What a sweet, sweet September. Granted, not much of the world feels “sweet” right about now – or at all, since, like, March. But this month as a family we were pretty intentional about our time together, and about savoring every second of sweet that came our way. Be that a trip to Sesame Place or pumpkin patch, the season’s first pumpkin spiced anything or fall-scented candles, everything was about savoring. So while life still ain’t perfect (and never will be), it felt good to really *embrace* all that is fall and find joy in the little things, like the first brisk wind or the smells of cinnamon and clove. Counting ten really sweet things from the month in this, our monthly edition of Cool Sh*t I Lovelovelove.
1.) Sesame Place
Won’tcha tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street…
The highlight of the month was undoubtedly getting to take the OG to meet her faves at Sesame Place! It still blows my mind that there are only two Sesame Places in the entire country, one of which happens to be near us. Like, how lucky is that?! For the entire week leading up to it, we were hyping Liv up and telling her she’d be meeting Elmo on Saturday, and girlfriend was STOKED. The day was delightful start to finish, and it’s just as sweet as you’d imagine (+ hope) it to be.
We walked around a bit to get our bearings before doing a Dine with Elmo & Friends, which is SO CUTE – some of the activities/dances were a bit older for Olivia, but they had each character come on stage to sing and dance a classic song which was hands down the highlight. Liv wanted to be FRONT ROW jamming out; hopefully you caught her speed-dancing to Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes with Abby Cadabby, because it was the most joyful thing I’ve ever seen – ha!
Liv rode a few rides which we weren’t even expecting since she’s still so young – we got treats throughout the park, did every single character meet & greet on the calendar, and saw every single show! And y’all, let me tell you – it’s adorable. And my girl Rosita came out to sing If You’re Happy and You Know It…which made my day because your girl does a SIIIIIICK Rosita impersonation if I do say so myself. 😉
If you live in the area and have Sesame Street-age kiddos, GO!!!! And even if you’re not local, consider making it a trip. There’s so much to do in the area anyway – it’s worth it!
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2.) We’re Different, We’re the Same book + Diversity Dollies
Speaking of Sesame Street…this book is BEAUTIFUL and fabulously illustrates diversity for kids! Each page highlights first how we’re different, showcasing a bunch of different-looking body parts per page (like noses, then eyes, then hair, etc!), and then is followed by a page on how we’re the same – how the function of our different-looking parts is still the same, and how it’s ALL beautiful!
These little diversity dollies were an Amazon find that I’d recommend, too, since they’re so simple and cute but also greatly show diversity! They’ve got little velcro clothing that’s interchangeable, too. 🙂
3.) Black raw hem Abercrombie jeans
I’ve been wearing these jeans on repeat! I was on the hunt for a raw hem pair of black jeans, saw these highly recommended on Instagram, and bit the bullet (they’re GREAT on sale!). They don’t disappoint – my favorite classic Abercrombie jean fit coupled with a really good length and hem situation, so they’re especially good for this transitional time when we’re starting to pair jeans with flats before being totally into booties. But even with booties they’re a great length and the raw hem can show still, which is super cute!
OK SO, y’all might’ve heard me rave about Tula’s OG sugar scrub before because it just might be my personal favorite sugar scrub of all time. No big deal. 😉 It’s FABULOUS. You know when you use a sugar scrub and you’re left looking red and feeling raw like you just took off an entire layer of your face??? Yeah…no bueno.
This is NOT that.
This instead gets off just the bad, dead, gross stuff (yay!). The sugar manually exfoliates while fruit enzymes inside “chemically” exfoliate (they help break up/loosen debris IN your pores that might not be looking like flaky, rough skin!). And then it feels like it literally melts off of your skin as you rinse, leaving your skin feeling soooooo smooth.
This is a limited edition pumpkin version because ’tis the season and if you aren’t bleeding pumpkin at this point are you even fall? 😉
When it’s sold out it’s gone for good, so grab one while it’s there – Tula discount code COMINGUPROSES takes 15% off for ya!
5.) Starbucks pumpkin cream cold brew
My first Starbucks order of the season! I lovelovelove it because it’s NOT sweet like a PSL (because TBH Starbucks’ PSLs are too sweet for my taste as is, and I always have to ask for less sweetener!). It’s truly a great cold brew with juuuust enough pumpkin to feel seasonally appropo. 😉 Try it and let me know if you do/what you think!
6.) Sweetmint Handmade fall/halloween mugs
THE QUEEN of fall/seasonal mugs is back at it again with some GOODIES this season! I own – no joke – 10+ Sweetmint mugs at this point. They’re a fabulous size (get the 15 oz!) + made great, and then they’re just soooo dang cute + clever! They make great gifts and just leave you happier as you wake up for the day.
Code INSTA15 should still give you 15% off at checkout – bless up!
