Record player

My husband has just started to really get into the old vinyl. I scoured local for sale sites and yard sales hoping to get him a record player. I found an older one, that we had to buy connecting wires to hook up to newer speakers/ sound bar. It was huge and looked really outdated, next to all of our new electronics. That sent me back on the hunt for a new updated one. When I seen this, I just knew that it would be perfect for my needs.

I could not wait for this to arrive. I was so excited to give it to him. It arrived in perfect condition. It looks like a little hard suit case. If you did not know what was inside it, you would really think it was a suit case. The outer shell is made of a hard durable plastic. It will withstand being tossed in the trunk to take on the go. The corners are covered in little metal "feet" to help protect the plastic when you sit it down, or if you accidentally bang it into something. There is a handle for easy transportation. The handle is made of the same nice hard plastic. It is also well attached. I did not feel like it was loose or going to break off.

Once I opened the case that is were the real awe came into play. It can play normal 33 records and has the adapter to play 35s I was not expecting that, so it was a major plus in my book. The arm of the record player locks into place, so you do not have to worry about it moving around during transportation.

It also comes with a couple extras, A needle guard. I have never bought a new record player so I am not sure if that is something that is always included or not, I just figured that I would mention it. It also comes with an extra needle. You also get an instruction manual to tell you about all the functions and how to operate it. You also get a wall charger, it comes in 2 pieces, the wire that has a usp end and the wall brick.

Once we turned this thing on, is when I realized how loud it was. I have to say inside my house I did not even need the volume half way up.The sound quality was great, I was surprised. I expected it to sound like one of those cheap portable speakers you buy. I have a new sound system, that I planned on hooking it to, to use the speakers that I already have, but I really don't need to.

This record player, allows you to enjoy the sound of playing vinyl but gives you all the convenience of today's technology. It has the option to hook up bluetooth. That way I can play, the playlist right off my iphone. That way I am not limited to only listening to the records that I have and lets face it, if I want to take this with me to a party, I am not going to drag every vinyl that I own, that would be a lot to carry.

It has an sd card slot, so you can record your favorite music from your vinyl to have it in digital mp3 format. It has a headphone jack so when you want to listen to music and no one around you does, you can listen to it. My favorite feature on this is the rechargeable battery. That really does make it portable. You can take it with you anywhere, even if you do not have electric outlets at the place you are going to be. Over all I can not find one flaw with this record player. I am really impressed with my purchase!  You can order your own HERE

LIGHTING KIT

My husband is going to school for photography and the list of stuff that it is required for him to buy, is really long and super expensive. This kit here knocks off most of what was on his list. We could not wait for it to arrive.

When it did arrive, I could not believe how big this case was and it was packed full of all kind of goodies, most of that I had no idea what they were for, so I chose to wait till my husband to get home, before I played with his new toys. Once he arrived, we started bringing out everything that was in the box.

The first thing I noticed was the bag that it came in. It was massive. It is well made with handles that wrap all the way across the bottom. The stitching was amazing. I did not find any lose threads or missing stitches. The handles have a Velcro strap that locked them together. The zipper was flawless, it zipped and unzipped with ease, opening up the whole bag, to show you what was inside!

Once the bag was open, I noticed a lot of boxes inside the bag, there was not an inch of space that was not filled with something. Everything was packed nicely inside, that way nothing would get damaged in the warehouse or shipping. It did take a long time to open everything up. My husband left that job to me, I took photos as I went. There was so much stuff, that I had no idea what it did. It was a great learning experience for me as my husband explained it all to me.

The first thing he showed me how to open and set up were the stands. There are 3 all together. They were simple to set up, 2 of them were the same size and then there was a larger one that held the boom arm. These stands are super sturdy, my husband was really impressed with how sturdy they were.

We set up the boom arm first. The "arm" is super sturdy it reminded me of a giant selfie stick. One end you attach a soft box, and the other end attach the "sandbag". In the photos on the Amazon page it shows the sandbag as blue and black, the one I received in the kit was all black and matched the outside carry case. It had a design of that seems to be a saddle bag, there were slots on each side that you can add weights to. It hooks to the pole with a carabiner.

The soft boxes, are made of nice material. The material had no defects or flaws. The stitching was great on them. There were no loose threads or missing stitches. They attached easily to the lights.

I found out the lights have a couple different uses The first were the soft boxes, it diffuses the light so they are not so harsh on the subject. It has a hot light, that stays on if you need it to stay on. The lights even have a flash option. There is dial that adjust the power of the flash, so that gives you a little more control while using the flash option of these lights. There is a cord in this set, that you can direct connect your camera the flash, my husband said he calls the wire a slave wire, he is not sure if that is the correct term or not. You can also use it with the remote.

