Hello, week № 16.
These near-daily favorites have been on my mind because each one helps me further my cause. Plain shirts help me be ambiguous in public, infused olive oils give each meal amazing flavors with a slight tip of the wrist. Mineral water and ready-to-drink Huel both hydrate & encourage good decisions for the day, then laundry detergent sheets give Mister Jupiter the (much encouraged but not always possible) ability to bring clean clothes back home after a work trip.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links; I may earn a tiny commission from purchases.
Here are my five favorites this week:
- Plain t-shirts
- Infused olive oils
- Still mineral water
- Ready-to-drink Huel
- Laundry detergent sheets
— PLAIN T-SHIRTS
I love plain shirts because they are easy to wear. Timeless, classic, and ambiguous.
What’s my favorite band? Who knows. Favorite sports team or vegetable? Unknown. Plain shirts reveal nothing, and that’s what I like when I happen to be in public. I generally save the graphic shirts for staying in at home – but even those are sparse.
WHY?! Because it’s easy. Humans make all sorts of little judgements based only on what they can see. Plain t-shirts force others to look elsewhere. An astute eye will see that I am a detail person. I like to think that my naturally graying hair and unpolished nails convey a low maintenance relaxed self, but that my accessories bring attention to high quality materials and craftsmanship.
Besides, I am in a jacket or hoodie most of the time, so my full shirt is rarely seen. If I only see the collar in the mirror, you can bet that I’m keeping my first layer simple albeit secret. My favorites are on Amazon like a lot of my dryer-friendly clothes. I used to prefer the plain shirts at Tilly’s but I haven’t had easy access to one of those stores in years so I found a different source of plain crew neck shirts. The ones I buy from Amazon are perfect because the torso is actually long enough to fit my body! I’ve bought three packs so far, and may buy a fourth soon because I want more plain black shirts.
— INFUSED OLIVE OILS
This delicious pick really shines this week because I just got a fresh set of infused oils from nearby Hot Springs, Arkansas.
I love that tourist towns almost all have a fancy oil/vinegar/spices shop in their foot-traffic-friendly downtown. Hot Springs is no exception, enter a little shop on Bathhouse Row called Evilo.
The bottles are pricy (about $30 each for 250ml…a little more than an 8oz cup) but they are worth it for that extra layer of flavor without effort. These are ideal for drizzling on soup, dipping crusty baguette, or making a quick salad dressing.
Mister Jupiter and I prefer the spicier options, but my recent haul are more mild. Regardless I am having a great time working through all of their options and I can’t wait to see what’s available next time I am running low. For the record I do my general cooking in plain EVOO, so these infusions tend to last longer since they’re used less frequently.
- My daily unflavored EVOO from Whole Foods Market
- Evilo in Hot Springs, Arkansas – available to buy online
- Pending blog post about Hot Springs
— STILL MINERAL WATER
I never envisioned myself as a lady who would have a favorite bottled water, but here we are!
I grew up in a city with distinct water, and almost everyone I knew drank the tap. It wasn’t until I moved away that I saw people regularly buying bottled drinking water, or even just using filters. It all seemed a bit fussy, but I still bought the occasional water to see what the commotion was about.
I never found a favorite, so I started trying other regional waters while regularly buying alkaline electrolyte water because I do like those (especially on road trips). Finally I tried an affordable Italian mineral water with so many five-star reviews that I HAD to really taste it to find out. Three dollars later I had two big bottles – and yep, I’m drafting a five-star review too.
If this seems familiar to your inbox (hello subscribers! I heart you!), I did write about this water in a separate post about Whole Foods. I just really drinking this!
— READY-TO-DRINK HUEL
Huel is a pick this week primarily for Mister Jupiter, and secondarily for me.
Mister Jupiter likes this ready-to-drink Huel because it’s all of the Huel goodness that we both enjoy, while being in a convenient format. Mister Jupiter doesn’t have time for a leisurely breakfast when all he really wants is easily available in one bottle. He subscribed to the stuff and I certainly don’t mind it in the house.
I benefit from this too because it keeps Mister well fueled for the day, so when I see him after work he’s just normal tired. When he doesn’t have a Huel before work he makes bad food choices all day that sometimes affect my dinner plans (like if he overeats lunch because he skipped breakfast, then he’s not hungry for dinner, etc.).
Personally I am not keen on the inclusion of canola oil (I avoid conventional seed oils), so I don’t drink them, and I don’t want Kid Jupiter to drink canola oil either – but I know I can’t protect him from the Standard American Diet forever. So in my eyes it’s not the perfect food product, but it is just right for Mister Jupiter right now and that makes it a good thing.
- “Deep Nutrition” audiobook by Cate Shanahan MD if you’re interested about seed oils
- Huel ready-to-drink (on Huel.com)
— LAUNDRY DETERGENT SHEETS
Detergent sheets are something that I wish I needed, but I travel so rarely that Mister Jupiter gets to use them on his work trips.
They are just what they sound like – a dry sheet of detergent that you put in the washing machine with your clothes. It’s not liquid, and they’re already flat, so they are ideal for air travel. I found these while looking for practical travel accessories for Mister Jupiter. He goes on a lot of one-week trips, and a few two-week trips. The longer ones are ideal for these sheets because he can do his laundry in the middle of the trip to remain fresh as a daisy, then he can do it again and bring home clean clothes. Granted he’s only brought home clean clothes once – but at least it’s an option if he has the time!
Looking for something specific? Scan the Picks of the Week, Index.
Otherwise, here are more picks if you’re feeling clicky:
Lady Jupiter 