While I do not have a TILF post for you guys today (which bums me out because I LOVE writing them every week), I was able to wrap up a post I’ve been slowly chipping away at for a little over a week now and figured it would be a decent one to share in lieu of my usual Friday roundup of favorites. I hope you guys — especially my fellow Amazon lovers out there — enjoy this one!
10 Recent Amazon Finds
I don’t know what it is about Amazon haul videos on Instagram, but I love them! Granted most of the ones I watch seem to center around fashion finds but since I use Amazon for ALL THE THINGS, I thought the occasional Amazon roundup featuring items I recently purchased on the site might be of interest for any other Amazon fans out there.
Today’s post includes 10 of my most recent Amazon finds and includes everything from kid-related items and fashion finds to a new cookbook and birthday gift ideas!
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Cook Once, Eat All Week by Cassy Joy Garcia
I ordered this cookbook after listening to a podcast where the author spoke all about her meal prep strategy. All I have to say is this: If you want to get into meal prepping healthy food, check out this cookbook! It breaks everything down in a very easy-to-follow way and the recipes I’ve made from the cookbook have all been delicious. I have no doubt this cookbook will be finding its way into my list of all-time favorite cookbooks as I continue to use it.
I was suckered into ordering the TAO toothbrush after an influencer I follow on Instagram said she swears by it and loves the “whitening” mode on this electric toothbrush. What really sold me, however, is the docking station of this toothbrush because it uses ultraviolet-c rays to kill 99.9% of germs when your toothbrush is not in use. (The toothbrush is inserted into the base with the bristles upside down.) It also protects, dries and charges the toothbrush and isn’t a total eyesore on your bathroom counter. I loved it from the first use and it leaves my teeth feeling incredibly clean!
This is one of my go-to birthday party gifts for Chase’s buddies right now because walkie talkies seem to be a HUGE hit with just about every four year old out there. We ordered the pink set for his friend Ella for her birthday at the beginning of the month and according to Ella’s mom, they were another slam dunk!
We have this exact same stainless steel Thermos water bottle in blue for Chase and since Ryder is always hijacking it, I figured it was time to order him one of his own. I ended up ordering the teal water bottle for Ryder and the purple version for my niece to include in her birthday gift at the end of the month as well. I love that the bottle isn’t plastic and that it’s dishwasher safe and doesn’t leak when the cap is closed.
I ordered these for a friend who recently had a baby because I had no idea they even existed when Chase was a baby and they’ve been a big-time game changer for Ryder! They prevent little ones from squeezing baby food out of food pouches and are the best for encouraging independent eating. If Ryder is eating a pouch, you better believe it has one of these toppers on it!
I ordered these barrettes because my postpartum baby hairs are OUT OF CONTROL and barrettes are back in style so it felt like a match made in heaven. I wear my hair up almost every single day so these barrettes are already getting a lot of use! Something about using one of these barrettes in my hair when I have it pulled back makes me feel a little more pulled together so I consider that a win.
I’ve been using Amara Beauty Vitamin C Cleanser for 2+ years and it’s fantastic and one of my most frequent repeat Amazon orders. I found the cleanser on Amazon after I did a bunch of research for a clean, vitamin-C rich facial cleanser. Prior to this cleanser, I used Beautycounter Nourishing Cream Cleanser and really liked it but I wanted to try something with vitamin-C following the advice of an esthetician. (Plus, the Amara Beauty cleanser is $11 cheaper and contains 2 more ounces than the BC cleanser.) Amara Organics Vitamin C Facial Cleanser was the cleanser I found after looking for a product that was free of many common harsh ingredients that also contained vitamin C and I feel like it’s very gentle while still cleansing my skin of makeup, dirt and all that jazz.
I know I’m so late in the season to be ordering such a summery purse but I love this one so much! It’s such a pretty little bag and perfect for girls’ nights, date night, etc. (Note: This one is not mom life approved because it doesn’t hold nearly enough snacks… or diapers.) The pricepoint was great (less than $25) and I think it goes with so many different outfits. Plus, it seems like the kind of summery bag that won’t go out of style anytime soon so I have a feeling I’ll get a lot of use out of this one for years to come.
