Formosa Covers

We bought a new patio set cover and 2 chaise chair covers on Amazon.com:

The patio set cover product description:
Mildew resistant vent. Heavy duty water resistant, UV treated polyester. Fits oval or rectangular tables up to 79 x 42 and 6 - 8 chairs. Heavy duty vinyl with polyester backing. Can be used with or without umbrella. (hole is located in the center of the cover) Keeps table and chairs clean and dry. Velcro ties keep cover secure. Zipper runs from center to one end for ease of putting the cover on. Clean with a damp cloth. Size: 120"L x 86"W x 45"H

Chaise covers product description:
Mildew resistant vent. Heavy duty vinyl with polyester backing. Heavy duty vinyl coated polyester 600 denier x 300. Heavy duty water resistant, UV treated polyester fabric. Easy to slip on and off Keeps chaise clean and dry Clean with a damp cloth Velcro ties keep cover secure Size: 84" L x 30" W x 24" H

They are much better than I expected. The patio set cover was $60 and the chaise covers were $20 each. I'll have to give an update about how well they hold up to the elements later; it hasn't rained much yet, but we're expecting wind and rain tomorrow.

I had to contact Formosa Covers customer service department about the shipping fees and they were very polite and helpful.

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

Magic Eraser Bath Scrubber.
These are even better than the original Eraser. The say they are larger and more durable, but I was really wondering if it was true. The package comes with 2 for the price of the original 4 - about $3.50. They are worth it! I scrubbed our tub and shower and it didn't disintegrate like the original Eraser. It made cleaning the tub and shower MUCH easier....and a bonus - I didn't have to choke on the smell of bleach or cleaners. Great product.

You can check out their product and get special offers here:  Mr Clean

Keep it Dry Closet Dehumidifiers

I love these. They cost about $3 at Walmart and are super easy to use. All you have to do it pull the orange top off, peel the seal off and replace the orange lid. You can put them anywhere. Before you know it they are full of water. They are like having the "do not eat" packets found in items you purchase like shoe boxes, decorations, etc. It's interesting how this little gadget can pull moisture from the air and fill the container. Just throw it away when it's full.

Paint Primer

When we decided to primer our orange bedroom, we chose a 2 gallon, inexpensive primer at Lowes. I honestly can't remember the name, but I remember the name was Bullseye something. So the second time around we chose Kilz... it's supposed to coat better for fewer coats. I don't necessarily agree with that claim.Here is the first bedroom using the cheaper primer:In progress...It ended up taking 3 coats of the cheaper primer. Also note: the Bullseye primer said LOW ODOR...yeah right, our room still stinks and it's been weeks!

Then, onto the pink closet in the orange room. Using Kilz this time... It took 2 coats to cover the pink in the closet; I know it would have taken 3 coats if there was artwork like the rest of the room.

This is the next room to paint:

We still have Kilz to use for this room. I don't think Kilz covers that much better than the cheaper version, but it didn't leave the lingering odor. I'll post an update when we paint this room to compare the coverage over artwork.

Another Shark Steam Pocket Mop Post

As I was getting ready to post about our new Shark Steam Mop I realized Tammy already posted her review. Well, here goes another one....

I bought this mop because I was really sick of trying to clean the tile floor in the kitchen. I've only mopped it a couple times because I HATE doing it.

I paid $120 at Wal-Mart and then this last weekend I saw the ad on TV that you can get the rectangle AND triangle head for the same price (and free shipping). Bummer. Oh well...I got an extra cleaning pad :)

This mop is really nice because it only takes about 30 seconds to heat up enough for steam. You can pump it over and over and over again if you want to get some serious steam coming out of it.I went over our floor 4 times (you can use both sides of the pad too), yes 4, and each time the pad looked similar to this:The last pad came out pretty clean, so I finally moved on to another room, but here is an after picture:

I swear the tile looks richer, but like I've mentioned before, it might just be wishful thinking.
I didn't take Tammy's advice and just went for it; I cleaned the whole kitchen without a second thought. It worked out really well, but I don't think our tiles are sealed like Tammy's. Please spot test it because this little sucker can put out some serious heat.
I have a feeling our kitchen will be mopped much more often now.

