I’m back with more of my favorites… 2 of which are fairly recent finds!
DISCLOSURE: None of these products are sponsored; however, some of the links below are affiliate links — which means that at no cost to you, I may get a small commission. Please know that I use these products daily in my own home and life. Read my full disclosure policy for more information.
Also, check out my Amazon Market for all my favorite things.
Crossbody Bag from Eddie Bauer
It’s a long story, but I ended up with a sizable gift card to Eddie Bauer over the winter — so I nabbed a few clearance and sale items online (yay for “free” shopping!)
One of the items I purchased was their 10L cross body bag that folds up into one of the pockets of the bag for super easy portability. I’ve wanted to try a crossbody bag for sometime, but just never really had the “need”.
However, based on the fact that I recently purchased several items of clothing for myself from local thrift stores (more on that later this week), I didn’t really feel the need to buy much more expensive clothing with my Eddie Bauer gift card. So instead, I used the rest of my gift card to buy this bag (side note, I had less than $1.00 left on my gift card after purchasing this bag — so I didn’t have to spend any of my own money!)
Oh my word, I love it!
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Call The Midwife (Netflix / PBS show)
In case you’ve never heard of it before, Call The Midwife is such a fantastic tv show right now.
You can purchase seasons 1-6 on Amazon… and they were also still available on Netflix when I checked last week. The newest season is currently running on PBS right now, and it’s just as good as previous seasons (although I do miss several of the older characters — Chummy!)
Dave and I make monthly donations to our local PBS stations, so we can always watch any of their shows online — however, I’m not positive this perk is only for donors — so you might want to check out your local PBS station to see if you can watch previous episodes online too.
Also, for the record, I most likely would NOT enjoy this show as much if I were male or if I had never birthed a child before — it’s fairly graphic, so keep that in mind!
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Chef ‘n Avocado Tool
Several months ago, I found a like-new Chef ‘n avocado tool at our local thrift store for $0.25 and I just couldn’t pass it up!
I knew I really didn’t ‘need’ it and I honestly wasn’t even sure if I’d even use it, but for $0.25, I figured it was worth a try!
And you know what… I really do use it quite often!
The kids think it’s super fun to watch me effortlessly slice the avocados, and I will say, it does a fantastic job of scraping the skin clean!
I know there are fancier ones out there that cut, pit, slice, cube, and mash… but again, for $0.25, it was definitely worth it for me!
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Britax b-Safe Infant Carseat
I know this might sound crazy, but I’ve purchased all my infant carseats used… and sold them all immediately once we were finished using them. So all 4 of my babies have used a different infant carseat!
And… after using 4 different infant carseats, I can confidently say that our current infant carseat is by-far my most favorite.
Clara is using the Britax b-Safe 35 infant carseat and it’s SO lightweight for the parent to lug around! Plus, it’s super cozy for her; she loves her carseat more than any of my other babies did and quickly falls asleep whenever she’s inside.
I was actually fortunate enough to purchase the entire travel system (carseat, extra base, and stroller) f0r $70 on Craigslist about a month before Clara was born — and wow, do I love that stroller too!
As some of you might recall, I’ve used my fair share of strollers over the years (I have so many more I could add to that list now too!)
Anyway, if I thought we would for-sure have more babies, I’d be tempted to keep this carseat… but the tentative plan for now is to sell it again this summer when we switch Clara over to a convertible carseat.
And speaking of convertible carseats, we have long loved our Britax Marathon convertible carseats as well.
We first purchased them when Nora was ready to move out of her infant carseat and then purchased another one when Simon was ready to move out of his infant carseat.
James is still in our Britax Marathon, and (as I mentioned above) Clara will transition into our other one over the summer. We LOVE these seats… and apparently they are great for napping!
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Plastic Canning Jar Lids
For someone who has been around and exposed to canning tools and accessories her entire life, it took me a LOOOOOOOONG time to finally discover these amazing plastic canning jar lids!
Truly, I just started using them this year (after 12 years of canning on my own and 20+ years of canning with my mom!)
Now, to clarify, these plastic lids will NOT work for the actual canning process; they are for after you open a jar of canned food to eat. So, instead of putting the metal lid and ring back on your already-opened jar, you wash the ring, toss the lid, and use one of these plastic lids instead.
