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Favorite Things, Self Care

Awesome Things That Help Me Live My Best Day-to-Day Life

October 19, 2018 By Hannah Liistro 7 Comments

Hi, hello, good morning, good evening my friends! It’s Hannah here. I hope the month of October is treating you well. I absolutely love the crisp air in the fall. A sunny day with no clouds + lots of sunshine + the leaves on the trees being shades of vibrant orange and red? YES PLEASE! I’m grateful to be living in Boston in the fall. It’s my favorite time of year here, and I don’t know if I’ll be in New England next fall or more falls to come. So, I’m embracing it while it’s here! I hope you are, too (wherever you are in the world).

Today, I want to share with you some of my favorite items/things that help me out in my day-to-day life. By no means are these things necessary, and I know that we are privileged people to have the means to buy some of these things. Example: AirPods are not a basic human need by any standard (although we make it seem like they are…) but I enjoy them because they make my phone calling and podcast/music listening significantly more convenient…and in 2018 we’re all about convenience so I hear. Some of these things are for pure enjoyment, while others help me get my life together, stay organized, and follow through on tasks and my to do list.

If some of these things have helped me out, then maybe you’ll find them helpful as well!

AirPods

Since we already mentioned AirPods…let’s talk about them. Have you tried a pair? Would love to hear what you think of them because, well, I’m kiiiind of obsessed. However, I know they’re sometimes polarizing — a few of my friends have them and love them as much as I do, but some of my other friends prefer the bluetooth headphones that are still connected to each other by a wire because you can wear those around the back of your neck without risk of losing them. These pods are small! But, I love my AirPods because of the quality microphone for phone calls, the charging case (which helps with not losing them within the first 7 days), long battery life, and general ease of using them. If you’re on the market for wireless bluetooth headphones and are curious about these, I recommend!!

Beautycounter face lotion

The woman who started Beautycounter went to my highschool and was our graduation speaker. Ever since then, I’ve been inspired by her tenacity to be an ambitious, creative leader a huge industry. I also really identify with the company’s mission of putting happy ingredients on our skin if/when we can. This face lotion smells really good too! 

HeartSoul Scrubs

This is for my friends who wear scrubs to work…my favorite scrubs I own are my Figs and my HeartSoul ones. And honestly, I know that Figs are all the hype right now, but I like my HeartSoul ones even better. They’re sweat-wicking, comfortable, and breathable, and I like their cut/colors/shape. If we have to wear scrubs, it’s nice not to look like a walking potato sack. Everything about them is wonderful. They make regulars and petites, which is appreciate by 5′ people like me. Also, I think they are a bit cheaper than Figs and other “high end” scrub brands. I wear scrubs 5 days a week for work, and I love wearing something that I feel happy and good about, but also something that is very functional – there are lots of pockets on the shirts + pants!

Trello

Trello is totally free and it’s been one of the best additions to my life this fall! I LOVE the modalities of organization that it offers and am so so grateful for it. It’s helped me keep track of all of my different to-do’s and the way it’s organized de-stresses me because everything is customize-able and categorized. My ideal situation.

Essential Oil Diffuser

I thought all essential oil diffusers were super expensive. It turns out I was wrong! I got this one for $16-ish on Amazon and I use it nearly every day. I love how simple it is to use and how much of an impact it makes on my room. My favorite scents are eucalyptus, lavender, and peppermint. I also really want to try orange! Do you have any good recommendations for oils I should try??

Amazon Kindle

I got my Kindle when there was a really big sale. BEST THING I did all summer. My Kindle has been so good for me because I’m actually reading more. Hallelujah. I got a Boston Public Library card and can download virtual copies of books to my Kindle…totally free of charge. It definitely took some getting used to, but now that I’ve adjusted to reading on it, I love it and feel like I’m able to read more than I normally do and save some $$ while doing it. 

Vitamin C Serum

I just repurchased a bottle of this serum because, while I don’t have any photographic evidence, I feel like this has made improvements in my skin’s quality and glow. I’ve been using it for almost a year, and I got it because the reviews were super good. So I was kind of like, “Okay, why do people love this thing so much?!” and now I see why. Hooray for finding products that work for our unique skin and don’t cost a crazy amount of money. 

