Southern Made Simple

Keeping things simple with a smidge of Southern charm

Laura Tucker

Cheesy Jalapeno Corn Dip Recipe

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Looking for a delicious, cheesy and ooey gooey dip to make and share with your friends and family? You’ve come to the right place, y’all.

Most people make dips as as appetizer or to serve during tailgates or parties. I’m just gonna raise my hand right now and confess that my husband and I are no strangers to eating any kind of dip as our main meal. It pretty much happens nearly every time we make dip, and especially when we make this one. We both have a palate for spicy foods, and this one brings the perfect amount of heat.

This Cheesy Jalapeno Corn Dip Recipe will make you the talk of the party!

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Here’s what you’ll need to make this delicious cheesy jalapeno corn dip recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups frozen corn
  • 1 large onion – diced
  • 2 fresh jalapenos – diced
  • 1 clove garlic – diced
  • 1 large red bell pepper – diced
  • 1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise
  • 1 cup monterey or pepper jack cheese, shredded
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded + plus handful for topping
  • 2 tbs butter – divided
  • Cayenne pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. Melt butter in a pan on low heat. Add corn to pan and adjust temperature to medium/high heat. Saute the corn until it lightly browns. Set aside
  3. Melt butter in pan on low. Saute onion and red bell pepper until soft. Add jalapeno and garlic until soft.
  4. In a bowl, mix together corn, jalapeno, onions, red bell pepper, mayonnaise, cayenne pepper and cheeses in a bowl.
  5. Pour mixture into a casserole dish and top with handful of cheese.
  6. Bake 10-15 minutes
  7. Serve with tortilla or pita chips. Enjoy!

Have you ever found yourself eating a hot dip as a meal? What other types of dip do you and your family like to make? I’d love to hear all about it!

10 Valentine’s Day Picks for Babies and Toddlers!

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I love Valentine’s Day. It’s not something I’ve ever really celebrated very much in the past, but I love any occasion to get to put an emphasis on celebrating love. I love love. I have a wonderful husband that I am madly in love with, and I have a beautiful baby girl that I get to shower with lots of snuggles and, well, love!

Valentine's Day gift ideas for babies and toddlers

Since I’ve got a little sweetheart to shop for this Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d share with you some of my top Valentine’s Day gift picks for babies and toddlers that are as sweet as sugar and are a great way to say “I love you”!…

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Cheesy Bacon & French Onion Spinach Dip Recipe

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If you’re anything like me, you may have a hard time incorporating certain greens into your diet. I like most veggies, but I don’t just love them. It’s something I should really try to change about my tastes and my lifestyle, because vegetables are good for you! I just have a hard time straying from the norm. You know, peas, green beans, corn, and…yeah. That’s about it when it comes to actually making it to a dinner plate in this house. The only time I would ever eat spinach on purpose is on my Subway sandwich when it’s hidden amongst the lettuce and tomatoes. It’s like I said, I don’t dislike veggies, I just don’t really know to incorporate them into foods that I definitely love.

I tried hiding spinach in my smoothies for a little while. It lasted about a week. I could tolerate it in my smoothie, but I soon found out I was pregnant and then quickly found the smoothies to be absolutely repulsive. That’s pregnancy for ya! Now that I’m no longer pregnant, I still just can’t bring myself to drink them. However, I’ve now found a new way to incorporate spinach into my diet. Now, I’m not saying that dish is healthy at all. In a perfect world, it would be fat free...just like every other food would be, but let’s just celebrate one small victory at a time here. I’m eating lots of spinach these days, and it’s in the form of a hot, savory and cheesy bowl of deliciousness. Say hello to your new favorite dip recipe: Cheesy Bacon & French Onion Spinach Dip.

BOOM! You’re welcome. 😉

Cheesy Bacon & French Onion Spinach Dip Recipe - This dip is SO delicious and so simple to make! You can even prepare it ahead of time and bake when you're ready!

