Reader Recs: Addie Pray’s Faves

Dear Wendy readers are some of the most intelligent, stylish, super cool people around (it’s a proven fact), so, when a commenter suggested I create a regular feature for them to recommend some of their favorite products, it was a no-brainer and Reader Recs was born. Today’s recommendations come from Addie Pray who is an attorney in Chicago. She has a puppy named Moose, who is the sweetest dog you’ll ever meet. In her free time, in addition to commenting on Dear Wendy all the live-long day, Addie Pray writes a movie review column that runs in a local newspaper once a month, and she enjoys red wine, cheese, TV, friends, red wine, and cheese.

The NuMe Classic Curling Wand
This is the coolest hair tool ever, and worth every penny. I have wavy hair that I can straighten easily or wear wavy (or really wavy if it’s humid), but I can never get tight curls (not without the NuMe, that is). Here’s how I like to use the NuMe (and it takes all of 2 minutes): I wake up with bed head and don’t bother brushing it, except I do add in a few tight and loose curls using the NuMe wand. The result is a perfect messy mix of straight, wavy, and curly! I snapped the (cheesy) selfie pictured above for you to see the NuMe curls in action. By the way, I learned about NuMe from this online hair tutorial channel, and in an old clip, they offered NuMe discount codes. If you’re interested in buying a NuMe wand, it can’t hurt to see if the discount codes still work. Click the voucher redemption button at the top of the page and type “sweethair1″ (all lowercase) to receive $112 off any NuMe classic wands, special edition wands, magic wands, or flat irons (I have the classic wand), and “sweethair2″ for $120 off of NuMe Styling Sets.

J Crew Factory Anya Suede Ballet Flats
These are the perfect flats. I have a three-step approach to shoes, which may be a little unconventional: First, comfort; If I can’t walk miles in them, I will never wear them. Second, practicality; I don’t like accumulating a lot of stuff (shoes included), so I prefer a shoe that is practical – one I can wear everywhere, whether it be to work, on a date, at the park, to the grocery store, etc. Only if I make it past the first two steps will I consider the third step: style. I don’t know what my style is. Classic Sporty and classic? Simple? I dunno. All I know is, I LOVE THESE FLATS, they have it all. I know I just said I don’t like accumulating a lot of stuff, but that only applies to stuff I don’t get a lot of use out of. I have these shoes in green, yellow, and red, and it’s not enough; I need more. Every year they seem to offer these in various new colors, and I am always tempted to just buy every single color in my size.

Vitamix
This is the Best Blender in all the Land. It blends everything perfectly; no chunks left behind. My all-time favorite, and very healthy, smoothie combination is: fozen kale, bananas, mangoes, and pineapple, with a cup or two of water or almond milk.

Roku Streaming Player
When my sister came to visit to help me move into my new place, she couldn’t get Netflix on my stupid smart TV (ha) to work. So she went out to Target and came back with a Roku Streaming Player, which I thought was a waste of money at first. Then she set it up, and it has been glorious. It plugs into my TV, and it has EVERY streaming channel you can think of, plus more, right there, and for some divine reason everything plays really quickly and continuously.

OGX Shampoo and Conditioners
I love OGX-brand shampoos and conditioners for these simple reasons: They’re cheap and easy to find, and they make my hair smell and feel good. What more do you want? Over the years, I’ve tried expensive hair products but found Herbal Essence or whatever-is-on-sale-at-Target works just as well. Until I found this OGX stuff; at its price, it’s my new favorite for sure. I’ve tried a few of the different scents and like them all.

Thanks, Addie!

If you have some products you’d like to recommend to the DW audience, shoot me an email at wendy@dearwendy.com with links to five recommendations. (Write “reader recs” in the subject line, please). Your recommendations can be from any store or website, but they need to be accessible online — and I would love it if at least two items could be found on Amazon where I am an affiliate. If your list is a good fit for the site, I’ll ask you to write a brief description of each item/explain what you love so much about it.

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