Monthly Favorites | April

1. I kinda refuse to spend huge amounts of money on workout clothing (except for shoes) and will pick up running clothes where I can (mostly Target and Old Navy). I recently got a 2-pack of 32 Degrees running shirts at Costco for $7.99 and they’re awesome. Moisture-wicking, super-soft and they fit great. I am wearing the heather pink shirt here.

2. My mom used to make a delicious dessert from quark, whipped cream and fresh (or canned) pineapples and this Open Nature Strained Greek Pineapple Yogurt almost tastes exactly like it. I wish it had a little less sugar, but oh well. That’s why it tastes so good, right?

3. Because I talked about YNAB in my recent review, I wanted to mention again how much I love the YNAB app, which has really made tracking our spending so much easier on the go. Whenever I pay with cash, I just whip out my phone and enter the purchase (and while I am at it, I can also check my ‘available balances’ for each category). Done. It’s really not that hard, guys.

4. I mentioned before, I am not much of a lip product fan. It usually comes down to texture and taste of the product. But one lip product I have repeatedly come back to is the Rimmel Stay Glossy Lip Gloss in 185 Savoy Plum. It gives some nice color and shine and doesn’t taste weird. That’s a win in my book.

5. I love my Dutch oven. I  cook everything in it. Stews, pasta dishes, stir frys, you name it. It’s easy to clean and just so useful all around. I also use it to bake bread.

6.Confession: I am #teamalmondbutter. Probably because I didn’t grow up with peanut butter and never fell in love with it. But almond butter I did fall in love with. Especially Trader Joe’s Raw Almond Butter. Ever since I tried this yummy (steel cut) oatmeal recipe from Laura, I am all over the almond butter again (I go through phases, don’t you?). I like both, crunchy and creamy. What’s your favorite?

7.  I went to the German butcher shop in town a couple of weeks ago and they had Brandt’s “Zwieback”, which is a type of rusk. It was insanely expensive (comparatively speaking), but I needed to get a box. I love it with a thick layer of (unsalted) butter. I’ve had a craving for it for a while and I don’t know any other place anymore where you get it. World Market used to have it, but I checked a couple of times recently and it seemed like they had discontinued it.

  1. Love your list and also QUARK brings up memories of my oma and ops <3 will have to be on the lookout for this yogurt!

    I love almond butter in everything and also trader joe’s so will have to make a shopping excursion soon-I don’t think I’ve tried their almond butter yet but I typically spend a fortune are Whole Foods, simply bc it’s the most convenient natural superstore to me.

    The YNAB app—I have so many questions! I was going to suggest to Bryan that we keep track of ALL of our spending this month. Do you think this would be helpful for that? Was going to do it the old fashioned way (pen/paper) but this might be more efficient.

    1. Greek Yogurt is very similar to the quark you can get in Germany. I’d love to know that you think about the yogurt!

      You could definitely give the YNAP app a try if you wanna see if that works for you – however, you can only access it if you also pay for the YNAB web-version. You could do the 34-trial. If it isn’t for you, there are a couple of other money tracking apps that could work for you and are available for free.

  2. I need new shirts for working out myself. I use to be a member of Fabletics but paying $70 for something I’m going to sweat in didn’t stick. I want a Dutch oven so bad! I’d like to try my hand at breads too. I hope you have a great weekend.

    1. That’s how I feel… there is really nice high-end running clothing, but it’s something I am just going to sweat in – haha.
      Get a Dutch oven – it’s so worth it!!

  3. Ooooh, I’ll have to check out my local Costco for those running shirts. They look great! I also don’t like to spend a ton on my workout gear, so this is right up my alley.

    I use my Dutch Oven for everything too. I love that I can cook with it on the stovetop and in the oven and I can cook basically anything in it.

    I love almond butter, too. I’ve never been a big peanut butter person and we always had fresh walnuts and almonds from my uncle and aunt’s ranch in Fairfield. I get mine at my local grocery store where I can grind it right there using their machine. So yummy!

    1. Yes, go… Costco should still have the shirts. You’ll like them.

      Glad to hear someone else loves their Dutch oven as much as I do!

  4. Our CSA made quark a couple of years ago and it was so good! I love me a good lipgloss, so I will have to check that one out!

    1. Quark is hard to find… I am glad you were able to try it through your CSA!
      Let me know what you think of the lip gloss ;)

  5. Fun list! I recently got some workout clothes from Old Navy that I’m really loving. I think I need to grab some new shirts, especially for the upcoming summer. I never really had actual work out stuff though, so it’s been a nice change.

    I LOVE peanut butter, but I want to try almond butter. It seems more expensive most places, but we’ll see. I might use it as a treat if I like it.

    -Lauren

  6. I have those shirts in ALL the colors. :P

  7. Pineapple yogurt sounds yummy!

  8. What is quark? I have never heard of it!!

    I don’t like to spend money on exercise clothes either. I get my stuff at target except there is a certain kind of Nike shorts that I like which I buy at a local running store. I think I am going to have to purchase some nicer sports bras when I return to running, though, as I am way more busty now that I am breast feeding. I miss my pre-pregnancy body sooo much!!

    1. Quark is similar to Greek yogurt, but it’s considered a ‘cheese product’ and it’s a little more sour and stiffer than Greek yogurt. We use it to make “cheesecake” in Germany.

      There are definitely a few higher-end exercise items that are worth the money!

  9. Hey girl,
    Those wicking tshirts look pretty awesome, especially for that price. I’ll have to keep my eye out for something similar up here in Canada.
    It’s funny you mention Zwieback, I just saw some in the store the other day. Do you like the “melba” toast version or do you prefer that it’s baked twice, then cut?

    I hope you’re having a great week, hun. It’s almost the weekend again! :) :)
    xo

    1. Mmh… I don’t know exactly what the difference is between the melba toast and zwieback version. Is melba toast thinner?

  10. I am on both Team Peanut Butter and Team Almond Butter. It depends on what I’m in the mood for! Trader Joe’s definitely makes some great almond butter, though. :)

    Cheap exercise clothes are my JAM. I usually get all of mine from Target or sometimes Old Navy because I can’t fathom spending tons of money on clothes I’m going to sweat in, haha.

    1. I don’t mind investing into some more expensive, timeless clothing items, but yeah, if I am going to sweat in it, I don’t mind it being cheap ;)

  11. I went through a phase where I bought a bunch of fancy running clothes and the nice things is that they’ve lasted a long, long time, but I’ve mostly stopped feeling the need to spend a bunch of money on that stuff, especially shirts. Shoes are a different story, of course. :)

    1. Shoes are definitely a different story ;)

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