Forget what you think you know about spinach dip. Before I first made this dip, I thought of spinach dip as that super bland dip you can buy in the chip aisle next to that less than stellar cheese in a jar stuff. It’s typically served room temp and it’s pretty lackluster next to other dishes in a spread. This dip is anti that, y’all. But what about those regular hot spinach dips that are pretty good and not from a can? Forget ’em. They’re likely missing that special oomph. They’re probably missing that extra somethin’ somethin’ that you really want in a dip. You know, that va va voom! But not this dip, y’all. This one is in a league of it’s own….

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Quinoa Nachos Supreme Recipe

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As much as I love to talk about good ol’ southern cuisine, sometimes I like to get really southern with my cooking.

Southern as in, south-of-the-border southern! I LOVE trying different foods from Hispanic cultures. There are so many delicious herbs and spices that are native to South America that can really flavor a dish in a fabulous way. Plus, if it has “spicy” in the name, my family will love it. Bring on the heat, y’all!

One ingredient that I’ve been gradually incorporating into our diet over the past few years is quinoa.
(Pronounced “keen-wah”).

Quinoa Nachos Supreme Recipe - This is a fun and healthy twist on classic nachos!

If you’re not cooking with quinoa, you really should be! Never heard of this keen-who stuff?  Allow me fill you in a little:…

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The Best Breakfast Casserole

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I am all about comfort foods. Most breakfast foods (sugary cereals and poptarts aside) are all comfort foods to me. I love warm and flaky biscuits, fluffy scrambled eggs, sweet honey or syrup, and I certainly love my cheese grits! If I’m going to be honest, I think breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. My family even loves to have breakfast for dinner! It’s not that often that I get to stop and actually cook breakfast during the week day, but I always look forward to the weekends when I sometimes get to indulge a little.

If us Southerners love anything besides those delicious breakfast items I just mentioned, it’s a good casserole. Casseroles are staple dishes. I can’t think of very many occasions where making a casserole isn’t appropriate. If I see a casserole in a buffet line, I’m having some of that! So years ago when my mother-in-law made this dish, I fell in love fast.  I’ve had a few different versions of “breakfast casseroles”, but this is the best breakfast casserole I’ve ever tasted. It’s simple, hearty, warm and oh so delicious!

The BEST breakfast casserole ever! This would make a great dish for brunch, too!

This dish is PERFECT to serve as breakfast in bed on birthdays, anniversaries, or during the holidays. It’s also really good reheated!

Here’s what you’ll need to make it:…

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Merry Christmas from Southern Made Simple!

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Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a fabulous New Year from Southern Made Simple! We’ll be back in a few days after the hustle and bustle of the holidays has settled down.

 

Merry Christmas Southern Made Simple!

 

We’re looking forward to all of the blessings to come in 2016. God bless!

What are your special plans during the holiday season? Will you be visiting family and traveling, or does this season find you celebrating out of the comfort of your own home?

Looking for a delicious Christmas recipe? Give my homemade peppermint bark a try! You’ll be glad you did! 😉

DIY Fabric Rag Skirt Video Tutorial

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2015 was a huge year for us as we welcomed our beautiful baby girl into the world. Since it seems like babies grow just entirely too fast, we knew we wanted to capture as many pictures of her during her first year as we could. I started planning our outfits for our Fall portraits around September. I decided to have her wear two different outfits to show off her fun and sweet personality. I wanted her to be photographed in a traditional smocked dress, but I also wanted something funky and a little unconventional.

DIY Fabric "Rag" Skirt + Video Tutorial

A sweet friend of mine sparked my interest when she started making her daughter these super cute little rag skirts. I loved the idea and immediately knew that this what I wanted my daughter to wear in her pictures. Instead of going out and buying fabric (it can be so expensive!) I wound up cutting up 2 old pillowcases and 2 old blouses that I no longer wore. I think the result came out great, an I didn’t even have to make a special trip to the store to buy supplies!