It’s so much less messy (the metal rings would get yucky when food touched them) and so much easier to wash (no rust like on the metal rings).
Anyway, if you eat home-canned food, or if you just use mason jars on a regular basis, I would highly recommend picking up a few plastic lids!
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That’s all for me this month.
Make sure you check out my previous months’ favorite things — and feel free to share some of YOUR favorite things in the comments below!
Alison says
Oh, I feel just the opposite about the avocado tool. “Santa” put one in my stocking because I eat avocado every day. I just don’t think it’s use justifies one more thing to wash, especially because I’ve already used a knife to slice it open. I’m glad you like it though – mine will be going to a thrift store soon!
Andrea says
haha — well if you donate it, someone else might just fine a treasure! I’ve donated lots of kitchen gadgets other people swear by, but I just don’t love for whatever reason!
Ashli says
Not sure if it’s the same everywhere, but we don’t make donations to PBS and I can watch shows on their app on Apple TV, BUT only for a week or two. After that they are subscriber only and you can’t get to them anymore. Love that show though!
Andrea says
yeah, I THINK (but not sure) if you make a donation, you can get unlimited access to the shows. Like, I have an account I can log into and go back and see more episodes. But thanks for sharing about the free stuff!!
Crystal says
Love the plastic lids! I discovered them @ WalMart for much less than the Ball ones- Mainstays brand I believe.
I have a crazy amount in both sizes at this point, but I use them for EVERYTHING!
Thank you for these posts… I get so excited for the 1st of each month because I get to read your Favorite Things list. I’ve found such great things thanks to them! Please don’t EVER stop these~ lol
Andrea says
haha thanks! I’ll do my best to keep posting them every month 🙂
Crystal says
Your “Favorite Things” is truly one of MY “Favorite Things”
Andrea says
yay!! Glad to hear it!
Noreen says
I miss Chummy too! Such a great show!
Lea says
Oh my goodness! Where have those canning jar lids been my whole life?
They just got added to my shopping list!
Thanks for sharing!
🙂
Lea
Andrea says
you’re welcome –the lids are great!
Brenda says
I have some of the lids and really like them, but they are NOT water-tight. I tried to use one to mix the kids morning chocolate milk (milk & instant breakfast in the jar/lid and shake, shake, shake) and ended up with chocolate milk all over myself, lol. They work great for solids though.
Andrea says
hmmm… that’s odd. My lids definitely seem to be water-tight. I mix oils, dressings, etc. in them with no leaking or spilling. I’ve never tried chocolate milk — maybe I’ll have to give that a try and see what happens (I’ll try it over the sink!)
Crystal says
I use mine too- the Ball brand I 1st found & then the WalMart Mainstays Brand & have never had one leak. I’ve even dropped a jar & had a lid break off in a few small places around the rim (where it hit the tile floor) & it still didn’t leak.
Whatever I’m making I put right in side, put the lid on & shake away.
Ann says
2 things:
1. We are borrowing an infant car seat for our foster baby. (We actually just moved her to a convertible car seat but we are now only licensed for infants so it is just a matter of time until we need it again.) It is SO HEAVY! It doesn’t expire until Dec 2019 so we will likely use it again but if yours is not expired, I would LOVE to buy it so I have a lighter weight one! (And if you want to sell the stroller with it, I hate my stroller!)
2. About the plastic canning lids. We bought some for us and all our kids one year for Christmas. And then I realized that Parmesan Cheese lids fit perfectly and have a flip top lid if you are just scooping out a spoonful of applesauce or salsa or are outside with bees and bugs. Now I never recycle the parmesan cheese lids but I keep them for already opened canned products!
Andrea says
yes, I will contact you later this summer when we are ready to sell. I do love the stroller, but we will most likely sell it as a set (we’ll see!)
and yes, I’ve just learned about the parmesan cheese lids. I usually don’t buy the powdered parmesan but if I do, I will start saving the lids!
Ann says
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Gramma CC says
Hey Girl! Look forward to the new month & new favorite items! Love your thrift finds, too. I know someone mentioned the peanut butter lids for reg mouth jars, but Parmesan lids work as well. The used lids are great craft projects. Check out Pinterest. I use a 2″ paper punch to cut out a variety of scrapbook paper & pictures and use double sided sticky tape under the paper & a magnet on the back for refrigerator magnets or just hot glue ribbon on the back for ornaments. Enjoy!
