October 2017 Favorites

Continuing my tradition of sharing some favorites monthly, here are my October 2017 favorites! 

Just a reminder, some of these items contain affiliate links, but nothing in this post is directly sponsored by any company... I'm just sharing what I like! 

Beef and Broccoli (AIP)
I’ve taken a couple trips this month, first going to Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, then to Georgia and South Carolina. As I often do when I travel, I packed some “safe” food to take along. Beef and Broccoli is one of my go-to meals all of the time, but even more so when traveling. It’s easy to prepare in large quantities before a trip, it travels well, and it tastes good cold if I don’t have access to reheating. When traveling, I package the cooled Beef and Broccoli into quart-sized freezer Ziplocks and freeze them solid before travel. Then, when I’m ready to eat it, I thaw one in the fridge overnight and transfer it to a small Pyrex container. I like to top mine with garlic dill pickle sauerkraut and truffle salt.

XL 7-day pill organizer
Under the supervision of my Integrative MD, I’m on a more rigorous supplement regiment, tailored specifically to my needs as revealed in some recent testing. Some supplements I’m taking multiple times a day, but am taking different amounts at different times of the day, whereas before, I took things once in the morning and maybe again before bed. To keep myself from getting confused and to ensure that I would actually take the things my doctor is recommending, I invested in this new enormous pill organizer. And side note: I’ve never gotten so many DMs on Instagram as when I shared this pill organizer in my IG stories a few weeks ago! 

I still take the most things in the morning, so I end up using both the AM and the Noon spots for my morning pills. I’ve repurposed the evening spot for my afternoon ones and kept the bedtime slot for my nightly supplements. So far this organizer has been very useful and I feel I’ve been much more successful with actually taking what I intend to take while using this system.

The one bone I have to pick with the company manufacturing this pill organizer is their name “Stuff Seniors Need.” Yes, I do not fit in their target demographic, but I wish they’d have thought of more than just an older population when developing their marketing materials. (ok, I'll step off my soapbox now...)

Kuhn Rikon 4-inch nonstick paring knife 
I’ve had two of these paring knifes since around 2009 and they’re still both going strong. Originally, I bought them to go in my culinary/pastry knife kit, but now I use them when traveling and occasionally in my day-to-day cooking adventures. They come in a wide variety of colors, but I happen to have a purple one and a light blue/periwinkle one. The knife sharpens easily, it fits really comfortably in my hand, and they’re very inexpensive (especially as knives go!) I also love that it comes with a matching cover, so I can throw it in my lunchbox to easily cut things (avocado, apples etc.) as needed.

Coconut + Argan Oil Cleansing Towelettes 
On a whim, I decided to try these as a good face cleansing option while traveling. I know myself well enough to know that I am much more lazy about my skincare when traveling! In the past, I’ve used a different company’s cleansing towelettes, but they started making my eyes burn… Yikes! Not good! I switched to these and have not felt that same burning.

The smell of these wipes took some getting use to—they smell a bit like Play-Doh—but they are effective and I no longer feel a burning like I did with the last brand I used. I’m sure they’re not perfect ingredient-wise, but they’ve been a great option while traveling or on the occasional night when I’m too tired to do a full face washing. I buy mine at Target, but they're also available on Amazon.

Photo by Rebekah Scadding

Sam Edelman Penny Riding Boots in Whiskey Leather (“Athletic Fit”)
I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not a fashion blogger. But I am a big fan of these boots and I’ve gotten some nice compliments on them too.

It’s taken me two years to find just the right tan tall riding boot because I’ve had a tough time finding ones with a wide calf shaft and with the right heel hight. Too short a heel and they feel weird when walking… Too tall and I can’t wear them long without my feet, back and legs hurting. These boots are wide enough in the shaft without being gap-y—I can wear them with jeans or leggings. They’re also very comfortable! I walked five miles in Boston in them over the weekend and didn’t get a single blister. My normal shoe size is a 9 1/2 (occasionally a 10) and these fit great as a 9 1/2.

I tried these boots on first in a department store, and while I really liked them and thought they fit well, the price didn’t work my limited budget. I checked on Amazon upon returning home, just in case, and they were less than half the price of the department store! To me, they're still a bit of an investment, but I know I’ll get lots of use out of them. Thanks to my friend Rebekah Scadding for taking the photo of me in these boots while we were in the Boston Public Garden this past weekend.

The Teal Pumpkin Project 
This year marks two years that we’ve participated in the Teal Pumpkin Project for Halloween. By putting a teal painted pumpkin outside our house (or you can buy one), we’re signaling to trick-or-treaters/parents-in-the-know that we’ll have allergy-friendly options. Since today is Halloween, it might be a little late for this year’s Teal Pumpkin Project, but maybe it will be something that can be utilized in future years. Since I grew up with food allergies, my heart really goes out to those kids who can't eat traditional treats.

painting my 2017 pumpkin while watching "Stranger Things 2"

We started a tradition last year of giving out glow stick bracelets instead of a food treat. I like that the glow stick bracelets are not only fun, but also help with visibility on a dark Halloween night.

So those are a few of my favorites from October. What are you loving lately?

Some of these items include affiliate links, meaning Sweet Treats makes a small commission off items purchased after a link is clicked with no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support.

SaveSave