Airs of Sophistication

Often times, self-image and the related interest of establishing an atmosphere that belies that image are integral parts of finding the initiative to be successful in business.  This is particularly true in professions that have a rich and storied history that typically included sophisticated office furnishings.  Not that you necessarily be a lawyer, banker or any one of these “refined” vocations per se.  The freedom to give your office a touch of class and established stateliness can spur you to see your professional self w

ith a heightened sense of worth.

Office Furniture and More offers a wide selection of competitively priced office furniture products that fit the bill for the office that is looking to incorporate some of the grandeur of days past.  The view from your window may not be of a cobblestone street and gaslight lamps, but you’re free to use a quill pen if you wish.

The Kathy Ireland Nottingham Epic Secretary Desk is a perfect starting point for infusing some 18^th century English charm to the space.  Its swan neck pediment and urn finial suggest aristocratic refinement in the workplace as stylishly now as then.  A Stanley Corinthia File Cabinet is one with which you’d be hard pressed to find another so steeped in old world grandeur.

 Heighten the mood by writing with the aforementioned quill pen by candlelight at a Haugen Rolltop Scholars Desk that may well have you envisioning yourself as a modern day John Locke.  Allow a suitable amount of dust to cover the bound-leather texts tucked into your Pulaski Accents Bookcase. 

 The individual who wished to recreate the sophisticated airs of centuries past in their office is sure to find every piece to their liking at OFFICEFURNITURENMORE.

A man, a plan, a vanity

One of the best things about working for an e-tailer is getting a good look at all the new products that come out. As I was browsing through MoreVanities.com I stumbled upon my dream bathroom. You have got to check this out!

First up, I want something modern for the vanity and sink. That’s just my style; clean and simple. I love having all of my bathroom goods easily accessible. I don’t want to rummage through drawers or deal with narrow medicine cabinet shelving while half-asleep in the morning. That’s why I picked this one out: The DreamLine Glass Bathroom Vanity Set - Take a look at the shelf space!

Now, as an added bonus with that vanity, there’s a choice of glass bowls with it. I know you might be thinking that you want something that will go well with that set of towels your sister-in-law gave you, but I suggest something different. Morning sets the tone for the rest of the day and I say: avoid the mundane. Go with something colorful. Go with something exotic. My choice of bowl for the vanity would definitely be this dragon: The DreamLine Red Dragon Art Glass Vessel Sink - Imagine brushing your teeth over that!

Since this is my dream shower we’re talking about, I’m going all out with this one. Take a gander at this: The DreamLine Oceana Jetted Steam Shower. Seven adjustable body jets! 3-way adjustable hand shower. Rain shower roof! It even has a foot massager! Now this is starting your day in style. How could it get any better?

You too can find your dream bathroom at MoreVanities.com!

Cuckoo Me and Cuckoo Clocks

Time can drive me a little crazy. I always seem to be battling it in epic contests that leave me feeling like I’m continually playing catch-up. And especially at the start of the New Year, when my one consistent resolution (as in I didn’t get it right last year so I’ll try again this year) is to use time more efficiently, I can get a bit anxious when there’s not enough hours in a day to get everything done that I had originally planned.

I stopped wearing a wrist watch some time ago because I don’t have any luck with them. Bad things constantly happen to the watches I have owned: they get lost, broken or are faulty in some inexplicable, unfixable way. Maybe that’s my problem. When I’m out of the house and away from the clocks that keep me focused, I tend to lose track of time. I should go to Cymax Clocks for a little time therapy.

Aside from the clocks that are part of other gadgets like the computer or the DVD player, I actually only own two working clocks. One is the alarm clock that wakes me up in the morning. It’s one of those AM/FM digital clock radios (and before you ask, yes, it is tuned to an oldies rock station) with nice big numbers I can easily see in the dark.

The second one I own is a novelty desk clock in the shape of a 5-piece drum set. My sister give it to me as a birthday present after I confessed to family and friends that I had been taking lessons and playing the drums for two years before I told anybody. The really strange thing about the desk clock is it looks almost exactly like my real life drum kit, same rich burgundy color and everything.

