Start Your Campfire with the Pull of a String: Pull Start Fire Review

Have you ever had that moment while camping where you feel like Tom Hanks in Castaway? No, not where you’re starving because there’s no food, but the moment when you make a campfire and you realize, “I have made fire!” “I. HAVE. MADE. FIRE.”

via GIPHY

I feel that way right now because we have found the ultimate of ultimate campfire must-haves. Pull Start Fire is the fool proof, easy way to start fire. Half the battle at the campground is getting the fire started and keeping it going, but Pull Start Fire lets you literally pull a string to start your fire.

Pull Start Fire - pull string to start the fire - full time rv family - freeway gypsy

Here’s how it works.

After you open your package, you start stacking up your logs in the firepit. The Pull Start Fire package shows 3 logs stacked flat in your pit, so that’s what we did. On one of the logs, you wrap the green string around the log, then continue stacking your tower of firewood. Once you’re ready, you yank the red string and BOOM, you’ve made fire. When you’re attaching the green string to a log, make sure you’re stack of logs is pretty solid. The first time we pulled the red string, we pulled the whole Pull Start Fire firestarter off – operator error! – we simply hadn’t secured it well enough. We made sure to lodge the logs in the fire pit a little more so they couldn’t move when we pulled the string.

Once we got our fire started, it lasted for well over an hour – plenty of time to make say 20 marshmallows or so. 😉 Ok, we didn’t make quite that many, but it was pretty close!

And speaking of roasting marshmallows and cooking food over that open flame, Pull Start Fire is made from recyclable material and is non-toxic so it’s totally safe to cook over! Since we love cooking over campfire, we’re so excited to have Pull Start Fire to get our fires started a bit quicker when we’re ready to eat!

Pull Start Fire claims it will last 30 minutes and will start wet logs, withstand rain, and can stay lit in winds of over 200 miles per hour. We haven’t had a chance to test it in rain or wind yet, but we sure plan to! (Keep an eye out on our Instagram for wind and rain tests soon!)

We’re totally loving this product and we became instant fans the moment we pulled the string to light the fire! If you’re interested in purchasing your own, be sure to visit their website. You can purchase online and in some KOA campgrounds and also some REI locations across the country. You can purchase as a pack of 3 so you get a few fires out of each purchase!

*We’d like to extend a huge thanks to Pull Start Fire for sponsoring this blog post and sending us some samples of their Firestarter. You can find 3 packs of Pull Start Fire online here and individual firestarters in store at some KOA campgrounds and some REI stores across the country. While this is a sponsored post, the opinions are 100% our own and are not impacted by the receiving of the product.*

Full-Time RVers Do Red Rocks

Red Rocks Amphitheater Yoga on the Rocks Full Time RV

Red Rocks Amphitheater is a bucket list item for everyone right?

If it isn’t on your bucket list, you should write it in. Seriously, write it in now.

We had two beautiful experiences at this amazing location and I would do them both again in a heartbeat. We attended the last Yoga on the Rocks for the 2017 summer season and a concert with some amazing artists – Sam Hunt headlining with Maren Morris, Chris Janson, and Ryan Follese as the openers.

Sorry to every single person that had to watch me dance the entire concert because let me tell you, I was jammin’ and I basically look like Chandler when I dance. These are my favorite artists, singing my favorite songs. I stood and sang (sorry, again) and danced for every – single -song.

But enough about my lack of dancing skills.

For starters, even if you don’t do yoga a lot, you should absolutely go. We arrived about 5:45am for the gates to open at 6:00am for the 7:00am yoga class. Crazy, right? Wrong. The sunrise is worth every minute of sleep lost. We watched the sun come up over the rock formations with the city of Denver off in the distance.

Is this gorgeous or what?

Then the concert – talk about an incredible experience. The sound. The atmosphere. Everything about this place is amazing. (And Sam Hunt, duh.) We had great seats for a great show and I wouldn’t change our experience for anything. I’ll go back again and again whenever we’re back in Colorado. This once-in-a-lifetime experience should be anything but!

