These are a few of our Favorite Things - 2012

For the last several years I have hosted a Favorite Things party. The first year I did it because it seemed like a fun idea and I'd seen it floating around on Pinterest. Then, it was so fun and everyone loved it, so I did it again the next year. Then, it became a "thing" and people started asking me in the early fall about that year's party. So, its become an annual tradition for about 15 of us. One year we had an early snowstorm the night of the party and I had people walking in the snow for over a mile to get to my house because driving wasn't recommended. Crazy!

If you're not familiar with the Favorite Things Party concept, here's the deal:

Each person brings their favorite thing (anything you like... your favorite lip gloss, kitchen tool, gift wrapping supply, gift card for coffee, etc.). It can't cost more than $6 and each person brings 5 of that favorite thing. Everyone's name goes into a hat 5 times at the beginning of the night. Everyone draws 5 names out of the hat (making sure you don't have any duplicates and you don't get your own name). You each have a chance to tell everyone about your favorite thing and then you give the 5 items you brought with you to the 5 names you drew from the hat. Everyone will go home with five new favorite things to keep for themselves! 

Here are the items that we shared in 2012... (You can also click over to see the posts with our items from 2015, 2014 and 2013.)

Me - For the local coffee drinkers, I HIGHLY recommend visiting Carabello Coffee in Newport, KY. Justin & Emily Carabello hae this great little coffee shop but its about so much more than awesome coffee. Its "Coffee & Compassion in Tandem". They roast their own beans which have been grown and harvested ethically and purchased via Fair Trade. Then, a portion of their profits go back to support local nonprofit organizaitons through fundraisers, 2 children in Rwanda via Compassion International and an orphanage in Nicaragua. I chose to give small bags of Carabello Coffee in their Tres Fincas blend as my Favorite Thing in 2012. As of 2015 we are still supporting Carabello via our coffee habit!

Sandy - Essie brand nail polish. Essie has tons of fun colors and its not super expensive.

Stephanie - Method Bathroom Spray cleaner (smells so good it ALMOST makes you want to clean the bathroom - however I've had this same bottle since I got it at the party in 2012, so that tells you how often I ACTUALLY want to clean my bathroom). Stephanie also gave us Extra Gum.

Sushannah - a half bottle of champagne to make any old weeknight feel like something special with your spouse - or just for you! I LOVED this idea. The Hahns did a weekly champagne night in the middle of the week for a while and it seemed like such a great idea for other couples to try! Love that she shared it!

Susan - TAZO Awake Tea (she drinks this instead of coffee in the morning and its a great pick-me-up).

Erin - Brookside Dark Chocolate Pomegranate These are so good... tart, sweet, delicious. They have a mini bags at the checkout at our Target and that's a dangerous impulse purchase since I'm at Target almost every day. She also gave us these Olive Oil Cruet. I love using this in my kitchen. It makes me feel fancy even though I had no idea it was called a Cruet until I just looked this up on Amazon.

Bethany - Snack Factory White Chocolate & Peppermint Pretzel Crisps, She warned us that these were the type of snack where you would end up eating the whole bag if you weren't careful. I was skeptical. The flavor combo just didn't seem that great to me. I like white chocolate pretzels, but the added addition of the peppermint, seemed strange to me. I tried them nonetheless and I ate the whole bag. Case closed. This was the first year she introduced us to the e.l.f. products by giving us the e.l.f. eyelash curler, e.l.f. Liquid Lipstick and e.l.f. eye shadow. She also recommended hitting up the Contemporary Art Museum gift shop for unique gifts if you're local to the Cincinnati Area. I imagine that would apply to most any museum gift shop though. They always have cool stuff.

Jessie Daft - Target Limited Edition Pumpkin Soy candle. I am also a fan of their Evergreen scent for the holiday season.

Lauralee - Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning. LL's husband is a Louisiana native and so she introduced us to this Louisiana treasure. You can use it in place of season salt or other "go to" seasonings in your pantry to give dishes a little kick. She also recommended the Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix. Lauralee is an amazing baker and she says people prefer these box mix brownies to her made from scratch brownies. I'm not sure I believe that, but the Ghiradelli brownies are REALLY good.

Stephanie - Starbucks Gift Card. Can you really ever go wrong with a Starbucks card?