When my niece came to visit during the Christmas holidays, she handed me a brown cardboard box, tightly packed and securely tied with green twine. Somehow, I knew right away that it wasn’t a present. After cutting away the string and working my through layers of packing paper, I lifted out my cuckoo clock, the one my mother gave to me when I was three. It’s freestanding; the cuckoo bird sits in a cage on top of the clock housing. I carefully wound it up, and I entertained my niece by setting the clock so that five minutes later it sounded out the hour.

After she had left, the comforting sounds of the cuckoo clock filled the apartment, providing a sweet sound track as I went back to general busyness and other holiday preparations. Some time later, I realized that the clock should have sounded off another hour by now. When I went to investigate, I discovered that clock had simply stopped ticking. It seemed a bit anticlimactic; finally reunited with a fond childhood memory, and it doesn’t keep time. It made me a little cuckoo.

In Vino Comedia

Most who have an affinity for wine keep more than a few bottles in their home, understanding that certain vintages are better suited to particular foods or a varied palate. For these individuals, MoreWineRacks.com is the e-destination of choice for stylish and practical wine storage units.

As a youngster I was a full-fledged bookworm, and my first conception of “wine” was born out of a French comic book series named Asterix and Obelix, and in particular one edition entitled The Chieftain’s Shield. The series depicted the adventures of two Gaulish (Gaul was a French Territory that was the last to fall to Caesar’s Roman Empire in 52 BC) men, Asterix and Obelix, who lead their village in continued resistance to the Romans buoyed by a super-human strength potion crafted by the village druid, Getafix.

Being just a child, I had no concept of inebriation. So you can imagine the intrigue with which I viewed the burgundy liquid which flowed from Winesanspirix’s amphorae. Winesanspirix was a wine and coal (purposely odd combination) merchant in the town of Gergovia who befriends and houses Asterix, Obelix and their village chief, Vitalstatistix, for the night as they travel across the French countryside. Winesandspirix’s bounty of amphorae rest in huge cross-slat wall cases that are not entirely unlike a Wine Cellar Innovations RDC Traditional Redwood Open Diamond Cubes Wine Rack, just on a much larger scale with the pottery jugs that were used to store wine ages ago.

The Romans have reason to believe Winesanspirix is withholding information regarding the whereabouts of the shield of Vercingetorix, the Gaul Warrior Chief who threw it onto, not at, the feet of Caesar after his defeat at the Battle of Alesia. Though its location is unknown, the Romans fear its falling into the hands of the Gauls again and further empowering their resistance.

The Roman “spy” that darkened Winesanspirix’s door that night is a hopeless drunkard, and his greeting of “Evening all, any chance of a drink?” is warmly received by Winesanspirix. He seats him with the three Gauls and promptly fills his horn goblet, again and again and again at the stranger’s emphatic request, with wine. As to why he assumed such a debilitated state with the beverage was completely beyond me – incessant hiccupping, heavy eyes, red nose, slobbering mouth and those classic bursting “bubbles” about his head – but it did make me wonder what exactly “wine” was.

As the lush continually pulls his fake moustache from his goblet and plasters it back onto his upper lip, the wine serves as a truth serum. He carelessly drops all sorts of information to the Gauls regarding the shield, including that which leads Asterix and co. to believe the shield may well be in their own village! As the evening comes to a close, the spy stumbles out of the place in a full-body stupor that furthered my curiosity as to just what properties this wine had to induce such a state.

For most, a Hillsdale Wilshire Rubbed Black Wine Rack would be perfectly suitable and stylish for an individual wine collection, but such a unit would not sufficiently serve the Gauls. As I continued to read the series, I was surprised at the way Asterix, Obelix and crew would chase their nightly repast of wild boar upon wild boar with copious quantities of wine. Yet I couldn’t help but wonder why they didn’t take the strange state of the drunken Roman in the same way. I wondered if perhaps Getafix’s super potion gave them immunity to the strange liquid’s effects. I read on with aplomb, and in fact I proceeded to read the entire Asterix and Obelix series.

When the domestic Winesanspirix in you comes to the forefront, keep your wares stylishly secure with a Howard Miller Belmont Wine Hutch, or any one of the quality and competitively-priced wine racks available at MoreWineRacks. Keep your favorite vintages close at hand to accent a nice meal, or to serve to guests as a nice intro to an enjoyable evening.

Just don’t be surprised if your avid-comic book reading son watches you intently with a certain curious expectancy.

Oh Baby!

