Archive for the 'Product Reviews' Category

Like games?

Published
by
Mommy Nurse
8 months, 2 weeks ago
in Product Reviews
. 3 Comments

Since moving back to Nashville, we have learned a new game called “Settlers of Catan“.  It’s one of those games that if you saw the box, you would think it was a game from 100 years ago.  Well, not really, but it doesn’t entice you to buy it.  If it weren’t for friends that taught us the game, we probably wouldn’t have taken the time to learn it.

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I love playing games, and this one is especially interesting.  It is a board game, but the “board” is in pieces, so every time you assemble it, you create a new game.  Since it’s a game of strategy, then it every game has its challenges.  It has definitely become one of our favorite things to do with our friends.  Although the game is designed for 4, they have an expansion pack to accomodate 6, and there are alternate rules if you want to just play with 2.

Because I LOVE games a bit more than my husband does, I have been thankful to find an on-line version of the game that allows you to play against either the computer or other people.  They call it a different name, Xplorers, but it’s basically the same game. On the same Aso brain game site, there is also a version of Cities and Knights, which is cousin to Settlers.

All that to say, right now, a quick game of either Settlers or Cities and Knights on-line, is my guilty pleasure.

Finally! A butter pot.

Published
by
Mommy Nurse
9 months, 2 weeks ago
in Product Reviews
. 3 Comments

Years ago I was at a dear friend’s house for a visit. She is one of those friends that somehow can throw together a last-minute gourmet recipe and make it look effortless. I was watching her in her well-stocked kitchen, and she reaches for the butter-it’s on the counter! On the counter? I keep my butter in the fridge, and when I take it out it’s always too hard to spread. She begins spreading the butter-it’s soft and creamy. I inquire, what is this little thing that allows you to keep your butter on the counter, ready to be spread at a moment’s notice? At the time, she didn’t have a name for it, she just knew her mother-in-law got it overseas, and she loved it. I wanted one, but didn’t have an inkling as to where to find it. Fast forward years later, while looking for the perfect birthday gift, what do I find? a butter pot! It was pure joy to find this little contraption. I was not going to leave the store without one. I’ll let you know how it works, but so far-it’s a little dream come true!

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What do you want for your birthday?

Published
by
Mommy Nurse
9 months, 2 weeks ago
in Life and Product Reviews
. 1 Comment

I know this question shouldn’t be hard, but somehow it is for me. Today however, my father-in-law said to me, “I’m on a mission…I need you to pick out something that you wouldn’t normally get for yourself, but something that you want.”

Hmmm….what would that be? I’ve been so wrapped up in Savannah, and necessities for the house, I haven’t really been thinking about stuff like that. There wasn’t a time limit, but in some ways there was, because I had a sleeping baby that would wake up at some point and wonder where her food was (remember she’s not taking a bottle anymore!) This semi-deadline was good for me. When given money I tend to hold onto it for a while until I find something that I just have to have. When shopping for something specifically, I tend to go through the whole mall and find them all, then make my decision. The criterion for this shopping excursion allowed me to focus, yet didn’t give me a lot of room to wonder if there was something somewhere else that I would prefer to have. I decided to start with my favorite stores and work my way down the list…Restoration Hardware-love the stuff, but there wasn’t anything that I really wanted, Pottery Barn-great ideas, but can’t I find this style of stuff cheaper? Williams-Sonoma–BINGO!

And the winner is: a Cuisinart bread machine

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Reading a fellow blogger’s post about baking bread using her machine recently inspired me! She uses this same one, and likes it. I used to have an old bread machine, but it was on its last legs before we moved, so it found a new home. Now that I’m at home more, and I’m absolutely loving my kitchen, why not bake some bread? Not to mention, my favorite bread sold at a local bakery just went up in price to $4.59 a loaf! YIKES! Now I will be able to make my own bread-and add all that healthy stuff. There really isn’t anything better than the smell of freshly baked bread, other than the taste of it! Thanks to my mother-in-law and my father-in-law! And Kyle thanks you too!

my two cents on bedding

Published
by
Mommy Nurse
11 months, 1 week ago
in Product Reviews and Shopping Tips
. 2 Comments

