WHY I CHOSE THESE GRILL MATS: I was looking for an alternative to Aluminum Foil that I've used on my grill for years. Even the Heavy Duty aluminum foil gets holes in them and food falls through. I saw grill mats, and I got really excited about the possiblities. I chose these grill mats, because they are PFOA Free and made with materials from the U.S.A.. I remember reading up on PFOA warnings when I was researching non-stick cookware. There have been numerous tests that have shown that when used at high heat, they put off fumes that have undoubtedly killed birds. However, the researchers weren't sure if it was bad for humans. I don't see a need to take the risk when there are options out there that don't contain the ingredient.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: When I first received these, I figured they would be somewhat slick like a silicone baking mat. However, these are more like a nylon-like material. With that said, I am confident you could grill an egg with a touch of oil. Nothing I have cooked on this has stuck. They aren't thick, but they aren't thin either (real descriptive, I know). These are thin enough to be pliable, but thick enough that I think you could use metal grill equipment and not be too concerned about poking a hole through them.
MY REVIEW: I have washed these grill mats with warm, soapy water and I've tossed it in the dishwasher. Both are fine to do with these grill mats. I've used these on a variety of food and they do a great job. They keep the grill grates much cleaner. It's easier to clean these than food that has been baked onto a grill grate. They also prevent food from sticking, so if you are cooking chicken for instance you won't have the skin stuck to the grill grate when you remove it from the grill. As I said earlier, you can probably use metal utensils. However, if you have silicone, it might be the way to go. I These mats are very basic to understand and use. I think you'll be happy with them. Should they ever break, they are covered under warranty.
CONCLUSION: As you can likely tell, I am very pleased with these grill mats. I use them on my grill exclusively since I've received them!
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free. However, the opinions expressed herein were formulated based on my personal use of the product. I welcome all suggestions, feedback and/or product questions!
WHAT'S INCLUDED: Speaker, Micro USB cable (for charging), 2-sided 3.5mm audio cable (AUX-in cable), and a user manual
VIDEO: I briefly give a glance of the speaker and accessories. I also give a short test/demonstration.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Size, charge time, run time, Bluetooth pairing: The speaker itself is the width of a soda can, but slightly longer. Battery life depends on how you use the speaker (high volume or low volume, Bluetooth vs auxiliary cable, etc.). However, it should last between 8-10 hours. Charging time is between 5-6 hours to fully charge. The 2 speakers are 6-watt speakers a piece with Bluetooth transmission of up to approximately 30 ft. Speaking of Bluetooth, pairing the device is very easy. Turn the power on the speaker, enable the Bluetooth function on your phone, iPod, etc. and wait for your device to pick up the signal from this speaker. When your picks up this speaker, click on it to enable it and that's it!
There are rubber bumpers on the top, bottom, and sides. The cover for the power port and 3.5mm audio cable seals to make the speaker water resistant or water proof (I haven't tested this claim to see if it's water proof but the owner's manual states both which is a bit confusing). I haven't had an issue with it, but other reviewers have had small problems. At any rate it's worth noting.
Using the speakers: You can use the volume rocker when using the Bluetooth function. When using the cord, you must adjust volume from your device. The speakers themselves are very nice for this class of product. The speakers get very loud without any discernible distortion. The bass isn't top end like you'd get out of a stereo system, but there is certainly noticeable bass with these speakers. These speakers are certainly nice in comparison to similar products.
REVIEW: I'm very impressed with this small but capable set of speakers. The sound is great. The bass is sufficient. The battery lasts for a while. Charging might be a bit longer than others, but I like the tradeoff of longer operating times. Overall, this is a solid product and a good value.
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free. However, the opinions expressed herein were formulated based on my personal use of the product. I welcome all suggestions, feedback and/or product questions!
VIDEO COMPONENTS: 1. Overview of the Humidifer/Diffuser 2. Demonstration 3. How to Clean 4. LED Colors Demo 5. Conclusion 6. Bonus: Essential Oil Blends (for different moods) I ordered this humidifier and diffuser, because it has a large capacity (500ml) and long run time (10-20 hours based on setting). I'm not big on using LED's myself, but I can see how they would be useful for a child's room. Alternatively, if you are having company over, the LED's may provide some interest or be a conversation starter. However, most of the time, I just run the diffuser with the lights off.
