Bestway Airbeds #Tryazon #BestwayToSleepThisSummer #BestwaySummerOfSleep #BestwayUS #BestwayUSA #InflateYourFun #YourSleepIsOurBusiness

A complimentary Bestway Airbed was provided to me through Tryazon so that I could share them with friends and through my blog. All opinions expressed are my own

We have always lived a few hours from friends and family, meaning that it is not uncommon for us to have overnight company. We have plenty of floor space for them but that's not always the most comfortable sleeping arrangement. So, when we had the chance to check out the Bestway Airbeds for free through a Tryazon party, I jumped at the chance.

When we received the bed, of course I wasted no time in opening the box and checking it out. One of the first things that I noticed was the soft top material on the mattress - it is listed as a "soft, flocked material that creates a comortable, luxurious sleeping surface for a peaceful night's rest". Depending on who is sleeping on the bed, we will still likely use sheets or sleeping bags but it is a nice surface and makes it easier to put sheets on the mattress.

The mattress that we got was queen size and is rated for up to 661 lbs. I like that there is a slightly elevated section that can serve as a built-in pillow. I imagine that most guests will use a separate pillow but it makes it easier to prop your head up in the bed to read or watch TV before settling in for the night.

The built in air pump made it easy to inflate the bed. I like that there is a built in storage section to tuck away the cords when not needed, keeps them from laying on the floor or being in the way. The cords are a decent length but I did have to rotate the bed to plug it in. It is also nice that you can use the pump to deflate the bed, or you can also manually deflate by opening the valve and letting the air out, but that is much slower.

The mattress uses what they call an I-Beam Construction. According to the box:

The Tritech Fortified Beams are made of an enhanced 3-layer material reinforced to provide durability and support. It provides stretch resistance and ensures that the airbed keeps its shape no matter how many times it is inflated and deflated. The material has been stress tested against the weight, strain and movement of a good night's sleep.

What I found is that unlike some other air mattresses that we have used before, with this one each person seems to be isolated and you don't feel every move of the other person (I think of that mattress commercial with the wine glass where it doesn't spill when the person moves about). This is important when it comes to a good nights sleep. I haven't inflated/deflated a ton of times yet but so far, it does seem that it holds its shape and provides great support.

The storage bag for the mattress is a nice added touch. It is simple but having the bag with handles to transport, store and travel is helpful. You do have to make sure that it is fully deflated and fold it as recommended to make it fit in the bag. Again, this is where the built-in pump is helpful too - you only need to remember to grab the bag and don't have to worry about whether you have everything.

Originally, we were expecting to get the mattress earlier in the season, which would have been great for some planned visitors and trips. There was a delay in the timing for receiving the mattress and hosting the Tryazon event, so we didn't get the chance to use the mattress for an overnight event or share with a larger group at one time, as hoped. Instead, we inflated and deflated to share and demonstrate the comfort with some smaller groups over the timespan that we had. The guests agreed that it was comfortable during trial and that it would likely be great for sleeping on. Of course, the good news is that we now have it for future visits too.

No compensation was received for this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family and friends. A complimentary Bestway Airbed was provided to me through Tryazon so that I could experience the product and inivte my friends to check it out too.

Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore

Wow! What did I just read?

I have always enjoyed split timeline books, so when I heard about Oona Out of Order, a story with a disjointed timeline I was intrigued and put a request on the book.

About the Book:

A remarkably inventive novel that explores what it means to live a life fully in the moment, even if those moments are out of order.

It’s New Year’s Eve 1982, and Oona Lockhart has her whole life before her. At the stroke of midnight she will turn nineteen, and the year ahead promises to be one of consequence. Should she go to London to study economics, or remain at home in Brooklyn to pursue her passion for music and be with her boyfriend? As the countdown to the New Year begins, Oona faints and awakens thirty-two years in the future in her fifty-one-year-old body. Greeted by a friendly stranger in a beautiful house she’s told is her own, Oona learns that with each passing year she will leap to another age at random. And so begins Oona Out of Order...

Hopping through decades, pop culture fads, and much-needed stock tips, Oona is still a young woman on the inside but ever changing on the outside. Who will she be next year? Philanthropist? Club Kid? World traveler? Wife to a man she’s never met? Surprising, magical, and heart-wrenching, Margarita Montimore has crafted an unforgettable story about the burdens of time, the endurance of love, and the power of family.

The story starts with 18 year old Oona at a New Year's Eve party. We get to learn a little bit about her and her current group of friends. Then as the clock ticks midnight, she faints and finds herself awaking in her own body in another time. It has to be a strange experience to still be you but to know little of what's currently going on. There were times where I felt as confused as Oona, trying to figure out what was happening in each new time of her life. Some years were better than others. There were times where I was disappointed in the way she lived her life in a given year and times where she tried to impact her own outcome. I think that in part it was because she was much younger on the inside and was living a life that normally is lived by someone with more experience. There were clearly advantages and challenges to living out of order. When she finally had the chance to return to her 19th year (where the timeline first shifted), it was refreshing to see some of what she had learned about living.

