Honey I’m hooooome! 😀
I missed your lovely faces! Sorry for going MIA a little longer than intended, but I got home late Monday night after a long 14-hour drive, and it was all I could do to keep from passing out on my doorstep. Whistler was ah.maze.ing and I’ll do my best to put together a recap post for you guys soon, but I took a tonne of pictures so it might take me a little while to sort through those. Eep.
Until then, let’s play catch up and talk monthly favourites. BUT! Instead of just talking about my favourites from August, I’ll be talking about my favourites from the past year. If you remember, I did the exact same thing this last year with a Best of the Best favourites post, and while I know it makes more sense to do one of these things at the end of the year, I just so happened to write my very first monthly favourites post in August of 2012, so the favourites year kind of operates on that calendar…
So without further ado, here’s a collection of the favourites I mentioned in the last year that I’m still loving/using to this day. I’ll keep the commentary to a minimum since there’s a lot to get through, so click on over to the actual post if you want to hear my full thoughts!
Kabocha squash — September 2013.
Hands down my favourite squash. So incredibly sweet and crumbly when roasted.
Farmer’s Market canned pumpkin — September 2013.
My favourite brand of canned pumpkin. Organic, sweet, and not too dry!
Justin’s maple almond butter — September 2013.
Hands down the best store-bought flavoured almond butter. Subtly sweet with no shifty ingredients!
Silk unsweetened vanilla almond milk — October 2013.
Sweet, creamy, and no carrageenan! A great non-dairy alternative to milk.
Bob’s Red Mill organic coconut flour — November 2013.
I love the moist yet dense texture this flour gives to both baked and non-baked goods. Perfect in things like mug cakes!
Dr. Kracker crispbreads — January 2014.
The perfect snack cracker! Super crispy and tonnes of texture and flavour from all the seeds.
Snack plates — January 2014.
The reason I no longer hate lunch. A perfect way to satisfy all my cravings in one go.
Earthbound Farm’s dates — February 2014.
Nature’s candy! I love using these as a base for energy bites, or just eating them straight from the bag.
Wowbutter soy nut butter — March 2014.
A great nut-free alternative to peanut/almond butter. Full of flavour and super creamy.
Giddy YoYo chocolate bars — April 2014.
This chocolate stole my heart. Perfect texture, rich taste, and clean/ethically sourced ingredients.
Orabrush — September 2013.
Bye, bye bad breath! Love how much cleaner my mouth feels after using this daily.
Soap Works Creamy Clay Bar — November 2013.
What I use to cleanse my skin every morning and night. Great at removing impurities without being overly harsh.
MAC Cleanse Off Oil — February 2014.
I still use this every.single.night to take off my makeup. Leaves my skin feeling so clean and soft.
Maybelline’s Colossal Volum’ mascara — February 2014.
No matter how many mascaras I try, I keep coming back to this one! Amazing volume and no clumps.
Benefit’s Hoola bronzer — February 2014.
Gives my fair skin a perfect warm glow without looking muddy or orange!
Urban Decay’s All Nighter makeup setting spray — March 2014.
Not only does it make your makeup last forever, but it keeps it from getting cakey or melting off your face in the heat.
Oil pulling — April 2014.
Still doing this about 4 times a week to keep my teeth and mouth feeling squeaky clean. Love it.
Dry brushing — May 2014.
Still dry brushing daily and seeing improvements in my skin condition and circulation.
Sukin’s rose hip oil — May 2014.
My favourite oil to use on my face. A few drops in my moisturizer each night has made my skin super soft.
Sally Hansen’s Hard as Nails — July 2014.
This bottle is a miracle worker in terms of helping strengthen nails. I barely wear anything else.
Batiste dark and deep brown dry shampoo — July 2014.
I only wash my hair about 2-3 times a week to keep it from drying out, so I love this between washes… especially since the added colour helps keep my hair from turning grey.
The Book Thief – September 2013 || A Dance with Dragons – November 2013
The Fault in Our Stars – January 2014 || Red Rising – February 2014
Blood Song – March 2014 || Graceling – April 2014
Throne of Glass series — May 2014. || The Under the Never Sky series — July 2014.