Kelly - This was a funny year for Kelly. Almost every year is funny for Kelly. This was her first time attending the Favorite Things party and so she wasn't clear on the instructions. Instead of buying 5 of the same thing she gave away 5 different things. She totally make more work for herself. Here were her 5 items! Trader Joe's Honey Mango Shave Cream, Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pancake and Muffin Mix, Five of her favorite recipes, Trader Joes Gift Card, Funny Punny thank you cards, Half Price books calendar with coupons. Way to go Kelly!

Ingrid is a gardener. Like a serious gardener. The plantings in and around her home are a thing to behold and instill deep feelings of inadequacy when I look at my sad weedflowerbeds. So, Ingrid knows how damaging it can be for your hands to dig in the dirt all the time. She shared her secret - Crabtree & Evelyn Gardener's Therapy Hand Cream. This stuff is magical. I've been using it ever since she shared it with us in 2012 and I still love it. They also have a scrub called hand recovery that works great in combination with the cream.

Jen introduced us to the Cable turtle. Its a cool little thing to tame the electronic cables in your life. The small size here would be most helpful with keeping charging cords and earbuds under control. What will they think of next?!

Amy - Charlie Harper notecards are beautiful to send in the mail, but Amy had an even better idea... cut off the back and frame the front of the card as cheap wall art! Brilliant!

Lisa loves a good nut mix so she recommended Ferris Coffee & Nut Company Mixed Nuts with dried Cranberries. Yum!

Hope 2012 gave you some good gift ideas! What's your favorite thing?

P.S. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links to my Amazon store, so if you click through and actually buy something through my Amazon link, the Heindl Haven will get a tiny percentage. You get a favorite thing and you support the Haven at the same time. Again... everybody wins! Happy shopping!

These are a few of our Favorite Things - 2013

For the last several years I have hosted a Favorite Things party. The first year I did it because it seemed like a fun idea and I'd seen it floating around on Pinterest. Then, it was so fun and everyone loved it, so I did it again the next year. Then, it became a "thing" and people started asking me in the early fall about that year's party. So, its become an annual tradition for about 15 of us. In 2013 we had an early snowstorm the night of the party and the roads were basically impassable. I had people walking in the snow for over a mile to get to my house because driving wasn't recommended. I sent my husband out in our SUV to pick people up and another husband used his F150 to run a taxi to and from the party. The pile of snow boots and ski pants and coats at the door as people arrived was so awesome. All but two people came and one of those would have had to travel on the interstate which would have been really dangerous, so I totally understood (but she is from Wisconsin and KNOWS how to drive in the snow, so she would have been fine but the interstate was at a standstill because other people have no clue.)

If you're not familiar with the Favorite Things Party concept, here's the deal:

Each person brings their favorite thing (anything you like... your favorite lip gloss, kitchen tool, gift wrapping supply, gift card for coffee, etc.). It can't cost more than $6 and each person brings 5 of that favorite thing. Everyone's name goes into a hat 5 times at the beginning of the night. Everyone draws 5 names out of the hat (making sure you don't have any duplicates and you don't get your own name). You each have a chance to tell everyone about your favorite thing and then you give the 5 items you brought with you to the 5 names you drew from the hat. Everyone will go home with five new favorite things to keep for themselves! Hooray!!

Here are our favorite things from our 2013 party. Just in time for holiday gift giving! You can find the list from our 2015 party here and the 2014 party is here.

My favorite thing that year was inspired by a media fast I did as part of Jen Hatmaker's book 7. I hosted a group of women for a book club that fall and we read through and did the 7 Experiment all together. The week of the media fast, I send all the women a handwritten note through the mail. It was such a breath of fresh air, to put pen to paper and send them some personal words of encouragement that week. So, for my favorite thing, I packaged up a set of pretty notecards and stamps for mailing. I'm a sucker for stationery - and I'm an even bigger sucker for personalized stationery. These aren't the ones I used, but they're all so lovely...

Bethany brought us awesome beverage dispensers. There's no way she followed the cost limit rule this year, but I didn't even care because I got one of these and I have used it so many times. Here's a picture of mine. Its all heavy plastic and so its perfect for kids. Bethany said she kept it filled with water all the time so her kids could get their own water and getting it from a fancy dispenser like this is so much more appealing for kids than the plain old faucet.

