Things I like - December

1) NSync Home for Christmas

Ok, it's no secret I like late 90s/early 00s boy bands.  And I like Christmas.  So an NSync Christmas CD is pretty much perfect.  This thing is old.  15 years according to Wikipedia.  I've probably played it almost every Christmas since it was released.  There are some original songs and they cover some classics (O Holy Night, The First Noel, and The Christmas Song).  This CD gets a lot of play from me from Thanksgiving - New Years.  If you like old school boy bands and haven't heard this then you really should.  It's not really Christmastime until this CD is played (Matt would disagree with everything in this paragraph.  To him, the only thing worse than NSync Christmas music would be country Christmas music, which I also have lots of.)
 
2) Market Pantry ice cream

I know, at this point I could rename my blog to "reasons I love Target".   There are a lot.  One of them is their store brand ice cream, labeled Market Pantry.  We eat ice cream most nights once Luke is in bed and usually it's Market Pantry since it's the cheapest Target sells.  They have pretty good flavors beyond the basics (which is why we don't buy any at Aldis) and I can usually get them with a coupon or at least Cartwheel.  Our favorite flavors are Strawberry Cheesecake, Carmel Waffle Cone, and Sea Salt Caramel Pretzel (first two are currently in our freezer).

(For the record, I don't love everything about Target.  They no longer sell the black frames we have been buying for our vacation frame collage which leaves me kinda stumped...we have 19 frames from their old style and switching to another will look off since the new ones are just cheaper and thinner.  I know, not a real problem to have but I'm still not happy about it.)

3) EOS lip balm

Matt was given one of these from a patient at work.  He doesn't much care for lip balm, especially ones in a pink egg, but I do so score for me!!  I've never tried this brand because if I buy it I get Chapstick brand for about $1.  BUT I do like this.  They sell for about $3 each at Target which still isn't bad.  It works well, lasts a long time, and smells good (we have strawberry).  I might mostly like it because it's in the kitchen so I don't have to dig in my purse or the end table to find a chapstick.  Convenience is key.  But it is good lip balm, if you are in the market for some that's fancier than Chapstick.


4) Freegal music 

I just started using this last week but apparently it's been a thing for awhile.  I don't know how it works but our library has some sort of deal with Freegal where users can download 3 free songs a week.  I didn't bother for so long because I figured it was free, old song, nothing I had ever heard of, which has been the case in other free music offers I've seen.  Nope, this is recent stuff.  I downloaded 2 songs from Britney Spears' last cd (out last week, I'm going full on with 90s pop in this post) and another newer song.  I check out iTunes free song most weeks I remember but now I have another place to get free, legal, keep forever music.  I seriously don't know how a library, which is free to use, can offer this service but I am going with it.  Another reason why the library is awesome (I don't feel as weird gushing about them as I do Target). 

5) Apple peeler corer slicer

In general I don't like kitchen appliances/tools that only serve one purpose but I make an exception for this one.  These things are amazing; they sound to good to be true but they really do work!  You can peel, core, and slice an apple in about 20 seconds!!  We use this mostly when dehydrating apples but also for making apple crisps, apple cheesecakes, anything we use apples for pretty much.   They aren't expensive  ($20ish) and don't take up much cupboard space.  It is one of my most favorite kitchen gadgets.