Category / fans

by Kelly Mattei

Holiday Gifts 2023: Travel Gifts

Travel gifts.

I love travel gifts. Why? Well, because I love to travel. I don’t have to go all around the world, but I do love just getting out of town. Therefore, I have some great ideas for the travelers on your holiday shopping list:

  • Samsonite Freeform Carry-On Spinner. Named “Best Overall Carry-On 2023” by Travel & Leisure Magazine, you won’t get one faster than I do, because I’m ordering one for me and one for my daughter as soon as I finish typing this. It’s hard-sided. It’s expandable. It’s durable. It has great wheels. It comes in great colors. And it’s less than $200! Merry Christmas to me! If you have a traveler on your list, this could be the perfect gift. I’m getting us a lilac one and a powder blue. I like to get colors you don’t see out there often. Get them at Amazon here.
  • Travel Bag with Trolley Sleeve. To go with the spinner above, you could get a travel bag with a trolley sleeve that sits atop the luggage and doesn’t fall…thanks to the sleeve. You can get one for your favorite traveler at Amazon for under $30. It comes in multiple colors and gets great reviews. See it here.
  • Destinations of a Lifetime. A hardcover book published by National Geographic, this lists 225 of the world’s most spectacular places. If you have someone on your list who enjoys travel, this could be a great gift. Priced at just $$23.25, it’s an inexpensive but useful gift. The traveler will love it. The person who dreams of travel will love it too. My mother, in her later years, when she could no longer travel, loved seeing great destinations in print or on TV. See it here.

  • Portable Blender. If you have a traveler on your list who loves their protein shakes as much as my husband does, you need to get them this Ninja portable blender. My husband packs one in his suitcase no matter where we go. It’s not heavy or bulky. At $59.99, it’s a bargain, and it gets the job done! Get it at Amazon here.
  • Apple AirPods. I mentioned these in another list, but I’m adding them here, because they are essential for long flights…or even long car rides with family. My college-age daughter has had some for years, but I was reluctant to get them, thinking I would never use them. I use them. Because I wasn’t sure if I would use them, I didn’t get the latest model, but the ones I have (2nd generation) are great, and they’re just $99. Teenagers might care, but if you’re buying for someone over 30, they probably don’t care that they’re not the latest. Get them here.
  • Airplane Window Frame. Have a traveler on your list who loves to take photos while traveling? An airplane window photo frame could be the perfect gift! I’d love one myself! Get it here for just $19.90.
  • Anti-Theft Backpack for Women. Y’all, before I traveled to Panama in October, I purchased an anti-theft backpack to take with me. I hate backpacks that have easy access from the outside; I think they are made for pickpockets. Any female traveler on your list could use an anti-theft backpack for exploring cities. See the one I purchased for under $30 here. It’s lightweight, roomy, and I love mine. It comes in several colors.

  • Travel Hairdryer. Yes, hotels have hairdryers. However, how many times have you been in a hotel and wondered why you trusted them to provide a good dryer? The best travel dryer I have found is the T3 Afar Lightweight Travel Dryer. It’s not cheap at $179, but it’s a great dryer that folds in half, so it takes up less room in luggage. Any traveler on your list would appreciate this. See it here.
  • Baseball Hat Carrier. Someone on your list love his/her baseball hats when traveling? You can be the hero of the holidays with this gift! I had no idea this even existed until a friend told me about it! It holds and protects up to six baseball caps. They can carry it as their carry-on or pack it in a bigger bag. I know several people who could use this! Get it here.

  • Portable Neck Fan. For those travelers on your list who can’t sleep on a plane without a fan, here’s the perfect gift! This is the big daddy of neck fans with lots of power, and its rechargeable. It comes in a variety of colors. Get it here.

  • Sleep Headphones/Eye Mask. My cousin travels with these, and after a trip with her, I see the genius behind this product. Block out all the noise and light with these. If someone on your list prefers to fall asleep listening to music or a story…or even white noise from a phone, this is a great gift. I’ll be asking for this myself. Get it here.

