Category: Shopping and Product Reviews

Buying gifts is never an easy task. Any festival, holiday or occasion just puts an added pressure on us. It is frustrating to research and dig for a gift that the other person is more than okay with. You can’t really leave getting gifts to luck and wait and see if your loved ones like them when they are unwrapped. Mostly, you do not want to disappoint them because they mean something to you.

Keep in mind that shopping is fun and there are gifts that can warm the hearts of anyone with just a touch of personalization. If you are not a planner, you will most probably succumb to frustration that one undergoes when it comes to last-minute gif shopping.

Personalization of mugs

When you are puzzled for a gift idea or have hit a wall thinking of ideas of gifts, you can always go for a personalized mug. It is something all of us every day, it can be custom-made and it can be useful. Coffee cups are most considered impersonal. It’s usually a gift considered appropriate for a colleague, boss, teacher or an acquaintance.

But that’s old story. These days there are a multitude of ideas to personalize mugs and make it special for your loved ones. Mugs can be personalized irrespective of the gender or age. Mugs can be made as appealing to your friends as to your family. If you are creative and have an idea about their likes and dislikes, making the mug unique is an easy task. Here are a few ideas how you can convert coffee mugs into amazing personalized gifts that would be cherished by your loved ones.

Photo mugs

One of the easiest ways to make your mug personalized is adding a photo to it. Mugs can be personalized by simply adding images on them. Photos can be printed on the mugs easily. All you need is a digital copy of the image. An image or a collage of images that will bring back fond memories can be added to the mugs. Another great thing about these mugs is that they will remind the person for whom the gift is intended about you every time they use the mug, which can be every day.

Quote mugs

Sometimes, when you are not very sure what gift you should buy; mugs can seem like a great idea. They can be great gift for employees, colleagues or clients. They can be personalized with your company logo, tag line or quotes praising people.

Sharpie mugs

While sharpie mugs are a very successful DIY project you will see around the internet, it doesn’t mean they do not make excellent gift. These mugs carry messages and can be ordered online or be your own DIY project. The best thing about these mugs is that they can carry your unique message and will always stand out from other gifts. Also, these mugs are affordable.

Other personalization

The person whom you are going to gift the mug will have hobbies, interests or passion. Why not choose a mug or personalize a mug that talks about their work, quirks or something unique about them. Are they Harry potter or Spiderman fan? A mug with a quote or picture can be a great option. For photography fans, there are lens shaped mugs. The possibility is endless. With a little creativity a research, mugs make an awesome and unique gift.

Without a doubt, the best air mattress I have ever owned! The Soundasleep Dream Series Air Mattress is everything I’ve been searching years for, with no luck. I have a large family, with tons of kids, and sometimes not enough spare bedrooms for everyone. Over the past 12 years, I we have gone through at least 8 air mattresses, due to casualties of all different kinds. Some leak immediately, some leak after a while. Some are so difficult to pump up that you consider not deflating them at all. Then there was the honey incident. Enough said. Of course, our trusty dog Sierra saved us from attack by airbed and bit into it as soon as it inflated. Then there was the airbed that my baby (OK, 1,351bs of fur baby). Blaze decided to use as his bed. To be fair, I think it was more effected by his nails than his weight. Anyway. I have spent countless hours searching for something that would hold up. During a recent move, we were without furniture for several days and I purchased two of these air mattresses for the transition period. After my past experiences, you can say my expectations weren’t too high. I actually bought two, hoping that in case one didn’t make it through that weekend, we would have a spare to use. That was over a year ago, and I couldn’t be happier with this product.

The Soundasleep Dream Series Air is a true Queen size when inflated, with dimensions: 58″ x 78″ x 19″ deep. This is a nice, thick size for an air mattress, and any most queen sized sheets today are made with a depth up to 21″. That is the measurement you want to look for when buying sheets for this, or any other thick mattress. Deep pocket, or extra deep pocket will provide ample room for this substantial mattress.

Pros and Cons of the Soundasleep Dream Series Air Mattress

Pros:

• 40 coils provide for flat, firm support
• Inflates easily in under 4 minutes
• Waterproof top layer
• 1 click internal pump for inflation/deflation
• Sure grip bottom
• Puncture resistant
• 1 year warranty

Cons:

• Not for use as a permanent bed
• Not suitable for infants
• Large bulky size when inflated
• Slight plastic smell that fades

As with everything I buy, I first read the reviews on Amazon to get the real story about the Soundasleep Dream Series Air Mattress. This is, truth be told, why I ended up purchasing this specific item. People called it sturdy, comfortable, stable, and often compared it to sleeping in a real bed! Of course, this I didn’t believe. Maybe I just thought that I’m a real mattress snob, and other people may not be so picky. Nonetheless, these were the best reviews I’ve read, so I went for it. After all, it may not be as nice as my big comfy bed, but it’s sure to beat the floor.

I ordered two beds, and was pleased at their quick delivery. Although upon opening them, I noticed a slight plastic odor, it was expected, and faded in the few days before our big move. So fast forward a few days, and my real furniture is gone, and now it’s time to really find out how good the Soundasleep Dream Series Air Mattress is. I had a brief moment of panic upon realizing that I had not blown up either mattress to check for malfunctions. Thank goodness, this company makes a quality product.

That night, I slept like a baby on my new Soundasleep Dream Series Air Mattress, and woke up seriously surprised. No, seriously, I was on a new bed and in a new house, but neither disturbed my sleep. I personally only slept on this mattress for two more nights before getting our furniture set up, but have continued using it for family and guests without incident.

We’ve always heard the saying that one man’s treasure is another man’s junk or one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. And if you’ll look at all the garage sales and estate sales, you’ll see just how true it is.

I remember my one and only experience putting some of my junk in my garage and having a garage sale. I was shocked by the number of people who bought the items that I was throwing out. I hadn’t even advertised it; I just put a sign on my front lawn saying that I was having a garage sale on a certain date and a lot of people just showed up to buy things.

As difficult as this was for me to believe, and I’m still shaking my head at the memory, I used to do a lot of things out of sheer boredom, namely paint huge paintings by number and then I’d buy lovely frames and hang these abominations of art in my living room. And they sold. I had even done a paint by number on black velvet that sold. That one wasn’t so bad but you couldn’t possibly describe it as art. And I wondered how the spouses of the customers who bought these things viewed these “treasures.”

Even in the best of times, I’m not a shopper. The worst punishment you can give me is to take me shopping and have me pick out merchandise that I like. It’s absolute torture. For the first half of my life, those nearest and dearest to me bought my clothes and brought them home to me to try on because they knew I wouldn’t go into stores of my own accord. And that’s why I was absolutely amazed at the number of people who showed up that day to pick through my junk.

Even now, all these decades later, I still shudder at the memory of all those people who stood out in the blazing sun waiting for me to open my garage door to let them in. Maybe if this were an estate sale I wouldn’t have been so surprised but it was from an ordinary house and I hadn’t even advertised it. I hadn’t even put up posters on telephone poles, as was the custom in those days. I had just put up a little sign on my front lawn giving the date and the time.

If anyone can explain the phenomenon of why perfect strangers would get such a delight in picking over someone else’s junk, and actually buying it, I wish they would explain it to me. For now, I just shake my head in wonder, just glad that I got rid of those atrocious paint by number paintings.