The Big One sheet set

All I really wanted was a set of black sheets for my bed. I figured if I was looking for basic cotton, it wouldn’t be too hard to find. I remember buying the smoothest, softest sheets ever from JC Penney in the past. I no longer have a full sized bed, so I gave them to mom and I sleep like a baby when I spend the night at her house. To JC Penny it was! I actually found an option on JC Penney’s website but, for whatever reason, black was available in every size but mine (queen). Sears had options online but were backordered until June! June! I mean, we’re talking about sheets here! I went to my local JC Penney, in hopes that they might have my color and size in stock, but there weren’t any black sheets to be found. The same was said for every department store in the mall.

My next stop, then, was Target, which had a variety of black sheets, but I don’t know who would buy them. Aside from the microfiber, which is far too warm for my body, every model felt like crap. Scratch, thick, stiff. There was no way I was going to pay the $50+ for the worst sheets I’ve ever felt. A handful of other stores provided no options. I was starting to think that my simply request was impossible. Bed, Bath and Beyond provided a costly and not-quite perfect solution: I could get black stripes for $90. I was hoping to spend a little less.

I think of Kohls only for clothes and shoes. I’d actually looked on their website, but couldn’t remember anything that seemed to fit my needs. It could be that they’re almost completely sold out of black sheets and they’ve updated the website to reflect that. Regardless, they had an amazing sale but their shelves were nearly empty. I grabbed the closest size and headed to guest services, hoping they might be able to order my size at the insistence of my shopping friend. Wouldn’t you know that they no longer do that, so she employee sent me to the kiosk, which couldn’t help me because it uses the same system as the website.

So I handed the sheets over to the cashier when I was checking out with something else, completely dejected. However, she was pretty awesome and offered to go look for some in back. I had no help but she returned triumphant! I was stoked, because I paid less than $35 for a new set of sheets.

As you can expect, they’re not perfect. They’re not the silky smooth cotton I would have really liked and these sheets definitely feel a little scratchy out of the package. For some reason, the flat sheet felt softer than the fitted one. However, after washing they soften up quite a bit; washing also seems to make lint stick to them. My bed look a little sloppy because of that, but other colors won’t be so problematic. The color is extremely deep and hasn’t faded at all in the wash.

I was worried that just because I’d found sheets, they wouldn’t fit. At the time of purchase, my pillowtop mattress was about 18″ high. It’s definitely sunk some since them, but I’ve consistently had problems finding fitting sheets that fit. The Big One sheets fit before washing and they didn’t seem to shrink at all, another worry. I’m not sure about the return policy, but sometimes you can’t return things after washing.

One thing that I love is that the flat sheet is quite wide. It hands past the edges of my mattress, which is fantastic. When I turn down the sheet and blanket, the sheet extends the full width of the blanket. Sheets that are less wide tend to look sloppy, in my opinion.

These are a little prone to wrinkles, but my flat sheet isn’t doing that annoying curling thing, yet, so we’ll see. I like the feel of these on my skin and, for the price, all the faults are acceptable. That’s pretty much what all the reviews say, too.

Amazon Kindle fire

Purchasing Decision

When I realized I had some extra cash, it didn’t take long to settle on the Kindle Fire. I did take the time to consider some similar items, namely the Nook Tablet. I decided to check out both in person before going with the Fire. As it turns out, the Nook Tablet still uses a plastic screen, which makes it feel incredibly cheap. For exactly the same price, why wouldn’t I go for the Kindle Fire with its Gorilla Glass Screen? So I did.