ASICS Nimbus 20 Running Shoes

One of my close friends at school works at ASICS corporate and had a product discount, so I got these for a good deal. Even if I wasn’t able to use this discount, I think I still would have bought these shoes for full price because THEY ARE SO comfortable! They’re perfect for walks, runs, work (where I’m on my feet all the time)…everything. I might buy another pair when these get enough miles on them because they’re mega supportive.

Mrs. Meyers cleaning supplies + candles

The candles smell amazing and come in these cute little jars. The cleaning supplies are my favorite because they get the job done and they have lovely scents. Simple as that!

That’s all for now. I hope your Friday is going well and that your weekend is filled with laughs, some chill downtime, and really good people/books/TV shows/time outside. Thank you for reading and for hanging out with me 🙂 I’d love to hear your favorite things in the comments!


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Filed Under: Favorite Things, Self Care

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Comments

  1. Hillary | Nutrition Nut on the Run says

    October 19, 2018 at 9:57 am

    That is so cool that Gregg Renfrew went to your HS! And that Countermatch lotion is amazing!

    Thanks for sharing some of your favorites! 🙂

    Reply
    • Hannah says

      October 26, 2018 at 11:18 am

      She’s such a badass! Thank you for reading Hillary!

      Reply
  2. Data says

    October 19, 2018 at 11:58 am

    You didn’t explain even remotely what Trello is??

    Reply
    • Ladina says

      October 21, 2018 at 4:34 pm

      Google is your friend…

      Trello is a web-based task management application 

      Reply
  3. Emily Swanson says

    October 19, 2018 at 6:10 pm

    I love Asics shoes; they’re my favorites. 🙂 Also, I’m so fascinated by the essential oil diffusers. I’d love to get the one for the car. 🙂 And it’s so sweet to see how you’re embracing fall life in Boston.

    Reply
  4. Christina says

    October 20, 2018 at 1:30 am

    I LOVE diffusing oils! My favorites right now are mixing cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. It smells like pumpkin spice 🙂 And how fun that Gregg Renfrew went to your high school! I’m a big beauty counter fan too. Thanks for sharing your favorite things with us Hannah!

    Reply
  5. Ashley says

    October 22, 2018 at 5:08 pm

    Mrs. Meyers makes candles?! Very cool. I love diffusing oils – specifically in the Fall. I love Young Living’s Thieves diffused with orange oil. I also love bergamot in roll ons and just about anything else 😉 I use to use Trello, but then I got lazy. I need to get back into the habit. Thanks for the motivation and inspiration =)

    Reply

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A non-diet dietitian and nurse practitioner helping women find peace with food, accept their natural body size and heal from hormonal issues and period problems.