Now that’s what I call tailgating with a view! (Below)

Never Gonna “Let It Go” – A Review of Frozen – The Broadway Bound Musical

Frozen on Broadway Review Let It Go Denver Premier

Let’s be honest – you either love or hate Disney’s Frozen, but either way, I think you’ll be impressed with Frozen the Musical. Before they officially hit Broadway in New York, they’re doing a 2 month test-run of sorts at Denver Center for the Performing Arts. We scored tickets for opening weekend and saw the 3rd ever performance of this show.

It. Was. Incredible. And, everyone watching was a happy reindeer like Sven.

So I can’t actually show you any pictures because, well you know, the no photos of Broadway shows rule, but I can tell you, this show made me so happy. What I also can’t tell you are all the details because while I may be semi-reviewing this show on my blog right now, I would never take away the opportunity for you to witness and feel all the incredible surprises that occur during this beautiful work of Broadway.

When you think about the expectations placed upon these performers (I mean, hello, the movie Elsa was voiced by THE Broadway Queen, Idina Menzel – talk about pressure!). Caissie Levy blew away the audience. She absolutely crushed the most important song of the show (and every other song, too). She was stunning and perfect and hit every possible high note.

And let’s talk about the spunk brought to the stage by Patti Murin. Holy geez, she’s a fantastic performer. Not only is she on stage almost the entire show, but she has more lines than anyone. Patti Murin didn’t just bring her A game, she brought everything she possible could and left it on that stage.

The combination of Caissie Levy and Patti Murin is a force to be reckoned with and dare I say, they may even be stronger performers than Anna and Elsa in the movie? On top of Caissie and Patti though, we’ve got the children who are the cutest little actresses who own the stage when they walk out. Audrey Bennett and Ayla Schwartz were Young Anna and Young Elsa at the performance we attended and sweet Audrey is my favorite of all the cast. She has so much confidence at such a young age and she really knows how to walk out on that stage and command the audience’s attention. I’m so glad Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez managed to incorporate these children throughout the show even when Anna and Elsa grow up. They did such a wonderful job changing this movie to a Broadway show and we were beyond impressed. They managed to hold the attention of children through the whole show, which was one of our main concerns before the show started. Most Broadway shows don’t have many children in attendance, but this one has many children in attendance. The adults love the show too though. There were plenty of adults without children in attendance and they incorporate many adult moments that go over the heads of the children that make the adults laugh – think the Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post scene taken to a whole new level (talk about laughing hysterically).

If you’re ever in New York – GO. TO. THIS. SHOW. You absolutely won’t regret it. It is fantastic and I’ll definitely be going again one day.

REVIEW: EverlyWell Food Sensitivity Test

Everly Well Food Sensitivity Results Review

Back in March, after multiple visits to an allergist who found nothing, I started searching for answers on my own. After some research, I decided that some of my symptoms were those of a gluten sensitivity (much different from a gluten allergy). After much thought, I went gluten free to see if it would help me feel better. After 5 months, I can whole-heartedly say that going gluten free is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. One of the problems I was having was joint inflammation, especially in my knee. I’ve had a knee issue for years and every little movement hurt. I went to an orthopedic doctor a few times and they could never find anything “fixable.” They only found swelling that caused my knee cap to shift – which they could do nothing about.

Now that I’ve been gluten free for 5 months, I haven’t looked back. I feel so much better. My knee pain is gone and I just feel better in general.

I decided to take an Everlywell Food Sensitivity test to see if wheat, barley, and other gluten based items showed up as a sensitivity and sure enough, they did. While they only showed up as a mild sensitivity, I think this might be because I haven’t had any of it in so long. I don’t know exactly how the tests work, but I think this might have had something to do with only receiving a mild sensitivity instead of a higher one. Wheat, gluten, and barley showed up as some of my highest sensitivities so this confirms that I have sensitivities.

Below is a timelapse of receiving the product, taking the test, and sending it back for testing.

And, here’s a few pieces of my results!

