Hello, everyone and welcome to my annual post featuring My Favorite Things from the past year; a place to find a few holiday gift ideas for those that you love. I love writing these posts and hope you find them helpful.

You can see past years at the links below.
My Favorite Things 2022
My Favorite Things 2021
My Favorite Things 2020
My Favorite Things 2019

You’ll notice that the many of my selections this year are kitchen related. So many of my sturdy old kitchen appliances/tools have finally given out. Go figure. 😉 Included in the list are also several personal items I’ve loved, my top reads and a few household items.

Hope you find something to love!

KITCHEN FAVORTIES

KITCHEN AID 5.5 QUART MIXER with a bonus mini bowl and whisk (found at Sam’s Club for around $380.00)

After 14+ years of food blogging and cooking for my family, my old Kitchen Aid gave out. Can you blame her? She worked herself right to death. I saw this great new mixer at Sam’s Club and have LOVED the fact that it has two bowls. What a great idea. The smaller bowl is perfect for frosting, or for whipping cream. When searching for a similar package deal, I could only see them at Sam’s Club. They will occasionally run a deal on them, if you watch.

NINJA NUTRI-BLENDER PRO with AUTO IQ (found at Sam’s Club for around $90.00)

We love this amazing bullet blender. It’s small enough to sit on the counter top and comes with two blender bottles. My teenage sons use it every day to blend up protien drinks and smoothies. It has this amazing feature for smoothies that blends it for a few seconds at a time, allowing for the solid ingredients to fall to the blade, and then it blends again. Clever and so handy. I love it for smoothies as well as for mixing up salad dressings super quickly. It’s fabulous! We got ours a Sam’s Club.

Ninja C39600 Foodi NeverStick Premium Hard-Anodized 13-Piece Cookware Set, Guaranteed to Never Stick, Nonstick, Durable, Oven Safe to 500°F (found on Amazon for around $350.00, Costco sometimes carries them as well)

I was in the department for a new set of pots and pans this year (as well as a new mixer, go figure!) and these pans have been fabulous. They are heavier than my old set, but cook so evenly and wonderfully. The non stick feature is fabulous and I love that I can use them in the oven as well as on the stove top.

Signature Housewares Stone Ware Bowls, A Set of 4 (found on Amazon for around $35)

I won these fun, flat stoneware bowls at a Favorite Things party last December and I have seriously loved and used them every day since. They hold the perfect quantity of food for a satisfying individual meal and they are so pretty. They hold up well in the dishwasher and microwave both. I sometimes use them for meal prep, and just wrap the top of the plate with plastic wrap and stack them in my fridge full of grab and go lunches, dinners or salads. I like my food to look pretty, what can I say. 😉 Love these!

FLORAL STONEWARE BAKING SET (found currently on Ebay, around $25)

I grabbed a set of these darling pans at Costco last spring when they were on clearance and have LOVED them. The pretty blue scalloped edge is so lovely. They are great for anything you need a 9×13 and 8×8 pan for… brownies, casseroles, rolls, etc. Again, you can see I’m a sucker for pretty dishes. They make cooking so much more fun.

Gravity Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder Set, Battery Operated Automatic Salt and Pepper Shakers, Adjustable Coarseness (found at Amazon, less than $20)

These fabulous, extra-large, electric Salt and Pepper grinders have come in so handy. They are from Amazon and reasonable priced ($19.99) They literally grind your salt and pepper automatically when you turn them upside down. You don’t even need to push any buttons, they are gravity operated. They hold more salt and pepper than my last set, which is an added bonus. Be aware, however that they are pretty big. I can’t fit them in my cabinet, but store them on a pretty wooden lazy Susan in the middle of my island next to my stove top. I’ve loved having them so close by and use them every time I’m in the kitchen.

Snapware Total Solutions 28-Pc Plastic Food Storage Container Set, Pantry Organization and Storage, Meal Prep Containers (found at Amazon for around $35.00)

My daughter gifted this set of Snapware to me and to say I love it would be a grand understatement. I LOVE how sturdy and leak proof they are. They come it great sizes that fit nicely together in my fridge without leaving awkward space.

SILICONE CURVED SMALL SPATULA (found on Amazon for under $10 for the whole set)
I’ve been a big fan of the mini silicone spatula for a long time now, but this fun variety has a little curve on the tip that makes them perfect for getting into hard to reach spots, like cream of anything soup or jars of mayonnaise. They would make a great stocking stuffer and are very reasonably priced.

HOME AND FAMILY FAVORITES

ALUMINUM WORK BENCH (found at Amazon for around $80.00)
This handy work bench is showing up on my list this year because I literally spent 80% of the summer standing on one. 😉 Ok, that may be an exaggeration, but it truly felt like this bench and I spent an inordinate amount of time hanging out together. We finished a basement over the summer and we couldn’t have managed without it while we hung sheet rock and then did the mud and tape. (More on that adventure in a post to come).