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A little way I’m learning to enjoy these years o A little way I’m learning to enjoy these years of getting to spend so much time with my kids: aka another way I’m discovering some pockets of peace so my heart & mind & soul don’t crumble under the reality of dependent & emotionally dysregulated tiny humans.  About once a week we go somewhere for baked goods. We drive or walk, buy something buttery & then find a beautiful, relatively quiet outdoor spot where the boys can romp and I can sit and think my thoughts while I watch them play. This past week we were found ourselves at the Wool Factory where the boys threw rocks & whatever else off the bridge while I ate 90% of this almond 🥐 from @coucourachou that will blow your mind. Boys ate the other 10% bc they were busy playing and didn’t ask for more quickly enough 😜  I’m finding *for me* playgrounds have a time & place but they aren’t where I enjoy motherhood & my two toddlers the most. Baked goods & a pretty outdoor spot without high drops my 15 month old could launch himself off of…I’m here for it.
I brought this bag of snacks along when I took the I brought this bag of snacks along when I took the boys to hike out at one of our favorite spots last week and when I ripped it open I was regretting my choice to share them with my kids. @baresnacks randomly sent me a box of snacks and I usually eat free food we receive or give it to a friend/neighbor and move on. But I felt it my duty to tell you about these bc they are THAT GOOD. I’m not getting paid and this isn’t sponsored - I was just shocked at how tasty these were and felt you needed to know. We ate them with some buttery roasted nuts and the combo was 👌🏻 but they are good just on their own.  The boys climbed rocks and swam in the reservoir - leave it to my almost 3 year old to want to strip down naked and fully submerge himself in chilly water on a sixty degree morning. “Mama can I get super nakey?” Sure baby. Sure. This is your childhood.
It’s a hard sell to get me to accept an offer of It’s a hard sell to get me to accept an offer of extended alone time away from the babies to just be. And that isn’t something that’s best for me, it’s an area I gotta grow in. So this afternoon when Nick pushed me out the door and was like - get out of here plzzzz - I walked to my favorite cafe and ordered a thick pastrami sandwich and sat there for a good LONG while before taking a long, peaceful walk in the rain to wrap up the afternoon. Note to self: stop being such a control freak and go be by yourself sometimes.
a girlfriend brought me a 🍪 the size of my face a girlfriend brought me a 🍪 the size of my face from @mariebettecafe this morning when she came to get her toddler who played with us all morning and it is v good. even better when paired with an iced latte 😍
#AlignPartner I left off a few weeks ago sharing a #AlignPartner I left off a few weeks ago sharing about how taking @alignprobiotic regularly has improved my digestive regularity.  And I’m still taking them! I’ve permanently added Align 24/7 Digestive Support* into the roundup of supplements I take before bed (prenatal, vitamin D, choline & DHA - all which help keep me healthy while breastfeeding) so I can keep seeing the benefits.  Just because you see benefits, doesn’t mean you should stop taking your probiotic. Keep taking Align daily (under the supervision and recommendation of your health care provider of course) to keep seeing the benefits!  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - one of my favorite parts of Align probiotics is that they don’t need refrigeration AND they come in a convenient little blister pack that has the days labeled. It’s the little things people! #MyAlignGuutJourney #guthealth  *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
I realized it was going to be a long, hot afternoo I realized it was going to be a long, hot afternoon (91 and muggy in MAY 🤯) when a toddler nap was refused and a baby nap was cut wildly short ....so my tired mom brain pulled out two plastic storage bins, filled them up with soap & hose water and striped ‘em down naked in the yard. Two hours later, it was almost time for an early dinner and I had magically been able to sit for most of that time and we already had baths checked off the list. 👍🏻 I’m archiving this idea for my future self, hope it helps another tired mama out.
#AlignPartner I left off a month ago sharing about #AlignPartner I left off a month ago sharing about getting better at doing the basics to care for myself which included taking my supplements and @alignprobiotic regularly.  Probiotics take time to work so I wanted to give it a full month to see the full effects of @alignprobiotic. So here are my honest thoughts: it took a few weeks to notice any differences, but near the end of the month I did notice some changes in my digestive balance - even while traveling! I’m not someone who experiences occasional gas, bloating or abdominal discomfort frequently enough to notice a difference, so I don’t feel like I can comment on how well Align works for those benefits.  All in all though, taking @alignprobiotic was a positive experience and I really appreciated how the capsules don’t need to be stored in the fridge, making it convenient to take them with me anywhere #MyAlignGuutJourney #guthealth  *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Where we will spend a good majority of our summer. Where we will spend a good majority of our summer. Because the swampy VA summer has already begun (it’s in the low 90s today 🥵 lord help) and creeks are our retreat - not only from the heat but also from the noisy world. I need this just (if not more) than they do! We’ll be at the splash pads and pools too, but the quietness of the creek...my mental health is so about it. And it’s hours of play for them! Win win.  A couple things to note: this scene also included a few toddler reminders on finding another direction to throw rocks instead of at his brother - so not all is serene 🤪 and also, yes I am now that mom who buys the same clothing for both kids bc it keeps things simple & i think i kinda like it too 🤷🏻‍♀️
Things I love about midwifery among many: the appo Things I love about midwifery among many: the appointments, no matter how long, feel so unhurried. 
Just walked in from an appointment with my midwife because I was due for a Pap test + an overall wellness visit. My last pap was during my first trimester with Cal which feels like a jillion years ago, but it’s only actually been three years. Life changes so fast! Pre-baby life feels like a whole other life.  I’m wayyyy overdue for a visit to my PCP bc I’ve been under OBGYN or midwifery care for the majority of the past three years while having babies, but I am pretty good with keeping up with my paps. It seems women often think they need pap and/or HPV testing way more frequently than they do (and providers sometimes perform these tests more frequently than necessary - remember more testing doesn’t always mean better outcomes!)  So if you need it, here’s a quick little reminder on this chilly spring Friday afternoon on how often you need this testing (these are the recommendations from ACOG)  Women aged 21–29 years should have a Pap test alone every 3 years. HPV testing is not recommended.  Women aged 30–65 years should have a Pap test and an HPV test (aka co-testing) every 5 years (preferred). It also is acceptable to have a Pap test alone every 3 years.  If you get abnormal results, this testing frequency could change - but for healthy women with normal results, you actually don’t need testing as frequently as you might think. Which is great news for those of you who hate the speculum.  Ok, off to finish up some things on the to-do list (including cleaning this kitchen) during nap time and then come 5 o’clock, crack an IPA with our neighbors 🍻
#AlignPartner Over the past seven months since bec #AlignPartner Over the past seven months since becoming a mom of two, caring for myself has gotten shoved to the back burner. And it's been a challenge to make it a priority. My routine-resistant personality has upsides and downsides when it comes to motherhood. So I'm starting small this year with a consistent bedtime routine that includes taking my supplements and @alignprobiotic and hoping as that becomes consistent, my mornings will naturally shift too.  In short my bedtime currently goes like this….jammies & face care when putting the babies to bed. Before I go to bed (anytime between 9pm and 12am...) I’ll pump, take my supplements and fill my water. Then I go upstairs and brush my teeth. And then get in bed. The kicker: 70% of the time I find myself finishing up tasks on my phone IN BED. I hate this habit.  Back to supplements. This is something I have been able to stick with. On top of fish oil, my prenatal, choline and vitamin D, I recently added @AlignProbiotic 24/7 Digestive Support*§ to see if it helps with abdominal discomfort and regularity because when I don’t drink coffee or am traveling that can get thrown off.  I’ll be taking it every day for the next 28 days since it takes TIME for our bodies to adjust to probiotics - and I'll be taking you guys along with me as I share my honest thoughts. Many people think if they don’t see changes within the first 7-10 days then the probiotic isn’t working, but that’s not the case. I’m giving myself more than just a week or two and instead a full month to see the full benefits. I’ll keep you posted over the next month. Check out my stories to learn more! #MyAlignGutJourney #guthealth
 
