10 Things I’m Loving Lately

Hello friends!

I’m starting a new monthly series where I talk about things that I’m loving each and every month. I know I personally love reading these round up posts from other bloggers and friends.

None of these items are sponsored – they’re just random products or different things that have been bringing me joy lately and I just wanted to share them with you in case they could also be helpful and little happies for you, too!

So without further adieu, let’s get started!

1. Native Deodorant (link to product)

Okay, I don’t know about you, but every few months I find that I have to change up my deodorant to something totally different. I’ve used a whole myriad of natural deodorants, and I feel like I’m constantly on the hunt for new ones (that actually work). Well, after a lot of trial and errors, this is one of the newer brands that I’ve tried that I really love! A girlfriend recommended it, and it’s available at Target.

It’s definitely a higher price point ($12 for one deodorant stick) but if you read about all the harmful ingredients in regular deodorant, it’s worth it. Plus it does last awhile, so I overall just don’t mind.

And when I say it works – I’m talking we’ve been doing our evening walks in the 90%+ humidity and I come home a sweaty, but not stinky, mess.

Have you tried Native deodorant? If you’re looking for a few other suggestions the item I used before with the Ethique deodorant bar (LOVE), Schmidtt’s *Sensitive* (there’s mixed reviews on this deo, but the sensitive worked great without any irritation), Bali Secrets and then I’ve also made my own deodorant (which works great, except I don’t love to travel with it in the summer cause it is coconut oil based and will melt).

Always, always, always in the lavender scent 😉

Clearly a big fan of natural deodorants – probably should just write a blog post on all my favorites. If you’d be interested in this, comment below and let me know!

2. Walking with my boys in the evenings

Speaking of walking, this is definitely on the highlight reel of things I’ve been loving lately! Last week I stopped my regular workouts because I was experiencing some stomach cramping – I talked to my midwife and she wasn’t concerned, but I felt that it was time for me to step away. I’m pretty sure it was just the weight of my belly (I literally only just bought a belly band) and I’d probably be fine to keep working out… But I have peace that it’s time to step away.

However, I attribute why I feel so good in this pregnancy to the fact that I was active before pregnancy and remained active during (with a few modifications as the weeks have gone by).

So now my routine is prenatal yoga 1x a week, and we try to do 1-2 miles in the evenings at least 3-5 times a week (just depending on our schedule).

3. Papaya Enzymes (link to product)

So I’m always amazed at how many people have no idea aobut chewable enzymes! Anytime I bring these out, I always get questioned about it… And they are legit one of my favorite things!

So as a person with stomach issues (diagnosed IBS, aka that basically means my body just gets a bad stomach ache and *ahem* downstairs issues following basically anytime I eat). What’s helped immensely is eating these papaya enzymes after a meal that’s kind of hard on my stomach to digest (aka anything that isn’t peanut butter toast) and it just helps the little guys in my gut to break down the food better.

As far as I know (and totally not a dietician here) they aren’t harmful to take. They also make some that contain lactose enzymes, so if you have mild issues with dairy and accidentally (or intentionally) eat some dairy, it’ll help break it down so you don’t have such an adverse reaction.

Again, they’ve been a game changer for me personally which is why I share! You can like go to Whole Foods or your local health store and find a whole aisle and array of options to choose from that suit your needs.

4. Vegan Plant Based Protein (link to product)

So one of the things as a mostly vegetarian eater is that I don’t get as much protein as I should… Especially when pregnant. I was literally just about dumbfounded when my midwife told me I should be getting 70-100 grams of protein EVERY. SINGLE. DAY! I thought I was doing pretty good with my protein intake… But I definitely wasn’t hitting that number on the daily.

So for me (as a person who doesn’t love the taste of meat) protein smoothies have been a game changer! It definitely helps boost my protein intake, and it’s been a great “snack” between meals when I’m hungry and need help boosting protein.

5. Fresh Fruit

As you might have read in my second trimester blog post, I haven’t really had any true “cravings” in this pregnancy so far – but I HAVE been loving all the fruit! Which isn’t totally uncommon, because fruit is just so fresh in the summertime.

One of my favorite summer treats is making mango salsa (here’s my favorite recipe). Y’all, this is SO GOOD! It’s one of those things I’ll only make 1-2 times throughout the whole summer, and usually when I need to bring something to a summer BBQ because otherwise I will legit each the whole bowl within a few days (and I’m talking before I was pregnant this would happen).

Plus, you can pretty much adapt it to however you like… The last time I made it I used peaches instead of mangos because it’s what I had on hand, and then I threw in some blueberries cause it sounded good, and it was delicious!

