Category Archives: shopping

Sarah’s Favorite REI gear

by Sarah | Leave a comment

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Happy Monday! I had originally planned on sharing my gear essentials for rainy days, but I realized it’s REI dividend season, which means 20% off one full-priced item and 20% off one REI garage sale item until April 9th! We aren’t sponsored or affiliated with REI in any way, but we do love supporting the store and using the great gear we buy there. With that in mind, I thought it was a good time to run through all my essential pieces of REI gear incase you were looking for something to spend that dividend on.

If you’re not one of REI’s 17 million members, you should seriously consider it. It’s a one time fee of $20 that will repay itself time and time again. Below are links to my favorite items and what I use them for. Of course, I own so many more items than this, but below are my ultimates, pieces I use pretty much every week and never leave home for an international trip without. Let’s start from the feet up..

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Easter Basket Idea : Letters & Numbers

by Katie | Leave a comment

We are big fans of curating Easter baskets that are fun and educational. For example, last year the boys went bonkers for their bug-themed baskets.

This year we are deep into all things letters and numbers. Admittedly, these theme doesn’t sound that exciting, but as you’ll see below, there are a few basket-worthy items that would serve the dual purpose of being fun/enjoyable while being educational.

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  • jenga-type game, but with numbered blocks! I know that the boys will love these for a variety of reasons. They just learned Jenga and will be excited to play. We can use the numbers and dice for a variation on the game – for example, deciding which block to remove by rolling the dice. The boys can also using the blocks to work on putting the numbers in order, doing simple math, etc.
  • alphabet & number magnets : I went with this pack because it had two sets of lower-case letters, one set of upper-case, and two sets of numbers. Plenty of material for spelling and doing math problems at the fridge.
  • 7 ate 9 : a super cute mystery based on that groaner of a joke that cracks my kids up.
  • Today I feel… an Alphabet of Feelings : It’s the perfect 1-2 punch of going through the alphabet while putting words to the wide variety of emotions they may feel.
  • Haribo Gummy Letters : need we justify this?
  • You may also enjoy our other post about learning letters – there are a few good edible ideas that would work in an Easter basket.

Do you have any good number or letter ideas for a basket? If so, we’d love to see your ideas in the comments!

Technical Gear : Winter Jacket

by Katie | Leave a comment

Quick note : today I’m rattling on about a product that I love (for good reason). It’s not a paid or perked post. Just a post from one mom to another – if you have kids and spend many winter days outside, buy this jacket.

I’m a little bit obsessed with my new winter jacket. (Sarah’s probably snort- laughing right now as she reads that; “a little bit” would be the understatement of the season.)

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I tried to talk her into buying one of these for her last Nepal trek, and it was so obvious that I really wanted one for myself.  Picking up on my hints overt gushing, I received this awesome gift for Christmas!

What it is? It’s the LOKI Mountain Extreme Hoodie.

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My obsession is due mainly to the built-in mittens. Now that I’m always adventuring with kids, I find that no matter what gloves I’m wearing, I have to take them off multiple times during an outing to help the little guys with something or other. I’m always worried that I’m going to lose a glove during these moments and the last thing that I want is the trouble of having to go back and hunt for the crucial item.

Enter LOKI apparel: it’s made to simplify our gear needs. The jackets and hoodies have built-in mittens and face masks. Now I can walk out the door with just my coat and not worry about the losing anything. LOKI also sells a puffer that looks great, and I’m intrigued by the lighter weight zip-up (it could be perfect for spring and fall hikes in the mountains!).

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I’ve skied, hiked, and sledded in this coat. It’s so cozy, and the fit has been great whether the gloves and face mask are on or off. Honestly, it’s the best active “mom” jacket around. Now I can adjust goggles on the lift without worrying about losing my gloves. And since that’s my biggest worry, I’m one lucky bum.

IMG_3779 2The only little change I made to my jacket was to add some conductive thread to make them touch-screen compatible for the moments when I want to take a quick phone pic without removing the mittens. You can see the thread in the photo below – I used quite a bit to make sure that I had a good connection between my finger and phone. I wasn’t ready to sew into that brand new thumb material yet, but I’m testing it out this weekend on a ski trip – if I like it, then I may go back and clean up my sewing job to make something that’s more refined.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out one of our very first DIY posts on the blog!
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A Few of my Favorite Things

by Sarah | Leave a comment

Happy Friyay! If it’s not feeling great, you have until the end of this post to flip the script and change your moody mood. Don’t rob yourself of a fun ol’ Friday, cause really just don’t rob yourself of anything, except maybe extra work. I woke up, looked around my room and felt all these little pangs of gratitude and happiness for the inanimate objects that surrounded me so I wanted to share a few of them with you. You can admire along with me or minimize this window and make your own little list of favorite things in your life at the moment. Whatevs, y’all!

