Totoro Power Bank (Pink) Review

  I have the black Totoro power bank, well had it. My kids stole it and refuse to return it. So I went with a pink one to replace it and figured that I would write a review for both. They're the same product, but I do feel like color makes a bit of a difference in how you view them.

  I think Totoro is one of the most adorable characters on the planet. This power bank really does him justice as its just as adorable. I love the pink color. Its completely girly and cute and if my kids wouldn't have stolen mine, I would have picked it as a gift for my daughter.

  As with the black power bank, it works beautifully. It charges my devices faster than a standard charger and even has enough juice to add some power to another device or two when I'm done. I love that it comes with a convertible USB cord so you can change the tip and charge virtually any device. Its a little heavy not overly so and it's still very portable. The fact that is bigger than a lot of power banks only makes it more adorable as far as I'm concerned, and makes it easier to lose.

  The only complaints that I have are that it takes forever to charge it completely and it seems like there is a learning curve as the instructions don't particularly explain how to use it. The nose is the power button (how cute is that?!) and the light on the belly indicate that it is on and/or charging.The teeth also light up to let you know how much power the bank has. Hopefully its easy to figure out how to use from all the reviews. I will also say that when I received the black one, it already had a charge but the pink one was completely dead. If you bought or are buying more than one, don't get worried until you charge it!

  I'm huge on quality and this baby is made of high quality materials and feels great. It has a smooth matte finish that feels good in your hands. It's pretty easy to keep clean and its a great conversation piece or a gift for a teen. I would definitely recommend it for any Totoro fan that also likes pink. Oh! I almost forgot the best part! Instead of lighting up blue on the belly, the pink one lights up purpleish pink! How adorable is that??!!

** Disclaimer**

I was provided a product or coupon for testing and review purposes. In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Please note that all opinions are my own and I will only endorse items which I truly feel are of value to my readers.

Grazia Reusable Silicone Baking Cups - Review

We all know that I have a tendency to burn down my house 

when I cook.... 

  That's not really true, but I used it as an excuse for half of my life because I didn't know how to cook much less bake something. All of my cooking involved fervent phone calls to my mother where she walked me through making a meal step by step, and half of my meals involved plating take-out from a local restaurant as quickly as I could before my husband arrived (I giggle every time I watch Mr. & Mrs. Smith). I had very firm thoughts on how I should be as a wife and cooking was at the top of the list. My first attempt at cake for my spouse looked like a blackened lump and I never wanted to do it again. I can still hear the smoke alarm going off while I sobbed over the scorched cake pan.

  Honestly though, it took years until I started learning to make more involved recipes and making simple deserts and cookies WITHOUT lighting anything on fire or setting off any smoke alarms.

  The point of the story is, I went through all of that and my husband doesn't even like cake. Not even a little. I didn't have to pretend to be able to cook anything anyway because the man can't even cook mac-n-cheese out of a box, he was grateful for a warm hot dog! Over the years, I've picked up cooking. I like food, I just don't like making it. I still don't bake cake, but I will make the occasional cupcake if a child asks me to.

  Anyway, the current crave at my house is muffins. My kids don't want to eat anything else for breakfast on school days. Their problem with breakfast is that they have to get up a few minutes earlier to eat. We decided muffins were a great compromise because they're not really unhealthy, they freeze well, and they're portable. My only problem with muffins is that my kids take those little paper liners and throw them at or around my trash can.


  Now that I'm done rambling, I have a review! 



  I recently received Grazia silicone baking cups to try, and they've kinda changed my life.

 They're so useful!

  The first things we all noticed was how very bright and colorful these are. They're easy to see on a shelf, and my kids love the fun colors. The colors came in handy for us because we each picked a color for our muffins... you know, so no one steals our muffins instead of eating the flavor they picked. Big problem around here.

  The other great things about these silicone cups are that they are microwave, dishwasher, oven, and freezer safe. So if you're like me and you freeze your muffins, the process is seamless. You can bake them, toss them in the freezer, and thaw them without having to remove the cup! Then they get tossed in the dishwasher instead of getting thrown around the trash can like paper liners. They're non-stick so you can eaily get your muffin (or whatever you bake) out without your muffin falling apart or having to scrape part of it out of the bottom of the cup.


  Another great feature is that you don't have to use muffin tins. You can if you want to, but you can just as easily toss these on a baking sheet or a cookie sheet and shove them in the oven. It's simpler and there is less clean up involved.

  Now, I do have one downside that I noticed and its not a big thing or a deal breaker. These don't cook exactly like a muffin tin. They cook more evenly instead of outside to inside. So if you're like me and your mentality is "if I accidentally overfill one, it will have a bigger top", you'll need to watch that when you use these cups. Unlike traditional tins, when you overfill these, you have a 70% chance of your muffins collapsing on themselves rather than rising higher. Not a big deal, but worth noting.

  I have to say that I fully recommend these. They make my mornings smoother and take away some of the little annoyances I have with baking muffins. They're reusable, environmentally safe, BPA free, and have a lifetime guarantee. If you're like me and are looking for less hassles, these are for you.

** Disclaimer**

I was provided a product or coupon for testing and review purposes. In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Please note that all opinions are my own and I will only endorse items which I truly feel are of value to my readers.

i2 Gear® Raptor Universal Dashboard/Windshield Car Mount Review

   In this day and age of technology, you'd think that companies would be even more in sync with what consumers want and need. With social networking, you'd imagine that companies would be better equipped to provide exactly what people are looking for. We post about it every day!



