. Now, I’m no dietitian, but I have done my fair share of research on various electrolytes and their pros/cons depending on your lifestyle and needs; they often have different ratios of electrolytes minerals in their formulations, so your own needs can (and should!) influence your personal decision. LMNT contains the three electrolytes your body needs the most: sodium to help maintain a balance of body fluis and hydrate your muscles and nerves, potassium to help muscle contraction and support heart function and blood pressure, and magnesium to help turn nutrients into energy, regular muscle contractions, and normalize blood sugar levels by improving your insulin sensitivity. I will say for me, I also lovelovelove that LMNT has no caffeine, sugar, or anything artificial.

Each stick has 1000 mg sodium, 200 mg potassium, and 60 mg magnesium – I mix one packet into my 40 oz tumbler and it’s the perfect flavor (I would never mix a packet into a single glass of water – it would taste WAY too salty for me.)

You really feel the difference. Obviously boosted hydration, but also boosted energy levels, less brain fog, cramping…you just feel good.

I like to mix a packet into my tumbler with an unflavored ARMA for major boost + benefits in my water all day! Mango chili is a favorite flavor in our household (even Jonah loves stealing sips of mine – ha!) – it’s sweet with a hint of spice, also *fabulous* in a mocktail!

6.) New blue light glasses

In was due for a blue light upgrade – I got two new frames and was instantly impressed. They feel like $50+ glasses instantly – they’ve got good weight to them and are made well. Still shocked at their price. Makes it easy to justify getting two pairs so that you can go funkier! 😉

7.) TJMaxx yellow cardigan

If you see this stretchy yellow cable knit cardigan at your local TJ’s, SNATCH IT (the brand is called Pink Rose – I couldn’t find it online! So sorry!)! It’s so soft, so stretchy, not itchy, and equal parts trendy + classic. Wear it as a top like I did here, throw it on open over a dress, wear it for Easter…it’s a goodie. Pretty sure I paid something like $15 for it, too, which feels like thievery. Quality is TOP NOTCH, FOLKS.

I found it when galavanting with my bestie in Salt Lake City, and she said too, DANG, that’s a find!!!

8.) Vanilla cashmere body wash

I’m such a sucker for this scent, still. It’s one of those sexy vanilla scents that you just want to bathe in, literally…so here you go. 😉

Notes are whipped vanilla, soft musk and cozy caramel; you get a great foamy lather, and it’s a nourishing, non-stripping, clean cream formula. It’s derm-tested and made for sensitive skin, free of parabens, phthalates, etc…and you can pair with the body lotion and/or body oil – even lip butter – afterwards to smell like a literal dream. (Still reigns as one of the best body butters I’ve tried, too!)

9.) Thrive market

I was intrigued but put off trying Thrive market for approximately far too long. Now, I’m hooked. You already know I lovelovelove a good subscription (if it saves money, time, energy, AND brings goodness to my doorstep SIGN A SIS UP). Thrive market is an online marketplace for organic and non-GMO groceries, personal care products and household essentials, all delivered to your doorstep at a discount over what you’re already paying in the store.

You can set it up on a literal schedule to arrive on a specific day monthly, or you can just make a one-time order whenever you’re in want/need – there are no rules. They give you personalized recommendations for healthier swaps for any current less-than-healthy favorites, plus they have daily deals and full-size free gifts with every box, so it’s been an all-around win for us.

I’ve also discovered some new gems that my kids loveloveLOVE that are SO much healthier, it’s a miracle they let me swap it without complaining – ha! You can filter by lifestyle or preferences, and your membership is guaranteed to pay for itself in savings (which it ABSOLUTELY does!). Some of the things in my subscription cart are Liv’s favorite healthy granola bars for snack at Kindergarten and my favorite organic dried mango – but you can edit your repeated products at any time, add, subtract, for whatever you need for that time period (and you can also change your delivery frequency…literally total customability!).

If you feel like trying it out for yourself, this link will get you 40% off your first order (woo!).

10.) Costco sectional

We finally did it…we upgraded, baby! We had been considering getting a sectional in our family room for a hot sec; we’d had our couches since 2016 and loveloveloved them well (and we still have them – just moved to the basement!) – honestly, for having had them in our main family space for nearly a decade with two kids and three pets, they deserve so much credit. But we knew a sectional would be really ideal with the size of our family room, too, so when we saw this one going viral at Costco, we took it seriously – it’s a dupe to the Restoration Hardware Cloud collection (which runs at $15,000+), but it wasn’t even $3,000 total?! It kept selling out and being backordered, for good reason.

It’s a completely modular design, so you can arrange to suit your space; we now have the ottoman piece up against the right side for leg room. Initially I was nervous that the back would feel too low since it IS a low back couch, but propping the back pillows against the console table and then adding additional throw pillows from TJMaxx completely solved that problem for us.

We got rid of our old coffee table + end tables; the glass and mirrors weren’t exactly kid-friendly and there were literal broken mirror pieces just waiting for little fingers to get curious and start picking at them, and obviously the last thing we wanted was broken glass in fingers. So. Time to update accordingly!

I got this standing lamp from Target, which we’ve been loveloveLOVING for its adjustability in both lighting and where the shades hang; you can separate the arms, so it makes for ideal reading lighting.

Then I got this console credenza from Amazon for behind the couch; it’s fabulous toy and game storage, but also a great tabletop for drink coasters when we’re watching something. The whole Gwynn fam is obsessed. 10/10.