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That’s that. Just woke up and felt grateful for a few small, but very meaningful little things in my life and wanted to share. Hopefully, as you wander through your day you open your eyes up to all the little things that make your life more joyful and you send them some appreciation.

Ginger Tisane

by Katie | 1 Comment

Ginger is our ingredient of the season. You can find a variety of drink, main dish, and dessert ginger recipes here. If you like teas, you may like browsing these posts.
On Tuesday Sarah introduced you to a beautiful made-up word. Today I’m popping in to share a lovely but rarely used word: tisane.
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ti·sane
təˈzan/
noun
plural noun: tisanes
  1. an herbal tea.
    • archaic
      a medicinal drink or infusion, originally one made with barley.

To review, the true definition of a tea is any drink made by brewing the leaves from Camilla sinensis. As we discuss in this post, there are many varieties of teas. They differ based upon the type and quality of the tea leaves and how they were processed after being harvested.  My understanding is that everything else, would be an herbal tea, and thereby considered a tisane.

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And now, let’s turn to the fiery ginger tisanes. They are lovely any time of year, but particularly perfect during the long cold winter months. They’ll warm you up from the inside out and may even help to sooth some of those nasty winter blahs.

When writing posts like this, I would love to tell you all of the claims made about an ingredient or exercise, but the scientist in me can’t bear to make a claim without citing the primary literature… so I’ll just leave it at this, I believe that some cultures and practices carry with them an ancient wisdom.

In Ayurvedic medicine, ginger is believed to be a “universal great medicine” and an Indian proverb says that “everything good is found in ginger”. 

Pictured in this post are two ginger tisanes that I love. Ginger Soother by Ginger People can be opened and drunk hot or cold. I always drink it cold and usually on the go. It’s delicious and not too fiery if you’re still warming up to ginger (puns!).

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My other go-to are the dehydrated honey ginger crystals in single serving pouches by Prince of Peace. I’ve found them in grocery stores, Asian markets, and online. I always drink this one hot – just boil water and pour of the crystals – it creates an immediate ginger tisane that has a bit more of a ginger kick than the Ginger Soother. These are awesome because they’re easy to pack for camping and other travel. 

If you’re looking for a new habit this winter, start drinking a mug of ginger tisane in the evenings (and definitely during your Monday meditations).  xo

Gift Guide : Games for Preschoolers

by Katie | Leave a comment

Today we’re sharing some of our favorite games for preschoolers. I’m on a mission to start family or family+friends game nights in our house. It hasn’t happened yet, mainly because I’m (almost) all talk and no game (hah!). I haven’t invited anyone over, and I haven’t opened an adult game box in years. But behind the scenes, I’m cultivating a few young game-lovers and am slowly building my game-night momentum.

With a 4yo and 2yo in the house, we’re still slightly new to the kids’ game section. Fortunately, I think we’ve already found some great ones. Sometimes we play in the evenings as a family, and I love the together time. But the mom in me also loves that playing games can be used to reinforce other skills that they’re learning. Read on to see what I’m talking about.

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This guide contains a few games that we’ve played and liked. If you’re looking for a last-minute gift for a 3-5 yo, I really don’t think you can go wrong with anything on our list. A few are card games, making them perfect stocking stuffers.

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Welcome December

by Katie | Leave a comment

Near the beginning of each month we like to pause and take a look at what’s going on in the world around us. Over time, these posts have transformed into a little op-ed about what’s going on with us each month.

We’re only five days into December, and I feel like it’s been here for ever. It must be the Christmas invasion.

December can create such a mix of emotions in us. There’s the obvious joy and celebration of the holidays, but there’s also the hustle and bustle leading up to Christmas and New Years. There’s the cozy feeling of evenings in front of the fire, but also the pent up energy and angst from short days and not enough time spent outside.

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Just reading that probably gave someone the shivers. Sorry.

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Gift Guide : Play Kitchen

by Katie | Leave a comment

We’re sharing a variety of themed gift guides this year. Check out Dinos in the Kitchen, Heard You Like Cats, Ice & Drink Pairings, and DIY Edible Gifts.

**Quick note – all of the items below include an additional 15% off coupon on Amazon, but we’re not sure how long it will last.**

Last Christmas the boys received a play kitchen, and it’s become one of the most-used toys in the house.

