Customized Art on Web

If you are looking for an art theme, or you are looking for a very specific type of frame or border, or a unique piece of original art, you may want to try www.fineartamerica.com.

This website has a very good search function.  Once you choose what you want to purchase, it will walk you through the choices.  You can then preview your selection.

I purchased these 3 pieces from Fine Art America.  I had a fascination with crows and found it hard to locate crow art.  On the Fine Art America website, this was not a problem.  I simply typed crow into the search engine; reviewed the pages of selection.  Once I found a piece(s) I liked, I tried multiple frames in multiple colors and widths.  Then I previewed the results, I decided to add it to the cart or make any other adjustments.  When the pieces arrived, I was thrilled because they looked just like the preview.  Remember, since it is individually prepared, this is not an overnight process, it takes some time to get the order you place.

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Tracy

Warm and Snuggly Feet

Smartwool socks are my absolute favorite socks to have on a cold winter day.

You can find them at https://www.smartwool.com/, but they are also available from many other retailers.

Yes, they are not expensive ($15-$20 a pair), but do not be taken in by impersonators (they are out there by the dozens).  I have had several pair for over 10 years.   They have been worn for about 10,000 hours each and they still look almost new.  They keep your feet dry, warm, fit nicely, are not too thick and can be washed and dried.  With all of these benefits, I think of them as high tech wool.

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Tracy

Vacation House via the Web

I spend enough times in hotels with my work.  You have to deal with noise in the hallways, bad in-room coffee, lots of people in the pool and coordinating everyone's schedule to eat a meal.

Therefore, when I go on vacation, I like to rent a house.  It gives you privacy, you can eat when you chose and, depending on the group, can be less costly.

Sounds great, but  you still have to find a house.  I have had very good luck with www.homeaway.com.  I can chose the location and see photos of the house.  I have utilized it 3 times and have not been disappointed in any of the houses.  We set our own schedule, lounge in the pool and go to a restaurant if we desire.  It also allows us to limit our luggage because we have our own laundry in the house.  You can choose any place in the world you want to travel and set your parameters.  The website is user friendly, and you can see reviews (please note, I do believe bad reviews can be deleted if not favorable).  Always remember, renter be ware, but I have found this site to be great!

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Tracy

White Noise Anyone?

For years I have slept with background noise to help me sleep.  I have, unfortunately, worn out many different noise machines that offer all types of background noises (waves, chirping crickets, storms, etc.), but all I really needed was white noise.  After wearing out my third "fancy" machine, I switched to this little beauty below.  My sister has had the same version for ~20 years, therefore, I knew it would actually last.

It is a very simple design, but it has a few hidden features.  It has simple on/off switch on the side.  You can chose the high or low setting.  If the volume is not right for you, you can twist the top or sides to adjust the volume.

I love this little beauty, and it has been a nice addition to my sleeping regiment for years.  I simply turn it on with my toe then snuggle up for a good night's sleep.  

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Tracy

Document Sharing from Google

Not sure if you have heard about a feature of Google (I know they offer everything), it is called Google Docs.  Google Docs is an on-line spreadsheet or document website that allows a person to create spreadsheet or document and share it with a group of people or keep it private for individual use.

On its surface, it may not sound useful, but friends and I have found many uses for this feature.  Since the site allows sharing of documents and spreadsheets for people who are not on the same network, I have used it to plan food for a vacation with people in 5 different cities, friends have used it to plan the guest list to their wedding or other parties.  Multiple parties can access it at the same time, all of the results are shared immediately.

You can also use it personally.  I use it for my "to do" list.  Since it is on the web, I can access it from multiple locations and update it as necessary.  For each spreadsheet, I can chose whether or not I choose to share the spreadsheet with other people.

To start a spreadsheet go to https://docs.google.com. It will walk you through the process.

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Tracy

New Spin on Old Suitcase

I do a lot of travelling.  I almost exclusively use only a carry on.  I went through and investigated (and purchased) many different carryons trying to the perfect bag.  It obviously had to be within size limits, but it also needed to make my life easier.  After many attempts, my family has been the beneficiary of my errors, I finally landed on a spinner wheel suitcase.

I really needed a carryon that could be shoved in trunks, in luggage compartments and keep all of my items safe in the process.  I found it very ackward to walk down the airplane aisle with the standard wheel alignment.  Since this beauty goes on four wheels that can go in any direction, it easily makes it down the aisle, or I can pull it behind me in the more standard way suitcases are drug behind the puller.

An unexpected benefit are all of the handles making it easy to move about.  In the picture above, you can see a handle between the wheels.  This little carry on has multiple handles making it easy

These suitcases are available from a number of sites, just type in "spinner suitcase" and you are guaranteed to find lots of choices.

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Tracy

The Bestest Little Speaker

 I have looked for a small speaker that has good volume for several years.  I wanted a very small speaker (small enough to fit in my purse) that had good sound.  It also had to be able to put out a lot of volume and hold a long charge since it would travel in the car with me on long trips.

Much to my surprise, I finally found it in the Jacksonville Airport.  It is the Jawbone Jambox.  Yes, these are the people that are known for their bluetooth ear pieces.  The speaker holds its charge to up to 10 hours and is much louder than I ever need.  It fits nicely in my purse (see it in my hand below).

Look closely at the top.  It has big buttons that can easily be felt when driving to raise the volume, you hit the large "+" on the top, to lower the volume just press the "-".  

This speaker also contains many other features that are nice.  It can be hooked directly to the headphone doc for my ipod and kindle when a head set or the built in speakers just won't do.  It is also a bluetooth speaker, so you can listen to music and take a call.   

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Tracy