  • Buffalo Leather Hanging Dopp Kit/Toiletry Bag. Travelers need extra room in hotel bathrooms. The KomalC Buffalo Leather Hanging Toiletry Bag provides that extra space. Travelers don’t have to run out of room on the vanity if they have this. It will be a welcome gift. Get it here.
  • Hey Dudes. Folks love their Hey Dudes shoes. Another product my cousin introduced me to, these slip-on shoes are all the rage, especially with travelers. Anyone who has had to take off their shoes while passing through TSA checkpoints knows the drama. Make it easy for the traveler on your list with Hey Dudes. Seriously, even if you have TSA Precheck, you can be pulled out of line for a random check…and have to take off your shoes. Hey Dudes are inexpensive, and apparently, they are awesome! The traveler on your list will be grateful. See the entire Hey Dudes line at Amazon here.

There are some great options for the travelers on your list. I will have more ideas for travelers soon, so feel free to check back!

Happy Shopping!

***If you’d like to purchase the airplane Christmas ornament in the featured photo, you can get it at Amazon here.***

by Kelly Mattei

Sorority Rush Deals on Amazon Prime Days

Sorority rush deals on Amazon Prime Days.

Amazon Prime Days are here, so it’s a great time to scoop up some of the deals on things you can use for sorority recruitment!

  • Rush Bag. You know that rush bag you need to hold the essentials for hot days in recruitment in the south? There are some great deals on bags that would be great. One great nylon deal is here. Or maybe you prefer neoprene? Click here.
  • Dresses. If you still need to add some dresses to your recruitment lineup, there are some great Amanda Uprichard dresses offered on Prime Days here. See some BB Dakota Prime deals here. Or for great variety, check out Shopbop’s Amazon Prime offerings. We love Shopbop, and I especially love that I can shop them through Amazon. They also have great shoes for rush! click here. Also, don’t forget you’ll likely need a swimsuit right after recruitment for your pledge retreat!
  • Comfy shoes. Last year, when my daughter participated in recruitment at Alabama, she had some comfy shoes to slip on her feet between parties. For a great deal through Prime Days on some, click here. My daughter wore her Ugg slippers. Fluffettes are on sale for Prime Day for $80 (reg $110) here. Or maybe some Crocs? They have tons of Crocs with Prime Day deals here.
  • Rush bag essentials. Band-Aids for those blistered heels? Click here. There are some great Prime deals on Neosporin to treat those blisters here. Prime Day deals on Motrin and Tylenol for that Rush Bag here. Prime Day deals on travel size hand sanitizer here. Get your handheld fan at a deep discount here. And a great deal on a travel/folding umbrella to fit in your rush bag here. If you think you won’t need that umbrella in the south, you’re wrong. Just do it.
  • Small charger for your bag. Get a Prime deal on one here.
  • Velvet hangers. Hang your lovely rush dresses on velvet hangers to keep them from slipping off the hanger, and also to conserve room in your tiny dorm closet. There’s a Prime deal here.

I’ll keep posting more deals as I find them! Get busy shopping!

by Kelly Mattei

Summer Travel Necessities

Summer travel necessities.

Our little family got home last night from a sunny vacation. Based on experience, I knew exactly what I needed to make my life easier while traveling, so I’m going to share some ideas. Lots of these items also make great graduation gifts, in case you’re still searching for the perfect gift. Also, some of them make good Father’s Day gifts…that’s coming up…don’t forget!

No matter what, there are some things I like to have when I’m away from home. Here are some suggestions for making your life easier:

