My Five Faves on the 1st

I love when friends share referrals of books, products, recipes or any other idea that makes life a little easier. Pinterest is great, but scanning through thousands of ideas/products overwhelms me. On the first of the month, I'm going to try to post my five favorites from the past month. If you blog, please join with me on the 1st of the month. If you are not a blogger, comment below on some of your faves or comment in the Facebook post. I would love to hear about the stuff you enjoy.

1. World Market.

When I lived in St. Louis, this was one of my favorite stores. It has been years since I entered the doors of this store due to the distance while living in Houston. When I realized I now live 15 minutes away from one, I took my three little ladies here just as an excuse to get out of the house. What I remember of this store still remains: unique furniture and home decor inspired by cultures around the world. Little did I know that they now carry gorgeous jewelry and scarves. Move over Charming Charlie's.

2. "Praying Circles around Your Children" by Mark Batterson

Every year I make a reading goal of how many books I want to read, and the carpool line to pick up my daughter from PreK has helped me meet my goal. I finished this one on the last day of school. All parents need to read this one. This is the perfect little book to leave in your purse and pick up when you have a few minutes. Thank you to my MIL for giving this one to me.


3. Lowe's Valspar Ultra paint.

I love Benjamin Moore paint colors. Fan of the price for Benjamin Moore paint, not so much. Did you know that Lowes can match any designer color? (Thanks again to my fabulous sister for this tip). Lowes has every Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, etc color imaginable in their computer system and can replicate the exact match. The beauty of this: Valspar paint is half the price of Benjamin Moore. The Valspar Ultra was smooth going on the walls and only needed one coat.


4. Nosefrida 

Vivian caught her first cold this past month and the Nose Freida is a huge help for your little one's breathing. I'm not even going to attempt explaining how you use this as it sounds gross. Please trust me though. If you have an infant to child under one years old, this is a must have for colds. Our pediatrician in Houston (Blue Fish Pediatrics) recommended this product to us when Emmalyn had her first cold.


5. Priceline "Name Your Own Price"

In the past 5(ish) years that Priceline has had the "Name Your Own Price" option, I have never paid full price on a hotel room. We recently made a trip to Oklahoma and knew we were going to need a hotel room.  I used the Name Your Own Price option and paid 60% off the list price for a night at the Holiday Inn. Pretty much you say the area of town, the number of stars of the hotel, and how much you are willing to pay. Priceline then tells you if a hotel accepted your offer. Here's some tips for using the Name Your Own Price option:
1. To get the lowest price accepted on the room, you have to be willing to book the day of your trip.
2. Check out Priceline first to see what hotels are available in your desired area. See how many stars are used to describe the hotels you wish to stay in.
Example--when we went to Oklahoma, the town we were staying in had a Hampton Inn and a Holiday Inn, either of which I wanted to stay in. Since these were the only 2 1/2 star hotels in the area, I only placed offers on 2 1/2 star hotels.