Here’s a step by step video tutorial on how to make a fabric rag skirt:

DIY Fabric “Rag” Skirt + Video Tutorial

I’m so pleased with our final results. Because I used fabric and elastic I already had, it cost me nothing to make. Though if you went to the store and purchased your own materials, it would be pretty inexpensive. And for as cute as they are to see your little one in, it’s all so worth it!

DIY Fabric "Rag" Skirt + Video Tutorial

This is something that would be super cute to do during different seasons and holidays, too! I’m thinking Christmas colors, Valentine colors, 4th of July colors, birthday pastels, etc!

DIY Fabric Rag Skirt Video Tutorial

If you decide to try your hand at making a rag skirt, I’d love to hear/see pictures of how it turned out! 🙂

Buffalo Pimento Cheese Dip Recipe

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Have you ever seen one of those dishes that you look at the ingredients and think they could never possibly work together? That was me with this dish.

We southerners tend to really love Pimento Cheese, and we like the kick of buffalo sauce every now and then (mostly on our chicken), but we like those things separate. Don’t go messin’ up a good thing of pimento cheese, now!

Well….I’m sorry. Actually, I’m not sorry, cuz this dip is DELICIOUS!

It’s a little more than delicious, y’all. This dip is downright sinful! While there’s nothing in it that’s good for you (try not to indulge TOO hard), every bit of it is good for the soul. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself. It’s comfort food at it’s finest. It’s basically a party in a bowl, and everyone will want an invite.

When I make this dish, it’s best that I make it for an event where several will partake. Otherwise, my husband and I will sit down and eat this thing in 3 servings. Not that that’s happened. It might have happened a few times, though. Just sayin’.

Buffalo Pimento Cheese Dip Recipe - This dip in sinful, y'all!

I love to add shredded or chopped chicken to this dip. Remember how I said us southerners like a touch of buffalo, but mostly on our chicken? Just stickin’ to my roots, here! Here’s what you’ll need to make this devilishly delicious dip:

Ingredients:

  • 1 8oz package of cream cheese (NOT fat free), softened
  • 1/4 cup light ranch dressing
  • 1/4 cup light blue cheese dressing
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese + plus a handful for topping
  • 1/2 cup buffalo sauce
  • 1 4oz jar of pimentos, diced
  • 2 cups cooked/shredded chicken (optional, but DO IT!)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Blend well.
  3. Top with additional cheese if desired.
  4. Pour ingredients into a casserole dish (8×11 or larger) and bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes.
  5. Serve with tortilla chips or your favorite crackers. I love Ritz Crackers with this!

If you give this Buffalo Pimento Cheese Dip recipe a try, I’d love to hear how you like it! I also won’t judge if you and your significant other or friends sat down and devour the whole dish. Been there! 😉

3 BIG Reasons to Support the FFA

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The summer before my junior year of high school (on my 16th birthday to be exact), I walked into the agriscience building of my school for the very first time. I heard through the grapevine that auditions were taking place for the FFA string band, so I decided to be a little brave and try out. It was my first time singing by myself in public, and I was pretty nervous walking in with two instructors and two other students as my audience. I had no idea what the FFA was really about, I just knew I wanted to sing. I belted out some obscure country song I heard on CMT during the wee hours of the morning when they actually play music videos. (If you’re curious, it was Barbed Wire and Roses by the band Pinmonkey.)

When I sang the last note, my Ag teacher was quiet for a moment, gave me a quick smirk and said, “I like it!”. I’ll never forget that moment. That moment was my first step into becoming fully involved in The National FFA Organization and learning about the things I could offer it, and more importantly, what it could offer me. Come to find out, it was a lot!

3 BIG Reasons to Support the FFA

My ag teacher and FFA adviser wasted no time. The Enterprise High School FFA String Band came together and began practicing. We competed and won at county, district, state and national levels. Because of the FFA, I was able to travel and visit Indianapolis, IN for the FFA National Convention. I even got to attend a leadership conference in Washington DC!

