Kristin Cook
- None, Ben's Bargains
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Articles by Kristin Cook
Yaheetech Adjustable 40lbs Dumbbell Set Review: Are They a Worthy Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dupe?
I used to be a “gym girl” before the pandemic, but since 2020 I’ve been slowly building up my own home gym, with everything I could possibly need to do my strength training workouts at home. My black and pink basement gym, sometimes lovingly referred to as my “dunGYM” (dungeon + gym) is truly my happy place, and the commute down the stairs is certainly better than driving across town to get my lifting in.
Ten Classic Sesame Street Songs to Take You Back to the 1970s - Sesame Workshop
Sesame Street has been helping children everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder since its premiere in 1969. In addition to introducing audiences to a diverse and delightful cast of monsters, people, and furry and feathered friends, the show has gifted us with some of the catchiest and most recognizable tunes of the past few decades.
Four Times Grover Understood the Assignment – and Four Times He Did Not - Sesame Workshop
Since his debut in the first season of Sesame Street, Grover has endeared himself to millions with his big smile, confidence, and can-do attitude. Whether he’s Super Grover; Waiter Grover; or simply your loveable, furry old pal, Grover is always eager to help… even when things don’t quite go as planned.
UBTECH Iron Man MK50 Review: I Almost Love It 3000
By Kristin Cook on March 30, 2021 There’s no doubt that the new Marvel Avengers: Endgame Iron Man MK50 Robot by UBTECH ($250) looks cool. But how does it measure up once you get it out of the box? To use other Marvel films as a scale, is it more of a Thor: The Dark World, or a Thor: Ragnorak? My 7 year old and I decided to find out! Unboxing The packaging is really nice. Super sleek; definitely looks like it was designed to impress adults more than grab the attention of little kids.
20 Giftable Books for 2020
In a year full of Zoom meetings, Google Hangouts, e-Learning and “virtual happy hours”, the last thing I want to do with my free time these days is stare at another screen. Enter the book. I’m not talking about the kind you download onto your iPad or smartphone and read in the dark. No, I’m talking about the kind you hold in your hands, flip through with your fingers. The kind you can turn to when your eyes and your brain both need a break from the digital world we’re living in.
Take Us Back! Best Nostalgic Toys of 2020
2020 hasn’t been, uh, very good. You know it’s not great when a year inspires an extensive range of “dumpster fire” products (including hundreds of Christmas tree ornaments) to commemorate it! It’s really not surprising that there are a lot nostalgic toys coming out right now. Here are some of the best that will not only bring out your inner child, but will let you pretend, even if for a moment, that you’ve gone back in time.
The Rise of Skywalker Review: A Lovable Mess
Spoiler alert! Don’t read until you’ve seen the movie! As we were walking out of the theater tonight, my husband asked what I thought of The Rise of Skywalker. My response? “It was a giant, bloated Disney-fied mess…but I kind of loved it.” Even after letting it sit for a couple hours, that statement still stands. While The Mandalorian (Disney+, our review) has taken a “less is more” approach to Star Wars, The Rise of Skywalker definitely went in the “more is more” direction.
Amazon Echo Auto Review: Great For Music!
Amazon Echo Auto ($40) is basically a mini voice-controlled Echo speaker for your car. Here in Minnesota, where a new “hands free” law just went into effect, we’re all looking for the best way to control music and make calls/texts without ever touching our smartphones (and risking a hefty fine!). I haven’t been completely happy with just using the Siri hands free function on my iPhone, and was hopeful the other lady robot in my life, Alexa, could help.
Five Best & Five Worst Things to Buy at Home Depot
Looking for the best deals before your next trip to the big orange hardware store? We’ve identified some of the best products that you can find on sale at Home Depot as well as some of the worst that you will want to avoid. These picks are based on average discounts as well as the potential for additional coupons used in the transaction. Home Depot’s Five Best 1.
Opinion | If Larry Hogan wants to be a climate hero, he should sign the Clean Energy Jobs Act
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on April 23. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images) May 3 Kristin Cook is a leader with 350 Montgomery County. Mike Tidwell is director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. In the year 2030, people will buy homes differently in Maryland. They’ll look for good schools and safe neighborhoods. But they’ll also expect the home to produce its own energy. Rooftop solar power will be so commonplace in barely 10 years that it will be part of a homeowner’s standard checklist.
