Hello friends!

This post is a result of requests from my readers, the holiday season approaching, and a post idea I’ve had for literally years. Today I wanted to share a few of my favorite things – stuff I use and love – for you guys to browse through. Maybe it will help you find gifts for loved ones or a few ideas for yourself. 🙂 I divided everything into categories with links for easy access. Enjoy!

Note: This post contains affiliate links to products I use and love. Purchasing something through the link adds no extra cost for you but gives me a small commission for advertising.

HOME GOODS

glass leftover containers  || These are the nicest leftover containers ever! Very sturdy and good quality, plus they come in lots of sizes and can be heated up in the microwave.

welcome mat  || We have this at our back door. I love how cheerful and unique it is.

mirror  || I’ve never had a good full-length mirror until getting this one as a wedding gift. The simple design is beautiful and the mirror doesn’t warp your reflection all. You can hang it on the wall or stand it on the floor (which is what we do).

wooden tray  || The perfect coffee table tray. Honestly it’s surprisingly beautiful for just being an Amazon product. It’s big enough to hold books and a TV remote for everyday or a tray of tea and snacks for special occasions.

blue and white pillowcases  || I find these quite classy and sophisticated. They’d look good almost anywhere you can put a pillow – on a bed, armchair, or couch. Ours adorn our leather couch.

blue and white Corelle dishes  || This set of dishes brings me joy. It’s a little like a blue china design, but on Corelle plates which are hard to break and will hold up to everyday use. The best combination.

jewelry organizer  || I can fit all my jewelry neatly onto this organizer. It makes everything easy to find instead of having to, you know, hunt through a jumble of mismatched earrings and tangled necklaces. Plus it’s an attractive design.

lamp  || We have one of these lamps beside our bed and the other on our piano keyboard. They’re really nice, sturdy, classic lamps that will blend with almost any style.

floral pillowcases  || A cute addition to our living room décor with its delightful wildflower pattern.

blue and white rugs  || I absolutely love the soft charm these rugs add to my kitchen. I’ve machine-washed them several times and air-dried them; they’ve held up nicely.

shower curtain  || As a watercolor artist, the painted florals on this curtain make me happy. I will say that some of the graphics are slightly blurry, but I still find the design lovely. It brightens + beautifies our tiny bathroom so well.

ART SUPPLIES

Winsor and Newton watercolors  || Ah, my old friend. I’ve had this set of watercolors for years and years and while I’ve replaced several of the half-pans (which you can buy individually on Amazon), it’s lasted well. Winsor and Newton is a quality, professional-grade brand with intense pigments. I recommend the Cotman pocket set for beginners.

Arches watercolor paper  || This paper is definitely a worthwhile investment for any serious watercolor artist. It’s the only paper I use for finished pieces and the artwork I sell on my Etsy shop. Good paper is possibly the most important priority in watercolor, and Arches is unsurpassed in my experience.

Leather journal  || I love using this journal for my ephemera scrapbooking. The pages are textured and decently thick, suitable for multimedia, and the cover is beautiful leather. It always feels like a treat to use.

pink pearl erasers  || Pencil-topper erasers… a pretty basic art supply, right? Do yourself a favor and buy these perfect erasers instead of the cheap colorful ones that shred paper and break after a few uses. Ooh, another supply I forgot to put on the list is this Tombow Mono eraser for super fine details. Love it!

Uni-Ball Signo white gel pens  || One of the most satisfying pens to use. I’ve yet to find a more opaque, smooth, and bright white gel pen. This one can’t be beat.

micron pens  || These pens are the best! The ink is archival (it’s fade-resistant), the pens come in many different sizes, and most importantly for me – they’re waterproof! Micron pen + Winsor and Newton watercolor is one of my favorite art supply combinations to work with.

Pilot G2 navy blue pens  || I pretty much exclusively write with these pens – I use them for my planner, journaling, letter-writing, etc. Really nice smooth, dark ink. I like the 07mm size.

BEAUTY & FASHION

Tarte Shape Tape concealer  || I rarely wear makeup but I do use concealer fairly regularly so I decided it was worth investing in some good stuff. This is amazing! It melts into your skin and even though it’s expensive, the bottle is pretty big and a little goes a very long way.

