It’s been a while since my last What I’m Loving post!

My life is certainly different than it was in February.

No longer in the throes of newborn parenting, these faves are not baby related, but are grown up awesomeness instead!

I’ll cut the chit chat and get started…

The Positive Power of the Internet

When the internet is used for good, it can be so so so very good.

It allows thousands upon thousands of people to be connected to hurting families so that they can pray for them and give to them and encourage them and even send meals to them.

All of that has been happening for my friend Diana who just lost her third son.  It cannot take away her pain, but it can be a reminder that God loves her and so do the eons of people who are praying for her and her family.

Consider giving to the Stone Family to help offset the costs they incurred while fighting for Kaden’s life.  And please, please keep praying.  Every day.

Wunderlist

This FREE app is pretty much the greatest thing since sliced bread.

For real.

It looks like it’s just any old list making smartphone app, but I’ve found it to be so much more…

1. I keep my grocery list on this app instead of the magnetic pad of paper on the fridge.  It’s always at the ready and now that I’ve invited Andy to share this list with me, he can add to it too!  If he uses the last of the milk and I’m already at the grocery, he can add milk to his Wunderlist and it will immediately be on my grocery list!  In real time!

2. Because the list is always on my phone, I never have to worry about forgetting my paper shopping list at home!

3. It saves the items you’ve already checked off, so you can go back and re-select them to be added to the current list.  This means that the stuff I buy EVERY SINGLE WEEK only needs to get typed in once and I can just go back to those items and tap them to make them current!

4. I’ve started a list of the dinners we are having for the week and I shared the list with Andy.  When I ask him what he feels like for dinner, he can just check the current weekly menu list and let me know without me having to give him the whole run down!

5. Just like the grocery list, the weekly menu items that get checked off also get saved. This will allow me to run through all of the things we’ve had for dinner to get inspired for coming week’s meal plans.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said I should keep track of all the dinners I make so that I have them as a handy reference for what to make in the future.  BOOM this does that.

I could honestly go on and on, but I won’t.  Download it and try it out!

 Bread and Wine

A friend lent me this book to take on my recent vacation and I gobbled it up by the beach, on the couch, by the pool and in my bed.  It was a fantastic read that not only told a beautiful story about food and life being deliciously intertwined, but it delved into the hard issues like depression, infertility, over-eating, and finding balance.  Peppered throughout the pages of the book are mouthwatering recipes that the author has made again and again.  I loved it so much that I bought my own copy and one for my mom who gave me a love for food and entertaining.  I’ve found myself enjoying my food more since reading the book.  I’m less stringent about what I will and will not eat and I’m savoring the flavors of everything that I taste.  Tonight I whipped up a half batch of her wheat-free blueberry crisp and I can’t wait to finish this post so that I can dig into it!

Target Red Card

For the record, I do not promote using credit cards to buy things you cannot afford.  If you have or have had trouble with credit card debt, I believe you should stick to cash and/or a debit card for your own protection.

That being said, if you use credit cards to accrue points or cash back and you pay off your card at the end of every month, I think this card is a great deal!

We have always had one credit card. A Mastercard that gives us actual cash back on a percentage of our purchases.  Because they literally mail us a check every couple of months, we use this credit card for just about every single thing we pay for.  I think the only exclusion is our mortgage payment.  It has worked out well for us because we pay the balance in full every month.

As you can imagine, I’ve been pretty adamant about refusing the Red Card offer that the cashiers mention each time I check out at Target.  I never even gave it a second thought.

Until we had a really big purchase one day and I thought, “Heck we might as well apply for the card to save 15% off today’s purchase.  If’ there’s ever a time to do it, today is the day!”

So we got the card that day and saved a chunk of change.

Then I realized that we would save 5% every time we shopped at Target.  That’s more than the 2-3% cash back that our credit card gives us, so I decided to keep the card just for Target purchases.

Then I realized that we got free shipping from Target.com in addition to the 5% off.

Then I realized I could order my diapers, wipes and formula from Target and save money and never have to buy that crap from the store again!

No more lugging heavy boxes!  No more running out to buy diapers in the dead of winter when snow it up to my ankles!

And I’m getting all that stuff so much cheaper because in some cases there is a volume discount too.

BOOM.

This thing is rocking my socks off.

Reach Total Care Dental Floss

I am a generic kind of girl.  No need for fussy name brands here.  Save me some cash and I’m all over the generic brand.

Until I tried this floss.

It was a sample from our dentist a few cleanings ago and it changed everything.

I’m a name brand flosser from here on out!

This stuff is awesome.

My experience with generic dental floss has been that the strand often goes between the teeth and back out without doing anything.  The chunk of food stays until you go back and and wiggle it around to coax the food out.

Mint or plain.  Waxed or un-waxed.  Floss or tape. This has been my experience.

I’ve dealt with it because I’m a firm believer in flossing (to prevent bad breath alone!) but it has been annoying.

I didn’t even realize I was annoyed until the first time I swiped this glorious floss between my teeth.

It grabbed everything on the first swipe!

It was like it was a sticky, grabby beast freeing my gaps from any and all food bits!

I was amazed and have been buying this brand ever since.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

I have a few more favorites up my sleeves, but this post is getting LONG with a capital L, so I’ll stop here and come back in a few weeks with more.

And please leave a comment with any products or anything that you’re loving lately!  I love reading these kinds of posts and trying out new stuff :)

My other favorites posts can be found here, here and here.

I was not paid or perked to mention any of these items.  I just love them and wanted to share them with you!