A few of my favourite things
August was one of those weird months that seemed really long and yet flew by. I have not completely reconciled my brain to the fact it's now September. I'm not ready for the -er months. I want more sunshine and warmth!
Let's not think about autumn. Let's talk about these things that made me happy in August.
1. SQUISH Bubbly Bears. When we road trip, we pack a cooler. It's mostly filled with decently healthy-ish stuff. We love our grape tomatoes and carrot sticks to be sure, and this year I was all about the orange slices. But no road trip is complete without some candy. When we were in Montreal in July we splurged on some SQUISH candy. Lee got some banana-orange gummies (because he truly is bananas for bananas). I went for the bubbly bears, which are made with prosecco. On our next trip I think I might pick up some of their hard candies (or maybe I'll just order some online).
It has lobsters. I had to have it.
2. Lobster knitting project bag. Because LOBSTERS. Also because while I do have one small knitting project bag, it pretty much always has a sock in progress in it. I store my yarn in Ziplock freezer bags (because moths are evil and while they can invade these plastic bags, it does make it harder for them and yes I do reuse them for new yarn when I can). Sometimes you just want to not have to tote around a plastic bag and so I went hunting. After a few times of going "Oh! I like that! *looks at shipping costs* hahahahaha! NOPE!" I limited Etsy to Canadian-only shops and found My Needle Crafts. This wasn't the style of project bag I wanted (I wanted a boxy one and I will buy one eventually) but I couldn't say no to lobsters.
(Note to my American readers and Etsy sellers—if you have Etsy automatically determine your shipping costs, I urge you to review it. For one knitting bag, which weights less than a pound is usually shipped in a bubble envelope, I was quoted $33 for shipping on a $47 bag. I order from many American sites and have generous friends who sent me presents. I know what shipping costs. It's not $33. Sale lost, which doesn't hurt me because LOBSTER BAG, but it may be hurting you.)
My FoxyDORI Fauxdori
3. FoxyDori Pocket-Sized Wanderlust Leather Butterscotch Notebook Cover, aka a Fauxdori. I recently bought some small ClaireFontaine notebooks, because I am a sucker for good paper quality and ClaireFontaine makes me happy. They are quite small, and while they are the perfect size for my purse, I was worried they'd get chewed up. I have friends who are planner addicts and many of them love Fauxdoris. Fauxdoris may, or may not, be cheaper than a true Midori notebook. You don't necessarily save much by buying a Fauxdori but they are extremely customizable. I wasn't sure this was the right choice for me as my one and only notebook, and it's not my regular planner at this point (I'm still rocking and loving my Get To Work Book) but I decided to give this a shot. It's been super-duper useful as we've been shopping for items for our bathroom renovation. (Coming to us in October! Coming to you ... whenever I recover from having our only full bathroom renovated.)
A video posted by Karen Ballum (@sassymonkey) on
I considered getting a Midori but my notebooks didn't quite fit so I went with a FoxyDori. They have some really beautiful covers and you can get them in a variety of sizes. The pocket size I got is pretty small—it's just a bit larger than my iPhone 6— and it fits my notebooks perfectly. While my Fauxdori will hold four notebooks, I prefer it with three. I haven't added any folder or dashboards yet. That might be a fall project. (And may possibly involve purchasing fun paper cutting tools and a laminator. BECAUSE TOYS!)
You'll also notice I added an Octopus charm (because octopus!). I love it but it does scratch up the leather a wee bit, so I try to keep it so it's on the open edge of the notebook.
Beach tent! It's a little bit off kilter here because it was really windy that day but it held up well to the wind.
4. Coleman Roadtrip Beach Shade. I love the beach. Love, love LOVE it. I want to stay on the beach as long as possible but it can be difficult if I'm in full sun for hours. As much as I rock the sunscreen, a day on the beach in full sun almost always leaves me with a bit of a pink tinge and more new freckles than I can count. (I really don't mind my freckles—I have them year round—but extra sun damage is something I try to avoid.) I started noticing beach tents a few years ago and grabbed one this summer. We love it. It's roomy. I don't get a sunburn. We can, in theory, zip it up and use it as a private cabana (we didn't, but it nice to know we can). I also like how when we are both in the water at the same time I don't feel like our stuff is quite so exposed. There's even a line to hang up damp clothes if you need to. It's not really difficult to put up but it is way easier with two people than one person. At least, it's easier assuming you don't try to put up with two people for the first time after a 9km hike in full sun while suffering from a bad case of #HANGRY because it's well past lunch time. Not that I know anything about that. *ahem*