3 BIG Reasons to Support the FFA

I served as a string band member for two years and as a chapter officer for one year. The greatest experience of all, though, was learning how to unlock my potential as a student and as a young woman. I gained leadership skills, communication skills, and experienced team-building and career development activities. I was living the FFA life! (Be sure to check out this neat little video to give you a really good glimpse at what it’s like to be fully involved with the National FFA Organization!)

#WeAreFFA

Let me be really clear, here. Being involved in the FFA is not the same thing as sitting in ag class. I came from a very well established and involved FFA chapter, so I sort of had this skewed idea that ALL FFA chapters were getting the full experience like I was. Unfortunately, there are a lot of chapters in many school systems that are flat-lining. Students are sitting in ag classes and don’t have a clue as to what the FFA is. Many think that that joining the FFA means you want to be a farmer, or that the FFA and ag classes are just for country bumpkins. They’re not learning the motto, participating in career development events, applying for scholarships, learning to serve their community, and sadly, they’re not wearing the blue jackets. But YOU can help!

3 BIG reasons to Support the FFA

I’ve put together 3 BIG reasons to consider supporting your local chapter (no matter how active), and I also break down exactly what that support can mean to students in your community.

  1. FFA Builds

    • Through the FFA, students abide by the following motto: “Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve”. The FFA encourages youth to be educated, motivated, and service minded through various exercises and events.
    • Career Development Events (CDEs)
      • CDE’s help demonstrate how to take what is learned in the classroom and apply it into a real world settings. The primary objective is to help students become stronger individuals, help them function as a team, think critically, and provide an element of healthy competition. These events cover real life job skills ranging from communication and marketing/sales all the way to livestock evaluation and management. You can learn more about and view numerous CDE categories here.
    • Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs)
      • An SAE helps students consider multiple careers and places them in situations that allow them to apply occupational and academic principles in a supervised simulated work environment. This helps ensure that students are leaving high school fully prepared for collegiate and career opportunities. Throughout the year, students will plan their SAE carefully with their FFA adviser. You can view examples of SAEs here.

  2. FFA Encourages

    • FFA makes a difference in the lives of students by encouraging their potential for leadership, personal growth and career success. Through CDE’s, SAE’s, leadership conferences, local competitions and exercises in the classroom, the FFA helps students develop interests, fine-tune their talents, and strive to reach their maximum potential. In turn, these are skills that members will take with them when they enter the workforce and into their future careers. These are skills that aren’t learned from a textbook, but are things that are organized and demonstrated by devoted FFA advisers and other FFA members through hands on learning and service.

  3. FFA Educates

    • When you think about the FFA, you probably automatically think “Future Farmers of America”. But did you know that this is no longer what the organization is called? While the letters still historically stand for Future Farmers of America, as a whole it is now called “The National FFA Organization”. In this, the FFA is representing the growing diversity of agriculture and is better able to reach out to students and focus more so on encouraging and building them as individuals, all while presenting an understanding of agricultural influence and importance.
    • Currently, agriculture is the nation’s largest employer. There are over 22 million people working in some aspect of this industry. When you think of agriculture, you probably think of crops and livestock. The FFA helps to educate students that agriculture extends even further than that. Agriculture is also the processing, marketing and distribution of crops, livestock, and other agriculturally related goods. In truth, its a science, a business, and an art. In addition to providing food and raw material through crops and livestock, agriculture provides employment opportunities to the population.
    • Naked and Hungry
      • Say what?? Why do I say that? Well… think about it! Where would YOU be without agriculture? 😉

3 BIG Reasons to Support the FFA

 

There are currently 629,327 members of the FFA in grades 7-12 throughout the country who have the opportunity to be greatly impacted by The National FFA Organization. That’s 629,327 even BIGGER reasons to show your support for your local FFA chapter and the students in it. Take the time to learn a little bit more about the organization and the many ways you can support it.

One of the most popular (and most delicious) ways to support the FFA is to make a purchase during the annual fruit sale. Students begin selling the boxes around mid October. The fruit is delivered in early December just in time for holiday cooking and baking!