Shonna loves to get her nails done and she has a thing about keeping her nails filed and cuticles neat. So, she's ALWAYS got emery boards and fingernail clippers at the ready.  

In keeping with the nail theme Stephanie recommended Nailtique Protein Formula polish for building strong nails.

Amy wanted us to be on trend with some charcoal colored nail polish. I don't remember which particular one she shared but I've tried one from Sally Hansen Called Insta-Dri in Slick Slate. She also gave us mini bottles of Wild Turkey American Honey bourbon. Kentucky is the bourbon capital of the world, so it seemed totally appropriate!

Sushannah has tried to convert me to the institute of Trader Joe's, but our closest store is 25 minutes away in a very congested area, so I can never muster the fortitude to make the trek. Regardless, I love the snacks she shares from TJ's. This year she brought Dried Mandarin Oranges! So tasty! She also brought us a travel sized bottle of CHI hair product.

Andrea from Oak Ridge Revival shared the awesome paper stripey straws. The perfect touch for a gathering! In fact I had some out for everyone to use that night, but mine said "made in China" on them. Hers did not.   

Kelly is another Trader Joe's devotee and she brought us his Honey Mango Shave Cream and his Gingerbread Baking Mix. The shave cream smells delicious and the bread tastes delicious!

Ingrid is my hair spirit animal. She can throw her hair up in a messy bun at a moment's notice and she always looks effortlessly chic. Even when she's digging in the dirt. The bonus is that she comes and helps me dig in my dirt sometimes. Anyway, her hair always looks good. Must be because she's mastered the use of dry shampoo. She recommends Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Dry Shampoo.

Lauralee is always baking and cooking up something good. She shared a little trick she's been doing with chicken. The Beercan Chicken Rack holds a whole chicken upright with a can of beer inside so while the chicken cooks on the grill the beer penetrates and seasons the chicken. She gave us the rack and she also graciously gave us a can of beer!

Sandy is a tea drinker. Its the one area where we differ. She won't do coffee and while I will drink tea, I will always prefer coffee. She discovered Harney & Sons Tropical Green Tea at Fort Thomas Coffee. She also gave us a cute little plate with a teabag on it.

Erin is a woman after my own heart. I love nothing more than a good reusable straw cup. She gave us just that as well as a bag of Peppermint Bark just like William Sonoma.

That's it from the 2013 party! Hope it gave you some good gift ideas!

P.S. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links to my Amazon store, so if you click through and actually buy something through my Amazon link, the Heindl Haven will get a tiny percentage. You get a favorite thing and you support the Haven at the same time. Again... everybody wins! Happy shopping!

These are a few of our Favorite Things - 2014

For the last several years I have hosted a Favorite Things party. The first year I did it because it seemed like a fun idea and I'd seen it floating around on Pinterest. Then, it was so fun and everyone loved it, so I did it again the next year. Then, it became a "thing" and people started asking me in the early fall about that year's party. So, its become an annual tradition for about 15 of us. One year we had an early snowstorm the night of the party and I had people walking in the snow for over a mile to get to my house because driving wasn't recommended. Crazy!

If you're not familiar with the Favorite Things Party concept, here's the deal:

Each person brings their favorite thing (anything you like... your favorite lip gloss, kitchen tool, gift wrapping supply, gift card for coffee, etc.). It can't cost more than $6 and each person brings 5 of that favorite thing. Everyone's name goes into a hat 5 times at the beginning of the night. Everyone draws 5 names out of the hat (making sure you don't have any duplicates and you don't get your own name). You each have a chance to tell everyone about your favorite thing and then you give the 5 items you brought with you to the 5 names you drew from the hat. Everyone will go home with five new favorite things to keep for themselves! 

Hooray!!

Here are the items that we shared in 2014... (You can also click over to see the posts with our items from 2015 and 2013.)

My favorite thing in 2014 was the air plant. These weird/awesome plants exist without being planted in the dirt. They just sit out in the open air (hence the name "air plants" but they are also known as Tillandsia). You soak them in water for 15-20 minutes every couple of weeks, let them dry out again on a paper towel and then put them back up on the shelf. Amazing! If you're local, you can visit my favorite place to get air plants at Zinncinnati which is at Findlay Market. It looks like you can also buy them from Amazon.

