My Countryside Antiquing Essentials

My Countryside Antiquing Essentials

*Today’s post was made possible by Schumacher Electric, and features gifted product for the purposes of a candid review. All opinions are my own.

I know that, as a publishing blogger, I should be planning and sourcing a dozen (or more!) gift guides to post throughout the holiday season, but that just doesn’t feel super authentic for me. I personally don’t need to go all out on Christmas shopping since my family does a very low key “single gift” exchange between the five of us every year on December 25—as in, we each buy just one gift total and give it to our randomly assigned family member. We intentionally came up with that system so that we didn’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on presents, and also because we agreed that the annual influx of pressure to buy from influencers and brands on social media just felt icky. I don’t like feeling like I need to buy, buy, buy this time of year, which is why I’ve hesitated to post traditional Christmas gift guide roundups on my blog these past few years.

My Countryside Antiquing Essentials

Instead, I prefer the idea of sharing occasional posts throughout November and December that spotlight just a few of the brands and products that I genuinely love and think my family would love to receive as a gift, too. First up in this casual “real life” shopping series? The Lithium Portable Power Pack from Schumacher Electric. I was hired by the brand last month to shoot some video content, and it was actually my first introduction to Schumacher Electric. While I consider myself reasonably techie because of my job working with things like cameras and my tablet to design room mood boards, I don’t tend to go nuts for the latest electronic gadgets on the web. I was excited to test out their Power Pack, though, after I heard about all of the things it can do.

My Countryside Antiquing Essentials

This handy little recharger is small enough to fit in your bag or glovebox, and can bring dead electronics back to life while on the go. The video I put together for Schumacher Electric shows how I use the Power Pack to keep my phone and iPad going during antiquing adventures far from home, and it has genuinely been such a handy addition to my routine. I used to have to carry my phone charger with me to intermittently juice up, or, more often than not, the reality is that my phone and tablet would simply die and I’d have to recharge them at home. Now, though, I keep the Power Pack in my glovebox, and I’m able to bring my devices back to life literally as I wander antique store aisles sourcing vintage items inspired by my digital mood boards.

My Countryside Antiquing Essentials

My Countryside Antiquing Essentials

Another major bonus of this Power Pack is that it also comes with Jump Starter abilities. Just connect the small jumper cables to the Pack, and then attach them to your car battery to restart it. I feel such peace of mind knowing I have the Power Pack nearby just in case my car won’t start. This is especially handy when I’m out shopping far from home in the country. The starter cables have 1000 amps of power, which can be used to jump-start cars, motorcycles, boats, ATVs, and more. Anyway, I just thought that bonus feature was worth mentioning in case someone on your gifting list could use a mobile jump starter.

My Countryside Antiquing Essentials

Can you think of someone who would love to unwrap this Power Pack on Christmas morning? Or maybe you can add it to your own wishlist so your family can sneak one into your pile of presents! By the way, I wanted to also mention that the Power Pack is small enough to fit in a tote bag, so I think it’ll probably fit in most stockings, too, if you wanted to order one for that purpose rather than a big wrapped present.

Please let me know in the comments if this type of casual gift guide posting works for you, or if you really would prefer more periodic link-packed gift roundups. Just because I’m not doing lots of shopping this time of year doesn’t mean that you aren’t, and this blog is for you, after all! Let me know now if you’d like to see more traditional gift guide roundups since there’s still time for me to add them into my editorial calendar.

My Countryside Antiquing Essentials

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Loloi x Amber Lewis Area Rug Preview

Loloi x Amber Lewis Area Rug Preview

*Today’s post was made possible by Loloi, and features gifted product for the purposes of a candid review. All opinions are my own.

There’s a new rug in our house, and we’re absolutely smitten with it! This one comes from the latest collaboration between Amber Lewis and Loloi Rugs, two of my favorite folks in the design world. Amber Lewis is known for her California-cool style, and this collection of new rugs (and pillows!) is so quintessentially “Amber.” The patterns are sophisticated, the colors are earthy, and the vintage-inspired designs really feel authentically antique, but without the astronomical price tag. See more from the collection this way, but before you go, let’s take a closer look at the rug I chose.

Loloi x Amber Lewis Area Rug Preview

I ended up going for the GER-05 Denim / Spice design from the Georgie Collection, which is has been a long-running fan favorite from Amber Lewis and Loloi. You’ll see our new rug pictured here in our guest room, but I actually just recently moved it to our living room. I still wanted to show you the rug in our guest room, though, because we get such gorgeous natural light in this space that really allows you to appreciate the vintage-y look of this Georgie rug.

Loloi x Amber Lewis Area Rug Preview

See how it looks a little more faded off to one side? That intentional printing technique is what gives this rug such a high end feeling without the high price tag, as I said, but it also means that, unlike real vintage woven rugs, this printed design is much easier to keep clean. We have Loloi’s flat printed rugs all over our house because there’s no pile to have to vacuum and messes come up with hardly any effort or cleaning product at all. They’re also a cinch to steam clean, which is really important to us as we maintain a household full of pets.

Oh, and it’s worth mentioning that, even though there’s no pile in this flat printed rug, it’s not at all thin or uncomfortable to stand on. We always use rug pads when laying down rugs over hardwood floors, so that helps add a cushioned feel, but it really doesn’t even need it. These flat rugs feel nice and plush underfoot. 

Loloi x Amber Lewis Area Rug Preview

The pictures in today’s post are a pretty good representation of color, but I wanted to specifically call out the main colors for those of you wondering. I would say the main color is navy blue, with hints of lighter sky blue throughout. There’s quite a bit of mustard gold in the pattern, and in lower-lit spaces, those golden tones come through looking slightly more like rust and blush pink. There’s also some white woven in, which is what gives this rug its high contrast appeal.

Loloi x Amber Lewis Area Rug Preview

I’ll have to remember to snap some photos of the rug now in the living room because it really looks so good in that darker room, too, proving that this rug works well in pretty much any space you put it in—whether it’s brightly lit or lacks natural sunlight. Shop our Georgie rug from the Loloi x Amber Lewis collection here, and let me know if you have questions about this or any rug from the Loloi archives. We’re such big fans of their rugs! Click here if you’d like to read more of my rug reviews, including quite a few made by Loloi.

Loloi x Amber Lewis Area Rug Preview

Your DIY Guide To Home Decorating eBook

*I earn a small percentage from purchases made using the affiliate links above. Affiliate links are not sponsored. Rest assured that I never recommend products we wouldn’t use or don’t already love ourselves.

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