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Monday, May 31, 2021

What I Ordered from Amazon in May 2021

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Well, May was on track to be a very light Amazon month, and then Olivia broke her elbow and we decided to buy aaaallll the things to entertain the kids indoors since her physical activity will be limited for a bit.  Ready to see what we bought?




Dance Costume Bag

Olivia takes ballet, tap, and jazz, and has an annual recital.  As you can imagine, we have to carry so much stuff with us to the recital, so I bought this costume bag to hold all of her things.  The back side is open from top to bottom to hold all of the actual costumes, and the front side has four smaller pockets to hold shoes, accessories, makeup, hair pins, and everything else you need for a recital.  There is a hole in the top for the hangers, and I LOVE that the entire bag is clear so Olivia can easily find everything she needs.  Most of the time for her recitals, she’s backstage without me, so I like to make sure everything is as easy for her (and the class mom) as possible, since costume changes have to happen quickly.

 


Non-Skid Rug Tape

I just purchased a couple of new accent rugs for our kitchen and foyer, and even with a non-slip pad underneath, they’re still sliding a little bit.  I bought these strips to reinforce the pads, and I’m hoping it works well.  Supposedly, it won’t damage hardwood or carpet or any other surfaces, so I’m hoping that’s true.  I’ll have to report back when I attach them.

 


Mermaid Costume

We let each child pick out a new toy with their own money to kick off summer (prior to the elbow break), and Olivia chose this Ariel costume.  The whole costume is a STEAL at just $19.99 and it comes with the wig.  It’s well-made and SO CUTE, but Olivia asked to send it back because it was itchy.  She is highly sensitive, so I’m not sure the average kid would think the same.

 


Witch Costume

After we returned the mermaid costume, Olivia decided that she wanted a witch costume (random), and she settled on this one.  This is yet another well-made and super cute costume, and this one doesn’t make her itch either.  The only downside is that the glitter on the costume gets everywhere, but that isn’t a deal-breaker.

 


Lego Minecraft Pig House

This was Jacob’s choice of toy to buy with his own money.  He is obsessed with Legos and wanted to add this one to his collection.  He put it together in about an hour and has been obsessed with it ever since!  It’s interactive, so we thought that was an added bonus.

 


White Mask

I’ve been wanting a plain white mask since the pandemic started, and I found this one.  It’s highly rated, it has a great nose piece that fits to your face, it has adjustable ear straps, and it’s very comfortable.  It comes in about 30 other colors and patterns and I highly recommend it.

 


Disposable Masks

We haven’t used disposable masks too much, but I bought this box to have extras to store in the car, my purse, and all of our various bags, so we’ll never be without one.  I bought these before the mask rules were relaxed and they were non-returnable, so we probably don’t even really need them.  At least we’ll be ready if there’s ever another pandemic.  Geesh.

 


The Wedding Planner Soundtrack

So, I’ve been wanting this soundtrack for years, and it’s not available anywhere for digital download that I could find.  I’ve been checking periodically for the CD on Amazon and eBay, but they’re never available for less than $20.  I finally found one for $5.99 and I snatched it up.  I was able to rip all of the songs to my computer and put them in my iTunes library, and now I have all of the happy songs from one of my favorite movies ever!

 


Serendipity Soundtrack

Same situation with this one – couldn’t find the full digital download and CD’s are hard to find, but this one finally popped up on Amazon for cheap and I grabbed it.  Gonna rip it and add it to my iTunes library.  Love this soundtrack so much, too!

 


Smarty Pants Women’s Multivitamin

So I’ve been taking the “PHD Formula” from Smarty Pants for nearly a year because it had every single thing I’ve ever wanted in a multivitamin.  They recently discontinued it and replaced it with this nearly identical formula (per the Smarty Pants customer service team... yes, I contacted them  LOL), and I grabbed two bottles.  I’ve been taking them for a few days, and I like them a lot, so I’ll continue with them.  One good thing – with these, you only have to take ONE capsule where for the old ones, you had to take TWO to get the same benefits, so these are cheaper per day.  :o)

 


Waterproof Cast Cover

File this under the last thing I wanted to have to purchase this summer.  As most of you know by now, our girl broke her elbow and she’ll be in a full arm cast for most (if not all) of the summer.  We bought this waterproof cast cover to slide over her cast for baths/showers, and hopefully to keep out water and sand on our beach trip.  One of my friends recommended this one to me and said that it worked beautifully for their daughter a couple of summers ago when she experienced a similar break.  It’s highly rated on Amazon, and the reviews are awesome, so we decided to buy it.  It comes with a little vacuum pump that sucks the air out and molds it to the arm to keep water out, so I guess we will see if it lives up to its promise.  Regardless of how well this claims to work, I doubt we’ll let her submerge her arm.