These are the two plants I have right now.

Bethany loves this Metal Bear Claw Back Scratcher, Cayman Jack bottled Margarita, and e.l.f. Liquid Lipstick. She shared a helpful tip that she pays her sons a quarter to scratch her back with the telescoping back scratcher while she lays across the ottoman. Now that's brilliant! I can attest to the awesomeness of the e.l.f. Liquid Lipstick. She used that as a favorite thing another year and I've been devoted ever since. Its cheaper in the stores than through Amazon so you can afford to have one in every purse and keep one in the diaper bag and one in the car, etc. 

Lauralee recommended the Crystal Deodorant. She's used it for years and swears by it. One of the recipients of this item at the party was so inspired to try it that she put some deodorant on right then and there. Lauralee also gave us a sample pack of the Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter with an apple for dipping! Now that would make a delicious treat for a teacher! 

Sandy speaks my love language of little gifts and she also loves my favorite gift shop, so it came as no surprise that she shared Lollia hand lotion and 10% off at Fort Thomas Central. If you're local, you can find the Lollia products (the Wander scent is my favorite) at Fort Thomas Central. Its the perfect little gift shop with something for everyone on your list. Truly. Love it! If you're not local, you can find it here.

My friend Andrea over at Oak Ridge Revival shared the Lodge Mini Cast Iron Skillet. At just 3.5" wide, she said it was the perfect size to make a personal chocolate chip cookie cake. And she prefers the Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips. Those two items bagged up together would make a darling hostess gift!

Kelly shared her affinity for Victoria Secret panties and Sparkling ICE flavored sparkling water. 

This was the year Ingrid got me hooked on KIND bars (Dark Chocolate Cherry & Cashew flavor) which did NOT help my weight gain at the end of my pregnancy. However, they DID go with me to the hospital when I delivered Nora because they are such a deliciously satisfying treat. I'm not sure they're really good for you because they pack a calorie punch, but all the buzzwords on the packaging like "antioxidants, vitamins, gluten-free and no sulfur dioxide" sure make you feel like its a healthy choice. 

Sushannah gave us the awesome Double Hinge Corkscrew. We like to drink wine at the Favorite Things party. And this corkscrew helps us get it open quicker more easily. Nuff said.

Erin - Rosa Maria Bread Dipping Seasoning You know how when you go to some Italian restaurants they'll give you the little plate of herb oil and balsamic vinegar, well Erin decided to start doing that at home and uses this seasoning blend! I don't know why I never thought to do this at home! Funny story... At the party that year, Erin brought the bottles of seasoning mix with a small loaf of Italian bread to give to each person. When everyone is arriving it's always chaotic as they're bringing in bags and talking and getting food and wine and no one is really paying attention to our dog, Dolly. All of a sudden I see Dolly with a random loaf of bread but because we hadn't shared our items, yet, I had no idea where it had come from or who had brought it. So, Dolly had a nice snack at Erin's expense. 

Jessie - Bath & Body Work sugar scrub in a TUBE. Jessie was adamant that you get a scrub that's in a tube. I can't remember why, but I take her word for it. 

A theme was emerging... chocolate, protein bars, drinks... Stephanie was loving the Kroger brand Chewy Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Protein Bars, Ghirardelli chocolate chips, and the Sparkling ICE flavored sparkling water. 

Susan was determined to help us soothe our stress away, so she shared the Bath & Body Works Stress Relief Hand Cream (Eucalyptus & Spearmint scent). Great scent combo! 

Amy - For the local folks Amy (and I would have to agree) thinks Findlay Market and Downtown Cincinnati are pretty awesome, so she gave us $5 gift cards that can be used anywhere in the market or downtown. Check out the details here. My favorite places at Findlay are Pho Lang Thang, Zinncinnati, Taste of Belgium, Pet Wants and Colonel De Gourmet Herbs & Spices 

That's it for 2014! 

P.S. I have no idea why some lines are so close together and others are farther apart OR why the font is not the same. Trust me I have "fixed" it numerous times. Frustrating and it's driving me crazy!

P.P.S. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links to my Amazon store, so if you click through and actually buy something through my Amazon link, the Heindl Haven will get a tiny percentage. You get a favorite thing and you support the Haven at the same time. Again... everybody wins! Happy shopping!

