Random Favorites on a Thursday

Hey hey! How are you guys today? This week seems to be flying by since Jamie had off on Monday. I’m not complaining though! We have a few fun things going on this weekend that I’m looking forward to, so the week can just keep on moving by quickly. 🙂

Today’s post is likely to be a big compilation of all kinds of random thoughts – a few favorite things, a few hacks, etc. 🙂 Bonus: So many of these “favorites” come from reading blogs that I enjoy. I love how the internet makes it so easy to get recommendations for the best things in a snap!

Duke Cannon Cold Shower Cooling Field Towels (25 Count)

I read about these Cold Shower Cooling Field Towels (wipes) on Kait‘s blog, and I clicked her link and ordered a pack without question. Jamie was leaving for his training rotation the following week where we knew he wouldn’t have access to a shower for a couple of weeks, and I knew he’d prefer these wipes instead of regular baby wipes like he usually brings. I couldn’t wait to hear if they were worth the money when he got home. He reported back that they were fantastic and gave a couple to some buddies who were complaining about how gross they felt. As I’m typing this, I just looked over and asked Jamie to tell me if they were worth it and, if so, exactly why he liked them. “Absolutely! They were awesome. They actually feel cold and refreshing, and they smell great. They also have a side with ridges that helps you scrub a little better.”

Military spouses: Gift these to your guy before his next rotation where daily showers may not be in the cards.
Natori Strapless Bra

I read about the on Emily‘s blog, and because I’m kind of a sucker for her recommendations, I bit the bullet and splurged on a couple new bras from this brand. (This was the treat I was unapologetic about gifting myself when I was finished nursing Sadie.) While I like the everyday one I purchased, I am totally thrilled with and consider it highly worth the more expensive price point. I don’t buy strapless bras very often (i.e. one every few years since I wear it so rarely), so one good one that has great shape and stays perfectly in place is a winner.

Spring.St Military Life feature

I do a little bit of freelance writing for other sites, but sometimes the articles are ghost-written (i.e. with no byline and not designed to be shared by me). Other times, I get to slap my name on my words. 🙂 I was invited to contribute to Spring.St’s Military Life week and wrote a post about what a doozy the month or two before a deployment can be called “How I Make the Months Before My Husband’s Deployment Work For Us All“. I know so many people can relate, but it’s a pretty unspoken topic since the rollercoaster of emotions strike different couples at different times in different ways. I hope you’ll give it a read!

Printer Ink Hack

We’ve had two printers in the last few years, and both of them had the issue of frequently telling us we needed new ink cartridges when clearly we hadn’t used up all of the ink (not even close). We knew this wasn’t right since we print so rarely, so Jamie did a little research. He found that sometimes you need to trick the sensor by covering a particular part of the cartridge with black electrical tape. Sure enough, we’ve done this with our black cartridge and magenta cartridge, and it worked like a charm both times! We have this Brother wireless printer and covered this particular part as shown in the following picture. Give it a try!

Embroidered Sun Hat

I’ve been looking for a summer hat to wear at the beach and pool, and I loved this embroidered sun hat from Amazon that Lindsay recently shared. I immediately thought it was perfect in every way and had one shipped to my house pronto. The quality is fantastic all-around and it arrived perfectly shaped without being crunched and bent. Highly recommend! There are more than a dozen text options such as “Call me on my shell”, “out of office”, “on cloud wine”, and “talk to the sand”. Seriously cute (and funny!)

Also, a few notes from readers lately that have made me smile:

From Jasmine on Hadley’s accident: “I appreciate you telling your story- it’s had an impact on water safety for my family. Last year, I got CPR certified before my daughter was born because of your experience. Also, recently when my family rented a house with a pool, we came up with a system so that one adult was always in charge of the baby no matter how many people were around. So, sharing your story has had an impact on me. Thanks!

From “R” on trying the Strawberry Shortcake recipe: “So I made your strawberry shortcake recipe for our family’s Memorial Day party and it was a HUGE hit! It was so easy (I am not talented in the kitchen, ha!), so so so easy. And so good! There was only maybe a slice or two left over. And last night, my husband and I found ourselves with the pan and a fork on the back porch finishing it off. No plates needed.”

From “C”: “…I started reading (your blog) and noticed your daughters’ names and thought “wow, this has to be pulling something from my page”… so I googled further… our daughters have the same names! Hadley first and Sadie second. Just wanted to say hello and I LOVE your choice in names…”

Let’s chat!

1. Favorite brand of bras?
2. What does your soldier consider an essential when out in the field?
3. Do you despise your printer? 🙂

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