Universal Nail Polish

Do you ever need to know which shade of nail polish will look best on you? Or have you ever bought a polish and find out that it just doesn't go well with your skin? These polishes are universal and look good on everyone.

Opi The Thrill of Brazil

L'oreal Mango Get'em

Opi La Paz-itively Hot

Essie Delicacy

Revlon Sheer Nude

Maybelline Racing Rubies

Protect Your Shoes

I didn't know this and haven't tried it. But apparently if you spray a light coat of starch on brand-new tennis shoes, dirt and grime will be repelled and preserve the life of your sneakers.

Cake by Mail

Want to mail a birthday cake to someone? Just go to Carousel Cakes, pick your cake, and they'll ship it to the birthday girl/boy. My favorite is the Pink Velvet Cake for a Cure.

Boxes, Boxes, Boxes

Go to Used Cardboard Boxes next time you move to find discounted factory misprints and overruns. They sell them for 30% less and deliver them to you in 2 days. And from what I looked up, it's much cheaper than those last minute boxes you buy at the UHaul store!

Airfare Security

Yapta can help if the price of your airline ticket drops after you buy it. Type in your confirmation number and ticket price and Yapta will track the fare for you. If the price drops, you will receive an email with step-by-step instructions on how to claim a refund or travel voucher.

Best Teeth Whiteners

Best Paste
Arm & Hammer Advance White Toothpaste

Best Strips
Rembrandt Advanced Whitening Strips

Best Trays
Aquafresh White Trays

Quick-Fix for Flat Hair

Humidity makes my hair go even flatter than it already is...which on some days seems impossible! So by noon on humid days (or when visiting humid places), my hair needs help. The recommendation that I hope to try soon is to use an antihumidity hair spray like V05 Max! Hold Fast Drying Hair Spray. Supposedly I can lift several sections of hair, spritz the roots, give it a minute to dry and my hair will come back to life! We'll see!

Rough Dog Toy

Since Bailey goes through some toys very easily, it's worth trying this Little Bean that was rated as the toughest dog toy. And according to the ad, you can throw it in the dishwasher!

Sandal/Flip Flop Storage

Get a wine box from your local grocery. Turn it on it's side. The bottle slots are the perfect size for storing flip flops, sandals and some flats during the summer months.

Pleasing Displays

To add dimension and height to your next buffet, cake table or serving display, use wine or margarita glasses instead of bowls for nuts, fruit, crackers, candy, etc. Displays are so much more pleasing to the eye if not completely flat. I must have tall serving pieces when I set a party table. If you don't have tall serving pieces, drape a cloth napkin or silk scarf over a small box and place your dish on top.

LibraryThing

You can create a searchable catalog of your books using LibraryThing.

LibraryThing helps you create a library-quality catalog of your books. You can do all of them or just what you're reading now.

It also has a widget you can add to your blog, a phone-friendly site to check while shopping for books, free copies of books in exchange for reviews, a shareable book profile, and a gateway to your local bookstores.

Ice Cream Cupcakes

I hope to make these sometime soon!

Here’s How:

Step 1- Make cake batter. Feel free to use a boxed cake mix if it makes your life easier.

Step 2- Bake off cupcakes. The trick here is that you don’t want to fill the cupcake papers with as much batter as you normally would for a cupcake. You just want the cupcakes to bake up to fill the cup half way. That way you have plenty of room for the ice cream. I used about 2 Tablespoons of cake batter per cupcake tin.

Step 3- Remove ice cream from the freezer to soften. Let cupcakes cool. And clean out your freezer if you’re making 48 ice cream cupcakes. You’ll need lots of space!

Step 4- Run a spoon under hot water to warm it slightly. Working with the cupcakes still in their baking pans, quickly scoop ice cream into each cupcake. Smooth as much as possible. If the spoon becomes difficult to work with, run it under warm water again to clean and warm it, and continue working.

Step 5- Once cupcakes are all topped with ice cream. Return to the freezer for at least 2 hours. Give them time to firm up.

Step 6- Make Chocolate Ganache. The recipe is simple, and this chocolate sauce freezes perfectly on top of the cupcakes.

Chocolate Ganache

3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips (I used chocolate chunks)

1/4 cup heavy cream

Put chocolate chips in a small bowl. Bring cream to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan. Pour cream evenly over chocolate. Let stand for one minute to soften, then stir until smooth. If frosting is too loose to spread, let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, frosting will continue to thicken as it stands.

Step 7- Remove the frozen cupcakes from the freezer and place on a serving plate. Top each Ice Cream Cupcake with chocolate ganache and decorate with sprinkles. Return to the freezer to harden the ganache. Serve and eat quickly!

Animated ClipArt

I often need animated clipart but so many clipart sites have SO MANY pop-ups! I can't stand it. This is one I found that is free and is relatively ad-free. I can never remember it, though, so I'm putting it here.

AMAZING ANIMATIONS

And my all-time favorite place for free clipart, including animated ones is Discovery Education's School Resource section. They have some of the cutest and most original clipart.

Best Glasses?

I hear that these are some of the best glasses. Picardie Bistro Glasses are the iconic glass of French cafés and bistros. They are made of tempered glass and so they are very difficult to break. They are also good for both hot and cold drinks; "the smallest ones are perfect for an espresso with a dollop of steamed milk; the medium sizes are just right for a cocktail or bedtime glass of water; and the largest size hold an entire can of soda water. They have a vintage charm but a practical durability."

But my question, living in a small loft in the city, do they stack???