Want to try any of EverlyWell’s products, but just aren’t sure? You can receive 10% off your order simply by using this link. *For total transparency, I also receive $20 off my next order if you use my link.*

REVIEW: Function of Beauty – Custom Hair Care

If you’re on Instagram a lot, you’ve likely seen an ad at some point for Function of Beauty – a custom shampoo and conditioner set made just for you and your hair. After seeing so many ads, I decided to do some research. I decided to give it a shot as I’m trying to use more natural products that are better for me and while they don’t make huge claims about being natural or organic, they do seem to use better ingredients than a regular store bought shampoo or conditioner.

Let’s go through my selections so you’ll know what to expect when you’re marking your preferences.

First, we’ll start with the basics: Hair Type, Hair Structure, and Scalp Moisture. For these, I selected straight, medium, and oily. It was difficult for me to pick oily as I’m concerned my hair will get dry if the shampoo strips some of the moisture out because of that selection. I’ll update this after a few months and let you know how I feel about it!

Next up: Hair Goals!

Let’s just say, only picking 5 hair goals is a challenge. When it comes down to it, I picked my number one goal followed by my 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. The only way I could just pick 5 was to prioritize it. I ended up going with: Strengthen, Anti-Frizz, Lengthen, Shine, and Oil-Control.

One of my main hair problems is shedding. I swear, I’m worse than a dog. My hair is everywhere and when you live in under 400 square feet of living space, you notice that hair a lot more than you did in your full-size house. I tried to find the best hair goals to strengthen and grow my hair in hopes of losing less of it. Maybe this is a lofty goal, but I think it is worth a try and quite honestly, the hopes of losing less hair is the reason I’m trying this product.

I also picked Anti-Frizz. You may be thinking, you have straight hair not curly, frizzy hair, but when I go somewhere that doesn’t have the wicked humidity my hair is used to in Florida – It. Goes. Crazy. I’m hoping this will help with that since we’re traveling to places with a lot less humidity. Who would’ve ever thought humidity actually HELPS my hair???

My other choices were Lengthen, Shine, and Oil-Control. I can’t seem to grow my hair much longer than a about 2 inches below my shoulder. I just don’t understand how everyone is growing their hair so long! I also don’t know that I really want it to grow super long because part of me wants shorter hair as well, but we’ll see how I feel about either of those in a few months. I imagine I’ll likely want less hair to deal with living in the RV, but I would love to be able to do longer braids too.

Now for the fun part! Picking the Color, Fragrance, and Formula Name. While I love the beautiful color options, I opted for the dye free route. I decided if I was pay so much to do good things for my hair, I wasn’t going to add dyes into the product. *Note* – I claim to know absolutely nothing about adding dyes to this shampoo and simply chose not to do it.

I went with the essential oils for my fragrance since this is the recommendation. I’ve read mixed reviews online about the fragrance being too strong or not strong enough, but since I love using essential oils and diffusing them throughout the camper, the scent wasn’t too strong for me. I can’t say they won’t be too strong for others though as I’m very used to the scents of essential oils.

And let’s not forget about how your formula comes with your name packaged on the customize possible. Who doesn’t want their shampoo and conditioner to read – formula of kayla?

Last, but certainly not least: Pick Your Sizes!

Do you use a lot of shampoo and very little conditioner? Maybe you use just a touch of shampoo and way too much conditioner? Maybe you use exactly the same amount of shampoo and conditioner? I can honestly say, I have no idea how much of each I use. I’ve always refilled my own pumps, but didn’t start refilling them at the same time so I’m not sure my balance of shampoo and conditioner. I’ll learn pretty quickly what my balance of use is so I went with the same size bottles of each. After a few months, I’ve discovered I’m using about equal amounts of shampoo and conditioner.

Want to try Function of Beauty, but just aren’t sure? You can receive $5 off by ordering through this link. The discount will appear when are choosing your bottle size. Try it out and let me know what you think of it too! *For total transparency, I also receive $5 off my next order if you use my link.*