It has been a while! I find Favourite Things posts are getting harder to write because I re-use old favourites over and over and don’t tend to be very adventurous with branching out and trying new products. But I have a few fresh tricks up my sleeve from the summer months that I’m ready to share.
CAN ORGANIZER
I like to have a stash of sparkling water in the fridge, but it’s a nuisance to store the cans upright. On a whim I purchased this can holder at the DollarStore and it has been a great addition to my organizational efforts. (We only have an apartment-sized fridge, so space is at a premium!)
SILK HALF AND HALF
Colour me impressed by this cream substitute. I’ve used it in whipped potatoes and coffee and creamed soup and it tastes like…normal half and half!* No dairy and, most importantly for me, no lactose!
*To be fair, I use quite a few non-dairy substitutes and feel like I’m not very sensitive to coconut undertones at this point. I’m sure die-hard cream fans will be able to taste the difference!*
RASPBERRIES
I may have listed raspberries as a Favourite Thing before, but I’m listing them again. (Demerit alert: I never got to the raspberry U-pick with my kiddos as intended this summer.) Raspberries are the only universally beloved fruit in our family, making them a safe – albeit expensive – option. Fresh or frozen, these are a go-to item in our home.
LIBERTE BLACK CHERRY YOGURT
I generally buy the same products over and over again – aiming to satisfy everyone; vanilla is our go-to yogurt – but when I visited the grocery store last week and no yogurt was on sale except Liberte, I picked up cherry and it is DELICIOUS. Yum. It’s thick and creamy and has so much flavour (it’s a stir-in). If you don’t like cherries, I’d suggest avoiding this product, but if you’re a cherry fan like I am…highly recommend.
ECOS MAGNOLIA AND LILY LAUNDRY DETERGENT
I have sensitive skin and have been using hypoallergenic laundry detergent for years, but like something with a subtle scent that doesn’t set off my allergies. Enter ECOS. I bought this at a Costco re-seller, so I’m assuming it’s also available at Costco. I love the scent – it’s delicate, but also noticeable, and I don’t have any issues with skin sensitivity. It also lasts a long time, making it a good deal in terms of cost per wash.
MARC ANTHONY STRICTLY CURLS CREAM
I resent any minute I spend tending to my hair, and rarely branch out and try new techniques or products, but this 3-in-1 styling cream has worked really well for my naturally wavy hair.
I apply it to wet hair, and then either let it air dry or diffuse it before adding some extra curls with my straightening iron.
In reality, most days I do nothing to my hair and pull it into a messy bun (that despite years of trying never looks like one of those chic messy buns – it looks like an awkward mound on my head…what is the trick?).
ROSEE SAUCE
This is my new go-to meal. A box of pasta, some crumbled sausage and this sauce – boom. It is so good and everyone I’ve served it to has raved about the taste.
The only downside is it never seems to come on sale and it’s pricer than typical jarred sauce (though for context, it’s still only $4.99 regular price and provides enough sauce to feed 5 people, with leftovers). It tastes like it took real effort but it doesn’t. Shhhh, don’t tell.
THRIFTED BENTO LUNCHBOXES
I bought two bento lunchboxes on a whim at a thrift store this summer. I’ve heard so many people sing the praises of this style of lunchboxes but I’ve been a bit alarmed by the price tag. These were less than $4, in great shape and have made packing lunchboxes SO EASY for Indy. This year the kids have started preparing their own meals/snacks for school and having handy dividers like this makes it easy to see at a glance what part of the meal (fruit, veg, dessert, main) is missing. Also, I was worried it would be a nuisance to clean but it is so much easier than the IKEA “bento-esque” boxes we had been using before. The silicon seals keep everything within their individual compartments so if he takes veggies and dip, the dip doesn’t leak over to his sandwich compartment.
Lunchbox gamechanger!
Your turn. What are your recent favourites? Favourite laundry detergent? Flavour of yogurt? Do you use dairy substitutes regularly? People with wavy hair – what’s your favourite product? Does anyone have the secret to a perfect messy bun?
Kyria @ Travel Spot
If you like pumpkin, you will enjoy the newest Liberte flavor to hit the shelves! I actually do not really love stir in yogurts and sometimes just eat the top and leave the gunk at the bottom, but I have also been buying Liberte since it is often the one that is on sale! But the pumpkin is not too bad! I also would put the coconut as a “not too bad” flavor. My favorite yogurt in Canada so far though is the Olympic Krema honey flavor, but it is often a lot more expensive and does not come in a smaller size container so I don’t get it very much.
