Wednesday Rambling: A Few New Favorite Things

 

I haven't done one of these posts since the end of 2020, I think.   I guess that's partly because I haven't bought just loads of things, but I have gotten a few. 

The below purchases were gotten from Amazon and each item has its own link.  I earn a tiny commission from Amazon if you use my link to go to the site and make a purchase of any item of your choosing.  It does not affect your costs to you.  

I bought these Wilton bread pans after seeing many vloggers using them.  I had a loaf pan but John disliked the size of my bread loaves.  They were smaller than the bread pan in the bread machine but he wanted a 'store bought' sized loaf.  Well that's what this pan gives.

I love this pan.  I only needed one and offered the other to Sam this year when he started making his own bread.  It is a non-stick but not teflon.  I prefer to handwash it, but clean up is super easy.  

Because I wanted a longer bag to store the bread loaf in each week, I ordered these produce bags from Amazon.  I like them so much that I've almost eliminated the use of zippered bags.  They do not come with twist ties (though they really should).  I find I can use a clothespin or clip of some sort to keep them shut.  They aren't pricey and a roll will last me roughly a year.  

I have started using these to divide portions of meat into when I bring it home, then I put those into a zippered bag that I reuse over and over for the same types of meat.  I also find these helpful to store my produce once it's washed and wrapped in cotton cloths.  

All in all, I've found these bags incredibly useful and relatively inexpensive.

Anyone remember my fiasco last Spring when I washed all of the curtains in the house and the bedroom curtains stuck together and then shed great clumps of room darkening material off the backs?  I looked for months for replacement curtains I could afford.  Then The Prudent Homemaker shared a link for these drapes on her site.

They are so nice that I now want to replace the living room drapes with these sometime in the future.  They look like silk, are fully lined, heavy, and light blocking.   The come in a lovely range of colors and they are reasonably priced.  

There's an even less expensive option: you can buy them 'used' for about 1/3 less.  Honestly, I think they are returns.  I went for that option because I needed that additional savings at the time.  Just for comparison, I paid just as much per pair at Dollar General for my old ones and these are really a nice quality.  I'll buy used again if I can get the color/size I'd like for the living room.

I shared my plans to renovate my old kitchen island cabinet and how it fell apart as I rolled it out the back door.  John insisted I get a new one in the size I'd always wanted.   We looked at lots of options and in the end, I chose this kitchen island on casters.

It's about twice the size of my old island.  The proportions are a little more narrow but boy do I love all the extra storage space.  It fits my space perfectly and provides me with additional countertop when I need it.  It's sturdy and went together easily with clear instructions.

While I was replacing the island, John asked if there were other things we had in the house that needed to be replaced.  The list was short.   I have loathed the waffle iron I've had for years now but used because it was a gift.  I asked for recommendations here and a number of readers who replied suggested this model, Presto Belgian Waffle maker.

I'm very happy with this waffle iron. The instructions are precise and the waffles are lovely.  I don't have overflow issues at all with this model and everything is easily cleaned.  I couldn't be happier with it.

John has had Katie cutting his hair for about two years, now.  We originally ordered a Wahl set of clippers and this year we replaced them with another set of Wahl clippers.  Those clippers get a work out, because John gets his hair cut every two weeks.  Katie cut her former partner's hair and now she's cutting Caleb's, as well.   

I did try to get an image of this set but they come out super small and very blurry. 

With the average haircut costing about $12 for a child and $15 for an adult male, these clippers save us a good bit of money!

This is just a plug for a company that really impressed me with customer service.  I ordered new rugs for my kitchen from RugsUSA.   

The rugs I ordered were on sale and because I failed to read carefully, I ordered the recommended rug pads to go under them.  My mistake.  I shouldn't use them on my tile floors.

This company not only sent my product in record time, but when I contacted customer service (online chat help) about returning the rug pads, they were pleasant and instructed me about how to find my way around online to make the whole process painless.  And it was!  The hardest part, so I thought, would be finding a Fed Ex drop off point to make the return after repackaging and printing out the label.  Nope. Turns out that most Dollar General stores have a Fed Ex drop off point located in the store.  I had my choice of several nearby including one right here in my local town.  

The refund processed rapidly and I was reimbursed, minus the charge for the Fed Ex return shipping.  I felt that was entirely fair, since the mistake was mine and not theirs.  I was and am very impressed with this company's customer service!

The rugs are as nice as they looked online, too, by the way.  I'm very happy with my rugs and with my experience with this company.