Organize Me

I admit it...I don't have kids. 

Shocker, right? But, then, why do I get things like the below pictured "Car BackSeat Organizer for kids"? Especially when I get it for a #ProductReview? Well, I still have stuff that needs to be organized. And I like to be kid friendly in case I come across one.

Anyway, #TourStrong sent this backseat (I think it should be called a back-of-seat) organizer for me to test and review. We all have stuff that we leave in our car because we are (lazy) busy or to be (accident prone) prepared for emergencies. These organizers come in handy for such times (always).

This one is going to hold some first aid supplies and tools. This organizer has a detachable part down at the bottom. The detachable part is perfect for a mini first aid kit. I plan to have alcohol wipes, bandaids and neosporin in it for those times where just the basics are needed. I would hate to take the whole organizer off the seat just for a small scrape or two.

I like this organizer and think it has a few bonuses you may not find in others. I actually have this hanging on the back of a back seat to keep all the little necessities together. I would suggest this organizer to my friends and family.

I received this product at a discount or free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Speak To Me

I was so pleased when I was approved to test and review the SoundFit Plus Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker from #AYLSPEAKERS. I love technology and I especially love GADGETS! And with my love of music, I am always on the lookout for new and better speakers. This powerhouse is large and heavy enough to give almost the full range of sound that a human can hear. I don't know the specific numbers, but I'm sure I could find out with Husband's help. What I do know is that the speaker let me hear some very low sounds from a song that I can't even hear through the speakers in my car!

Now, this bluetooth speaker is not only for listening, but it has its own microphone. I have used this connected with my phone for calls and nobody knew the difference. The buttons (pictured at right) are large and easy to use. I appreciate the simplicity and the carrying handle, too.

According to the amazon listing this speaker is "Durable Portable Outdoor Wireless Sound System - Features Powerful Bass and Clear Treble - Hands-Free with Built-In Microphone - Dust and Shock Resistant". I can attest to the durable because I am notoriously hard on things (for example, I drop them, sit or step on them, throw them in the black hole that I call a bag, etc.) and this has really stood up to my brand of use. This speaker is also supposed to be waterproof, but I have yet to spill anything on it in order to test it out. Be patient, it will happen sometime.

I think what I was most surprised and pleased about was the screw-on port on the bottom of the speaker (pictured at right). This allows the speaker to be mounted in many ways. My first thought was I could mount it on my camera tripod. I could even purchase a cheap quick-release mount to keep screwed in permanently and then just pop off the camera and pop on the speaker. Kind of genius, if you ask me.

Final word is this is a wonderful bluetooth speaker and I would get it for myself again!

I received this product at a discount or free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I Spray the T-Spray

T-Spray's #Toothfilm is today's #ProductReview. The Cosmetic Teeth & Oral Spray 10ml is supposed to help with stains, yellow teeth, cavities, bacteria and gum disease, sensitive teeth and bad breath. I was able to choose between the Cool Mint and Cranberry flavors. It looks like they now also have a Green Tea flavor. I really like the Cranberry flavor because there is only so much mint I can deal with.

Cranberry flavor gives a nice non-minty freshness. So far I like it. T-Spray #Toothfilm is a recent item I received at a discount or free in exchange for an honest and unbiased #ProductReview.

A photo posted by Kate Jensen (@thechefkate) on Jun 25, 2016 at 1:52pm PDT

I haven't seen any benefit with stains, but my breath does improve when I use it. And, as a bonus, it helps with my dry mouth that I suffer from due to medications.

I would suggest the spray, and the cranberry flavor especially for people who just aren't that into mint.

I received this product at a discount or free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Drops in the Bucket

These Cord Management Drops by #Vorfreude are so handy! I chose the multi colored ones and they couldn't be more cheerful. I really like the colors as they will stand out amongst the cables and make it easier to point them out if I have to verbally walk someone through the maze of cables that inhabit our living room. These drops also come in a pack of all black and a pack of all white.

The package comes with ten drops. The multi colored variety has four green, three pink and three orange, there is no other way to get the colored ones as of this posting. As you can see from the package photo they come with double sided 3M tape on the back. I have always had good luck with 3M. The one tip I would give for attaching these drops is to make sure you clean the area where you will be sticking the drop. And not just a swipe of your hand, use a cleansing agent or even just rubbing alcohol. Electronics are notorious for collecting lots of dust, and dust sticks to 3M tape quite well.

So each drop (I love that name, by the way) is around the size of half of a walnut. They have three slots for cables, as you can see by the photo of the drop in my hand. I have placed one in my car to help keep track of my charging cables. Makes it easier to unplug and get out of the car without the cable coming with me as well as finding cables once I get back into the car. I just placed the drop on the vertical area of my dashboard.

