Black Friday, Cyber Monday Deals

To mark the official opening of the Christmas shopping season, Cymax Stores is offering special Black Friday deals, from Nov. 28 until Dec. 1 also known as Cyber Monday (statistically the busiest online shopping day). Throughout the weekend, we will be offering approximately 500 items, from TV stands to luggage, at special sale prices that will save you a bundle.

Browse our extensive selection of jewelry boxes for some great gift ideas, including musical jewelry boxes, children’s jewelry boxes with or without music and a range of handy men’s jewelry valets and travel cases. You will also find a wide selection of jewelry armoires at JewelryArmoireSelect.com in every style and color imaginable, one that will be absolutely perfect for that perfect someone.

Other great Black Friday promotions include:

• - 15% off all Samsonite luggage
• - 10% off on select SEI jewelry armoires
• - 10% off select SEI fireplaces
• - Free Lamp with purchase of select Standard Furniture coffee table sets
• - Free Nightstand with purchase of select Modus Beds

Christmas is coming! Get ready for it and save money too! With great savings on dining tables, grandfather clocks, Magnussen furniture and other great products, you’re sure to find the perfect gift, whether it’s for that special someone or for yourself.

Arms reach

How many of you have similarly felt if you’re ever going to be scared to death it’ll be when you’re yanked out of an agitated dream by the roar of your alarm clock? I’ve experienced this too many times to remember even and each time it seems my ticker is thumping like the Energizer Bunny’s bass drum foot. I’m thankful I can put a 10 min. hiatus on the cacophony with a frantic thwack.

Unless you’re going to rest the alarm on the mattress next to you, you need a nightstand and NightstandSelect.com is the place to get one for those on a budget. Trust me, you don’t want that early AM maelstrom continuing on any longer – keep that necessary yet resented timekeeper within arms reach.

Often times, those of us that are a little financially strapped have to cut corners somewhere. Here’s our advice; a dresser drawer or bachelor’s chest is going to hold your clothing and will open and close a few times a day. Your bed’s the most important piece in the room. Not to make any less of your nightstand, but it’s going to stay static for much longer periods of time with less frequent usage. If you’re going to cut a corner, cut this one.

Who needs a box-spring? A quality foam mattress on a sturdy wooden platform bed is a great sleep waiting to happen. If you’re of the same mind, you’ll need a correspondingly low-height nightstand to sit at your bedside. For good-looks, suitable durability and surprising affordability, take a look at a Nexera Nocce Nightstand. A South Shore Sereno Nightstand has the same appeal; stylishly modern with a pair of cusp drawers and inexpensive.

Anyone of Nightstand Selects Prepac Nightstands is going to give you everything you need from a basic nightstand without taking a lot of your bucks. Often times an MDF or similar composite wood nightstand is perfectly durable enough for average everyday living, and for the price you can’t go wrong.

Starting at the age of 4 or so, kids will be getting up early in the morning as well for school. They’ll need a nightstand too, and there are similarly affordable options. Once the little ones get to preschool, they might as well get accustomed to waking up early in the morning and Kid Kraft Nightstands have a perfectly playful style for your youngsters. For older students, something along the lines of a South Shore Cosmos Nightstand is a nice blend of function and durability, and they’re sure to appreciate the built-in disc rack for their CDs. A Hillsdale Universal Youth Nightstand has a teenage sensibility to it as well.

I’m hoping at least one of the many people out there that have their alarm resting on the floor next to their bed reads this. You owe it to yourself to be able to put an end to that aural trauma with a little less physical exertion. Keep it within arms reach. Trust me, it’s surprisingly worth it until you go through it again 600 seconds later.

The Snooze Bar – a godsend I tell you!

RTA is Another Word for DIY

With the growing popularity of online shopping, it’s no surprise that ready-to-assemble (RTA) furniture has also gained a strong foothold in the furniture market. At RTA Furniture Select, you will find an excellent selection of beds, computer desks, DVD media storage and other furnishings for your home that are easily affordable because they are shipped to you flat-packed. Once it has been put together, you will have a great looking piece of furniture that costs less than what you’d expect to pay for a comparable assembled item in a retail store.