Reunion Redux: The Girls

It's been 20 years since I graduated high school. It seems like forever ago and then certain memories feel like they just happened yesterday. I was one of those people in high school who was CERTAIN I would be back for every reunion and I would never forget anyone. When that's your whole life, you can't conceive of a life that's any different. It's kind-of like when you change jobs and after you've only been gone a few weeks, they call you from your old job with a random question about something. All of a sudden you can't quite remember the details. Our brains just don't keep all that old information anymore if it isn't pertinent to life today. At least my brain doesn't. Please don't tell me you remember everything, because I. Do. Not. Blessing and a curse.

So, the 10 year class reunion came and went and I didn't attend. I just didn't have a burning desire to be trapped in a bar with a bunch of people that I wasn't that close to 10 years earlier. Fast forward 10 more years and the advent of Facebook and all manner of social media and I've got approximately 150 "friends" on Facebook that I graduated with. I see details of their everyday lives on the regular. For me, this makes an actual face to face reunion seem even more awkward because all of that small-talk conversation is irrelevant. I already know how many kids everyone has and where they're living and what kind of job they have. And again, being trapped in a bar did not seem appealing to me.

HOWEVER, the 20 year reunion weekend was going to include an afternoon tour of my high school. My husband, Jim also graduated from the same high school, so I thought that would be fun for us to go back and take the kids so they could see some of our history. Our hometown is only about 90 minutes away, so I knew it would be an easy trip. Of course other members of my graduating class would be there, but my fear of small-talk would be eased because there really wouldn't be time for small-talk because there would be a tour guide talking the whole time. We would have to be quiet and listen! Aha! Perfect!

As the day drew closer, I started thinking about The Girls. Back in the day there was a group of 6 of us that were pretty inseparable. We went to dances together in various combinations, acted in the high school plays together, slept over at each other's houses sooooo many times, ate pizza, drove back and forth between each other's houses, talked on the phone!!, wrote notes, all of the typical early 1990s high school stuff. I'd kept in touch with all of them in one way or another, but we hadn't ALL been together in YEARS - maybe not since graduation.

This is the 1995 senior picture version of The Girls. That's me in the middle. My poor bangs. 

One of The Girls had recently moved back to our hometown with her husband and 5(!) kids. (She was a super quiet only child and we are all just as shocked as can be that she is the one who ended up with a whole herd of kids. But when you see her with all those kids it's the most natural thing in the world.) Another of the girls has always lived about 15 minutes outside of our hometown with her husband and 3 kids. The third lives about 2 hours away with her husband and 2 kids. The 4th was coming into town for the ACTUAL REUNION in the bar- she's always been a wild one ;-). So, I messaged them all on dear old Facebook and we decided to meet up after the tour of the high school for a couple of hours. I was so thrilled to get to see some of them.

One of The Girls was going to bring her kids to the tour also and that was super exciting because I knew I would feel at ease with her. What I did NOT anticipate was how we would immediately fall back into step. When I walked through the doors of the school with my family and I saw her standing there waiting for me I couldn't contain myself! I hugged her with an enthusiasm I hadn't realized was there. We immediately began talking and pretty much didn't shut up for the whole 2 hour tour (so much for being quiet and listening to the tour guide). Memories flooded my brain and I soaked up every minute we had together.

My big kids thought it was hilarious to get inside the lockers at the high school.

After the tour we met up with the other 3 Girls and had THE. BEST. TIME. My poor husband and our baby hung in like champs. The big kids had an absolute ball because between the 5 of us Girls there were 13 kids present, so there was no shortage of playmates. But, there was only one other husband there for Jim to chat with and the baby hadn't napped in hours. I brought a scrapbook I had made for my high school graduation party and there were yearbooks to peruse, of course, but the most important thing we did was sit around a living room and talk our heads off.