Moleskine notebook — January 2014.
Couldn’t live without this thing. It’s where all the Spoons magic happens.
Beats by Dre Studio headphones — January 2014.
When I put these on, the rest of the world ceases to exist. Absolutely the best way to listen to music.
Farmville — June 2014.
I totally expected this addiction to die off by now — it still hasn’t 😆
August was huge for Spoons — the best month yet! And it wasn’t half bad for me either 😉
- My Banana Oat Greek Yogurt Muffins have now been pinned 130k times and were also featured on Buzzfeed. Woop!
- Buzzfeed also featured 3 of my smoothie recipes in their dorm room roundup, as well as 2 of my recipes in their blender roundup. And Huffington Post picked up my Healthy Rice Krispie Squares. Double woop!
- Spoons hit over 3000 likes on Facebook and over 2000 followers on Bloglovin. Love.you.guys.
- Spoons also celebrated it’s second birthday, where I announced that blogging has become more than just a hobby for me and shared some tips on how to take your blog to the next level.
- Spoonified recipes included:
- And the icing on the cake was beginning and ending the month with a few trips to the mountains.
Here’s to an even more awesome September! 😀
What was the best thing that happened for you in August?
What are you looking forward to in September?
More places to find me!
E-mail — [email protected]
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Heck Yes to Kombucha Squash!! and if I had to pick one thing I’m most excited about for September it’s defiantly fall flavors and fall veggies! Bring on all the squashes !
You are seriously rocking it girl with your followers and success on Buzzfeed! Congrats!!
I guess the only real plus of August was my trip to Boston… this month went by so fast! This month I have a half (this weekend!), Ragnar (next weekend!) and hopefully J will be home so yay!
Love this post, Amanda! It’s so fun looking back on favorites from the year, isn’t it? So Wowbutter. I saw that at the store a while ago, and thought it looked worth trying, but I didn’t buy it. And then within the next week you posted something about it and I was like, if Amanda can vouch for it, it’s gotta be good! So I bought it and looooved it. THEN I think I got sensitive to it and haven’t eaten it since. So here’s the plan: I need to buy it again because I <3 Wowbutter. The end 😉
SO proud of you!! You are doing such amazing things!! PS I’m dying to try like every beauty product you mentioned…espesh that rose hip oil. Gahh!!!
The best part of Autumn was just trying new things with my knee issues and seeing minor improvements. It has a long way to go but I’ll take anything right now. Gotta keep things positive 😉
I am looking forward to the crisp, fall September mornings SO much. The smell of fall in the mornings and at nights. I just love the windows open and just welcoming the change in seasons. Plus, you know, pumpkin everything 😉
I think I remember you not being a fan of PSLs… Am I correct? I don’t know if you don’t like the sweetness, but if that’s the case ask for only one pump of the syrup. You might be pleasantly surprised 😀
Yeah I’m not the biggest fan of the PSL 🙁 I miiiiight have one just to keep up tradition though, and then I’ll give your one pump a shot 🙂
Best part of August was landing two major new business contracts that I’d been working on getting for a long time!
September I’m looking forward to working with clients, finishing our baby’s nursery, and then waiting for said baby to appear.
Also – I have to check out this MAC makeup remover. I can’t seem to find one that doesn’t irritate my eyes or skin!
I’m glad you told me about dry brushing – I’ve been doing it for over a year now and my skin looks awesome. I need to get on that Urban Decay spray stuff though! As for the best thing in August…I’m going to say there were several blessings in disguise – I feel closer to my friends and family and more true to myself and what I want than I think I ever have before.
I’m seriously LOVING that it was such a beautiful month for you! So well-deserved 😀 And the next time I see you, you better believe I’m dragging your butt to Sephora!
You are killing on the blogging front.. and so well-deserved! Love reading about your favorites and you’ve given me a few things to add to my list of things to try. Here’s to an equally amazing September!