Cymax Stores is pleased to announce the launching of www.cymaxbaby.com, sure to be to be welcome with new parents who are realizing just what an expense home baby products can be. To be certain, however, it’s an expense that’s worth it many times over as the memories that will be created from this demanding yet wondrous time are sure to last a lifetime.

The best of these are often comical in nature where the little ones make Mom and Dad laugh at their endearing little follies. A significant number of America’s Funniest Home Videos weekly clips are often submissions from parents showcasing the hilarity of their young kids’ escapades.

Recently, a clip called “Angry face baby” was one of the most frequently viewed on Youtube and showed a young child alternating between normal facial expressions and a very funny “What you talkin’ bout Willis”-like stern visage almost on command. The clip had received nearly 5,000 viewings within a week of its being posted. The power of the internet indeed.

Such a medium was nowhere to be found some 30+ years ago when I was a similar age. However, my folks did have their 8mm reel recorder with them on a crisp fall day in the park. Dad was throwing bread crumbs to the ducks, and little me was enthralled with the creatures to the point where I had to get right on the edge of the pond to observe the wonder of it all. Now, there wasn’t much water in this pond, and it was thick with duck guano and other unpleasant matter. As the tape rolled in Mom’s hands, she shouted in vain to my father as I teetered for good few seconds before toppling headfirst into the mire.

Despite the humor in it all and the fact I was suitably upset, my parents still go on about the stench that emanated from me once I was fished out of the filth. They decided they had no choice but to put me in the back of our Volvo station wagon on the way home, traumatically cordoned off from Ma and Pa by the pet gate between the trunk and rear seat that typically kept our Border Collie’s muddy paws off the upholstery. Mom still remembers how I howled from back there.

I’m sure the car seat I was denied that day would pale in comparison to any of the Safety 1st Infant Car Seats available at Cymax Baby. What’s more, these car seats feature removable and washable padding – something that might have saved me from trunk banishment although I’m sure it was as much for my folks to be as far away from lil’ stinky as possible. It’s likely I could have been more pacified upon returning home with a Fun Time Froggy Tub for the lengthy clean-up process.

Perhaps if I could have observed the feeding from the safe confines of a comfortable, well-made and, more importantly, RESTRAINING Cosco Stroller the entire fiasco could have been avoided. However, one of my parents’ favorite video moments would never have happened (since been converted to DVD for permanent posterity).

A Disney Baby Serve n’ Store Ambrosia High Chair would have been appreciated by the folks as well. Keep all those cleaning materials close at hand for the kid who preferred to use to thump (surprisingly coordinated however and also on the DVD) on his tray rather than eat from it.

Every youngster is sure to provide most cherished memories for parents, the joys of which counter the sleepless nights and trying moments these adorable dependents will also inevitably bring day in and out. To make both go a little more smoothly, give yourself the best in baby products with Cymax Baby.

Filing It Away for a Rainy Day

At first glance, file cabinets might seem like the most boring pieces of office furniture around. But consider this: remember the last time you spent 20 frustrating minutes searching for a document only to discover that it had “just” been misfiled? A good filing cabinet, chosen specifically for your work environment may be the best way to protect yourself against loss or misuse of the data that is so valuable to your business. At More Filing Cabinets we can help.

Maybe we won’t be able to protect you entirely from well-meaning employees, but you will be able to find a wide variety of file cabinets, in different sizes and configurations, with or without locks, that will meet your high standards as well as your business requirements. File cabinets can be as simple and uncomplicated as your standard letter size vertical metal cabinet with two or more drawers to fireproof lateral filing cabinets that are as strong as a safe.

Before buying a file cabinet for your office, consider what you will be using the cabinet for and the features you want it to have. Do you work with blueprints or survey maps? A roll file cabinet would be a good choice. However, if you’re buying a file storage system for a doctor’s or dentist’s office, stackable, lateral filing cabinets will give you plenty of room and allow for future expansion. Think just because you have a small business, you might be able to get away with storing any important papers you need in the top drawer of your desk? A standard file cabinet that can accommodate both letter and legal sized files will get you organized and give you confidence in knowing that documents vital to your business are safe and secure.

