Grado Headphones

A while back I wanted to get some over-the-ear headphones to listen to music at home. Finding a reasonably priced pair made in the US is a trick! After a lot of searching, I found Grado Labs. I picked up their 'entry' headphones - and have been quite impressed! I've had them for a few years now, and they've held up really well.

Consumer Reports has taken notice of Grado, and in their latest ranking Grado holds 5 spots in their top 10. Go Grado!

RollaRoaster

We have a small fire pit on the back porch that we use every few weeks when the weather cooperates to cook hot dogs & s'mores - the kids love it (and honestly I think it's pretty fun too). Instead of using just sticks to suspend the hot dogs or marshmallows over the fire, we have a set of Rolla Roasters. Not only do Rolla Roasters allow you to easily rotate the food item for thorough cooking - with just one hand! Plus they telescope out over 3 feet, so you don't have to smell like smoke after cooking. They're stainless steel  so no rust, the clean up really easily, and they are made in the USA. If you cook out over a fire at all, you've gotta try em.

Redi Shade Black-Outs

Redi Shade Black-Outs (pic from their website)

The blinds/curtains we had in the house were good for blocking the view, but not great for blocking out the light. When the sun came up, it came into all of the bedrooms, and consequently everyone got up.

We talked about various new blinds/curtains/shutters/etc. we could get to alleviate this issue, and a search brought me to Redi Shade's Black-Outs, that reportedly block "99% of sunlight".  And because they are less than $7 a piece (and made in the USA), I had to try 'em.

They are pleated black paper - no string to pull them up (though they send little clips to keep them up). They come in two widths - you customize to your exact window width yourself with scissors (I used an Xacto). You stick them to top window recess with included double-stick tape. Sounds pretty cheap I have to say.  But boy, do they work well!  The really do block the sun light.

Now if I could just keep the dogs from waking me up...