I received this product at a discount or free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Rolling Towards Better Flexibility

I have been pleasantly surprised with the #lotusyogawheel that I received from Lotus Brands, Inc. I was very surprised at how small it was compared to what I had expected. The listing on amazon has photos of a woman with her spine along the wheel and it makes the wheel look like it is wider than it actually is. I have not measured the width, but if I had to guestimate, I would put it at around 8 inches wide. I would also guestimate the diameter to be around 20 inches.

The Yoga Wheel easily held my weight, as you can see in the photo on the right. I didn't notice any give in the wheel when I sat on it, but it could have moved a mm or three. It was surprisingly comfortable to sit on even though my knees ended up above my hips. It was also easy to balance on top of the wheel while sitting.

There were to potential issues that I wanted to point out. In the photo on the left you'll see the seam where the ends of the thick foam on the outside of the wheel meet. I wonder how long the seam will stay together as it did not really look like it was connected securely. Secondly, in the photo on the right, you should be able to see a small white mark along the bottom of the gold portion of the wheel (not the camera flash). It is a blemish in the gold colored coating and it makes me think there could be a future issue with strength of the interior of the wheel. Honestly both potential issues seem quite minor.

And then finally for your viewing pleasure are a couple of photos of me using the yoga wheel as it is supposed to be used. I had no issues when I laid my spine along the wheel and arched my back I felt very secure. I was even able to roll the wheel slightly back and get a very deep arch and then slightly forward to kind of put my body in a leaning back squat position.

Final verdict? I really like this yoga wheel. It is something I see myself using on a weekly, if not daily basis, to increase flexibility, to relax muscles and as a way to increase the strength of my core muscles. I highly recommend this!






I received this product at a discount or free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I'm Not Making This Up!

Beauty Lally sent me their set of 10 Makeup Brushes (#makeubrushes) with a dual hand mirror and a cylindrical case with snap closures. Here are some photos of the set.

I've really enjoyed trying them out. The brushes are well balanced and have an average length of a handle. The bristles are completely synthetic, which I appreciate, and very soft. The larger brushes are quite thick giving them the room needed for holding onto foundation, powder and concealers. They clean up very easily with soap and water. I prefer to gently squeeze out any excess water after washing and then let them air dry (brush end up) in the case without the top on.

I do wish the smaller brushes had a longer handle. The other ones that I have with a longer handle make it easier for me to do work close to a mirror and not get my hand in the way. The larger brushes cover larger areas so I don't need them to have as long of a handle.

I like that they come with a full color one page brochure that had a photo of each brush, its name and what it is used for. This makes it easy for those not in the know to figure out how to best use the different size and shapes of the brushes.

As you can kind of see in the photo on the left, the box came slightly damaged and that damage also included the smaller interior box that was holding the dual sided mirror.

I received this product at a discount or free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Not Your Kangaroo's Pouch!

I received a set of 6 Reusable Food Pouches from Yummi Pouch #RevelaeKids for a #ProductReview.

I'll be honest, I was not sure if I would like these or if they would even work, but they are pretty cool! These pouches are great for portioning bulk food whether it is for health or diet reasons or to save money by purchasing in bulk. They are also wonderful for sack lunches and snacks on the go. I could easily see these used on road trips to make eating the types of foods that usually require a spoon much easier for those of all ages. And I know as a driver I would appreciate getting food in a nice, simple pouch like this. And don't let me forget to mention these reusable pouches are much more environmentally and economically friendly than the pre filled, one use food pouches.


The plastic that these are made of is quite thin, but that also makes it pliable which is useful for a squeezable food pouch. On the back of the pouch is a fill line which I highly suggest you follow. These pouches can be frozen, but if you over fill and freeze, you'll most likely end up with a busted pouch and a frozen mess to clean up because water expands when it is frozen.

On the back of each pouch is a place where you can write the date and contents of the pouch. Another good though that went into designing this product! This would be a good place to write the name of the person for whom the pouch is meant. Makes it much easier to pass out specific portions to children (or adults) when on a trip or a picnic. I am not sure what type of writing utensil should be used in order for it to be permanent enough to stay until washed in a dishwasher. Maybe the china marker crayon thing that my Dad used to keep in the garage. Its almost like a pencil that has a colored wax "lead". It is made with a rolled paper outside that you can unwrap in a spiral to show more of the lead. I'll have to see if I can find one and use on these.

There is a very sturdy zip closure at the top of the bag. The opening for filling the pouches is almost the same width of the pouch itself. What I really appreciate with this pouch is the base that opens up to make it stand up for filling and for storage.


I received this product at a discount or free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Will the Stain Stay or will it Go?

