Friday Favorites and Fails!

❤️It's time for Friday Favorites! Below are a few random things that I'm currently enjoying, as well as one fail item to avoid.❤️

                      ~Favorites~

1. Organic Coconut Oil! We use coconut oil for just about everything in our home!  We use it for everything from cooking, sautéing vegetables, and topping air-popped popcorn, to beauty (hair mask, base for homemade deodorants, moisturizer for skin, eye make remover, etc). This product is such a handy item to  to keep in your cabinets. I keep a jar in my kitchen for cooking only, and a separate jar in our bathroom for beauty/everyday use. To keep the shared jar more hygienic, we keep a container of small plastic ice cream scoops near it so that we aren't putting our hands into the jar we both share. (You can find the ice cream scoops at Target near the disposable utensils and plates.) We also really love to use coconut oil to oil pull for our teeth. We just swish it in our mouths for 20 minutes daily as a rinse, then spit it into the waste basket so it doesn't clog the drains. This is easy to do while you're taking a shower or folding laundry, just set a timer! We do this in addition to regular dental visits, as well as brushing and flossing lie teeth; this is just an additional step we take in our dental care to help keep our mouths healthy. My dentist recommended oil pulling a while back as a safe, natural treatment for sensitivity. I was very sceptical about it initially, but after the second day I was hooked, and have been oil pulling for months now. Even Nick does as well since curiosity got the best of him! Since I've been oil pulling, I've noticed a massive improvement in my dental health and overall reduced sensitivity. I will devote a post soon to that topic! :) 

I typically find good organic, cold-pressed coconut oils at shops like Homegoods, for an affordable price. 

2.On the note of Homegoods, I am in love with this tiny little berry strainer! It's difficult to tell from the picture, but the base of it fits in the palm of my hands, has two little handles, and a solid metal build. I found it for under $5 at Homegoods, and I am shocked by how much use I get from it. I use it every single day! It seems to be made very well so far, and is perfect for people who enjoy fresh fruit. Since I use it so often, I hand wash ours. To store, I keep a little Command Hook inside of our cabinet doors, and it fits perfectly on there when not in use. 

3. Clear, over-the-door shoe organizers. We use these throughout our home and they are such a simple, cost-effective way to organize products you use often and want easy access to. Just to give you ideas, I've included a few pictures of how we use ours. The left side contains household items that we keep in our hallway closet. The middle organizer goes on the back of our master bathroom door and has things like: floss, sunscreen, air freshner, moisturizers, soaps, etc. The organizer on the right goes inside of our spare  bedroom closet, and we use it for things like: stationary, envelopes, and other office supplies. You can use these organizers for just about anything from shoes, scarves, and undergarments, to home and health items. We have some in our crate room that I use to store pet products and grooming tools in. These also fit well inside of a pantry for small packets of food items and sauces. If you get one with four hooks, you can carefully cut it down the center and use it on smaller doors. Amazon always organizers like these for reasonable prices on their website. These make excellent, budget-friendly storage solutions! (If you have little ones, they are also good for storing bottles and nipples, bibs, wipes, and things of that nature. I have a girlfriend who uses one like that for her little one.)

4. Brookstone's Genuine Fom Fun Pillows. As you can tell, these are a hit at our home! Even Ranger loves them, and steals mine every opportunity he gets. In high school, my friend gave me my very first Fom pillow from Brookstone. It was a cute pink one, and I've been hooked ever since! Seriously, I have used it daily! Out of curiosity a few weeks ago, I looked online, and low and behold Brookstone was offering them again, so I wasted no time ordering two new ones. I still have my original pink Fom too, but after well over a decade of use, it's seen better days, so I was pleased to have two new ones. These are small, squishy pillows that are perfect for traveling, or home use. These are especially wonderful if you like a small pillow for neck support like I do.  They are also great for stress-relief as they have tiny microbeads that are fun to mindlessly squish around, like a stress ball. (On that note though, I wouldn't recommend giving one of these pillows to a small child or young animals because if the pillow tears and the small beads get loose, that could pose a choking hazard.)

5. African Violets and Ivy. I'm loving having these fun pops of color thoughout our home! If you're wondering, I fill the sink with water and place them in the standing water for a bit to water them that way. They will stay healthier and live longer if you water them from the roots, vs pouring water on top of them. 

That wraps up my Friday Favorites this week! I do have one Friday Fail that I wanted to include. This is the Simple Replenishing Rich Moisturizer. I received this a while back in a free Target beauty bag give-away. This is a sizable sample and a solid container. My compliments really end there though. It has a bit of an odd chemical scent to it, that made it unpleasant to use. After using this several times, I noticed my skin looking a bit dull from it, and that I also had a few blemishes coming up in areas where I had applied it. It was also not moisturizing enough for dry patches on my face to really feel hydrated and smooth. So, taking that all into account, I can't recommend this moisturizer.