08.15.12

These are a few of our favorite things....

Posted by Christina // 7 Replies

Every month, smack dab in the middle…T & I will do a round-up of our favorite things.

Say hello to August.

1.  On a trip to Lowes recently, Christina and I saw an end cap for the Nest Thermostat.  We came home that night and started a “Nest” egg, and I am sorry I just subjected you to that lame pun.  I am a little bit of a techie, so I love all the features that add a little interest to an ordinarily boring and overlooked part of your house.  It is touch-screen, you can set it from your smart phone, and it actually learns your temperature schedules and self adjusts.  Beyond that it just looks cool, so I want one.

2.  My wonderful girlfriend wanted to start landscaping our backyard.  This meant, “buy cute pots and then plant pretty flowers” which really meant, “let me pick out cute stuff, then you make it happen and take care of it”.  She did really good though and picked out the Tropical Water Canna, which is a really colorful leafy plant.  I have made it my personal mission to grow these bad boys at least eight feet tall.  Next year I want them to cover the whole back wall of our fencing, then I’ll just say, “I thought we were landscaping”.  She will love it because they occasionally bloom these bright orange flowers.  Everyone is happy.

3.  These are at the top of my favorite things list.  The new AI Vega lights just released early this month, and are an upgrade from the AI Sols that we currently have.  While I would love to replace our lights with these as soon as possible, they are pretty pricey.  Maybe I can talk the lady into a new, bigger tank.  Hey, a guy can dream.  These lights have a new digital controller as opposed to the old analog controller and a new light spectrum.  They are sure to make the colors in your tank pop and aid in pumping up your corals.

4.  I am sure most of you realize that the Olympics were going on the last couple weeks.  I had the games on at all times, even if it was just the “clean and jerk” on at two in the morning.  Now that they are over I really don’t know what I am going to do with myself for the next four years.  I guess I’ll just sit down and watch Honey Boo Boo with Christina, but I won’t like it.  Or maybe I will really make myself useful and start training for the 2016 Olympics in Speed Walking.

5.  I actually got a Coral Magazine subscription for Christmas from Christina.  It arrives every other month and I gotta admit that I am pretty much waiting by the door when I know it is coming.  It is chock full of great photos, new information, and plenty of advertisements to make sure I buy all the latest and greatest gadgets.  It is one of the few pieces of literature that I read front to back.  Maybe Santa will remember how much I like this magazine.

1.  My boytoy actually got me this Fossil watch earlier this year.  I have never been able to wear watches because I inevitably take a shower with them on, or they pinch my arm hairs and I smash them.  This watch is different, most importantly it is water-resistant.  I made sure of that in Kansas City earlier this year by throwing my hand into a tank to hold a starfish.  It’s also comfortable, and even though it is the big “boyfriend style” watch it’s not too bulky.  I’m in love and it is standing the test of time.  Too much?

2.  Say hello to the best pen ever.  We bought the new Paper Mate Inkjoy pens on a whim at our local office supply store and we now fight over them almost every day.  It’s one of those, “Hey I had my pen sitting right here and I know you took it now give it back or I will put Icy Hot on your toilet seat” kind of things.  They write so smoothly and you never have to press too hard so you avoid all the hand cramps.  Wish they would have made these when I was in school writing 20 pages papers for all of my friends.  Hey a girls gotta make a living!

3.  In case you missed my post earlier this week, I am so excited for Shark Week on Discovery Channel.  Not only is it Shark Week, it is their 25th anniversary.  This is going to be huge.  One day, when I am not so afraid of my ears popping, I am going to get scuba certified and go swim with sharks.  It’s on my leap list.

4.   I’m a sucker for cute packaging.  So naturally when I saw this cute tube at Walgreens I had to beg Tim to add it to our little plastic basket.  Then I worried it would “fall through the holes” of said plastic basket so I grabbed it back and carried it through the whole store.  I bought Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Honeysuckle.  It is really the perfect amount of color and shimmer.  I am not a lipstick type of gal, so this keeps my lips looking kissable.  Rawr.

5.  I may be a little late to this party, but now that I have arrived I see what all the fuss is about.  Birch Box is a monthly delivery of life and beauty samples.  They can be samples of high-end products that I could never afford, or of up-and-coming brands that I would have never known about.  I am not sure if it’s trying all the good stuff, making friends when you give them the stuff you don’t want, or getting something in the mail that isn’t a bill…but I adore this product.  Best of all, it’s only $10 a month…until you fall in love with the cheek stain they sent.

6.  Hi, my name is Christina and I am a hair-product-aholic.  I first learned about the “dry shampoo” spray from Katie Bower, who at the time had long locks like yours truly.  When you have a mane that takes a good hour to wash, dry, and make look presentable you have to find detours.  Enter Salon Grafix Dry Spray Shampoo.  You just spray it in at your greasy roots and then smooth it in a little.  Voila, clean (looking) hair.  Okay don’t get crazy though, it only looks good the first four days.

So there they are….our August favorite finds.

Any new things you’re digging on lately?

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Written by Christina and Tim

7 thoughts on “These are a few of our favorite things….

  1. Sarah

    Dry shampoo is my life saver!! And I’m buying a membership to the birch box. How amazing is that!! Where do you find stuff like that???

    Reply
  2. Serah Strebel

    You’re like the Oprah of oceans 🙂

    But my favorite things lately is nothing new…. It’s just an area rug. No kind in particular. It was given to us for our garage a long time ago and now it has a bajillion uses: we lay it out when the kids paint (no stains on my living room floor!!), we toss it out in the yard for Baby John to crawl on (ohh wait, is that white trashy? Eh who cares! It works perfect!), we take it to the drive in so the kids don’t get rocks in their shoes, we ball it up as a scratcher for the kitties to dig at, we put it next to the pool so grass isn’t tracked in, flip it upside down and it becomes the perfect mat to put Baby John and some messy food on (wipes right off!). I’m telling you. When you have kids: BUY A RUG YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT. this thing has been so useful to us!

    Reply
      1. Serah Strebel

        For real, that rug started as a waste of space. We almost threw it out several times … Then all of a sudden, it has become one of the most useful things in our house. “Honey, go grab the rug!” .. Can’t even tell you how often those words come outta my mouth.

        Reply
  3. Pingback: Our favorite things….road trip edition |

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