April Nemeth from Little Korboose makes adorable houseware. Though we had a lot to choose from when browsing through her Etsy shop, we decided to pay some tribute to our feline friends by highlighting the Melamine Meow Bowl. The 5" dishwasher round bowl is adorned with April's unique line art.

Found at Etsy for $10.00.

I thought the SmartPad was a bunch of bologna when I saw it advertised - until I saw it in action in a friend's car. The silicone base pad (looking a lot like a mouse pad) attaches to the surface of your car's dashboard, refrigerators, computer desks, etc... and leaves no residue, which is honestly the best thing about this device. Throw mobile phones (how British of me), MP3 players, sunglasses, GPS, on top of it grips on to it. One small caveat is that it also tends to collect dust, so you'll have to wash it with water every once in a while so it regains its strong-man like grip.

Found at The Container Store for $9.99

Benini Bug is not your ordinary baby store. Benini has all kinds of custom trinkets for your little ones, which is exactly what makes Benini unique. One of our favorites things at Benini is that they offer customized outfits. The way it works is simple, the customer gives them an idea or a theme and they put together outfits for them. Benini has designers that can pretty much do anything as far as we can tell.

Here is an example of one of their custom tutus.


Benini also has customized wall art to decorate your child's room. As a customer you send them a picture of your kid(s) and one of their artists makes the pop art painting for them.


Benini also does custom wall letters that match any design, color scheme, or pattern that the customer wants. The letters can accentuate any child's room.





Benini is a one stop shop for all stuff baby whether it's custom or not. Take a look for yourself on their BeniniBug's website and you will see what we mean.

A clever name for a clever cushion. The Going Round the Button Tree Cushion woolen tweed fabric is adorned by wooden sheep buttons along with colorful buttons of different shapes, colors and sizes. A polyester filling completes the package.

Found at Etsy for $30.00 smackaroos.

Michele Bosak (or mimi) is a sculpture/drawing maniac. We spent a while on her Etsy Shop checking out her unique work. We decided to highlight Absence no. 12 on Veneer giclee print for its thoughtful use of color on the wooden textured background.

Found at Etsy for $27.00

Public restrooms are nasty, so any advantage you can gain while in there helps. The dissolving soap paper are small sheets of paper that will lather your hands when you apply water and rub your hands together. I like that my wife can carry these in her purse and if a public restroom runs out of soap, I can still wash my hands before dinner.

50 sheets for $4.95 at Amazon.

Cetaphil Gentle Cleansing Bar, 4.5-Ounce Bar (Pack of 6)

In my house my wife and I have been trying to cut down on the basic stuff for the arrival of our new baby girl. One of the more needlessly expensive services we pay for, is our phone service. I spent hours researching how to lower that phone bill and the only real alternatives were voice over IP (VOIP) phone services. Though lower than a regular landline it still left me with a monthly bill.

Through some more digging around, I found the Ooma phone system. It is basically a voice over IP device, but unlike other voip services, you only pay for the device once. For as long as the Ooma phone system works, you don't pay a dime for phone service. In other words, our phone bill went from $50 (after taxes) to zero. In 4.5 months of owning the device, it will pay for itself. After that, it is a free ride. I hope to have a full review for you in the near future.

Found the Ooma phone system for $203.99 at Amazon.

We go ga-ga for illustrations. This Isak Blossom and Bill Tray is no exception. The tray is simply made from 7 layers of birch wood and it is then finished with a laminate coating.

Found at huset for $45.00.

Although the Nikon D300 has been out on the market for some time now, we recently purchased one to use on our product photoshots. Our photographers do nothing but rave about it citing the Nikon D300 as a great amateur to semi-professional DSLR camera.

The Nikon D300 takes sharp images and displays stunning colors. The active D-lighting feature amazing: it can brighten up a subject that has been underexposed due to backlighting or insufficient flash illumination, or enhance contrast of an overexposed subject that otherwise looks too bright. For those of you who shoot sports, the Nikon D300 can shoot up to 6 frames per second out of the box. If you purchase the MB-D10 grip that will increase to 8 frames per second.

The camera also features a 3" LCD screen. The screen allows you to preview pictures you've just taken or use it as a view-finder like most point-and-shoot cameras. The controls are simple to use and we found it's menu to be very easy to navigate -- though it is important to point out some of the features are buried deep in the menu system.

The hot shoe allows for an external flash like the SB900 and will give you an amazing advantage to control the lighting. You can also purchase software to control the camera through the PC "Camera Control Pro". A wireless adapter is also available to shoot images wirelessly. Honestly the capabilities are endless with this one.

Some sample shots taken with the Nikon D300:









Images taken by Hector Gongora


IN THE BOX
- Nikon D300 (Body only)
- Battery and charger
- Instruction manual

THE GOOD
- Easy to use
- Amazing images
- Can get up to 8 FPS (with optional accessory)
- Great battery life

THE BAD
- Does not come with camera control software

WHERE TO BUY
- Amazon
-


Linksys BEFCMU10 Ethernet Cable Modem

Looking for a new water dispenser for your home or office? Take a look at the Island Sky Water-Making Machines. The Skywater 14 machine works without bottles, so your back won't be hurting the next day after lugging around a heavy 5 gallon jug. The concept is actually fairly simple: The Skywater 14 transforms air humidity into water. It does so by using a technology that filters air, then it condenses it and collects it in a large reservoir. The entire system is purified with OZONE, which is EPA and FDA approved. After the water is purified, it passes through a carbon filter, which enhances the taste.

It is a cool alternative to provide low cost, high-quality drinking water for your home or office. Another thing to note is that the Skywater 14 needs no plumbing. You simply plug this bad boy into a standard 110 or 220 volt outlet and wait for the water to be sucked from the air. The unit has an LCD display which shows current indoor temperature and humidity conditions, and features a full tank gauge so you know when your water is ready.