10 Items I would hate to live life without
- Kendra Oliphant
- Jul 11, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 16
As I sat down to write this article I decided that I would not include things that are hyper specific to me; for example: my husband, my dog, or my very necessary compression sock, handmade gifts from friends, or my family... all of those are obvious answers and things that I cherish dearly, but I wanted this to be an article that multiple people could read and relate to. These are the physical items that I believe benefit by having a little more thought put into them.. or even a little bit more of an investment. I don't get paid from any of these links, I just shared them in case you want to go look at the products that I recommend.
Vitamins
I have been taking a daily vitamin for as long as I can remember. Even when I was little I was taking the Flintstones chew-able vitamins. Now, along with my One a Day Women's daily vitamin, I also take a pack of vitamins from Care/of, and a few other vitamins such as Fish Oil and extra Vitamin D that I get at Target. One thing I love is that Care/of sends custom packages of vitamins just for me with my health goals in mind. And to be honest they have helped me tremendously, so much so that I notice a change in myself if I don't take my vitamins. Ashwaganda and Cranberry are my two favorites. They also offer a points rewards system just for continuing a habit of tracking your vitamins daily. You get points that you can spend in their shop for items, samples, and even $ off your next order. I save money this way too because I never have to buy protein powder. I just save up my points until I have enough to get a full tub in their marketplace.
*Sadly Care/of doesn't exist anymore so I have gone back to buying most of my vitamins at Target..
A Sweatshirt
Anyone who knows me knows that I take a sweatshirt with me everywhere. I get cold easily and often feel more comfortable in a sweatshirt. I always sleep in an over-sized sweatshirt and oftentimes can't help myself from buying more. My favorite by far though has to be this Carhartt hoodie that my husband bought me for my birthday. I reach for it more than any other in my closet
My Fitbit
My dad got me my first Fitbit when I was in high school, I wore that Fitbit everyday until it broke when I was in college. When I graduated college and started dating my now husband I bought a new Fitbit Inspire HR to wear and track our steps on our engagement trip to Disney World. That was in 2019 and last year my husband upgraded my Fitbit for Christmas to the Sense 2. I wear it everyday, I appreciate tracking my steps but my favorite features are the heart rate monitor and the sleep tracking ability that it has. I know there are many other fitness watches, and most people with iPhones probably prefer the Apple watch but I love the Premium Fitbit app and the simplicity that Fitbit offers me. Plus it has a full report that I can print and take to my doctor when I go in for checkups or have questions and concerns.
Tea
Most people prefer coffee these days but I have to put so much stuff in coffee to enjoy it that sometimes I just prefer tea. I keep many different kinds on hand, but the ones that I always seem to be running out of are Bigelow's Cozy Chamomile, Lemon Ginger, and Tazo's Glazed Lemon Loaf Dessert Tea. In the mornings occasionally I will make a London Fog with Twinnings Earl Grey or I will have The Republic of Tea's Vanilla Almond with a little honey. I tend to like the majority of the teas that I try.
A Book
What would this world be without books?! I know most people right now are obsessing over tiktok and booktok and all the ways they can talk about books online, but truly I believe that if you have access to books you'll never be bored... have to wait at the shop while your car gets worked on? Read a book. Want to learn something new?! There's a book for that. Want to be a better person? Read a book. I will forever be collecting books to add to my collection. To read, to learn, to take me to worlds I never knew existed. In fact, there are other posts on this blog dedicated entirely to books, and I'll never be sorry for it.
Chocolate (and Dr. Pepper)
I don't think that this needs much explanation.. Maybe if I had never had it to begin with I could lean on another sweet treat but I can't really imagine my life without these two vices. I have, on more than one occasion, begrudgingly found substitutes for Dr. Pepper but I have never found one for chocolate. I always have to have it in the house. I keep it in the kitchen, I've been known to keep it in my desk drawer, and even sometimes in the top drawer of my nightstand. Lucky for me my husband prefers white chocolate or sour candies and, so there's no chance of either of us ever stealing the others candy. My favorite is a plain ole Hershey bar, but I also love dark chocolate too. Lindt's A Touch of Sea Salt Dark Chocolate has been my go to lately but I always love the Ghirardelli Squares Dark with Sea Salt Caramel too. In a pinch I'll eat Tollhouse Semi-Sweet Morsels out of the freezer. I tell you... I might have a problem.
My Members Mark Sheets
I know there are tons of places that claim to have the best sheets and prices for sheets vary greatly across all platforms.. I haven't tried all of them, but I do know that once I tried these ( https://www.samsclub.com/p/members-mark-700-thread-count-egyptian-cotton-sheet-set/prod25761160?xid=plp_product_8 ) I haven't wanted to buy any others. I love these sheets. They're amazing for deep mattresses as they have elastic super stretchy corners and elastic all around the edge to keep the fitted sheet in place. I love these sheets so much that I've bought four sets of them and two more sets for our guest bedroom.
My Planner
I don't know about you, but I have to write everything down, if I don't, I'll forget it. With everything going on in my head and trying to be a proper functioning adult.. it's just too much to not have somewhere to write it all down. Even in school they gave us agendas to keep track of school work and I guess I just learned how to use one a little too well. When I got out of school I started keeping everything in a small planner from Target that I could fit into my purse. I did that for a couple of years before I felt that those planners weren't serving me in the ways I thought they should, and I went in search of something better. I found a company called Plum Paper ( https://www.plumpaper.com/ ) that lets me tailor my planner more for me. My Planner no longer fits in my purse, I prefer the 8.5"x11" size, and to be honest, it is expensive for a planner. But I find that the functionally being more suited to me and giving me a tool that I actually want to use day to day is more than worth the price tag. Plus, Plum paper keeps track of all the important dates in my life year after year, and prints them right into my planner. So for those of you that know me... That's my secret to never missing a birthday.
These Tennis Shoes
Good shoes are something I wasn't really worried about growing up.. I just wanted to be cool and all the cool girls wore Nike.. So that's what I wanted. Now a days, I prefer something that I don't hate myself for wearing if I have to spend any amount of time on my feet. I have lymphedema which means I have to wear a compression sock ninety percent of the time on my left leg. Taking proper care of this sock means that I also have to wear some form of footwear most of that time too so I don't rip/tear said sock. Along with that, I have high arches so I need arch support too. These Cloudgo running shoes are my go to.
Our Humidifier
Lastly, I never thought that I would say this, but I love having a humidifier. In the winter when the air gets dry sometimes I get bloody noses, and having a humidifer keeps that from happening. It's not glamorous but it's the truth. Lucky for me, my husband is from a very humid place and loves having a humidifier in our home. This is the one we got on Amazon, please excuse the extra looonnnng link.
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