2019-10-27

October is such a good month for our family…

We’re settled into the back-to-school schedule and the busyness of the first month is behind us.

We’re anticipating all the fun holiday festivities coming up in the next few months, but we don’t have the busyness upon us just yet.

The weather is cooler but not cold.

The leaves are starting to change but we don’t have any leaves to rake yet.

Candy Corn is on sale at almost every grocery store — this is my favorite candy corn snack mix. 

It’s apple season in Michigan… enough said! 









These are just a few of the MANY reasons Fall is my favorite season! I’m sharing a few more of my favorite things in today’s post! 

DISCLOSURE: None of these products are sponsored; however, some of the links below are affiliate links — which means that at no cost to you, I may get a small commission. Please know that I use these products daily in my own home and life. Read my full disclosure policy for more information.

Also, check out my Amazon Market for all my favorite things.
Waterproof Work Boots


Believe it or not, I’ve actually never had a pair of work boots — even after so many years of house projects and landscaping work. 

I’ve always just worn grubby shoes that I no longer cared much about. 

However, this past year, I didn’t have any shoes grubby enough, so I finally decided to buy myself a pair of real work boots.

Best of all… they are waterproof! 

I can’t tell you how many times my feet have gotten wet while doing yard work — now I don’t need to worry about that anymore. 

These are the exact boots I purchased (Magellan Outdoor brand from Academy.com)

One thing I specifically wanted to mention is that I had a VERY difficult time finding “women’s work boots” so I ended up buying them from the boys’ department (which also meant they were considerably cheaper). If you have larger feet, you might just want to buy men’s boots in a smaller size. 

I’ve had my boots for 7 months now and am thrilled with my purchase! 



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Thrift Store Costumes


Truthfully, our family does almost nothing to ‘celebrate’ Halloween… however, our kids absolutely LOVE playing dress-up all year round, and we do like getting dressed up for various birthday party themes (see photo above taken from Nora’s Cinderella Pary). 

Every October, we hit up our local thrift stores at least 2 or 3 times to scope out the fabulous deals on costumes… we always have a healthy supply in our dress-up closet! 



We usually buy a handful of new-to-us costumes every year (often for only $1 or $2 per costume) and we enjoy wearing them ALL year long — for birthday parties, for special days at school or in the community, playing dress-up at home, and for Halloween. 







Two years ago, I found Melissa & Doug costumes for everyone (Police Officer, Vet, Fire Fighter, and Waitress)… and this year, we already scored 2 awesome costumes for the boys and a fun little pink fairy costume for Clara (no pictures of this one yet). 





If you have thrift stores in your area (and little kids who love playing dress-up) this is one of the BEST months of the year to find amazing deals on costumes. 

I’ve even bought them in October but saved them for Christmas gifts — the kids were thrilled to open their gently-used gifts! 

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Cambro Food Storage Containers


An older friend gave me her old set of 3 very large food storage containers soon after Dave and I got married. I used them for sugar, flour, and other baking necessities over the years. 

They are HUGE, and so handy for a variety of food storage uses — especially making my refrigerator bread dough (I shared this recipe many years ago) and now baking lots of whole-grain bread.





I feel like they are basically in constant rotation in my kitchen — either on the counter, in the pantry, in the fridge, or waiting to be washed. 

I realize not everyone will have a need for such large food storage containers, but if you regularly make big batches of bread dough (or big batches of anything) or if you buy lots of bulk foods, I HIGHLY recommend the Cambro brand. 

They are extremely well made, they come in a variety of sizes, the lids fit quite tight, and they are clear so you can easily see what’s inside. 

I currently have two 6-quart containers and two 12-quart containers. If I were to purchase more, I would most likely buy the round 6-quart container. 



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Land’s End Backpacks 


When Nora was in preschool, she wanted a Frozen-themed backpack (the kind with Elsa’s braided hair that actually hung down from the backpack!) I found her one on clearance and thought I got a deal of a lifetime since it was less than $10 (originally over $40!) 

The zipper broke after 2 months and the braid was pulled off by another student (on accident) about halfway through the year. 

Needless to say, it wasn’t a great deal. 

When she started Kindergarten, I decided I wanted to “invest” in a great backpack that would last her throughout elementary school. I heard excellent reviews on Land’s End backpacks so I started browsing online. 

This just so happened to be the week Land’s End was having their back-to-school sale and selling backpacks for as low as $7.99 after all the coupons and discount codes! 

WHAT! 

Obviously, I bought one — and 3 years later, it’s still going strong! 



Since then, I’ve purchased both boys’ backpacks from Land’s End (both for $7.99) and I even bought one for Dave and one for myself (they were $9.99). 

The backpacks are amazingly well made — to the point where they can withstand elementary school brutality for many years without showing a thing! 🙂





If you need a new backpack, wait until the 1st or 2nd week in August, then check out the Land’s End selection and enjoy not shopping for backpacks again for many years! 🙂

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Craft Paper Cutter


Growing up, I always thought these paper cutters were SOOOOO cool (probably because I never had one).  

Soon after Dave and I got married, I bought myself a craft cutter — and although I truly am not a very crafty person, I use this cutter ALLLL the time. Now the older 3 kids are to the point where they can use it too — and in my opinion, it’s actually a lot safer than using scissors for really little kids. 

We use them anytime we make our beloved countdown chains (which is fairly regularly around here!)



I love how compact and portable it is. I love how accurately it cuts, and I love how sharp the blade is (I’ve never replaced it in 13 years). 

Even if you are not a crafter, I’m certain you can find a use for this handy-dandy paper cutter! 



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That’s all for me this month.

Check out my previous months’ favorite things — and feel free to share some of YOUR favorite things in the comments below!


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The post A Few of My Favorite Things {October 2019} appeared first on Andrea Dekker.
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