Cupcakes in Chicago

Yesterday I added a blog all about cupcakes. These are the places that are in Chicago. Next time I need cupcakes, I'll know where to go.

Alliance Bakery
Chicago Cupcakes
Molly's Cupcakes
Sugar Bliss
Swirlz

NetFlix for Books?

Yep. At Booksfree you can pay a monthly fee and borrow from a library of 40,000 paperbooks and return them when you're finished. Seems like a good deal for someone who doesn't have easy access to a library. They also have audio books. Prices range from $9.99 for 2 books at a time to $37.99 for 12 books at a time.

Dining Etiquette - UPDATED

I've been at several dining events in the last year with people I assumed should know the proper placement of dishes on the table. In a group where I'm the youngest, why am I the only one who knew? Anyway, here's an easy way to remember it: BMW (bread, meal, water). Your bread plate is on the left and your glasses on the right. Left to right...bread, meal, water.

Update: One more thing...
When you are finished eating, your utensils should be placed diagonally on the plate, side by side, with the handles at four o'clock. The knife blade should face the center of the plate.

City Info

A few websites I use if I'm visiting a city and want info on dining, hotels, shows, festivals, etc.

CitySearch
Digital City
Trip Advisor
Metromix (limited to larger cities)

PotLifter

I don't really move a lot of stuff, but the PotLifter looks like it would be really helpful if I did.

Dishwashers

It's official! It's in writing and I'm proven right!
"Most new dishwashers are so powerful that there's no need to prerinse dishes. So you save time - and water."
Argument over.

Angel Lush with Pineapple

This is one of those easy ones you always see in magazines. I always say I'm going to remember it to have for those last-minute needs.

1 pkg (4-serving size) instant vanilla pudding
1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1 cup thawed Cool Whip
1 prepared angel food cake
1 cup fresh berries

Mix dry pudding mix and pineapple in medium bowl. Gently stir in Cool Whip.

Cut cake horizontally into 3 layers. Place bottom cake layer on serving plate; top with 1/3 pudding. Repeat layers twice.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Top with berries before serving.

Strawberry Whipped Sensation

4 cups fresh strawberries, divided
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tub (8oz) Cool Whip, thawed, divided
8 Oreo's, finely chopped
1 Tbs butter, melted

Line loaf pan with foil. Mash 2 cups of strawberries in large bowl. Stir in condensed milk, juice, and 2 cups of Cool Whip; pour into pan.

Top with Combined chopped cookies and butter; press into mixture. Cover.

Freeze at least 6 hours. Invert onto plate. Remove goil. Frost with remaining Cool Whip. Top with remaining strawberries, sliced.

12 servings

Crispy Pacific Cod with Parmesan-butter Dipping Sauce

1 lb. Pacific cod, skin removed and cut into 2.5-inch-long pieces
2 tsp. olive oil
Kosher salt
1/2 cup corn flakes, crushed
1 stick of unsalted butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Heat oven to 400. Rub the cod with the oil and season with 1/4 tsp salt. Dip the top side of the fish pieces (not the bottom side, from which the skin has been removed) in the corn flakes and place on a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until just cooked through and opaque, about 10 minutes. In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the Parmesan and 1/4 tsp salt. Serve butter with fish for dipping.

Best Cuticle Trimmer

This La Cross Cuticle Trimmer was voted #1. I'll have to try it...I have a favorite that they don't make anymore!

Best Peanut Satay

I love peanut satay and this was voted #1. I haven't looked for it yet in the store, so I don't know if I can find it.

Sharwood's Indonesian Satay Curry

Tranferring Cassettes and Videos

I have a few cassettes of me singing when I was a kid. Audiomover will transfer those cassettes to CD or MP3.

I'd also like to have our wedding video tape transferred to a DVD. VHStoDVD can do that.

Helpful Blogs

Here are some blogs that might be worth checking out. They are all right up my alley.

Apartment Therapy - decorating ideas for homes of all sizes
Hostess Blog - all kinds of info on entertaining paraphernelia
Unclutterer - strategies and products to help with all our "stuff"
Cupcakes Take the Cake - news, trends and photos, all about CUPCAKES!
Budget Fashionista - deals on clothes and accessories
Omiru - "style for all"
The Sartorialist - a fashion-loving photographer posts stylish looks of real people from city streets around the world.

Note Clips

Man, I'd be in heaven with these things! Clip-Rite Clip-Tabs combine a paper clip with a sticky note. You can instantly clip and tab documents — at the same time! (Yes, I get excited about small things.)

Measurement Cheating

I have 2 different magnets like this on my refrigerator that help me with measurement conversions. I just can't remember any of those that I learned in 4th grade! This Mix-n-Measure also looks like a great idea. The 16-ounce cup includes measurements for teaspoons and tablespoons, cups, ounces with breakdowns for "tumbler", "wine glass", "teacup" and more, grams, and milliliters. I'll guess I'll have to add this to my wish list.

No more rust rings

If you have a container of some kind (like a shaving cream can) that rusts and leaves a ring in your bathtub, you can paint a thin layer of clear nail polish around the base of the can and that will keep it from rusting.

Clip-On Earrings

I have a lot of my mother's jewelry, including clip-on earrings. I have pierced ears, so I don't have much use for them. However, I recently saw that jewel-studded clip-on earrings can be used to dress up a pair of pumps. Attach them slightly off center, and it looks pretty cool.

PlanningWiz

This is the best online room mapping tool that I've seen yet. I've used several in the past when I've moved to a new place, re-arranged a room or even re-arranged my office. I'd rather "see" it before I start moving furniture around! PlanningWiz is great.
(ht: Matthew)