Summer products I like
Posted on June 13, 2007 8 Comments
I haven’t done any product reviews or summer tips recently, mostly due to my travel schedule. Luckily, tomorrow’s trip to New York was cancelled, so now I can provide you with a top-notch review.
OK, maybe it’s more like totally subjective than top-notch, but here’s something at least.
Top summer products I like (that are relatively cheap!)
1. Old Navy Flip Flops. For $2.50, I love them so much I practically live in them. I would wear them to bed if they wouldn’t fall off. And I’m not the only one. My boss was recently forced to take a stance against the wearing of flip-flops in her office – and I’m pretty sure the Old Navy version was 99 percent of the cause.
2. Power strips. When you go on vacation, turn off your power strips and save money. Appliances eat electricity even when they’re turned off, I’ve recently learned. Most experts recommend grouping your appliances by room and turning off the strip each time you leave the room. I find this unrealistic – my apartment set up doesn’t really allow it, and I’ve got to crawl into small, awkward places to turn off all my power strips. However, if you’re going away for the weekend, make the effort to flip the strip switch and unplug appliances you’re not using.
3. Sparklers. They still give me a cheap thrill, and brighten up pretty much any party. Throw a popsicle in the other hand, and watch yourself regress to age 7. Bonus points if you’re wearing Old Navy flip-flops. Negative points and 10 lashes if you’re playing with sparklers while drinking.
4. Whole Foods Soymilk. It’s cheaper than Silk or other brands, and the vanilla version makes my cereal dinner nights extra yummy. Goes excellent with Kashi. I love summer cereal dinner nights.
5. Sally Hansen Double Duty Strengthening Base and Top Coat. When I don’t have time for polish, this is a lifesaver. It makes my nails pretty, shiney and less breakable. All good things in the summer, when fingers aren’t covered in gloves.
6. Off! Sweatproof combination sunscreen and bug spray. The description says it all.
7. Cosmic Kittyherbs. It’s a bag of seeds that you plant containing wheatgrass and barley, and it is quite literally the only thing that will grow in my planters. I’ve tried planting all sorts of shade flowers and ferns over the past several years, but inevitably they just look small and kind of sad because I don’t get any direct sunlight. So, on a whim, we bought the cat grass at a pet store last year, and it grows like crazy! And it’s lovely and green, and it looks kind of fung shui in my planters. Plus, my cat adores it. So two thumbs way up for Cosmic Kittyherbs.
I’m going to stop at seven because this is a pretty random list. But if I think of more, I’ll be sure to add them to the list.
Since I’m doing this, though, here are two summer things I’d like to buy, but just can’t force myself to bite the bullet.
1. Prescription sunglasses. My contacts make me rub my eyes nonstop, but I can’t see if I swap my glasses for my beloved Target sunglasses. So prescription sunglasses are the logical answer. But I’m so scared to buy them and then lose them! I go back and forth… to buy or not to buy. If only I could hold on to sunglasses for more than a few weeks. Sigh.
2. A plane ticket to LA. I thought I’d use my miles to visit a friend in LA, but as luck would have it, there are no rewards options for me. (Boo!) And the tickets were $350 when I first checked. I thought for sure I’d find something for like $230, but I guess due to the times I have to travel the prices are higher. Prices were lower today (around $320) but I still can’t justify it when I have three more weddings in late-summer (and two showers next month). Think I’m not going to LA. Sad.
So there you have it, my loves and my worries. Enjoy this list and maybe I’ll actually write something of substance in the coming days. Toodles!
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8 Responses to “Summer products I like”
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June 13th, 2007 @ 11:14 pm
Trust me. You won’t lose them. You’ll keep track of them.
In 4+ years I’ve had prescription sunglasses, I’ve only lost them once. And that was on a mess on my dining table. And it was ok, because I needed a new prescription anyway. But now I have spares.
June 13th, 2007 @ 11:49 pm
I love the list – especially the sparklers! As for the prower strips – that’s a great suggestion. I’ve also heard of “Smart Strips” – power strips that suck less energy (I think they are similar to the energy efficient lightbulbs). Sounds like a good idea.
BTW, I really like your blog. Very fun to read.
June 14th, 2007 @ 2:20 am
I’m also an Old Navy flip-flop lover. I think I have 2-3 pairs of the black ones, just because I’m always misplacing one of the shoes! I’m always sure I’ll have a pair that way.
Have you ever thought of Lasik? I had it a few years back and love the results. It is expensive, but we were very aggressive at paying it down (and I’m in Chicago and love to tell people about the doctor who did it, I love him!).
June 14th, 2007 @ 1:54 pm
I actually have thought about Lasik but haven’t done much research on it. Kinda freaks me out. Feel free to send me the doc’s info, though!
June 15th, 2007 @ 3:48 am
Another option is to get transition lenses. These lenses turn dark when in contact with UV rays and become clear again when you’re inside. They’re pretty convenient when I’m not wearing contacts.
June 16th, 2007 @ 7:04 am
$2.50 flip flops? i’m going to have to check those out!
June 17th, 2007 @ 2:47 am
I found a decent looking pair of sunglasses in a local drugstore that you put over your regular glasses. And, trust me, they dont’ look tacky at all, like some of them do. I’ll e-mail you a pic of me wearing them, and you’ll see, they are not so bad and are pretty cheap.
Carolyn:-)
June 25th, 2007 @ 6:22 am
Prescription sunglasses are the best especially since most eye doctors have stylish sunglasses. You can look good and be able to see!
Plane tickets have really pissed me off. I have to fly from LA to St. Louis in the middle of July and I tracked prices for about a month and they barely got below $400.