Playful Rooted

Well, gang, Monday is here again. We had an INSANE and scary last week/weekend — anyone else? It seems like something crazy is going on in the world; there is so much weird energy and a ton of freaky, confusing, frightening, and disappointing events and circumstances lately. My sister-in-law thinks we all need to put some good vibes out into the universe, and I say it’s worth a shot! 😉

To that end, here are five things I’ve been loving lately!

Smart Roller Blinds

I’m in love, I’m in love, and I don’t care who knows it!!

The back story: Our previous shade situation in the living room involved these shades (which I did love) and a time-consuming system of wrapping the cords around a set of pulls at the top of the window (to keep them away from the kids). Whenever I wanted to raise or lower the shades, I had to climb up on the back of the couch and stand there rolling or unrolling the cords for three different windows. I realize this is a first world problem! But it was so annoying and it took forever to roll and unroll those cords multiple times a day. I was constantly irked.

Enter our tax-refund splurge: these battery-operated roller blinds from IKEA!

At first, I thought we would just get cordless blinds like we have throughout the rest of the house, but after doing some research, we figured if we were going to spend the money anyway, we should invest in a solution that wasn’t just okay but actually delighted us. And look how delightful!

With the touch of one button, I can go from this:

To this:

And vice versa!

It’s revolutionary, friends. No more standing on the back of the couch, unrolling cords. No more avoiding raising or lowering the blinds because I don’t want to do it. I just push a button. It’s SUCH a life upgrade!

We got really lucky because IKEA only sells these in a few different sizes. If one of them hadn’t worked for our windows, we would have had to pay double (or triple!) for a custom fit version. I was a little nervous because, technically, these should be about 1/4″ wider to really fit our windows, but in the end I decided I couldn’t care less about a tiny gap on either side.

IKEA also makes a gateway system where you can use a smart device to control the blinds (meaning instead of pushing a button manually, you can just say “Alexa, lower the blinds.”). We will purchase this one day and officially become The Jetsons. You know I’ll keep you posted.

Cobble Hill Family Puzzles

Guys, these rock! If you have puzzlers of different abilities in your family, you need to check out these family pieces puzzles by Cobble Hill.

They are full jigsaw puzzles made with different sized pieces – so, big pieces for toddlers, medium-sized pieces for kids, and small pieces for grownups. Genius, right?? You can check out the difference in sizes below.

It’s so great for the whole family to get in on one puzzle and complete it together. We only have one of these, but we’ve done it several times, and I’d love to get some more!

Hipcamp

This is one of those things that I feel like I’m late to the party on, but if I had never heard of it, then maybe you haven’t either! Hipcamp is basically the Airbnb of the camping world.

From their website:

Hipcamp is a growing community of good-natured people and the most comprehensive resource for unique outdoor stays. We work with landowners to offer tent camping, RV parks, cabins, treehouses, and glamping—everywhere from national parks to blueberry farms. By creating opportunities for landowners to earn money hosting nature lovers, Hipcamp works to support those who care for the land and get more people out under the stars.

It’s a VERY cool way to find unique camping spots that are generally much more private than state campgrounds. If you’ve ever gone camping and had someone right up next to you smoking, drinking, and watching a baseball game ON THE TV THAT THEY BROUGHT ON A CAMPING TRIP and have found that very obnoxious….Hipcamp is a great way to find places where that won’t happen.

I had us booked for a Hipcamp stay next weekend, but we did a test run the other night and took the boys backyard camping. Based on that, I’m not sure whether we’ll end up going. Honestly, Mocha was the biggest roadblock – she could not handle the fact that we were sleeping outside! – but Sawyer had trouble, too. I think we’ll spend the next couple months doing lots more backyard camping practice and see where we are in the late summer or early fall. I won’t rush it, but I do so look forward to the days of camping with the whole family!

True Made Foods Condiments

This line of condiments was a recent Sprouts find, and oh my goodness. It’s amazing.

True Made Foods makes ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauces, and hot sauces. We’ve tried almost all of them, and they are so, so good.

Almost every one of these condiments has ZERO sugar (except, ironically, the Kansas City barbecue, which has a tiny bit of brown sugar), and they’re sweetened with only fruits and vegetables – think butternut squash, carrots, and apples. And they taste amazing! The sriracha tastes exactly like the Huy Fong brand we normally get; the barbecue sauces are each unique and delicious; and the ketchup tastes even BETTER than the regular, organic ketchup we typically buy. With none of the sugar! And definitely zero corn syrup. I’m so happy we tried this brand; it’s a new “regular” on my grocery list! Very much kid approved!

Pete the Cat Live!

I took Luca on a special one-on-one date to the Coterie Theater last week to see Pete the Cat Live! It was a spur of the moment decision (I found out about the show on the very last day tickets were available), but sometimes those make for the sweetest memories. We had the greatest time together, and it was just so much fun watching Luca L O V I N G a live show. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was an excellent performance with great songs and Pete’s signature “cool cat” style. 😉 Neither of us could stop singing the songs the whole way home. So much fun!

So what do we think, guys? Is sharing five cool things enough to shift the tides of the universe? Will we all have the most stellar week/month/year now? Will the madness that has been ensuing lately cease? Yes? YES?!

Either way, take care out there.

xo!