30 Things I Love
One of my beautiful, kind and amazing nannies turns 30 today, December 30th. Jenna started working for me very soon after Addie joined our family and has nannied on and off for nearly 10 years. In the beginning, she was single. Now she is married with two children of her own! She lived in Arizona for a few years, but since moving back to Washington, she is pretty much a regular at our house. Even now, when I can't justify extra help, she comes (most Fridays) to help with whatever project I'm working on. Since it's her GOLDEN birthday, and she is spending the day doing 30 random acts of kindess, I thought I'd try and do something extra FUN for her. I'm arranging for her hubby to bring her by our house and I'm playing a little game to see if she can discover 30 things I love. Jenna has masterminded multiple scavenger hunts over the years and helped with surprises galore, so it's about time we did something like this for her! It might be a bit odd that I'm giving her things I love, but I know as she opens each item, it will represent memories we've shared. Next to my hubby, nobody knows my daily life, personal preferences, strange habits and go-to brands and products like my nannies, and I know she'll be able to use and appreciate most everything on my list!
30 THINGS I LOVE
Where available, I've included links below.
1. Method All Purpose Spray Cleaner because it actually smells good. I stock lots of extra bottles because I don't like running out.
3. Pillow Sole socks from Legale. These are so awesome. I buy mine at Fred Meyer.
4. Bigelow Lip Shine. I keep one in my car, Geoff's car, my desk, my bathroom, my coat pocket, the kitchen drawer -- getting the picture?
5. Lemon juicer Just discovered this a few months ago, but it's SO easy to use and clean and fresh lemon juice makes a huge difference. So says me.
8. Flour sack kitchen towels I use these to wipe and dry and dust and do windows. I have a whole drawer full of them. I love that I can soil them and then wash them in hot water with bleach!
9. White washcloths Same deal as above, only in miniature!
10. Kirkland Facial wipes from Costco I sincerely think these are the best out there. I've tried several brands and they don't dry out and don't irritate my skin and they are affordable!
11. Chalkboard paint What's not to love? Jenna helped us paint an entire wall in Trey's room, when we did a one-day makeover on his 18th birthday.
12. Metal containers (or glass) for decorative storage
13. White tulle + metal rimmed circle tags When I purged and reorganized my studio last year, I pretty much got rid of all ribbon and wrapping/gifting supplies except these. Tulle is inexpensive and so easy to use. All you need is a hefty supply of cellophane bags in a variety of sizes (should have added those to my list) and then you can make anything presentable, but adding a tulle bow and tag!
15. Spray paint
16. Washi tape (in lots of pretty colors!)
17. Mini clipboards I cover them in pattern paper, spray paint them and use them for my kids and anything else to track to-do lists. Mini clipboards are the bomb!
18. Dark chocolate with sea salt
19. Extra gum (peppermint is my FAV)
20. Little ramekins. But really, this image is all about the color "frog" green. It's still my signature hue.
21. Noosa yogurt. If you're going to eat all that milk sugar in yogurt, please make sure it's got the FAT too. Noosa is my FAV full-fat yogurt and I like these little cups from Walmart. Vanilla, Mexican chocolate, tart cherry, you name it—instead of ice cream!
22. Unsalted cashews from Costco.
23. Sprinkles (for ever and always!)
24. Cute napkins. Hobby Lobby and Home Goods are my napkin stores.
25. Jelly Bellies. I don't eat them very often, but I sure like having them on hand!
26. Colorful kitchen stuff, as represented by these Farberware measuring spoons.
27. Thank YOU cards. I have a hard time resisting packages at Target and Fred Meyer. I like simple, bold, colorful designs. Betcha couldn't have guessed that, ha!
28. Kleenex Puffs in a YELLOW box. I buy mine at Walmart. I'm very picky about my tissue boxes. weird, I know.
29. Family photos. I love em and can't get enough of them. I'm giving Jenna a cute frame with an even cuter picture of her darling family.
30. Amazon for anything and everything. Jenna gets a gift card!
When I began executing this idea for Jenna, I thought, "Hey, I should post this to my blog—not so much for the gift idea, but for a permanent record of these everyday things I currently love and use. I think it's a good idea to pay attention to these types of personality markers and to document them from time to time.
What would make your list of 30 things?!
p.s. To follow along with Jenna's random acts of kindess, search for the hashtag #30raksfor30 or look her up @jennamolner