MNU Love List – September 2014

 Are you starting to think about those holiday lists? It’s closer than you think! Here are some cool products and places that we are loving right now in this month’s MNU Love List.

1) Sooo, you know how your keyboard gets gunk in it, crumbs, dirt, spilled drinks? No? Okay maybe that’s just us. If you can’t handle it and try to clean it with Q-tips to no avail (oh, maybe that’s just us, too), here’s your answer. These snazzy silicone keyboard brushes by Marna are $5 for a package of 2. Use the large one for sweeping and the small one for harder to reach places. Then no one will ever know about that cookie. Except us.

2) This is the grooviest thing since the Jawbone UP.  June by Netatmo ($99, netatmo.com) is a jeweled leather wrap bracelet that tracks your UV exposure and sends alerts to your smartphone via an app when it’s time to put on more sunscreen. It’s important to reapply SPF every two hours, but who can remember? June can!  

3) Escali Smart Connect scale ($70; www.amazon.com). This kitchen food scale does the calculating for you, connecting wirelessly to a smart phone or tablet through a custom app that offers up nutritional information about the foods being weighed, as well as keeping track of the calorie, fat and sugar content of your meals.  Now that’s helpful!!  

4) Sir Kensington’s Spiced Ketchup ($9, Amazon or $5, Whole Foods) has 50% less sugar than that ketchup you anticipate, and 33 percent less sodium. It also has a little kick thanks to the green peppers, jalapeños, and cilantro that kicks up the flavor. Hot Dog!

5) A Kelley family favorite, the Tenaya Lodge just outside Yosemite National Park is a beautiful place to visit any time of year. With a great room and a roaring fireplace, good eats and amazing trails, this is a lovely hotel to take the family or your significant other to for a fun-filled adventure. In the wintertime, there are sleigh rides and ice skating. In the warmer months, there’s archery, swimming, and biking. Located at the edge of the national park, there’s also easy access to skiing, rock climbing, rafting and horseback riding. Yep, there’s a spa too, and during the holidays the 30+ foot Christmas tree is simply magical. Start your own tradition at Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite.

6) If you are planning on taking a long hike, bike ride or heading to a festival where you need some hydration, check out SuperHubs’s favorite hiking accessory, the CamelBak. You can get various sizes and loads, but the best part is you don’t have to worry about carrying a water bottle (so you can take selfies instead) 😯 . There’s a style for every price point, and they also offer filtration devices, accessories and all sorts of water carriers. Grab one and hit the road, with one less thing on your “To Do” list.

If you end up purchasing any of the items above, let us know what you think! We love the feedback and it helps us as we curate new lists.  Thank you, friends!