WANT/NEED: Cozy slippers to keep your feet from freezing the eff off, and more stuff you want to buy
Welcome to Want/Need, a weekly roundup of the things our Deputy Editor, Emily Popp, is currently coveting. It might be a pair of pink leather loafers that make her feel like she’s got her s*#t together, or a pool float in the shape of an avocado (because she’s not over the novelty pool float trend). Or maybe it’s as random as, like, dryer sheets. Basically this is all the stuff she’s obsessed with. Poppy’s picks, if you will.
HelloFresh x Lauren Conrad Meal Delivery Service
I think January is the perfect time to try out a meal delivery service, and I have been getting on a real kick. And did you know that Lauren Conrad partnered with HelloFresh? If you’re a fan of meal delivery services and you can’t wait for the reboot of The Hills, well dear reader, this is where all your favorite things intersect. And yeah, I know, Lauren sadly won’t be a part of the The Hills revival, but at least you can make an LC-approved meal to get your fix. What’s even better? Lauren’s HelloFresh capsule menu is super delicious, like these chicken tacos with radish-tomato pico de gallo and avocado recipe. Lauren and her adorable fam don’t eat any dairy, and so her menu is dairy-free, crowd-pleasing and healthy. Personally, I recommend you enjoy her HelloFresh recipes while streaming an episode of Laguna Beach.
Minnetonka Pile Lined Mule
We’re having a real cold snap over here in L.A., and it’s dang chilly in my apartment! My toes are froze! So I need a comfy-cozy pair of slippers like these ones from Minnetonka. I have a pair of silver flats from Minnetonka, and they are some of the most comfortable shoes I own. I wore them every single day for months on end and they really held up; they’re a high-quality brand for a great price point. Oh, and these slippers are in my favorite shade of millennial pink, so really, how can I resist?
Aloha Chocolate Protein Powder
I’ve never tried a protein powder before. In fact, it was something that I was intimidated by and I felt wasn’t “for” me, like I wasn’t athletic enough. But last year I started going to a trainer, and recently she recommended that I try a plant-based protein powder, since I likely wasn’t getting the ideal amount of daily protein. So I decided to give Aloha’s chocolate flavor a try. To be honest, I expected it to taste really chalky—but when I mixed it with almond milk and stirred it up real good…it tasted like a treat, actually. It makes meeting my daily protein intake requirements way easier. Here’s a pro-tip for first time protein powder users: the scooper is buried inside the can! They don’t mention that anywhere on the packaging and I had to dig around until I had protein powder caked up underneath my fingernails. I wish they put that little piece of info on the packaging, but ah well. I figured it out eventually! The taste is quite yummy (I mean it’s not like, Shake Shack milkshake-levels of delicious, but this is a health drink after all, y’all), and it’s only 4 grams of sugar. If you’re looking to try out a tasty protein powder, I’d recommend this one.
SpaceFoam Cooling Memory Foam Pillow
I didn’t really make an official New Years resolution this year, but I do have a “soft goal” of getting better sleep. Instead of scrolling through my Instagram feed until my eyes are the color of a stop sign, I want to get to sleep at a better hour more regularly, and so I figured why not make my bed as much of a sleep haven as possible? I heard about this SpaceFoam pillow, which apparently has “cooling technology” so it’s always cool to the touch. I was skeptical of this, but when I opened it up after it sat outside my apartment in a hot box in the sun all day, I was shocked that it was, in fact, super cool to the touch. I left it on my bed and went back to it hours later—still cool! I’ve never felt a pillow that did that before. TMI alert, but sometimes I do get very hot at night randomly—not full night sweats situation, but sometimes I’ll wake up hot, sweaty and uncomfortable. This pillow really helped with keeping me nice and cool and comfy. I also am very pillow particular, and I don’t like them to be too thick—I like a thin pillow, and this thickness was just right. I’m also a “side sleeper,” and this pillow’s soft-but-firmness is perfect for that. And yeah, $69 for a pillow is a bit of a splurge—but beauty sleep is one of those things that I always think is splurge-worthy.
WineSociety Little Black Box
If you know me even casually, you know that I’m a sucker for wine and pretty packaging—so clearly I’m very into the Little Black Box from WineSociety. It comes with 3 cans and 3 flavors: “Tempt,” “Chance,” and “Fate.” And I know what you’re thinking, 3 cans for $49?! Yes it’s 3 cans, but it’s a total of 16 servings. Yes, 16 glasses of delicious wine in this little black box. All flavors were quite tasty, but I was a particular fan of the red blend. To borrow a line from Taylor Swift’s latest Instagram caption, it’s a new year, and it’s “20wineteen.”
Valfre 2019 Zodiac Calendar
Something I look forward to every year is hanging up a new wall calendar. What can I say, I’m a #nerd. It’s the little things, guys! I love this awesome illustrated zodiac calendar from Valfre.