  • LeakLocks Toiletry Skins. I found these at Amazon a year or two ago, and now, they are absolute essentials when I travel. They are rubber “skins” that you pull over the top of bottles to keep them from leaking in your luggage. I used them on my shampoo, my self-tanner, and my sunscreens, and I still put them in Ziploc bags for extra protection. There’s nothing worse than arriving at my destination to find my self-tanner has leaked all over the plastic bag it’s in. Secretly, I will tell you I’ve even used this over the top of a plastic flask I was sneaking into a college football game. I didn’t need vodka leaking all over my clothes. LeakLocks are an inexpensive way to save all your stuff, and they stretch to fit different types of bottles. To purchase LeakLocks, click here. And if you’d like to look into a plastic flask before football season starts, you can get one at Amazon. Plastic flasks are great, because metal detectors don’t pick them up. To purchase a Rabbit plastic flask for under $8, click here. *The Rabbit flask says it is leak-proof, but I recommend using the LeakLock with it.*
  • Packing Cubes. Don’t groan. I always thought packing cubes were a waste of time and money until recently, when I tried them at the suggestion of a friend. What did they do for me? They made packing and unpacking a lot easier when I arrived at my destination and again when I returned home. For under $25, you get a set of eight packing accessories, and they come in lots of different colors! Get them at Amazon here. Or check out some others from Olarhike for about $20 here.
  • Travel Adapter. If you’re traveling internationally, it’s possible (likely) you’ll need a travel adapter. Otherwise, you’ll burn up any electrical appliances like hairdryers, curling irons, and straighteners when you plug them into the hotel outlet. Back when I was a flight attendant, I burned up a hairdryer this way, and one of my coworkers burned off her bangs when she used her curling iron in a hotel in another country. Seriously, she burned off her bangs. Even she thought it was funny! Purchase for about $18 here.
  • Laundry bags. It’s a lot easier for me to start laundry when we get home if I have all the dirty laundry in one (or two) bags. I can put one bag in my luggage, and my husband can put one in his, if we have that many dirty items. When we get home, I just grab those two bags out of the suitcases and take them straight to the laundry room…no sorting through the clothes to figure it out. Anything that wasn’t worn can be steamed and put away quickly. To see the laundry bags I use, click here. Or you can get a different type from Miamica on Amazon here.
  • Portable Bluetooth Speaker. If you’re going to be on a beach or in a boat, it’s nice to have a quality portable bluetooth speaker. We love the JBL Clip 3 when we travel. It puts out quality sound and is easy to operate. It’s small and lightweight, so it doesn’t take up a lot of space in your carry-on or checked baggage. It also comes in a variety of colors. To purchase for under $60 from Amazon, click here. ***This also makes a great graduation gift!!!***
  • Lifestraw products. If you’re traveling somewhere that might not have a clean water supply, you need some Lifestraw products. If you’ve ever had Montezuma’s Revenge in Mexico, you know you need something to purify the water. Lifestraw makes lots of travel products…personal straws and collapsible cups/pitchers. This is a product I highly recommend! Also, they’re great for camping trips and hiking trips, and they make great gifts for someone who might be traveling to a developing country. I gave one to a friend’s daughter as part of her graduation gift when I knew she would be traveling on a mission trip to Cuba. I am traveling to Panama in October, and I will be taking some Lifestraw products with me. See the Lifestraw straws here. And see their whole line of products here. These are products I highly recommend!

  • Travel Door Alarm. If you have ever been awakened in a hotel room by someone coming into your room, you know how important a travel door alarm can be. I had someone walk into my room one time, because a hotel accidentally checked him into my room after I had already been checked in. When I screamed, he left immediately. I called the front desk, and they apologized profusely for the error. There are different types of travel door alarms. One is in a door stopper, and the other is not. If you’re concerned someone wouldn’t be able to get to you in an emergency, don’t get the door stopper one. You can see the door stopper one here. It keeps people from entering the room and emits a siren. For a travel alarm that doesn’t block the door but emits a loud sound, there’s the Lewis and Clark Travel Alarm. You can purchase here.
  • Travel Fan. I love my O2 Cool Travel Fan. It’s small and lightweight, and it doesn’t take up much room in my suitcase. It also puts off way more air than you think it will. I usually plug it in (it’s can be battery-operated or plugged in, which I prefer) on the nightstand right next to my head in any hotel. I turn it on, and I don’t get hot during the night. It’s an inexpensive way to improve your sleep in hotels. Get it at Amazon here. This is another product I highly recommend!
  • Road Trip Games. Interstate driving travel can be boring. If you have a road trip planned, you might benefit from having some road trip games in the car. It can improve the ride and helps keep kids from staring at phones the whole time. I love road trip games. See a selection of them at Amazon here.