This quote near the end of the book sums it up nicely:

"Oona would always try to create continuity and meaning in her life - she couldn't help it - but she'd also seie these moments of happiness and relish them. Whichever way the years flowed, it was impossible to outmaneuver their passage. Even chronology doesn't guarantee security. All good things ended, always. The trice was to enjoy them while they lasted. Oona was still learning."

This book was an interesting read and had to be a challenge to write. The author has a couple of other books that I will keep an eye out for at the library in hopes of reading them as well.

Adagio Bees - new Honey from the Adagio Tea company

Complimentary honey samplers were provided by Adagio Tea for me to try and share my experience.

A while back, I noticed that Adagio Teas had expanded their product offering to include honey. I was intrigued. As with tea, there was a time where honey was not high on my list but over the years, I had come to enjoy honey as an addition to my tea. Then, this summer, I bought some Vanilla Honey coffee pods and there was something so soothing about that flavor and aroma.
I started by exploring their site. They offer several options for jars of honey and sampler sets to let you try the different varieties and styles.

They currently offer 5 varieties of tea honey. Sold by the jar, these raw honeys were specifically selected for use in different tea varieties.

tea honey
Honey has long been a source for sweetening a variety of foods and beverages for over 10,000 years. The sweet nectar has also been used for medicinal purposes, served as currency, and been a symbol in many religious and cultural celebrations. Each offers the promise of making your cup of tea just a little bit sweeter. Glass jars. Made in the USA.

They also offer 11 varieties of raw honey by the jar.

raw honey
Honey, one of the world's oldest sweeteners, comes from flower nectar that has been consumed by the honey bee. Known as the "nectar of the gods" as far back as 5,000 years ago it was used for medicinal purposes, in cooking, and as a preservative in cosmetics, soaps, and even the beeswax has been used for candles. Our raw honey is packaged without the use of high temperatures to provide as close to the experience of heating out of the hive as possible- positively irresistable!

The third variety that they offer is whipped honey, in 3 varieties.

whipped honey
Whipped Honey (also known as creamed honey, cream honey, honey butter, honey spread, granulated honey or shipped honey) is the most popular state of honey in Europe. Whipped Honey is honey where a slow and controlled crystallization process has taken place. With controlled temperature and large sugar crystal size, the result is a spreadable honey with a silky mouth feel, almost marshmallow-like! This delicious honey that has earned its place on the breakfast table. Spread it on toast or eat right off the spoon!

After reading through all the descriptions of the varieties, I couldn't choose just one to try and decided to try the samplers.

Isn't that box awesome. Check out the side of it, I would be lying if I didn't do more than one double-take thinking there was a bee crawling on the box.

Here you can see the varieties that came in my sampler boxes:

The weekend the samples arrived, I had made biscuits for sausage gravy and decided that it was the perfect vehicle to start to taste some of the honey. I really liked how smooth the honey was on my palate. It was sweet but didn't have any of that too sweet flavor that I had at time experienced with my normal squeeze jar of honey. It also seemed to be a slightly thinner texture, which I think worked really well for enjoying it on the biscuit. I was able to taste the notes and differences in the different varieties of honey.

Also on that day, I tried the two whipped varieties as well. The whipped cinnamon honey had a terrific balance of sweet honey and cinnamon, reminding me in flavor of the mixture that I put on Cinnamon Sugar toast but without the bite that you get from the sugar crystals. It was really strange to me to get that flavor without that bite. I enjoyed it though. The chocolate was also good, although the ratio of honey to chocolate seemed pretty even and I would have preferred more of the chocoalte flavor coming through.

Over the next few weeks, I enjoyed the different honeys in my tea. It was interesting to try the tea varieites in the tea style they were selected for. Then, most recently, I enjoyed the Tupelo Raw Honey in my coffee with a bit of vanilla cream, helping to bring back the falvors from the coffee that I enjoyed this summer. I don't tend to sweeten my coffee (outside of the sweetness from the cream) but it definitely was a nice treat to have a sweet honey and vanilla coffee in the early afternoon (with a few vanilla wafers on the side).

I really enjoyed the honey. I really like that they come in glass jars, make them easy to store and serve. I would recommend that if you enjoy honey in your tea, on your biscuits or just on it's own that you give Adagio Bees honey a try. The samplers are a great way to check out several varieties at once.

Have you tried Adagio Bees honey? Have you tried whipped honey before? What is your favorite?


No compensation was received for this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. Complimentary product was provided for my review.