Biggest Loser Scale

I really like this food scale. It's very simple and easy to use; it's small too, so it will fit in a utensil drawer. We paid under $20 for it. We buy meat in bulk and I use it to separate the meat by weight for sealing in freezer bags. I usually put a piece of wax paper on the scale before I put meat on it, but the top is glass and really easy to clean. It shuts itself off when not in use to save the battery life.

Treasure Garden Patio Umbrella

We bought an 11 foot Octagon Cantilever Umbrella by Treasure Garden with an O'bravia fabric. O'bravia is considered a C grade fabric, according to Treasure Garden's website.

It is such a beautiful umbrella. It's tall, has nice fabric and creates a lot of shade. And that's where the good comments stop. We bought this from a clearance center for $300. The "non-clearance" was on sale for $400, but says it retails for just over $1000. Our umbrella was returned, but we were told, "It wasn't even taken out of the package." Yeah sure, I know better now.

We got home, set up the umbrella and it wouldn't crank open. Ah, now we know why they brought the umbrella back. AND, we can't return it because we bought it in the clearance center. So, Doug and I set out to take it apart and figure out why it won't work - we figured it's already broken and worthless, so why not?

The reason: the company used a string about the size of a shoe lace, but weaker, to open and close this umbrella. The cord was broken and twisted up inside the arm. Really???? It retails at over $1000 and you can't put a decent rope/string/wire through it??? If the string breaks, the umbrella is worthless.

After working on the umbrella for a couple hours each day, for a few days, we went to Lowe's to get a galvanized wire to run through the umbrella. Guess what? It works.

For a very small amount of money we made the umbrella stronger and better than the $1000 retail version and we only paid $300. Granted it cost frustration also, but sheesh, Treasure Garden could have used something better than a weak shoe string.

Oh, and P.S., good luck trying to get parts or warranty info. Everything I searched for, on their website and others, said to go back to the store you buy it from. Really? A retail store is going to have spare parts or wants to deal with the manufacturer's warranty? No. That's why it's a MANUFACTURER'S warranty.

These umbrellas suck!

Topsy Turvy

I'm having something of a contest with the Topsy Turvy - I've got tomatoes in pots and hanging in the Topsy Turvy. I'm curious to see which one is better. So far, they are producing about the same amount of tomatoes:It was a bit of challenge to plant the tomato plant in the Topsy Turvy because there is a foam ring to put around base of the plant. It's hard to hold the plant and the planter while trying to add dirt. The first plant died and it was much easier to plant the second plant. I don't know if I was too worried about hurting the plant the first time. The second time I wasn't as careful and the Topsy Turvy was already full of dirt; I just put it on it's side and pushed the plant through the bottom.

The Topsy Turvy stand is twice as much as what you can get at Home Depot or Lowe's. Just make sure you buy a sturdy stand, these plants are heavy. We got ours for about $20 at Lowe's and it holds both plants; I just wish it could be a little higher off the ground - our stand is probably 5 feet or so.

I was going to wait to post about the Topsy Turvy, but thought I would tell you my experience so far - just in case you might want to buy one.

Aveeno

My mom and I were at Costco a while back and I bought a 2 pack of Aveeno lotion. This lotion moisturizes well, but leaves my skin feeling sticky. I've also found that when using this lotion I would have white marks on my black slacks. I couldn't figure out where the marks were coming from until one day I rubbed my arm on my pants while sitting at my desk. I'm still searching for a lotion that works well without drawbacks.

Suave

I was frustrated with our shampoo and conditioner so I figured we would try Suave. Why not try it right? After all, the commercials say it's just as good as expensive hair products. We chose the Pomegranate Splash. We usually pay $5-$7 for our shampoo and the same for our conditioner; we paid about $5 for both in family size bottles.

I can honestly say they are great. I've been having issues with my hair feeling and looking oily a few hours after I wash it. Not anymore. My hair is just as soft and manageable too.