I was asked to test out a Spot and Pet Stain Remover that is reported to be the #BestStainRemoverEver. I am not sure if I would go that far, but it did work pretty well.

I have light colored carpet (when clean) but very dirty carpets and I have an indoor only cat. I craft and build small objects inside and there is always a mess to clean up afterwards. Anyway, what I liked is that I did not need to completely saturate the area which also meant it did not take 3 days to dry. It also did not take very much in the way of "elbow grease" to get up the hairball stain I tested with the remover.

I have not had a chance to test the pet stains after using the stain remover using a UV light. I plan to do so soon and will update this review if necessary. Also I want to see how my cat treats the location where the stain remover was used to see if the scent irritates her or causes her to want to mark it again in some way.

My biggest tip, which might be considered more common sense, is to make sure you remove any hair or fur from the carpets before spraying this spot and stain remover.

Bottom line is that I like what I have been able to do with this remover so far.

I am having issues uploading photos of using this remover. I wanted to get the post out there, so I will try again tomorrow to add in the photos.

I received this product at a discount or free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Polish that Style

Grell sent me this Wearable Nail Polish Holder that I plan to send to my oldest niece. She is really into nails and changes hers on an almost daily basis. When I was last visiting I noticed that she likes to do her nails on her bed while watching movies or tv. My hope is that this will be something she likes and uses in order to keep from spilling the polish on her bedding.


The #SiliconeHolder fits comfortably with no polish in it. As you can see on the right it does not wrap all the way around my slightly chubby fingers. I think my hand would be more relaxed if it did fit more securely or wrapped further around. However if the ring portion were much longer it would be too much extra for those with thin fingers. The manufacturer might want to make a small version and a large version for this issue to be resolved.

I also was not sure what the tab coming off the ring portion right under the holder was meant to be used for or what the reason was it was there. I can't figure it out so maybe someone will enlighten me? It seems like it is too far up the ring to be of any use in placing a finger or thumb to secure it there. Regardless, the more open design of the ring at the bottom (palm side) does make it simple to remove from a hand that just had its nails painted.

I tried this ring with several sizes and shapes of nail polish bottles. Each bottle fit nicely and was quite secure. I had no problem with small bottles falling out or larger bottles feeling as if they may not fit. I would not suggest putting two small bottles in at the same time. For example I have a two part crackle finish set of nail polish bottles. I would not place both in at the same time because the silicone would not be surrounding each bottle.

Bottom line is I like it and I think my niece will, too.

I received this product at a discount or free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Pressure Pushing Down on Me, Pressing Down on You

Living with a chronic illness can be expensive. Even more so when you don't have access to health insurance. So when I saw this Blood Pressure Wrist Cuff by #WristBPM_EBP017 I knew it would be something I would like to test and review. The hope was that it would work well enough for us to be able to check general blood pressure and potentially track results find patterns. If we come to a doctor appointment with data that shows a trend, the doctor is more open to different possibilities or medications or further testing. And when you can't afford the doctor visits in the frequency that is needed, this data is invaluable.

As you can see pictured above, the cuff comes in a nice box shaped case with a sturdy zipper around about 85% of the top. The top right of the photos shows a bit of the screen as I was unpacking the unit. They do include batteries which is always a nice bonus. In the bottom photo you can see the battery lid has been slid off and placed on top of the zippered case.

Once the batteries are installed all you do is place it on your wrist with the screen on the inside of your arm. Then fasten the velcro cuff in both places. When ready just press the power button (on the bottom right side of the face of the unit) and the machine starts the test.

I did not get the most accurate reading because I was moving around a lot before I turned on the blood pressure cuff. I didn't realize it would start the test as soon as the power button was pressed, so I had to hurry to get the photograph of it at the beginning. I'm blaming the moving and the slight anxiety over the surprise of starting the blood pressure test as soon as I turned it on, as to why my blood pressure and heart rate are slightly elevated above my normal. Well, that and the fact that this is not a high-tech calibrated piece of machinery.

I deny the allegations of user error.

The downside of this cuff is the way the cuff velcro is on both sides. It is difficult to explain, but when you put the cuff on the velcro attaches like you would expect it to. But then you have to fold the end of the cuff back over nothing and there is another velcro attachment. It makes no sense.

All in all, this is good for gathering data. It is not as accurate as the ones in a doctor office or the ones using an arm cuff. I do plan to continue to use this to check for any potential patterns that might indicate there is an issue that needs to be looked at by my doctor.

DISCLAIMERS:
1. I am not a doctor.
2. I do not have any medical training.
3. I am not an expert in anything medical.
4. Do not use this as the sole diagnostics equipment for blood pressure readings.
5. Talk to your doctor,
6. If this is an emergency, please hang up and dial 911.