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
We had an AFTERNOON today. Toddler didn’t care f We had an AFTERNOON today. Toddler didn’t care for a nap. Putting baby down was harder than I wanted it to be. Miraculously, I had a moment of clarity as I was covered in tiny humans and decided I wasn’t doing the nap battle thing a on 60 degree, gorgeous, sunny spring day 🙅🏻‍♀️ so I piled both babies into the car half naked, opened the sun roof, put on white noise for them and an audio book for me and drank a kombucha as I drove a meal to a postpartum mama. Thirty five minutes later we had a sleeping baby and a toddler who at least had a rest. Baby transferred without waking HALLELUJAH and although my toddler didn’t nap today (lord help) at least we got soaked in breezy sunshine 😎🤘🏻💆🏻‍♀️
We veered from our usual Friday night homemade piz We veered from our usual Friday night homemade pizza (minus the dough, we leave that to @albemarlebakingco) because we are eating pizza tomorrow with some friends - instead I called my mom and asked her how she makes her chicken fingers and we fried up a big ole batch of chicken nugs 🙌🏻🤤 along with a sheet pan full of sweet potato fries and a simple arugula salad dressed with parmesean, olive oil and s&p. Oh and my moms honey mustard recipe for dipping. It’s SO DANG GOOD.  Over the past 6ish months we’ve been practicing (and practicing and practicing bc it doesn’t come naturally) unplugging from technology and slowing down and resting and just being for one day a week. Some call it Shabbat. Some call it Sabbath. Maybe you call it something different. All I know is IT IS SO GOOD FOR MY WEARY SOUL and the day I look forward to ALL WEEK. Sundown on Friday to sundown Saturday. Nothing but rest. For us that means hiking (or something outside) and napping and reading and being with friends and eating really good food. And drinking some really good wine or craft beer. Sometimes whiskey. 😛  And because I know I’ll get asked about the chicken finger recipe and also because it’s too good not to share and Momma Coale said I could, here ya go:  Cut chicken breast into thin strips or small pieces (I prefer nug size bc the breading to chicken ratio is perfection). Salt and pepper those babies really well. Then dredge them in all purpose flour, then egg, then panko - just like you would bread anything else. Then fry them up in a light oil - I use avocado oil because that’s our everyday oil. You could also use canola or peanut oil. Just fill a pan with an inch or so of oil on medium high heat. They only take 2-3 minutes per side. You can always temp them to make sure they are at least 165 degrees F to really make sure they are done. Dunk in all the sauces and enjoy!  Happy weekend!

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