**REVIEW** Shandali UltraSport Travel Towel

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

The Shandali UltraSport Travel Towel is an interesting product. It is a microfiber towel that is extremely lightweight, yet extremely absorbent. I was excited to try it out as part of my two towel showering system. I, honestly, did not have high expectations for it. Once I took it out of the package (from Amazon, so you know it was excessive!), I thought it was way too thin, and way too flimsy to do any good. Also, I was always told that microfiber should not touch the bare skin as it could potentially cut you, due to the sharp fibers. However, this towel is incredibly soft and smooth. It feels great against my skin!

While it is incredibly thin, don't let that fool you. I ordered the Medium size (24" x 48") because I have long hair. I was hoping the towel would cover my hair completely so that I could make this my permanent hair towel.

My original designated "hair towel" is thick, and would take forever to dry. Sometimes, it'd still be damp when I took a shower the following day. Which would then lead to it smelling musty, and my hair if I forgot to bring a new towel in the bathroom with me. With the Shandali towel, I don't have to worry about that. It dries very quickly (usually no longer than 30 minutes, in my experience). I hang it right on the back of the bathroom door.

My only real complaint thus far is the fabric loop. The first time I hung it up, it started to rip a little. While the towel was wet, it still wasn't heavy enough to cause the loop to tear like this. My guess is that it likely came like this. I failed to check it directly out of the package, so I can't say for certain. While some people may consider the loop an important piece of the towel, to me, it wasn't a big deal. It wouldn't stop me from recommending it to someone.

It held up well in the wash, with very minimal shrinking, if any at all. The color didn't bleed, and it didn't fade with one wash. Washing instructions say to wash in cold water and tumble dry low. For some reason, my washer doesn't wash on cold, so I washed it on hot. I also used the high setting on my dryer.

Overall, I really do love this towel. While I don't find it to be big enough to use as a beach towel, it's perfectly acceptable as a shower/bath towel. It would likely be perfect to dry a car after washing it. Though there are cheaper options.

You can purchase your very own Shandali UltraSport Travel Towel here.


Already own one? Tell me what you think about it!







I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Family fun! *pic heavy!*

About 3 weeks ago, I was incredibly sick. I had the stomach bug so bad, and was reduced to nothing but tears and zapped of all energy. My house was a wreck, my kids hadn't had an actual cooked meal, and I hadn't been able to stand up for more than a few minutes without falling over due to being incredibly weak and dizzy. I am sure I was severely dehydrated, which certainly didn't help me any.

After I recovered, I decided that we needed to get out on the first nice day. I needed some fresh air, and the kids didn't want to be cooped up inside on an almost 80° day. So, Saturday morning I decided that we were going to go to the Zoo. Because I was angry with my husband, I was not inviting him to attend our outing. Gianna had other plans. She walked up the stairs and asked daddy to come "Daddy! Come to the zoo with us?" He also wasn't feeling well, so I figured he wouldn't be up to the trip. The Zoo isn't far from us at all, but with the kids, it can become an all day thing. He decided to come. So much for that.

We arrived at about 12:50, went through the gates, and started our visit. Sheep, goats, ring tailed lemurs, and this cute little guy. The red panda. My new favorite animal. He's so cute!!!

By the time we passed the cougar, the birds (bald eagles, vultures, owls, etc), and the arctic fox, my husband was really starting to feel worn down and sick. We stopped at the snack shack and got some drinks and pretzels. At that point, he decided he was going to head back to the car and wait for us there. It was 1:30. He didn't think we'd be that long. The Zoo isn't large by any means, but it certainly isn't small. There were still quite a bit of animals left to see, and some of them are rather entertaining.

We went up to the Large Cats of Asia building, which houses a leopard and two gorgeous tiger sisters. The leopard kept walking back and forth in front of the windows, before deciding that she was tired and just wanted to lay in the sun. 

After that, we visited a spectacled bear and then made our way up to my favorite exhibits- the otters and the penguins. The penguins apparently only go in the water once in a great while, so we were incredibly lucky to watch them jump in and swim around. We went into the building so that we could see them underwater. Gianna was so excited to watch them swim! They played with her, through the glass, for at least 10 minutes.

 On one of our bathroom breaks, the kids decided to play with the statue outside.

After that, we checked out the wolf exhibit. We didn't see any while we were inside the building, but I decided to prop my phone up and set the timer so I could get a picture of the kids and I together. I wish it wasn't so dark, but I really like it other than that.

While we were leaving, we spotted the wolves outside of the large area. There were 4 of them, but only one was actually out in the open enough for me to get a picture of him.

After this, we made our way back to the beginning so that the kids could spend some time feeding the goats and sheep again. They really enjoy that part the most. There were 3 new babies, and they were just the cutest little things hopping around! Gianna loved watching the one play. The mother to the twin babies was incredibly loud. Every time AJ would look at her, she'd "BAAAAA" as loud as she could. Guess it was feeding time and she was making sure the zookeepers knew she was there and waiting!

Before we left, we hit up the ZOOvenir shop to pick up some souvenirs for the kiddos. AJ picked some plastic zoo animals, Sofia bought a ring, and Gianna wanted this tiger named Tirney. I put it on her back and used a rubber band around his hands and feet to keep it in place. She loved it!

And, the perfect ending to the perfect day? ICE CREAM from Coldstone!

My new favorite picture of Gianna:

They had a blast. We spent a total of 3.5 hours at the zoo. The kids had a blast, I had a blast. My husband sat in the car that whole time. I'm sure he was hoping that he didn't come, or that we would hurry up. Oh well. We had fun, and that's all that matters. My kids enjoyed themselves and the attention they received. It was one of the best times I've had in a while and I can't wait until the weather warms up some more so that we can do more things like this. I'm hoping to hit up the Syracuse Zoo and the mall as well. I know the kids would enjoy that just as much, if not more, than this zoo.