MY REVIEW: First Impressions - My first impressions of this product were very good. I could tell the company took great care in packaging. There were covers for the plug, the packaging was shape molded for protection, the instruction manual is well written, etc. The reason I mention this is because there are so many companies selling these units that make them cheaply and sell them quickly.
Positives + The mist begins within 1-2 seconds of turning the knob. + There is quite a bit of difference between low and high, which pleasantly surprised me. + Quiet - It's extremely quiet to operate. + Automatic turn-off - the diffuser will turn off the motor (though it's so quiet it's hard to tell), stop the mist and the LED will turn red when the water gets low. This prevents the diffuser from burning up the motor. + If you lift the tank off the diffuser when it's full, you might get a touch of water that comes out, but it doesn't spill all of it's contents.
Improvements - I would like to see the cone on top that directs the flow of the mist lock or slide into place. As it is, the cone just sits on top. If you bump it, there's a chance it could fall off. It's not the end of the world if it does, but it's worth noting. -Tray for essential oils - the tray to place your essential oils in could use some deeper finger grooves. It's not terribly difficult to take out, but in a perfect world that could be slightly easier. - Faint smell using essential oil tray (I put 7 drops of essential oils in the tray on a few occasions. I can tell that there's scent coming out, but it's a bit on the faint side. Using 7 drops into the tank (which the instructions advise against), it smells much stronger and better. I didn't have any issues with the unit not working properly when doing so, but I suppose there is a possibility of that occurring at a later time.
Other Notes This unit comes with a filter, which is nice for filtering the water you use. On the flip side, it must be replaced after approximately 500 uses.
CONCLUSION: Overall, I really like this diffuser. It's really well made. Most of the "improvements" I've listed are very minor. However, I do wish I could just add drops of essential oil into the tank rather than the tray. I may contact the manufacturer to see if that might cause problems in the long run. Available for Sale on Amazon by clicking HERE
This power bank is simple to understand and use, and comes with a clear instruction manual. It has 4 blue LED lights that indicate about a 25% charge (see picture). It comes with a USB cord to charge the power bank. It takes about 9 hours to charge completely. When it's charged, the blue LEDs will turn off and the power supply is shut off to prevent overcharging. Likewise, when you use this power bank to charge your device(s), the LEDs will turn off when it/they are completely charged.
A nice feature about this power bank is that it is capable of charging up to 3.2A. This is more than sufficient for fast chraging all phones on the market (if your phone allows for that capability) and all iPads/tablets. iPads generally charge between 2.1 and 2.4A for reference. Each phone on the market charges at a different rate. Generally, this is 1.0A, but many newer ones can charge faster. This charger recognizes that and can supply the maximum power your device allows. Without getting too complicated, this is sufficient for most anything you'll charge.
Overall, I'm very pleased with this power bank. It has sufficient capacity. It can charge your device as fast as it's capable of charging. I see no downsides. I have no problem recommending it!
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free. However, the opinions expressed herein were formulated based on my personal use of the product. I welcome all suggestions, feedback and/or product questions! Available HERE on Amazon
PACKAGING: This coffee comes in a burlap sack tied with twine. The coffee is contained a vacuumed sealed bag. The burlap sack can be reused should you choose to. The bag inside was a little tough to open. I just cut the bag and put it in a container that I vacuum the air out of.
MY TASTE PREFERENCES: I tend to gravitate towards the medium to medium-dark roasts. I do not like the west coast coffee roasts (like Starbucks) that are mild and/or acidic. I have tried in the neighborhood of 50 different brands and blends. I love trying new and different coffee.
MY SETUP: I use the Cuisinart DCC-3000 Coffee-on-Demand 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker. I typically use a scoop of coffee grinds per cup of coffee (each scoop is about a half tablespoon).
MY DESCRIPTION OF THE TASTE: This coffee is listed as a medium roast, "strong but the smoothest, cleanest tasting coffee ever. Bold flavor but smooth. Low acid and not bitter. Best choice of gourmet coffees." I hope to expand on this definition. I would classify this as a borderline medium/dark roast coffee. It is certainly bolder than most medium blends that I've tried. My interpretation of the "cleanest coffee ever" when I taste this coffee is that there are no secondary tastes. It is not a complex blend, just a straight bold coffee. It is not acidic or bitter. It also doesn't leave an aftertaste. There is a slight hint of burnt bean taste but nothing overwhelming.
