August has come and gone, leaving us with September! I know this is not true, but in my mind, I always equate September 1st as being the first day of Fall. Fall is my favorite season, so I like to stretch it for as long as I can.
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We are talking about August, though! Enough about September! August was a month for walking and being outside, getting organized, and reading. Though it was a pretty low-key month, it also felt like we did a lot. As you have seen from many of my previous posts, we have been using the KonMari method on our house, which has taken up a lot of time.
Take a look at some of my favorites listed down below, and maybe you will see something that will become a favorite of yours!
Books
Spark Joy is the first book that I wanted to highlight as a favorite because it did help me have a better sense of what I needed to do to tidy my home. After reading the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I knew I needed to read Spark Joy to truly get the full picture. There were things that I changed based on Spark Joy after already tidying them, but I was glad to have done that since it did make certain spots more seamless. There are also more visuals in Spark Joy, which was super helpful. The deeper explanations of how to organize Komono answered a lot of my questions from before.
The second book that was a favorite was the true crime book I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara on the Golden State Killer. I have been a fan of true crime for a long time, but definitely thought I was a bit of a weirdo for liking that kind of stuff (more on this later in the post!). This book was finished after Michelle's untimely death, but thankfully shortly after it was published, the Golden State Killer was found (yes yes yes!!).
This book was a great account of the cases that related to the Golden State Killer, who is also known as the East Area Rapist and the Original Night Stalker. Michelle gave him the name Golden State Killer, since his terrorizing spanned the state of California. The amount of details in this book shows the even greater amount of details that were not able to fit in the book, but were meticulously pored over by Michelle. She truly made sure to bring honor to the victims of this horrible man, while showcasing what a monster the Golden State Killer was. If you are into true crime, give I'll Be Gone in the Dark a read!
Lastly was the book City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert. I wrote a review for this book here, where you can read my thoughts, feelings, etc. on this book!
Podcast
I am embarrassed to say that I am new to the podcast game (what a noob!) and have only just started listening to them. I know, facepalm. Because of this, I am still figuring it all out and finding good podcasts to listen to, but the one I have gravitated towards because of my love of true crime is definitely My Favorite Murder. I had been listening to the new episodes and then decided that I would start from their first episode so that I could be all caught up.
I end up listening to podcasts more than I thought I would because they are great to listen to while tidying up (sorry Marie Kondo, I know I'm supposed to listen to nature sounds, but sometimes a girl needs a little something extra), or going for a walk, etc. I have been going for walks almost every day because I want to listen to an episode of My Favorite Murder, which means that I get outside, I exercise, and I am out there for usually more than an hour (get those steps in, girl!!). There are days when I do a little day trip with Lydia and it is really nice to listen to a podcast on the way instead of just listening to the same playlist go over and over again.
If you have any recommendations for podcasts, comment below with your favorite!!
Baby
This favorite is a sort of mom-hack, because one of my favorite baby products this month was my Sip by S'well bottle. The reason for this being is that when I go out with Lydia for a longer period of time, I bring her sippy cup in a little cooler bag as well as the S'well bottle full of milk. The S'well bottle keeps her milk cold for a really long time and is a great way to have extra milk without packing a bigger cooler. I know that when I pack milk like this, I don't need to stress about having enough for her.
When going out to swim with Lydia, I do like to use a reusable diaper for her. The one that I got her is from Target and has little fruits on it, which somewhat matches the theme of her bathing suit. Her bathing suit is an adorable Cat & Jack suit that looks like it is a strawberry, so it is way too cute and makes me want to cry whenever I put Lydia into it.
I like using the reusable diapers for the most part because it makes me feel better about not throwing away a swimmy diaper. However, I have gotten disposable swimmy diapers for in case we go to a public pool and don't have the best access to being at home in case we make a "present" in our diaper.
The last baby item that has been a favorite this month has been my Chicco Jogger stroller. Since I have been listening to podcasts and going for more walks in order to listen to said podcasts, I have been using my jogger a ton more. What I love about the Chicco jogger is that it fit my infant car seat in it, and sits Lydia comfortably now in the regular seat.
There is a clear panel that I can see through in the hood to check on her while walking as well as a nice roomy cup holder section. The basket down below is very spacious and I usually put a little backpack down there with her milk, a blanket, my keys, etc. for when we go walking. The handle is comfortable to hold onto for a long time and the stroller can be folded down pretty small, so it fits well in my trunk. It has great shock absorption, too, which is great on bumpier trails.
Kitchen
When Aaron and I did the Whole30 a few months ago, we started eating a lot of olives. We have always liked olives, but now we have olives with dinner about once a week. Something that drives me absolutely batty is trying to get the olives out of the jar. I use a fork to get them out, but Aaron likes to stab them with a kabob stick, and watching him do that, for whatever reason, I can't handle.
Cue one of the birthday presents that I got for him since his birthday was in August. I found this olive scoop and it is life changing. It is an incredible way to get the olive out, allowing them to drain, and not losing your mind when you do it. Whoever invented this do-dad needs to be given a Nobel Peace Prize.
Organization
Many people that I know use the calendar on their phone to keep track of their schedule, but I ain't one of those people! I have and probably will always be a physical planner kind of girl. I like the feeling of writing out my schedule down in a planner so that I can see my full week and weeks ahead in physical form. Don't get me wrong, I do put things into my Google Calendar, but first it must go into my Ban.do planner.
I love the Ban.do planner because it has cute tabs for each month as well as having fun stickers that you can add to your pages to make it more fun! Each day has a nice big space for you to write down all the plans you have and there is a lot of space in the planner for notes. It has a pocket in the back for any odd pieces of paper you need to save and has a lot of fun artwork throughout as well.
What did you think of those favorites? Have you tried any of the above items and what did you think of them? If you haven't tried them, what are you waiting for?!
xoxo
TBS