A month or so ago, I put out a request via Instagram Stories for chapter book recommendations for little kids. I prefaced my request by saying I know Chase is young to begin a chapter book but he LOVES reading and has a crazy-good memory so I thought it might be a worth a shot. Without a doubt, the most recommended series was the Magic Tree House series of books and after trying to find the first few books at our local library with no luck (they had the audiobook but not a real book — odd, huh?) I ordered the first four on Amazon a few days ago. I will definitely report back once we’ve started them with Chase and let you know how they’re going (or if they’re something we end up saving for when he’s a little older).
It can be really challenging to try to make the move away from plastics with a toddler in the mix because Ryder is in the phase where he wants to pick everything up and toddle around with it. This cup is great because, unlike stainless steel sippys out there, it’s still clear and I love the fact that I can see how much liquid is left in the glass sippy cup. (The outside of the cup is plastic but there is a glass insert inside that holds the liquid.) It comes with both a straw or sippy top option and doesn’t leak!! (Note: We’ve only used the straw because that’s what Ryder prefers.) Ryder carries this sippy cup all over our house and the only time even a drop will come out of it is if he throws it really, really hard on the ground. I’m a big-time fan of this one!!
Shop My 10 Recent Amazon Finds
Question of the Day
- Fellow Amazon fans: Any awesome Amazon finds lately? Please share!
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Great post! I put about half in my cart!
Would you mind sharing the podcast you heard he cookbook author on? Thanks for always sharing with us!
Hope you’re taking care of yourself and feeling well.
Thank you! And the podcast was Coffee and Kettlebells!
Oh Julie, I am so sorry! I swear when it rains it pours sometimes. Wishing you a wonderful weekend! This post is awesome though! I love it!
I love the barrette idea! I too have some intense postpartum regrowth and since my hair is curly, when I wear it up it looks like I have a literal lion’s mane framing my face. I will have to give these a try!
My 11 year old daughter just got those walkie talkies—-As long as my husband doesn’t “accidentally step on them”–the beeping drives him a bit crazy….we are good:) thanks for sharing!
edited to add: Got for her birthday
My 4 year old daughter’s class is reading The Magic Treehouse books, and the entire class loves them! What were some of the other top suggestions for chapter books you received? I’m thinking of doing some at home with her but want to avoid Magic Treehouse since she’s doing those at school. Thanks in advance! Hope your weekend is restful and restorative.
The Mercy Watson series, Dragon Masters and Junie B Jones were more popular recommendations!
We are into the Young Cam Jansen mystery chapter books (has to be the Young version). My girls just turned 4 and 6. The books totally hold their attention and there are a bunch of them in the series that we get from the library.
Can’t wait to hear your review of the Treehouse books. Also, love Amazon so this post is right up my alley. Thanks!
Oh my gosh Cam Jansen!!!! I LOVED those books as a kid!
My 2 go-to books for younger boys are The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey and Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot by Dav Pilkey. They both have lots of pictures so it still holds littler ones attention and are great readers that are more than just the Step books.
awesome!! thank you for recommending them to me!
Not a chapter book, but a great book we just discovered for my almost 4 year old is What Should Danny Do? It’s interactive and shows how Danny’s day would change depending on the choices he makes.
oh this sounds RIGHT up chase’s alley! thanks for sharing!
Yes! We LOVE this book too – there are two of them so far. My kids (4 and 6) love them! Like the old choose your own adventure books. So good!
I picked up that vitamin C cleanser – thanks!
If Chase loves reading and you think he might be ready to learn to read, I highly recommend Bob Books. I taught all four of my kids to read with Bob Books. And my kids loved the Magic Tree House series when they moved on to chapter books.
Thank you for the recommendation!! I’ll look into them!
My son has been obsessed with magic treehouse this year! He has the first 20 now in his growing collection!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
I’m with you on the postpartum hair regrowth! I’m thinking of buying these since mine are like weird little mini bangs right now: https://www.amazon.com/Maxdot-Headbands-Headband-Elastic-Accessories/dp/B07CJZPFK3
Also do you have any advice on finding a sippy cup for babies under a year? My 10 month old uses one to drink water after meals but the one I bought is IMPOSSIBLE to get water out of – me and my husband even had trouble!
Both boys loved and used the Lollacup! –> http://bit.ly/2ZXRgS3 It’s great because the straw is weighted and always finds liquid! It’s plastic though so that’s the one downside!