Kitchens are such a great toy for creative and make-believe play. Sometimes our boys are making us coffee and toast for breakfast. Other times they are serving me ice cream cones for an afternoon treat or acting as waiters and chefs in their own restaurant.
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I love big ticket toys like this kitchen because it’s a themed toy that you can slowly can add to over time. For us, this meant buying a few items to play with Christmas morning, and then letting our family give them additional kitchen elements on Christmas and again at their birthday.

The slow giving method is also a great plan if you’re not sure about how much your kiddos will love the big toy. For us, the kitchen’s a winner, and we’ve been happy to buy them quality items for it.

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Below is a list of the exact items in our play kitchen with info about why we like them. *Notice that our list contains more items than are pictured above. It’s all so good!

  • kitchen (pictured above) : this retro blue kitchen is the exact one we have. We picked it because of looks and also because it seemed to have slightly more storage than others (key for all of the awesome accessories below!). The one downside to this kitchen is that it comes with a million pieces and takes a billion hours to put together. Keep that in mind when on Christmas Eve and pour yourself a big glass of eggnog before starting.
  • broom & mop set (pictured above) : the boys love this set and use it often. Almost never for cleaning, but always for sweeping out the marbles that roll under the couch. Patting myself on the back for encouraging them to be self-reliant.
  • cut-apart fruit (pictured above) : our boys love cutting apart this fruit. We also have this cut-apart food set.
  • espresso machine (pictured above) : if your kids love to help make your morning coffee, then they will love this! And you’ll always be caffeinated.
  • mixer (pictured above) : so cute and comes with a few cake-baking accessories. Our kids are always mixing up mini dinos. #boys
  • toaster (pictured above) : comes with bread and butter. A complete meal!
  • ice cream (not pictured) : BUY THESE! Even if you don’t buy the kitchen, this set is so much fun. They ice cream, spoons, and cones are magnetic, creating a bit of magical fun and driving the kids crazy as the ice cream tumbles when they try to make a four-scoop cone.
  • cookies (not pictured) : so cute and creative. The only bummer is that the tray is too long to fit in the oven (they’re different brands). Our boys don’t seem to mind, but some might.
  • canned food (not pictured) : a great food filler for the fridge, and all of the cardboard cans can be opened again and again, letting them do double duty as little storage containers.
  • tea set (not pictured) : comes with cups, wooden tea bags, kettle, etc.
  • pots & pans (not pictured ) : all metal and awesome

Gift Guide : Ice Cubes

by Katie | Leave a comment

We’re sharing a variety of themed gift guides this year. Check out Dinos in the Kitchen, Heard You Like Cats, and DIY Edible Gifts.

 

I know, who gives ice? We don’t.

BUT we do like a clever ice cube in our drinks, and so, we have a few ice cube tray + drink pairings that are perfect for that last minute gift or that dad mom that really doesn’t need anything other than a good drink.
ice_cubesice shot glass : perfect for your nephew going off to college. You are the cool uncle after all. Maybe don’t include the alcohol with this gift. Just get some gatorade for the morning after.

buddha : looks wise sitting in a good whisky

gin and titonic : Why don’t I own these yet? Pair it with a good gin, obvs.

polar bear and penguins : pair them with Kahlua because these would look awesome floating on a White Russian.

diamonds : champagne with the suggestion to make OJ ice cubes for a classy mimosa

The awesome thing about many of these molds is that they could easily do double-duty for someone that likes to experiment in the kitchen. Imagine juice-colored jewels for a summer day, chocolate shot glasses filled with a dessert, chocolate buddhas with gold leaf… talking myself into a few trays right now.

Gift Guide : Cats

by Katie | Leave a comment

This year we’re doing a few gift guides that blur the line between whimsical and practical. See our Dinos in the Kitchen guide for further evidence. But if prefer making over buying, check out our ideas for edible gifts.

Do you know someone who likes cats? We do. (like ’em and know ’em)

You know how when you know that someone likes a “thing” then sometimes whenever you see something with that “thing”, then you have the urge to get it for them? Hold back.

But just a little, because if that “thing” is cats, then we have a few gifts that are totally worth giving this year.

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cat umbrella : because sometimes it’s raining cats and dogs!

candle : this thing burns down to unveil a metal cat skeleton… not sure if you’re supposed to buy it for the cat lovers or haters?

cat ring : subtle bling

mug : perfect for so many reasons.

paperclips : a stocking stuffer that will make them smile when they return to that boring cubicle

I’m proud of this list because we tried to go for some of the more tasteful cat gifts out there. We spared you guys the cat sweaters (for your cat, not you, silly), but can’t make any promises about what’ll happen next year.