All-in-all, I enjoyed this coffee, but I'm not sure I would reorder it either. There wasn't anything that really stood out to my taste buds. Again, it's not bad. It's just not extraordinary. I don't think I want to settle on any one brand or blend...at this point anyways.
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) DISCLAIMER: I received this product at a reduce price. However, the opinions expressed herein were formulated based on my personal use of the product. Please feel free to comment with any feedback and/or product questions below.
WHY I PURCHASED THESE SHEETS: I bought a set of sheets made from brushed microfiber (Cosy House Sheets), and my wife and I absolutely loved them. I wanted to get a second set of brushed microfiber sheets to have a spare when one was being washed and dried. In short, these sheets are exactly identical to the Cosy House Sheets (which I was happy about).
MY REVIEW OF THE MELLANI BED SHEET SET SOFT - I really like the feel of these sheets. They are very soft and make no noise if you roll over in bed. To give you a better idea of their "softness", I have some crib sheets that a different type of soft. Those crib sheets (Ziggy Baby Crib Sheet Set) are similar in feel to a thin version of a microfiber blanket. These sheets from Mellanni are soft as well, but in a different way. To me, they feel like a cross between cotton and silk sheets. These sheets remind me of sheets at a high-end hotel.
THIN SHEETS - These sheets are on the thin side, so I think these are better suited for warm-weather sheets.
DEEP POCKETS - As you can see from my pictures, these sheets have deep pockets. My 100% cotton sheets would ride up the mattress every night. I have an approximately 14.5" mattress. These sheets fit the mattress comfortably and stay in place.
PILLOWS - The pillows are very large. If you have small or medium-sized pillows, you might have some excess pillow cover. I wouldn't think having extra would be a problem but it' worth noting. The pillows have a 3 lines embroidered into them. It's a nice touch to the pillow (the sheets do not have this embroidery).
WASHING/STAINS - These sheets don't shrink in the wash. I haven't tested the product claim that these sheets are stain resistant at this point.
LIFETIME WARRANTY - The nice part about these sheets are they come with a lifetime warranty.
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free. However, the opinions expressed herein were formulated based on my personal use of the product. Please comment with any feedback and/or product questions below.
ABOUT THIS PRODUCT: This restorer is an 8 oz bottle with a pop top, and it comes with a circular sponge. It is intended for use on plastic, vinyl and rubber. It is intended to repel rain, dirt, and salt. The label on the bottle warns against contact with eyes and skin. This is a "gel". I use the term loosely, because it's consistency is somewhere in between a gel and liquid. It is clear like water.
MY USES: I applied this product to a mailbox first. I then used it on various locations in my 2004 Toyota Camry: the plastic buttons/knobs on the door and ceiling, cupholders, console, dashboard, radio, kickplates on the door, the odometer cover, etc. This product seems very simliar in principle and application to a product like Armor All that I've used before. You can take a look at some of my before and after pictures to get an idea of how it restores plastics. My mailbox really pops and shines in the sun now. That was really easy to do.
Applying it to the car was easy as well. However, you really have to use some elbow grease on spots with caked on dirt or grime. I wouldn't say this product is excellent at removing dirt. Take for instance the picture of my sunroof knob. I kind of forgot about cleaning that over the years. It's just somewhat out of sight. I tried cleaning that knob and it came off, but it took some a good deal of effort. I imagine vinyl with the different textures would be even a touch more difficult. Having said that, this product does an excellent job at restoring the luster, or shine. I am very satisfied in that regard.
CONCLUSION: This product isn't perfect, because it takes a bit of work to remove grime. However, I am very pleased with it's ability to restore the shine to rubber, plastics and vinyl.
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free. However, the opinions expressed herein were formulated based on my personal use of the product. I welcome all suggestions, feedback and/or product questions!
ABOUT THIS PRODUCT: This MP3 player comes with the MP3 player itself, a USB charger (which doubles as a data transfer cord) and a set of headphones.
BACKGROUND & SETUP PROCESS: I have 622 songs that I transferred over to the MP3 player. The total storage of that is 2.32 GB. My average file size per song might be a little less than the average size per song, because I delete all the album art for my songs. It's not really something I care about seeing and it saves space. Having said that, this is 8GB, so I am well below that (i.e. it's not necessary). At any rate, that might give you an idea of how many songs this player holds.