3 BIG Reasons to Support the FFA

I ordered a box of beautiful apples and pears. Not only did I get to support an organization that is very dear to my heart with my purchase, but I also get to have healthy snacks during the day. I’ll be making baby food for my daughter out of some of it and I’ll possibly make some jams or jellies as well!

I hope that this has shed a bright light on The National FFA organization and encourages you to learn more and show your support for those involved. The FFA has taught me so much and has given me wonderful memories and friendships that I will cherish for a lifetime. Because of the FFA, I will always believe in the future of agriculture with a faith born not of works, but of deeds.

What’s in My Diaper Bag? {Diaper Bag Essentials for the First 6 Months}

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Diaper Bag Essentials First 6 Months

Diaper Bag Essentials for the first 6 months

A dear friend of mine bought me this beautiful Vera Bradley diaper bag just a few weeks after I found out we were having a little girl. (Thanks, Victoria!) I was so eager to start filling it when nesting set in, but I had no idea where to even begin! It really wasn’t even necessary to start filling it until after I brought the baby home from the hospital, but you just couldn’t tell me that! 😉

I put together a little list of 15 things that I ALWAYS kept in my diaper bag for the first 6 months after my daughter was born. It’s not an exhaustive list by any means, but these are just a few of my top picks. Some are more age specific for newborns, and a few are more for babies closer to 4-6 months, but I thought this might be a helpful guide for other parents that are nesting and want to get a head start on packing their bags!

