Five Things Friday, Vol. 3

1. "Getting Good" by Lauren Alaina. I have this song on repeat. It has such a great message about soaking up the present moment and being content with what we already have.
   
2. The Wingfeather Saga. This is my favorite new series! If you like children's literature and the fantasy genre, you'll want to get your hands on these stat. The first book, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, is featured on the main photo of (my hero!) Sarah Mackenzie's Read-Aloud Revival Website, so I figured it had to be good. I read the first book for the purpose of screening it for my 11-year-old. Not only did it pass with flying colors, but now I can't put the books down myself! (Note: This isn't a light, fluffy, sunshine-y story. If your children are sensitive, you may want to read the books yourself first to decide if they could handle it. I'm reading it aloud to my eight-year-old, who isn't overly sensitive to this kind of content, but I wouldn't say it's appropriate for every eight-year-old.) The writing is quirky and fun and so well done. (Rhyme unintentional.) The characters are relatable and possess values that you want your children to emulate: bravery, perseverance, kindness, selflessness, respectfulness, loyalty, just to mention a few. One final endorsement: once my son started reading them he said, "Mom, if you want, you could store all of these books on my bookshelf." *wink*
   
   Books 1, 2, and 4 are easily available on Amazon, but, for an unknown reason, book 3 is harder to find! Thankfully, the Kindle version is inexpensive and readily available. You can also purchase the physical copy (as I did) directly from the author's website for a very reasonable price. Here are the links!
   
   Book 1 - On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
   Book 2 - North! Or Be Eaten
   Book 3 - The Monster in the Hollows
   Book 4 - The Warden and the Wolf King
   
3. Shampoo that's healthy for my hair and affordable. Earlier this year, the condition of my hair could only be described as severely damaged. (See this post. Or don't. The photos are pretty hair-raising. Ha!) I've been working hard on improving the condition, and I'm finally starting to see results! While I think it's unlikely my waves and curls will come back, my hair is so much healthier than it was. One thing I am doing to get it in shape is washing it every 3-4 days with this Blue Sea Kale & Pure Coconut Water Sea Minerals Shampoo. I found it at Walgreens for under $7.00. It is Curly Girl Method approved (AKA super-gentle), yet it still suds nicely. I've tried, but I just can't deal with shampoos that don't lather. For conditioner, I "squish to condish" (any Curly Girls in the house?) with a CGM-approved deep conditioner.
   
4. The perfect tunic sweatshirt. It's plenty long enough for leggings and warm. It has a hood, pockets, and thumbholes. Not to mention that it's got a cute tulip-hem detail. As if that weren't enough, it's from Kohl's, so you know you can snag it at a great price point, too! (If I were you, I'd wait until Black Friday or Cyber Monday.) There are so many color options! I own this in Rich Olive, which is perfect for autumn. I also particularly love the colors Wetlands, Ruby Gemstone, and Rachel Red. (From the photos, Rachel Red appears to be that shade of coral that looks good on err'body.)
   
5. Five-Ingredient No-Sugar Hot Chocolate. This five-ingredient hot chocolate is my favorite autumn/wintertime pre-bedtime snack. I use 3 "doonks" of stevia and mix it up in the blender, so the cocoa doesn't settle on the bottom of my mug. I also top it with a generous swirl of Redi-Whip. YUM!

Have a fabulous weekend, friends!

XO,
Kristin