This MP3 player does not use iTunes to transfer files like an iPod does. All you do is open the folder where you save your music on your computer and open the folder of this MP3 drive - on my computer the MP3 folder is called E:/. You highlight and drag the music from one folder to the other. Once the transfer is completed, you are done. The player transfers over whatever you have named the file.
MY REVIEW (PROS & CONS): Pros: + This MP3 is extremely affordable compared to other brands + Has a screen for viewing + Can record, play movies, play the radio, watch images, etc. + Easy to copy music from your computer to the MP3 player + 8 GB of storage
Cons: - No toggling/scrolling - No sorting by artist, song, album, genre, etc. (unless you save to folders individually) - The buttons aren't as intuitive at first as an Apple iPod. It takes some practice, but you'll pick it up shortly - Headphones are not great - Radio may not pick up some of those "iffy" stations, only strong signals - Ideally, it would include a micro SD hookup, because not many electronics use those micro USB ports nowadays
VIDEO: I did a brief video to show you how this MP3 player functions. It's not meant to be exhaustive, but it's a good introduction (I think) into how this player operates...particularly with regards to music. I hope it helps!
CONCLUSION: Overall, this MP3 player is a great budget option to an iPod. It may not be quite as smooth in operating, but it's also a fraction of the cost. If you run your player on random/shuffle like I do, you will likely not miss an iPod. Otherwise, I think a toggle button would really add some functionality to the player. Other than that, I am very pleased.
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free. However, the opinions expressed herein were formulated based on my personal use of the product. I welcome all suggestions, feedback and/or product questions!
ABOUT THIS PRODUCT: This table telescopes from 24" to 28" in height. I measured a storage height of 37.5" and a maximum width of 19". The table top itself is 26" x 18".
MY REVIEW: This table is very sturdy. You can place items on the ends/corners of the table and the table won't flip. I'm not sure what the weight capacity on this table is, but I would guess 40-45 lbs is the max recommended weight. I would think that would be suitable for most practical purposes. I really like using this table when I am using my smoker or grill to prepare food. I can set food and prep tools on the table. I can also fold it up and store it away if I need the room on the deck.
To change the size of the table, there is a tab underneath. If you push the tab in, the size of the brace decreases allowing you to move it up or down. To lock it in, you release the tab and the brace extends out and locks in. You'll know it's locked in when you hear the "click" sound. This would also be good to use as a laptop table on the couch, a folding dinner tray, use during parties, a small kid's table, or a small desk for drawing or doing homework. It might even store away under your coach depending on how much room you have under there.
CONCLUSION: I really like this table. It fits my needs perfectly. I hope I was able to describe the table well enough to determine if it's something that might meet your needs.
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free. However, the opinions expressed herein were formulated based on my personal use of the product. I welcome all suggestions, feedback and/or product questions!
It seems I'm always in need of these surge protectors. I travel with my job and need to keep a surge protector handy for setting up my mobile office. I also use them around the house for televisions, audio equipment, etc. I picked this up, because I was looking to replace my office surge protector.
ABOUT THIS SURGE PROTECTOR: This surge protector comes with 6 outlets and 5 USB ports. The USB ports are 5V/2.4A. Many phones cut off the charge rate at 1.0A. No matter how large your charge capability, the phone will only charge at 1.0A for safety reasons. However, this charger is able to charge at 2.4A. Basically this means it can charge electronics with that capability, like iPads, at a faster rate (some newer, larger phones can charge faster too).
You can see the pictures attached for some of the other specifications. In short, this charger is capable of a very high output. I have many electronics hooked up to this at all times (a laptop docking station with a laptop, a second monitor, a multi-function printer, a shredder, a desk light, and a scanner). The surge protector has a small blue light that indicates when the power is on. It also has blue back lit USB ports which can help you find the outlet in the dark. The cord to plug the surge protector into the outlet is approximately 54". I like that it has a Velcro strap to fold the cord for storage or travel.
CONCLUSION: I don't have any complaints. I like the blue light to indicate that it's powered on and the blue USB lights. I also like the Velcro strip for better organizing/storing the cable. Overall, I'm very happy with this surge protector.
PICTURE 1: The bottom of the surge protector with some technical specifications PICTURE 2: The length of the power cord as measured PICTURE 3: My office hookups (mentioned above) with various electronics being charged (my phone, an iPad, and an mp3 player)
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free. However, the opinions expressed herein were formulated based on my personal use of the product. I welcome all suggestions, feedback and/or product questions!
