One of my favorite pivots by social media influencers and bloggers during the pandemic is their monthly round up of Amazon purchases.

So relatable.

Aside from my weekly Amazon Fresh order, I have been indulging in some Amazon retail therapy. A lot of winners, some losers. Some items I was “influenced” to buy and some I researched and bought on my own. I thought it would be fun to share my Amazon purchases – I’ll either inspire you or freak you out with my random shopping habits.

So here is what I’ve bought and kept from Amazon over the past two months —-

1. Y’all, I am no spring chicken. This summer I took a hard look at myself and realized I needed accountability in my exercise regimen. Heck, I needed an exercise regimen! So within the confines of the COVID safety guidelines I found a personal trainer and he has kept me on the straight and narrow. Which has translated to a lot of Advil – not good. Enter the magic of Epsom Salt, a lot of candles, some Kneipp bath oil, and our fantastic claw foot tub and I actually look forward to aches and pains so I can eradicate them!

2. Back in the day before Trader Joes debuted their fantastic array of all purpose spices, there was Beau Monde. I think we pretty much had salt, pepper, Crisco, and Beau Monde in our kitchen growing up. When my family moved from Washington, DC to Seattle this spring, I hand carried our entire spice cabinet on the plane such was its importance. We had spent years building that inventory and I was not going to play fast and loose with its survival of a cross country move. But woefully, when we were setting up the spices in our new home, I realized the Beau Monde had been compromised. I toodled off to the store to replace…three stores later and I was bereft. No Beau Monde. Nowhere. But there it was on Amazon. Trust me. Your baked chicken, pork chops, and grilled veggies will be the better with a little Beau Monde!

3. While 2020 was a game changer for all of us, my little family was changing it up as early as 2019. While my husband moved out to Seattle to start a new job, my daughter and I stayed in DC to finish out the school year. My super thoughtful husband would bring me little pick me ups when he flew home on the weekends. One of them was this candle. I love candles and I want to love candles. If that makes sense. I buy them thinking “Aha! THIS is the scent.” But after a bit, nope, not the scent. Until…this candle. I am not kidding. It is the perfect blend of sweet floral and woodsy and is not overpowering while burning. I have these candles on repeat in my basket!

4. Run do not walk to purchase this blanket. Our bedroom has a sweeping view of the Puget Sound and mountains – which, fun fact, we had no idea about because we toured the house at 9pm and had to decide on the spot to put an offer in! So our bed is one of our top three hang out places for all of us in our new home. I was looking for a solid, comfy blanket to grace the end of our bed to pull around our legs while we were vibing. (Got that one from our tween!) This thing is literally addictive – if a blanket can be – its light as air but has a comfortable weight. Its warm but not suffocating. It feels like your childhood stuffed lovey.

5. I greatly dislike chicken pot pie. However, on Instagram (of course!) I saw a mushroom pot pie and I’ve been obsessed ever since. I found a recipe that made me salivate and set about prepping. Turned out this recipe is for individual pot pies. I reluctantly ordered a set of 8 ounce ramekins thinking this was a one use purchase. How wrong I was! We’ve used these ramekins more in the past week than I would ever have guessed – olive oil & balsamic vinegar in which to dip french bread / soy sauce for sushi / 3pm mixed nut pick me up / etc. And I still have the mushroom pot pie to which to look forward!