And one more from 2023 - a random assortment of purchases for home & life that I have loved and that are still proving their worth in usefulness and/or enjoyment in 2024!
1. Bose noise-cancelling earbuds: my first pair of noise-cancelling headphones, and my first pair of true wireless - and I love both things about these! The noise-cancelling part is so nice for longer flights especially. Haven't actually tried it to drown out toddler yells but am very tempted. The true wireless part (as opposed to these) is great so I can listen in one ear while I follow Freddie on neighborhood wanders. It got me a lot more audiobook listening in the year than ever before. And with Bose, you know the sound quality is great.
2. All in Motion dumbbells: I've had various sets of these since our pandemic gym membership cancellation and am still happy with them; even more happy that in 2023 my leveling up of strength (thanks to consistency with Peloton strength workouts!) required the acquisition of the heaviest ones, the 20-pounders.
3. Cookie scoop: For years, every time I have made cookies I've thought about how it would be handy to have one of these. Finally got one, and for $10 the satisfaction and also the perfectly consistently sized cookies... what took me so long?
4. Costzon kids basketball hoop: The number of hours that Freddie has gotten entertainment out of "shootin' hoops" brings the cost-per-use of this thing very low - and that's not even considering the soccer net/ball and golf club/ball it comes with. Highly recommend for an active toddler.
5. Skiphop toddler backpack: Unlike his big brother, Freddie is the toddler you need to worry about wandering off when you're trying to pay for your produce at the farmer's market... Enter the backpack "leash" (they call it, more nicely, a "tether"). He adores being able to carry a couple of cars in it, and I found it especially fabulous for keeping him close while walking through the airport on our trips.
6. Pillowfort plate set: Hendrik was still using an old bamboo plate set from years ago, but with Freddie ready for regular plates we needed a few more, and I spotted these at Target. Crazy good price, fab colors, and with 2 kids using 2-3 times per day and then running through the dishwasher, I can say they're durable! Got the matching plastic utensils, bowls, and cups too, an entire serving array for under $15!
7. Yellowbird serrano hot sauce: My brother-in-law introduced us to this stuff, and I promptly bought a big bottle. It's so good on tacos, gives your meal a nice kick without being too much (I'm a little wimpy) - I really like the flavor of it too. Only hot sauce I'd use aside from sriracha.
8. Threshold rug: We had our bedroom repainted at the same time we were getting Freddie's nursery ready, and while I loved our new paint color (Benjamin Moore chelsea gray for life!) I did not love how it looked with our rug. Peter said get a new one... and it took me years to decide. Finally went for this one from Target (always helps that it's easy to return things if I don't end up liking them in the room), and now every time I walk in to our bedroom I'm so pleased with how it all looks. That's worth the price of a Target rug for sure (especially since I got it on sale). It's pretty darn good quality for the price to boot.
9. Built puff bars: Can't remember if it was an influencer or just an Instagram ad that got me on these ones, but these cookie dough puff bars are basically chewy, chocolatey candy bars with chunks of yumminess on top - and packs a punch in grams of protein for its size/taste! No weird low-sugar or chalky protein texture, and a great little treat after lifting my heavier weights! (I've tried one of the regular bars and found that to be the weird protein bar kind of thing, so the puff bars are the way to go. Brownie batter is good, but the ones with chunks - cookie dough, cookies & cream, and s'mores - have been my favorites. If you can get your hands on the cookies & cream chunk puff - I could eat that for dessert instead of an actual dessert, I like it so much.)
10. Magnetic picture hangers: Hendrik and I got inspired to make a fun gallery wall in the playroom with various prints that correlate with our family's hobbies/interests, and these
11. Faux planter pot fillers: While my spouse doesn't love faux plants and is actually quite good at taking care of real ones, I am the opposite on both counts, and I decided that instead of ending up with pansies and mums and such that just bake in the full sun of our front steps, I was going to invest in a couple seasonal faux planter fillers. I think they're great! The one pictured was for fall and even looked great with my Christmas greens, and I also had tulips in the spring that I loved even more - and best of all, squirrels DON'T love them, so while my neighbors' Tulip Time decor was gnawed on, mine stayed perfect for the occasion.
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