 


Swimsuit

When Olivia broke her arm, she was wearing her swimsuit because we were playing at the splash pad/playground (and don’t worry, her body wasn’t wet when she fell… that wasn’t the cause of the accident).  Anyway, when we arrived at the hospital, they had to cut her swimsuit off so she could have emergency surgery, and I promised Olivia then and there that she could pick out a new one to replace hers.  The one they cut off was one of her brand new ones from Target, but it’s no longer available, so I directed her to Amazon because she already has one of these by this brand and she LOVES the fit.

 


Disney Princess Puzzle

I decided to purchase a couple of puzzles to keep the kids busy indoors because they’re fun to do and they take a lot of time.  I let each kid choose one, and Olivia chose this Disney Princess puzzle… it’s 1,000 pieces, and it’s very inexpensive… remember last summer when puzzles were all like $30-$40 each because of Covid?!  Not anymore!

 


Disney Pixar Movie Poster Puzzle

Jacob chose this 2,000 piece puzzle, and I’m really excited about it.  Last year, our fam put together a 2,000 piece puzzle and it took forever, so it’ll be nice to have another one to work on together.  It’s only $17.99, too!  I thought that was a GREAT deal considering it’s Disney and it’s 2,000 pieces! 

 


Paintable Mermaid

I also let each kid choose an activity to help pass the time, and Olivia picked out this paintable mermaid.  It comes in solid white, and then you can paint her skin and hair and clothes in your own colors.  It comes with the paints as well as some blingy stickers to decorate her after she is painted.

 


Color by Number Book

I let Olivia pick out one other activity since she’s the one who will be more limited, and she chose this color by number book.  She has been obsessed with color by numbers for a while now and she didn’t have any color by number things at home.  This one comes in all kinds of themes, and I think it would be relaxing for any kid or adult to do!  I love to color!

 


Lego Minecraft Chicken Coop

This was Jacob’s choice of activity – more Legos!!  The boy is obsessed with them and would play with them all day if we’d let him, so I knew that’s what he’d choose.  ;o)



And that’s everything!  Every time I finally think we’re going to have a slow Amazon month, something happens, and we have to buy more stuff.  <face palm>

Finally, (and most importantly), a big, heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who has served and continues to serve this wonderful country of ours.  Our family is so very grateful for you and your families… we appreciate everything you have sacrificed to keep us safe and free.  We salute you and we have our American flag hanging proudly today in honor of you!

And if you want to see everything that I ordered in previous months, just check out the posts below!


*Linking up with My Glittery HeartThe Other Side of the Road, and The Sirois Family for Hello Monday and The Other Side of the Road for Prime Purchases

Friday, May 28, 2021

Five on Friday - Affordable Accent Rugs, the Best Masks, and the Best Dance Recital Bag

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Well, I've had this post all ready to go for over a week, but sadly, I had to come back in and change the intro last night because we've had a crazy week.  I had a post go live Wednesday morning, but that one had been scheduled for quite some time, and I obviously wasn't able to update it before it went live.  I also owe the blog a weekly recap from the previous week, and I'll just have to get that up whenever I have some time.

Anyway, as most of you have probably already seen from social media, Olivia fell on the playground Tuesday morning and broke her elbow.  It was a very nasty break, one that I wish I could unsee, and it was a big ordeal, as you can probably imagine  ambulance ride, emergency surgery, four pins in her elbow, and an overnight hospital stay.  The silver lining - she broke her left arm which is NOT her dominant arm, so we are very grateful for that!  And she is HOME now, too, and we are happy she's on the road to recovery! 

Recovery is going to be a long one  splint for a couple of weeks, pins out, hard cast for at least four more weeks, and then physical therapy, so probably all of summer and then some.  She was THE MOST excited for summer and swimming and playing in the ocean, so she has been heartbroken these past few days, which in turn, has broken all of our hearts as well.  It is now my main mission in life to give her a wonderful summer despite the circumstances, and I'm going to make sure she's smiling again very soon!