Elisabeth
Ohhh. I will have to try that! I haven’t seen it in stores on the East Coast yet.
I don’t love mix-ins either and rarely buy them. It was just what was on sale…so that’s what I bought and I was pleasantly surprised. I had coconut yogurt for the first time in Spain this year and it was amazing!
Birchie
If it’s hard for you to come up with new favorites==>that just means that you pick good stuff. I always raise my eyebrows a bit at the influencer blogs where they have favorites lists each week. The rosee pasta sauce is speaking to me. I know that I can’t get that brand (unless I border hop on my trip this weekend to go grocery shopping!) but I should be able to get a “down here” brand of that sauce.
Elisabeth
Well thanks for making me feel good (as you always do). I like routine and tend to return to the same things over and over again (be it food or products).
The rosee sauce is perfect for a clutch meal as it takes 15 minutes to pull everything together. I want to have this on hand for last-minute company moving forward.
Jenny
I agree with Birchie- how do people manage to come up with “favorites” every single week?
I like that can organizer! We also keep sparkling water in our fridge, and have issues with storing them. I’ve never tried that Silk half and half- I wasn’t even aware it existed since we don’t usually use cream in our coffee/tea. But it does open up all sorts of possibilities for recipes that call for cream- I’ll definitely try it soon.
I love scents, but for some reason hate scented laundry detergents. I’ve been using laundry detergent sheets lately, and I like them. I’m not sure how the cost compares to the liquid I was using (Hex) so I’ll have to pay closer attention to that.
Elisabeth
Yeah, I don’t have new favourites every week and it took me a while to come up with some from the last four months!
I had unscented laundry sheets for a while and did really like them, but they were quite expensive, so I went back to the liquid…but I should consider them for Belle since she does her own laundry and I’ve been buying her pods for convenience but I bet the sheets would be about the same price and just as easy…
Jenny
Okay, well I’m having bad comment luck lately! I wrote a comment and just as I submitted it, our wifi went out. So I’m not sure if I sent it or lost it. To avoid possibly sending the same comment twice, I’ll just say I’ve never tried that Silk but now I want to! And I need that can organizer for my fridge- we also have cans of sparkling water and no good way to store them.
Elisabeth
It came through! Success! And yes, the can organizer has been an unexpected hit for me. I bought it on a complete whim. The sparkling water situation had frustrated me but not enough to feel compelled to do something. But now that I’ve done something, I don’t think I’ll ever go back 🙂
Lindsay
How cool is that can organizer?!?! I need to think on that; each week, each one of us picks a fun seltzer flavor for what we call “night break” (which is the 8pm hour we spend watching a special show or playing a game), but the cans just all take up so much fridge space… I am the rare curly haired person who does not use product – it makes my scalp and skin break out – but I’m always so jealous of how smooth the waves and curls are of people who do.
Elisabeth
The can organizer has been a perfect addition to our fridge!
NGS
I agree with Birchie – if you have new favorites every week, you’re doing something wrong with your life, right?! I did buy some chocolate covered mango at Costco last time we went and it was new to me and delicious.
We use a really cheap detergent called Era. I have dumb sensitive skin and every time I’ve tried to switch to a better, more environmentally friendly version, I’ve broken out into hives. So we stick with Era even though it’s not that great. *sigh* Why’s my skin gotta be a jerk?!
Elisabeth
Chocolate covered mango sounds amazing. I haven’t bought dried mango in a while and you’re reminding me how good it is!
Hey – don’t mess with something that’s working! You do a lot of environmentally friendly things and your skin wants what it wants. Maybe down the line you’ll happen upon something else but I’m a big fan of consistency!
Suzanne
Your hair looks gorgeous. I am always on the lookout for The Best Curl Cream, and haven’t found it yet. Also, your jacket is so chic and pretty!
Elisabeth
For a second I thought The Best Curl Cream was an actual brand and I was about to go Google it. Hahaha.
I love that jacket. I bought it at a consignment store for $42 (oddly specific remembering) right before we went to Rome and I still use it all the time. I literally wearing it right now.
