Stuff We Love Round Up 2016!

YAY, it's the start of the best time of the year my friends!! Are you preparing for a week full of friends, family and food?

I've gathered a fantastic group of bloggers and we're sharing our favorite products-- holiday-themed and otherwise -- over the next few days with you!:

You can find the links to all 18 bloggers at the bottom of the post. I've gathered a talented group that spans beauty, fashion, decor and DIY! This has become a favorite tradition of mine for this time of year. I absolutely LOVE this week, don't you? So much to look forward to.

You can see my previous favorite posts here and here with all kinds of great stuff. This year I'm gathering some favorites I've shared throughout the year as well as some new goodies. I'm in love with all of them and use them all of the time.

First up, one of our more recent purchases. I have to first confess something to you all...there are times when I get kind of obsessed with the cable shopping channels. Especially during the holidays, I get in a zone when I watch them and can sit there for quite awhile. It's oddly calming to me...and yes, I know I'm weird.

So anyway, I saw this on there weeks or maybe even months ago? I can't remember. I just couldn't get it out of my head so we looked on Amazon and there were only a few left. I ended up getting this slightly more modern design but they have a more traditional look too:

It's a HUGE Duraflame lantern that doubles as a space heater. I'm totally in love with it. It packs a lot of power and looks good while doing it! It comes with a remote and you can turn on the candle, a light from below, the heater or all three. It also comes with white and black rocks that you lay on the bottom. (We chose the white and I'll show it to you soon.) It really does heat the space well, I was pleasantly surprised with the power. We're all impressed with it and love how it looks! It's so cool!

Next up, a beauty product I shared with you in this post, but I love it so much I'll keep bragging on it:

This Bare Minerals Bareskin foundation is by far the best foundation I've ever used. I've tried a lot of them and this has the best coverage and you don't feel like it's caked on. Mine came with a brush that makes it super easy to apply too. (I'm not sure if they call come with that brush though.) I LOVE this stuff! (Just be sure you get the right coloring for your skin tone!)

When I finished the loft space upstairs I knew we'd need a second printer. We have one in my husband's office in the basement, but for convenience sake, I knew we'd want one upstairs. (#lazy) I didn't want to spend much and I wanted something super compact. I searched for "small printer" and this HP desk jet printer came up:

I LOVE IT. I'm telling you, I wish I had known about this years ago, because we wouldn't have paid what we did for a much bigger, bulkier printer we use downstairs. This one is so small, which I love. It's also pretty, instead of a ginormous dark one we've always had. It prints color photos and printables beautifully and easily scans and copies. The only difference I can find is that it prints slower than our larger one. I'd definitely be fine with that for the size, convenience and cost. We paid $50 for it and the price has gone up a bit -- I'm guessing it will go down again for Black Friday and Cyber Monday!

For years I searched for affordable and pretty sconces for our home. I always had heart eyes for the swing arm versions but they were always at least a couple hundred bucks, if not more. When a lovely reader told me about this sconce from Joss and Main I jumped on it:

I now want to put them everywhere in my house...but I don't have anymore spots for them. ;) Sad. Hopefully you can enjoy them!

I love that you can direct the light where you want them and they look fantastic in our loft/office/craft room!:

Joss and Main has changed the name of them from the Tanya sconce to the Camilla and for awhile the price was inching up to over $110. Thankfully they are lower again right now -- it is very hard to find this look for this price!

Speaking of lights...these cute little twinkle lights are my latest favorite. I've used colored ones at Christmas before but these are even prettier:

This photo doesn't do them justice -- they have pretty, delicate wires and are so dainty. They are called fairy lights and they truly look like them. They operate on batteries and also have timers, so they stay on for a few hours at the same time every day if you wish. You can put them in glass or wine them through wreaths or greenery -- the possibilities are endless. I showed you how I used mine in this post but I have plans to use them all over this Christmas.

OK, this one was a random grocery shopping find but I'm obsessed with these little sandwich baggies:

They say they're for grilled cheese and they do work well for that, but I prefer them for warm sandwiches in general. You load up your sandwich with what you want, then put it in the sleeve and then put in your toaster. It's like a much easier, quicker toaster oven. They ROCK! The sandwich comes out with perfectly toasted bread and warm insides. I use them for toasted peanut butter and jelly too -- delish. Mine came with two bags and you can use them over and over -- it says up to 50 times! I wash it out and let it dry before the next use.

Next up, my favorite place to find super affordable rugs. I love HomeGoods too, but you never know what you'll find on each trip. RugsUSA has the BEST sales -- anywhere. I've purchased at least four rugs from them over the years and all have been wonderful quality. Our rug in the library was the latest:

It's such a pretty rug! If you catch them on a sale you can get the rugs up to 80 percent off...no joke. I'm talking 8 by 10 rugs for less than $250. And the shipping is always super quick!

This is the Treasures Vintage Abstract and it has held up really well:

I'm actually considering this same rug for another spot in the house...is that even allowed? ;) I say yes. I know Rugs USA is having another sale this Black Friday so be sure to check it out! (And no, I'm not being paid to say that, they are just a great resource!)

I shared this photography tool earlier this year but it's another one worth mentioning again. It has made such a difference when it comes to shooting photographs inside our home!:

It's the Neewer TT560 Speedlite and this very inexpensive tool clicks on to the top of your camera and gives you extra light for darker spaces. It makes the photos super clear and bright and I'm always shocked at the difference it makes. If you go to this post you can see all of my before and after photos -- seeing is believing! :)

And finally, another great find I picked up a few months ago that I adore. I like to diffuse oils occasionally and have a basic plastic diffuser I've always used. I wanted something that looked a little nicer to keep out all the time but didn't want to pay what the oil companies charged.

I found this beauty at Bed Bath and Beyond and it was still an investment but with 20 percent coupon it was much easier to swallow (and it's still a lot cheaper than the ones available through the oil brands):

It's the Ellia diffuser and the design is simple and beautiful, but it has some surprises. :) First of all, it comes with a remote, which I love. It also plays music -- there are a few options and all are very soothing. I think the coolest part is that it lights up. You can pick from a bunch of colors or a morphing setting that goes through all of them. AND it runs for 10 hours at one time. I just love it and they have more pretty designs that cost less. It is definitely a favorite in our house!

Have you tried any of these goodies? Many of them would make for great gifts or stocking stuffers but I'm not mad at ya if you want them for yourself too. ;) Tis the season!

I'll be away from the blog for the rest of the week to spend time with my family, but I'll be back next week! Be sure to check out the rest of the fabulous ladies on the round up over the next few days (see below)! And have a WONDERFUL, safe Thanksgiving!

MONDAY

Christina's Adventures

TUESDAY

Lindsay Hill Interiors