Summer is upon us.  My kids have less than a week to go of school and our Summer Bucket List is already proudly placed on our fridge.  While we don’t have any summer road trip plans in the works, I am super excited to share this website and app that I learned about with all of you.  The website is called Roadtrippers.  There is also a free app, available on Android and iPhone, that serves as a companion to the website.

The concept of Roadtrippers is simple: Make going from Point A to Point B more exciting.  For instance, having moved from Southern California to Central Oregon, I have acquired a standby road trip route to visit friends and family.  We’ve made the 15-hour trek a few times, but I have yet to do it with this handy app in my pocket.  I decided to check out the website just now and put in my starting and ending destination.  Having done this drive a few times, I already knew of a few key spots along the way.  The website will plot out most anything you’re hoping to find, such as nature spots, historic sites, attractions, and more.  In doing my usual route through Roadtrippers, I just learned about Castle Crags State Park, which is along the way.  I like that the website even takes me to a page outlining the details of the location and rating it on their Rad-o-meter!  But I think the most helpful feature of all is the “Food + Drink” search.  There are a couple long stretches of road when you ask yourself, “Can we really hold our kids off until the next big city for a food and potty break?”  This website and app seem to be a great service in that manner.

As I am a lover of road trips, Roadtrippers is making me anxious to hit the road and discover something new to be seen!  But, alas, my pregnancy takes priority.  For those of you who do have plans to hit the road this summer, please check out this site and app and let me know if it’s as cool as it sounds.  Happy travels this summer!

Sometimes I wonder if my husband and I should both write on this blog.  I use so many of his ideas and suggestions in life.  He’s a fun guy to have around and I thought this month’s First Friday Find should be another fun site that he’s told me (and most every guy he comes in contact with) all about.  The site is called ThisIsWhyImBroke.com.  They refer to themselves as the Internet’s Mall.  My husband likens them to the Sky Mall magazines you can peruse on an airplane, except for this is at your fingertips on-line.

It’s similar to Pinterest in the sense that the site is a collection of product links that lead you back to the original seller.  They’re constantly updating the site with the most random things.  I can’t tell you how many times my husband has started a conversation with, “I saw this cool thing today on This Is Why I’m Broke….”  He’s right though, there are some pretty cool things on there.  Of course, there is also a lot of junk and overpriced stuff as well.  I thought I would give you a taste of the top five products that piqued my interest on their page of newly posted items.  This way you can get a glimpse of how widespread their collection really is on the site.

Reusable Rubber Food Savers

Past, Present, Future Watch

Herb Stripper

Hat Brim Clip-on Light

It’s no wonder my husband checks the site regularly.  I found myself continually scrolling to check out all of the cool gadgets and gizmos.  I think I may need to get my hands on the Herb Stripper myself.  It would help during all those times when I realize I want to add cilantro to my salad at the last minute.

Hope you enjoyed this month’s First Friday Find!  Be careful not to go too broke when checking out the site!

I thought this First Friday Find for April was apropros based on my previous post Living a Life Based on Truths.  It is based on truth and it makes me laugh, which you may recall is a rarity lately.  My husband stumbled across a series of YouTube videos called True Facts.  Each video is less than 5 minutes and covers true facts about a particular animal.  The narrator is hilarious.  As a warning, I would give the clips a PG-13 Rating.  We don’t watch them with our kids around, but I don’t find it vulgar either.

To get you started in the right direction, may I suggest True Facts About The Tarsier and True Facts About The Mantis Shrimp?  There’s really not much more to share on this month’s First Friday Find, except for, “You’re welcome.”

I am far from materialistic.  I do not own any designer jeans.  Frankly, I don’t even think I can name a designer jean if my life depended on it.  I wear make-up so infrequently that when I do my children ask what’s going on.  I do not have any fancy purses or accessories.  Come to think of it, I don’t think I have any high-end brand name apparel of any sort, period.  As a matter of fact, I recently got teased for my outdated wallet.  I recall buying it in my late teens, which means it’s at least 15 years old; yet I have never consider it as out-of-style.  It’s functional and that’s all I need.  That all being said, I am still quite snobby when it comes to particular items.  These are the items I wish to share with you today for March’s First Friday Find(s).  These are the items that if I could be a salesperson for them, I would sell the heck out of them.  Which is saying a lot, if you recall the Commercial Break in my post Acquired Tastes Not Required.

