When I was getting ready this morning (oh, I even took a shower, oh yes I did), I started thinking about a few of the simple, everyday items that make my mornings a little easier and a little bit more pleasant. These things aren’t necessities by any stretch of the imagination, but they’re helpful. Maybe even a tiny bit comforting.
You know, stuff like Eucerin moisturizer. Because it prevents my skin from cracking and falling off of my face. So in that sense the Eucerin performs a vital role in my skin care regimen.
Or Maxwell House French Roast coffee. Because it’s strong without being bitter. Inexpensive. And delicious, too.
Or my beloved Mentholatum, which costs all of $2, soothes my chapped lips and makes my sinuses snap to attention as soon as I remove the top from the jar. I’ve even used it to minister to some deeply resistant under-eye bags, and it did not disappoint. I heart it deeply.
None of these things are fancy. You can buy them at any drugstore (or, as we say in the South, AT THE WALGREENS). But they’re my early morning support network – I use each of them every single day before I snuggle into my spot on the couch and start what Alex calls “Mama’s quiet time Bible study.” They help me to wake up, feel reasonably presentable, and face the day.
So, internets, what are your everyday favorites? What inexpensive treats make your mornings a little easier? And for the sake of clarity, let’s classify “inexpensive” as less than $10, though I think my Eucerin costs $10.99, so CLEARLY I AM DISQUALIFIED.
Comment away, girls (and guys!). Can’t wait to read about your faves.
March 27th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Cherry chapstick and diet mountain dew!!
March 27th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
starbucks cafe americana – without a doubt a must have for me!
March 27th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Chapstick. Plain coconut oil for my face. And a cup of European drinking chocolate made with hot milk. Mmmmmm.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Walgreens’ rip-off of Burt’s Bees chapstick. Lovely.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Blistex Herbal Answer chapstick. I carry it in my pocket or purse at all times. I think I have about 3 lying about in various places in my house where I know to find them (for those times when I don’t have pocket or purse handy).
March 27th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
I like Neutrogena body oil…..!!!
March 27th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Aveeno, a shower, and a starbucks Tall Iced Nonfat Honey Latte with double shot of espresso!! I feel so special to drive up to the window and say I want a “double tall iced nonfat honey latte’!!” I always wanted to do that!!! What can I say I’m easily excited!!
March 27th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Sugar free French Vanilla coffee creamer…tinted moisturizer…and bacon, specifically the microwave bacon, especially on those ultra busy days when I’m rushing around. It’s crispy just the way I love it!
March 27th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Cosmetic sponges.
Disposable dental floss picks.
Burts Bee’s lip balm.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Ha! There you go again! I’m posting all about my love for Eucerin® over at Chic Critique tomorrow. And my family has sworn by Mentholatum® for generations, too. Also? I love a good Gentle Buf Puf (how old school is THAT?) of a mornin’ on my dry-prone areas, and some Bath & Body Works® Eucalyptus Spearmint Body Wash, which you can get for *exactly* ten bucks when it goes on sale.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
I never go anywhere without my SoftLips. But, I must admit what first popped into my head when I read your post is this (and it’s, ahem, free) –
I never go to bed the night before without filling up my coffee grinder and putting a filter flipped over on top of it (like a hat); everything is all laid out and ready. It makes me smile, every morning.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Can I just say that my morning routine consists of trying not to make noise so the 4-year old will stay asleep all the while trying like a mad woman to get the 9-year old out of bed for school?
I do use the restroom first thing and really like my toilet paper. So, in a sense, the Cottonelle is really an inexpensive blessing on my back side.
Bless God.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Diet Dr Pepper or Diet Pepsi-starts my day off. I don’t drink coffee-so I take my caffene in carbinated form. A nice shower with some dial soap wakes me up the rest of the way. I also have to agree with Cindy Beall here, a day without Cottonelle just wouldnt be right!
March 27th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Burt’s Bees tinted lip gloss, usually in Rhubarb, but sometimes in Watermelon if I’m feeling mellow.
Folger’s 1/2 the caffeine medium roast. Love this stuff. Keeps me from flying out of my skin, yet gives me a better taste than decaf.
Love, Love, Love “The Walgreen’s” and go there at least four times a week for just. about. every. thing.