The remote, came in it's own little box, It connects easily to the top of your camera, it also has a test option to make sure the connection is working. That allows you use the lights as a real flash! The remote comes with an instruction booklet to help you get it all set up.

The next thing in the box was a barn door, I was not sure what it was, I asked my husband and he said it was a barn door or that's what he called it. He states he has not used one of them before in class, but it is to direct the light the way you want it to go. When it comes to construction. I have to say that it is made out a nice heavy duty metal that has hinged "doors" They open with ease and fold back closed when not in use.

The next thing in this kit was the honeycomb it was made out of the same nice metal, that will last a long time. This also has to do with the way the light shines, he stated that it chokes up the light be believes and makes it narrower.

The final thing is the colored lens or gels as my husband calls them, They attach to the lights to change the color of the lights. He states that you can use them to change the color of the background with these lens, depending on the way the lights are positioned or you can change the color of your subject.

I know that a person knowing how to take photos are half the battle, they need the right equipment, to get those beautiful, photos that we all want of our family. I have to say that this kit, is perfect for any stage photographer, you can just be starting out at home, in school like my husband, or even a professional and I think you will really like this light kit! My husband said he would recommend it to any photographer out there. I have also included photos of all the items in the kit, I just wanted to say, I took the photos, not my husband or they would have been much nicer lol.  CHECK IT OUT HERE

MERMAID TAIL BLANKET

I have been wanting one of these mermaid tail blankets. I have been looking for the perfect one. With the price of this on I could not pass it up, and I am so glad that I got this one.

It arrived to me in no time, and I could not wait to pull it out of the package and try it out. My husband laughed at me, because it was like I was a child on Christmas morning.

The first thing I did was pull it out and check the quality of the material and to see if I find ANY defects. I may be weird but smells, can make or break something with me. I do not like chemical or strong smelling items. That tends to happen from time to time when ordering online. I had to check out the smell, there was no weird smell that would make me want to toss this in the washer right after opening. That was a great way to start off the inspection of this tail.

I crochet, I know how many hours and the skill it takes to make something like this, that's why I did not make it for myself lol. The stitch pattern on this was perfect. There were at least 3 different types of stitches used. It allowed for the "scales" to have definition and really look like scales on a fin. That is not easy to do with yarn.

There were no missing or loose stitches. Seeing that I can crochet that was something I was looking for, even I make mistakes, yet I could not find a single one when it came to this blanket. The tail was attached perfectly. The bottom of the tail is a tube , the fin is open , but the part around your ankles to your thighs are a tube and then it opens up to be a normal blanket. That way you are able to cover your arms, yet still have full use of them.

The yarn they chose to use is a 2 toned yarn. It really gives the tail depth, its what you would expect a real mermaid tail to look like, not one solid color. The yarn is super soft, it's not itchy and stiff like some yarns can be until they are washed 50 times. This feels like an old comfortable blanket that you know and love. You do need to wash it when you first get it. You need to make sure it is washed separately. That way you do not have to worry about colors bleeding. The yarn is very vibrant, so I do have a feeling that it would bleed, just like any new clothing item that you buy. Over all I am super pleased with the quality and the easy of cleaning. It can be washed at home not a dry cleaners! You can be a mermaid too, just click HERE .

great storage

I have to say that I do really like this product! It arrived really quick, I was impressed at how quick this arrived. When it did I really wanted to put it together. I opened the box and seen lots of pieces that needed to be put together. I thought that I would end up being very frustrated or end up screaming at an inanimate object.

I dumped out all the pieces on the floor and got everything organized. All the poles are the same and made out of a light weight metal. The material is made of a waterproof nylon fabric. There are two different sizes. I made sure I had those separate. The connectors are made of a nice sturdy plastic. When it comes to the quality of the pieces I could not find any defects or anything wrong with this.

It came with instructions. I was expecting them to make me mad, but they were super simple to follow and had diagrams with everything labeled. When it came to construction, here is were care is needed. I found that if I took my time and made sure the rods were in place that they did not just "pop" out and need to be re connected. When I started to rush that is where I was not making sure they were fully inserted and they would pop out when I was trying to add the other poles in the section. Just take your time and make sure they are secure and you won't have an issue.

The material has a rod running in the front and the back of them to hold them in place.  I found making sure the loops are opened wide before you slip them in place, makes them easier to place on. Each cube also has 2 supporting rods under each bottom. That way you do not have to worry about the weight causing the cube to sag.  I really wish I could tell you exactly how long it took me to put it together, but you will be able to see from my photos that I had a helper trying to help me ( a pug puppy) and he would run off with some of the items and I would have to stop and chase him down, to get them back.