5 Best / 5 Worst Products to Find on Sale at Walmart
Looking for the best deals before your next trip to the store with all those folks in blue vests? We’ve identified some of the best products that you can find on sale at Walmart as well as some of the worst that you will want to avoid. These picks are based on average discounts as well as the potential for additional coupons used in the transaction. Walmart’s Five Best 1. Pantry Staples Walmart has really inexpensive prices on boxed groceries items like cereal, chips, crackers, etc.
20 Thrift Store Hacks for Saving and Making Money
Long before Macklemore made it cool, thrift store shopping, or just “thrifting” as I like to call it, has been saving (and in some cases making!) people a lot of money. If you’re new to thrifting at places like Goodwill, here are 20 tips that will help you make the most of your experience. 1.Go often! Part of the fun of thrifting is that you never know what you’re going to find, as they’re constantly putting out new items. We end up at Goodwill at least 2-3 a week most weeks.
Really Unique Gifts for People that are Tough to Please
Stumped on what to get that person on your list who seems to already have it all? Looking for something a little less generic and a little more special? Here are some unique gift ideas that are sure to stand out from the rest. Buy This Gift for Someone Who Really Loves Their Dog While the Human DNA fad is still going strong, the Puppy DNA fad has really just started to warm up. The Embark Dog DNA Test Kit tests for more than 250 dog breeds as well as a variety of diseases.
Stuff Your Holiday Stockings with These Awesome Gifts
When done right, the stocking can be one of the best parts of Christmas. There’s just something wonderful about digging into a packed stocking to find the nearly endless stream of gifts stuffed into that giant sock. With that in mind, here are a few stocking stuffer gift ideas for every type of person on your list.
2018 Holiday Gift Guide: Tech Toys Worth Buying
We’ve reached the point where everything under the sun must be “smart” or have Bluetooth or connect with an app. Sometimes these features seem pointless, sometimes they are just straight laughable (smart egg carton, really?). But other times the tech components are actually pretty cool. Here are some of the best toys of 2018 that use technology to really enhance the play and learning experience.
Holiday Gift Guide 2018: Toys That Live Up to the Hype
Toys have become kind of ridiculous. It seems every holiday season they have to top the previous year by being bigger, noisier, flashier, and with that, more expensive. And while traditional toy commercials are becoming a thing of the past as more people switch to streaming only TV, YouTube is bigger than ever, with an insane amount of child “influencers” telling your kids this toy is the best one ever. So which toys live up to the hype?
10 Ways to Pimp your (Bike) Ride
We can’t all afford to buy a brand new bike every summer, and most of us probably aren’t as skilled as the guy who made this awesome party bike (he’s from Portland — shocking!). But that doesn’t mean you have to be stuck riding around a lame bike all summer long. Here are ten easy, mostly inexpensive ways you can add some fresh style, comfort and most importantly, fun to your ride. Obviously, your bike is going to need to look cool.
Five Best & Five Worst Things to Buy at Kohl's
Looking for the best deals before your next trip to Kohl’s? We’ve identified some of the best product categories that you can find on sale at Kohl’s as well as some of the worst that you will want to avoid. These picks are based on average discounts as well as the potential for additional coupons used in the transaction. More focused with online sales rather than in-store savings, this is the product category we on sale most often on Ben’s.
How to Pull Off an Impromptu 'May the Fourth Be With You' Party
How to Pull Off an Impromptu ‘May the Fourth Be With You’ Party Happy May the Fourth, otherwise known as Star Wars Day! Every night is a great night for a Star Wars marathon in my book, but tonight it’s kind of mandatory. However, there’s no need to worry if you haven’t already planned a big, extravagant party complete with your dog in a Tauntaun costume greeting your guests.
