I’ve got a new list of (non-traditional) Favorite Things this month — including a fun giveaway!
After almost 8 years of sharing my favorite things month after month, I’m honestly struggling to come up with anything I haven’t already shared!
I dislike shopping, I have no thoughts on fashion or the latest trends, I thrive on routine and “sameness”, I declutter constantly, and once I find something I like, I stop looking for anything else.
I know that might sound boring to some, but to me, it sounds easy, simple, and practical!
My current list of Favorite Things includes:
- Early bedtimes
- Freshly washed flannel sheets
- Quiet morning hours to do whatever I want
- Slow weekends spent at home
- Daily and weekly routines that work really well for our family
- Gorgeous Fall colors
- 30-minute dinners
- Schools that are still open (for both Dave and the kids)
- Church programs that have started up again
- Good health
- Feeling content and fulfilled
- Empty drawers and closets with plenty of room to breathe
- Fresh baked goods
- Happy children who are growing more self-sufficient each day
- Downtime
- A quiet drive in the car
You get the idea… not much for a “Favorite Things List” though.
Honestly, I’m not sure how much longer I can sustain these posts, but I’ll finish out 2020 for sure.
NOTE: This content is not sponsored.
Our New Farmhouse Table
You guys — I’m so excited to finally have this table!
It’s been a long-time dream of mine to have a dining room table that comfortably seats 12-14 people with plenty of walking space around the table and chairs.
After 9 years of brainstorming ways to fit a giant table in our farmhouse, we finally did it!
Thanks to a bunch of extra time at home this past Spring, we started thinking outside the box for ways to make space for my dream table.
After 3 rounds of “musical rooms”, 3 days moving furniture, and 5 months waiting for my uncle to finish building our custom table, I can officially add it to my list of favorite things!
Here’s a quick recap of the process…
- Clara moved out of the nursery and upstairs to share a bedroom with Nora.
- Dave and I moved out of our Master Bedroom and into the former nursery (we’re still LOVING our tiny bedroom! )
- We then turned our former master bedroom into a super cozy farmhouse den.
- We “flip-flopped” the dining room and living room — giving us plenty of space for a 12-foot long table!
- I drew up a design and commissioned my uncle to build us the table.
Watch the transformation unfold…
Click the images below to watch the transformation of our spaces!
And now, here we are with a new hutch in the corner, new lanterns hanging from the ladder, and our brand new beautiful farmhouse table!
It’s official, we can’t ever move unless the new house has room for this beauty!
The extensions on each end are easily removable, so we only add them when we have larger groups of people.
The table is SOOOO heavy — it took 4 people to bring it into our house via the double doors in the office.
It’s certainly a solid piece that I hope will be in our home for many years to come.
Free Hot Lunch
One bonus of COVID (for our family) is that the government is subsidizing FREE hot lunch for every student for the entire school year!
Since our school is a private school, we don’t often get freebies from the government — so this was pretty exciting!
I’m thrilled to have a little break from packing multiple lunches every day… and the cost-saving on our grocery bill is noticeable as well.
Some might argue that the hot lunch menu doesn’t offer the most nutritious options… my counter-argument is that my children eat highly nutritious hot breakfasts packed with protein and whole grains every morning, and from-scratch dinners with loads of veggies at night. So one less-than-stellar meal a day isn’t going to hurt!
They do occasionally still ask to bring lunches from home, but for the most part, our Planet Boxes are living on the pantry shelf this year… and I’m not sad about that!
Related Reading: How Fun Lunches Simplify Our School Routine
Mondays!
I know, I know… most people dread Mondays… but for the first time in 9 years, Mondays mean several hours by myself AT HOME.
The older 3 are all in school on Mondays (James doesn’t go full time yet) and Clara goes to my sister’s house (just down the road) to play with her cousin.
So every Monday, from about 10:00 – 3:00, I have the house to myself to do whatever I want or need to do.
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’ve stopped cleaning before or during the weekend, and instead, I do the bulk of my cleaning on Mondays — usually right away in the morning, before I bring Clara to my sister’s.
Then I use the rest of the day for blog work, baking, yard work, and various house projects.
