Favourite Things of 2018!
Happy New Year friends! 2019 has arrived and brought with it lots of snow, ice, cold temperatures and a few sicknesses. Through the holiday we have been enjoying skating on the frozen lake, spending time together as family, and taking in all the beauty of the snow clinging to every tree branch around us. I love winter in the north, it feels like winter get’s to be who it really wants to be up here, and I just can’t get enough of it! I know winter usually get’s a bad reputation, but I truly love the beauty of it and I look forward to this season every year.
Last year around this time I did a post sharing all about my favourite things and products of 2017, so I thought I’d continue the trend and share all about my 2018 favourites again, in a bit of a different more simple way this time. There are some fun templates going around on Instagram right now and I found one by @shethespy that I really liked, so here are some of my 2018 faves…
Moment: At first I thought this would be a hard one, how can you pick ONE favourite moment in a whole year, but almost immediately it came to me, sitting on the Cavendish cliffs in PEI watching the golden sun setting was just so beautiful and it will be etched in my mind forever!
TV Show: When we are winding down at the end of the day after the kids are in bed we do like to turn on Netflix for a bit, and so far this year we have enjoyed re-watching “The Office” and “New Girl” and we just started “Life in Pieces” recently too and it’s been pretty funny. You can tell from that list that I like really light hearted, and funny shows at the end of a long day, if it makes me laugh then I am a happy girl!
Book: This past summer while sitting by the lake I read the whole ‘When Calls the Heart’ book series by Jeanette Oke and I hadn’t been engrossed in a fiction series like that in a LONG time. If you like stories about pioneers and that time period you’d really enjoy it. There is a also a show loosely following the story line on Netflix that is really good. I am now currently reading ‘The Ministry of Ordinary Places’ by Shannon Martin, I am about half way and it’s a really good read, I already know I’d recommend it! I am a slow reader, as I don’t get much quiet time, so I just putter away and read bits here and there.
Movie: This was a hard one as I really don’t watch many actual ‘Movies’, if I do watch one it’s definitely going to be a documentary. Anything about crime, conspiracies, nature, or people are my most watched, I know it sounds WEIRD but I am just a documentary freak! One of my faves was “Making a Murderer’ Part 2, not really a movie, more like a series, but still very good. If you get me talking about it I may never stop!
Song: Again SO hard to pick a song, so here are a few I’ve really enjoyed this year. “Reckless Love’ by Cory Asbury, I had tears in my eyes the first time I heard it and played it on repeat for weeks. I also love anything by Bethel Music (It is well, Ever be, King of my heart), as well as Elevation Worship, they both really get me into worship mode, and I love that.
Beauty Product: I am definitely not a beauty guru, I usually have messy hair and wear minimal make up, but one thing I’ve done this year that I really liked was adding Frankincense & Copaiba Essential oils to my morning face moisturizer and I feel it’s made a big difference as far as brightness of skin, less blemishes, and less dryness. I also discovered and started using a ‘Thai Deodorant Crystal’ you probably think I am a hippy haha, but it’s basically a smooth white crystal that you get a bit wet and then rub under your arms just as you would deodorant and it removes any bad bacteria which in turn means no sweaty smell. You can rinse and re-use it for years and it was about $10 on Amazon, so far worth every penny! If it’s a really hot day I use a bit of regular deodorant on top of it too, and the combo works great. If your looking to get rid of your traditional deodorant I’d definitely recommend it.
Wardrobe Piece: I am always about the leggings, they are just so comfortable for me as I am home teaching the kids most of the time, and it means I don’t even need to change before I do Yoga because I am already ready to go :) I also love scarves because they add something nice to any outfit, as well as my jean jacket, if I throw that on it makes any outfit look more put together.
App: This year I discovered the ‘Dwell’ app, it’s a scripture reading app, and I have really enjoyed it, sometimes I put on some passages when I am folding laundry or cooking dinner, it doesn’t replace me reading the bible personally, but it’s great for getting in that little bit of extra time in God’s word. I also really like ‘Down Dog’ for yoga practices (it’s on sale right now if your interested!) it plays music and walks you through a yoga practice, so all you need is your yoga mat and a quiet 15 minutes to do it. I use the ‘Kindle’ app for reading books on the go a lot, and lastly my hubby just got me started on using ‘Wunderlist’ which is great for keeping to-do lists, grocery lists, and anything that keeps you organized.
Snack: Yummmmm snacks! During the day I love to have some fresh celery and peanut butter, I guess it’s the crunchiness that I love, but it’s always been a ‘go to’ for me! I also love to grab some pretzels, citrus fruit or at night some popcorn to munch on. Energy bites are also a fave here, whenever I make them they go fast! Here is our recipe
Instagram Account: This one was almost impossible as well, there are so many amazing, encouraging and talented friends that I love to follow on instagram, so instead of trying to choose one I’ll pick my husband’s woodworking account because I LOVE when he creates amazing things out of wood, check out @millerlakewood to see all his new and creative builds, hopefully soon a harvest table for our kitchen will be in the works!
Youtuber: We used to be a a lot more into You Tube in the past, this last year it tapered out a little bit, only because it seems like youtube has changed a bit and it’s mostly people posting their brand deals. But there are still some really good authentic channels, and one of those that I always love is ‘Brad & Hailey Devine’ their videography, editing and music is always top notch and I love following along on their travel adventures, one fave this year was when they went to the ‘Faroe Islands’ as a family and saw the Puffins!
So those are some of my 2018 favourites, I love reading other people’s faves, so I hope you enjoyed! If you post your faves too definitely tag me so I can check them out :) I love finding new fun shows, books and interesting products to read about. What was your fave new product of 2018? Share in the comments below..
stay cozy,
Shelley