Today I have the honor of linking up with 11 other bloggers to share our Favorite Things 2014—hosted by Melissa at 320 Sycamore!



This is a fun break from the usual DIY talk—a chance to hear what everyone else has been obsessing over this year, find some new favorites and maybe even a holiday gift or two. My list includes items I've discovered this year along with old favorites I can't live without. Let's get started!

1) Black & Decker Mouse This is one of those things I am kicking myself for not buying from the beginning. I've spent the last three years dreading furniture refinishing projects with my inefficient old $2 garage sale hand sander. When it finally bit the dust this summer, I replaced it with a Mouse and couldn't believe the difference. Pretty much the best $30 I ever spent.

2) Hitachi Lithium Ion Cordless Drill and Impact Driver This is probably the single best/most useful purchase we made this year that made our lives easier. We'd been using an under powered, old cordless drill for years that barely got the job done half the time and this drill is like night and day. We haven't needed the impact driver yet but there's really nothing like a high powered drill.

3) Mainstays Scented Candles I try to avoid the "Walmart shopping experience" as much as possible, but these candles are so worth it. I use them all year round, but their holiday scents are nothing short of amazing. They start at just $1 and there's so many to choose from! I can't help but grab a few every time I'm there. The cheapest/easiest way to get into the fall/holiday mood!

4) 16" Boxwood Wreath I've been eyeing boxwood wreaths all year, trying to figure out if I should go real or faux. All of the faux ones are seriously expensive (have you looked lately?), and I love the look of real, so after much searching I found the best price I could on these wreaths at save-on-crafts.com (this website deserves a whole post of its' own, if you've never shopped there before!). They're still not exactly cheap at $34/ea, but if you want real preserved boxwood that will last years, it's the best I've found. I bought four a few months ago and love them!

5) H&M Home Warning: Don't click on that link unless you want to spend hours drooling over their stuff. H&M launched a home line earlier this year and I'm hooked. I've already bought a few things and it's quite possibly my new favorite home decor source of all time. I plan to post a more comprehensive review soon!



1) Batiste Dry Shampoo This is one of those "how did I ever live without it" products for me. I've been using dry shampoo for a couple years now and Batiste is definitely the best I've found, and a great price! I'll spot them at TJ Maxx every now and then and scoop them up, otherwise they go on sale at Ulta pretty often.

2) Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Lip Gloss  I'm a lot little obsessed with anything sugary/sweet/candy flavored and this is like dessert on your lips. I don't leave the house without my Love Berry, Candy Baby, or Pink Goes Pop.

3) Mio Liquid Water Enhancer Around 2 years ago I developed chronic acid reflux and water is basically the only drink that doesn't irritate my throat. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of plain water so I wasn't consuming as much of it as I should have... but these little miracle water drops change everything. If you're trying to cut back on soda/coffee/whatever, try this stuff! The Berry Pomegranate is delicious and I could drink it all day.

4) Downy Unstopables I tried this for the first time this year and our laundry has never smelled better. The purple bottle is my favorite, but the blue smells great also and after some research, I found the best deal is at Target ($11.99 for the big 26.5 oz bottle). Target is offering free shipping on everything for the rest of the year so I just stocked up!

5) The Mason Bar Tumbler  I don't know what it is about this tumbler but it hasn't left my side ever since I got my first 24 oz a few months ago. It makes me want to stay hydrated all day. I just got the vinyl cuff to go with it and I'm even more in love. It fits nicely in car cup holders and I take it with me everywhere I go (with my Mio flavored water, of course!)

6) Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Milk When my reflux began I had to change my whole diet around. I started reacting negatively to dairy so that meant I had to give up my daily serving of milk (which I love). Fortunately, I discovered this stuff and not only does it taste WAY better than any dairy milk I've tried, but it has less than half the calories of nonfat milk AND no sugar. I'm a believer and I'll never go back (I also prefer Almond Breeze to Silk).

7) Pure Komachi Knife Set  In the past I've always considered cooking a chore. I was gifted this knife set last Christmas and have not only cooked almost every night since, but I've actually enjoyed it—I'm sure Pinterest recipes and our kitchen remodel also helped, but I give a lot of credit to these knives! Cooking is no fun when you don't have the right tools. I love sweet potatoes but I just stopped buying them in the past because they were so difficult to chop. Not anymore! These have to be my best kitchen tools yet.


And that wraps it up for this year! It was tough narrowing them down—there's a lot of products I'm loyal to but these ones really stood out. Anyone else equally as obsessed with anything on the list? What are your favorites I should know about? On Thursday you'll all have a chance to link up at 320 Sycamore so by the end of this week we all should have lots of new finds!

Make sure to head on over to Candice at She's Crafty to see her favs!







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