Ernie
I can’t think of anything new to me that’s a favorite, but I do LOVE cherry yogurt. I’m doing no dairy at the moment as I’m doing low FODMAP diet. It isn’t easy and it isn’t sustainable, but I plan to reintroduce some ‘banned’ foods soon and see how it goes/how I feel. I have curly hair and I swear by all thing Deva Curl. That said, I just realized that they no longer make something called Beautiful Mess. I’m always up for trying a new product that someone swears by. My hair is too short and thin for a messy bun, but I envy your ability to pull one off – even if it isn’t magazine photo shoot ready. Kids I babysit for have those Bento boxes and they are pretty nice for packing lots of different foods in small amounts. One guy I sit for comes with a Gladware (not sure of brand name, but similar concept) container that is divided into four sections and it’s very clever for his little 18 month old lunches.
Elisabeth
My nieces swear by Deva Curl. I don’t think I can buy it easily in Canada. But they use it religiously!
Ally Bean
Favourite laundry detergent? Unscented Liquid All
Flavour of yogurt? Non-fat plain
Do you use dairy substitutes regularly? No
People with wavy hair – what’s your favourite product? I use Be Curly products from Aveda… when I can find them for sale
Elisabeth
I’ve never heard of Be Curly! I’ll keep my eyes open (we have an Aveda spa nearby).
Kate
I was *just* thinking about whether or not a can organizer would be worth it. We go through a lot of Diet Coke and sparkling water and I usually just store the 12 pack box in the fridge but that can organizer looks so much better. I always hate spending money on organizational things (WHY do they seem to be so ridiculously expensive!?) so if I could find something similar at our dollar store, that would definitely be a perk. Never thought to look there for something like this!
The messy bun. Ugh. I feel your pain. I think what makes them “work” well is having a fair amount of hair loose at the bottom so there’s a rounded shape to the back of the head, but I can never get the angles/proportions right. The closest I have ever come has been to flip my head upside down and do it that way. I’ve also been trying to get my hair to work well with a big claw clip. Mine is stick straight so I end up with a pineapple tuft of hair sticking up in the back. Oh well.
I use Tide Pods and Downy scent boosters (which are probably horrible for our endocrine systems, but do keep the laundry smelling fresh even when clothes have been sitting in a drawer for a while). None of us have sensitive skin so I don’t have to worry too much about that.
Latest favourite: Aldi’s red bag breaded chicken breast fillets. They make the best chicken sandwiches. They are kind of pricy ($8.99 for a bag of 5 fillets — and I always buy two bags so we can have leftovers because Nick and the girls sometimes eat two fillets!) but I guess considering the fact that they are actual chicken it’s not unreasonable. I serve on buns with lettuce, pickle, and muenster or pepperjack cheese!
Elisabeth
Our DollarStore has a whole series of plastic storage containers designed for fridges and freezer (which I appreciate because they don’t crack in the cold). I paid at max $4 for it, but it might have been $3.50. It works well for me, though I’m not sure how many cans total you could store. Maybe not all 12?
I CAN’T FIGURE OUT THE CLAW CLIPS EITHER.
I refuse to tell my husband about your comment because he loves, loves, loves, Downy scent boosters but they give me a headache and I hate them because of it. For a while he was washing his clothes separately, but now he just looks longingly at the Downy. Just yesterday we were in a store and he saw a jumbo set and was like: “Are you sure you can’t handle these.”
Those chicken sandwiches sound delicious and for “real” chicken, that seems like a good deal! I wish we had an Aldi…
Gigi
I SWEAR by Marc Anthony Curl Cream – love that stuff! I’ve not seen this three in one product; but I’ll be keeping an eye out for it now. Ugh, chic messy buns. No one really knows the secret (I’m convinced). But I’ll bet it takes longer hair than what I have and a lot of work.
Elisabeth
I think you’re right – good messy buns take A LOT of hair. Every time I try to grow my hair out I get frustrated because it’s so thick and wavy AND FRIZZY, but maybe this will be the year to finally get some real length on it and finally perfect a “messy” bun. Why is it so hard??? Why do Tik Toks make it look so easy??
J
I need to be educated about how a can holder is superior to just having the cans in the fridge standing up. I’m trying to picture if it takes up less room or not, but it doesn’t really look like it would. We drink a lot of seltzer though, so if it’s useful maybe I’d get one?
I use Earth Breeze laundry sheets, and I feel like I’m saving money over buying detergent at the store. But I buy a year’s worth at a time online. (Supposed to be a year’s worth, we go through it faster than that.) I like the sound of your scented one, though!
