28APR2024

Happy Sunday everyone! We had a great mix of weather this weekend in Austin with beautiful outdoors weather yesterday, followed by mellow rainy day vibes today. We took great advantage of the indoors time today and used some recently foraged moss and sticks to make some terrariums, a really peaceful hobby we've been enjoying lately. It reminds me a bit of the old SimEarth game from back in the day, making a little enclosed ecosystem. I've thrown a few pics of today's build at the bottom of today's post, but if you're looking for some real inspiration, check out Worcester Terrariums on Youtube or Instagram.

On to the good stuff:

• 🔋 Anker QI2 MagGo Battery - OK, I know I recommended a battery last week. This one is different! I've long been a fan of Apple's now discontinued MagSafe battery pack for the iPhone. Anker has released their own spin on it with the QI2-enable MagGo battery pack. It charges the iPhone way faster than the old MagSafe battery pack used to, can recharge the phone multiple times in one go, had a built-in kickstand, and while it's probably a bit gimmicky, I really like the small LED display on the side that tells you how much battery is left and how long it will take to charge.
• 🍠 Trader Joe's Ube Mochi Pancakes - If you're fan of Ube, the Filipino purple yam, I highly highly recommend grabbing this pancake mix on your next Trader Joe's outing. The pancakes come out fluffy, purple, and filled with amazing nutty-sweet flavor. It's also gluten-free! We buy a couple of boxes every time we go.
• 🧰 Big Idea Design TPT Slide - This titanium pocket tool is so crazy handy that I've started carrying it with me wherever I go, even around the house. It has a sliding, dulled, razor blade that is perfect for opening Amazon boxes without getting tape residue allover your favorite pocket knife. It also has a built in flathead screw driver, pry bar, bottle opener, wrench grip, hex bit driver, and more. All in a tiny, TSA-friendly package.
• 💊 Outlive by Dr. Peter Attia - I just finished reading this book this week and am still processing all the take aways. The premise is pretty simple-- What are the no nonsense, non-gimmicky things that we can do right now to increase both our lifespan and our "health span" (the amount of time that we are healthy and capable of doing everything we want to do). Dr. Attia has a tendency to go a little deeper in to the science than I really need for him to make his point, but on the whole there were lots of eye opening lessons for me, and it's got me inspired to make some simple but impactful changes in how I workout, sleep, eat, and relate to others.
• 🔦 ReyLight Pineapple Mini - I have had an original ReyLight Pineapple flashlight for years and always really liked it. It's bright and compact, great for holding in hand on winter star walks or when stumbling out of the camping tent in the middle of the night. When I found that Rey had come up with an even more compact version that still kicks out a lot of light, with great color rendition, I leapt at it. This little titanium light is inconceivably lightweight, fits easily in a pocket, and is also small enough to just always have in your EDC bag, purse, fanny pack, etc. I grabbed the version with the traditional Japanese seigaiha pattern on it, which is sold out on Rey's site, but still available at some resellers.

That's it for this week, be well everyone!