Things I Love Thursday

Hey, friends! Welcome to the first installment of Things I Love Thursday. This is totally not a unique idea — many bloggers do this or a variation of this, including my good friend Caitlin and even Gala Darling — but I just thought it would be neat, since there’s a TON of things that I love. 🙂 This can be anything: a link to something funny/inspiring/entertaining/educational, a product I’ve been using, a recipe, a video of my cats, or something that I discovered or want to buy. The sky’s the limit. Enjoy!

1. Nostalgia Electrics Cotton Candy Maker ($39.98 from Amazon).

How amazing is this? You can crush up any hard candy you like (in addition to the cotton candy sugar), making it possible to create a wide array of flavored cotton candy. One of the reviewers mentioned Lifesavers, Werther’s Originals, and Brach’s Soda Poppers (root beer cotton candy!!!). The bowl is translucent, so if you’re like me, you can excitedly watch the cotton candy being made. I mean, do I really need to go on?

2. Ballet Beautiful Classic 60-Minute Workout by Mary Helen Bowers ($14.99 from Amazon).

I’ll be honest, I struggle with working out. I’ve tried lots of different methods — freestyling workouts on my own (doing various combinations of strength exercises along with cardio), running (on my treadmill), workout DVDs (mostly Jillian Michaels)… nothing seems to stick. There’s no guarantee, of course, that this one will, but from the reviews I’ve read (and feedback from friends), this is an incredible workout. It’s tough and keeps you feeling like you’re really making strides, but it’s also doable enough for people who aren’t extremely in shape. Plus, who doesn’t want a ballerina body?

3. Cool Gear Infusion 56oz water bottle ($8.99).

I bought this water bottle from Target a couple weeks ago, and it never leaves my side. It holds 56oz of water, which is awesome… I try to go through 2 full bottles a day. It’s pretty solidly made, has a handle on the side, and a built-in straw!!! It’s also BPA-free, which is great. There’s a gel-filled freezer stick inside, so you can keep your water cold, but I usually forget and just fill the bottle with ice cubes before I fill it up. 🙂

4. The Office

I don’t think I need to explain much about this — it’s one of the best shows ever. This is usually my “background noise” while editing — lucky for me there’s a solid 7 seasons of it on Netflix. Seasons 1-5 are my favorites, but seasons 6 and 7 are alright, too. If you haven’t watched this show yet… well, firstly, where have you been for the past 7 years? And secondly, GO DO IT NOW.

5. Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

I can pretty safely say that this is my ALL-TIME favorite ice cream. Seriously, it can’t be beat. The chocolate ice cream on its own is fantastic, but with a thick peanut butter swirl? To die for. And really, there’s some serious peanut butter in there. I pretty regularly have to basically stab the ice cream with my spoon to break up the massive chunks. AWESOME.

Woo! This concludes Volume 1 of Things I Love Thursday. Hope you enjoyed this random, disjointed peek into my life. 🙂