You know what? People don't really change. They might drop a bad habit or pick up a good one along life's road, but the personality they show you today will pretty much be the one you'll see 20, 40 or 60 years from now. I LOVED these Girls 20 years ago and as I sat in that living room I realized I loved them still. I think that's the beauty of friends from the old days. Your hearts beat together. You grew up side by side, you weathered some storms, you probably had drama, but that's so far in the past and what remains is the love. It tickled me to death to be reminded of their sense of humor and how one of them can dominate the conversation cracking us up and then make us cry in the next breath. Hearing one of them talk about a scary surgery, made me hold my breath. Having them next to me as flesh and bones made me realize how I would ache if I lost one of them too soon. Facebook, email and texting are no replacement for real live laughter, tears, hugs and smiles.

I think we look so much more awesome than the 1995 version of ourselves. We have aged well. And so have my bangs.

When it was time to say goodbye, it was hard to walk away. The wild one who was going to the actual reunion had to leave early to go get ready and she probably told us 10 times that she had to go, but we all just kept talking and she just kept on not leaving. We tried to clean up and get our kids in order but we stood in the kitchen talking 20 more minutes. We got to the front door and lingered there 5 minutes more. We walked to the driveway and got caught up in another conversation. When we finally drove away, I was so sad to leave them.

But love remains.

These are a few of our Favorite Things - 2015

For the last 5 years I have hosted a Favorite Things party. The first year I did it because it seemed like a fun idea and I'd seen it floating around on Pinterest. Then, it was so fun and everyone loved it, so I did it again the next year. Then, it became a "thing" and people started asking me in the early fall about that year's party. So, its become an annual tradition for about 15 of us. One year we had an early snowstorm the night of the party and I had people walking in the snow for over a mile to get to my house because driving wasn't recommended. Crazy!

If you're not familiar with the Favorite Things Party concept, here's the deal:
Each person brings their favorite thing (anything you like... your favorite lip gloss, kitchen tool, gift wrapping supply, gift card for coffee, etc.). It can't cost more than $10 and each person brings 3 of that favorite thing. Everyone's name goes into a hat 3 times at the beginning of the night. Everyone draws 3 names out of the hat (making sure you don't have any duplicates and you don't get your own name). You each have a chance to tell everyone about your favorite thing and then you give the 3 items you brought with you to the 3 names you drew from the hat. Everyone will go home with three new favorite things to keep for themselves! Hooray!! (The first 4 years we did it slightly differently. We did 5 items costing no more than $6 each. So there was still a $30 cap, but it seemed like our $6 per item limit was making it tough to come up with an item year after year. By upping the per item budget this year, we got some super cool stuff!)

Every year I write down all the items from the party so I can send the list out to all the guests afterward. That way, if you didn't get something that was given at the party, you don't have to try and remember what it was while enjoying your wine. Soooooo, now that I have this little blog I thought I would share our favorite things from this year's party with all of you. Just in time for holiday gift giving! Here are links to the posts for our 2014 and 2013 items.

My favorite thing for 2015 was this pack of conversation starter cards - Chat Pack for Kids. We have used another set of cards called the Melissa & Doug Family Dinner Box of Questions at our house. Our son LOVES to break these out when we have people over for dinner. The Melissa & Doug set is great, and I would highly recommend them. The only reason I didn't get them as my favorite thing is because the box is big and the cards are round. When I was reading through the comments for some other sets I saw someone say she carried the cards around with her in her purse for downtime in the car, waiting at the doctor's office, etc. I thought that was brilliant and I thought the smaller cards would be more portable. Although, I guess you could just as easily put the round cards in a zip top bag and be on your merry way. I clearly was overthinking and decided that a rubber band around the cards was the only option. My bad.

 

Here are the other items that topped my friends' lists this year...


Ingrid - Paper Sky Lanterns (think the lanterns that float up into the sky in the movie Tangled...). I can't wait to use these with our family! Ingrid's neighbor has used these on New Year's Eve and she writes a New Year's wish on each one before sending them up in the air. What a great idea. I might save mine to use at the beach next summer. There are 10 lanterns in the pack I'm linking to.   

Shonna - It seems like there's always someone who wanted to bring something different but the budget limit for the party wouldn't allow it. Shonna wanted to bring us the meatloaf pan that drains away the fat. I have no idea what that is, but it sounds lovely. What she DID bring us was awesome in it's own right - Benefit Cosmetics Boi-ing 02 Eyebright, Shonna sang the praises of this product for its brightening power to camouflage dark undereye circles. Sold. For those who live near or like to shop online at Ulta, its a couple dollars cheaper there.

