The official blog of Vat19.com

Treasure: Floating Ducks

2009-11-06T12:14:36Z

I know that nothing can ever compare to the traditional Rubber Ducky as the perfect tub toy. However, these Floating Ducks are a cute alternative for those who prefer something a little more modern and designer-y. Yes, that's a word.

Besides being a fun floating bath toy for your kids, they can also function as room decor. The baby rests on the mom's back (so cute), and they gently rock together, exuding a calm, almost Zen-like feel. Adorable!

By the way, for those of you who just can never get enough ducks, check out the ducky selection at Vat19. We love our feathered friends!

Treasure: Cinnamon Swirl Marshmallows

2009-11-04T11:21:51Z

As if a Cinnamon Swirl Marshmallow didn't already sound delicious enough, these are also topped with candied pecans. Yum! These are about 2" square, which is a pretty good size for a marshmallow. You get 8 pieces for $14.00, which I think is reasonable for something with a unique flavor (I haven't actually tried these, but for a marshmallow I think this is a unique flavor!) and that is handmade by Vintage Confections.

It's November (already!) and has already started to get pretty cold at night here in St. Louis, which is perfect campfire and s'mores making weather. I wouldn't melt these gourmet marshmallows though. I'd just get some regular jumbo marshmallows!

Treasure: Bike Tire Belt with Cog Buckle

2009-11-02T19:33:07Z

I'm so glad there are insanely creative people out there who can re-purpose what most of us would call "trash" into something useful and one-of-a-kind. Many times you may not even realize that a "new" product has been made out of "old" recycled products.

Take this belt, for example. If I hadn't told you so in the title of this post, would you have ever guessed that the belt is made from a bike tire and the buckle from a bike cog? OK, maybe you cycling aficionados would, but to the rest of our naked eyes, it just looks like a really cool and edgy belt. Those who wear it are not only making a style statement, but an "I care about the earth" statement too!

There are tons and tons of other re-purposed products out there (for example, Vat19's LP Record Coasters), and I encourage you to check them out. Maybe you'll find some inspiration to create your own re-purposed goods!

Trash: Pedi-Tan Foot Tanner

2009-10-30T10:25:55Z

I understand that having tan lines on your feet from socks and sandals isn't the coolest look, but do people really need to own their own foot tanner? Is this that big of a problem? If it is for you, check out the Pedi-Tan. "Pedi-Tan, No Tans' complete until you tan your feet!"

Luckily this device features a 20 minute safety timer. Otherwise, I think lots of people would be sitting there tanning their feet and forget about them!

Treasure: Teddy Bear Hat with Earflaps

2009-10-28T14:53:16Z

OK, this is so adorable that it's a little overwhelming.

There are babies popping up all over the place in my family, and I am very tempted to purchase this hand knit teddy bear hat for all of them. Not only is it cute, but it looks very well made and super warm. I love the details of the braided ties and little bow (although I'm not sure if the bow is included). It also helps that they have a very sweet little baby modeling it. I could pinch those cheeks!

Anyway... at $26.00, it would make a great gift for your favorite little one that they could hold on to as a keepsake as they get older.

Treasure: Foosball Coffee Table

2009-10-26T10:57:30Z

The Foosball Coffee Table might not be the most sophisticated coffee table I've ever seen, but it definitely is one of the neatest. Foosball is fun and not everyone has a game room or a finished basement to store the table in, so this is a way to have a foosball table if you don't have a lot of extra space in your house.

Coffee tables aren't tall, so I understand why this isn't tall. But crouching down to play foosball is not ideal. Nonetheless, this table is still pretty awesome. At $499 with free shipping, that isn't a bad deal. Nice coffee tables without foosball playing capability can cost at least that much!

Trash: Curling Iron Ear Cuffs

2009-10-23T10:00:00Z

Holy smokes, these are hilarious.

I know there's a potential need for Curling Iron Ear Cuffs; I myself have burned the top of my ear with a curling iron before. But come on, these are ridiculous. Not EVERY little problem in life requires a silly little solution like this one. She looks like Shrek!

Plus, these look like they should cost maybe $1.00 per pair. But no, they're $5.00. Really? You might as well just put a pair of your socks over your ears and save that $5.00 for something much more useful and awesome like, oh I don't know, a Classic Game Pen, a couple of Farm Animal LED Keychains, or some ToastIt Toaster Bags from Vat19.

Treasure: Shopping Cart Chair

2009-10-21T10:47:33Z

This chair that looks like a shopping cart is a miniature model (for $379.00 - yikes), but it would be awesome if it was full scale. Although it might not be a very comfortable chair, it is definitely very unique. It'd be quite a conversation piece and I think guests would tolerate sitting in it for a while just because it's neat.