More and more companies like Bush Furniture, Prepac and South Shore design and manufacture furniture intended to be assembled by the consumer. In terms of both producing and shipping products, it is cost-effective, since they don’t have to be assembled in the factory and a flat box is simpler to ship than a large computer desk, TV stand or bookcase.

Aside from being more affordable, purchasing RTA furniture has many other advantages. The best thing about RTA furniture is that it is sent to you directly and arrives at your door carefully packaged. Depending on the size of the item you purchased, and the manufacturer, many RTA products like the Winsome Accent End Table are shipped in one carton. Another good thing about ready-to-assemble furniture is it allows you to buy furnishings for awkward-shaped rooms or areas in your home that can only be accessed by a narrow staircase.

Once your new furniture has been delivered to your home, you’re ready to put it together. Sometimes manufacturers will provide everything you need to assemble it. However, most RTA furnishings are easy to assemble with a few select household tools such as a hammer, screwdriver or drill. Manufacturers will often indicate the level of difficulty in their product information. Typically, an RTA dresser such as the Home Styles Crosstimbers Single Dresser will arrive packed in a carton that includes the item, instructions and hardware, including handles (if any).

Since its fledgling start in the late 1950’s, RTA furniture has come a long way. Manufacturers of ready-to-assemble accent tables, nightstands and audio racks produce well-crafted products from quality materials, in a wide of styles, from traditional to contemporary, resulting in moderately priced home furnishings that greatly benefit, you, the consumer.

Wherever I May Roam

Until recently, it used to be that getting lost or decrying bad directions was a perfectly acceptable excuse. I know myself there’s been more than a few occasions when I’ve crafted a white lie based on like premises, times when I was looking for a plausible explanation as to why I was late or conspicuously absent . Now, however, with the selection of affordably priced TomTom GPS systems at www.cymaxstores.com, these excuses are becoming decidedly less valid.

The worst part of being “lost”, and in fact the stimulus that often compounds the state of being so, is the initial panic that sets in once you determine you only MAY be lost. This scenario is inevitably worsened when you’re out of your own backyard, in an area that you’re not familiar with, and at times when you’re anxious to be where you’re going. For whatever reason, equivocal thinking seems to go right out the window the very second we start thinking of it.

Years ago when I worked as a bicycle courier I received a most uncommon dispatch, which began with “you have a car at home, don’t you?” After confirming I did the dispatcher asked if I was willing to go home and grab my old Rabbit and take a “super hot” 5 hours up the Island to a small community. It was imperative the package be delivered before 4:30 and it would net me a nice $140 commission.

The drive up the island highway was uneventful, and it didn’t concern me one bit when my 2-way radio went out of range just past Duncan. I had been given a “map” by our front desk attendant at the office before leaving. It was an enjoyable summer’s day drive and I only wished I had some company.

I pulled off into Sayward at ten after four and that’s when things started to unravel and the aforementioned panic started to kick in. I won’t go into detail, but let’s just say the “map” was of such accuracy that it warrants the quotation marks suggesting my using the term very loosely. I tried phoning the base, busy and busy again. I frantically queried probably a tenth of the town of 300 or so. No one knew the address and to make matters worse it turned out to be a home office in a very residential setting.

I managed to find it just in time, by simple luck if I remember correctly, and the recipient was happy to receive it as promised. That wasn’t before my blood was flooded with cortisol, however, and I profanely berated completely inanimate traffic lights. Put simply, it put me in a foul mood that lingered somewhat as I made my way back home.

Had I been so fortunate as to have a GPS system, however out of place that may have seemed in an ’84 Volkswagen, I would likely have been spared such an ill-temperament. At less than 150, a TomTom One 125 GPS unit would have been surprisingly affordable for a meager bicycle courier even. These GPS feature the freedom to download and install a host of different languages and also features TomTom’s Map Share services, which lets you download updated maps from the TomTom community of users.

I’m certain its this initial panic that sets in motion the defensiveness that has fostered the men can never admit they’re lost / can’t ask for directions stereotype. I can’t say whether I myself have refused to admit it but if my radio had been in range, I would likely have responded with a dishonest “yep, almost there” if dispatch had asked of my whereabouts during that frantic half-hour. Justified or not, it would seem that the increasing affordability and commonplace-ness of GPS systems will make that stereotype extinct before long.