   In my case, you'd think that GPS would have all the features I want, but I'm still left wanting. As a matter of fact, I think that the best thing for people like me is for Google to make a GPS system that you can mount in your car, but I don't know of one. I honestly prefer Google maps to my Garmin in my car. It is really hard to hold my phone while I drive, and setting my phone on the shelf in my dashboard just ends badly.... with trying to fish my phone out from underneath my seat when I make a sharp turn. Unfortunately, my phone doesn't fit in my Garmin mount because it is custom made specifically for the Garmin.

 I thought about buying a mount specifically for my phone but I didn't want to only use my phone. I might be the only one, but I feel weird if my GPS isn't up there. I like to see my speed and know what road I am on at all times, I'd just rather use my phone for directions and navigation. 


 Thankfully, I was given the opportunity to try out the Raptor Universal Dashboard Windshield Car Mount. I have to say that I love this thing. This mount gives me the freedom to use my phone for navigation whenever I want and to use my Garmin when ever I want because they both fit in it. It has great features that just can't be beat.
Some of these features include:

QUICK THUMB CLAMP RELEASE - Mount your device in seconds
PROTECT YOUR INVESTMENT - The tough spring clamp grip takes a stingy grip :). It firmly holds your device in place.
FULL 360 DEGREE VIEWS - Supports full side to side, pan to vertical or horizontal placement
COMPATIBILITY - Apple iPhone 5/5S/5C/4/4S/3GS Samsung Galaxy S5/S4/S3/S2/Note/Note 3 HTC One/8X/8S Nokia Lumia 925/928/920 Blackberry Q10 & Z10 LG Optimus G/Nexus 4/Nexus 5 Motorola Droid RAZR/MAXX/HD/MOTO X and many more.

 This mount is strong. Where my Garmin mount will fall off the windshield sometimes, I haven't had any problems with this. The suction cup has a lever that you push down pretty hard until you hear a click and then it is basically locked to your windshield. I didn't try it on my dashboard, so I really can't say how well it will mount on a dash.

  It is super easy to use as well. It swivels easily, but it also has a knob that you can tighten over the "swivel ball" to lock it in place at the angle that you want it. When I say that it locks into place, I mean that it really stays put. It hasn't budged from the weight of my device, bumps, turns, or any other conditions. You can also mount it in either direction to reduce glare on your device. It opens rather wide, I imagine you could fit most GPS systems or cellphones that have a screen less than 5-inches in it, and it really grips devices well. The clamp has red rubber grips on both sides that literally won't let your device go. If you buy it, make sure to hold the clamp open fully when you remove your device so you don't get rub-off from the grips and you avoid breaking the mount's grips. Another great thing about this is that the clamp isn't really wide so there is enough room to charge your device while it is in the mount, no matter where the charging port is located on the device.

 My conclusion:
 I would buy this ANYTIME. It is well worth the cost and works exactly as described. It really meets my needs in my car because I can switch devices whenever I want without having to switch the mount out. It is sturdy and stays in place on my windshield. The weight of my Galaxy S4 doesn't cause the clamp to fall even with the 360 degree swivel feature because of the unique lock. It does everything I want it to and more.

** Disclaimer**

I was provided a product or coupon for testing and review purposes. In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Please note that all opinions are my own and I will only endorse items which I truly feel are of value to my readers.

Solid Cordz® 2-pk 6ft Extension Cables Review

   The first thing I want to say about these extension cords is that they are SERIOUSLY heavy duty. They're definitely comparable to indoor/outdoor "shop" cords, with the only main differences being length and color. I could see myself using these in my garage as well as in my house. I tried these in many situations and they've performed well. They didn't get hot under any circumstance, but they did start to get a little warm when I tried running power tools for a long period of time. When I say "warm" I don't mean much heat at all, I just mean it felt warmer than it was when I started. It took about 40 minutes before the cord felt warm, as I'm probably not going to use them with power tools for hours, I don't really see this being an issue.

   I live in a house that is well over 100 years old. If you've ever lived in an old house, you know that no matter how much it is updated, you somehow end up with about 2 outlets in each room no matter how big the room is. We kinda live on surge protector strips and extension cords 'round here. The great thing about these cords is that they're not too long to use with a surge protector or just an outlet, so you can use it for just about anything. I'm currently using one for my stove because it has a 2 foot cord coming out of the back at the top and my outlet is at the bottom of the wall (who's idea was THAT?! O_o). I also have one plugged into a strip so I can use my laptop charger or anything else I need to without having to be 2 feet away from the strip.

   I'll definitely be buying more of these so I can extend my surge protectors to where I need them to be instead of running a ton of extension cords from the strips to the electronics that need power. As much as I try to hide the extension cords, there are still a ton of them that are visible and these extension cords will completely solve that problem for me. I also really like that they're black because they really don't stand out. I've had white cords, gray cords, brown cords, and even orange ones and they all stand out in one room or another. Black doesn't seem to do that as much.

   The only downside that I can really see to these is they're not very flexible right out of the package, so they need to be broken in a little if you want them to lose the coil-shape from being packaged.

If you're looking for great heavy duty cords 

that aren't going to cost you an arm and a leg, 

these won't let you down. 

** Disclaimer**

I was provided a product or coupon for testing and review purposes. In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Please note that all opinions are my own and I will only endorse items which I truly feel are of value to my readers.