Kim’s Favorite Things 2024

In the spirit of last year’s Kim’s Favorite Things (and as a protest over how unattainable some of Oprah’s picks are – a $200 stovetop popcorn popper where you still have to stir the popcorn yourself??) here are this year’s favorites! Nothing is an affiliate link (I tried that this year and only made about 30 cents AND Amazon cut me off because my sales were too low) and you can buy them anywhere you want.

Land’s End Women’s FeatherFree Insulated Vest – One of the best things that has happened to me is that I’m not freezing cold all of the time anymore. It’s quite the opposite! Now that just looking at my winter coat makes me sweat, I purchased this vest for fall/winter to give me an extra layer over a hoodie. I wore it over a tee on Black Friday and I was warm outside and not sweltering in the stores.

Nail Polish Organizer – I don’t have a lot of cabinet space available to me, so when my nail polish bottles and strips started sliding off of my tiny bathroom shelves, I had to find another solution. I don’t own 45 bottles at all, but I do like that this one has two sections. I keep my Color Street strips in the top part. I slide this into my nightstand.

K&K 1.5 Inch Ceramic Tourmaline Ionic Curling Brush Volumizer – I was influenced by Things I Bought and Liked and I’m not mad about it. My hair is thick. It’s big. It’s a lot, even when it’s shorter. I’ve never been great at blowing it out, especially since I developed my shoulder issues. This heated round brush heats quickly and is amazing at smoothing out my hair and giving it a noticeable bounce. It takes me from sea hag to professional lady in 15 minutes.

Amazon Basics food scale – I am terrible with estimating measurements and this scale keeps me from thinking an entire bowlful of Cap’n Crunch is only one serving of Cap’n Crunch. Turn on the scale, put the bowl on the scale, hit “tare”, fill it until you get the amount you need. It measures in grams, milliliters, fluid ounces, and pounds/ounces. It’s also good for weighing packages if you print your USPS labels at home.

A portable fan – She is my ride or die. She lives in my desk drawer but is light enough to carry in my bag when I go out. She has been to Austin, San Diego, Seattle, Orlando, Hershey, Philadelphia, Target, Planet Fitness, various beaches, and back again. She charges via USB and a charge lasts a very long time. She is small enough to not be seen on Zoom. She may be my tiniest fan, but I’m her biggest.

Supernatural VR Fitness App – Here at House Russell, we are very sedentary people. We like to read. We like coziness. We do not like to exercise. WM came across this app for our Oculus/Meta VR headset and we are hooked. It’s a cardio fitness program with different types of exercise: Flow (Beat Saber, but better), Boxing (perfect for angry post-election proto-democratic-socialists), Stretching, and Meditation. It’s $19.99 a month and you need a Facebook account to attach it to. We both share mine, but we could each use our own if we cared enough to figure it out. I LOVE THIS! It is honestly fun! I love that I can choose the length of my workouts, the intensity, and especially the music. Yesterday I was sweating to Xanadu. As I write this, WM is bashing targets to classical music. I can burn between 140-200 calories in 25-30 minutes. For my Disney parks fans: I can walk from the bus stops at Epcot to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure without stopping or being out of breath due to these workouts. I still hate that exercise works, but at least this is fun.

Saline nasal spray – after having multiple double-ear infections during the Covid “stay at home” era, my doctor advised me to spray this up both nostrils every morning, pinch my nose, and pop my ears. Done and done, and I haven’t had an ear infection since. And my nose is not dry in the winter anymore, even with my obsessive use of a space heater. Name brand doesn’t matter, but I prefer the squeeze bottle to the reddi-wip looking bottle.

ProStretch Calf Stretcher – I first encountered this angry little beast while in PT for my (now-healed!) Achilles tendonitis. On my last day I took a photo of it and sure enough, any regular person can buy one. I use this daily on both feet because it has also helped immensely with my plantar fasciitis.

A battery organizer: This stupid hunk of plastic scratches two itches for me: 1) the smug knowledge that I will never not have the correct battery size again. 2) the satisfying THUNK of loading batteries into the slots. It took a little while to fill it because batteries aren’t cheap, but I buy my batteries in bulk from Sam’s Club and now I’m never out.

