Five Simple Things (February 17)

Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. These Scissors.

The Mighty Fix from Mighty Nest last month was these herb scissors. I've wanted some of these for awhile now, so this Fix hits just right. We decided to have baked potatoes this week with all the fixings, including chives. I used my herb scissors to make quick work of the herb to use on our potatoes. It was the perfect cut and size. Definitely a must in any house that cooks, or like me, attempts to cook. ☺

You can sign up for the Mighty Fix from Mighty Nest here and get on the mailing list for next month.

2. These Cookies.

We tried a new festive way to dress up sugar cookies. I am not really big on icing sugar cookies, mostly because I don't want to take the time, but sprinkles I'm all about. These sprinkles are non-gmo and USDA organic and they bring such a fun addition to anything, really. We used a basic sugar cookie recipe and then shaped the cookie dough into a log and rolled in sprinkles. You can also freeze the log and then coat with a little melted butter or water and roll in sprinkles. Either way will work and still bake up the same.

The recipe we used is as follows:

2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. sea salt
2 sticks cooled, room temperature butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and whisk/sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix in an electric mixer the butter and sugar and mix until fluffy. Add egg and yolk one at a time, mixing after each addition. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until combined. Form dough into a log and roll in sprinkles. Slice into 1/4 inch cookies and bake for 12-14 minutes. Don't over bake.

3. This Box.

Kinder Beauty Box this month brought a few things that I haven't tried before. A body mud mask, flyaway hair gel, and apple cider vinegar gummies. I love having an opportunity to try different items that I have thought about, but never purchased. The body mud felt amazing and I've already started taking the apple cider vinegar gummies. I also got a chance to try the hair gel to help with baby hairs. Such great products, and I'm never disappointed in each box that comes. You can sign up here to get on the mailing list for next month.

4. This Weather.

We got a random sleet storm this week and it left as quickly as it came in. It lasted all of five minutes and was gone. We didn't realize what it was right away until we heard the sleet hitting the windows and had to look outside to be sure. Sometimes these freak sleet storms are cool to watch and listen to.

5. This Milk.

This milk was something new that we saw at our local food co-op and I loved the message behind it. It's a carbon-neutral milk and helps fight the damage on the climate. It's from a brand named Neutral. We purchased a half gallon of the milk to taste it and it tasted perfect to us. You can read more about their efforts here. They also create half and half and cheese products.

One more thing:

Skylar and I have been watching the LEGO livestream this week and we are loving it! You can watch a small snippet of it above, or watch the entire two hours here.

Positive affirmations this week:

Talking more about what I struggle with has helped me a great deal. We must keep talking about mental health to destroy this stigma attached to it and those that suffer with issues get heard more. When we brush things under the carpet, so to speak, it builds up and also causes a lot of issues later. Talking and speaking about topics more helps everyone handle it better, and helps those that need it to be heard. Below is a list of 10 ways you can help reduce the stigma behind mental health issues that could very well save someone's life.