a few of my favorite things

You know how sometimes you buy things and then they are a dud? It's the worst feeling. But the converse is also true. When you buy something and you just love it...such a great feeling. I've had a few purchases end up in the win column lately, so I'm sharing the joy. Here you go.

• Old Navy Rockstar Jeggings  I am an admitted late adopter. I remember a few years ago when I bought my first pair of skinny jeans I told a friend that I only wore them with boots, because otherwise I felt like a 14 year old hipster girl with black nail polish. She suggested that with time I'd probably change my tune. She was right. I love the Rockstar because they are super comfortable, not too flashy and c-h-e-a-p. $19 in black (the color I have), $32 in other colors. (Today they are 15% off for Leap Day)

• A cordless vacuum. There are so many times I have a little spill and don't want to go upstairs and haul the full vacuum down. This little gem has been fabulous. 

• Along the same lines, this guy has cleaned up more messes than I'd care to remember. So handy. Money well spent.
• And to round out the cleaning supplies,  this dish cloth is amazing. When I went searching for the world's best dish cloth, I found that there was an I Love My Mabu club, which I thought was ridiculous. Come on, who loves a dish cloth? Me. Watch out--you may end up getting one for your birthday.

• I've praised dry shampoo before. It really is handy. While this is the creme de la creme, it is pricey and every time I use it I feel like I should be saving it for a special occasion. I found this one, and really like it. There are some things I like about it even more than the Bumble and bumble. It doesn't turn your fingers brown when you touch your hair. And it costs 10x less. Sold.
• For Valentine's Day/Birthday Ryan got me a fancy new blender. The verdict is still out on whether it is worth it, but we've found a creative way to get Ella to eat her fruits and veggies. I pile whole seeded grapes, strawberries, apples, pears, bananas and spinach into the blender and whip up a smoothie. Ella still wasn't sure, so we made fruit leather with the smoothie and she LOVES it. Healthy little green snack.

• Printables. I'm no whiz in Illustrator, but I'm getting better. Throw this quip (it looks better in person--it's kind of blurry on the blog) in a $1.99 Ikea frame and your nightstand is instantly cheerier. Email me if you want the original to play with. 
• Good-bye zullily, baby steals and all the others. Hello www.myhabit.com. It is Amazon's answer to the daily deal club, and I love it because it has free fast shipping and free returns. I've gotten some great deals, and I've got some not so great deals, but I just put them back in the box, printed the label and dropped it off at the UPS store. Easy peasy. (In truth, it's not a true return. You get Amazon credit instead of a refund. But for me, Amazon $ is as good as cash.)

There you have it. Your commercialism for the week. If you want to be spiritually uplifted, you can read this talk. I'm using it for my Relief Society lesson on Sunday.