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Archives for February 2018

Safari: A Photicular Book Review

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My family was graciously given plenty of wonderful gifts for Christmas this past year. There was one gift that was not expected, and I’m actually surprised that I keep catching myself looking at it, but I can’t help myself!

Safari: A Photicular Book by Dan Kainen and Carol Kaufmann is one of the coolest, simple gifts that has come into our house. It’s a New York Times Bestseller, and my girls are captivated by the moving pictures (so are my husband and I). And to be clear, this is not written for children.

Safari: A Photicular Book

The imagery is what makes this book stand apart. The pictures are stunning, captivating, and it’s down right amazing that photos can look like a video in a book! It’s called photicular imaging and apparently is an old technology. According to the introduction, the authors describe photicular imaging as “individual video frames that are sliced into very thin, adjacent strips to create one master-image.” Here’s a super quick video to show you what it looks like when you turn the page. (Thanks for putting up with my non-tech skills!)

Video:

Besides the images, there are so many safari facts to explore. Did you know that a rhinoceros has a land speed of 30mph and weighs between 2,000-3000 pounds? How do they move like that with all that weight??! Or that male elephants have dark liquid “tears” when they’re ready to mate….uh, what? Weird!

This book is great for children (to look at the pictures), adults, and photography/videography lovers. It would be a great coffee table book to spur conversation. I just don’t think you can go wrong with this purchase. It literally would appeal to all ages.

My dad gave this to our family and he gave a Jungle version to my sister in hopes that we’ll swap them between each other. I think it’s a great idea. There are also more topics that I can’t wait to get:

So, go check it out & give a gift that’s a little more unique than a normal book. If you get it, let me know what you think!

SUMMARY

Product Name: Safari: A Photicular Bookby Dan Kainen and Carol Kaufmann
Purchase Location: Find it at Amazon or any book store.
Additional products to check out:

 

This post contains affiliate links. You don’t pay any extra, and I earn a small commission.

My Super Sparkly Sticker Purse

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This little treasure of a sticker book is loaded with the most precious stickers and activities any young girl could ask for. Heck, I’d be happy with those stickers! (Do they make sticker books for adults? Hmm….note to self to check that out later.) It has over 1,000 stickers!!!!

My Super Sparkly Sticker Purse

My sister bought this for my girls two years ago when they were three and two years old. It’s been used time and time again, and still going strong! I loved bringing these to any of my appointments where I had to drag them along…and when I mean drag…I literally mean drag in some cases. Loved the “purse” handle for easy carrying.

Now, I’m not going to say this book has that special magical sparkly good behavior dust we all want to sprinkle on our sweet little terror babies at times, BUT, it did keep them occupied for a good while! It’d be great for a car ride or airplane too!

What are the pain points?

The downside for me was that there are activities that gave instructions like matching or connect the dots, etc. This is great for an elementary student who can possibly read or at least get the idea of what the goal is. But, my two little ones would get a tad frustrated sometimes if I didn’t want to sit down and go over everything with them. So, you may just want to see how your kiddos react and go from there.

BUT, BY FAR, the stickers are very distracting (in a good way) and definitely sway any eyes that are prone to looking at glitter, sparkle, pink, and girly stuff.

Go check it out and hope the girls in your life enjoy it!

p.s. This brand makes so many different versions, so I’ll be trying them out soon. I can’t wait to add Lola the Lollipop Fairy Sticker Dolly Dress Up book to our collection.  And, all you Boy/Non-Girly Mamas out there, there are plenty of options for you as well, like the Ultimate Sticker File Tractors and Trucks or Dino World Puffy Sticker Book!

Happy Sticking!

SUMMARY
Purchase Location: You can find it at Amazon or do a google search and find them at other online book retailers. Just keep in mind, if you find it cheaper, factor in shipping costs.
Price: $10
Pain points: It has activity games, which is great if you have an older child or a toddler who doesn’t care about that, but be prepared to sit down with your child to go over some of the activities if you have inquisitive young children.
Additional products to check out:

This post contains affiliate links. You don’t pay any extra, and I earn a small commission.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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So, I think it’s only right to dedicate my first ever blog post on Love Day to my husband whom I love.

People, he gets me. He listens to me go on and on and on about blogging, strategy, branding, etc. He lovingly rolls his eyes when I want to purchase another domain name or some kind of online course that is sure to finally be the ticket to cutting down our grocery bill, decluttering our life, or has all the secrets to being the best parent ever.

He pretends he isn’t phased by me creating my own personal emojis to text him…..I know he thinks it’s hilarious even if he doesn’t want to admit it! See below for a couple of examples.

My classic EYE ROLL video: (sorry couldn’t figure out how to embed the video…this will have to do for now!)

eye roll video

My “oh my goodness” look: (embarrassing, but you get the point)

He pretends to shake his head in disbelief when you can literally see my behavior coming out in my daughters’ demeanors. (Umm. They’re with me A LOT…they’re gonna be little Laura Weirdos)

Now, do we have the perfect marriage…HECK NO! Because after 10 years, I know for a fact that perfect marriages do not exist. But, I will tell you that we are best of friends and that goes so far in marriage! On the days he just gets under my skin and I want him to go live out in the woods behind our house, (kidding…kinda) it all comes back to he is the only person I want to do life with…and believe me, we’ve already gone through lots of hard life together. So happy Love Day to my special husband, my biggest supporter!

And thank you, Reader, for reading this far! Happy Valentine’s Day! Or as my 5-year-old has been calling it all week…”Happy Thanksgiving” everyone! 🙂

My First World Problem These Days. No Dishwasher!

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I came across this meme and have never felt such a connection with The Rock before. HA! Oh people…people, people, people. Woe is me. I have been without a working dishwasher for over a month now.

 

 

I believe things happen for a reason, but I’m still trying to figure this one out.

Is it to teach me patience and gratitude for a dishwasher…maybe.

Is it supposed to perhaps start my journey on a more minimalistic lifestyle with driving me to the point where I get rid of all the unnecessary dishes, utensils, pots/pans, etc…..maybe.

Is it to show me that you can actually be proud of the little everyday tasks that seem meaningless, but are essential to running your home smoothly and is worthy of praise….maybe.

Right now, I actually don’t care about any of that. I just want my dishwasher working! The ironic thing about the timing of this is that I wanted my dishwasher to be the first thing I wrote about on my blog….because I love (or loved) it so much. I’m sure I’ll be writing a detailed post of my lack of dishwasher journey at another time soon.

In the meantime, I’d love to know what your first world problem is these days?