Everyone spends a large portion of their life sleeping (I sometimes wish I could spend more time doing it, but that’s for another time.) So I appreciate good bedding, and I love to make a bed super comfy. Here are some of my favorite ideas/products:

Reviving an old mattress-Our guest bed is pretty old, but I still wanted it to be comfortable. It has the age problem of sagging and divets, but if you were to sleep in it now, you wouldn’t know it. How? Simple, add a piece of plywood between the boxspring and mattress, and then buy 2 egg crate mattress covers (this can easily be found inexpensively at Target etc. or you can try a thicker one from Amazon Add a mattress pad (these are a must to preserve a mattress and adds a little more softness), great sheets, and a down comforter and voila-a comfy bed.

Mattress pad-Now my favorite mattress pad is Hotel Collection-it’s a little pricey but worth the money in my opinion. Can be bought at Macy’s or Amazon.

Sheets-go for Egyptian cotton! The higher the thread count the better, but if you have egyptian cotton, it just gets softer and softer with every wash. If you can buy as a set, you will get a better deal. You can always find sheets on sale-but be sure to check places like Ross, TJMaxx, etc.

Mattress-this is a tricky one! I love my bed, but I wouldn’t say it was a must-have. This totally depends on personal preference. Although I have heard a lot of raves about memory foam, I’ve never slept on one. When we decided to buy a mattress, it was quite the process. Of course you start out thinking it’s just a mattress, but then you sit on each one, and all of a sudden the sticker shock is gone and you have to have a particular one. We ended up with a King Coil pillow top. The important thing here-buy a mattress that doesn’t have to be turned/flipped. You may be better at this than me, but I must say, with all my good intentions, flipping my mattress never happens. As for size-if you are married-go ahead and bite the bullet-go for the KING. It may not fit perfectly in every room, but when it comes to rolling over at night and actually having room to roll over, it will be worth it. Touch is one of my love languages, but when it’s time to go to sleep, I need my space. I’ve never known anyone to really regret having a king mattress, but I’ve heard several wonder why they didn’t get one earlier.

A memory foam topper-is a great way to revive a not-so-good mattress. However, we did try a memory foam topper in addition to our pillow top mattress-and ironically it made it TOO soft. So just a word of caution if your bed is too soft already. For those of you who don’t have a guest room but still have company, an airbed with a foam topper isn’t a shabby guest bed.A foam topper, either memory foam or the cheap eggcrate kind works. It’s a little difficult to store, but takes up a lot less room than an entire bed!

Blankets-I love a good down comforter. When buying, be sure to get the kind that have the down boxed in squares, if you don’t, then you will find all your fluffy down at your feet. Be sure to not go too heavy-otherwise you will get too hot at night.

A heated element-Now that we are back in an area that actually gets cold during the winter–I love a heated blanket. There is nothing like being super cold, and then getting into a warm toasty bed! Once in bed, I have to turn mine off, because I sleep like an oven. I have heard that the heated mattress pad’s work a little better. This would be nice because you can still feel the softness of the down comforter. I have yet to invest in a heated blanket/mattress pad since returning North, but I’m sure once we get a really good cold snap, I’ll be wanting one!

Ahhhh, the perfect pillow–does it really exist? Believe me I’ve tried finding one. You would laugh if you could actually see all the extra pillows we have. I buy them, we sleep on them for a little while, then we are dissatisfied and we try again. If anyone has found a favorite-I would love to know what you like and why. I need a pillow that supports my head and neck, but is still soft. Too soft and I find myself supporting my head with my arm, too hard and it feels like I have to sleep in one position.

Duvets/comforters/and decorating-Now that we are moved into our house-I am wanting to redecorate, and of course that includes our master bedroom. I found a great webstore through ebay called closeoutlinens. They have great prices for high end bedding, although it’s closeout-so you aren’t guaranteed the entire collection. I found one set I liked, and e-mailed them to see if they had two shams, and they only had one, so I went with something else. It’s something to check out though if you are wanting a change!

So for all of you who tend to go cheap on your bedding, let me encourage you to still go cheap, but shop around and get the most for your money. I promise you’ll notice a difference the next time you drift off to sleep.