The sigh of relief from disinterested pump jockeys across the continent is almost audible.

New Linens for a Tired Bed

If the bed in your guest room looks a little tired, wake it up in time for the holidays with new bedding from MoreBeddingSets.com. To make a good impression on the in-laws, it doesn’t have to mean a major renovation. A new bedding set in a bold pattern can transform your “old” bed into a visually stunning focal point that will make the bedroom welcoming and comfortable.

Before purchasing a comforter set or a duvet set, take stock of the furnishings currently in the room to determine the style. Even if the pieces don’t exactly match one another, one particular style will be dominant. You can’t put the décor style into words? Don’t panic. Look around your bedroom. How would you describe the décor? Does it display the country charm of a bed-and-breakfast inn? Or is it more formal like an Italian villa on the Mediterranean? Bed linens can also introduce harmony into a room’s décor when they are matched in color to the walls and window treatments as well as to the style of furnishings.

Contemporary bedding sets are all about texture and geometric patterns. They can reflect the colors found in nature, from muted earth tones to the vibrant shades found in exotic flowers. The Hallmart Gramercy Queen Comforter Bedding Set is a perfect example of how successfully shape and texture can be blended together.

Still contemporary, but for a more casual look, choose a bedding set like the Chicago Textile Prairie Bedding Set. It has minimal decorative detail but the colors in the bedskirt give the set definition.

If a regular visitor to your home is a sports fan or if someone in your household is, maybe sporty is the way to go. Sports Coverage manufactures sports team logo bedding sets is a range of combinations and colors. You’re sure to find your favorite team’s logo in a bedding set that will appeal to your team spirit.

Classic bedding sets are characterized by patterns and colors that have a timeless feel. They are ideal for country and traditional décors. For a room with country style furniture, choose bedding linens like the Southern Textiles Bed and Breakfast Provence Bedding Set with a distinctive floral theme. In a more formal traditional style, the Lawrence Home Fashions Madeira Comforter Set mixes together fabrics for a soothing, warm effect.

For that final finishing touch, select a bedding set that includes a pillow pack. Accent pillows of varying sizes and in different textures can add visual interest to your bedroom. They also draw the eye to the center of the bed, giving it an inviting look and feel.

Dead Man’s Hand

The accompanying twangs of a certain song paired with his looking at the array of poker tables at Cymax Stores to jar his memory. So long ago, but the memory was so poignant it rushed back with a decided clarity and weight...

It had been a cold and blustery night, par for early February in rural Wyoming. The snow was not falling, but rogue flakes swirled in the air disturbed from their drifts by the intermittent gusts. Nothing projected to be extraordinary as he pulled his pickup off the interstate into the parking lot of yet another non-descript roadside bar. The old Chevy protested its misaligned timing belt as it sputtered to a halt while he made his way to the door.

His opening it coincided with a powerful surge of wind. The frigid blast roared into the dimly lit room, disturbing the single smoke-yellowed chandelier on the high ceiling enough to make his entry as noticeable as it could be for the small handful of inhabitants. Peanut husks crunched beneath his feet as he sauntered to the counter, and it was just then that the strained notes of a tack piano raced from the far wall to seemingly take him back in time.

Perhaps he had dismissed the sign outside that read “Newell’s Saloon” as novelty too soon. This place was something straight out of the Wild West; the walls were bare save a few similarly nicotine-stained oil paintings and a single wood stove tucked into a far corner was approaching a smolder. Only two tables were occupied, and the ones that weren’t featured long-dried spills and dusty bohemian stemware that suggested the place hadn’t had so much as a once-over in months. A number of disinterested can-can girls and you would have thought it was a slow weeknight in an early 19^th century boomtown.

He approached the suspendered and bespectacled barkeep wondering if his ordering a scotch would have him be presented with a bottle of rotgut. The man seemed to look at him vacuously as he continued to wipe over a snifter that was as clean as it was going to get considering the bar rag in his hands. Sure enough, he was presented with a muddy-toned glass bottle and a single glass and not so much as a word from the keep. Not quite firewater, but it carried quite a roughly distilled taste that was strangely agreeable on such a cold evening.

