5 Gadgets I Can't Live Without - Finding Silver Pennies

Okay, I need to preface this but telling you guys, I don’t even like gadgets. It’s my hubby who is the gadget person. Honestly, my techie, software engineer hubby can’t resist any gadget.

Boxes from Amazon often arrive at our door step and I’m so excited to open it only to find Luke has ordered another gadget. He has chosen some really amazing ones over the years and I thought I’d give you a round up of the ones I just can’t live without. These gadgets also make wonderful gifts for your gadget obsessed (or not obsessed, like me) friends and family.

5 Gadgets I Can’t Live Without

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1. Keurig

My parents gave me this as an early Christmas gift. Yup. Last month. This little gadget has already gotten so much use. It comes in four colors and is currently only $72 on Amazon. We have the black. If turquoise is more your style they also have this pretty model, click here. Luke isn’t a fan of flavored coffees but I am and now I can have as many varieties as I’d like. My favorites right now are French Roast and Holiday Blend. I thought I’d start with the coffee maker as this is the first thing I do every day. I can’t even talk to people or think without my coffee in hand.

2. My Camera

My camera was a Christmas gift a few years back. The boys got it for me with a tripod and then bought me a prime lens for my birthday a few months later. When I first got the camera I was so scared to use it. It felt so heavy in my hands compared to my point and press, but now I love it. As many of you know I take a lot of photos and I use this camera every day. I have the Canon T3i which is no longer being made but it is equivalent to the Canon T5i which is currently $200 off on Amazon. I saved up money and bought myself this Sigma lens and use it almost exclusively on the blog. Great for bokeh and blurred backgrounds but this lens also gives such a crisp photo. I love it.

3. My Phone

I just got a Pixel, the new phone by Google. I had another android but it was a few years old and the battery was dying all the time and it never took great photos at night. I was gonna get an iphone and I know everyone has them but heard the battery life isn’t great. I’m so impressed by my Pixel. Mine is silver. The battery last longer than a day without recharging and the photos are amazing. I know this is a high priced item but I use my phone for so much – for the blog, keeping up with kids’ activities and school and also for things around our home.

4. Nest Smart Thermostat

I am always cold. Scratch that, I used to always be cold, until Luke installed the Nest. This thermostat is smart! It knows when you’re home! It adjusts the schedule to get the best efficiency out of the system. Nest also uses your phone to know that you’re home and can also sense people walking past. It is very easy to control and you can do it from your phone.

5. Google Home

A box containing this just arrived last week. I rolled my eyes because my hubby didn’t tell me it was coming. Ha! Ha! Of course! You guys. This is an awesome gadget for your home. The speaker is amazing quality so we’re listening to Christmas music and tons of different other songs we love on it. The boys asked it to play John Williams’ Star Wars while they were eating breakfast before school. We can ask it the weather, who the 15th president was or any other pressing question we don’t know the answer to. Brilliant. What will Google think of next?

Bonus Gadget!

6. Pizzaz Pizza Oven

My sister sent us this years ago for Christmas and we laughed. We thought it was one of those gifts we’d never use, like the ice cream maker. BUT we use this every Friday night to heat up frozen Trader Joe’s pizzas. It is perfect for pizza. The tray rotates and it heats the pizza from above and below. I always think our frozen pizza tastes as good from any pizzeria when we heat it this way. You can also cook small appetizers on it.