Please keep her in your prayers for speedy and complete healing, and please pray for her to return to her jolly self soon... she is NEVER sad or mad or irritable, and we just can't stand seeing her this way. 

Now that that's out of the way, let's get to a whole bunch of superficial favorites that I had already posted about prior to the arm break that don't really even matter anymore.  Hahahaha.

O N E – New Accent Rugs

I’ve been searching high and low for some nice, neutral 2x3’ rugs for our kitchen for a couple of years now, and I haven’t been able to find any I like.  I did find these at Anthropologie that I included on my birthday wish list, but they were just too pricey.  I was THRILLED to see that Target recently came out with these beauties, and I couldn’t add them to my cart fast enough.  They’re only $15, y’all, so they’re not only gorgeous, they’re super affordable, too!  I grabbed three for our kitchen – one to go in front of the sink, one to go in front of the back door, and one to go in front of the garage door, and I couldn’t love them more.  They’re soft, not scratchy at all, the quality is fantastic, and they look way more expensive than they actually were.    

 


T W O – Perfect Masks

Mask-wearing is on the decline since the CDC recently said that vaccinated people no longer have to wear them in public, but I thought I’d share these anyway for those of you who are planning on sticking with it for a little while longer.  During this last year of mask-wearing, I tried several different brands of masks, and while I did find a couple of that were pretty comfortable, I never could find any that were super comfortable and cute. 

These masks have been on my wish list for a while now, and B ended up getting them for me for Mother’s Day, and y’all, after a year, I finally found the perfect mask… just in time for everyone to start lifting mask mandates.  Haha.  These masks are comfortable, they don’t slide up and down on my nose when I talk, they’re breathable and don’t make your face sweat, the ear loops are comfortable, and they have the best nose piece that I’ve seen on any mask.  The nose piece is much longer than most, and therefore, you can mold it across your entire face (nose and cheeks) for the perfect fit.  Plus, they’re SO CUTE!!  I wore them for hours on end during Olivia’s recital weekend, and I barely even noticed that they were there.  They’re a little pricey as far as masks go, but they’re well worth the money if you have to wear masks frequently or for long periods of time.  They come in a three-pack, a five-pack, or you can just buy them one-by-one if you don’t want to spend a lot of money.

I’m fully vaccinated but will be continuing my mask-wearing when indoors in public for a little while longer as a personal choice.  Our kiddos aren’t vaccinated at all since the vaccine isn’t available for their age group, so they’ll still be wearing theirs in public indoor spaces, and I’ll be wearing mine in solidarity with them.  It’s not so bad when you find some that are actually comfortable!

 


T H R E E – Dance Recital Garment Bag

If you’re a dance mom, then you know just how much stuff has to be hauled to and from rehearsals and recitals.  It is a LOT, y’all.  For Olivia’s first recital, we packed everything into a large bag, but that just didn’t work well since it was harder to find things in the bag.  I found this garment bag on Amazon (where else?) and it is the absolute perfect bag to hold aaaallll the things… and be able to see everything!! 

The bag opens fully on one side to hang all costumes and clothes, and then the other side has five pockets (some large and some smaller) to hold ballet shoes, tap shoes, jazz shoes, hair pieces, accessories, makeup, etc.  Unfortunately, I didn’t grab this one in time for her recital this year, but now we have it on hand for next year!  It’ll be so nice to have everything organized and in plain sight!  Those clear pockets make aaaallll the difference, y’all!

 


F O U R – New Oil

Young Living finally released a vanilla essential oil a few months ago, and it’s been sold out ever since.  I was finally able to get my hands on some in my last order, and it smells so delicious!!  I’ve diffused it with lime for a refreshing fruity/cream scent and I’ve diffused it with peppermint for a sweet/minty combo, and both have made the house smell so dang good!  I can’t wait to try it with some other oils – maybe orange or tangerine next for a creamcicle scent! – and this will be one that I keep in stock all the time.

 


F I V E – Wedding Planner Soundtrack

As I’ve mentioned on the blog recently, I’ve been watching The Wedding Planner on repeat, and it’s been serving as my happy background noise while I work.  It’s right on up there with Love Actually as my favorite movie of all-time, and I’ve loved it since it came out in theaters in 2001.  I was the soundtrack queen when I was a teenager, and I owned tons of soundtracks for movies, especially the rom-coms and teen movies (Can’t Hardly Wait, Clueless, etc.), but for some reason I never got this one.