It was as he turned from the bar that the moment found its zenith. The two seated patrons were as far apart in demeanor as were their tables. One gruff sort tapped his heavy boot on the floor, surprisingly in time with the distinctive tune considering the near empty bottle in front of him belied the stupor making it increasingly difficult to keep his head up. The other rugged character appeared as fully cognizant, despite an equally depleted bottle at his side as well. His piercing eyes stood out on his bearded face and had an ominous quality beneath the brim of his black hat.

He sat at a table that was emphatically similar to the Northwoods Billiards Log Poker Table that was now staring back at him onscreen all these years later, a beautifully rustic piece that was now all to fitting considering the retro-sensory old world overload that had been the last few minutes. Log-hewn and suitably unfinished, it had an immediate presence that grew out of its weathered bulk and the number of cigarette burns along its edges. The nostalgic value this poker table took on from his memory made it impossible for him not to be drawn to the “Add to Cart” icon at the right side of the page...

There was something about this character and the moment as a whole that beckoned him towards the table without so much as a word being spoken. The man merely nodded, lit a cigarette and drained his half-full glass before cutting the cards methodically. The meek piano man finished his tune and shuffled off into a back room hurriedly and the interlude made clear the wind had picked up as it bullied the window panes. The silence was broken temporarily as the drunkard’s head thudded to the table, but as the first card flew from the man’s hands heavy footsteps could be heard approaching the door. He waited to turn over his cards, and upon doing so read them clearly - aces and eights.

Time to go

Altitude with Attitude: The View from the Top Bunk

Kids grow up so fast. You bring your (first, second, third) child home from the hospital, change a few diapers, kiss-better a couple of boo-boos, blink, and they’re off to college, driving their own car! But in the meantime, they will need bedroom furniture and someplace to sleep. At MoreBunkBeds.com, whether you have one child or three (or more), you will be able to find bunk beds and loft bunks that are affordable, durable and fun.

By their very nature, bunk and loft beds have a sense of adventure about them. Put a bunk bed in a child’s room and it magically transforms itself into a fort, a circus tent or even a pirate ship. The Powell Shiver Me Timbers youth bedroom collection is a perfect example of this kind of magical occurrence. The Shiver Me Timbers youth twin over twin bunk bed has a warm and inviting appeal with plenty of decorative detail that will spark their imaginations and have them sailing the Seven Seas in no time.

Bunk beds come in a wide variety of configurations, including twin over twin and twin over full. Twin over full bunk beds are ideal for older siblings sharing with a younger brother or sister, since the twin top bunk would be ideal for the younger one, while the full-sized bottom bunk would give the older child more room to stretch out. The myHaven collection by Young America includes a twin over full (also known as a double) bunk bed. Available in multiple colors that look as delicious as they are fun and funky, this collection is designed specifically to be mixed-and-matched. As with many types of bunk beds, you can add storage drawers to this Stanley myHaven Twin over Double Cottage Bunk bed for optimum functionality.

Loft style bunk beds make the most of the available space in a bedroom by removing the bottom bunk and making room for other cool stuff, like an activity table, computer desk and dresser combo or a freestanding bed perpendicular to the top bunk. Vibrant and colourful, the Powell Sunday Funnies Loft Bunk Bed is a complete set that, in addition to the loft bed, includes a rollaway bed, end dresser and built-in desk.

When children share a room, having enough available storage is always an issue. The Berg Furniture company has created the perfect solution. Instead of ladders, many of their bunk and loft beds include storage stairs. The Berg Utica Loft Twin over Twin Bunk Bed makes getting to the top worthwhile with a storage staircase. Designed with style and functionality in mind, each individual step is an operational drawer that has plenty of room for clothes, seasonal clothing storage and more important stuff like toys and other personal treasures that need safekeeping.

A child’s room is not just a place to sleep. It should be a fun environment that is comfortable and inviting, while feeding their imaginations. Climbing a ladder to the top of Mount Everest – I mean a stylish and snug wood bunk bed and viewing their kingdom in proprietary splendour, is a great way to encourage your children to dream, imagine and grow.