7.) Buffalo plaid pumpkin decor
IDK if it’s the new house vibes or what, but your girl is DIGGING buffalo plaid this season. I mean, it’s everywhere. All of my decor. If it’s not buffalo plaid I don’t want it. Most everything is some variation of that classic back-and-white check, and I’m here for it. It’s also nice and a bit refreshing not having blaring orange pumpkins everywhere – ha!
In making a gallery wall in our house, I needed bigger-sized prints than I’d ever used before (11 x 14). Since I’ve used Shutterfly religiously for years for other things (annual photo book! magnets! invitations! prints! cards! mugs! gifts!), I figured it was worth trying them out for larger prints, too.
Y’all…I am shook.
They are TOO GOOD. I gasped when I pulled them out of the mail – they’re gorgeous. Incredible quality, beautiful gloss, literally looks lifelike off the page. I then went ahead and printed a 16 x 20 because I was feeling saucey and lo and behold…ALSO GORGEOUS. Truly stunning, and so much better priced than other printing options; Shutterfly always runs incredible sales, so take advantage of those when they pop up! I NEVER pay full price there – there’s always a great deal or promo code or app incentive running amok online.
9.) Beakey Blender beauty blenders from Amazon
At this point I think it’s safe to say, ain’t nobody got time to pay full price for a name brand “Beauty Blender.” There ARE options out there that are just as good for a FRACTION of the price – it’s just a matter of finding them. So. I’m on the hunt.
And so far, I’ve found this pack on Amazon that is fabulous!!!!
Don’t just take my word for it – they’re the #1 bestseller with over 27,000 reviews, too. 😉 But they’re reaaaaally good blenders that plump up nearly 2-3x their size when dampened and just do a darn good job.
The Amazon seller offered to give y’all discount code ericaligenza for 20% off after I told them how much I lovelovelove them – ha! They’re normally around $9 for a 5-pack – which is already a steal! – and my code brings it down to around $7…and $7 for 5 great quality beauty blenders is just UNREAL. So if you need some new beauty blenders (because if it’s not the same color it used to be…you need a new one. Ha!), grab a pack! I think the code will be good through October only, so carpe diem. 🙂
OK SO this is such an #adulting favorite, but I’m so stoked on it after my ShopRite trip this month! You might’ve picked up that I’m a total nerd, yeah? Yeah. Glad we’re on the same page now. 😉
So anytime someone says science demo, I’m like SIGN A SISTAH UP.
On our trip, a Senior Scientist from P&G Zoom-called in to do some science experiments with us, which I was all about. She did experiments and demos with Dawn, Microban, Cascade – and Febreze. Now ALL of them were insanely cool, super informative, and made me absolutely convert to ALL of the products shared (which is a big deal for me since I normally am big on “looks for less” – and finding lesser expensive, just-as-effective products compared to name brands – ha!).
But let’s just chat Febreze for a hot sec, shall we?
Didja know that Febreze is literally the *only* air freshener that actually REMOVES odors completely because they own the patent on that technology?! The scientist showed us the COOLEST demo for this. She had these dual twisted test tubes, if you can imagine – one holding Febreze Light, and the other holding a competitor (not naming names…okay Glade 😉 ). She had an odorous solution that was dyed pink with food coloring and then added that to each respective freshener. In an ideal world, the odorous solution would be eliminated altogether, right? Right. And this would be visually demonstrated by the dark pink dye going away.
Well…the Febreze literally COMPLETELY eliminated the solution. Like, it was just as clear as it was before the solution was even added. It shocked the room, received audible gasps, and was AWESOME to see visually pan out.
Then the Glade…didn’t. The Glade was a murky white color to begin with – and then when the pink odorous solution was added, it became…just a murky light pink color. So it did eliminate SOME of the odor, but it was clearly still there and not all gone. This is kinda what they mean when they say some air fresheners just “cover up” bad smells by masking it with another stronger smell – ha!
Aaaaaand another fun fact? Febreze is NOT flammable! We watched another demo where Febreze was spritzed directly onto a lit candle and it literally *extinguished* the fame. Aerosol Glade, on the other hand…is very, very flammable. The aerosol can has chemical compounds in it to “burst” it out of the container, and when held over a lit flame…you’ve essentially got yourself a flame thrower. HA. 😉 The demo was shocking, but it LITERALLY shot fire across the room. So, don’t try that at home.
ALL THAT TO SAY, Febreze is the real deal, yo! And Febreze LIGHT is the newest in the lineup, formulated with a *lighter* scent if you’re averse to those super strong scents that some air fresheners have. This bamboo one smells DELIGHTFUL.
HAVE YOU TRIED ANY OF MY MONTHLY FAVORITES YET?
And what have been YOUR Monthly Favorites? Would lovelovelove to know!
P.S. ICYMI and wanna get caught up on or last month’s favorites, just click here!
