My Favorite Things

I like my ground turkey to be finely chopped when I cook it — no big chunks for me! This does the trick. Great for taco meat, chili meat, spaghetti meat — you name it — it’ll come out just right.

The quickest, easiest way to peel garlic!

I love that this Instant Pot is 7 appliances in one! It’s a slow cooker, pressure cooker, steamer, rice cooker and more. It’s great for cooking a meal in just minutes and artichokes are done in 15!

Have you ever had fresh homemade pasta?? It’s the best!!

Homemade whipped cream! Always ready at the push of a button.

I haven’t eaten sugar in years but I still have a sweet tooth! Coconut sugar is low glycemic so there’s no huge fluctuation in your blood sugar levels. Use it in equal quantities in place of regular sugar. So you can still have your cake and eat it too!

This dish brush is a real time-saver. You fill it with your favorite dish soap and for hand-washing just press the button for a squirt of soap. For rinsing to put in the dishwasher — don’t push the soap button — just brush the dish under running water.

This garlic press works like a dream. And you can put it in the dishwasher!

I drink 2 smoothies a day and this blender has served me well. It’s also a regular blender and a food processor!

Slice potatoes for scalloped potatoes, apples for apple pie or julianne veggies for a chopped salad. This mandoline slicer sure is handy!

These cotton kitchen towels are the best!

For your clear dish soap.

This is not your mama’s whole wheat flour! It’s super fine and almost as light as white flour but it’s whole wheat. I use it in all my baking.

This pizza cutter is the bomb! It’s sturdy and the handle has a great grip. This thing will slice through pepperoni, veggies and cheese with ease. Easy to clean too!

No more random plastic containers in the fridge! These storage containers by Rubbermaid keep your leftovers fresh and your fridge organized!

Elevate your sandwiches! Try turkey with jack cheese, spinach and tomato pesto on a ciabatta roll or focaccia bread. Grill them till heated through. So good!

I love zucchini noodles! Check out how to make them HERE

Sometimes you need to squeeze a few lemons.

When your garbage disposal needs to be cleaned…

I have a chocolate problem. The problem is — I can’t get enough! These dark chocolate gems are clean and they use coconut sugar to sweeten them! Use them in place of chocolate chips in all your baking. Or eat them right out of the bag!

This meat thermometer is the best! It gives you a temperature reading in seconds, is easy to clean and folds up for storage.

Gorilla Grip cutting boards. I keep them in the cupboard and pull them out as I need them. They work great and I don’t need to clutter up my counters with cutting boards.

This vacuum sealer! We use it to package everything that goes in our freezer.

Drink your vegetables! Carrots, spinach, parsley, celery, apples — just about any veggie or fruit can be used in this juice extractor for the ultimate nutritional drink.

Because blue dish soap doesn’t really go with the decor…

There’s nothing better than tidy, organized drawers

More chocolate! So good!!

HEALTH AND FITNESS

Did you know that as we age, we actually need to work out more than we did when we were younger in order to keep from losing muscle? That hardly seems fair! Well I want to keep all the muscle I’ve got so I try to workout twice a week. And strength training also helps to prevent and even reverse bone loss!

This is my favorite workout video. You feel like you’re working out with a couple of friends! You can follow along with Jessica for a higher level workout or follow along with her mom, Debbie for a less strenuous routine. There are three 35-minute sessions: Upper body focus, Lower body focus and Total body focus.

All the exercises are easy to do and the only equipment you need are hand weights and a mat.

Every workout needs a good mat

This is the protein powder I use. I had a hard time finding one that didn’t have sugar in it. This one has a pleasant taste and it’s not sweet. I mix a little in non-fat milk and drink it after my workouts to help build muscle and I put it in my smoothies for a little extra protein boost.

These exercises combine ballet, Pilates, yoga and more. No weights or other equipment needed. And they will get you into shape!

I never realized how clean my teeth weren’t getting until I started using this toothbrush. I use the sensitive gum care heads and I couldn’t be happier with how clean my teeth are now!

Improve your skin, hair, nails and joints with this collagen supplement. Just add it to tea, coffee, yogurt or smoothie every day and you will really notice a difference@

More Classical Stretch!

This smart scale! Not only tells you your weight but measures your BMI, Bone Mass, Protein Rate, Fat Mass, Body Water, Metabolic Age and MORE! It syncs to your phone and keeps your history. It stores individual results for up to 8 people (and keeps it all private…)

A long time ago, I accidentally pulled all my eyelashes out with a crimp-style eyelash curler. (You can read the story about that HERE.) So I love this heated eyelash curler! No crimping, no pulling, no pinching. I put a coat of mascara on first then I curl with the heated eyelash curler and let it cool then I apply another coat of mascara and that’s it — super easy and it works great!

This moisturizer is so good! And reasonably priced. It also comes in an SPF 30.

Because peach fuzz should really only be on peaches…

I have this top in white and in light pink in a size medium. It’s nice and warm and looks really cute with jeans.

I love these Tory Burch sunglasses! The style is so classic you can wear them for years. I even took a pair to my optometrist and had prescription lenses put in them!

