A few of my favorite things.

{Invite Inspiration}

My secret dream is to host a favorite things party.

I saw the idea on Pinterest and have been smitten with the idea ever since. Basically, you invite a handful of girlfriends over and ask them to each bring five of their favorite things within a set price limit. Then at the party, you get to share your favorites, exchange items, and everyone goes home with a bag filled with some well-loved, picked-with-care lovely little things.

Sound fun to anyone else? I thought so.

The Nester has also hosted her version of a favorite things party and she shared some new favorites over on her blog today. In the spirit of favorites, Friday, and frivolous fun, here are a few of my current favorites.

Paper Mate Flair Pens. Love these. My list-making / calendar-writing life has vastly improved since I started keeping a pot full of these (and these) on my desk. Because life is better lived in color.

7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess. I'm reading this currently and it's eye-opening, life-changing, and my personal favorite: h-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s. I've thought about buying a whole boatload of these books and passing them out to everyone I know. But that seems excessive. So instead, I am deeply committed to sharing this book (and my copy!) with anyone who acts borderline interested in the topic.

L'Occitane Hand Cream. Dry winter hands make me bonkers. This is the hand cream dreams are made of. It's pricey but it makes your hands feel like a million bucks, so I say it's worth it.

Lindor Truffles. Theresa handed me a handful of these the other day after a particularly strenuous hill run (yes, we see the irony here and we're OK with it), and I've been enjoying them ever since. My absolute favorite, always in good taste, stay-at-home mom joke is that we sit around eat and bon bons all day. Case in point: I'm eating one as I type right now. At 10am.

Fiestaware Gusto Bowls. I *may* have bought myself new dishes on our 10th wedding anniversary. I choose Fiestaware (scarlet, cobalt, peacock & shamrock), and I love the sight of COLOR smiling back at me whenever I open our cupboards. These gusto bowls are particularly favorite pieces, and I think they would be a cheerful addition to anyone's kitchen.

Lakeshore Candle Company Candles. This is a local (West MI) company and they make the most amazing soy candles. My absolute favorite is the Apple Cider.

What would you bring to a favorite things party??

{Link Up Here}

Some favorite things party inspiration: Joy's Hope // The Nester // A Place for Us

Five things I'm loving right now.

I found myself in a momentary funk the other day, when I spotted a tweet about a five things I love link party over at a blog called Back to the Basics. (Social networking at it's finest.) 
I scraped myself off the couch, thought of five current favorites fairly quickly, and instantly felt like the glass was once again half-full. Some of these things I have loved for a good, long time (lattes!), some of these things I have just recently learned to love (change...oy).   Here you go...five things I'm loving right now...

  Slowing Down. I'm in the process of reading One Thousand Gifts, and I'm learning a lot about gratitude. #1 observation: it's hard to be grateful when you're always in a hurry. I'm trying to put less on my calendar each week and manage my time better. I want to build space into my life so I have time to practice gratitude. I want to adopt a childlike attitude of wonder. I want to enjoy my life not just live it. I want to notice the little things. Like these fish. In Meijer. Because grocery shopping, like life, is not an emergency.

  Elementary School-ers. I love mine, of course, but I'm also talking about the bigger realm of K through 5th graders. I've never been the type to come alive in a room full of toddlers, making animal sounds, crawling around on my hands and knees, reading the same book 56 times... but as I volunteer in D & E's school, I'm learning that I enjoy this age group a whole lot. I like talking to them, learning their names, sharing a kind word, sending a smile their way. Kids this age are sweet, receptive, and still think Dylan T.'s mom is cool.  

  Change. I know. Not the obvious choice for a "things I love" post, but hear me out. I've heard it said that change is a form of loss. And loss can be sad and scary and uncomfortable. But I've also heard it said that change is to be expected. And when I shift my perspective and realize that change is a natural part of life, suddenly it doesn't seem so frightening. When I realize that out of change and loss often springs new life and opportunity, I am filled with hope and renewed energy and gratitude. I'm filled with thankfulness for what was... and for what will be.

  Lattes. Previous fav: rasberry white chocolate mocha. Current fav: pumpkin spice (I also love all things seasonal). I know the statistics on what I could be doing with the $5 dollars I spend a couple times a week on lattes, but I also know that lattes make me feel warm and fuzzy and can turn an ordinary day into an extraordinary one (or salvage a particularly terrible grocery store outing). I also found a workaround to any latte-inspired guilt: I pick one up for a friend too and suddenly it's an act of generosity, rather than indulgence. It's my little way of paying the latte love forward.