Congrats on the amazing August!! 🙂
Wow, you got featured on buzzfeed! That alone is really a statement.
you did not include farmville in your favorites.
please tell me i’m seeing things.
i don’t know if we can be friends anymore.
the best thing that happened to me in august was i got a job, even if it’s not ideal. MONEY. literally.
in september, i’m looking forward to getting my new used car in my driveway.
You’re seeing things! It’s right there at the bottom 😛
Oh I loved the Fault in Our Stars!!! Great roundup list. I always like hearing things other people like before I buy things. In september im looking forward to some family visiting!
I have never tried a kobacha! I need to fix this…like yesterday! And September is my birthday month so it is the best month of the year. Not that I am biased or anything. Congrats on all the success in August!
Wowee, all in one place and you can see what a bumper-to-bumper month it’s been. I think I say that every time though 😀 – but really, August on Spoons was… delicious! I require another week -at the least- before I can entirely accept that lo and behold..it is September. Crazy.
Dry brushing: is it adviseable to carry it out daily even for sensitive skin? I love it, but I’m wary on doing it every single day for fear of it being too harsh. Thoughts?
I have super sensitive skin and I never ran into any problems, even doing it daily. Some areas are more sensitive than others, so you can just be more gentle on those. Your skin might go through a slight purging phase while it gets rid of whatever has been stuck in it, but it shouldn’t last too long and you’ll LOVE the condition of it after that.
Love this spin on favourites! I am glad you liked Whistler!!
I am stealing some of your products for September. Ha!
I definitely will try Urban Decay’s All Nighter makeup setting spray and Sukin’s rose hip oil.
I’m happy to hear you had a great trip and I can’t wait to see all of the goooorgeous pics. I know you’ll do it justice! 😉
Thanks for the dry brushing reminder. I bought a brush forever ago and it just sat there in my shower. I need to get on that again!
And congrats to you for all of the success with Spoons! 130k pins is insane and so awesome!!
Love this spin on favourites! I am glad you liked Whistler!
I am stealing some of your products for September. Ha!
I definitely will try Urban Decay’s All Nighter makeup setting spray and Sukin’s rose hip oil.
I need to get my hands on some of those crackers! They look soo good!
September is my favorite because it’s my birthday month 🙂 We are going to see the comedian Aziz Ansari the weekend before my birthday, then we are relaxing allll weekend long on my actual birthday weekend. So looking forward to it!
it’s been a good year spoons!! Ditto to all of the food and while I would give you a big thumbs up on the beauty products, you know I don’t use any of that stuff 😉
I’m determined to locate a kabocha squash this year. I’m fairly certain they don’t sell them anywhere in VA. I’m pumped for September because that means football season, cooler weather, and of course, pumpkin everything 😉
You need t come up here to Alberta! We have them year round 😉
I love Silk almond milk!! It’s definitely my favorite brand. I was super happy when I found out it is carageenan free to boot :D. Woohoo!
This was such a fun post! 🙂 🙂 I always love your favorites – they turn me on to great products / ideas. Like dry shampoo. Which I totally have you to thank for, and it has SAVED my hair. 🙂 🙂
I have no clue if we have Kabocha squash around here…but I’m on the lookout for it now after you’ve spoken so highly of it 🙂
Oh my gosh! I had no idea Silk was carageenan free. YAY I’m gonna need some of that! I fell in love with Dr. Krackers Seedlander after seeing you enjoy them! Honestly, I’ve been obsessed with our ice cream maker. I made peach raspberry sorbet yesterday and it is wonderful 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
I still haven’t tried kabocha squash although I’ve heard amazing things. I’m making that my mission this weekend.
I love that you did a full year roundup! That’s very cool. I like looking back each month to see what I created and it sometimes amazes me that those things came from my kitchen. Now if I could just figure out how to use the new Nikon camera I treated myself to his weekend! Have you ever written an photography tips posts? Would love to hear some of yours.
Yay for new cameras! You’re going to love it! I’ve never written any photography tip posts, but I’ve definitely thought about it. I think my biggest tip would be to throw the camera into manual mode and just start shooting. Pic a subject and shoot it repeatedly, playing around with the settings between each shot. That’s what I did. It’s all about practice!