MaxFactor auburn mascara . . . gives me eyelashes without making me look like a raccoon or someone who should wear stilettos : )
Great list, Sophie!
March 27th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Fiber One bars in chocolate or peanut butter. Yummy and delicious and healthy and convenient for on-the-go. What more could you possibly ask of a breakfast food? Oh, and my beloved Target makes a similar product in their Market Pantry line. It’s about 30 cents cheaper than Fiber One.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Oh the Diet Pepsi is a requirement.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
The cheapest thing that makes my morning better is sleeping in….for sure!!!
March 27th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Matt, Meredith, Ann and Al. The TODAY show is on every single morning at my house. And if I don’t catch the very first opening sequence where they tell the morning’s headlines…I am a bear the rest of the day. I oftentimes watch it while wearing my TODAY show pajama shirt and drinking coffee out of my TODAY show mug.
Wow. I just realized I sound like a freak. But a well-informed freak.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Hmmmmmm…..I love French Vanilla Iced Coffee from McDonalds. My favorite Bath & Body Works scent is Cherry Blossom….love it, love it, love it!!! I usually start my day off with the Cherry Blossom body wash and body splash. I use good ol’ Chapstick lip balm. I carry it in my pocket on most winter days.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Hmmm, it would have to be my Special K with almonds or my fried grits and cheese Im a Texan ya’ll.
Folgers roasted dark coffee, sugar free creamer. Definately my pantene shampoo and Caress exotic oil infusion Moroccan, yummo.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
dude, the hot water in the shower is like the best thing in my mornings. i also heart my coast brand soap and vaseline cocoa butter lotion.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Oil Gel. I don’t even dry off from the shower. It keeps my skin smoothe but not oily.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Smart Start. Seriously. A coffee mug full of dry Smart Start.
Not because it’s healthy, but because it tastes good.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
carmex and coke. not together or anything.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Dove original scent deoderant – it makes me (and my husband) enjoy the smell of my underarms, which I know is kind of weird.
Also, Twinings English Breakfast or Earl Grey tea, with a little milk & sugar.
And my every-night favorite is Smith’s Rosebud Salve.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion. Must have every day!
March 27th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
The absolute best, most amazing thing that makes my mornings better is the fact that my daughters (4 & 7) get themselves up, dressed, breakfasted, and entertained with the TV until I haul myself outta bed at a fashionably late hour. I learned very soon after becoming a SAHM that my arthritis is MUCH better if I don’t have to jump out of bed as soon as I wake up. At least that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!
March 27th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Favorites that make my mornings better:
Snuggles from my four year old when she crawls in bed with me in the mornings.
Fox & Friends
Special K chocolate delight
oil of olay moisturizer
Crest Pro-Health toothpaste
background music for my morning routine taken from the playlist on my blog…usually something peppy that I can sing along with.
Becca
http://www.beccasfreshfruit.blogspot.com
March 27th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Nivea visage oil free spf 15 lotion, carmex lip balm and a big old glass of (unsweetened) nestea with lots of ice.
March 27th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
i don’t take much time in the morning (because isn’t staying in bed just so much more fun?) but i love starting out my day with trader joe’s refresh body wash. it has a lovely hint of citrus, is so clean and oh so easy on the wallet. i have two other favorites but they are for bedtime. the first is any kind of fruit flavored chapstick and the other is country bunny body butter. i know bath and body says they have the “world’s best body butter”…but i totally disagree. :)
March 27th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
i agree with andrea_jennine! i love twinnings english breakfast tea with a little milk and sugar. delicious! and a nice warm start to a crazy day with my toddler.
March 27th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
My Organix Tea Tree Mint Oil Shampoo and Conditioner, it smells wonderful and wakes me up.
Along with that, Clean and Clear Oil Free Cleanser. It too has an envigorating scent and even makes my skin tingle.
ICE COLD PEPSI!!!
March 27th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
I love SoftLips in cherry. I also love my Great Lash mascara which makes me look like I’m alive. And I am a Bath & Body junkie, so any of their yummy bath/shower products. They are always under $10 thanks to their coupons!