  All things SILLY. Here's a theory: we take ourselves a bit too seriously. Want to experience joy, spread joy, laugh a little (or a lot)? Try acting silly. For my dear friend Theresa's birthday, we spent the morning driving around from place to place, collecting birthday freebies. The list included a bear claw, an ice cream sundae, two cute bowls, queso dip, an appetizer, a piece of chocolate cake and some ready-to-bake cookie dough. We allowed ourselves to act ridiculous, laughed until our sides hurt, and garnered a lot of smiles from strangers. Silly? Yes. An amazeballs way to spend a morning? Absolutely.   Enough about me. What five things are you loving right now?
Linking up here...

frivolous favorites.

These things make me happy. Not my-life-is-complete happy
(I save that for the alliterative threesome faith, family & friendship), but my-life-is-easier-and-pretty-much more-fun happy.

Matrix sleek.look iron smoother | try it, you'll be sold.

Lands' End Kids bathing suits | they dry super fast. and they're cute. and they're on sale right now.

Brookside Dark Chocolate Acai with Blueberry | delicious and somehow you can convince yourself that they're healthy
(look for 'em at Costco).

Method all-purpose cleaner, cucumber | I have a case of serious Method love, but I think this is my favorite.

thirty-one's large utility tote | best. bag. ever.

Ocean Potion sunscreen | best smelling, least greasy sunscreen
out there. hands down.

Honda Odyssey | today I realized that not only do I tolerate my minivan, I actually prefer it...I maybe even like it.
Making peace with your minivan...priceless.

Pinterest | so many lovely ideas. so terribly addicting.

What are your current frivolous favorites?

{current} favorites

If you know me, you know that when I come across something new I like, I love to share it. Here's a list of some of my current favorites (subject to change...some will stick and some will end up just being passing KT fads).

• Favorite household product: Method laundry detergent. I can't really say enough about this detergent. I think it's the design of the bottle and how amazing small it is and the therapeutic feeling I get every time I get to squirt the pump that really gets me (it's also biodegradable, non-toxic and otherwise more "green" than your average detergent). I'm a Tide girl through and through but I think I have been converted. It's a little pricey (I got a 50 load bottle on sale for $11 at Target) but it's added a new joy to doing laundry that just might be worth the price.

• Favorite way to save money: buying diapers on Amazon.com. Since I have a new pricey laundry detergent habit, I've got to save money somewhere, right? Last week I ordered a gigantic box of size 4 Pampers which arrived on my doorstep two days later for less than $20. I think it worked out to about 11 cents a diaper which is pretty darn good. The exact details are a little foggy at this point but I think you just need to sign up for Amazon Mom (free and it gives you free 2-day shipping for a certain number of months) and also Subscribe and Save (also free and legitimate - you can cancel it after you place your order) and then look for a 20% off coupon in your Parents/Parenting magazine. I researched the whole process on-line before I did it and I promise it's easy and totally worth it if you have little ones still in diapers.     

• Favorite workout: Pilates. At this point in our workout challenge, I honestly love all of my workouts almost the same (on an average week these include running, an aerobics/fitness class, a Jillian DVD, Pilates, yoga, and swimming), but I'm calling Pilates my favorite right now because I'm realizing what a great compliment it is to the other things I'm doing and I feel amazing when I'm done. My favorite DVD is a 10 Minute Solutions one - sometimes I just do two of the segments and combine it with another workout that day and sometimes I do the entire thing (50 minutes). If you've never tried pilates this is a good one to try!

• Favorite food: local fare. Just finished up an amazing weekend of eating at local restaurants. Hard to express the yumminess factor combined with the great atmosphere of these places. On top of all of that, my body seems to appreciate that I'm eating real food. (I'm reading The Omnivore's Dilemma right now and nothing will make you want to run, not walk, to your nearest grass-fed cow more than this book.) My three current favorite Grand Rapids joints: The Winchester, The Green Well, and Marie Catribs. 

• Favorite TV show: Parenthood. Matt and I discovered this show earlier this season and we are hooked. We started near the beginning of Season 2, but we have the Season 1 DVD's all ready to go once the current season wraps up. Love the Braverman's and the way the family gathers together at the end of nearly every episode (despite the good and the bad, the ups and the downs).
  

• Favorite blog: IHeart Organizing. Happened upon this blog via Facebook and I've been a devoted reader ever since. I love her clean, pretty designs and I have found so much inspiration from her blog to organize and simply my own life. Added bonuses: she doesn't spend a lot of money and it's all very do-able.