There you have some suggestions. Feel free to message me with more ideas for travel necessities, and I will share those too!

by Kelly Mattei

College Gear For Freshmen Families

College gear for freshmen families.

As we approach high school graduation, seniors are making final college decisions. Our daughter graduated last year, and at her high school, they have “College T-shirt Day” every year. It’s a day all the seniors wear shirts showing which college or university they will be attending in the fall. They take a big group picture, and it’s fun to see where everyone will be going. If students didn’t get t-shirts when they visited their future colleges, they need to get them now.

Even if their schools don’t have T-shirt Day, it’s a good idea for them to get some gear for school spirit. It’s also fun for the rest of the family to get in on the school spirit. I have friends who are all in on the school spirit for their kids’ colleges. My own daughter goes to my alma mater, so I already had some fan gear, but I have to admit that I likely accumulated more after she decided to go there. I also have to admit we probably went a little overboard getting gear for her before she left.

There are lots of places to stock up on fan gear, including the university or college bookstores and souvenir shops when you visit. However, if you’d like to shop from home, Amazon has its very own “Fan Shop” where you can purchase all types of gear for lots of colleges and universities that have sports teams. Last year, I encouraged my daughter’s friends and their parents to check it out, so now I’m telling everyone else. You can shop the Amazon Fan Shop here. When you get to the Amazon Fan Shop page, you simply choose your team (or school) by clicking on “choose your team,” then clicking on NCAA, and then clicking on the college or university of your choice.

Last year, our daughter had to have a t-shirt that clearly showed her college choice for T-shirt Day, so we started with that. She also wanted a hoodie or two and a couple of crewneck sweatshirts. Oh, and don’t forget the sticker for the back window of her car. That was important too. In addition to the student’s fan gear, lots of dads like to get collared shirts and t-shirts with school emblems on them, and you can find lots of those at the Amazon Fan Shop too. Also, keep in mind that, if you plan to attend any sporting events in a stadium or arena, many require that any handbags are clear. You can find clear handbag options for moms and daughters with school logos at the Amazon Fan Shop as well.

This is an exciting time for families and their soon-to-be college students! Start accumulating gear now, before your student has T-Shirt Day at school and before they go to summer orientation, if their college does that. No matter what, it’s fun to have some school fan gear to wear during the summer too. Amazon is a one-stop shop for fan gear, and if you have an Amazon Prime account, shipping is often free.

Happy shopping!

by Kelly Mattei

College Homecoming

College Homecoming.

Lawn decorations on sorority row. Tailgate tents on the quad. Grills smoking. Families and friends gathering. A parade through campus. Band playing.

All these things contributed to a festive atmosphere when I went to the University of Alabama this past weekend for Homecoming. It had been a long time…10 or 11 years…since I had traveled there for Homecoming, but I was so happy I went this year!

When I was in college, we got dates to every football game, so it was always fun, but the Homecoming game every year was more exciting…more festivities, more excitement, more parties. It never occurred to me then that “Homecoming” was actually a time to welcome back alumni. I just thought of it as the football team was coming back for a home game after an away game. Thinking of “alumni” was just not on my radar. And with good reason…I was young and self-centered, just like most young people.

The fact that Homecoming is really for alumni hit me after I had a child. Taking her to the Homecoming football game in 2011 was the perfect opportunity to showcase my alma mater to her. And as anyone who has ever visited the University of Alabama knows, it is a beautiful place…worthy of showing off. My daughter was just seven years old at the time, but she loved football…not much choice in my family…you either love football, or you’ll be miserable during football season, because watching football is what we do. So when she was seven, my daughter and I went with my friend, Angela, and her daughter, who was nine years old at the time.

I remember we made our way around sorority row soon after arriving. The lawn decorations are impressive every year, and little girls love them, so we made sure ours got to see all of them that day. The lawn decorations are a lot different than when I was in college. Back when I was in school, the lawn decorations were as tall as the house! We had to climb on scaffolding to “pomp” tissue paper into giant chicken wire structures to show our spirit for Homecoming week…outside with music blasting till wee hours of the morning…boys helping us till wee hours of the morning. It was great fun in the 1980s, but now, it seems they do most of the “pomping” indoors, and the much smaller structures are placed on the lawn afterward. No more scaffolding…kind of a shame, because it sure was fun!

That Homecoming in 2011, we walked over to the quad and visited friends who were tailgating. We ate lunch in the alumni tent, and we ran into lots of people we knew from our college days. That is what Homecoming is about…visiting your alma mater to see people and visit with college friends you don’t see on a regular basis.

And this year, we did exactly that…spent time with friends we haven’t spent much time with over the last few years. I even managed to spend a little time with a friend I had not seen in 20+ years…one of the sweetest souls I have ever known. In fact, she is the very friend who told me after a bad breakup in my late 20s, “Just think! You get to fall in love again!” I reminded her of that when I saw her, and I told her how much hope it gave me after that breakup. Now, it’s what I have told my 19-yr-old daughter to say to her friends after they go through bad breakups. Because really…there’s nothing like that “falling in love” feeling.

We ended our Homecoming visit with a little tailgate time with a friend who had folding chairs that rock in her tailgate area. Not gonna lie…it was fun catching up with her, and it was hard to get up from those rocking chairs when it was time to leave! There’s something extra relaxing about a rocking chair…and I could have drifted off to sleep right there. But we needed to get moving, so I had to get up.

We didn’t stay for the game. We were spending the night at Angela’s house in Montgomery, and because we had a 90 minute drive ahead of us, we opted out of the game. We drove home on the winding road from Tuscaloosa to Montgomery, reliving the moments of the day…doing what we call “Post Game Wrapup” of our day. And while we talked about the fun of the day, we reminisced about college too. We had lots of good times at the University of Alabama back in the 1980s. That’s when Angela and I became friends, and we each remember different funny things that happened, so we laughed a lot on the drive.

We barely got to spend any time with our daughters, both of whom are students there. We saw her daughter for about an hour, and literally saw mine for a total of about five minutes! But I was happy…if she’s not clinging to me, she’s happy. I drove back up the next day to spend Sunday night in a hotel, so we had more time to visit. Then o came home Monday night.

It was a successful Homecoming. Yes, the team won the football game, and that’s definitely necessary for a successful Homecoming, but it was mostly successful because we got to see people we care about…people with whom we shared fun experiences in college.

And that’s what Homecoming is about.

by Kelly Mattei

Your Moms are Watching

Your moms are watching.

College football is my favorite sport. Sure, it can bring out the good, the bad, and the ugly in people, but it is my very favorite sport. I look forward to football season every year. It’s fun, and it brings back lots of great memories of my childhood, my high school years, and especially my college years.

During college football season, we watch a lot of games at our house. Every Saturday, we somehow manage to get showers, have meals, and get some exercise before, between, or after games. But no matter what, during college football season, we find a way to watch football all day and night on Saturdays.

We love a good football game. And we love crowd shots. And most of the time, we get a good laugh at the antics we see on the television screen. Students at ESPN College Game Day, holding signs behind the commentators…trying to get on national TV. I always think most of them just want their mamas to see them. I can only imagine my own daughter at College Game Day, holding up a silly sign…and if she got on screen, she would likely call me to see if I spotted her. If we’d had cell phones when I was in college, I feel sure I would have done that.

During games, we see students with painted bodies, spelling out the names of their teams. Or maybe they have just painted their hair. Or maybe they are wearing some outlandish outfit, trying to get the attention of the camera operators. It’s almost always good-natured, and we laugh. I always hope their mamas see them and get a good laugh out of it too. When I was in college at the University of Alabama, I had a friend who told us that, during televised Alabama games, her dad would call her mom into the room any time there was a crowd shot, so they could look for their baby girl. He’d yell, “Vonnie! Vonnie! Crowd shot! Crowd shot!” I don’t know if they ever spotted their daughter in the crowd, but they tried!