Tech Specs

I don’t want to focus on this for too long because the tech blogs, so here’s the quick and dirty:

• 1024 x 600 ( 169 ppi ) resolution
• 7-inch screen
• 8 GB memory
• Dual-core CPU
• 802.11b/g/n
• WPA2, WEP, WPA
• MPEG-4 and VP8 video support
• AAC, WAV, OGG, MP3, MIDI audio support
• AZW, PRC (Mobipocket), PDF, DOC, TXT, DOCX book/document support
• 1 x Hi-Speed USB – 5 pin Micro-USB Type B
• 1 x Headphones – Output – Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm

The only reason I really considered the Nook Tablet was because this “only” have 8 gigabytes of space, which is more like 6, once you figure in the space needed for the operating system and default apps. This is a major complaint of some people, especially because there’s no removable storage option. However, this is not a tablet, guys. This should not replace your MP3 player completely, nor should you expect to use it as a desktop replacement. Yes, you can do more than reading on this but, first and foremost, you should consider this an electronic reader.

Reading

I’ve probably done more reading this year than the last two combined and much of that is due to the Kindle Fire. First, the 7-inch screen size is ideal for reading. It’s a little bigger than a standard fantasy book but not by much. I find that the slim profile of the Kindle Fire makes is so much easier for me to hold with my short fingers. In fact, I never realized how much I hate physical books before this. There’s no paper cuts and it’s so much more comfortable to read in bed.

The app itself works well, for books from Amazon and PDFs from the Internet. There are so many options in terms of text size and color, background color and even screen brightness. I don’t have to have a light on to read; I can simply adjust the brightness and color until it’s perfect. This makes it good for people with failing sight, too. With a little help to set it up initially, the books are going to be incredibly easy to read.

There’s no text-to-voice reading, which is another complaint. I guess other kindles have it; although the Fire doesn’t This is fine by me. I do well enough with the ability to bookmark and make notes about the book. Every function of the reader is so intuitive that you don’t even need a manual. In fact, there’s only a digital copy on the device itself, which is awesome. I wish my phone or computer were that easy to use.

I lovelovelove that I can lock the screen rotation, and I truly wish this feature was native to my phone. This makes reading while lying down so easy! Finally, I love that I can email PDFs to my device. I don’t like USB transfer and this allows me to wirelessly upload books and documents without Bluetooth.

Music on the Kindle fire

Music

Music is the other thing I use my Kindle Fire for — every day, in fact. I downloaded Pandora to listen while showering. Amazon music comes preloaded and looks exactly like the version on my phone, which I already use. You’ll have to upload music to the cloud or transfer it with a USB cable which, oddly, isn’t included. For me, there was zero transition, which I love. Pandora doesn’t include a widget, because the home screen is set up like a bookshelf, or a lockscreen control. you can run it in the background and access it from the status bar, though. However, Amazon MP3 does incorporate the latter.

Apps

Because I already use the App Store, all the apps I’ve purchased or installed on my phone were waiting for me to install them to my Kindle. Well, almost all of them. Amazon analyzes every app before making it available to the Kindle Fire, so there’s not quite every aop. However, I quickly installed Twitter, Pandora eBuddy and a handful of other apps. I believe you can only use 1 GB of the hard drive for apps, so there’s a limit, but I find that I use it to supplement my phone, not replace it.

Noticeably missing are keyboard apps. You can side-load them but this version of Android won’t recognize it. I have Swype on there but can’t use it. The keyword isn’t horrible; it’s actually almost identical to the one on my iPod Touch. It just doesn’t work well for chatting or social networking. Furthermore, you can’t install or download from the Google Market, at least not yet. However, third-party apps sites will work if you just download and install the APK.

Annoyingly, the Facebook app is a link to the mobile site. I added the actually Facebook app from a third-party site, and it works fine. I can’t freeze the Facebook app, but this isn’t a deal breaker.

Video on Kindle Fire

Amazon Prime

I love that I got a free month of Amazon Prime. It means I can purchase lots of goodies and have them shipped for free. It also gives me access to free movies and television shows on the Kindle. Although, I’ve seen everything I would be interested in and the selection is sparse. I’m not sure that I’ll renew my Prime membership when it expires, but I love that I can “borrow” some books from Amazon, one a month to be extra. I read Mockingjay this month. If you frequently buy books from Amazon or like the selection of the shows and movies, this is probably a good investment for you.