Let me start with my absolute top product.  The product that I will never stop using: Dove soap.  I’ll take it in liquid form or bar form, it makes no difference.  I have loved this soap since my childhood.  I thought all soaps were created equal until I found myself using someone else’s soap on a sleepover or during hotel stays.  This is not the case.  Dove stands above all the rest.  Trust me, I’ve been forced to try my fair share of body soaps through the years.  But no other soap compares in providing the same kind of softness to my skin without leaving residue behind.  Love. It.

Another thing that I am a snob about is raisins.  This one makes my husband laugh since I don’t even really care for raisins in the first place.  It’s not that I dislike them, I just don’t think to sit down to a box of them.  However, if I am going to eat raisins, the only option is Sun Maid Raisins.  I have undergone a rigorous taste test to prove that Sun Maid Raisins are way better than any generic brand you’ll save your pennies on.  But, as previously mentioned, I’m not a huge raisin fan to begin with, despite my pro-raisin post on Meaningful Traditions.  So, at the risk of being a hypocrite, I give to you a funny I have found during my many hours on Pinterest:

Another snobby product I support is high-end hair conditioners.  I will gladly put Head & Shoulders in my hair for shampooing purposes, but I am adamant about putting high quality conditioner in my hair.  I’m talking about the conditioners that can only be purchased in a salon.  I switch it up from time to time, but right now I’m loving Evo Normal Persons Conditioner.  My hair feels silky smooth and light.  Plus, the intense smell of peppermint awakens my senses and eases my bouts with nausea during this pregnancy.

I have a few other products that I won’t settle for generic brands on, but I’ll stop myself now before I sound too much like an infomercial.  I would love to hear what products you find yourself being a bit of a “snob” on.  As I mentioned before, I am not materialistic, but some things are just better paying top dollar for top quality, while other items are the same exact thing just with a different label on them.  Share your product finds below in our comments.

As I type this snuggled up on my couch with the snow falling steadily down, I’m appreciating on-line shopping that much more.  It’s Christmas time and despite my last post being anti-materialism, I do purchase gifts for our kids and clothes for the whole family.  Admittedly, I have begun to rely heavily on hand-me-downs and Goodwill trips to purchase these items, mainly because I hate how outrageous prices can be.  That’s why I’m so excited to share this month’s First Friday Find called Scoutfit.

Scoutfit is an on-line shopping tool that does the deal hunting for you.  I see it as Pinterest meets Amazon.  It’s similar to Pinterest in the sense that they have a button you can add to your toolbar that you merely click on when you’ve found something that you’re interested in purchasing.  For instance, I needed a clothing item that could be found on multiple sites.  I tagged the item when I was on Nordstrom.com then I told Scoutfit what price I was willing to pay for the item.  Scoutfit then does the searching for me across all the websites to find me the best deal on that same item and brand.  Sure enough, it found the item at the price I wanted.

While the site is mostly tailored to finding deals on apparel, it will do searches for virtually any item on your wish list.  For instance, I’ve been wanting to get a train set for my little guy for Christmas.  I just found one that I really liked on Amazon, pressed my Scoutfit button, set my desired amount to pay for the item, and now Scoutfit will be busily working to find that price on-line while I wrap up this blog entry.

The best part is that Scoutfit does not just help you with the deals you are hunting for on-line, it also helps bring deals that are beyond belief directly to your board.  I went on Scoutfit the other night and it was listing some ridiculously good sale prices for items at Anthrolpologie.  Anthropologie is a clothing store that I adore, but can never afford.  Scoutfit was showing items priced at $9.95 from Anthropologie that were once over $128.

The drawback, but future pay-off, with Scoutfit is that it’s an on-line shopping tool that’s still in it’s early stages.  This is a shortcoming now because the site still has some kinks to work out.  I did have trouble finding those Anthropologie deals when I went back to share them with a friend.  However, the outlook is bright.  Because it is a new site with such great potential, it can only get better!  The more customer feedback they receive and the greater audience they reach will lead to bigger improvements in creating an on-line tool that will positively impact your on-line shopping experience.

As we are now officially in the Christmas season, I encourage you to give Scoutfit a try and see the time and money it can save you this holiday season!  Happy on-line shopping!