This is the main reason I’ve scheduled my blog posts and emails for Tuesdays — because I know I’ll have plenty of time on Mondays to tie up any loose ends.
I love my children dearly, but it has been a LOOOOOOONG time since I’ve had a consistent string of hours “home alone”.
Wow, it’s fantastic!
Every Mother Diastasis Recti Program
I mentioned this program in an email a few weeks ago and got SO many questions that I figured I should share a bit more.
I first heard about the Every Mother core-strengthening workouts this summer, during my persistent research to find a solution for my Diastasis Recti (something I’ve struggled with since Simon was born, over 6 years ago) and my lower back pain (which I’ve struggled with since high school).
As with all new programs, books, and “gimmicks,” I was quite skeptical at first… but I figured it couldn’t hurt to give it a try.
After all, the program is less than $45 for 12 weeks (and that’s roughly what I pay for just one visit to the chiropractor).
So I signed up… and much to my surprise, my lower back pain was virtually gone after the first week! (No, I’m not exaggerating at all!)
That in itself was more than worth every penny I spent on the 12-week program.
However, since I started the program this summer, I’ve already “lost” 3 full inches around my waist (without losing a single pound) simply because my ab muscles are pulling back in and tightening up again.
My self-assessments indicates I went from slightly more than a 3-centimeter gap at the bellybutton to now, just under 2 centimeters. And my core truly does feel so much stronger.
I plan to continue for another 12-weeks (which will take me through the beginning of the New Year) to see what type of progress I can continue making.
Every Mother offers special programs for pregnant women, newly postpartum women, and even women who don’t have a clinical ab separation but just want to strengthen their core muscles in a safe and effective way.
If you have weak core muscles, if you have lower back pain, if you have Diastasis Recti, if you have a weak pelvic floor, I highly encourage you to check out the Every Mother programs. I’m beyond impressed (and I’ve tried many, many different programs over the last 6 years).
It’s much more cost-effective than therapy, chiropractic care, gym memberships, massages, or supplements… and the results are so much faster. Plus, you can do the 10 to 25-minute workouts in the comfort of your own home, whenever it works for you (I’m known to do mine in my PJs before the kids wake up!)
Related Reading: My Thoughts on Diastasis Recti – One Year After Therapy
Personal Planner (+ giveaway!)
Dave and I have used Personal Planners for years and years — I know so many of you use them now too!
I always order my new planners in October so I’m ready to go before the holiday rush. Dave orders his in July so he’s ready for another school year.
We’ve tried different sizes and styles over the years (read more in these posts) but we’re both back to the A5 size, which we like best.
If you’re in the market for a new planner use the discount code: HAPPYHOLIDAYS to get 15% off your entire order, now through January 31, 2021.
I also have one planner to give away… use the super simple entry form below!
Giveaway is open to US residents 18 years or older. Giveaway ends on Saturday, November 7 at 11:59 pm EST. One winner will be chosen at random and notified via email. I was not compensated for this giveaway. All opinions are my own. Good luck!
That’s all for me this month.
View my previous months’ favorite things — and please share some of YOUR favorite things in the comments below!
Kim says
Hi – I love favorite things posts, too. But it would be fine with me if they are more infrequent and/or include non-material things, I just think they are fun. What do you think makes this diastasis recti program effective when other things you tried weren’t? The exercises themselves, how the techniques are taught, how often you do them, or something else? Just curious because my sister who also has 4 kids has this issue, too, and I know she has tried a few different things as well.
Andrea says
Thanks Kim!
As for the exercise program, the main difference for me is that every single daily video SHOWS me exactly how to do the exercise. In the past, some of the programs have just said “do 10 reps of __________” or “do ______________ for 5 minutes and then ____________ for 12 minutes”
However, so much of what I’ve read and learned emphasizes the fact that if I do the exercises incorrectly, I could very easily make the issue WORSE by exacerbating the muscles and tissue. So I was always afraid I was doing things incorrectly and thus, making things worse.
Now, I can see her do every step of the exercise (and she talks through every step too — reminding you of various “safe core” strategies and tips throughout)
I don’t worry I’m doing it wrong or making things worse — so really, I guess it’s the peace of mind!