Diaper Bag Essentials for the first 6 months

  1. Diapers & Wipes
    • This one is pretty obvious. I won’t bore you with details on this one, but I will share that I try to keep 7-8 diapers in my bag at all times. That number can vary depending on how long we will be out of the house, but I’ve personally found 7-8 to be a comfortable number. I WILL say this, though: Have you SEEN how cute the diaper prints are from The Honest company?! I am crazy about that Anchors and Stripes print! You don’t see prints that cute when you open up a box of Huggies, that’s for sure!
  2. Changing Pad
    • Most diaper bags actually come with one of these. You may not get a TON of use out of this, but you’ll definitely want one. Who knows, you just may wind up having to change a baby on a dirty floor or in the grass. Trust me, stuff like that just happens! You’ll want to be able to lay your baby down on a clean and soft surface when changing. If you don’t want to carry around a changing pad, consider getting a few disposable ones like these: Munchkin Arm and Hammer Disposable Changing Pads. They’re easy to use, and you just toss when you’re done with them!
  3. Change of clothing
    • I don’t want to be too blunt here, but spit-up happens. Vomit happens. Spills happen, and blow outs happen. They just do. ESPECIALLY when you’re out and about. You’ll want to make sure you have a full change of clothing with you on hand for when those moments sneak up on you. Don’t forget the socks! Nothing is worse than when you’re changing your baby’s diaper and they plop their foot (WITH a sock on) right into their dirty diaper in a split second while you’re changing them. That happens, too. Best to be prepared! 🙂
  4. Burp Cloth
    • Remember when I said spit happens? It definitely does. Especially in the first 4 months. It tends to taper off a little bit, but you still definitely need a burp cloth at 6 months. Really, you could probably use two of them. In my opinion, these Gerber Prefold Cloth Diapers work really well. They’re not the cutest, but they’re absorbent and nobody’s feelings will get hurt if they get ruined or if they get left somewhere. That also happens!
  5. Extra Bib
    • You really won’t need these for the first month, but once the baby starts spitting up more frequently, it’s nice to have a bid to help protect their shirt. You’ll especially want to keep a bib when your baby begins teething (hellooooo, drool!) and when they start eating solids. Babies are NOT neat eaters!
  6. Medicine Bag
    • I personally like to keep a little ziploc bag filled with a couple different things that my baby may need. I’ll share with you what I keep in mine, but I am not implying in any way that you should use these things. That’s totally your call on what you should give your child. You know your baby best! 🙂
  7. Pacifier & extra pacifier clip
    • Your baby may or may not take a paci. (Do you call them pacis? I personally call them binks..short for binky!) However, you just might have one that is seemingly forever devoted to the bink. She’s brand loyal, too! We don’t leave the house without our MAM pacifiers. I personally like to keep an extra one or two in my bag, because these have a tendency to get lost frequently. It’s also wise to have an extra pacifier clip on hand. It’s torture having to constantly pick up a binky that has been dropped or thrown across the room!
  8. Pacifier/Toy Wipes
    • I always keep a package of Pacifier Wipes on hand. They’re perfect for cleaning dirty pacifiers and toys that have been dropped on the floor, or even cleaning a dirty area that you may not want your baby to touch.
  9. Teething toy
    • You really won’t need this for the first couple of months. Once baby starts teething, though, you’ll want to keep a few on hand. Teething is different for all babies. Some babies start super early, and others start a little late. We started right around 4 months. I have a detailed post on our favorite teething toys. You can read more about our top picks here.
  10. Breast pump + a few accessories
    • If you are breastfeeding your little one, I highly recommend carrying a hand pump with you in case you are ever in a situation where you cannot feed your baby right away but you need to express your milk. I always kept the Medela Harmony Manual Breast Pump with an extra bottle in my diaper bag. It’s easy to use and doesn’t take up a ton of space, which is great!
    • As a breast feeder, you’re very likely to leak a little. If you don’t leak, count your lucky stars! I always kept some extra nursing pads on hand to prevent any leakage from showing through. I really liked to use reusable nursing pads, but disposable pads are also a great option. It might be a good idea to throw a little tube of lanolin in your bag to help soothe sore nipples.
    • Clip-itz Nursing Cover Clips were super handy for me. I never wanted to purchase a whole nursing cover because they take up SO much room in a diaper bag and can be a pain to fold neatly. These little clips allow you to turn any blanket into a nursing cover so that you can nurse comfortable anywhere, plus they take up VERY little room.
  11. Formula & Water Bottle
    • If your baby takes formula, you’ll definitely want to have a Formula Dispenser on hand. These little contraptions perfectly portion out your formula so that you can easily pour them into a bottle for quick and easy feedings.
    • Water bottle – You’ll need to have one or two of these on hand so that you can mix your formula. It’s best to use purified water or water that has been boiled.
    • I love to keep these little Enfamil Single Serve Packets on hand in case we run out of formula in our dispenser, or if we ever need to do a small feeding in between normal feedings. These little Enfamil nursettes are also really nice to keep on hand. They’re already pre-mixed, so they can drink them straight from the bottle if we’re ever in a pinch.
  12. Germ-X
    • Because germs. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
  13. Bio-hazard Bag
    • I’m totally laughing as I type this. They’re not actually bio-hazard bags, but that’s what my husband and I call them. They’re really just disposable dirty diaper baggies to throw away dirty diapers in. They’re also really good for storing soiled clothing (remember when I said blow out’s happen?). They’re basically just a glorified plastic grocery store bag, but they’re super compact and come in a fancy little dispenser. All in all, they’re just nice to have.
  14. Snacks
    • This is another item that you will not need until baby has started eating solids, which is usually around 5-6 months. We’re pretty conservative with the amount of snacks we let our little one munch on during the day, but they’re great when we’re out and about the the baby starts getting a little fussy. We really like Happy Baby Organic Greek Yogurt Bites!
  15. Bottle
    • Whether your baby is drinking breast milk, water, juice or formula, you’ll want to have a bottle of some sort on hand. If your baby is exclusively breast fed, you may not find this necessary until they begin taking juice. We absolutely love these Philips Avent Bottles. You’ll want to make sure you find a bottle that works well with your little one, and that you get a nipple with an appropriate flow level for their age.

I hope you find this list of diaper bag essentials for the first 6 months helpful when preparing for your baby! Do you have any other diaper bag essentials you couldn’t live without? I’d love for you to share about them below in the comments!

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