March 27th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Pre dawn: Coffee Mate Toffee Nut Creamer
Post shower: Jergens Body Glow Moisturizer (love me some fake tan)
And those little clear, plastic hair rubberbands. But 10 years ago, I would’ve said “scrunchie.”
March 27th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
My Avon Moisture Therapy hand cream. It lasts forever and a little dab will do ya. And it smells luscious.
March 27th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
The local newspaper.
Folger’s Coffee.
Burt’s Bees chapstick.
Arbonne moisturizer.
Baby powder.
The blogs I like to read (how to find the time, there are so many good ones!)
March 27th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
The mornings and I, we don’t combine.
What can I say? I’m a night owl who stays up way, way past a sane and rational bedtime much too often.
And I don’t drink coffee. Unless it’s flavored and sugared and blended with ice so that it no longer resembles anything remotely java-esque.
So what gets me going ante meridiem? Two things I cannot imagine life without.
First, a packet of Super Orange Emergen-C and a tall, cold glass of agua.
Loads of vitamin C, an energy-fueling burst of B-complex, and happy fizzing action: what’s not to love?
And second, a rather liberal application of Clinique’s All About Eyes, which, I am convinced, helps mask my dark circles.
I realize (and apologize) that All About Eyes falls outside the category of “inexpensive,” but the Emergen-C packets are only twenty-five cents apiece.
So I figure it all works out. Yes?
March 27th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Noxzema at night.
Maxwell House Smooth Roast. (used to do the French Roast but now I’m all about the smooth)
Fabuloso cleaner to make my kitchen smell fresh. Makes me feel better.
March 27th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
A Curves breakfast bar, my vitamins and my Claritin -D. AND my local Christian radio station, gotta have that in the A.M.!
March 27th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Diet Mt. Dew & Caramel Cluster Zone Bar.
March 27th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
the must of the morning is cereal, i wake up feeling like i haven’t eaten in days. if i’m actually leaving the house, i can’t go anywhere without some concealer, mascara, and some lip smackers sparkling lip gloss. (i realize that makes me sound 13, but i’m much, MUCH older than that)
March 27th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Oh, the wealth of information contained herein! From the healthy and pure to the downright artery-clogging and heart attack-inducing.
I heart it all.
For me, it’s a double cup of breakfast blend from Timothy’s along with whatever free donuts they have at work for the day.
Which, BTW, is why I weigh slightly more than your proverbial beached whale, but a girl’s gotta have at least one or two vices, right? Can I get an AMEN???
March 27th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
A black rubber band on my right wrist, perfectly balanced between not too tight and not too lose for my thick ponytail. A new toothbrush. Chapstick. Cinnamon raisin toast with my tea in the morning.
March 27th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
I’ll second the Neutrogena Body Oil. My legs itch if I don’t use it.
March 27th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
General Mills French Vanilla instant coffee. Love it more than anything brewed. I even travel with it.
March 27th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Moisturizer, lip balm, hair gel, (brands don’t matter too much), and Quaker chocolate chip granola bars. And in the winter, warm, fuzzy socks are a must.
March 27th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Oil of Olay moisturizer, with sunscreen thankyouverymuch!
Enormo plastic cup of Tejava, a little water, lots of ice and a squirt of lemon. Unsweetened iced tea with lemon is probably a stronghold I will have to answer to my Maker for when I get to Him!
Whatever the Bath & Body Works Shower Cream flavor of the moment is in my shower. I don’t absolutely have to moisturize every day if use the shower cream.
March 27th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Witch hazel is hands-down the best astringent–I use it morning and night, and my complexion has never been better–well not since I was a kid anyway.
Coke–not diet–a daily necessity at lunch time
March 27th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
And how could I forget the Max Factor Volume Couture super lengthening mascara in Auburn?!??!! Without that, the rest is all pretty much for naught!!
March 27th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
You will not believe this, but Dunkin Donuts coffee (it’s now available, as they say in the Midwest, at Wal-Marts), is the best coffee ever. I didn’t believe it either until I tried it.
I also have my favorite quilt. I wrap up in my quilt with my coffee and read my Bible. It’s wonderful.
Okay, my quilt probably cost more than ten dollars (it’s not a fancy handmade quilt, but it is a real quilt). I guess I’m disqualified, too.