Friday Favorites 5/30/14

Today's Friday Favorites post is going to be outdoors themed, because my legs are still tired and my sunburn stings from my 11 mile hike yesterday.

1. Danskin Now Women's Striped Performance Racerback Tank with Wicking, $6 at Wal-Mart (Pictured above)
   This tank is a steal.  It's showing online as $5, but I picked mine up a few days ago for $6.  Either way, it is a super-lightweight semi-fitted workout tank for mere pocket change.  I did not have high hopes because it seemed too good to be true, but it kept me cool all day yesterday and you can't beat the price.  (Note:  they do run large.  I bought a small, and I typically wear a med/large in workout tops.)
2. Picaridin Bug Spray (Repel Tick Defense)
   I used to be all, "Gimme that 40% DEET!  Only the strongest will do!  I don't care if DEET melts plastic and poisons your pets, I HATE misquito bites!"  Then, I needed to buy some more bug spray for my hike yesterday, and since I have a healthy fear of ticks and Lyme disease, I picked up Repel's Tick Defense spray.  I was surprised to see that it had no DEET, so I did what any logical person would do, I Googled the active ingredient right there while standing in the aisle at Wal-Mart.  One of the first lines I read, "Picaridin is a repellent for mosquitos and other insects which is similar in effectiveness to DEET, but more pleasant to use and much less likely to cause skin irritation (source)."  Having recently partially dissolved the side of a water bottle with DEET, this sounded great to me.  The verdict:  It doesn't stink, none of my clothing was harmed (and I sprayed it all over), and I didn't have ANY ticks after my 5 hour hike through various grasses and trees probably swarming with ticks.
3. Neutrogena Beach Defense Sunscreen
   This stuff smells amazing.  Like a smell you'd want to smell like even if you weren't putting on sunscreen.  Plus, it works (the sunburn I have is from where I neglected to apply sunscreen...).  I have both the lotion and the spray-on kind.

Friday Favorites 5/9/2014

Time for another installment of Friday favorites!

1. C25K Free Running App by Zen Labs
   If you are not a runner (or, I guess, even if you are, but I cannot vouch for you), but you want to start, this app wonderful.  It will guide you through running workouts 3x per week for 8 weeks, and by the end you should be able to run a 5K race.  To start, I turn on some music (you can do this through the app), and then listen for the instructions--the app will tell you when to start running and when to start walking, and includes warm-up and cool-down time.  The only downside is it appears it's only available in the Itunes App Store, and that you have to take your phone with you when you run & wear headphones (but I already listen to music when I work out, so it's not a big deal for me).
   
   

   

   C25K App Main Screen

   
   
2. Revlon Tourmaline/Ionic/Ceramic Hairdryer
   If you follow me on Instagram, then you might have seen that I recently got a new hairdryer.  For curlies, our hair is all so different and a tip that works for one person may not work for another, but for my fine-textured, but full head of curls, this dryer is amazing.  It dries my hair faster, keeps it looking shinier, and there is virtually no frizz to speak of.  All of that means that I can dry my hair almost completely (around 95%), whereas I used to only be able to dry it to about 60% before it would puff & the curls would lose shape.  It comes with a diffuser attachment, which is the only way I use it.
   
   

   

   Just look at those curls!

   
   

   

   This is a snip of my order history on Amazon so you'll know exactly what I bought.

   
   
3. Harney & Sons Teas
   Mmmm.  I love a good cup of black tea.  I first tried these teas at a coffee shop called Bluestem Bistro, which is in the town I went to college in.  They have great flavors, and my favorites are Vanilla Black, Paris (a fruity black), and English Breakfast.  They also come in these gorgeous tins that make you feel like you are taking tea with Queen Elizabeth.
   
   

   

   These are the tea sachet tins, aren't they beautiful?