I love these round up posts! While I don’t wear very fancy makeup or products, I always love to check out the products you share. I think we have similar skin issues, so you can bet I’ll be checking out that bar as well as that oil for removing makeup! I tried a store brand oil to remove makeup and it was just too heavy for me I think. Or maybe I can only use it in the winter? All I know is that my skin gets sooooo dry and tight when the weather dips!
Talk about the ultimate round-up..2014 sure has been a delicious year for you :)! Can’t wait to hear more about your trip..and vicariously visit Whistler through your photos! One thing I am looking forward to in September is actually coming up this weekend- a few friends and I are driving up to my cousin’s place which is a 2-hour drive away to stay there 2 days- the only things on the agenda are read, eat, chat, chill, nap and repeat! It will be a very much needed staycation :)!
I’m so with ya on the mascara. It is the best mascara I have ever used and buy it every time. I bought a dry brush but always forget to use it. Do you use it at a certain time of day so you remember to do it? Before showering?
I’ve heard that it’s best to do before showering so that you can really get your circulation going, but I’ve actually found that I prefer to do it after because it makes the skin softer and feels amazing when I put cream on right after.
I need to get my hands on some kabacha squash this year! I was able to score some Wowbutter, and, I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t like it. I think I’ll stick to steamed edamame and honey-roasted soy nuts instead 🙂
SO envious of those headphones. If you ever get tired of them, I could use a pair. 😉
Well we’re moving in this month so that’s what I’m looking forward to in September…on the food side though – apples, pumpkin everything, squash!, and soup/chili.
Ooh -kabocha and Justin’s are some of my favs too – together they are pure heaven!
Best thing that happened in August was having my beet pizza on Huffington Post and a ton of my co-workers showing up for my dad’s funeral which made me more teary eyed -unexpected support can be so overwhelmingly good! Hoping to grow my blog more in September – fingers crossed!
So glad you are back – I have missed ya, lovely!
I love Benefits Hoola Bronzer as well. I started wearing it over seven years ago and am still a huge fan! In September I am looking forward to the arrival of my nephew and hopefully our little one will make its grand appearance!
I love the spin on the “monthly favorites”! I’ve been really into dates lately- i cant get enough of those little guys. That 82% Giddy Yo Yo choc looks amazing- I’ll have to keep an eye out (or order it!) Can’t wait to hear about your Whistler trip!
Ahhh all the yummy food is making me miss my kitchen! Thanksgiving will come, and I all be overwhelmed by the amount of pumpkin EVERYTHING that I want to make.
Nevertheless, moving into college and meeting so many new friends was the highlight of my August! It’s a strange and sometimes tough transition, but I’m looking forward to learning and getting closer to a few friends after all this speed-meeting-people. 😉
College and making new friends > kitchens. I have a feeling it’s going to be a freaking awesome year for you!
Yay! Glad you had such a great month 🙂 You did have some mighty fine posts, and congrats on your milestone follower marks! That is awesome! I didn’t realize how similar we are in our tastes of foods with a lot of things too….many of the food products you highlighted, I LOVE….and now we can add love grown to that list!
Welcome back Sweetheart!! Glad you had a great time!
So much good stuff here. I ALWAYS think of you when I dry brush – means, every morning.
August was a lot of mini trips which was nice, but also hectic – I am looking forward to a more quiet September. Wait – I am travelling to Berlin next week. Gah. 🙂
I’m all about Apple season coming up. I like pumpkin but not a huge fan. That mascara is awesome. I just bought the kind in the green tube, lump crusher and I honestly think I like that more than my saphora brand.
geeeeeeebuz what a round up. I lol at urban decay……. what a name.
Persian dates, That is all.
Isn’t it crazy I haven’t been able to find kabocha squash anywhere for like a freaking year!!! I need to get my hands on some.. someway, somehow haha. I forgot how delicious it is 🙁 LOVE beats, so jealous you got some! I also love that clear sally hansen nail polish. I have it too, and it really is the best clear!
You need to come up here to Alberta! We have kabocha all year long!