9 Prime Day picks

Autumn's second act and my favorite sale finds

Teahouse is a newsletter about home, travel, and community. Here you’ll find renovation documentation and destination inspiration alongside a curation of things I’m creating, consuming, and coveting right now.

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We caught a spectacular, unseasonably warm last weekend at the lake. 65 degree days that felt like 75 without a cloud in the sky, golden aspens just barely past peak.

In a fitting sendoff by Mother Nature, we spotted a pair of galloping moose roadside, a couple of bugling elk in Rocky Mountain National Park, and a ginormous black bear waddling by on our Nest cam two nights in a row—the Grand Lake wildlife trifecta.

By Monday, town was winding down: The lodge had closed up shop for the season, restaurants had run their final service, and our dock guy had rolled through to pull our docks out of the water.

I dragged our Adirondack chairs into the garage in preparation for this week’s anticipated snowfall, lest they get buried in snow again for the entire winter this year—though it was difficult to even imagine the coming turn in weather while we were still sweating on a pontoon this past Saturday.

One of the special things about Colorado living is that we get to revel in the fall colors twice: once in the mountains in September, followed by a second act down in the city two to three weeks later. The neighborhood trees are showing the first signs of turning in Denver—sweater weather is upon us! Hope your cozy season is off to a strong start.

Many of you have said tried-and-true recs are your favorite part of this newsletter… so without further ado, my Prime Day picks below!

Teresa

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I’m devastated by the thousands of innocent civilian lives lost in Gaza and Israel. Sending love and strength to the Jewish community and to all those who are suffering during this unimaginable time—my heart is with you.

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What even is “Prime Big Deal Day”? —all my girlfriends. Whatever it is, it winds down tonight, so I thought I’d share a couple of things I’ve bought and loved that have been going around in the group chats.

Please skip over this if you’re not in the market for a little Amazon haul. Personally, I always love to see what other people are adding to cart, in case others have go-to recs for things that I’ve been on the hunt for, but I don’t advocate buying things just to buy.

Here are a couple of items that we have and love:

1. Breville Barista Touch Express: We weren’t totally sure how much use we’d get out of this espresso machine, but it turns out we use it everrry single day, sometimes twice a day, to whip up espressos, Americanos, cappuccinos, flat whites… based on cost per use, probably our best kitchen investment ever.

2. Vitamix blender: Mine is going on 10 years and can blend everything from frozen fruit to squash soups.

3. Coravin wine preservation system: You may have seen sommeliers use these contraptions for small wine pours at restaurants or wineries—they allow you to pour wine one glass at a time without having to commit to the entire bottle. My MIL got this for us for Christmas years ago—most thoughtful gift ever!—esp for the girl who drinks wine solo three nights a week ;). Would make an excellent gift, too, if you wanted to squirrel it away for the holidays.

4. Drinking glasses: These are my everyday iced coffee/smoothie glasses—sturdy, generously sized, and easy to throw in the dishwasher.

5. Frame TV: Love this TV-that-looks-like-art for a sleek, unobtrusive living room option. The picture quality passes the Mike test.

6. Bioderma cleansing oil: I exclusively shower with cleansing oil these days! So much more moisturizing than body wash.

7. L’Occitane almond shower oil: In the colder months, I switch over to this almond-scented shower oil—it’s a bit more expensive but makes your shower feel like a spa. Such a little luxury!

8. Curel face moisturizer: I discovered this moisturizer in Japan, and this little container is the perfect size for tossing in my travel toiletry bag when I don’t feel like decanting my go-to Skinceuticals moisturizer.

9. Milk Hydrogrip primer: One of the makeup artists I worked with for my wedding turned me onto this primer, which can make a face full of makeup last through the night.

Prime Day sales end tonight, so peruse sooner than later if you’re planning to shop. I’d love to hear what’s in your cart! Let me know in the comments.