Once it was completed, I thought that I had the perfect place for it in my living room. I was wrong, it was bigger than I thought,  I will hold those large storage bins with out issue. It is made for the large sized ones. It is still perfect though because my son now has it because when he seen it, he said it would be perfect in his room. He offered to organize his room so I put it in his room. Once he had it, he now has it as a shelf to store some of his most prized "treasures" on. It is super sturdy once it is put together, there is no fear of it falling apart. The poles are nice and secure.
He even has a large dog, that has bumped into it and it is still holding strong with out any issues. I just may end up getting another one for his younger brother. I would recommend this to anyone. You can check it out HERE

Great box of CANDY

This is a great box of candy. With Halloween coming, its the perfect box to have on hand when the little trick or treaters show up wanting goodies. Mine of course will not make it that long. This would also make a great box to stuff a pinata or send to a deployed spouse or friend. You can also give this to your college student to take with them to school or just have it shipped directly to them!

This arrives in a nice little shipping box, with the date that it expires right on the outside of the box. That way you know that you are getting fresh candy.  Once you open the box, you realize that it is a nice selection of candy to chose from and 3 lbs of candy is actually quit a bit of candy. The box is assorted so there is no guarantee how much of one kind of candy you will get. I wish mine had more gummy lifesavers, it only came with one pack, I of course ate that one before my children even got to see all the goodies that I had. In the box was also a lot of twizzlers, starbursts, Haribo Gold bears, sour patch kids, nerds, skittles, Hot Tamales, mike and ike, sweedish fish, and finally gobstoppers.

All of the candy was fresh, I did not find one piece that tasted old. They also included a little clip, that has a magnet on it, to stick to your fridge. The only issue that I have with this box, is the fact that it will eventually be gone lol . I am super pleased with this box of candy! You can purchase it HERE

great pans

To start off, I love this pan. This pan has some real heft to it. I really like that when it comes to my pans. I also love the color. I have Rachel Ray pans that I have had for a couple years and I love them, but this pan has them beat.

When it comes to cooking with this pan, it heats even. I never really would have given that a thought in the past, but I have one skillet that gets hotter in the center of the pan than the edges. That causes things to cook uneven. I don't have that issue with this skillet. The textured bottom did throw me off a little bit when I started to use it. I found out, that it actually seems to cause you to require as less grease, than you would need with a flat bottom pan.

I have cooked an array of foods in this pan, from fried eggs to grilled cheese. I have yet find anything that sticks to it. I only use silicone cooking utensils to make sure that I continue to keep it as nice as the day I received it. It is also a breeze to clean, seeing nothing sticks to it. I just hand wash it in soapy water. If you would like to check them out or purchase them, you can do so HERE .

Vacuum sealer, save money on your food bill

I already own a food saver brand. The one I own is about the size of this one. I was super excited for this one to arrive When it arrived I could not wait to try it out. It arrived securely packaged, there was no need to worry about it getting damaged during shipping.

I did what I always do when I get items in the mail and that is to check out the quality and look for defects. I want to make sure I am getting what I pay for. The over all construction of this sealer is really nice. I could compare it to my much more expensive food saver one. The controls of this one is much more user friendly though. It does come with a nice user manual, even though I did not need to read it because I previously own one.

It came with a few bags to start off with. This will help you get used to using it and so you realize how much easier this will make your life. I have a large family and only have my husband's income so I bulk shop when I do. Meats are way cheaper when bought in bulk. I am left breaking down the packages and then placing in freezer bags until I got my original vacuum sealer. I would have to use 2 ziplock bags sometimes just to make sure the meats did not get freezer burnt. I have found with these vacuum sealers that my meats will last a lot longer in the freeze then, they do with ziplock bags. I hate throwing away meat that has gone bad or freezer burnt, because that is a waste of money that I just don't have to waste.

I have also found, just trying it out that it will seal chip bags. I do not know how many times I have tossed stale chips out because my children leave the bags open. I think I am going to teach them how to seal it with this device. I know they love to use kitchen gadgets so this will be right up their alley!

When it comes to using, it is super simple, as I stated I am going to teach my children. That is how easy it is. You just put the desired item in the sealer bag, place the end in the sealing chamber, press lid down on both sides until you hear a click. Then you press the option you want. You can just seal it with out removing the air or remove air and then seal it. When you chose what you want to do, the lights will turn red while it is in progress once it is done the lights return to the normal blue color. My husband agrees with me, that this one seems to be a lot faster than my food saver. He was the one that pointed out the time. I was surprised that he was paying that much attention to how well this one worked.

I tried this out on a bag of M&M's just for photo reasons, so I had something to show in my review. Once it was done, All the air was out of the package. I am super pleased with this product. I have to say comparing it to my food saver, I wish I had seen this one first to say all the money I spent on my original vacuum sealer! I also love that you can chose what color you want it in! You will not go wrong with this product for the cost, and the amount of money you will save in the long run! I am one happy camper with this purchase! You can check it out HERE