Android

Because the home screen is set up like a bookshelf, it doesn’t really look like Android. The only time I’m reminded that it’s Amazon is when I’m messing with the settings. Sure, if you want the openness of Android, you’ll be disappointed. Still, for an eReader with perks, the perks sure are damned good!

A few kinks

If there’s anything that I don’t necessarily love about my Kindle Fire, it’s how each section — books, docs, music, etc — is split into content that’s in the cloud or actually on the device. This is a good idea, but it seems like a lot of data winds up in both places but I can’t actually access the files in my cloud drive. I guess I don’t quite understand how the cloud works on this device and I don’t like having multiples of documents.

Also, as I mentioned, this charges via USB but there’s no included cable. The adapter plugs directly into the wall. I can charge my phone with it, which is nice, but having a USB cable to transfer files would be convenient.

There’s no Bluetooth, which I wouldn’t mind having. It’s not a deal breaker by any means.

Amazon’s Silk browser is supposed to be a selling point. It’s basically the Android browser with a prettier design. I’d love to use Opera on this, but I don’t browse on the Kindle as much as I do any other device that I own.

Some dislike the lack of physical volume buttons and the placement of the speakers is a little lackluster. However, I usually just keep mine on maximum volume, so this is rarely a problem. I do wish the power button were slightly further from the USB port, because it’s slightly hard to press while it’s charging.

Overall

Were I to give this a star rating, it would be something like 4.75 stars. I can’t help but be a fan and recommend this to everyone I know. It stands out from the crowd and is available at such an amazing price. If you have been thinking about a Kindle Fire, you should definitely get it!

Downy Unstoppables

Downy’s newest product are in-wash beadsthat promise to make your clothes and sheets and other laundry smell amazing, well after you have washed them. They don’t do anything else so I wouldn’t have purchased this product by itself. At $13 a bottle, it’s kind of a rip-off. I’d much rather buy a bottle of Febreze that I can use on the carpets and furniture, in addition to any clothing I might want to perk up.

However, I received a free sample and tossed it in the washer. The dry beads go in the wash, before your clothes and completely dissolves in the cycle. I’m always wary of products that leaves marks on my dark clothes, and this did not.

The “fresh” scent is kind of a generic fabric softener scent that is enjoyable. The smell permeated the entire utility room and into the living room as the washer ran. It picked up on my hands as I transferred the clothes to the dryer, and was incredibly easy to detect after they were dried. My sample seemed pretty big, but I used it all because I didn’t want to deal with leftovers spilling. The full bottle instructs you to use as little or as much as you’d like. Because I wear my clothes frequently, I think I could get away with using less product. In fact, the smell was so strong on my PJs that it was a little distracting, so I’d probably use far less than I actually did.

You could use this product as an expensive potpourri, if you put it in a bag in a drawer. I think I like that idea slightly better than washing with it, to be honest. Others have experienced more luck with the scent lasting when line/air drying, rather than machine drying.

I didn’t use my normal dryer sheet, just to test this out. Unfortunately, this means I didn’t get any softening, lint removal or fighting static. Having soft and static-free laundry is much more important to me than laundry that simply smells good. While I like Downy Unstoppables, I can’t justify the price.

So, this is basically Glade’s version of Febreze, which has many scents that I like and can find. I’ve been using the Clean Linen scent because it’s what I can find. So much so that the throw on the sofa permanently smells like it. It’s a soapy sort of scent that gives me a headache if I smell too much of it but if I spray and leave the room, it’s not too bad.

I’ve used both the regular and “Tough Odor” solutions and I’m pretty sure the regular works better. They’re both lackluster at actually scenting the air, which is true of any aerosol really. Why do we buy spray air fresheners, again? The Tough Odor Solutions is really concentrated in the air but the smell doesn’t stick around at all. However, the regular concentration is pretty good removing smells and leaving them smelling like clean linen, as it were. Which is what you would expect from a product that’s supposed to eliminate the source of the odor.