But occasionally, things turn ugly. It turned ugly during the Tennessee/Ole Miss game in Knoxville yesterday. Anyone who knows anything about college football knows UT fans hate Lane Kiffin, the current head coach at Ole Miss. He was the head coach at UT for a hot minute in 2009 before taking a head coaching job at the University of Southern California unexpectedly and leaving UT in the lurch. He coached at USC for about three years before being fired in the middle of a season; the firing took place at the airport, immediately after the team had flown back to Los Angeles after losing to Arizona State. Kiffin didn’t even get a bus ride back to campus.

Subsequently, Coach Nick Saban, of the University of Alabama, took Kiffin in. Saban is known for what we refer to as the “Saban Coaching Rehab,” because he takes in coaches that might have trouble getting jobs after a failure somewhere. Kiffin became the Offensive Coordinator at Alabama and was quite successful with the offense, but his off-field actions and his mouth often got him in trouble with Saban. He eventually took a head coaching job at Florida Atlantic University for a few years before taking the job at Ole Miss.

All this is my long way of giving you the history behind why Kiffin was not welcomed warmly in Knoxville Saturday. And I get it. However, it’s one thing for a fan base to hate a coach, but it’s another for them to get out of hand…and they did. Late in the game, after a questionable call went Ole Miss’s way, incensed Tennessee fans began throwing debris onto the field…cans, mustard bottles (why did someone take mustard to a game?), water bottles, and even a golf ball. Some of the debris hit Ole Miss cheerleaders, and the golf ball hit Kiffin. Don’t get me wrong. I know all the Tennessee fans were not participating. ***My daughter and I visited the University of Tennessee several times over the past few months, and we found their students and employees to be gracious, lovely people.*** I’m sure there are lots of Tennessee fans who were embarrassed by the other fans’ behavior, but it seemed mob mentality took over.

Here’s the thing: don’t you think there were probably some moms who saw their kids behaving badly when the cameras panned over the crowd? Did those fans not consider that? No one wants to disappoint their mama, right? I can only imagine how angry I would have been if I’d seen my daughter throwing things onto the field! She would have received a phone call from me immediately. And she would have regretted it right away.

The general rule at our house is to think before you act. It’s the rule, but just like everyone else in the world, we don’t always follow the rule. Many times I have said to my daughter, “Before you do something, consider whether you’d want me to see you do it.” Considering throwing debris onto the field? Think about what Mama would say. Considering doing shots of Fireball with your friends? Think about what Mama would say if she walked in and saw you. (I never, ever approve of doing shots, because of the danger involved.)

The world may never know exactly how things got so out of hand at Saturday’s game, but I’m guessing the participants weren’t remembering that their mamas might be watching. If they had even thought, for one second, that their mamas might see them, I have a feeling they wouldn’t have thrown stuff onto the field…no matter how they felt about the call or how they felt about Kiffin. My guess is that there are some angry Tennessee mamas right now.

As for Lane Kiffin, I understand why folks don’t like him. Personally, I find him amusing and colorful, but I know everyone doesn’t. He has a sarcastic way about him, and he says some crazy stuff. Before the Alabama/Ole Miss game this year, he said to Jamie Erdahl in the pregame interview, “Get your popcorn ready.” That was it…his words of wisdom before a “mic drop,” which was actually a headset drop. Ole Miss ended up losing the game, and Kiffin became a meme. In the week that followed, lots of folks had various kinds of popcorn delivered to the athletic office at Ole Miss. Alabama fans aren’t perfect, but that is the way to handle Kiffin. Don’t throw stuff onto the field. Just beat him at his own game…on the field and off.

And do it in the right way…remember, your mama might be watching.

***I’m definitely not knocking the University of Tennessee. My daughter and I both have friends who are students there or are alumni…and they are all lovely people…some of the best people we know, in fact. This kind of debacle could happen at any sporting event in any city.***