After the popularity of the holiday gift  guides, and a few reader requests, we have a new feature: Stuff We Like, a monthly round up of things that are useful, adorable, entertaining, or simply making us very happy. We’re constantly sharing gift ideas and clever things we discover with one another, and it seems only fair we invite everyone in on the fun, right?
Please note: some of these links include affiliate codes which send a percentage of your purchase back to the site at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
So let’s get started!
Useful Things
If among your new year’s resolutions is the desire to be a more thoughtful friend or to send more birthday cards and letters (*raises hand*), there are a number of things you can do to help make that goal easier to reach.
There are a number of birthday card assortments you can buy, including this one, which comes with six sets of six different designs – better said as 36 birthday cards with envelopes for $9.99.
I really like the green one that looks like a gift.
And if you think you’ll need cards for several occasions, such as graduations, happy events, weddings, or condolences, there are assortments that cover all the card-sending needs. This one offers 48 occasion cards with envelopes for $13.Â
And if you’re thinking you want to be extra creative, you can purchase blank cards and embellish them if you like. I bought a set of blank cards made of craft paper, and some watercolor markers to decorate them when I feel like drawing, or when I need a card for a very specific occasion.
If you’d like to buy more quirky cards or support independent artists, Etsy has a veritable smorgasbord of clever and adorable greeting cards. You can get a set of eight Fuck Yeah Snail Mail cards for $18, or a DIY kit of four cards with different patterns and designs to construct your own for $3.
Etsy also has many, many artists offering letterpress cards, which are very luscious and come in excellent designs – that one (above) is fresh out of  fucks – get a box of 6 for $15, or a single card for $4.Â
Or, if you want the easiest option possible, these notepads from Knock Knock allow you to send apology notes, send a pep talk, request some support or give out mad props for awesomeness.
I have noticed that I really enjoy sending cards to people, especially because I know receiving snail mail that isn’t a bill or piece of advertising is delightful. It’s not the card itself that matters so much – it’s that you write a note and send it to someone that makes a lovely difference in someone’s day. Make the process simpler and easy to accomplish by having cards ready to go – and stamps as well – has made that resolution reachable.
Another common resolution: packing a lunch instead of buying one each day. In some metropolitan areas, that’s an easy way to save $50 a week, which is an even bigger savings at the end of the month.
If this is one of your goals for the year, I want to make sure that I share links to my favorite lunch containers. I’ve mentioned these in prior gift guides, but I can’t even tell you how much I love them: the Rubbermaid Easy Find Lid Square 2-Cup Food Storage containers come in a pack of six for for $13. The two cup size is ideal for soups or stews – the kind of recipes that easily make leftovers. The lid stays on very tightly, and the whole set is durable.
And if you need assorted sizes, there’s also a 42-piece set:
It comes with multiple sizes, including smaller half-cup sized containers which are great for sauce or dressing.
After I bought these, I tossed all our other containers that were flimsy, cracked, or mismatched (or had lost their lids forever), and because the lids attach to the bottoms of the containers and stack neatly, the cupboard is organized as well.
Fun Things
Useful tools to reach resolutions are awesome, but let’s talk about fun things, too!
You or someone you know probably needs a sloth tea infuser ($8.53). Or, if you prefer semi-aquatic egg-laying mammals of action, there’s a platypus tea infuser for $9.
If you’re always cold, perhaps fleece sheets will make for the perfect cozy bed for reading?
And calling in sick with “ate a bad burrito” to read that new book you bought? (I’m really cold right now so I could wrap myself in that set and be happy for hours.)
Amanda wants y’all to know that she thinks this iPhone case is terribly cute. It is, too! And it’s $13.
Amanda also wants y’all to know that these are the most adorable lip glosses:
Six Matte Wine Bottle Lip glosses – $12. Not only are they matte but they’d make an adorable Valentine’s or Galentine’s gift for someone – or several someones.
Having to take daily meds can be a bother, but it’s important. Rosie the Riveter is here to help you with that:
You Can Do It *with medication pillbox is $10.50 – and there are 11 other designs, too.
What have you found that charmed the heck out of you recently? Any treats or useful things you’d like to share?Â
Those fleece sheets look super comfy, but there is NO humidity in this house, so they’d set off an explosion of sparks in the darkness every time I move, like my fleece blanket squared. I’d get out of bed, touch the doorknob, and be blasted across the bedroom.
My daughter, who was never super into Harry Potter, suddenly, for no apparent reason, became obsessed with which house she would be in. (Pro tip: Trust only Pottermore. Even the random quizzes that stole all those questions don’t know what they’re doing. And don’t even get me started on Teen Vogue.) While birthday shopping in accordance with this recent development, I ACCIDENTALLY clicked on the Slytherin tab and found these smokin’ hot knee socks.
http://www.harrypottershop.com/product/slytherin+knee+high+socks+hpbdsockssly04.do
You can find them cheaper elsewhere, obviously, but I was too exhausted to comparison shop that day. Sorry Gryffindors and Ravenclaws—yours are sold out in the store linked above. Only Hufflepuffs and Slytherins can rock this sock.