Also, I received this product at a discount or free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Not for the Greatest Dad

The BBQ Brush from #PureDome that I received for a #ProductReview is really not something I would endorse or suggest. There are some good parts to it, and I will outline them below, but the good do not outweigh the bad.

The brush comes nicely packaged in a cardboard box with a handle. There are several full-color photos of the brush being used as well as the individual parts. 

Once you open the box there is one foam piece that easily slides out and holds all of the parts included. It comes with a nice instruction booklet which was simple to follow. 

There are seven pieces included in the box, three of which are brush attachments. The battery is 3.6V and the charger for the battery has two slots allowing a second battery to be charged. I'm not sure if the seller offers an extra battery.

I charged the battery in just a few hours. I had no problems opening the case for the battery and the battery slid right in. However I had a bit of difficulty getting the battery lid back on. What I finally figured out was the battery had to be pushed in for about two notches on the base of the battery. Once that was in I was able to replace the lid. Husband mentioned that it was a water resistant lid so it is made to be left out by the grill if desired.

The heads for the brush are metal bristled and the bristles are very sharp. They easily were bent and a few arrived broken off. Those broken bristles found my skin when I went to attach or detach a head from the body. The other problem with the metal bristles is they will scratch off any nonstick coating that you have on your grill. If that is not an issue, then the metal bristles could work just fine.

There is only and on/off button, no speed settings are available and no power boost button for short bursts. I would have liked to have a forward and backward button to make it easier to lock or unlock the brush attachments. Without that I ended up turning the mechanism manually when just trying to get the attachment off. I have a feeling that could become an issue with the mechanics of the brush.

The final nail in the coffin was the battery which really does not have enough power to create the torque needed to really clean off the grill. If you turn the heat on the grill really high and burn off the bits and pieces then you'll need to let the grill cool down before using the brush. Because of the way it is designed the brush cannot be used from a safe distance and there is no heat shield to keep your skin safe if you don't let the grill cool down enough. The entire unit is quite heavy and not well balanced, in my opinion

Ultimately I would not suggest this brush for BBQ grills. I have been racking my mind to figure out what else it could be used for and have yet to think of anything.

I received this product at a discount or free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Gifs made for free at gifmaker.me

Multi Pack for Mini Crafts

This adhesive vinyl pack by #angelcraft is a great way to try out the different colors and some finishes offered by this company. I did get duplicate colors, but they were in different finishes. For example I received two of the same color red but one was matte and the other glossy.

I do have to say I was disappointed with the way the company cut the vinyl pieces, for the most part. I measured each piece and they were all  able to cover a rectangle of at least 6"x12" but very few were cut square.

As you can see in the left photo the cuts of vinyl I received were mostly jagged edged. Even though I got the right amount of vinyl there is a chance the jagged edge could snag on something in my craft cutter machine and I would end up losing part or even all of the vinyl pretty fast.

The other issue I ran into was the edges not being square, which can be seen in the photo on the right.. I know it seems like such a small issue, but I can see potential problems on the horizon. When I used the vinyl I had two colors that I wanted to run through on a 12:x12" mat. With two pieces of 6"x12" vinyl there should have been no problem. However when they met in the middle they overlapped. Again, another potential issue for snagging and losing the vinyl.

Now this vinyl pack is awesome if you are only looking to cut small projects, accent pieces or need many colors. I do wish there was a way to get all one finish. There might be, but I have yet to find it on the seller's amazon store.

I decided to take a plain black cellphone case and jazz it up with a scroll design. I actually got the design from a ding font (it was just one letter) and then sized it until I got the look I wanted. Then I duplicated the design and stretched it to create the accent. I placed both colors on the mat and cut it all at once.

For those who have cut adhesive backed vinyl before on their craft cutter beware that the paper backing on this vinyl is thicker than some. I didn't realize this until I tried to remove the excess vinyl from my mat. I didn't know the blade needed to be set for a slightly deeper cut and it didn't cut all the way through the backing. Luckily I was able to pull the two vinyl designs from the excess vinyl and place them by hand. There are a few tiny flaws with the match up of some of the bottom points, but not enough to drive me crazy. And since the design was all one piece, I didn't need to worry about lining anything up to the sides. I do like that the paper backing is thicker because it gives the vinyl more stability when it is being cut. Just make sure you lower the blade a bit more than on other vinyls.

Even with the issues discussed above this is a vinyl I would purchase again. And because I received the Multi Pack, I will now have the ability to know which color/texture combo (from the ones I was sent) that I would like to order in a larger size for a larger project.

I received this product at a discount of free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.