5 Quick Things: An East Fork Deal, My New Favorite Cracker & More

Arlyn HernandezApril 23, 202111 Comments

My friends! I’m back! Woo, last night was a doozy. But I pushed through, rested, and I’m feeling, hmm…let’s see…about 22% better. I’ll take it! Thank you for your supportive comments yesterday and for always being there for me, even from halfway across the globe! What a marvel the internet can be. And HEY GUESS WHAT? It’s Friday, which means 5QT. No, not five quarts…are you new here? 5 Quick Things! Let’s see what I have up my sleeve today, shall we?

Quick Thing #1

Good news! Mine (and your) favorite ethical ceramics company East Fork shared another 10% off offer code for Arlyn Says readers! They just re-released their Taro finish—above—which is the most perfect shade of soft, velvety purple. And listen, I’m not a purple person, like…at all. In fact, I may or may not have prohibited one of the graphic designers on my team from using purple moving forward just this week (not a lie), but when I opened the box East Fork sent me with two Everyday Bowls in Taro, I gasped. I find any excuse to eat out of those bowls, as they make literally everything I place in them such a visual delight. Anyhow, if you’ve been eyeing anything from East Fork, you can either use code ARLYNHERNANDEZ or just click here and the 10% off will be automatically applied at checkout. It’s good through May 15!

Quick Thing #2

For anyone reading who has ever needed or wanted to make a moodboard in Photoshop of a space they are working on but struggles with background removals of products they bring in to their file, I saw this shared by The Everygirl, and thought it was such an easy little trick! I tend to use the magic wand tool or polygonal lasso for that, but I’m going to try it this weekend to see if it works as well as it appears to.

Quick Thing #3

Have you ever tried these almond crackers? Oh my gosh are they good! We’re on a second box and they just might be my new go-to cracker for a while. They aren’t that buttery, flaky vibe that you get with Ritz or something like that. They’re definitely really snappy and crisp as they are made with almonds and rice flour (they are gluten free if that’s important to you), but such great dip-scooping buddies for sure. Perfect for hummus, guac, cheese spread…literally anything.

Quick Thing #4

I’ve linked to these reusable bamboo face pads for makeup removal and face toner application in the past (way back when I’d include a few things to buy at the bottom of my email newsletter), but I finally washed mine that have been sitting around a bit too long not being used, and was reminded of how great they are instead of the one-use cotton variety. It’s such an easy and affordable switch to make to limit unnecessary waste, and they’re really soft on your face as a bonus.

Quick Thing #5

Something that made me smile. Oh yeah, and this, too.

See you tomorrow, FOAS. 🙂

5 quick things Project 365

Kelli says:

April 23, 2021 at 6:06 am

Those almond crackers are my favorite! To the point I can’t buy them anymore because they just don’t last long enough 😀 Glad you’re feeling 22% better – way better than going in the other direction. Have a great weekend, FOAS!
1. Arlyn Hernandez says:
  
  April 23, 2021 at 5:45 pm
  
  They’re so good right?? I tend to grab like 3 or 4 at a time, but then find myself circling back to the box to grab 3 or 4 more…
Rustt says:

April 23, 2021 at 7:09 am

Oooh, 22% can make a whole lotta difference! Yaay!😊
“Be patient, your time will come” … that… is the story of my life! The moon cycle on the flower pots is 4 weeks, too! Yeah, baby!👍
That little cutie seeing her first waterfall? I watched it 5 times! So.Cute!
Feel better Arlyn. Glad you took time out to honour your body. xx
1. Arlyn Hernandez says:
  
  April 23, 2021 at 5:48 pm
  
  22% is night and day. It’s nuts how different feeling 3/10 is compared to 5/10. I’ll take 50% capacity any day. Ha. Just this morning, I had a talk with myself. How in the depths of the crap this past fall and winter, when I first started feeling awful, I was operating every single day at like 20%. And I would have given anything to feel 50%. I forgot that until this morning, and decided to be grateful for my 50% right now instead of feeling down about that missing additional 50%. Baby steps. Little by little. I’ll get to the other side. 🙂
  1. Rusty says:
    
    April 23, 2021 at 8:41 pm
    
    🤗
Rusty says:

April 23, 2021 at 7:18 am

Ha! Nearly forgot to say…as of midnight tonight, my metropolitan area is in a 3 say total lockdown because someone caught Covid from another room in hotel quarantine via the air conditioning- It’s aerosols people, not just droplets – and so far there’s ONE community transfer.
So, as we do in Western Australia, we’re working together to slam it and eliminate it. This is THE only community transfer in over 12 months!
The last 5 day lockdown prevented any community transfer from the single case!
We can do hard things as a whole city. Even over a long weekend!
* It’s a Monday long weekend acknowledging ANZAC Day – remembering “Diggers” (Veterans) from Australia and New Zealand that went to war, especially the 1st WW fighting in Europe, where we lost more lives than many European countries! So far away from home. During ANZAC Day lady year, in lockdown, everyone went to the end of their driveways at dawn and had mini-services right there, instead of parades, etc. The services are held at dawn, Lest We Forget.😌*
1. Arlyn Hernandez says:
  
  April 23, 2021 at 5:49 pm
  
  While no one likely wants to have to be locked away inside their homes, that thought of everyone at the end of their driveways sounds so lovely (though maybe not at dawn haha). Gotta find the silver linings, eh?
Emie says:

April 23, 2021 at 8:50 am

I ❤️these posts!!! I’m going to order some of those crackers for sure… but if they’re as good as you guys are saying I may be sorry that I did. If something is really good I have a habit of wanting to eat it until it’s gone. Might not be the best idea to start with them. Love the fun videos… the waterfall one was precious… that smile on her face was fabulous. Thanks for sharing.
1. Arlyn Hernandez says:
  
  April 23, 2021 at 5:49 pm
  
  Yeah maybe portion them out! Though I don’t feel that guilty for eating a ton at a time. ::Shrug::
Pam says:

April 23, 2021 at 10:43 am

Glad to hear the incremental increase on how you are feeling.

I might have to explore the Photoshop tool for some amusing, dust-off-my-latent-software-using skills.

Amusing how colors are polarizing. I happen to love purple… takes me back to a lilac bush that bloomed profusely and with zero attention that was in our back yard when I was growing up and also a favorite crushed velvet bell bottom and vest set in my early teens! The Taro set is quite nice and I like the soft, matte like appearance of the finish. Took a peek at their linen napkins, too. Some tempting pretty things there.

As Kelli noted, those crackers are easy to put away. As in the whole box of crackers down the hatch in a single sitting. Guilty, here.

Loved the smile moments you included. They are high notes to cap off the week.

Happy weekend Arlyn and FOAS!
1. Arlyn Hernandez says:
  
  April 23, 2021 at 5:51 pm
  
  Yeah you know, I used to really like purple. Well, plum in particular. I wore it A LOT, it was my favorite nail polish, I was pretty drawn to it. But then, like your tastebuds change, so did my taste for purple. But I think I’m coming around to it again. At least in some things!