Angela Reeder says
I look forward to these posts to find things to help organize my home that I may not have seen yet. Maybe you can do a Favorite Things post each month from suggestions that your readers send in to you so we can all find helpful things for our home. I do love all of your content!
Andrea says
thanks for the idea, Angela!
JJ says
Your farmhouse table is gorgeous!!! Wow!!! Your uncle did an amazing job!!! It is an incredible feeling to have your ideas come to life.
Yes, your Favorite Things have become mine!!! So I do always look forward to this post. I tried to enter, but it was giving me a response that made it seem like it didn’t enter. My phone has been crazy lately, so I’m assuming it is on my end.
My favorite thing lately is my 15 minutes of laundry a day. I use your advice about listening to a podcast(normally Gretchen Rubin or Cyrstal Paine!). And I hate laundry. I have tried for years to come up with a method that truly worked for our family. We use your method of not sorting(seriously when people give me slack I refer them to a professional–you and your blog. Ha!). So we literally put all of our clothes directly into the washer after we change in the morning and after showers at night. Every morning after everyone has their clothes in, I run the washer. Then I unload the dryer from the day before and transfer the washed clothes to the dryer, and forget about it until the next day. We haven’t had wrinkle issues. I try to buy clothes with material that doesn’t wrinkle easily. Then I take the clothes that had been in the dryer from the day before and fold them into fast piles(one pile for each person, one pile for towels, one pile for dish towels) either on my clean kitchen counter, bed, or at their cleaned kids’ table with kids’ chairs). I call each kid to me to take their clothes and put them away. I literally hang their shirts over their shoulders and stuff the folded clothes in their hands OR They carry it to their rooms on the little chairs and put their clothes away. It has been awesome for laundry to not be a burden and stress anymore!!! Sometimes if I don’t end up folding until night they wake up to laundry chairs ready to go. ♀️
Andrea says
sounds like a great laundry routine — and yup, I’m still not sorting! LOL
Susanne says
Hi Andrea, Another “Favorite Things” fan here! I bring several plants indoors in the fall and one of my favorite things is using repurposed glass microwave plates to put the plants on. They are the thick glass trays that come in a microwave. I can usually find them for $1.50 at my local thrift store. They are sturdy, have a rim to catch water, and the clear glass is almost invisible. Now I have my mom and sister using them!
Andrea says
this is so great — thanks for sharing your clever idea, Susanne! I see those microwave plates at thrift stores all the time and always wondering why people would want them. Now I know!
Kim says
I love the idea of changing to a gratitude list each month.
Very thankful you have gotten relief through this new, reasonably priced exercise program.
Andrea, you have worked hard and waited a very long time to have one (partial) day per week of free time. Yahoo!!!!! Enjoy.
I am delighted to see the massive, beautiful dining room table. We have a custom dining room table (only 7 ft.) but with two 1 ft. leaves exactly like yours, it gets us to 9 feet. However, the builder (Lawrence Crouse, a craftsman of early American style furniture) referred to them as “company boards.” Wonder if your uncle has ever heard that term? We are able to put 2 chairs on each end of our table, which increases the seating even more.
I know you will absolutely love being able to host large groups at this table.
Lissa says
I’ve been using my ninja foodi air fryer and toaster and oven non stop since I got for Christmas/birthday. I roast veggies in it every day and reheat veggies and food for lunch.
I’ve also been making sourdough and yogurt. Yogurt via my instapot so easy and so much cheaper then buying it.
One other favorite thing is a plastic dough scrapper. It helps get all the dough out of the bowl and off the counter. For under $5 for 3 it’s so great
Andrea says
aren’t the reheated roasted veggies so good! I’d never be able to eat them so regularly if I needed to make them from scratch every day!
Also, yay for sourdough and homemade yogurt!
Oh, and I have the dough scrapper too — it’s awesome!
Kathy Coy says
Thank you for the planner discount! I use it every year. Looks like they added some new cool pages this year.
Andrea says
yes –the discount is the best! And yes, they have lots of new features for your planners this year!
Debbie says
I for one hope you don’t stop doing these Favorite Things posts. There’s always something new to discover, whether it’s material or non-material things. I’ve gotten great some good ideas from these posts. How great that you have Monday to yourself! That’s such a treat! Not packing lunches for the kids is a win too. When you shared how you dealt with your diastasis recti a few weeks ago I was impressed that you did it the comfort of your home and minimal cost. It proves that we can accomplish a lot just by being diligent and disciplined.
