Each year I like to send a gift with my favorite things from the year to my friends. Not everyone gets the same set of items because not all items are applicable to all of my friends and their families. This year there was a lot of focus on being greener and environmentally friendly as a theme along with giving gifts that give back. A lot of items this year help support STEM programs for girls, and Giving Diapers Giving Hope. The items themselves are adorable, and the message behind them is inspiring. Not all items are new products that came out this year, most of the items are just new to me, and so I give you, Jayne’s Favorite Things of 2015.
Giving Diapers Giving Hope Men of the Baby Industry Calendar 2016
I chose this one because everyone needs a calendar, and why not let it be a calendar of most of my favorite brands, along with a calendar that gives back. The 2016 calendar has some new faces and has a theme of hit movies in it. I think the images themselves are very fun and I love how creative the themes and photos were. Every calendar also gives back to Giving Diapers Giving Hope which is a charity organization that helps families in need around the USA be able to cloth diaper their children at minimal costs.
Eco Vessel Respect Your Mother 13oz Insulated Water Bottle with Strainer
I loved this water bottle from the moment I saw it. The message is smart and witty and the graphic is adorable. It is a reusable stainless steal bottle that is insulated and has a lid that stays attached so you don’t loose it. The strainer is great for fruit, tea, and for me, ice. The wide mouth makes it easy to fill and easy to clean. I also love that this bottle can be used for hot and cold drinks. Each bottle purchased also gives back a portion to Giving Diapers Giving Hope. Help the Environment and a Family!
Sweet Pea All-In-One Diaper in Lucy
This cloth diaper is not any more special than other AIO cloth diapers, but the print and message is. Lucy is a girly diaper with rockets on it, and portions of its proceeds goes to supporting STEM programs for Girls. That was a huge motivator for me to support this company and this diaper. Starting girls young to know that they have the world at their finger tips is a must. I love Sweet Pea for choosing to support STEM programs for girls, especially since most of my friends who cloth diaper, started with little girls.
Taylor’s Pure and Natural PITS! Solid Deodorant
I have spent the better part of half my life trying to deal with the lovely odors of being human. It might not be saying much because I am not that old, but it’s a real issue. Sweating sucks, and sticking because of sweating is even worse. Especially when you enjoy working out and getting physically active. In general, I will admit, as I got older, it feels like I got sweatier and stinkier. So I went on the look out for a deodorant. I read at a really young age (more like my mother warned me) that antiperspirants were not good for your skin and would lead to cancer. So since I was an adolescent, it was a fear in the back of my mind, but since the peer pressure to fit in was more prevalent, I let that one go until I hit college and learned to fend for myself. I became a truer version of myself in college and started seeking a more green and skin friendly alternative to deodorant. Chemicals were not in the game plan, and while it was a long search, I finally found something that worked! Pits! is an amazing product that deodorizes all the nasty smells, and lets your skin breath. I have seen less rashes and skin irritants since starting Pits! and if you apply it like you’re supposed to, its pretty amazing! Everyone I like is getting this deodorant this year. It’s amazing stuff and I want everyone to know about it!
Taylor’s Muffin Mist
Muffin Mist was chosen for the name. Just kidding. I chose Muffin Mist to add to the list because it’s time for women to not be scared of their period. Periods are already annoying and sometimes painful, but Muffin Mist made me laugh about period time and it did bring relief. As I moved to using exclusively reusable Menstrual Cloth products instead disposable menstrual pads, I had to get to use to the fact that it sometimes gets warm down there #swampcrotch. Upon talking to some friends, it became real for all of us that this happens and nobody talks about it. So I found a solution to help in Muffin Mist and now all the girls who go green with their period can find some awesome relief that helps you feel clean and cool when your period just is a monster.
Taylor’s Pucker Up Lip Balm
Lip balm is usually such a personal thing that I don’t like to include it. This one is new though, and this one I like for more than just lip balm. I have found that it also helps with skin irritants and when your skin is itchy. Pucker is infused with essential oils which I think is why it feels like a cure all. It comes in a little tin which can be annoying, but for the quality in size, and because its slim in profile, it fits in your skinny jeans very well when you’re on the run and if you have dry skin like mine, you will want it all the time. Love the container for running about, love the product because it soothes lips and skin, and generally love the product because you can pretty much use it on anything!
