Five on Friday - Snack Bag, the Best Dry Texture Spray, a New Curling Iron, and Bible Decisions

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Happy Friday, y’all!  It’s been a long, rainy week here in Georgia, so today seems like a great day to share a few of my favorite things from the week…

O N E – Snack Bag

Every time we travel, we bring a bag of snacks for the trip.  In the past, I’ve always used a gallon Ziploc bag because I like to be able to see everything we have in a clear bag.  After years of using Ziploc bags, I finally decided to get this cute clear pouch for future trips so we can have something a little more sturdy, and something that’s also reuseable so we don’t have to keep wasting Ziploc bags.

The pouch is just DARLING and it comes in a bunch of different colors.  It’s also very sturdy and very large, and the whole thing is excellent quality.  It has a nice, smooth zipper, and a removeable wrist strap for easy carrying as well.  It’s currently on sale, too!

 

T W O – Tresemme Dry Texture Finishing Spray

You may remember that I was asking for recommendations for a new dry texture finishing spray since mine was discontinued.  Well, I got a few recommendations, and after trying and hating a couple, I came across this Tresemme dry texture finishing spray that I’d never seen before, so I decided to try it first since it’s so affordable.  I use Tresemme hair spray to set my curls every morning, and it’s my favorite of all hairsprays, so I thought I might as well try the texture spray to go along with it.

Well, y’all, I LOVE this dry texture finishing spray!  It smells so good, and the scent isn’t too overpowering.  It adds so much volume to my hair, it protects it so well from the humidity, and it helps my hair hold a curl amazingly.  It doesn’t make my hair feel sticky or heavy in the least!  I cannot believe how good this stuff is!  And the very best part is that it is only $6.99.  Yes, you read that right - $6.99!!!!  Most texture sprays that are highly rated range from $15-$40 per bottle and this one is only $6.99.  I love it so much that I just stockpiled it in case it gets discontinued.  It seems like every single time I find the perfect beauty item, it gets discontinued, so I’ve gotten to where I always stockpile my faves now just in case.  Haha.

 

T H R E E – Conair Curling Iron

I was in need of a new curling iron because mine was disgusting and falling apart.  I shopped around at Target, and I ended up with this one by Conair. 

Y’all, WHERE HAS THIS CURLING IRON BEEN MY WHOLE LIFE?!  This is the best curling iron I have ever used!  And I have been using a curling iron every single day since I was probably 12 years old.  My hair is so fine and so stick-straight that I have to add curls to it to add body and volume.  I literally curl my hair every single day of my life.

Anyway, this curling iron is the absolute best.  For starters, it feels sturdier than any of the others I’ve ever used.  Second, it doesn’t have that little metal clip on the end of the wand that moves back and forth to help it sit on the counter properly.  All of my others have had that, and I have always hated it because my hair often gets tangled in it when I’m curling.  Third of all, it heats up faster than any other curling iron I’ve ever had, and somehow, it curls my hair so much better than any other iron I’ve had as well.  My curls seem to hold better when I use this curling iron, too.  It’s crazy! 

It also has a turbo option for even faster heating and curling (which I haven’t tried because I haven’t had a need for that), and it has automatic shutoff, so you can rest easy if you ever accidentally leave it on.  I’m pretty sure all curling irons have that feature these days, but it’s definitely important, so I thought it was worth mentioning.

In addition to all of those things, I’m also obsessed with the colors… it’s soooo pretty!  It looks so much better on my countertop than my old black and silver one. 

Bottom line, I cannot recommend this curling iron enough!  It feels and looks like one that is top-of-the-line, but with a very affordable price tag… it’s just $19.99!

 

F O U R – Bibles

I purchased two different journaling Bibles this month because I want to start the Bible in a year program soon, and I’ve been debating which one to keep and which one to return.  One version is the NIV translation, and the other is the CSB translation and I’ve heard excellent things about both.  I polled everyone on Instagram a couple of weeks ago about Bible translations, and I ended up settling on the NIV version for many reasons.

For starters, NIV is the #1 selling translation AKA the most commonly used translation.  It falls in the middle of the Bible translations scale, which is what I wanted.  Sometimes I find that Bibles that fall too heavily on the word-for-word side of the scale are harder to understand, and Bibles that fall too heavily on the paraphrasing side of the scale are overly translated for my taste.  I wanted something right in the middle – something that is easier to understand, but not something that strays too much from the original meanings. 

Secondly, I love the print in this Bible.  It seems easier to read than prints that I’ve seen in other Bibles.

I also love that the columns are lined for notetaking in this Bible.  The columns in the other Bible I had considered were not lined. 

Finally, this Bible is GORGEOUS.  It contains 600 full-color illustrated verses, and it comes with tabs for each of the books.  While I do love the indented tabs on the CSB version, I prefer tabs that stick out with the full names of the books instead.

The Bible also lays flat, and it feels really sturdy and nice. 

My only hangup with this one was that I’m worried that the cover will end up looking outdated eventually, but I found out earlier this week that it comes in a couple of other cover options, so I ordered a second cover option to inspect, and then I’ll decide which one to keep between the two.

All that said, yes, I am Catholic, and as a Catholic, we typically use a Catholic version of the Bible because it contains seven books that were omitted in the Protestant versions.  However, the Bible in a Year study that I’m doing does not contain those seven books, so it really didn’t matter which translation I used.  I had hoped to find a nice NAB journaling Bible, but there weren’t many options, so I’m sticking with the NIV Bible for this.  I still have my original NAB Bible from my childhood anyway, so I can always refer to that one if I need to.

 

F I V E – Bracelet Stacks

This time of year, I’m always in short sleeves, so I love accessorizing with various bracelets.  I started making bracelets a couple of years ago, and I love stacking the different ones that I make.  My little arm party makes me happy, and it’s been one of my favorite things for the last couple of months!  Olivia and I just made some red, white, and blue ones for July 4th, so that was a favorite from this week as well!

 

Friday Funnies

On the Blog This Week

 What I Wore – May 2023

Our Week – The One with Summer, Week 2 (Unpacking and Lots of Family Time)

Happy Friday, y’all!

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