Andrea says
this is a great idea — thanks Debbie!
And yes, “diligence” and “discipline” will get you places!
Natalia says
Andrea, I LOVE your list of favorite “things” that aren’t things… and money can’t buy… It’s the best list, yet! (And yes, I do have a handful of items in my house that I love and have made my life easier, thanks to you!)
I am so excited about your Mondays! Yeay!!! My little one can go to school in person now, and it’s so great to have the opportunity to miss each other! It’s awesome for both of us!
Thanks for sharing about the exercise program. I did not bear children, but I have a very weak core and increasing lower back pain. Exercising is on my wish list. I wonder if this is what could work for me. I should give it a try!
Thanks, again!
Erin M says
Yea for Flannel Sheets!
Andrea says
a must for states like Michigan where we have them on our beds from October through May!
Chris says
Your table is beautiful – that compliment coming from having relatives in my husband’s family who are custom furniture or cabinet builders. I assume that is the same uncle that built your beautiful bathroom cabinet. I guess you could go from a Favorite Things post to a Gratitude post, which a lot of the beginning of this is. I started a gratitude journal and really love it. It puts your mind in a right frame of mind. There is always something to be thankful for. When you spoke of loving Mondays, it reminded me that I used to have a job I loved so much, that I looked forward to going back to work after vacation. I really enjoying stay home though at this stage of my life. (I do have a very part-time, at home job right now.)
Chris says
Do you think your diastasis program would help someone with just general back pain?
Andrea says
Hi Chris,
Based on my personal experience, I’m 100% confident it will help with back pain. I noticed a night and day difference in less than 1 week — seriously!
Chris says
Thank you!
Charlene Uchtman says
I am 66 and planning one minute a day keeps my waist down and back pain at bay. An amazing minute! Also, have you tried laundry stripping? Also amazing results.
Andrea says
that’s awesome — what do you do for your 1 minute each day? also, I’ve wanted to try laundry stropping but have never gotten around to it. What process to you use?
Charlene Uchtman says
Planking for 1 minute a day, not planning (lol) keeps my waist down and my back pain at bay.
As to laundry stripping, I use 1/4 c. borax, 1/4 c. washing soda and 1/2 laundry detergent. I mix it in a 5 gal. bucket with very hot water, almost boiling and then add the clothes. Let it sit over night or until it cools and then dump the bucket in the washing machine and process as usual. They say you probably wouldn’t want to do nice, good clothes. I have tried to get my husbands underclothes white for years and tried soaking in bleach or vinegar etc. This really does make a difference. It is particularly good for sheets or work out clothes that smell too.
Andrea says
haha — OK that makes much more sense! I was thinking “what is she planning that keeps her abs strong and back pain at bay?!”
Unfortunately, planking can really exacerbate diastasis recti so it’s not something I can do for a full minute — but my 5-10 minute core-safe breathing exercises are doing the trick… so I’m sticking with them for now!
And thanks for the tip on stripping clothing. I have all those “ingredients” in the house — I might need to give it a try!
Jen says
Hi Andrea, I’m so glad you found a diastasis program that works! Do you recall which program you started with? Reclaim to fix diastasis, or Surpass to continue fitness diastasis-free? I’ve got a 3 year old but feel like my fitness/diastasis level is post-partum and I’m not at Surpass yet.
Andrea says
Thanks Jen,
You’ll want to start with Reclaim. That’s the “main” program that most people start with. The only reason you’d start with something different is if you’re currently pregnant or very newly postpartum. Once you go through Reclaim, then you can choose if you want to do Reclaim 2 or Surpass. I’ll do Reclaim 2 first then see where I’m at with the gap and maybe move onto Surpass.
Also, you can switch at any time — so if you start reclaim and realize it’s not a good fit, you can switch between programs. And their customer service is really great so feel free to reach out with any questions you have. They will probably respond within 24 hours!
Jen says
Thank you so much! I am going to try their free videos first to make sure I can commit. I’m so glad you found a program that works for you.