Pura D’or scalp therapy shampoo  || This shampoo made a noticeable difference in my hair. It’s like a dandruff shampoo but with less harsh ingredients. It makes my hair soft and shiny and keeps my scalp healthy. I wash my hair about every other day and it’s not too harsh or drying like some shampoo is for that.

Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara  || I like the shape of the brush on this mascara. The mascara itself is pretty durable and long-lasting despite being washable.

pink dress  || A lot of my clothing is thrifted so I can’t link to it. But I really like this pink mockneck dress from Amazon that I’ve had for a couple years now. It’s super comfortable and really cute with the ruffled sleeves and ribbed knit texture.

ankle boots  || I just got these about a month ago and I’ve gotten so many compliments on them. They look really nice, are fairly comfortable (though they were a bit small before I “broke them in”), and go with pretty much any outfit.

Solmate socks  || One of my friends gifted me a pair of these socks in the “Fall Foliage” color, and they’re so nice I want to collect more styles! In my opinion they’re the perfect balance of warm but not annoyingly thick. Also they’re just fun. 🙂

TECHNOLOGY

Nikon D7200 camera  || I actually got this from a friend who was getting rid of hers; it was a nice upgrade from my D3400 which is also a good camera. Anyway, this is a great DSLR with clear photo quality and good capabilities. How could I survive without it? 😛

35mm camera lens  || My go-to lens for sure. I would recommend a 35mm if you’re looking to try just one prime lens as it’s super versatile. I pretty much leave it on my camera all the time, although I use my 50mm for close-ups and portraits occasionally. 

ET 2720 Epson EcoTank printer  || The ink in this printer lasts forever! And it does a good job of printing too – despite being cantankerous sometimes as all printers are. I definitely recommend the EcoTank series.

Fotodiox macro extension tubes  || I link to these a lot on the blog because they’re so inexpensive yet can create jaw-dropping results. If you’re interested in macro photography and have a DSLR camera, check them out. Also see my post here to learn tips for using these and see examples of the photos you can get with them.

Anker Soundcore speaker  || A great little speaker for around the house. Sully likes to bring this to work days with family, like when we painted my brother and sister-in-law’s house.

FM bluetooth transmitter  || You guys probably all know about this but just in case… if you have an old car like I do that doesn’t have built-in Bluetooth, these little radio transmitters are a great way to still listen Spotify while you’re driving.

MISCELLANEOUS

ESV Study Bible  || I love this translation in general but particularly this Study Bible – it has some beautiful illustrations and tons of super helpful notes, including in-depth overviews of each book of the Bible. The cover of mine is different but the content is the same as what I linked here.

Dutch Blitz card game  || Dutch Blitz is the official card game of my family, haha. It’s a bit hard to play at first but when you get some experience, it’s a blast. Extremely chaotic, fast-paced, and exciting.

One Line a Day journal  || I’ve been writing a short summary of my day here for four years. It’s crazy to look back at the previous years’ entries and see how much has changed. This is a great alternative to a full-fledged diary as the short writing space makes it much more manageable.

Flower Box postcards  || I received this as a gift and immediately wanted to frame half of the postcards! It’s filled with such a lovely variety of floral prints in postcards that can be mailed, framed, or used as cards (which is how I most often use them).

Skipbo card game  || Another really fun card game that’s much simpler than Dutch Blitz. Sully and I enjoy this one since it works well with two players (and more if desired).

Hope’s Table cookbook  || This might be the cookbook I use the most. I don’t think I’ve tried a recipe here I didn’t like, and I’ve tried a lot. So many delicious, home-cooked staples plus more unique recipes, most using ingredients you already have on hand. My parents grew up Mennonite and I’m still partial to those practical, from-scratch, homegrown flavors.

exercise ball  || I use this at my desk instead of an office chair so it doesn’t make my back stiff (I sound so old). I like to take breaks and do stretches with this exercise ball when sitting for long periods of time.

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I hope you enjoyed this list of a few of my favorite products! I always like hearing people’s most-loved things so I hope you enjoyed this list of a few items that have made my life better. Though of course the most important and joyful things in my life aren’t things at all and can’t be packaged up this holiday season. ❤

What are a few of your favorite things? Which of these did you like best?

Thanks so much for reading, my friends, and have a lovely day!

***Allison***

P. S. Check out this house tour post below for more of my favorite home décor items!