Pomofocus browser-based Pomodoro timer – I joke sometimes that I work on all of my projects at TNP in 10 minute increments before having to jump to something else. That’s a bit of an exaggeration. It’s 25 minute increments. I use this browser-based timer to help me stay focused. If you’re not familiar with the Pomodoro method, you work for 25 minutes on a task and take a five minute break. Then you start another 25 minute block. After four 25/5 minute cycles you can take a 15-30 minute break. If a distraction comes into my head during that 25-minute block (ex: did that Etsy order ship yet?) I write it on a notepad for a later break and get back to work.

Museum Wax Sticky Dots – Do you want a vase on your desk but are clumsy? Do you buy Target’s Featherly Friends but find they’re a bit top-heavy? Do you have a dog? These little glue dots are completely removable and keep these items from tipping over. WM uses them for his classroom and now I love them too.

Logitech M720 Triathlon Wireless mouse – I finally made the jump this year to a wireless mouse and I don’t know why I waited this long. The battery life is great, it feels good, and all I had to do was plug the dongle into my USB switcher to make sure it works with both my home and work computers. I could also connect to them directly via Bluetooth and switch between them using a button on the mouse. The USB dongle stores inside of the mouse itself so it’s easy to take with me when I work from the coffee shop.

All out of shopping list pad – Check the food off as you run out and take it to the store with you.

The last two entries are specific to Disney Parks fans:

Mini-backpack insert – If you’ve been to the Disney Parks in the last 5 or so years, you may have noticed the tiny, adorable, Disney themed backpacks out there made by Loungefly. They’re a big deal. I own two. They’re not very large but adding an insert to them gives you slots for your card holders, sunglasses, portable fan, etc. The insert can be moved to another bag with everything still in it, making it easy for your to switch Loungeflys according to your outfit if you do that kind of thing. I don’t do that. My insert is from Amazon – it’s the 7.7×4.3×10.6 Inch size, flamingo print. You do need to shove it in the first few times but it becomes more flexible. (that’s what she said!)

Mouse ears holder – I own five Mickey Mouse ear headbands. That may seem a lot for the average person, but trust and believe it’s not many at all for a typical Disney Adult. Sometimes you need to take those ears off. Could be for a ride, could be because you have that headband-specific headache behind your ears, could be for anything really. However, mouse ears do fit inside of the cute Loungefly bags. Now what? This little keychain comes in clutch. You attach the keyring to your zipper pull, fasten the snap around your ears, and your ears are secure and out of your way. I bought mine from CharmedBySam because it matches the Loungefly bag that I own.

Wawa hazelnut coffee, fresh from the urn – Now and forever. Pair it with their hazelnut creamer for an aromatherapy experience like none other. Back in the thickest part of Covid, WM used to call it a homemade Covid test. “If you can smell this, you’re fine.”

Target Good & Gather Ginger Miso Orange Dressing – If you’ve ever had the side salad that’s part of a sushi lunch combo, I was looking for that orange-colored ginger dressing. This isn’t that but I still fell HARD for it. It made me love having a bowl of salad with lunch. This was sadly discontinued in spring 2024 and I am bereft. Now I’m using Brianna’s Garlic Vinaigrette but I check Target every week just to be sure my Miso Orange love hasn’t returned.

Samyang’s Quattro Cheese hot chicken ramen – It burns so good. From a previous blog post: “I tried Samyang’s Quattro Cheese hot chicken ramen for lunch after a lifetime of Maruchan/Top Ramen and I was melting. It was a hot flash in a bowl. A real lip plumper. It was food that fought back and I loved every minute of it. My nose literally dripped onto my desk mat. I felt like I was being Toontown dipped from the inside. My sinuses were so clear I could smell the future. It’s amazing and after failing to find any in my grocery stores, I ordered more from Amazon and now one day a week I have a transcendent lunch experience.”

Vego Metal Raised Garden Beds – While I very much love the wooden garden beds that WM made for me, they’re starting to fall apart. We are replacing them with these beds. I love that you can configure them in multiple ways, and I love that they’re raised just a bit higher. I can’t tell you how long they’ll last because this is our first year. But I can tell you we bought two more on sale. By they way, do not buy these at regular price. They run sales all of the time.

Finally, my popcorn popper: the West Bend Stir Crazy. I’ve had it for almost 10 years. It’s around $40 and I don’t have to stir it.

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This list was a blast to put together. I’ve been assembling it all year! And if you’re shopping for someone exactly like me this holiday season, I hope I have you covered.