Things I’m Loving: December 2016

Wow, I can’t believe it has been almost 2 ½ years since my last “5 Things I’m Loving Right Now” post – where has the time gone? A reader reached out last month and asked me to make more of these posts (I meant to make it a semi-regular series, but I only ended up doing two of them), and your wish is my command! I actually really like sharing these, it just kind of got away from me. With all that said, I am super excited to share five of my current faves with you – I hope you’ll love them as well! If you’d like to check out my previous favorite things posts (still really great things!), follow these links to my June 2014 and October 2013 lists.

I’d also love to hear about some of your favorite things, so if you’ve got something you’re obsessing over, post it in the comments! Without further ado…

This post contains affiliate links.

1. Conair Curl Secret Infinity Pro

You may have seen the commercials for this magical hair tool and wondered if it really works – it does! Trust me, I was initially skeptical for several reasons. The first is that the Curl Secret works very differently than a curling iron or wand. Basically you clamp it at the top of a smooth section of your hair and it very quickly sucks your hair up into the head of the gadget. Then it beeps a few times to let you know it’s curling and then when it gives you a few beeps in quick succession you unclamp the tool from your hair and a perfect curl falls out. The whole process is super fast. Obviously this seems like some sort of futuristic wizardry, so I needed to try it myself.

The other reason I was skeptical is because I have very fine, thin straight hair that is super resistant to holding a curl. It’s so straight and slippery that when my mom put barrettes in it as a child they would slide right out. Usually with a curling iron I can make an initial curl, but by the time I get to wherever I was styling my hair for there is barely a curl to be seen. It’s a bummer but I had basically just accepted that I have straight hair and am not able to go curly for a night. I was wrong!

Several hours later…still curly!

I’ve had the Curl Secret for about a year and a half now and I’m obsessed. It works quickly and easily without much effort or skill involved and the curls actually last in my hair! I usually just mist the curls with hairspray, drag my finger through to loosen them up a bit and I know they’ll still be in tact at the end of the night. It’s really fun to be able to change up my look without a lot of work (I am kind of lazy about getting ready). Every time I wear my hair curly I get compliments and people ask me about it, so since I love telling people about the Curl Secret I thought this was the perfect place to share it.

2. Jockey Skimmies Slipshort

Using the stock photo because I’m not posting a pic of me wearing these…lol

If you know me in real life, you may have already heard me gush about Jockey Skimmies. I’ve already sold several people in my life on them! I guess Skimmies are maybe more of a Summer/Spring item for when you’re not wearing tights, but since I took a 2 ½ year break from my last “5 Things” post, I’ll go ahead and share them now just in case. Jockey Skimmies help solve a problem a lot of ladies have, when you’re wearing a skirt or dress (especially when it’s hot out) and you’re walking around a lot, unless you are one of the tiny percent of the population whose inner thighs don’t touch, inevitably your thighs will rub together. It’s uncomfortable, it can hurt, and when it’s warm and muggy out it’s just the worst. Enter Jockey Skimmies.

Jockey Skimmies are different than your typical shapewear like Spanx that are super tight and suck you in. Skimmies don’t do that. Skimmies comfortably glide over your body so that when you walk around, your thighs skim right by each other without any friction. Skimmies basically look like bike shorts, but they’re really stretchy and comfortable. Since they aren’t tight, there’s no muffin topping over them and you will not feel like you are stuffed into a sausage casing. Plus, though they don’t suck you in, I’ve found they do have a smoothing effect. Full disclosure: I can pull mine up to my bra line if I want and it definitely smooths out everything underneath. Skimmies are lightweight and something you can comfortably wear all day without them riding up or falling down. If I’m not wearing tights under a dress I am always wearing my Skimmies. I ordered all of mine online, but they also sell them at department stores if you want to check them out in person. They’re a game changer.

3. Plaza Astoria Jewelry Armoire

Owning this Plaza Astoria Jewelry Armoire has truly allowed me to step up my style game without buying any new accessories. Before I got this, some of my jewelry lived tangled in my top dresser drawers, some was in little pouches, some dangling off earring trees on my dresser…it was a mess. I could never find anything, what I could find was a pain to access and there tons of pieces I didn’t even remember I had. I’ve wanted a jewelry cabinet for a while and when we moved into our new house I decided it was time to pull the trigger. The one I bought easily mounted to the wall, but it also comes with the materials needed to hang it over a door. The front of the armoire is a full length mirror, which is super handy, and it comes in several colors (I chose white because it goes with our décor).

Honestly, every single time I open the door to my jewelry armoire I get excited. Really, every time, even after months of owning it. I can see all of my jewelry at once, so it’s really easy to choose what I want, and I’ve been wearing jewelry I forgot I even had because it was previously hiding in a drawer or pouch. Plus, none of my necklaces are ever tangled! Everything is sorted and easy to access (even the stud earrings just slide in and out, you don’t have to remove the backs) and I love that there’s a smaller mirror inside the cabinet so I can hold pieces up or test them out before making a final selection without having to close and open the door. The jewelry armoire fit seamlessly into our room décor, it just took the place of our full length mirror, and my dresser top and drawers are far less cluttered now that all my jewelry is tucked away inside it’s own little closet. If your jewelry storage resembles my “before” description, this jewelry armoire is the upgrade you deserve.

4. Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

The odd thing about this recommendation is that I’ve never really been into wearing nail polish on my fingers. I usually have painted toes, but as I mentioned earlier in my Curl Secret lovefest, I am lazy, so painting my fingernails only to have the polish chip within a day never seemed worth it to me. Recently though, I found a few polish colors I really love (like the Nicka K NY112 Classic Taupe polish pictured here) so I decided to do some research and I came across this Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. The reviews were glowing, so I ordered it from Amazon. I tried it out and it went on smoothly, dried quickly and made my nails super glossy. About a week later I redid my nails because the roots of my nails near the cuticles were starting to show space (from nail growth), but in that time my polish never chipped! I had washed dishes, eaten food, done all my normal activities and my polish stayed pretty as ever.

If you need more testimonials, check out the devotees in the Amazon reviews. It really is that good!

5. Columbia Women’s Minx Mid II Omni-Heat Winter Boots

As many of you know, I live in Buffalo, so a good snow boot is important to me. This year I really needed new ones so I set about hunting for the unicorn of winter boots: something warm, insulated, comfortable, waterproof, easy to put on and take off, and cute. Also, under $100 would be nice. Oh, and I have tiny ankles and giant calf muscles, so something that can work with my calves. I figured I’d have to compromise on something, but I totally lucked out and the very first boots I tried on were these Columbia Minx Mid II boots. I was in awe of how they checked off everything on my list and more (they were on sale!).

Slipping my feet into these feels like a warm cozy hug. I’m not even exaggerating. The bottom has good traction for walking in slippery weather, their insulation is rated to -25 degrees Fahrenheit and they’re the perfect height (mid-calf) for snow. They’re also super cute and they look great over skinny jeans or leggings, but they also have a slim enough profile that they work well under my flared/bootcut jeans as well. These are boots you could wear all day! Even though they have laces, they go on and off really fast and they fit over my huge calf muscles! I’ve walked around in these a lot since I got them and they’re incredibly comfortable. I’ve read a bunch of reviews online that said these boots run small and to size up, but I tried mine on in a store and ended up buying my normal size. They fit perfect. If you do want to wear big thick socks with them or you’re not able to try them on in a store, maybe go up half a size based on other’s reviews.

That’s what I’m loving right now – let me know what you think! If you’re loving my favorite things and want me to do more posts like this or if you want to tell me some favorites of your own (I would love that), leave a comment below. I want to hear from you!