Mangia Mamma: Mangia Mamma's Five Favs- week 2

Here are my five favs for this week~

Pandora is music worth listening to!

1. Pandora Radio. This has got to be one of the coolest music sites my kids have found. I enjoy being able to listen to a variety of music from all sorts of genres. We each have our own favorite “stations” that we’ve made to taylor our tastes in music. Right now, for example, I have the “Yo Yo Ma” station on, and it’s playing the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings theme.

Aquage is a treat for hair!

2. Aquage Hair Products. Lisa, at Escape Salon in Keizer, who has been doing my hair for about a year and a half, started carrying this line of products a while ago while I was still using stuff from the grocery store. After figuring that I spend too much money on my hair cuts & color to use cheap inexpensive hair products, I took the plunge and bought some Aquage. Having a husband and son at home who aren’t picky about what they use was helpful as I was able to dump generously give my old stuff to them. I’ve been using the Aquage line for a while now, and I really like it- especially the spray gel as it helps my curls to do what they should do without making me look like a poodle!

Dreamin' about socks!

3. Sock Dreams. As a fencing instructor, I wear a lot of knee socks to work. When I compete I usually like to wear Adidas soccer socks as they fit well and have the cushion I need. The rest of the time (most of the time), I like to wear different colors and designs of socks, and Sock Dreams is the place to find them. They have an amazing selection of every kind of sock and sock-related accessories for any sock need~ all at really good prices. They do have a store in Portland, but their website is terrific, and ordering is super easy. The other great thing is they offer FREE shipping on EVERY order!

There is no X in espresso!

4. Bialetti Stove Top Espresso Maker. Almost every Sunday Cari comes over after Mass for family brunch. She is the “espresso girl” when she’s here since she is always in charge of making the hot beverages. This usually means cappucinos for all of us except David who prefers tea or hot chocolate (we keep telling him that will change when he heads to Christendom College this fall). A while ago Brian bought a Bialetti Moka Express that came with a milk heater and frother. It sat on the shelf for quite a long time until one day after Cari’s trip to Italy with Josh. When she saw it, she offered to make us drinks. I knew she had hit the mark when Josh told her it was the best he had since being in Italy. Not having the experience of traveling to Rome yet, I took his word for it! So, every Sunday she gets out the Bialetti and makes us a drink to help us have a little taste of Italy with our family brunch!

Having a nice smelling bathroom
is "essential"!

5. Essential Oils. Here’s another favorite in which I must mention Cari. When she moved out on her own almost 3 years ago, she started learning about how to use herbs and essential oils for medicinal purposes. She shared a website with me, Deep Roots at Home , that had a great post on the top 10 oils to have at home. After reading the post, I headed to Salem Health Foods to purchase a few of them. I bought peppermint, rosemary, orange, cinnamon, lavender and eucalyptus. We had already been using tea tree oil for quite a while, so I already had some at home.These are great for everything from headaches to bronchial issues to tummy aches and more. I’ve also learned how to use them in homemade (or DIY as Pinterest calls it) cleaning supplies. Yesterday I even made up some muscle rub as well as some body butter using a couple of the oils. My favorite all time easy “recipe” using oils is the anti-stinky room spray that we use in the bathroom. It’s just water and about 20 drops of orange essential oil. I use orange because it seems to help de-stink the bathroom, but you can use whatever you like. I would have to say the oils we use have definitely become an “essential” part of our home!

Here are a bunch of other bloggers who have five favs~ check them out!!