Shopping Through the Gap Year

I've been enjoying a little extra shopping lately, especially with the holidays coming up! Here are some of my favorite finds plus some other favorites:

1. Spoga Extra Thick Yoga Mat ~ I am always struggling with bruises on my hips and spine when I do yoga and other exercises that require lying/stretching on the ground! This yoga mat has made those bruises obsolete. I absolutely love it.

I ordered it in red, because it was the cheapest at the time, but there are plenty of colors to choose from!

2. Dog Return Address Stamps ~ These are so cute! I ordered one for my mom and for my boyfriend's mom for Christmas. I might order one for myself once the holiday season is over. Added plus - the Etsy shop owner is super nice and sends you pictures of the designs before shipping to make sure your design is perfect. Great customer service. 

I ordered the beagle and pug stamps, but there are a lot of other breeds plus states as well!

3. Personalized Dog Treat Cookie Cutter ~ I ordered these last Christmas for all the dog owners in my family. They were a huge hit. Can you tell there are a lot of dog lovers in my family yet?

So cute and delicious!

4. New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers by Robert S. Desowitz ~ We read excerpts of this book for my parasitology class in undergrad. I loved it so much I just read it in its entirety last month. The book is basically a series of anecdotes on different parasites all over the world. It is a little older, so some of the information is a little outdated, but Desowitz makes a possibly dry subject entertaining and interesting. I wish he were still alive, because I would have loved to have met him in my medical journey at some point - he seems to have lived a very curious and educational life!

He has several other books on parasites, so definitely check those out too!

5. Doctor's Scrub and Stethoscope Cookie Cutter ~ I have been using this cookie cutter to make cookies to thank some of the people who helped in my admissions process for medical school. It works great and looks just like the picture whenever I make cookies. I will be making some tomorrow for one of my pediatric rheumatologists that I am currently shadowing!

Great for thanking professors, bosses, and doctors for letters of recommendation!