Spray Pal Diaper Spraying Shield
I have actually seen this product on the market for a few years not and never thought to look into it more. I jumped the gun one day recently and just bought it for giggles. Turns out, this product is useful and all of my cloth diaper loving friends all have it on their Christmas Wish List. I purchased one originally to just see what other uses it has, but upon using it for Menstrual cloth found it to be very purposeful and a necessity for your family if you need to spray pretty much anything down. I added it to my list because I feel like cloth diaper using parent or not, this can be amazingly helpful if you ever get anything dirty.
Taylor’s Natural Beard Oil
This one is for the boys. I watched Malena, the face behind Taylor’s use this on her hair, and it made it shiny and pretty like the hair serum that most of us spend mega bucks on. Most of my man friends talked about the need for grooming supplies, and for my friends who have scruffy beards and women who complain about them, I bring you Beard Oil! These are going to guys, because sometimes men need a little something too. It really works too! It makes beards stylish and soft!
Oogaa Silicone Divided Plate
I usually don’t add things that are marketed towards the baby age. However, I received this plate in the beginning of the year and tossed it aside thinking it was not going to be useful for me or for any of my friends for that matter because it was so flimsy. I was wrong, this product rocks for helping you keep portion control and for baking and for babies! I find the product is not heavy duty enough to carry with one hand when full of stuff, but its great for baking. I am not using it as a snack dish, but I am definitely using it in my weekly food prep to bake in and portion size things. I wish I had more of these honestly! As an adult with no kids who are using this on a regular basis, I am surprised by just how much I use it myself! I bake treats, I make omelettes to go, I make muffins, I can even make pocket filled snacks! All the ideas from Pillsbury for their muffin foods can be done with more filling and less spillage in the Oogaa divided plate. Oogaa also has a very active instagram with ideas for things you can do with your plate and recipes for baking, which is where my inspiration came to use this plate! I am looking forward to adding more of these to my collection, they are definitely a baking staple! They are also great for freezing! This is a Grow with You forever product!
Re-Play Snack Stack
Re-Play is taking recycled plastic to a whole new level. Durability is the name of the game and they are winning it! If there was a brand I want to be sponsored by, it would be Re-Play simply because I really love these snack stacks! These cups are genius! I was introduced to them for the first time in 2014 at MommyCon and I was not that impressed because I didn’t know much about them. As I saw them jump into many stores that I shop at, it became apparent that I needed to dig through my drawers and find that first cup and see what all the buzz was about. Re-Play is awesome! While I am not a big proponent of plastic, I think it has its place in society, especially with children. Re-Play product are all FDA approved for food contact and their products are proven to be able to stand the struggles of Jayne and dropping stuff! I want a million these snack stacks for lunch boxes, snack packing, for storage containers and so much more. The best part of these is that you only really need a handful of lids to a bunch of snack stacks because they all interlock and hold the same standard of Spill Free! I have filled these with juice and snacks for the movie theaters (shh, don’t tell) and they worked perfectly. I look forward to ordering many of these in the near future and creating a Re-Play Snack Stack organizing dream world of my home. Everyone needs Snack Stacks in their life, have I repeated that enough?
Smart Bottoms All-in-One Organic Jax and Jill Diaper
I chose to add this diaper to the pile because it has a purpose. This diaper gives back to Giving Diapers Giving Hope, but it also is an exclusive which in the cloth diaper world means that it has some higher value. Really, I just love this product. Smart Bottoms makes great diapers, and their story isn’t of a mom who sewed her own diapers, Christy, the face behind Smart Bottoms came up with a plan, hired someone to sew her diapers, and made them work. They are made in the USA, employing USA employees and supporting the economy all while bringing cloth diapers and ease of use to a new level of awesome. The print is fun and gender neutral because boys and girls alike use cloth and it really is Cloth with a Cause. Every friend who has a butt to cover with a diaper is getting a Jax and Jill diaper this year because Jayne loves Cloth with a Cause.
The Jayne Project 