Lateral file cabinets do use more floor space than vertical file cabinets, but one lateral file drawer can hold more files than a standard vertical file drawer. Lateral filing cabinets are generally more versatile since they can accommodate both letter and legal sized folders in the same drawer. Keep in mind, that the files in a lateral file cabinet will face the side of the cabinet instead of directly facing the person opening the drawer.

While you may not have the resources for a storage safe with an inch-thick complex steel lock, a well-designed file cabinet should still provide you with enough protective features to give you peace of mind. Many types of office filing cabinets have a single-lock system that locks all the drawers. Some kinds of locks will lock one drawer, usually the top one, only. If this will be a concern, ask how the file cabinet security system works before you make a final decision.

Whatever your filing cabinet needs, More Filing Cabinets has file storage solutions suited for a variety of work environments as well as for the home office.

Resolution Time

The close of a calendar year and the beginning of a new one leaves some of us feeling obligated to make positive changes in our lives. For many, it’s a commitment to increased fitness with an aim to better overall health, and here at Cymax Stores we’ve got the fitness equipment you need to take on the challenge in the comforts of your own home.

In truth, these early days of January are no different than any of the other 360-plus of the year ahead, yet the allure of “a fresh start” to go with a new year creates something of a now-or-next year mystique. One that leads many to believe you’ve got to seize the initiative now in making NEW YEARS resolutions rather than just a plain old resolution that is taken up sometime during the next 11 months.

It’s been suggested that many individuals draw inspiration for their resolutions from the rejuvenative period that is the holidays. Family, friends, celebrations and a general sense of well-being “recharge the batteries,” so to speak, and provide us with a feeling of empowerment that we can and should undertake these challenges come January. Often times, however, once the daily grind resumes itself we may lose that wind in our sails.

I’m reminded of a cartoon I saw once where a decidedly large wealthy socialite announces her resolution is to “get in shape” while making short-work of an entire Yule Log cake. The next frame shows her decked head to toe in work out wear, spandex pants, head and wrist bands etc., but brandishing a platinum Visa as she makes her way into a liposuction clinic.

For those of us with tighter purse strings, a desire for real results and some grasp on reality, it’s understandable when things may not fall into place with your fitness resolution as you’d hoped. Here are 3 tips to stay motivated:

1. Time and schedule permitting, try to exercise first thing in the morning. Your metabolic rate will be at its highest and you will burn calories most efficiently. Also, you are less likely to put off your workout on account of being “too tired” – the most common excuse.
2. Try to leave time in your week as “flex time” where you can make up for workouts lost for whatever reason. Should you stick to your workout plan exactly as planned, use this flex time as a reward of sorts to partake in any activity you love. (Eating entire Yule logs is inadvisable however.) Also keep in mind kinesiologists say you must undertake any regime at least 3 times a week for it to be effective to the extent where you will “see results.”
3. For effective results that can be seen more quickly, combine cardiovascular / aerobic training with resistance training. For example, if you have 30 minutes at your disposal for each session, spend 15 minutes running, cycling or at any other similar exercise and 15 minutes lifting weights in some capacity. Compound resistance training exercises, where more than one muscle group is put to use, are most effective in facilitating calorie burning.

Fortunately, Cymax Stores has all the equipment you’ll need to fashion a workout that best suits your needs. For example, most men wish to lose a little around the midsection and tone up their musculature. Pairing a Phoenix Motorized Treadmill with a Phoenix Power Bench will give you a reasonably priced, top-quality workout station that is not overly space-consumptive and can accordingly be located in a rec. room or similar area.

Women often desire to firm and tighten all over the body, and for that task there is no more effective piece of equipment than an elliptical machine. Pair some time with a MultiSports Fitness Elliptix Dual Action Crosstrainer Elliptical and the aforementioned 3 times-a-week commitment and you’ll be on the fast track to the results you want to see. Stair Stepper units are not as multi-muscle group oriented as the ellipticals, but for pure gluteal conditioning you can’t beat a stepper. A MultiSports Fitness Ultimate 2200 Programmable Stepper can be adjusted to different levels of resistance to keep you pushing yourself towards your goals.

Whatever your New Year’s Resolution may be, stay positive and realize changes don’t happen overnight. In addition, do try to remember you’re not delayed until the dawn 2010 should it come derailed. “New Year’s” Resolutions have taken on something of a limited identity in this regard, but making life changes for the positive are possible all year long.

Should you have one or more, good luck and be resilient!