We don't sell shopping cart chairs at Vat19.com, but we do sell a Mini Shopping Cart Caddy that is perfect for holding office supplies, candy and snacks, or letting Barbie push around. Best of all, it looks just like its full-sized counterpart and even has a working seat.

Treasure: Sonic Fabric Neckties

2009-10-19T13:43:32Z

At first glance, they may look like regular old neckties. But in fact, the "fabric" used to make these Sonic Fabric ties is 50% recorded audio cassette tape. Yeah, I don't know how the heck they do it, but they've taken old mixed tapes and woven them into ties.

If that isn't awesome enough for you, these ties can actually be "played". Because the magnetic quality is maintained through the weaving process, you can still "hear" your tie by running a tape head over it. (A tape head is that little thing inside cassette tapes that touches the tape.) The designer says that when you do this, you're actually playing 4 or 5 strands of tape at once, or 16 to 20 tracks, so it kind of sounds like scratching a record backwards or radio static.

Needless to say, these are the coolest ties EVER, and the man in your life would totally love one. And if you don't have $90 to spare, fear not. The man in your life would also love any of these awesome gifts.

Trash: Phone Fingers

2009-10-16T21:29:46Z

I feel like I've been trashing a lot of products lately, but I could not pass these up.

They are called Phone Fingers, and you're supposed to wear them when using your touch screen phone in order to keep the precious screen fingerprint-free. Now I don't have a touch screen phone, so maybe I can't fully understand how necessary these are. But really, is a smudge-free screen important enough that you walk around with rubber protectors on your fingers? Who has the time to roll these suckers on every time they need to make a phone call or send a text?

If you want to keep your touch screen nice and shiny, I suggest investing in a pair of Ultimate Cloths. They clean tons of surfaces with ease and you won't look lame using them.

Trash: Japanese Noodle Slide

2009-10-14T10:53:43Z

The Somen Home Shop is basically a Japanese noodle slide. You put water and somen noodles in the top and try to catch them with chopsticks as they slide down. This takes playing with your food to a brand new level. Too bad there isn't a product demonstration video for this so we could see exactly how it works.

At Vat19, we like to have fun with food, but we prefer to play with the Japanese Food Eraser Sets. And we bet parents thank us for selling those rather than the noodle slide! Oh, and we also have over 250 awesome product demonstration videos for most of our products so you never have to wonder how a product works.

Trash: Peter Petrie Egg Separator

2009-10-09T10:00:00Z

I'm pretty sure this stoneware egg separator is an oldie-but-goodie. I've seen it around, and some people seem to love it. I guess those people have stronger stomachs than I do.

See, raw eggs gross me out enough as it is. They're slick and slimy and just yucky. So the last image I want to see before I start eating is some goofy-looking dude with an absurd case of the snots. Yeah, hock a loogie right on my plate there. Yum, that's how I like it. Not.

I'm sure those who love gross-out humor will think this is a riot, though. But if you're like me and are looking for unique kitchen gadgets with a lower "ick" factor, check out Vat19.com.

Treasure: French Toast Stamp

2009-10-07T10:01:02Z

Is it necessary to have a cute design imprinted on your French Toast? No. But it sure makes it more fun! If you're serving guests French Toast for breakfast, this $3.00 toast stamper is worth it. It imprints the Eiffel Tower and "Bonjour!" onto the toast, which is pretty neat and unexpected.

While searching around for French Toast things on Amazon, I also came across this Cinnamon French Toast Batter Mix that sounds delicious. If you're looking for something unique to give out to trick-or-treaters this year, how about little snack bags of Cinnamon Toast Crunch? Hey, who doesn't love French Toast!?

Trash: Toilet Mug

2009-10-05T10:00:00Z

Those with weak stomachs, look away! Well, I guess it's too late. You've already seen the toilet-shaped mug that looks like it has, well, you-know in it.

This is one of those things that completely grosses me out, and yet I can't stop looking at it. I mean, it's kind of funny, but in a really cheap gag gift kind of way. And in this case, I mean "gag" literally. Just too gross for me.

It grosses me out almost as much as that stomach-churning "coffee" scene from the second Austin Powers movie. If you don't know what I'm talking about, consider yourself lucky.

Treasure: Beer Chips

2009-10-02T10:34:47Z

OK, I might be jumping the gun by labeling Beer Chips as a "Treasure" since I've never tried them, but they've got to be good, right? Even if you don't love the taste of beer, I'm thinking there's a good chance you'd still like Beer Chips. Example: I absolutely loathe ranch salad dressing and ranch anything but I love Cool Ranch Doritos. In addition to Beer Chips, they also have Chip Shots (Margarita flavored) and Hot Potatoes (Bloody Mary flavored).

Say you're walking around eating a bag of Beer Chips. You know what would go good with that? A Beer Pouch Hoodie.