Sushannah has very dry skin so she uses Bio-Oil as her daily moisturizer. Its fast absorbing and is also great for scars and stretch marks. Also available at Ulta.

Jen (from VickyandJen) has a husband who works in the beer and wine distributing business so she is our authority when it comes to that type of stuff. She recommended a particular Cotes du Rhone red wine (which we have had several times and I can attest to the fact that its a nice weeknight wine) and the Govino shatterproof wine glasses. Great for having a glass of wine out on the deck or with kids running around!

Susan gave us a set of Chalk it Up Canisters she found at TJMaxx. The cute little chalkboard label makes these perfect for sitting out on the counter. She uses hers for oats, nuts and other fun breakfast mix-ins. Great idea! If you have a TJMaxx or Homegoods nearby, you would probably find them cheaper than Amazon.

Lauralee told us a couple of years ago that her true favorite thing was her awesome strawberry huller, but it was too expensive to share with everyone when the dollar limit was $6. This year she was able to find one that fit the $10 price limit! She gave the Khun Rikon Strawberry huller and knife.

Jessie has a 2 year old daughter who is apparently quite the fashionista because she inspired Jessie to start wearing legwarmers. Jessie's three people got a set of super cute Lucky Love lace trimmed legwarmers. They could also be worn peeking out the top of some boots!

Andrea (from Oak Ridge Revival) had some shipping issues so she went with a backup item that she also really loves - holiday gift wrap and twine from Hobby Lobby! The paper is really thick and durable and the rolls are really long, so you're totally getting your money's worth. Plus, Hobby Lobby is always running 50% off something and if you wait a week or two the thing you want is bound to go on sale. Apparently, the word is out about the awesomeness of their paper,  and the selection at our closest store was slim, so she recommends hitting them early to get a good selection. Our party was the first weekend in November, but they put Christmas stuff out in June, so the earlier the better.

Bethany always cracks us up with the presentation of her item and this year was no different. It was definitely a "you had to be there" kind of moment, so I'll just get right to it. The Shick Hydro Silk TrimStyle Razor and Bikini Trimmer. This is a razor that has a battery powered trimmer on the other end for some of your more - ahem - delicate areas.

Erin gave us what may have been the most practical gift of the night, because just like the book says "everyone poops". Poo Pourri is a toilet spray that claims if you "Spritz the bowl before you go, no one else will ever know." A could different people in our group said it really did work and so I think this would make an awesome stocking stuffer! You can also find this locally (in a holiday scent!) at Monera in Ft. Thomas. You can find them on Facebook under Monera Jewelry.

Stephanie gave us a whole bunch of favorite things this year! Her favorite IKEA spatula (I have one and use it all the time!), Blistex Medex her favorite before bed chapstick, Zone Perfect nutrition bars (in double dark chocolate during certain times of the month), and Papermate Profile pens. She (just like me) prefers blue ink!

Kelly shared Mrs. Meyers cleaning products and how the amazing scent of her products inspired her to new dishwashing heights while on vacation! She gave everyone a Mrs. Meyers hand soap, dish soap and multi-surface cleaner. Kelly gave the lavender scent. My favorite scent is either basil or their seasonal clove scent.  

Sandy likes to shop local. More importantly she likes to shop at Fort Thomas Central! We love Fort Thomas Central! One of the jewelry designers that is featured at FT Central is Sherry Steffen. Sandy commissioned Sherry to create earrings for our party at our price point and boy did she deliver! They were all unique and so lovely! Make sure to check our Sherry's designs the next time you stop in the shop! You can also find her under Sherry Steffen Designs on Facebook.

Over the next few weeks, I'll post about our previous Favorite things, so you'll have a huge wealth of options when it comes to holiday hostess gifts, quirky items for that hard-to-buy-for cousin and things you'll want to keep for yourself! Everybody wins!

P.S. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links to my Amazon store, so if you click through and actually buy something through my Amazon link, the Heindl Haven will get a tiny percentage. You get a favorite thing and you support the Haven at the same time. Again... everybody wins! Happy shopping!

These are my awesome friends who come share their Favorite Things. This is the first time in 5 years that I've actually taken a photo at the party with people in it. Usually I just take a picture of the food. Priorities.