Even without coupons, Glade offers a more competitive price so I’ll probably still with this product even though I don’t love it.

I was already familiar with Pledge dusting spray; although I hadn’t used it for some time. I’d been dry dusting with the Swiffer Duster and, while I enjoyed it and it worked well enough (and is great for hard to reach places, as I have the extending handle!), it doesn’t do anything to prevent dust from returning. Because my bedroom furniture is so dark, dust is super noticeable. Pledge leaves the surface a little slick so dust doesn’t stick quite as much (as well as leaving a crazy shine!). It was also funny watching Phantom slide across my dresser. While I’m pretty sure most of us are familiar with Pledge, I’ve only used it for wooden furniture but if you have stainless steel, granite or leather, you can also use pledge on it. I don’t but, I could.. some day!

Another product that I got to test–and this one was completely new to me–was the Scrubbing Bubbles Mega Shower Foamer. This product sprays a freakin’ wall of foam at your bathtub and shower. It’s pretty crazy. It can also get a little messy so I’d definitely recommend practicing at a safe area. LOL To be honest, I have one of those smooth-walled showers and I hadn’t cleaned it once since we moved in (gasp!) so this was the perfect time for me to use the shower cleaner. It’s super easy to see where you’ve sprayed it and wipes down, leaving everything gleaming. According to SC Johnson, it leaves things clean for four days after and your shower or tub’s surface will be able to more easily repel grime so you spend less time breaking your back to clean away the soap scum later. My shower isn’t really soap scummy but I did also spray some on my shower liner, which was quite scummy, and was pretty impressed with the results.

Lastly, I was able to try the new Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel. If you watch TV regularly, you’ve probably seen the commercials. They’re all “Stamp it in your toilet and you’re set!” And I’m all “You mean I don’t actually have to clean the toilet? Woo!” Nice concept but it utterly fails in reality. You see, you have this tube of gel that you insert into the holder and, every time you want to use it, you have to force this button to pop into a different spot to “stamp” in the gel. It leaves a fairly thick circle of gel. Note that you have to put it right under the rim so that the running water will rinse it away over the course of a week (according to the packaging). I stamped a little low the first time around the the gel just stuck there for weeks. I don’t know if it was still actually working or not–or even if it worked at all. You see, a ring still formed around the toilet and the bowl wasn’t looking so clean after using the toiler cleaning gel. I wound up scrubbing it out by hand so, had I purchased the Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel, I’d be pretty disappointed, especially because I wound up having to scrub off the gel. On the other hand, it smelled nice enough and did a good job at odor control (although, you might find it too strong if you’re sensitive to scents).

Out of these three products, I like Pledge the best and I imagine the Mega Shower Foamer will last me a freaking lifetime.

Once again, thanks to BzzAgent and SC Johnson for giving me the opportunity to review these items!

Crisp Waters Plugins Scented Oil

The good news is I probably wouldn’t die because I actually like the Crisp Waters scent that I received to try and spread word about. It’s floral with a subtle fruity undertone. I know that’s a generic description but I’m not familiar with floral scents to be any more specific. It’s pretty strong so I’ve had my plug-ins set on low for the most part. Because the weather’s been so nice, I’ve had my bathroom window open and when I closed it, the scent seems to be even stronger. In fact, I haven’t switched the old freshener in my room because it’s so strong.

Although it won’t replace my love for the Hawaiian Breeze scent (and I do mean LOVE!), I’d buy Crisp Waters for use in the living room–which I try to switch up every month or so.

Unfortunately, I’m not feeling so benevolent toward Glade’s limited edition Sparkle of Spring candle. My mom had purchased some of the holiday scents so I was familiar with the jar candles and, if you’re not the candle type, Sparkle of Spring and Bring on the Blossoms (which are both limited editions) are available as room sprays, oil candles and plugins scented oils, too.