CROSSNET 4-WAY VOLLETYBALL NET
My Mother-In-Law was gifted one of these fun volley ball nets and brought it out many times over the summer for our family to use. It’s a ton of fun (especially for a novice volley ball player like myself) as the size of the playing space is smaller making it more plausible to actually get the ball over the net. 😉 It’s fun for family reunions, teenagers, kids and adults alike.

COVER YOUR ASSETS (found at Amazon for around $17.00)
This fun game has shown up at many a family gathering over the past year and is great. It’s easy to learn, doesn’t take too long to play and is a lot of fun..

MAGALA by Daniel Cariola
I saw this beautiful painting last year in the home of a colleague of my husbands. I was immediately drawn to it. It depicts the exact moment when a woman needing healing, due to persistent bleeding, touched the hem of Jesus’ coat & was healed. Isn’t it stunning! The original is a gigantic mural painted in a church in Israel where Mary Mangala originated. My husband had one printed for me and I love it so. It brings so much peace.

PERSONAL FAVORTIES

Women’s Taci Ankle Boots, Universal Tread in Light Taupe (from Target) (found at Target for around $40.00)
I think I may have worn these boots nearly every day from last fall all the way through the winter and into the spring months. They are still holding up this year and are my most worn pair of boots. I love them. They go with everything, have a nice sturdy heel and the tread on the bottom is great for snowy days.

CUSTOM BIRTH MONTH BIRTH FLOWER MOTHER’S SWEATSHIRT (custom made through Etsy for around $30.00)
My daughter Emily had one of these shirts made for me for Mother’s Day last year and I am so in love with it. It has all my children and grandchildren listed on it, with their birth flower. The sweat shirt is super soft and cozy and the sentiment is lovely, right? It would make a great gift for any mother, daughter, mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, sister, aunt, etc.

Kirkland Women’s 4-Way Stretch Ankle Travel Pants Lightweight Water Resistant Elastic Waist Work Pants with Pockets (currently at Amazon for around $35.00, but much cheaper at Costco when they carry them)

Would you believe me if I told you I own a pair of these pants in every color. I wore them all throughout the summer and love them. They are light weight, have a lot of pockets and are so comfy while looking good as well. I love pants that are comfy, but don’t also look like sweat pants. You know, in case you need to go to lunch with a friend and grocery shop in the same afternoon and comfy is what you are after. 😉

MEACOLIA 3 Pack 8 Compartments Travel Pill Organizer Moisture Proof Small Pill Box for Pocket Purse Daily Pill Case Portable Medicine Vitamin Holder (found at Amazon for under $10 for a set of 3)
These pill containers are so handy. I keep one in the car and one in my purse packed with my vitamin supplements as well as the basic meds that everyone needs handy. Tylenol, Ibuprofen, etc. They are also super great for travel.

FAVORITE READS

I typically choose just one book that stands out as my favorite over the year, but both of the following books were equally impressive, wonderful inspiring and I dare say life changing. I had to add both. I’ve included a short review of each one. They make a great Book Club choice, if you participate in one.

For you book lovers out there, I’ll be posting my semi annual book recommendation list in January, so stay tuned for that. 😉 Until then here are three outstanding reads…

KITCHEN TABLE WISDOM by Rachel Naomi Remen
5 STARS
It’s safe to say that this book easily finds a place on my list of Top Ten Favorite books of all time. I read it slowly with a pen to underline and mark all the beautiful insights I don’t want to forget.

Rachel Remen has worked as a medical doctor and currently counsels cancer patients. Each chapter of the book is a short story featuring a lesson she’s learned from a patient, parent, coworker, or other person she’s worked with or encountered.

The stories are very touching, real, and often raw. Her ability to describe them is lovely. The truths she draws out of the stories are beautiful. Her respect for each person and their individual struggles and challenges is moving.

I read many chapters to my husband and kids. They loved them, too.

A favorite quote…”Our listening creates a sanctuary for the homeless parts of the other person.”

If I could give it 10 stars, I would.

FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY: THE MARVEL OF BEARING GOD’S IMAGE by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey
5 STARS
I’m not sure anything I say about this beautiful book would do it justice. It’s so tremendously profound, tender, and insightful. Written by a doctor who specializes in caring for leporacy patients, the author shares his knowledge of the human body and how different parts of it work. There is reverence and awe in his telling that is both humbling and inspiring. I found it fascinating to learn about the body. However, the real treat is found as the author compares our bodies to the Body of Christ, the church, and we as his disciples. It was a very interesting approach and left me with so much gratitude and wonder. If I could give it 10 stars, I would.

That’s it for this year! I hope it was helpful to you as you plan out your holiday shopping. 😉

**DISCLAIMER: While this is not a sponsored post, there are Amazon affiliate links added to many of these suggestions. **