Next thing I want to try and figure out is how to make my own popsicles with fresh fruit – so I can have a nice summer treat, without all the added sugars that come in store bought popsicles. If I find any good recipes, I’ll be sure to share 😉

6. Faith Can Move Mountains Tumbler (link to tumbler)

So I’m not kidding you, Daniel and I kind of fight over this tumbler. Not legit fight, fight, but it’s definitely a bit of a rush who gets dibs on it in the mornings when we’re having to drink our coffee on the go.

Daniel literally said to me the other day, “Rosalynne, you can just go grab a second one from your stock.” and my response? “But I want to save that item for a customer who will love it.”

But legit, we’re both obsessed with this tumbler style and I’m definitely planning on future releases to include this style, because it’s great! It fits a little bit larger than a regular cup of coffee (standard cups are 11 ounces and this tumbler is 14), plus it can be converted to be a coozy for in the summertime. Which is fun!

7. Reading

I’ve heard mixed things on whether or not I’ll get to read when our babe is here, so I’ve been soaking up reading as much as I can these days! Here are a few favorites I’ve read recently – and if you have any suggestions for anything I need to add to my list, feel free to share them.

Recent Book Recommendations:

8. Building my baby registry + working on the nursery

So I’m not gonna lie, building a baby registry has been more fun than I thought it would be! At first it was super overwhelming, but thanks to the recommendations fo a lot of other mamas and friends, plus too many hours spent researching the best products, I feel really good about the list!

I put together this blog post to help give you tips on what I’ve learned through this process and share the top recommended items I’ve been given!

What’s surprised me is how much I’ve loved opening baby gifts! As a person who literally got a 0 for gifts on the Love Language Test, I was surprised when I was giddy anytime a package came in. But as a girlfriend pointed out to me earlier today, it’s because it’s different… When I see a onesie, I’m literally picturing dressing our man in it and getting to hold him afterwards, or the snuggles we’ll have together while reading book in the chair, etc. Which I’m SO excited for!

Now that I’m in the third trimester, I’m definitely feeling the anticipation and countdown that meeting our little man cub is only just around the corner, and y’all I CANNOT WAIT!

9. Charcoal Toothbrush (link to product)

Okay, so this is something that I’ve tried for the first time and I’m absolutely loving! I switched to bamboo toothbrushes probably a little over 6 months ago after seeing Kaetlyn Anne from Calico & Twine post about it. Here’s a blog post she wrote, and intrigued, I went ahead and bought this toothbrush off amazon.

Well, when it came time to change out my toothbrush, I searched on amazon and saw these charcoal ones and thought I would give it a try. And I love them!

I can’t really speak to the whitening aspect of it, because that’s not why I bought them and haven’t really paid attention to that part… But I’d overall say 10/10 loving the bamboo toothbrush life and don’t see myself going to plastic toothbrushes ever again.

10. Fractionated Coconut oil (link)

This sounds so random, but I’m literally obsessed with this fractionated coconut oil. Coconut oil, in general, is something we use obsessively in our house… Like literally we use it for EVERYTHING! Maybe one day I should write a whole blog post on the uses of coconut oil (let me know in the comments below if this is something that you’re interested in) but as far as this coconut oil, I use it:

As my moisturizer in the evenings after I wash my face
As a belly moisturizer to help prevent stretch marks (so far so good)
In roller bottles with essential oils
As my eye makeup remover
To add some moisturizer to my *lady* if she’s a little dry
As a hand/overall body lotion
To “dry shave” if I’m in a pinch
Etc.

There’s literally so many uses for coconut oil – we have a jar in our bathroom, in the bedroom, in our kitchen and then we’ll totally have one in baby’s room (I’ve heard they’re great for diaper rashes and moisturizing your nips after nursing).

Overall, big fans of coconut oil and it’s sooo many versatile uses. What I love about the fractionated coconut oil (if you don’t know – probably should have highlighted this earlier) is that it permanently stays in the liquid state.

So this just makes it easier to use as a moisturizer, body lotion, etc. then the regular kind that can get messy so I like having both depending on the use I need it for!

++++

Well friends, that’s everything on my list for this month!

I’d love to hear, do you use/love any of the above products? Or what are you loving this month? Feel free to share with me so I can be sure to check it out!

As always, appreciate your time and hope you’re able to find something new to try that can bring you joy.

Until next week!

Blessings, xo

Please note that this post contains affiliate links – these come at no additional cost to you, but help provide a small stipend to help pay me for the time it takes to write these posts and pull them together! Please know I only link products that I personally would use and recommend.

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