I don’t buy flavored yogurt very often. Our go to yogurt is Pavel’s A2 yogurt, unflavored. My husband’s tummy is happier with A2 milk than regular (even lactose free gives him issues) so this is one he can eat. We add fresh fruit, usually berries. Sometimes if I want it sweeter I’ll swirl in a bit of raspberry jam. I’m with you and Kyria, usually I don’t like the stir in ones, though if I buy one I’ll just eat the part on top, it still has some flavor without being TOO sweet.
Elisabeth
I find it easier because we have a small fridge and if I had cans stacked one on top of the other (which I needed to do to save space), they could get knocked over. Plus, when I fill the organizer up, I can still store things on top of all those cans since they form a relatively flat surface. We have VERY limited door storage space which I think would be the ideal place for cans, but simply can’t happen in our tiny fridge 🙁
coco
same here. I reuse most of my favorites, and don’t buy new things much, which is totally fine.
I really love your white and black strip code, so chic!
I don’t use any hair products as I use ponytails 99% of the time. Maybe the dry shampoo I use? for days that my hair is wet but I don’t want to wash it too much (twice a week). I haven’t found a particular brand that is magical yet.
Oh… I wish I could find non-dairy yogurt here, unfortunately not a thing so I don’t have any yogurt at the moment as I’m still vegan.
Elisabeth
I wish my hair would dry straight enough to just go right into a ponytail. Alas, I have very thick, wavy, and frizzy hair. Ponytails rarely look good on me.
Michelle G.
I find my favorite things and stick with them forever—until they are discontinued! How I hate it when that happens. I’m like you with the Downy scent boosters – they are beyond strong! I like unscented laundry detergent – Kirkland Free & Clear is my favorite. I love vanilla yogurt, and I don’t use dairy substitutes. Your bento boxes are so cute and look very useful. If I had to pack a lunch, I’d want one.
Elisabeth
Discontinued products are the worst. And it is always the absolute best products that get discontinued. How does this keep happening?
Sarah
I still just LOVE that coat! I am intrigued by the laundry stuff. I use a free and clear with no scent but I MISS the scent…
Elisabeth
The coat is rather darling!
I love this scent. Not sure if they sell it at Costco in the US, but I really love it and it is highly concentrated so lasts a long time!
Nicole MacPherson
What are you talking about??? You have GORGEOUS hair and your messy buns are always perfection. Your curls are perfect too, your hair is just so pretty! I know you resent effort but your look is effortless to me, and I love it.
Our raspberry bushes have GONE OFF, we planted different varieties so we would have raspberries all season, and wow, that happened. Everyone said “oh, you don’t get any fruit the first year” but we have had so many raspberries! I don’t know what will happen next year, but it’s all good as they are my favourite berry too.
That can organizer! I need it.
I’m sure I’ve seen that laundry detergent at Superstore! So maybe check Loblaws?
Elisabeth
Awww. You’re too kind. I know it’s cliche as a woman to dislike my hair and wish for the opposite (stick straight, please), but I really do wish my hair were easier to deal with. I just don’t like doing hair, but it also bothers me when it’s in my face or all askew. I am a hard woman to please, sigh.
I wish I lived nearby, Nicole. I could take some raspberries (and zucchini – why is zucchini so expensive at the grocery store) off your hands.
Lisa's Yarns
That curly hair product sounds great! I will have to see if I can find that here in the states. Although my curly hair season is coming to an end – I stopped wearing my hair curly when it gets cold in the mornings. I use a John Frieda mouse which is fine overall but I think this product you are using sounds better!
Let’s see, favorite things… sleep? Ha. I kid, I kid. Sort of. I’ve been so tired lately so naps have been especially essential lately!
Elisabeth
Sleep is the best. And it’s the worst when you’re not getting enough. Three cheers for naps.
San
I love these posts (as you know) because I am always interested in what other people love in their day to day life.
I tried a lot of different dairy substitutes but everything from Silk is my favorite. I don’t think we get that creamer here, but I love Silk Unsweet Soy Milk (for my coffee and for cooking).
We used to buy the exact same ECOS laundry detergent for years until we switched to the detergent sheets about a year or two ago. I just didn’t want to deal with the big plastic jugs any more.
Elisabeth
I should look into detergent sheets again. I had a set once that was gifted to me by a friend. I know they were a bit fiddly to find locally and to buy them often required buying a HUGE stockpile…but they take up a lot less space and are surely more environmentally friendly without all the bulky plastic packaging.