Welcome to Kelly in the City’s newest column! This post could’ve been titled Giving Kelly the Day Off with Mitch but I figured Amazon Finds had a nicer ring to it.
Amazon reports that I’ve made 170 orders in the past 6 months which works out to nearly an Amazon order per day. So long story short, I’m an Amazon wizard.
But seriously, how the heck did families work before online shopping? Even a subtle misstep in the could send the family schedule into pure CHAOS. Don’t even bring up the time I ordered blue swim diapers instead of pink ones last July! Don’t bring it up I said!
But anyways, this hopes to be a weekly column of good deals on cool junk I find on Amazon throughout the week, summarized and humbly presented to you each and every weekend from now until I forget to do it a few weeks from now. Enjoy!
Tip of the Week
Nearly every Amazon listing has a “More Buying Choices” section where deals can be found. Honestly, the prices are usually insane. Oftentimes the discounted products ship directly from the Amazon Warehouse and, as a result, come replete with Amazon guarantees and warrantees. Recently, I bought a brand-new, open box TV for 40% off with one day shipping. I’d say I use “More Buying Choices” for like half of my big purchases. Give it a whirl!
Dachshund Skeleton – There’s an off color joke to be made here but this is a G Rated shopping list and I’m not gonna make it! Not today. Not me! No way.
$200 Cruiser – My bike has had a flat tire for six years. No matter what I do it ends up flat. At this point I’ve moved that bike to six different addresses, I got married and had two kids and I’ve never ridden it once. I fully quit biking as a result and that broken old bike still sits in my garage to this day.
But in preparation for this post, I looked up bikes on Amazon and I found this beauty for only $200 and I feel like a fool.
Samsung Frame TV – Our house has no family room, so we’re in the process of repurposing the traditional living room into a more versatile space with a TV. If that last sentence triggered you, the Samsung Frame is right up your alley.
This TV was designed for people like me who love watching TV but are married to people who don’t. It lays flat against the wall, ships with a customizable wooden frame and pulls up artwork for the wife when I’m not watching my stories.
Copper Fire Pit – Chicagoans are justifiably touchy about fires. Both of the houses we’ve owned in this city were newly constructed post fire and I’m not one to unnecessarily stoke, but it was 60 degrees today and that’s straight up bonfire weather homies.
As far as I can tell it’s not technically illegal to have a fire pit in the city and if the cops show up I think a s’more might smooth things over. Worth the risk!
This post is making me realize what a dad I’ve become. I spent a good amount of time this week researching grills in the hopes of plopping one of these bad boys in the backyard and serving up burgers or whatever to the family. For the record I already have a grill in my backyard and I’ve literally never used it. But this one has three burners!
Hudson Barbara High Waist Jean – Kelly hasn’t stopped talking about these jeans since they showed up on the doorstep. High waist jeans are apparently in and Hudson jeans always bring the heat.
Bathroom Fan Timer Switch – This is the most dad thing on the list but I can’t tell you what joy it gave me to install this timer in our master so the fan turns off an hour after I’m done showering. It’s just…perfect.
Emma’s school is super serious about allergies and only allows a handful of snacks. Luckily, bagged Goldfish are on the list but in her first week our family consumed no less than 40 bags of these little orange buggers.
Have no fear, I dropped an Amazon Subscription on the case and now we get Emma’s snacks delivered promptly every Sunday just in time for the beginning of the week.
Halloween is in a month and you’d be doing yourself a favor if you just ordered a costume right now on Amazon. Last year I spent 10 hours looking for a Prince Eric costume around Chicago and the results were, well, sub-par. This year I’ve got Cristoph ready to rock and you all better take notice.
iPhone 11 Case – Listen, I’m not going to sit here and act like I didn’t accidentally ship Kelly’s new iPhone to her parents house in Pennsylvania because I did. But her new phone CASE successfully arrived in Chicago so I deserve some credit.
Ralph Lauren Mary Janes – I can’t tell you how important these shoes are in my life right now. Emma can and will put them on by herself and on a good day they get me out the door. They. Get. Me. Out. the door.
Outdoor speakers are another classic dad product for the list. Outside tunes are great, sure, but figuring out the system, testing it, improving it…that’s the business. I did the research and these Polks are the best deal on the site. I bought two pairs.
We had two specialists to the house to design window treatments and their estimates were laughable. These curtain rods are perfect and practically free in comparison. No brainer.
These furniture covers are a fourth the cost of their name brand counterparts. That is all.
Echo Auto – If you drive a dumpy old car like I always have, this little gadget will bring you into the now. Not only does it do the Alexa thing, but it’s a solid bluetooth receiver for your tunes and podcasts and stuff. Only $50!
Hoover Leaf Blower – This is another dad thing, but I can’t tell you the joy of blowing junk off the sidewalk in front of my house. I wish more stuff would show up out there so I could blow it away.
I’ve spoken on this blog before about my passion for high end hangers. Previously, my main hang was the Ikea Bumerang, but these guys ship Prime and help you to avoid the trip to Ikea. Done!
I’m not a very handy guy. When hanging these lights I broke enough lightbulbs to shut down the patio for many days while I cleaned up the aftermath. I do recommend these lights, but hang them before you put the bulbs in.
This little guy reliably turns the outside lights on and off on time and, unlike most stuff with homeownership, it’s never once failed me.
This is our first Halloween in the new house and we’re about to make our presence known with a serious array of giant Halloween decorations. I’m thinking this inflatable skeleton dinosaur on the balcony, a giant spider web out front and some kind of animatronic zombie scarecrow on the stoop. That’ll show ’em!