Glade Sparkle of Spring Candle

I’ve actually burned the candle to its end and have to point out that, as it burned down, the scent slowly faded and became replaced with something much more soapy and waxy. I rather don’t like generic soapy and waxy scent but perhaps the lime contributes to that as so many cleaning products are lime scented. Like I said, lime isn’t my thing and, at first, I didn’t mind it. The undertones of vanilla were pleasant enough. Nevertheless, ginger didn’t really make an appearance as far as I can tell. I probably would have better enjoyed Bring on the Blossoms. I also don’t think I got 22 hours of burn time with this candle but it definitely lasted longer than a votive.

While the candle burned pretty evenly, it seems to end sooner than one would expect. There’s a bout one half of a centimeter of wax left but the wick just won’t hold a flame. It feels a little wasteful. As does the glass container. I always have this problem when I’m done with candles, though. Do I force myself to reuse the jar or just recycle it? I can reuse it for a votive but I’ll probably wind up taking it out with the co-mingles.

Of course, SC Johnson sent me a few more items so my house will be and smell clean. Look for those reviews and a giveaway soon!

Thanks to BzzAgent and SC Johnson for this opportunity!

I do think that the fibers add Little bit of durability to the wipes, though. I feel like I could rinse them out and re-use them more than I could with the original Lysol wipes. Depending on the job, that’s quite the pro for this product.

Because the Dual Action Lysol wipes do tend to cost more than the regular Lysol wipes, I will probably not purchase them in the future unless I can get a good deal.

I’m trying to do a red, white and black thing in my kitchen. I’ve a lot of black and red so far and decided to go with red silverware as well. Hampton forge actually has a few sets that fit the bill but I opted for Sophia because it was more affordable yet stylish.

I was super duper excited the day that I came home to see this box resting against my door and the marbled handles looked end better in person. I took pictures. Seriously. The Sophia Flatware Set is a bit brighter than the images on Amazon; however, all the pictures I’ve taken have shown up too bright and pink. The medium red handles are swirled with a lighter red. It’s subtle and sophisticated, just like the band joining the handle and head of the utensils.

I didn’t open it all up for a while because I had to wash and move my older silverware but I was so impressed when I did. These pieces are larger and weightier than what I was using. They’re.. kind of hardcore. That’s probably because I was using something cheap and not rust-resistant. I can definitely look forward to years of rust free flatware, given that the Sophia set is made of stainless steel (and plastic).

In case you were wondering, the package is set up so there are one of each utensil (fork, salad fork, spoon, soup spoon, knife) on display in front. Inside the box, every utensil is in a plastic bag and the types are grouped together by rubberband. If you’re impatient, like me, you will not be able to get the packaging off fast enough.

They’re ridiculously high quality, too. I know some people prefer the single piece metal style silverware because they worry the handle style will break. I absolutely expect this to last for years. It did take me a bit to get used to the feel of them but that’s not unusual.

I must honestly say that I am so glad I made this purchase. I put it off because it was a little more expensive than I expected. I will probably purchase another set, before too long, so I have enough for guests, too.

I have added a couple things to my kitchen recently that just make me love it. It might be my new favourite room in my home. Who’dathunk I’d ever say that?!

I love that I can take a few minutes to throw everything in the pot and walk away for several hours without thinking about it once! It’s minimal effort for the maximum output. The first recipe I made with my crock pot was probably the best meal I’d had in months and it was so easy. I didn’t have to stir or flip or add more ingredients or anything. If you’re new to crock pot cooking, the manual has a couple basic recipes, including roast, too.

The second thing that I love about this model is that the stone container within the metal base is removable. So when my food was done, I carefully lifted it out (with potholders!) and set it on a trivet. It easily doubles as a serving container–unlike some styles.

It also makes cleaning much easier because I can simply put the stone container in the sink and don’t have to worry about not getting the cord wet. I’ve wiped down the outside of the metal base with a Lysol wipe, when it needed it.