Barb says
Once you have achieved your goal, do you have to continue doing the exercises in the every mother program?
Andrea says
well you certainly don’t have to do anything… but I’ve really enjoyed the daily “workouts” and core strengthening exercises so even though I haven’t totally reached my goal yet, I have a feeling I’ll continue on for a while.
It’s a great motivator for me to do something physical every single day (even if I just have 10 minutes). And for less than $15 a month, it’s sort of a no-brainer for me at this point in my life (especially considering how much I’ve spent to try to alleviate my back pain over the years).
Bridget says
I remember when you were questioned for not making the bathroom into an attached master bath. That decision sure paid off in the new den. Much nicer to have the bathroom in the hallway for the way you are currently using the rooms.
We made our smallish dining room into a TV room and got a big dining table for a previously unused atrium area. Much better use of space and now I can have flowers in the dining table and actually be able to enjoy them!
Andrea says
you are SO right — I honestly didn’t even think about the master bathroom thing when we made all our room swaps. That would have been a deal-breaker for sure! wow, thanks for reminding me of this!
yes, we just LOVE the smaller, more cozy den area — the fact that we can shut the door, and have some privacy in the space (instead of being in the middle of the home like the living room was before). We’re also really benefiting from having 2 “living areas” — the den plus the one off the kitchen. It’s nice to have separate spaces for people to spread out if we’re doing different activities.
And of course, the HUGE dining room is such a huge bonus for me (and really for the whole family)!
I love that you were able to make a non-traditional room arrangement work for you too!
Ann says
So where do you store your table leaves when not in use?
Andrea says
in a closet… which I suspect is very normal for anyone with extra table leaves. right?
That’s what we did with our other table and what my mom always did growing up too.
Jenny says
I thought everyone kept their table leaves wrapped in sheets under their beds!
Your house is beautiful. The only thing missing is SPINDLES!
Andrea says
haha — Dave actually suggested putting the tables leaves under the bed, but we had room in a closet (and that’s where my mom always kept hers)!
Ashley Tubbs says
Haha! We’re getting ready to move and one criteria for our new house was it had to accommodate our custom dining room table! Ours isn’t quite as big as yours, but it’s still huge and heavy and built just for us–and we love it!
Mondays are actually one of my favorite too. I don’t have the luxury of kid-free time, but it’s a day I’ve set aside to just be home and reset. I get all the laundry done so I don’t have think about it until the next week, we tidy, and we just generally work to start our week off on a good note. Sundays are still hard on my kids since their whole schedule gets thrown off, so we protect Mondays as our day!
Have you ever checked out Plum Paper planners? I have one for this year and I think I’m sticking with it! They just added a feature that you can have custom dates (i.e. birthdays, anniversaries, etc) printed right in your planner! I’m guessing this will be an account feature so you don’t have to re-enter every year!
Happy fall!
Andrea says
Hey Ashley,
Love that you have your custom table too! Such a fun piece — I hope we can use it for a very long time!
As for the planners, Personal Planner totally has all those customizable options too. I have all my birthdays and anniversaries (and other special dates) uploaded to my account and they automatically show up in all my new planners (unless I choose to not have them for whatever reason). It IS a really nice feature.
And yes, I can totally relate to Sunday’s throwing off the schedule. I actually really liked it when we had to do online church because we could mostly stick to our same schedule. However, it’s good to be back in church too.
Enjoy your Mondays!
Heather Ratliff says
This is one post every month that I really look forward to! I love hearing what products other people love. However, I do understand that you run out of things to list because you’re not a shopper-neither am I!
Dayna Hamm says
I always enjoy your favorite things post. I’ve bought several things that have become my favorite things as well! The stretchy silicone cup lids and the microwave popcorn popper are two that immediately come to mind.
I’m currently trying the sample pack of the goat milk soap you recommended. So far, I’ve found a few that I will order again.
I hope you get some new ideas.
Andrea says
thanks Dayna (and Heather!)
SOOOOO many readers tell me that my “Favorite Things” post is their favorite post every month… not sure what this says about all my other posts with more content about simplifying and organizing… but I’ll take it as a compliment 🙂
Enjoy that goat’s milk soap!