5 Best / 5 Worst Products to Find on Sale at Target
Looking for the best deals before your next trip to the store with the big red bullseye on it? We’ve identified some of the best products that you can find on sale at Target as well as some of the worst that you will want to avoid. These picks are based on the average discounts as well as the potential for additional coupons. Especially strong during November / December (the last two holiday seasons they blew all other competition out of the water), but Target has great deals on toys all year long.
Shut Up and Take My Money: Columbia Star Wars Jackets
When Columbia announced they were coming out with a line of winter jackets inspired by the ones Han, Luke, and Leia wore during the Hoth scenes in The Empire Strikes back, I knew I had to have one. I mean, I have been obsessed with Leia since I was eight years old. I live in snowy Minnesota, which basically is Hoth right now. The Empire Strikes Back is my favorite movie of all time.
2017 Holiday Gift Guide: Tech Toys Worth Buying
It seems like everything these days must be “smart” or have Bluetooth, or connect to an app. But when it comes to toys, often those tech components seem a bit silly and/or unnecessary. That said, not all are duds. Here are a few of the best toys that are actually doing an excellent job using technology to really enhance the play and learning experience.
2017 Holiday Gift Guide: Toys that Live Up to the Hype
There are a lot of toys out there. And they’re all trying to get your kids’ attention by being the coolest, the greatest, the most extremely ultimate toy that the world has ever seen. So which toys live up to the hype? Here are some of the best toys of 2017, that should actually get played with long after the holidays are over. The Anki Overdrive: Fast & Furious Edition Starter Set is a fun upgrade to the super popular app-controlled car racing set from Anki.
Ben's on the Road: Days 12 & 13
After two weeks, 13 states, and a blur of fun, we’re about five hours from home again! The drive through the southwest–Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, wasn’t as exciting as the drive down to California, but it was still pretty cool to experience yet another part of the country I have never been to before. First up, Albuquerque. We didn’t spend a lot of time there, but it felt very…Breaking Bad.
Ben's on the Road: Days 10 & 11 (or something)
The drive from Southern CA to the Grand Canyon was an adventure of the best kind. One of the reasons I prefer road trips to flying somewhere for vacation, is that when you fly, you miss all the random gems that lie hidden between home and your destination. If we’d have flown to California, we would have never ended up at the kind of dumpy, but weirdly charming Desert Hot Springs Spa Hotel in Desert Hot Springs, for example.
Ben's on the Road: California Love
I was doing a good job keeping track of what day we were on for awhile there, but now we’re definitely at the point where the days are blurring together and I have no idea how long we’ve been on the road: just that it feels like it’s been forever! So Disney was definitely our main California attraction, but it wasn’t the only thing we came here to see. I was actually probably the most excited about the beaches, and they certainly delivered! The first beach we visited was in Ventura.
Ben's on the Road: Disneyland!
Yesterday, after 2,000 miles and a week on the road, we made it to Disneyland! It was crowded, it was hot, it was crazy expensive…but man it was fun! We hit it hard for about 12 hours and were able to experience all the rides I’ve been wanting to go on since I was a kid: Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Teacups, Indiana Jones.
Ben's on the Road: Days 4 & 5
Well, we haven’t turned the car around and driven home yet (despite threatening it a few times), so I’m calling this trip a major win so far! The last couple days have been spent time in Capitol Reef National Park in Utah, and Las Vegas. One was beautifully remote, the other was basically the opposite, but both were a lot of fun. I have never been to Utah before, and the drive into the area we were staying was one of the most interesting 5-6 hours of my life.
Ben's on the Road: Days 2 & 3
Welcome back to Ben’s on the Road, where one brave Ben’s Bargains editor (me!) attempts to drive across the country with three kids aged five and younger, for as cheap as humanly possible. Yesterday was my first day on this trip working a normal Ben’s work shift from the car. It’s pretty cool, actually, how easy it is to do my job from anywhere I want, including a moving minivan (my husband is driving; hopefully that is obvious!).
Ben's on the Road: Day 1
Welcome to the very first entry in our very first travel blog series! My name is Kristin, but if you’ve been around Ben’s at all, you might know me better as AgentK. For the last five years or so, I’ve spent a lot of time finding and posting deals for Ben’s, and by this point, I like to think I’ve gotten pretty good at saving money online.
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