Results for Best Antiperspirants

Best Solid:
Secret Clinical Strength

Best Roll-On:
Mitchum for Women Dry Roll-On

Best Gel or Cream:
Dry Idea Clear Gel

Best Spray:
Dove Aerosol

Shaving-Gel Tablets?

Really? Yep! Use the included dish to mix one tablet with water that turns into shaving gel. Keeps you from having to pack a shaving cream can, but I think I may stick with the tip to just use the hotel's hair conditioner as a shaving cream substitute. But if you were going on a long trip, these tablets may come in handy.
Travelon' s Travel Fresh Instant Shaving Gel Tablets

Mad Maps

A Get Outta Town map from Mad Maps is a pocket-size map that features destinations, roadside diners, back road charms and scenic overlooks just outside of major US cities. These maps have lots of information about hidden treasures close to a city. Check it out and see if your city is there.

Brownie Pan

I know people who would NOT like this...they like the gooey center of the brownie pan. But for those who don't (me!), this is a good solution. The Baker's Edge Brownie Pan creates crusty edges and leaves the gooey behind!

Bottle Trip-pod

I don't know if this would every be useful, but it's a good idea. "Snaps on a Bottle" attaches to the top of a water bottle and creates a spur-of-the-moment tripod.

That Stack of Frames

Extra picture frames lying around? Use some of the smaller ones to frame items on your refrigerator. Just add a magnet strip and dress up your icebox!

Use a larger frame as a tray for displaying items. Insert a colored piece of paper or cloth and then display vanity items, tea service, or office supplies.

The Card Society

Port2Port Press is a card-of-the-month club that mails members two one-of-a-kind blank letterpress cards each month. Choose from 1 to 12-month subscription. Great gift idea for a letter-writing friend.

Best Salad Dressing

And the results are in...

Best Asian:
Maple Grove Farms Sesame Ginger

Best Balsamic:
Briannas Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette

Best Blue Cheese:
Kraft Blue Cheese Dressing and Dip

Best Ranch:
Cardini's Parmesan Ranch

Best French:
Briannas Zesty French

Best Italian AND Best Light:
Newman's Own Light Italian

Best Caesar:
The Silver Palate Julee's Caesar

Best Vinaigrette:
Garlic Expressions Classic Vinaigrette

Eye Makeup Remover

It's light, gentle and doesn't leave blurry vision!
Almay Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover Liquid

Exercise Your Brain

A study of the 32 free games on Happy-Neuron showed that people who played the games three times a week showed significant improvement in cognitive function. Try it and exercise your brain! I just chased ladybugs.

Creamy Rigatoni with Broccoli and Brie

1 lb. dried rigatoni
1 head broccoli, cut int0 1/2-inch pieces, steamed
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
8 oz Brie, cut into 1-inch pieces
Kosher salt and pepper

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and return pasta to the pot. Add the steamed broccoli, pine nuts, Brie, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Stir until the cheese melts.

Pretzels, