Hey friends. How are you? I hope your week was a good one. We had one major update over here: Our middle man got braces!!

The first evening was a little rough for Ryder (lots of sensitivity, etc.) but he’s settling into his braces well and looking awfully handsome with his new gear. Chase actually begins round 2 of braces in December so soon enough we’ll have two metal mouths in the house! Aside from braces, Ryan traveled to California for work (he left Sunday night and took a red-eye back — ooph), Rhetty had his first kindergarten performance which was all kinds of adorable (he was cast as the “director”) and we welcomed two new foster kittens into our home (3-month-old sisters Saiba and Sunny). It was a good week overall and we’re looking forward to the weekend ahead! Plans include a triple date night to celebrate a friend’s birthday this evening, soccer and flag football games for the boys and the Panthers/Bucs game for our crew on Sunday!

For now, let’s get to the real reason you’re likely stopping by the blog today and dive into this week’s roundup of favorites, Things I’m Loving Friday style!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• 100% Organic Cotton Quince Cardigan: A New Length!

Sweater: Quince / Pants: Target — but old / Shoes: adidas / Blue Bead Necklace: BaubleBar / Rainbow Bead Necklace: BaubleBar

Sweater: Quince / Jeans: FRAME / Clogs: Birkenstock / Red Bead Neclace: BaubleBar / Rainbow Bead Necklace: BaubleBar

I hesitate to call the slightly shorter length of our beloved Quince sweater “croppped” like they do online, but a shorter version of the sweater recently debuted and I LOVE it. Like love it enough to get it in three colors kind of love it! While the original Quince sweater is a favorite of mine for layering, the shorter version is the kind of cozy, drapey sweater that hits at what I feel is the most flattering place on the body: just below the pant line (and I have a long torso — to me it’s not cropped)! The fabric is the same as the original (incredibly comfortable 100% organic cotton) and it feels like a cozy hug you never want to take off. (Sizing notes: In the original boyfriend cardigan, I wear a medium for a slightly oversized fit. In this shorter version, I wear my true size small.)

• $4.94 Walmart Ribbed Glass Tumbler

This $4.94 tumbler has got to be the best $5 I’ve spent in a long time. I grabbed it during a trip to Walmart a month or so ago and am so impressed with the thick, high-quality glass both in the tumbler itself and the straw, especially at such a low price point. I love the rich purple color (which they finally restocked!) but it’s also available in clear and a gorgeous mauvey-brown. I think it would be such a pretty addition to a holiday gift basket, especially with a festive bow tied around the straw.

• Mini Car Makeup Bag

Mom hack alert! If you’re someone who is frequently running out the door to take your kids to school but then find yourself wishing you’d had time to put on a little makeup to last you through whatever else you have on your agenda after drop off, allow me to introduce you to… the mini car makeup bag! A while back, I began keeping a small bag of makeup essentials in the center console of my car (tinted SPF, concealer, mascara, lip gloss) and it’s come in handy many times over. (Is it also a crutch I use to delay doing my makeup as long as possible? Yes, yes it may just be that, too.) The mini car makeup bag has been such a handy little hack that I figured it might be worth a share!

• Stinky Kid Feet Solution: Alba Botanica Scrub

We officially have a tween in our house and after chatting with some mom friends about our boys, I quickly discovered super sti...]]> Fri, 23 Oct 2026 11:00:41 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/rEWKlIZB07hpgCvdPQO1YyaFXCh3gpZL?utm_source=follow.it https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/rEWKlIZB07jmFQ9zMLFpzGqHR2pT8OjE?utm_source=follow.it

Books are one of the true joys of my life. They are an escape, a comfort, a sense of home, a source of connection. They’re everything.

Every once in a while I’ll be in the middle of reading a book and a passage will stop me in my tracks. I’ll read and re-read the words I see on the page over and over again. I’ll ruminate over the author’s words as I feel something inside of me clicking into place because yes, yes, yes, they somehow managed to put into words EXACTLY how I feel. Through their words, they captured the feelings that felt too messy to sift through on my own. They managed to wrangle the swirling tornado of emotions I’ve been carrying with me and it feels like the author somehow gave them space to breathe. It’s as if my jumbled up emotions have been splayed out in the middle of the novel I’m reading just for me. Somehow this author gets it… gets me… gets the human experience. When this happens, it’s a gift. A connection. I feel understood and less alone and, well, human.

I remember this happening when I read Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. She perfectly captured the beauty and the heartbreak of motherhood in a way I had never been able to fully articulate:

She put into words something I felt in my heart since becoming a mother that I could never quite pin down. She GOT IT. As mothers, we love every version of our children so deeply and want access to all versions of our kids at all times. We love our 8-year-old as fiercely as we loved them as a two-year-old but knowing the two-year-old version of our child is gone forever is enough to rip our hearts out. Knowing the 8-year-old version of the child in front of us is temporary breaks our hearts. But we move forward loving them so intensely, knowing we’ll love the future versions of our children just as deeply.

Another stop-me-in-my-tracks reading moment happened to me again on Sunday night as I was reading The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez.

Isn’t this the truth???

As we live, life throws experiences at us that fundamentally change who we are, how we feel and how we think. Sometimes I look at my boys and they remind me what it was like to walk around without the heaviness we start to accumulate as we get older. Innocence is such a gift. And not realizing you even have it? Another gift.

But age also gives us more gifts – deep, meaningful connection. Intense, consuming love. Deeper empathy and gratitude and appreciation for the little things we come to realize are the truly big things. And, also, we experience heaviness and grief in ways that can feel consuming and unrelenting. It’s all part of the human experience, and sometimes it’s magical and sometimes it feels like it can swallow us whole.

Thank goodness for books. Thank goodness for authors who make me feel understood. And thank goodness for the messy, beautiful, heartbreaking journey we’re all on together.

The post Stop-Me-In-My-Tracks Reading Moments appeared first on Peanut Butter Fingers.

And just like that, another weekend has come and gone! We kicked off our weekend on Friday evening with a double date night with our friends Lauren and Tony. We all went out for dinner and drinks before walking the short distance to Escape 901 in Davidson to try out had at an escape room! Ryan and I have done a couple of escape rooms in the past but this was one of the best. It was challenging yet fun and the theme of the room had a local tie-in to the area that we thought was really creative. We had a blast… and so did the boys!

Childcare ended up being a mega-hit for them on Friday night because I entered a raffle as part of a fundraiser at the boys’ old preschool and won a parents’ night out. About 20 kids (kids of the other raffle winners) gathered at the preschool to make pizza, play on the playground and create some fun Halloween-themed art with a few of the teachers who volunteered to run the evening. It was such a treat for the boys to be reunited with some of their favorite teachers and it had me feeling all the more grateful for the very best preschool experience. We hit the jackpot with our preschool and miss it so much!

Saturday

Overnight rain on Friday brought cooler weekend temperatures and we bundled up for the first time this season for some fall fun on Saturday. The boys didn’t have any sports games on the agenda until 6 p.m. (a rarity!), so we wanted to take full advantage of a clearer schedule. Up first: OWLoween!

We made our way to the Carolina Raptor Center for their annual Halloween-inspired event and enjoyed walking along the Raptor Trail, visiting some feathered friends and collecting a little candy.

We’ve been members of the Raptor Center for years and always love visiting, even if it’s just for a walk along the trail under the shady trees.

We initially planned to head home after OWLoween, but on our drive to the Raptor Center we saw a sign for a local corn maze that caught out eye. We visited the corn maze at Rural Hill over a decade ago (pre-kids!) so we were overdue for a visit! While it’s changed a bit over the course of 12 years, it still has the small local charm we remembered from our last visit.

The boys wasted no time diving straight into the bounce house and we all enjoyed throwing toy axes, playing multiple rounds of corn hole and digging into the BBQ pulled pork sandwiches and hot dogs we ordered for lunch. Then it was time for the corn maze!

It was a fun one that included various stations filled with American history trivia we answered on our corn maze map that resulted in a word scramble to figure out a key word. We loved the way this made the maze feel a little unique and also enjoyed guessing the answers to the trivia questions before we arrived at the answer stations. (Who knew my obsession with the Hamilton musical would come in handy for American history trivia!?)

Eventually we headed home to let Comet out and the boys played backyard soccer and football with Ryan before digging up all of the carrots from our summer garden.

It was quite the haul!!

I used a handful of the c...]]> Mon, 19 Oct 2026 11:00:59 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/rEWKlIZB07gJjj7ZwqSEI8i3VDybq_GJ?utm_source=follow.it https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/rEWKlIZB07gokE20-bKF9i_HkpBIiqSE?utm_source=follow.it

We’re back home after spending a couple of days in one of our favorite places with some of our favorite people. Whenever Carrie and Nick invite us to Carrie’s parents’ mountain home in Banner Elk, we do our very, very best to make it work because we love these weekends away with this crew so, so much!

Our mountain weekends together are the perfect combination of fun and and somehow peaceful — yes, even with six kids in the mix. The moutains have away of resetting me and I always feel a sense of calm during these trips, though kid chaos is a part of it !

Friday

Ryan and I pulled the kids out of school a little early on Friday and made the 2+ hour drive to Banner Elk, arriving in the late afternoon. The drive passed by quickly as Ryan had some work calls to take on the road, the boys listened to their latest library audiobook CD (this portable CD player is our fav because it has a speaker component and all kids can listen at once) and I caught up on work that mostly looked like updating my ShopMy page and responding to emails. A productive car ride with kids was a pipe dream for me not too long ago and I’m continually amazed when I find myself now living moments that felt so far away when the boys were babies and toddlers. We’re officially in what feels like the next phase of parenting, I think!

We arrived at Carrie’s parents’ house to find our friends outside enthusiastically awaiting our arrival.

The boys hit the ground running with their buddies and I don’t think they even stepped foot inside the house for the first few hours we were there.

The kids spent time forraging in the woods on the lookout for the perfect bonfire torches and flying around on EzyRollers as they played the first of what would be endless rounds of driveway hockey. (EzyRollers may find their way under the Christmas tree for our boys this year because they were all about them and I know ride-on toys get years of use in our house.)

As sunlight started to fade, the guys got a bonfire going and Nick and his daughter/the boys’ friend Lilly taught our crew about tree sap torches which blew their minds and thoroghly entertained them. (When you apply melted resin-rich tree sap to a torch, it will burn bright and hot for quite a while!)

We spent a handful of our weekend movie nights over the summer catching up on throwback seasons of Survivor and Rhett cracked me up by singing the Survivor theme song (well, his version of it, anyway) while he marched around with his torch. I also overheard a lot of “the tribe has spokens” exchanged. Ha!

After smashburgers for dinner and s’mores for dessert, the kids were all-in on the tube glow lights I threw into my bag at the last minute. I actually bought the lights for nighttime fun on Halloween but thought they might be cool at night in the moutnains as well. I’m so glad I brought them because they were a huge hit!

Once everyone started to lose steam, we headed inside and got the kids in bed in the bunk room (always a highlight!) and the grownups all hung out a little longer until we could no longer keep our eyes open.

Saturday

To the surprise of no one, the kids were all up before dawn on Saturday. We eased into the day with coffee, pancakes and eggs and then headed outside to sneak in a little exploring before the wind and rain kicked into high gear.

(A lot more rainy-weather EzyRoller driveway hockey happened throughout the day, too!)

We knew it would be a wet weekend before we arrived and made sure to pack rain gear but the whipping wind made it a little tricky to enjoy much time outside which was a bummer. We still managed to make the most of the day and chased a rainbow around in the UTV and it was beyond gorgeous!

The colors were wildly vibrant and we were even able to see the end of the rainbow!

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Hey friends!!! I’m emerging from the Amazon Prime Day abyss (truly what it feels like sometimes — ha!) and while I really do enjoy covering some of these big sales, sitting down to blog today felt like coming home. I love any chance I get to type up a blog post and chat with you guys! So how are you!? How was your week? We had a good one over here, though it was a little out of the norm.

Ryan’s birthday was Monday!! We celebrated him on Sunday with family time at Activate in Charlotte (the same place we visited for the boys’ Yes Day — it’s SO FUN) and followed it up with presents and a homemade cookies ‘n’ cream cake! For Ryan’s real birthday, he took off around 5:30 a.m. with Chase on quite the adventure! He joined Chase and all of the fifth grade classes from his school on the annual fifth grade field trip to the North Carolina coast for three days of science and nature-related fun and learning. Ryan chaperoned a group of kids, slept in a cabin with a bunch of fifth graders and emerged saying it was an incredible 3 days. They were both on a high when they got back on Wednesday night! Rhett, Ryder and I had a quieter start to the week but we thoroughly enjoyed our special time together!

And I spent the morning at Rhett’s kindergarten pajama parade this morning, hence me coming to you a little alter than usual today!

Special shout out to Suki, who made the cut as Rhett’s stuffed animal of choice to join him in today’s parade! (He used to use Suki as his pillow for years when he was a toddler. Time needs to slow the heck doooown.)

As for the weekend ahead, we are extra psyched over here because we’re heading to the mountains with some of our very best friends! We met Carrie and Nick when our first kids were 6 months old and say they’re “jackpot friends” because we adore the parents and the kids all get along seamlessly. We are excited for a few days in one of our favorite places with some of our favorite people!

Aaand that was a way-too-wordy introduction to today’s Things I’m Loving Friday blog post so let’s move things along, shall we?

Things I’m Loving Friday

• Brodo Organic Sipping Bone Broth

OH MY GOSH THIS STUFF IS AMAZINGGGGG. I have tried probably 10 different kinds of sipping bone broths over the years because I’ve always loved the concept: A warm and cozy protein and nutrient dense broth to sip on in the afternoon? Sign me up! Unfortunately every single sipping broth I’ve tried has left a LOT to be desired. They’ve all been so bland and just plain blah. UNTIL NOW. Enter: Brodo Organic Sipping Bone Broth. The very first sip blew me away! Had I finally, at long last, found a winner!? Yes, yes, yes! I’ve made my way through a handful of the flavors in their mixed flavor variety box and have loved every single one. My standouts: Sunday Roast, Deeply Rooted, Tuscan Sun and Tom Yum.

Also, it makes sense that these broths are so dang good when you read more about them: Brodo broths were founded by a James Beard award-winning chef and use only top-quality ingredients — whole fresh-cut organic vegetables, organic poultry, 100% grass-fed beef, and aromatic spices. They’re then slow-simmered for hours, ensuring maximum nutrient density – and maximum flavor – in every cup. And YOU CAN TELL.

• Rotating Makeup Organizer

Hot dang, this thing is breathing new life into my bathroom organization, so much so that even Chase said, “Wow Mom, your sink looks a lot cleaner.” When your 11-year-old notices a change to your bathroom vanity, you know it was needed. This rotating organizer is such a simple solition but the two-tier organizer is key for allowing all my makeup products to be on display and easily accessible thanks to the rotating base. I also love the way the top tier is divided into sections to keep products extra organized and upright when it’s rotated. I added my own little cups to the bottom for eye and lip products and it’s worked so, so well.

• Move Together Fall Challenge

It’s my one-year Madeline Moves (Moves App) anniversary!!! I first discovered the Moves App for my workouts last year through their fall challenge so you better believe I’m signing up again this year!! I loved so much about this challenge but I’m actually approaching it a little different this year. Rather than going all-in (last year I did the 6-day track and mostly the hour-long workouts), I’m dialing it back to the 4-day track and will likely do the 30-minute version (which usually looks like 40 minutes for me because I apparently don’t move very quickly)! This feels more managable to me as I’m hoping to use this challenge to get myself back into a workout groove. Ever since the summer I’ve more or less felt like I’m just going through the motions of my workouts and love a good challenge to kick things back into a higher gear. Plus, I already know I LOVE these workouts so it’s easy to feel excited about this fall challenge. Also, if the nutrition side of things intrigues you, the $50 challenge also provides you with recipes and a custom macro breakdown created by registered dietitians! I think the value on this challenge is 10/10.

In case you haven’t heard me share about these workouts before here’s a little backstory: I discovered them in the thick of my physical therapy for TFL pain. I needed to find a workout that better served my body and incorporated mobility work in addition to strength for longevity. I want to be a super-mobile and active grandma one day and love the way these workouts are created by true experts in the fitness industry AND physical therapists. I like being able to blast my own music (or au...]]> Fri, 09 Oct 2026 16:44:58 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/rEWKlIZB07j1_I-nvRLKearlxG7vNvOO?utm_source=follow.it https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/rEWKlIZB07jB3mwPjMxPBuMa83tGKrNn?utm_source=follow.it

Hi friends!!! If you’ve spent more 5 seconds on the internet today, you’re likely well aware that it’s Amazon Prime Day!! While there are no shortage of Amazon Prime Day deal resources out there, the way I handle my Prime Day sale roundup is a little different from simply highlighting deals. I know this sale can be very overwhelming to shop, especially when you’re browsing a site that sells basically everything under the sun. I also realize there are no shortage of people sharing deals out there today, but I am a one-woman show (as opposed to creators with a whole team of people behind them) and try to approach the way I share things a little differently.

I am very protective over what I share and focus solely on sharing things I personally own and love (many you may recognize from past blog posts!) as well as items I ordered myself that are particularly useful/steeply discounted. I figured this would be a decent way to sift through the “noise” of Amazon Prime Day, at least in my own mind, and really hope this is helpful for any of you out there hoping to scoop up some finds today! Happy browsing!

For easy browsing: You may also shop all of my Prime Day finds in one place via the Prime Day Deals page of my Amazon storefront. I will continue to add and remove items from this list during the sale as I see sales come in and out.

Important note: Some deals are only temporary during Prime Day so if you click on an item and it’s not on sale, unfortunately that means the sale on that item may have passed. I recommend periodically checking out your Amazon cart during these sales because things do sell out and prices do increase! Also, certain colors are on sale while others aren’t so if you click a link and it doesn’t look like it’s on sale, a different variation may be the sale item.

Amazon Prime Day: October 2026

Amazon Prime Day Fashion Finds

Browse all of my Amazon Prime Day Fashion picks here: Amazon Prime Day Fashion (every single item in this list is something I personally own and love!)

• Lightweight Feels Like Nothing Pajama Bottoms + Top (The next-level comfy pjs that feel so, so similar to the $$$ ones by Negative I was gifted)
• Travel Pants (Slightly different fabric but a very similar fit to my beloved RUTI pants! See them styled on me here.)
• Casual T-Shirt (This tee fits so well! It’s perfect if you like sleeves that aren’t tight and a fit that’s slightly loose without being too flowy/sloppy)
• Amazon Hoops (For my fellow hoop lovers, this Amazon pair is SO GOOD and priced so well. I also love the easy on/off clasp. I have the gold 40MM.)
• Long Puffer Vest (I wore the heck out of this last fall/winter! One of my fav Prime Day purchases last year! See it styled on me here.)
• Long Knit Cardigan (The one I’ve had and loved for years. See it styled on me here.)
• Quarter Zip Hoodie (A fall/winter staple.)
• Drop Sleeve Sweater (Slouchy, cute and a great basic sweater to style a million and one different ways.)
• Soft Modal Pants (Another newer find in a comfy modal fabric. Love them with a tee or sweatshirt for daily mom life.)
• Beaded Gem Necklace (Multiple color options and great for adding interest to an otherwise basic outfit. I have the green and turquoise.)
• Nude Strappy Sandals (My most-worn sandal of the summer. Comfy enough to walk for miles — I walked 10k steps in them in NYC! See them here.)
• Leopard Drawstring Pants (Such a flattering fit and very comfy. You may see them on me here.)
• True & Co. Bra (My all-time favorite bra for years. Zero digging + the most comfortable fabric.)
• Linen Jumpsuit (I’ve had this one for years and still reach for it all the time.)
• Track Pants (A fun take on athleisure. A great athletic pant to wear when I’m running around after the boys.)
• Stripe Drawstring Pants (I adore the fit of these pants. You may see them on me here.)
• SOJOs Sunglasses (One of my all-time fav pairs of sunglasses! See them on here.)
• Longline Sports Bra (I have this in two colors and it’s so comfortable and flattering. I sized up!)
• Reebok Club C Sneakers (Comfy enough to walk miles and miles! The top chalk color is the comfy one — the others fit different!)

Amazon Prime Day Beauty Finds

Browse all of my Amazon Prime Day Beauty picks here: Amazon Prime Day Beauty (all beauty finds I have and swear by!)

• Barefaced Toning Pads (These blew me away! A powerful forumla with noticable results. Start with the original Toning Pads and work your way up to Toning Pads II if you have sensitive skin.)
• REMEDY Hand and Cuticle Firming Cream (The ultra-nourishing peptide-infused hand cream that was a recent Things I’m Loving Friday fav! Formulated to firm the look of thinning hand skin and built to last through repeated hand washing all day. I keep one by my bed and another in my purse!)
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  Hi friends! I hope you’re checking in today after a good week. How does your weekend ahead look? It’s looking like another sports-filled weekend for our crew (if the forecasted rain holds off, that is), but it should be a good one! Fall in North Carolina is my favorite so even if it rains, I’ll be okay with that because it just may inspire us to light our first fires of the season for some extra cozy vibes.

  I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and for those of you stopping by the blog today to check out this week’s roundup of favorites, keep on scrollin’!

  P.S. If you’d like to subscribe to Sticky Notes, my weekly newsletter, to make sure you don’t miss anything I share on my blog and social media, I would love to have you! You may see my latest newsletter and subscribe (for free!) here: Sticky Notes

  Things I’m Loving Friday

  • Cyklar Vanilla Verve In-Shower Body Balm

  

  Ya know my skincare empties review post from earlier this week? Well, I have a few more coming across a few different categories (body care, hair care, household items, etc.) but couldn’t resist sharing one a little prematurely. We ran out of this Cyklar Vanilla Verve In-Shower Body Balm this week and when I say “we” ran out, I really do mean “we” because my entire family decided to hijack this balm after I put it in our shower. Even the boys love this stuff! (Not exactly sure how I feel about that, to be honest, because it’s kind of a luxury shower product in my eyes, but here we are…)

  I ordered the Cyklar Vanilla Verve In-Shower Body Balm a while back after one of you recommended it to me following my rave reviews of the hanni splash salve in-shower moisturizer. This is similar in that it’s a product you use in the shower but the texture is very different. (You also apply it after cleansing once the water is off, unlike the hanni product.) This body balm is luxuriously silky and easily melts into your skin leaving it feeling incredibly hydrated and so, so smooth. The smell is lovely and lingers just enough to feel subtle without becoming overly perfumey. This is the kind of product I am keeping on my radar for holiday gifting, especially for those hard-to-buy-for people, as it feels uniquely elevated. Plus, it clearly was a hit even with those waaay outside their target market (my kids — haha)!

  • Mini Velvet Jewelry Pouch

  

  I’ve tried a few different things for storing jewelry when traveling over the years. My all-time favorite for years has been putting the jewelry I want to bring in these individual velvet pouches and then putting those into a larger pouch. It’s worked well and is still the best solution I’ve found for keeping everything organized as I even leave some pieces in their pouches in my dresser drawer at home.

  When I saw this mini velvet jewelry pouch pop up on Amazon, I was intrigued because it looked like a great compact way to bring my jewelry essentials on a shorter trip. At $13.99 I figured it was worth a shot and I was surprised by just how much I liked it during my long weekend trip to NYC and Rowayton. (Also, I’m a sucker for anything chartreuse, so I had to get that color.) It kept everything organized in one spot and the way I could easily flip through the small compartments made it a breeze to find the jewelry pieces I was looking for (and they weren’t tangled — hooray)! It was expecially helpful for bracelets, rings and earrings which is what I’m primarily planning to use it for in the future.

  • Barefaced Toning Pads II

  

  These Barefaced Toning Pads II got a little shout out in my blog post about my Skincare Empties but I wanted to highlight them here as well because they’ve been such a wonderful find for me. I’ve followed the nurse practitioner behind the Barefaced brand since before she launched her skincare line finally gave these toning pads a try a few months ago. I jumped right into the Toning Pads II despite reading that they can be intense and beginning with the original Toning Pads is recommended for sensitive skin. (I would definitely echo this sentiment!) My skin isn’t overly sensitive but even with some fairly resilient skin, can feel these working their magic! They’re now a crucial step in my skincare routine and something I use 3-4 times a week. While their main benefits include refining skin texture (aka smoother, more even-looking skin), improving skin clarity, clearing pores and calming skin, I’ve come to really LOVE the way they exfoliate and enhance the absorption and efficacy of the additional skincare products I apply after using one of these pads. I swear I can FEEL my serums working more deeply after swiping one of these pads over my face, neck and chest.

  • Health-Ade Ginger Cheers Kombucha

  

  I’m sharing this one for my fellow kombucha fans! My all-time favorite Health-Ade seasonal kombucha flavor is BACK!!! But it’s been rebranded: Holiday Cheers is now Ginger Spice & Everything Nice and I am 100 percent okay with this name change if it means we get a few more months of this seasonal favorite. If you like a snappy, gingery flavor with warmer notes of vanilla, cinnamon and allspice, you’ll love this one. I’m so happy it’s here again!

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    Have you heard of the term “empties” — aka products you’ve liked enough to use to the point that there’s hardly even a drop remaining? A few years ago, I remember seeing a beauty influencer highlight her “empties” and it stuck out at me because I knew she was someone who used a LOT of beauty products. I figured that this woman’s “empties” had to actually be decent if they were products she used in their entirety. I slowly started accumulating a bag of my own empties, not quite sure what I would do with them.

    And then this week it hit me: A rapid-fire empties rundown on the blog!

    

    Skincare Empties Review: What’s Worth a Repurchase?

    I’m going to start with skincare empties because, as it turns out, my skincare products are the ones I tend to fly through fastest. My goal with this post is to give you a very brief (lolll, I’ll try) skincare product empties review where I’ll highlight a product and share whether or not it’s something I’ve repurchased or would repurchase in the future. All of the empties below are products I liked enough to use in their entirety (so no mega-duds!) but not all of them were huge hits worth repurchasing. These reviews are coming after the skincare products have been used in their entirety and some of them a few times over because I’ve repurchased a few of the favorites featured.

    Skincare Empties

    I’m sharing my skincare empties in the order I apply them: Cleanse → Tone → Treat → Moisturize. Let’s do this!

    Cleansers & Exfoliators

    

    Bubble Skincare Fresh Start Gel Cleanser

    • What it does: A gentle but thorough science-backed cleanser that washes away pore-clogging dirt and debris without leaving skin dry or irritated.
    • The verdict: This is one of those simple but great products. It’s a no-frills cleanser Ryan and I both liked using in the shower. FYI for anyone with teens, I’ve read this is a great cleanser specifically for teen skin as well.
    • Repurchase status: Yes! A gentle but effective cleanser that’s priced well.

    Honest Gentle Gel Cleanser

    • What it does: A gentle everyday facial cleanser made with a clean vegan forumla that calms the skin without over drying.
    • The verdict: Felt great on my face and left my skin feeling clean without any post-cleansing tightness/over-drying sensations.
    • Repurchase status: Yes. Does the job at a good pricepoint.

    Paula’s Choice EXFOLIATE

    • What it does: Noticeably unclogs and clears pore congestion, combats blemishes, improves clarity, and smooths skin
    • The verdict: This has been an integral part of my skincare routine for years and I don’t see that ever changing. It use this 3-4 times a week after cleansing.
    • Repurchase status: YEP and I have about a million times.

    Toners & Toning Pads

    

    Barefaced Toning Pads II

    • What it does: Refine texture, improve clarity and reveal smoother, more even-looking skin. Clears pores, calms and soothes skin, exfoliates and enhances absorption and efficacy of additional skincare products. Supports healthy skin turnover over time.
    • The verdict: Holy heck, I love these things. LOVE LOVE LOVE. They are intense but you can truly feel and see them work. I’ve experienced a noticiable positive overall difference in my skin since using them and love the way they prep my skin for the additional serums I apply after I use them. They’re legit and have been one of the best additions I’ve made over the past few months to my skincare routine. (Note: I use the Toning Pads II which are a step up from the original Toning Pads. They’re intense and I would opt for the original Toning Pads before progressing to Toning Pads II to gently ease into them if you have sensitive skin.)
    • Repurchase status: 100% yes. These are incredible.

    Serums & Treatments

    

    Dr. Brandt Dermal Micro Points (Microneedling Serum)

    • What it does: Mimics the benefits of in-office microneedling! Renews and revives the skin, paired with skin-lifting actives and anti-wrinkle peptides that penetrate the skin’s surface to boost collagen, even texture, and smooth fine lines. Natural spicules (microscopic structures) enhance ingredient delivery deep into the skin and replicate the benefits of microneedling by stimulating the body’s natural healing process.
    • The verdict: This stuff is WILD… and it works. I got it when it was recommended to me as an “in home microneedling” product and figured it was worth a shot. It’s kind of insane because you will feel a light tingling-stinging sensation as you apply this cream. It’s not too intense but you will definitely feel it! I use it twice a week and will continue to use this as part of my skincare routine.
    • Repurchase status: Yes and I have!

    Timeless 20% Vitamin C + Ferulic Acid + Vitamin E

    • What it does: Brightens skin, fades dark spots, and builds collagen. It combines a HIGH concentration of vitamin C with vitamin E and ferulic acid