The Hamilton Beach 4 Quart Oval Slow Cooker is also super easy to use. There’s 3 settings: warm, low and high. So you can cook your food and keep it simmering and warm all day, too. I love that!

There are a few points that do not make this particular model the best for all cooks, however.

• It’s only 4 quarts. This isn’t an issue for me as all of the recipes I’ve made could easily serve 4 and only filled the pot about 1/2-3/4 of the way full but you can’t make a Thanksgiving turkey on this, either.
• The lid does not seal tightly. It sits pretty lightly on the cooker, I don’t think a lot of heat is escaping but it’s definitely something to consider if you need your crock pot to travel.
• Speaking of travel, the removable pot actually kind of works against that. I mean, it’s not a huge deal to remember to grab the handles at the base, instead of the actual pot, but you could easy grab the wrong ones and drop the base or burn yourself.
• There’s no medium setting. Really, you can adjust for this pretty easily but I just thought I’d mention it.

But considering that this specific model is less than $30, you could do a lot worse. CSN Stores has many crock pots, however; even if the crock pot I own isn’t the one for you. Kitchen appliances are really just one department of consumer goods available from CSN Stores and their 200+ related websites.

I’d never used a filter-style water pitcher before so I did some investigating on Amazon. There were a few options from names I knew, like Brita and Pur, and some which weren’t quite so well known. I was focusing mainly on price and reviews. I didn’t want to spend over $50 and wanted to keep it closer to $25 without getting a complete piece of crap. It became immediately obvious that whichever purchase I went with, I’d have to wait for the water to filter and would more than likely wind up dealing with a carbon filter which can sometimes result in carbon particles in the water.

When I had narrowed down my list to a few suitable options (although some didn’t have many helpful reviews), I began comparing size. Although my household is small, I didn’t want to be refilling the pitcher the times a day. Unfortunately, none of the sizes were measured with the same units and it seems like filter pitchers are just a whole lot smaller than I expected, even for someone who doesn’t drink a whole lot.

I eventually settled on the Brita Atlantis Water Pitcher which has a 1.5 quart capacity. See? Small. Still, it’s not so bad. The preparation was interesting. After washing the pitcher and pieces itself, I had to open and soak the carbon filter in water for 15 minutes. I would recommend using a large bowl, if you have one. I did not, so I had to fill my entire sink which is just barely taller than the filter. After soaking, I could see the carbon flakes in my sink, which I drained. The filter was easy enough to install in the cover of the pitcher and then it’s just a matter of filling this compartment, letting it filter into the pitcher itself and repeating.

It’s worth noting that the instructions say to dump out the first batch of filtered water to eliminate any carbon flakes. I saw none, however. Some of the reviewers on Amazon had a different experience. The water starts filtering immediately but does take a bit of time. You’re not going to get a glass of water within moments, unfortunately. That is one of the downsides to a filter pitcher instead of a filter on your tap; it’s not immediate. However, it only takes filling the filter chamber twice to fill the entire pitcher and this can be done with the cover on (there is a little ‘door’ which opens to allow access).

When it’s filtered, the water is crystal clear. And how does it taste? It doesn’t have that slight sweetness of some bottled water but it’s crisp and clear and really quite good. I don’t mind drinking it, like I mind drinking tap water.

Plus, the Brita Atlantis Water Pitcher can go right in the door of your refrigerator because of the thin design. I don’t keep it there simply because ours it fully and it can get heavy but it’s nice to have the option.

The pitcher I bought only comes with one filter that needs to be refilled periodically (there is a reminder sticker thing in the package but it was confusing so I tossed it). They recommend changing it ever 2-3 months for a family of 4 so I will be able to get by changing it a bit less frequently – definitely a plus!

Having a positive experience with the Brita Atlantis Water Pitcher makes me open to investigating in a larger, more expensive model by Brita sometime in the future – should the need arise. For now, I’m quite happy with my purchase.