If you want a stun gun because Washington, Amazon has them in an assortment of colors for under $12. Also works as a flashlight!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ABIYC8G/
For gamers, there’s the MUNCHKIN BUNDLE OF LOVE from Steve Jackson Games. This includes Munchkin Valentines, Munchkin Puppies, Munchkin Princesses, Munchkin Love Shark Baby, Munchkin and Cthulhu Guest Artist Edition; it costs $45; and it can be seen/bought at http://www.warehouse23.com/products/2017-munchkin-bundle-of-love
Link t the phone case is not working for me…….and it is really cute. Where can I find?
Hey Pam!
Here is a shortened link: http://amzn.to/2jeHhOK
That one is working for me, but please let me know if you’re still having trouble? It’s on Amazon.com.
My husband loves sloths largely because he wants that lifestyle. For Hanukkah my daughter gave him the sloth tea infuser and he loves it. It really is cute. She also gave him a mug with a picture of him holding a sloth. Totally proved it is the thought that counts.
That is a cute iphone case, but I needed one with a cover over the screen to keep it from getting scratched from things in my purse. I bought an awesome case from Etsy that is from Beetlejuice and looks just like the “Handbook For The Recently Deceased” book from the movie. On the back it has “I, Myself am strange and unusual.” It is awesome well made and has a couple slots for credit cards and money when I only want to take my phone. I can still shove it in my pocket. I get many compliments on it.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/245180078/iphone-flip-wallet-case-handbook
If you’re looking for sheets, try the Sunbeam heavyweight fleece sheets: http://tinyurl.com/zoskus3
They have them at JC Penney, Amazon, etc. They are super-soft and super-warm, and they have several different colors/prints. They are some of the best sheets I’ve ever had.
The cards are super cute! I just found out that the USPS has Wonder Woman stamps, and using them while mailing the cards seems congruent!
https://store.usps.com/store/browse/productDetailSingleSku.jsp?productId=S_474104
I could not survive without that Rubbermaid container set. The sizes are perfect for my preschooler’s lunches and very durable. Sadly, I still don’t have an organized tupperware drawer but I’m pretty sure that’s due to my laziness and not a flaw with the functionality of the set.
They don’t make that awesome case for my older iPhone but I did order two of the lip stain collections. Birthday and hostess gifts? Check!
I love Fred And Friends, their products are quirky but well made and sturdy. They have a whole line of fun and unique tea infusers. At my house we have to drag out the NinjaBread Men cookie cutters for all occasions. Although for me the best part is the recipe on the back of the box. (“Add molasses and blend into the night…”) http://www.fredandfriends.com/kitchen/ninjabread-men/NBREAD.html
I’m here to give kudos to the “semi-aquatic egg-laying mammal of action” line. No, I am NOT weird for watching Phineas and Ferb on Netflix on Saturday mornings, and this proves it! (And now that song will be in my head for the rest of the day.)
(Also I love all the cards! Thanks for the links, since I’m trying to send more mail this year!)
@Ginny: He’s a furry little flatfoot who never flinched from the fray!
@SB Sarah: My husband and I tell each other, “Your timing is impeccable. And by impeccable I mean COMPLETELY PECCABLE!” at least twice a week. (No, I don’t have kids, but I have 5 younger siblings, and we ALL loved P&F, even though the range of our ages is 15 years. I am SO happy to find like-minded people!)
Are you spying on me?!? I already had those exact lip stains and Rubbermaid containers (but green) in my cart. And a bunch of those Knock Knock pads are on my Christmas gift list (where all my ideas throughout the year go since I’m so brain dead by December).
Wow. I have obviously found my people at SBTB. 🙂
I have the Rubbermaid set and use it just about every day. So useful!
Recent fave purchase: sexy orange sunglasses to wear in the late evening. If you have to work at night or can’t stay off your laptop (…me, ahem), wearing blue-light-blocking glasses really does help you get better sleep afterwards. One fairly inexpensive example: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003OBZ64M/. I mean, I’m not going to lie, it’s not the *best* look while you’re in bed, but I will happily trade looking a bit ridiculous for more sleep. 🙂
One of my goals is to keep the US postal service in business, so I send lots of snail mail. I’m not a stamp collector, but I’m a member of Postcrossing, so I send postcards globally-and lots of members do collect stamps, so I do my best to buy a fun assortment to keep on hand.
I’m really happy that Stuff We Like is going to be a monthly feature!
The Knock Knock “All Out Of” pad is amazing. Just check it off when you run out of something, tear off the page and throw it in your bag on shopping day.
@VictoriaR: Oh, I so agree – I have used one for years and years. I love it!
(If you’re not sure what we’re raving about, it’s this pad here: http://amzn.to/2k8wni4)
I received the birthday cards in the mail today. Thanks for the suggestion!