Today, I bring you a hodgepodge of some things I'm loving lately:



The Calorie Myth.  I love Jonathan Bailor's message.  I know the book's tagline sounds gimmicky, but his "eat more, exercise less, but smarter" message is really important, and is supported by scientific research.  Just give it a read, or enter the giveaway to win a copy.  Giveaway ends TODAY, so enter now!











Gel polish.  Okay, I'm late to the game on this one.  My fingernails are pretty healthy and strong, so I  always avoid weakening or damaging them with any fancy acrylic/gel/fake business.  However, I recently went on a trip (recaps coming soon!), and wanted my nails to look good and stay strong for the whole week.  I hear that the new gel polish doesn't do damage to the nails if it's used only once in a while.  Really, I just didn't want to worry about my nails chipping or breaking while I was away, so I finally bit the bullet and tried getting the gel polish everyone's raving about.

And now I'm raving about it, too.  The polish stayed beautifully, and my nails did not chip at all, while I was hiking and climbing on rocks!  Now, it's TWO WEEKS LATER and my nails still look awesome.  Sure, the color has grown out a tiny bit as my nails grew, but the polish is still fresh as if it was done yesterday.  This is amazing.

(Update: I might mean Shellac, although maybe that's just one brand. Clearly a newbie.)

This doesn't mean I'm forever converted; I still prefer to leave my nails in their more natural states for most of the time.  Tomorrow, I'll go to get it removed and go back to my regular old polish (or no polish) routine.  BUT - this is a fantastic option for times when I want good-looking nails to last.

(I got OPI "Big Apple Red", but it turned out a little pinkier than the strong red I thought it was. Oh well; I'll learn.

Any.DO.  As the self-proclaimed Queen of To-Do Lists, I've sampled my share of productivity apps (only to serve as long-term lists. I still use handwritten lists for short-term to-do's).  I'd been using Clear for a while and liked how simple it was, but wanted something new for this New Year.    I downloaded a few and tried out Any.DO and fell. in. love!



It's simple enough that it can stay super simple, but also has some useful features for those who want an added layer of organization to their list.  I started writing a whole LOT about it, but decided to put that away to develop into a full post at a later date.  For now, I'll just tell you that it's one of my new favorite things!  Dare you to check it out!

Image from http://www.any.do/

The West Wing.  When I was younger, I watched various episodes here and there with my parents (who have been committed fans from the beginning of time), but I never watched it ALL, in order.  Over the summer, I decided it was time to watch it straight through, so I've since been on-again off-again watching in spurts.   I like to put it on while I'm working on other less mental tasks (although when things get serious, it demands all my attention), and I am loooooving it.  What a great show!!!! 



Bone Broth.  This cold weather is insane, but it makes me appreciate my homemade bone broth even more!  Glad one batch makes so much, so I've got plenty in the freezer, ready to defrost whenever a polar vortex strikes.

mmmm

How are you keeping warm this winter?

Are you a gel polish convert?

Got any other great productivity apps I should try?



What are YOU loving lately?