Andrea says
ahh… good to know about the parmesan cheese lids! thanks!!
Gwyneth says
We love Call the Midwife, even my husband! It is such a well done period piece that even if you don’t love the birth scenes it can be enjoyable. Although if you’ve had a hard birth, it might remind you of that too. 🙂
lyss says
Yes, that is what I was going to say! I heard lots of people love Call the Midwife, so I thought I’d watch it. Nobody warned me that there was a premature birth on the first show! Memories of my traumatic, premature birth all came back. Not cool. Definitely made me fear childbirth all over again… : (
ELIZABETH DILTS says
Love Your Favorite Things posts every time you write them! The plastic lids are some of my most used and favorite things! I like to use mason jars for storing salt, baking soda, left overs, anything, and these make it easy. I also had my husband drill a hole in a few of them so I could put my stainless steel straw through them and drink extra large smoothies or drinks out of my quart sized jars!
Andrea says
good idea for the drinks/straw/hole!
Michelle O. says
I love the plastic canning jar lids! I’ve been using them for about 5 years – small and large. I use mason jars for more than just canning (although I do that too) – salad dressings, non-dairy yogurt, jams, and dry goods like beans, flours, cocoa powder,… (anything you can buy in bulk) but the main reason is for green smoothies. I make 2-4 litres of green smoothies after supper before any kids go to sleep (in the Vitamix) and just put them in the fridge using mason jars and these lids. Works great for the reasons you mentioned – easy to clean, etc.
Andrea says
I normally like using square containers because they technically waste less space — but I do like using mason jars for so many things. I’ve been using smaller jam jars to hold different types of candies for baking, and yes, I alway use jars for my salad dressings!
mara says
Thank you for sharing, love these posts!!
Bonnie'sMama says
You can also use the plastic lids from peanut butter jars for small-mouth canning jars. They’re free and colorful, and it keeps them out of the landfills.
I know the manufacturers don’t recommend it, but for 11 years I have been reusing the metal canning lids for canning. Based on the Sharpie markings, I’ve canned with some of them at least five times. My mom and lots of women I know have done this for decades. I don’t reuse ones that look damaged, and usually not ones used for tomato products because of the stains. They work well as long as they are still flat and the rubber seal is undamaged. It makes just a little less expensive.
Andrea says
yes, except I buy REALLY big containers of peanut butter 🙂 They are even too big for the wide mouth jars!
Also, interesting about reusing the lids. I’m always too scared — I figure it’s only a few extra bucks and I don’t want my food to spoil and ALLLLLL my hard work to be lost!
Bonnie'sMama says
I’ve never had a problem with reused lids opening up after canning. You just have to make sure they’re perfectly flat, the seal has no nicks in it, and the metal isn’t damaged around the edges from opening the jars.
Andrea says
good to know. Thanks!
Jo says
I’m English and glad you love call the midwife! But you are right….my husband hates it! He has no interest at all but ts a great bit of social history too
Erin says
Love our Britax Marathons as well! Do you have a link to the neck pillows Nora & Simon are using in the car seat picture?
Andrea says
yes, they are the Yondi Neck Pillows — we have them for all the kids, but Nora has pretty much outgrown hers now. It will go to Clara next year and we’ll get Nora a bigger one.
Shelley says
I have never seen the plastic lids-I am ordering them right now!! Thanks!
Andrea says
they are awesome! order them!
Mary Ann says
I have a bunch of those plastic Mason jar lids and use them all the time. I store (and freeze) leftovers in jars and these lids are SO nice! I even have some tiny Mason jars (4 oz.) that I use for packing lunches and the plastic lids work so well for that.
The crossbody bag looks great!
Jen says
I just got my first crossbody bag too, and I LOVE it! My sister has one and convinced me I would love it, and she was right! I got this one.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015OFQIS8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Glad you love your Britax! My dad used to work for them. He also worked for Graco for 35 years so we never had to buy any baby equipment. That was awfully nice! I was actually a model on one of the Graco product boxes many moons ago and our oldest daughter was a model in their catalog when she was 9 months old.