They call these running shoes — I call them ‘living shoes’ because I live in them. Super comfy! (Get the white/white/black color)

LOVE this buildable mascara!

Great makeup sponges for a great price!

A great ‘beginner’ retinol. Super moisturizing!

This plumping lip gloss! Literally stays on all day and makes your lips look fuller and younger.

Don’t wear frumpy sneakers! These New Balance sneaks look contemporary and give great support and comfort!

Steve Madden. Leather. Enough said.

Don’t ruin the look of your cute sneaks with socks that show! These are great and they stay up!

I’m totally into the nude/soft pink nail shades these days. And OPI is my favorite brand.

As we mature, our brows can get thinner which makes us look even older. This brow serum is amazing! My brows are getting fuller and lusher every day.

Use this cleanser in AM after PM retinol and before vitamin C serum

Okay, let’s talk roots. As in gray outgrowth and your hair appointment isn’t for a couple more weeks. This is your BFF in a tube! Just brush it on your gray roots like a mascara and it will get you through until you can get to the salon.

These yoga capris!! They’re buttery soft, squat proof (non-see through fabric) and they shape your body. I love the pockets so I can take my phone along and listen to podcasts when I walk every day. It doesn’t get any better than that!

Keeps my lips moisturized all night. And it’s clear so it doesn’t stain the pillow.

Teeth whitening strips without peroxide — and they work!

Vitamin C serum for brighter skin.

This moisturizer is super light, not greasy and gives your face an amazing glow! And it’s under $10!

This nail polish lasts forever and doesn’t chip!

This mock neck, capped sleeve knit top is really nice quality! Looks great with jeans, shorts or joggers. I have it in 3 colors!

Silver Jeans Co is my go-to brand for jeans. Their style and fit are great! Now that skinny jeans are on the way out, I’m loving the little looser fit of a boyfriend (or girlfriend) jean.

It gets chilly in my office. So I have this electric fireplace/heater in my sitting area. Boy, does this thing work! It keeps my space cozy and warm. You can adjust the temp so you’re always comfortable. And it’s so cute!

This thing!! I don’t know about you but when I wash my hair, there’s always a bunch of it that goes down the drain. The little device will catch it and keep it from clogging up your pipes! Just pull it out and clean the hair off of it every few weeks or so

Fillable paint touch up pen. Best invention ever!

Get rid of your filing cabinets and store all your documents on your computer. You can also scan and email or fax docs.

Living in a remodel is not for sissies! There will be dust! This air purifier helps keep the air cleaner. It has an automatic sensor that bumps up the power when needed. We have one in every room!

This stuff is AMAZING! Not only does it clean practically any stain from carpets but I use it as a pre-wash. I just spray it on the stain, wait a few minutes then wash as usual. It’s a life-saver for white slipcovers!

Sometimes you need to get the wrinkles out and you just don’t want to set up the ironing board and iron. That’s where this steamer comes in so handy. Use it on clothes, drapes, bedding…

I love this Shark vacuum! It goes from carpet to bare floors with the switch of a button. Perfect for wood floors and area rugs. The ‘pod’ and the wand lift off for stairs, upholstery and overhead cleaning.

Glass foaming soap dispenser — so much better than plastic!

These flameless lighters are great! They work with a ‘plasma arc’ that kind of sparks to ignite the candle wick or the barbque or the stove or whatever you’re lighting. They‘re flexible so lighting candles is super easy. And they’re rechargeable!

There’s nothing like sleeping on linen or linen/cotton sheets! They’re cool and crisp and the more you wash them, the softer they get.

Another great sheet option is organic cotton!

Great for cleaning grout, bathtub calking — all the hard to reach places. Because that old toothbrush isn’t angled right…

This polka dot collar is so cute on Bella!

Does your dog pull on their leash when you take them for a walk? This harness is like power steering for your dog!

Our vet recommended these chews for Bella to help keep her teeth clean. They really work and she loves them!

Keep your fur baby strapped in when in the car. This soft vest harness comes with an adjustable strap that will click into the receiving side of the seat belt and keeps your dog from roaming in the car while you drive.

You know dogs have a wolf brain right? So just like wild wolves, their brains are wired to hunt and work for their food. This Kong helps satisfy that need in them. Just fill it with your dogs dry dog food and they’ll roll it around and work at it to get the food out.

Does your dog have anxiety? Thunder, fireworks, separation can all be anxiety producing to some dogs. A thunder shirt can really help them to feel safe and calm.

Max Lucado is my favorite Christian author. This book is a quick read of short chapters about people in the Bible who were very human and imperfect just like us. And if God can find a place for them, he just might have a place for us too!

Using Jonah’s life as an example, Priscilla Shirer talks about what we might be missing by running from life’s major pains and minor hiccups instead of allowing God to steer us toward what could be an amazing outcome. This book was so inspiring, it totally changed the trajectory of my life and spurred the decision my family and I made to move 500 miles away from the home we had known for almost 40 years to follow God’s ‘interruption’!

What can you do when life doesn’t turn out like you planned?

Answers to life’s disappointments

Are you a worrier??

You don’t have to let worry and fear control your life…