Everything I loved in the month of September. All my favorite products I used, books I read, and podcasts I listened to.
I mentioned in this post that I love seeing other peoples’ recommendations for books and resources. Another thing I love is watching other people make YouTube videos about their favorite things of the month. I love how laid-back those types of videos are and I also love getting ideas for things that I could be using. So, I decided to turn that YouTube video into a Blog Post. Without further ado, here are all of my favorite things from the month of September.
favorite books
The Family Garden Plan: Grow a Year’s Worth of Sustainable and Healthy Food by Melissa K. Norris
I love Melissa K. Norris’ YouTube channel. She teaches you so many things about homesteading, food preservation, and gardening. In this book, she teaches you pretty much everything you need to know about growing a garden that will nourish your family for a whole year. She teaches you the basics of gardening, but also tips for how to know how much to grow and which fruits and vegetables to pick. Because I’m getting married in May, gardening and homesteading are on my list of things to learn about. I had a very small garden at my parent’s house, but now that I’ll have my own space with a bit of land, I can garden on an even bigger scale. This book was perfect for that and I found it so interesting. I think I read the whole thing in two days.
The Pilgrim Chronicles: An Eyewitness History of the Pilgrims and the Founding of Plymouth Colony by Rod Gragg
The older I get, the more interested I get in history. I don’t know if it’s history itself that has become appealing to me, or that it seems more important to learn as I get older. Recently, I decided that I was going to start going through history starting with the founding of America. I’d like to learn about things that occurred before that as well, but that seems less interesting to me at the moment. I don’t know if I’d be able to finish a book about the Classical or Medieval eras if I’m being honest. Hopefully one day that will change.
One reason I want to learn history is for myself. Not only do I find it interesting, but I also think it’s so important for people to know and understand historical events. So much of our country is ignorant to the past, and that’s causing major issues today. We need to understand the past so we understand what words, issues, and actions mean, and so we don’t make the mistake of repeating devastating parts of history. The second reason is that I want to understand history so I can teach my children history well. We plan to homeschool our kids, and I want to be able to have good knowledge about the subjects I’m teaching so they can get a good education. Especially for something as important as history.
I started my history endeavors with the Pilgrims. This book was very insightful and I feel like I learned so much that I never learned in school. I’m excited to make my way through the centuries. There’s something so fascinating about old cultures and ways of life, and seeing how they have shaped our modern world.
Heralds of the Reformation: Thirty Biographies of Sheer Grace by Richard M. Hannula
After I read about the Pilgrims voyage to America, I went back a few years and read about the Protestant Reformation. This is a topic I’ve recently become very interested in. I really liked the way this book was laid out. In it, he wrote about one man or woman from the Reformation each chapter. I liked this because I was able to learn about the Reformation through the lives of some of the most important men and women of the time.
Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander, Book 2) by Diana Gabaldon
I read the first book in the Outlander series in August and absolutely loved it. Everything about it is perfect. The love story, the history, the herbs, and the aesthetics are amazing. They are all huge books, so I have to take breaks like half way through because I get overwhelmed feeling like I’m never going to finish them. But once I do, I can’t wait to read the next one.
favorite podcasts
Homemaker Chic with Angela Reed & Shaye Elliott
This has probably been my favorite podcast for over a year now. These two women are so hilarious, but they also bring so many good insights to homemaking, wife and motherhood, homesteading, and so much more. I look forward to Monday every week because I know I can listen to them on my way home from work.
Simple Farmhouse Life with Lisa Bass
Similarly to Homemaker Chic, Lisa covers pretty much any topic surrounding womanhood you can think of on this podcast. She talks about things like cooking and baking, being a wife and mother, building a homestead, natural living, having a small business, and creating a beautiful home. I’ve also learned so much from her and I feel like her podcast really allows me to hone into my femininity.
Are You Menstrual? with Amanda Montalvo
I follow Amanda on Instagram and have learned so much from her over there, so I was very excited when I found out she has a podcast too. She is a Registered Dietician that has a passion for teaching women how to heal their hormones, specifically by balancing their nutrients and minerals. I love this podcast because she doesn’t just give you information, but also gives you ways to apply these things to your own life to see improvements.
The Freely Rooted Podcast with Kori Meloy and Fallon Lee
This podcast also provides tons of information on hormones, metabolic health, and female physiology. Yet again, I have not only learned so much, but have been able to apply a lot of the things they teach to my own health and lifestyle. A lot of the things I mentioned in this post I learned in this podcast.
favorite products
-Taking Beef Liver Tablets
I know. This probably sounds very strange and kind of gross. But beef liver has so many amazing benefits for your body, especially for female hormone balance. It has been called “Nature’s Multivitamin” because it essentially has all of the vitamins that would be found in a conventional multivitamin. The best part about that is, because it is beef liver, the vitamins are from a whole food source. They aren’t the synthetic forms like the vitamins you find at the store. That means your body can use and absorb these vitamins and minerals better because it recognizes them as such. I’m not going to lie, these things do not taste very good at all. You really have to swallow them quick if you want to take them. But I think the benefits of beef liver make the short taste worth it.
-Vitamin E
I’ve also been taking Vitamin E because of the anti-inflammatory effect it has on the body. Our bodies are prone to inflammation and oxidative stress because of all the toxins and stressors in our environment, as well as all of the Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) we are used to consuming. The best thing to do is to try to stay away from things that cause inflammation and stress on the body, but that isn’t always possible. Supplementing with Vitamin E is a great way to try to combat these effects naturally.
-NUUN Electrolyte Drink Tablets
I came to the conclusion that a lot of my hormone and energy level issues might be stemming from the fact that I wasn’t hydrating myself enough. I won’t get into why I thought this, but I decided that I need to start drinking water in a way that will actually hydrate me. For the most part, all I drank was plain filtered water. Once I learned that that type of water has little to no minerals and electrolytes, I realized I needed to change something. Sarah Therese shared these electrolyte tablets around that time, so I ordered them.
I used them for a while, then stopped once I ran out. I felt so tired and honestly kind of moody that whole week. Finally it hit me that maybe the electrolytes were actually helping me feel better and more balanced and hydrated. So I haven’t stopped using them since. Not to mention they’re delicious and come in so many flavors.
– Earthley’s Sinus Saver Herbal Tincture
This stuff is absolutely amazing. I have struggled with really bad seasonal allergies for a while now. I had to take a Claritin pill pretty much every night. Once I started getting into holistic health and natural remedies, I didn’t feel great about taking that many allergy pills. I knew it couldn’t be good for me and I had started to hear things that validated that concern. But I felt that I had no other option. If I didn’t take one, I would feel miserable the next day. So I started doing some research and found Earthley, an herbal company that sells a ton of tinctures and other herbal remedies. I saw that they had a tincture designed specifically for allergies and sinus congestion. It contains Nettle Leaf, Elderberry, Turmeric Root, Black pepper, Dandelion Root, Cane alcohol, and filtered water. And let me tell you, it works like a charm. And it lasts forever. I think I got my bottle in May or June and I still haven’t gone through it yet.
I think that getting rid of synthetic fragrances and toxins, using an air purifier at night, and eating better have also played a huge role in improving my seasonal allergies. But even then, I still struggled some days. I don’t think I’ve had any really-bad-allergy days since taking this tincture. I highly recommend it if you struggle with allergies as well. I’m excited to try out some of their other tinctures in the future. They have some for sleep, stress, hormone balance, fertility, gut health, and more.
That’s it for today’s September Favorites post. If you try any the products or read any of the books let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading!
