I meant to share this post in January but because I was having technical issues it didn’t happen. I’m going to share it now and plan to share a post like this every quarter.
I’m not trying to convince anyone to buy anything but when I read posts like this sometimes I find items that will make my life easier and didn’t know that they existed. That being said, there is nothing on this list that you can’t live without. But once you try some of these things, you likely won’t want to give them up!
FAVORITE FASHION
I mentioned that I liked the look of these shoes in a previous post. I actually bought these clogs and lug soled loafers and I love them.
I also talked about wide legged pants in that same post. When I was in New York, I went shopping at a store called Aritzia and found these high waist, wide leg jeans that I love. They are really comfortable and easy to wear. The clogs and loafers also go great with these pants.
FAVORITE BEAUTY
I have two items that are new to me on my favorites list. This Paula’s Choice Vitamin C serum and this make up removing gel cleanser by Peter Thomas Roth.
After using the vitamin C serum, my skin looks and feels great. And the gel cleanser does a great job of removing makeup and cleaning my skin. Waterproof mascara can be a little stubborn so I do use micellar water first to remove the eye makeup. My skin does not feel dry and stripped nor does it feel greasy after using this cleanser. If you’re wondering why I don’t just use the micellar water to cleanse, it’s because micellar water does not get all of the make up off.
FAVORITE CRAFT TOOL
I will the first to admit that this will not matter to 99.9% of you. This is a pen shaped weeding tool which is used to weed vinyl for craft projects.
The reason this is a favorite for me is that it makes removing small vinyl pieces much easier to pick up. When you are making multiples of something using vinyl and have to remove lots of small pieces this tool is a life saver.
FAVORITE TECHNOLOGY
I have 5(!) products under the technology category for my favorites. I think this demonstrates the incredibly important role plays in our lives. I am not an early adopter or a person who needs every new piece of tech that comes out. I am a person who likes to find tools that make my life more efficient and easier.
I got a new phone at the end of 2022 which of course required a new case. I got the iPhone 14 Pro Max which is a BIG phone. I love this case with the built in stand.
I’ve had the Apple Watch 1, 3 and now the 7. I love this thing. I know that I don’t use it to it’s full capacity (yet) but I do love it for the things I use it for. I like that I can get alarms on my watch and not just my phone, notifications, start a workout, track my sleep, monitor my oxygen and heart rate. There are other features like fall detection that I haven’t used or set up. Is having an Apple watch essential? No, but it is useful.
I had the original iPods for several years. It had gotten to the point where they could barely hold a charge for longer than an hour. I wanted new ones but balked at the price for the newer iPods. I did some internet researching and decided on the Power Beats Pro. One of the things that sold me on these was the over the ear hook. I have very small ears and if I was sweating and working out sometimes the iPods would pop out. I found myself often pushing them down just to make sure they didn’t fall out. The ear hook works well and is comfortable even when I have them on with a mask and my glasses. My ears are the workhorse of my body!!!
One of the things people worry about when buying non-Apple products to go with an Apple accessories is how well (or not) it will work with Apple. The good news with Power Beats products is that Apple has partnered with them and their products connect and work just like Apple branded products. The charging port is even the same lightening charging cord that Apple uses for it’s products. It also has automatic pairing meaning when you open the charging box the ear pods automatically connect. All of this and they cost $80-$100 less than Apple iPods!!
These three products make my life so much easier when using my iPad. I talked about my love of my Apple Pencil 2 in 2021.. I still love the pencil and I love it even more with this sleeve that helps with the grip. Secondly, the other thing I love on the Apple Pencil is a skinny tip. Many people don’t know that you can change out the tip and I have changed mine to a skinnier tip that writes more like a pencil. The original tip slips on the screen which annoys me. I feel like I have more control with the skinnier tip.
And finally, the Logitech Combo keyboard! The magic keyboard which Apple makes is $300! I understand that it works well but so does mine. Again, it is designed to work seamlessly with the iPad. There is no pairing and it does not need charging. It has a magnetic connection so they connect to one another automatically. When I have a lot of typing to do (like blog posts or even emails), I prefer to use a keyboard. It also has a track pad so it works just like a like a laptop. I don’t notice any lagging or dragging when using it which makes it nice to use away from home or even on the couch.
There you have it. It is so much fun compiling this list. Sometimes, I think it will be hard but then I remember to use things that I find myself reaching for on the regular.
Do you have any current or long term favorites? Share in the comments.