How do you scale the food for your family in that cookbook? I bought it and while the concept is fantastic, I find the quantities to be overwhelmingly huge for my family of 4 (me, my husband, and two little boys). The few weeks I used it I threw away a huge amount of leftovers!
I found the same thing and I honestly freeze a lot of it for use a few weeks later….the portions are definitely large!!
I tried that Amara face wash back when you first recommended it on your blog and I LOVE it. I have sensitive skin but it cleans so well, takes off all my makeup easily, without leaving my face dry or tight.
We actually purchase some new light fixtures on Amazon over the summer and just had them installed recently. They were a really pretty wood orb-style dining room chandelier and then two black matte lanterns for our entryway! I’m obsessed and so impressed that I found them on AMAZON of all places! See ya Home Depot or Lowes!
I love the walkie talkie gift idea! We are in the phase of birthday parties every. single. weekend. right now and I am always racking my brain on what to get. I may actually just stock up on them to always have on hand for the next party! 🙂
I have a recently-turned five year old and we started reading chapter books when he was four for all the same reasons. I stumbled on this blog awhile ago, which has TONS of booklists for kids based on age, theme, emotions–you name it! Each book on the lists has a little personal note from the blogger about the book and how or what her kids loved about it, etc. Super helpful in finding books to start with. Here’s the list for preschoolers-3 years, which I recommend for starting out reading chapter books, anyhow, even if Chase is four now. But there’s also a list for 4-6 year olds you could check out too! 🙂
https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/50-chapter-books-for-preschoolers-and-3-year-olds/
And a note of encouragement when you start reading to him–I’m not sure what Chase’s temperament is like compared to my kiddo, but when I began, my son was so wiggly and sometimes would jump up and seem to be more interested in playing with a toy and I thought he wasn’t enjoying the books. I wondered if he was just too young, but when I tried to stop one evening, thinking I should give up and wait, he begged me to keep going! Now, I sometimes let him play as I read and even though I’m tempted to think he’s not listening, he actually absorbs plenty! So keep going for awhile, even if it seems he’s not staying too focused!
I have a gallon water jog w. markers for the time of day you shiuld have drank down to…they have half gallons too. Love it….my most favourite Amazon buy in months!
(The House with a clock in its wall DVD? No. Anyone wamt it??????)
Not to be a Helicopter mom, but I want to let you know to be super careful with the Walkie-Talkies. We have a tradition of our kids buying each other gifts for Christmas and one of my daughters bought the other a set for them to play with (they were 3 and 5 at the time). My husband and I thought it was so cute to see them running around the house talking on them Christmas night until they came running in super scared. My older daughter said, “Mommy, a man is trying to talk to us.” Sure enough a man was trying to talk to them and I immediately took them away and took out the batteries. After much discussion, my husband and I decided to throw them away because we never even thought of other people listening to two little girls playing on Walkie-Talkies. It isn’t a risk worth taking in this day and age. Just want to warn others to at least think about this.
Wow how scary!! Thank you so much for this word of caution, as I was about to purchase them myself. Thank you for looking out!
My Amazon faves would be the $25.00 sheets, the time blocking cute, we love buying clothes from Amazon too! I get a lot of my step-kids clothes off the site and they’re inexpensive yet good quality.
Did it take your skin a while to get used to the Amara cleanser? I switched to it a few weeks ago but my skin has been struuuuuggling since. I don’t want to go back to Clean and Clear because of all the ingredients but my poor face is so broken out!
Great picks! Growing up, I absolutely loved The Magic Treehouse books and fun fact – I met the author when she came to my elementary school for a visit, way back when! So glad to see her books are still being enjoyed, today!
Totally up to you, but I suggest saving those magic treehouse books for later. There are so many marvelous picture books and the window when your children will want them is so short! Magic treehouse are marvelous in the first couple of years when children are transitioning to reading chapter books to themselves, and there aren’t a ton of great books for that level i feel like. Just a thought!
So many goodies in this post. I’m reading The Magic Treehouse with my girls right now (6 and 4). We are on book 3 and I love that they aren’t distracted by pictures because there aren’t many. And the storyline encourages imagination. This is literally one of my favorite parts of the day – we read two chapters a night before bed.