I popped onto Amazon and a few other websites a few months ago to download it and found that it doesn’t exist for digital download… how strange is that?!  These days I thought everything was on the internet!  Haha.  So, my next step was to find a used CD on eBay and buy it for $3-$5 and then rip it myself (remember ripping CDs to transfer your music to your iPod years ago?!).  Well, a quick look on eBay, Amazon, and a few other websites let me know that this CD must be really rare, because they’re all listed for $25+ EACH, some for $100+.  What?!  I wasn’t about to pay that much so I’ve just been checking every now and then to see if anything cheaper becomes available.

Amazon finally had one pop up for just $5.99 + free shipping last week, so I grabbed it and ripped it, and I’m so excited to have all of these cheesy songs from the movie in my music library now!  Haha.  The prices for all of the other CDs are still really high everywhere, so I must have just lucked out when I bought mine.  I guess I need to sell my CD now and make some money on it??  Haha.


 

Friday Funnies

Totally used to do this when I was little.  Lol.

It's funny because it's true!  Hahahaha.

Y'all better be crying because you miss me so much!  Haha.

Totally had a whole wall like this when I was little!  Y'all Bop magazine lovers know what I'm talking about!



On the Blog This Week

 Bar Cart Essentials – Everything You Need to Have a Festive and Well-Stocked Bar Cart

What I Wore – April Recap




Happy Friday, y’all!


*Linking up with A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites.


Wednesday, May 26, 2021

What I Wore - April 2021

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Today I’m recapping outfits in the month of April… it was a little chillier this spring than it normally is, so most days consisted of lots of layers.  And this top here was the real MVP of the month… it’s is my FAVORITE!

Ready to see what I wore?  As always, I'll link all of the items that I can underneath each picture.

April 1 - Apple Watch Band

April 2 - Zella Pocket Leggings

April 3 - Leopard Flats /Apple Watch Band

April 4 - Dress // Belt // Apple Watch Band

April 4 (evening) - Eyelet Top // Denim Shorts // Bracelet (similar) // Apple Watch Band

April 5 - Scalloped Cami // Denim Shorts // Bracelet (similar) // Apple Watch Band

April 6 - Zella Live-In Leggings // Nike Shoes

April 7 - Pink Top // Denim Shorts // Apple Watch Band

April 8 - Leggings // Nike Shoes // Necklace // Bracelet (similar) // Apple Watch Band

April 9 - Leopard Flats /Necklace // Bracelet (similar) // Apple Watch Band

April 10 - Sandals // Necklace // Apple Watch Band

April 11 - Necklace // Bracelet (similar) // Apple Watch Band

April 12 - Denim Jacket // Skirt // Necklace // Bracelet (similar) // Apple Watch Band

April 13 - Zella Live-In Leggings // Necklace // Nike Shoes // Apple Watch Band

April 13 (evening) - Tank // Denim Shorts // Shoes // Necklace // Apple Watch Band

April 14 - Leggings // Nike Shoes // Necklace // Apple Watch Band

April 15 - Tank // Necklace // Bracelet (similar) // Apple Watch Band

April 16 - Leopard Flats /Necklace

April 17 - Top // Leopard Flats /Apple Watch Band

April 18 - Denim Shorts // Shoes // Apple Watch Band

April 19 - Tank // Leopard Flats /Necklace // Apple Watch Band

April 20 - Heart Sweatshirt // Zella Live-In Leggings // Nike Shoes // Necklace

April 21 - Leggings // Nike Shoes // Bracelet (similar) // Apple Watch Band

April 22 - Pink Top // Striped Cardigan (similar) // Leopard Flats /Necklace // Apple Watch Band

April 23 - Green Twist Front Top // Leopard Flats /Apple Watch Band

April 24 - Denim Shorts

April 25 - Denim Shorts // Apple Watch Band

April 26 - Zella Live-In Leggings // Nike Shoes // Necklace // Apple Watch Band

April 27 - Top // Apple Watch Band

April 28 - Tank // Leggings // Nike Shoes // Necklace // Apple Watch Band

April 29 - Eyelet Top // Apple Watch Band

April 30 - Shoes // Necklace // Apple Watch Band

 
Happy Wednesday, y’all!