It’s time to wake me up…I can’t believe September has ended! Always a fast and furious kickoff to fall, but I’m here for the finally lowering temps and falling leaves. Bless up. But October 1st also means your girl’s got exactly T-MINUS ONE MONTH until her book manuscript is due…EEEP! Now accepting all prayers, big and small. Prayers for divinely guided words, prayers for peace in the process, and prayers for her (+ her family’s) sanity…amen amen. 😉
Handing in my manuscript will *also* mean more blog content again FINALLY…it’s been so, so hard to not be as present hitting publish here, and I’m admittedly hard on myself feeling like I’m failing you (although have you even noticed less content? Maybe no one cares…ha!).
Regardless, back to some regularly scheduled programming soon-ish, and for that I’m grateful…but in the meantime, I’m grateful for the gift of opportunity that is this book, and I pray it’ll be a life-giver to YOU. Alright alright alriiiiiight…onto some COOL SH*T!
The freaking CUTEST Halloween tee for the book lover or teacher…and can I just say it’s SO soft and stretchy?! Quality gets an A+ in my book!
Lovelovelove a good spooky-cute seasonal option, and this takes the cake.
2.) Free People-inspired long sleeve tee
When I first opened this tee I was instantly impressed – quality feels incredible. It’s soft with stretch, and it was clearly inspired by this Free People top that’s twice the price!
It’s a fabulous casual option that works for everyday, layering, or even working out. I sized up one to a medium so that the front crop would still cover my belly button and not feel TOO cropped, and it’s juuuust right. BUT, it also now comes in a full length version if you don’t want any crop at all, so stay true to size in that case!
I recently grabbed a few things from Old Navy – truly one of my favorites places to stock up for the kids. I got this little beanie for Jonah man as the weather cools down, and I am SO FREAKING STOKED about how unbelievably SOFT it is…not itchy in the *slightest*. It’s truly delightfully soft, every toddler mama’s dream. Like, I want one for my head, too.
I paid full price but just saw it’s now 42% off…so grab one for your little’s head!!!
4.) National Geographic animal tonies
By now you’re probably (hopefully) well aware that we are BIG Tonies fans. It’s one of the ten things our household runs on, really. Olivia listens to her tonie box every single night…it’s the absolute best screen-free entertainment to keep them focused on a good story or favorite songs, so it’s great for bedtime listening and winding down. I picked up a few National Geographic tonies to put in a little back-to-school goody basket to kickoff kindergarten…and Liv loveloveLOVES. The girl has turned into an encyclopedia of fun facts about animals.
They have about half an hour’s worth of content on each tonie, and to get four for about $25 is a GREAT deal when the Disney tonies run about $18 each normal price…so I highly, highly recommend, whether you have a science or animal-loving little or just want a few educational-but-fun ones to mix it up.
5.) Rhinestone jeans
Hands down one of my most requested links on Instagram this past month…for good reason!! HOW FREAKING COOL are these pants?! I wanted something fun to wear to the Twenty One Pilots’ Clancy tour downtown; fans often dress on “theme” for each of their tours, and the Clancy tour was predominantly black and red…how’d I do?? I loveloveloved this because it still felt like me, but with the on brand twist – and I was stopped multiple times about the outfit + the pants especially! I had actually ordered them originally from a different Amazon retailers and they went MIA in the postal service…so I got a refund and repurchased them here, and it worked out perfectly.
Paired with this bodysuit, these Target sneakers (memory foam soles!), and this Amazon bag!
6.) Loacker wafers
Enter the first Costco favorite of the month! 😉 (But also found on Amazon in case you don’t have Costco!) Grabbed this big bag of mini wafers hoping/praying they’d be like those wafers we had in childhood…you know the ones??
Turns out, they’re even BETTER. This multi-pack has chocolate, hazelnut and vanilla and my favorites are in that order. They’re two-bite-size, making them the perfect little sweet treat with that mid-afternoon cup of coffee…yum.
For the record, I had to move them into hiding in our pantry because a certain little man found them and is COMPLETELY OBSESSED…he’d open the pantry door and point with his little dance, then bring mommy Loackers to open for him. (Caught in action below…HA)
Bonus: No artificial colors/flavors/preserveratives etc!
My current hyperfixation!!!! For years (and years and years) I was a Bath & Body Works candle girl. I was obsessed. I’d shop every 3-wick sale and hoard way too many in our closet until my husband implied I had a problem, at which point…I got a new husband. HA KIDDING but IYKYK, the obsession is real! BUT when I started really re-assessing what products I was using etc while we were TTC and started reading more about ingredients and hormone disrupters, I couldn’t deny the fact that B&B Works candles are blatantly toxic – they’re full of endocrine disrupters. BOO.
Needless to say, it has been my quest every fall to find clean-burning dupes for my favorite B&B Works scents. Namely, Leaves. And also Marshmallow Fireside, among others…and friends, I HAVE DONE IT!!!
The Leaves dupe I found isn’t pictured because I burned it first and foremost (was this one!). But this is a Marshmallow Fireside dupe!
This brand is a soy wax blend, though, and clean-burning. The scent throw is fabulous; I can light one on our kitchen island and it fills the entire house, up to the second floor and beyond. Their sales make the price comparable to the Bath & Body sales…I am just totally elated.
8.) Amazon bag
I wanted a little red bag for the season, especially since red is such a hot color…and this one takes the cake. It’s a perfect size to hold just the essentials.
A #1 bestseller on Amazon that’s not even $20 in loads of cute colors…total winner!
9.) Tattooed Chef sheet pan veggies from Costco
Aaaaaand anotha one from Costco! As heard on this podcast. 😉 Look for the Tattooed Chef sheet pan veggies in the frozen vegetable aisle. They’re SO PERFECT for fast dinners (just add your choice protein!). We get probably 3-ish panfuls from one bag, and they come lightly pre-seasoned already (although I just add a little more salt and pepper before serving!).
The bag has brussels, broccoli, sweet potatoes and onion – personally lovelovelove a good clean chicken sausage with it and it’s a yummy, easy, pop-in-the-oven-and-go kinda meal.
10.) Factor meals
We’ve been ordering various meal kit services nonstop since 2018 when Liv first came home from the hospital. It makes meal planning + prepping SO much simpler without sacrificing nutrition, quality or taste, so we’re all about it! (Not to mention, saves money without impulse buying at the grocery store and lessens food waste, which we hate). At this point, we’ve probably tried 4 or 5 different services (I’m working on a big blog roundup comparing/contrasting everything we’ve tried so far, so stay tuned if that’s of interest to you! 😉 )
I grabbed a Factor box after seeing a lot about them on social; they’re like a fresh alternative to individual serving freezer meals. They come NOT frozen but heat up in two minutes. All dietitian-approved and chef-crafted recipes…over 35 different meals with over 60 add-ons to choose from weekly, and six different menu preferences to help you do everything from manage calories to maximize protein intake, even avoid meat or just eat well-balanced.
AND…drumroll please…scored us a CODE! Just head here and use code thrivepod50 to get 50% off your first box PLUS 20% off your next month!!!
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!
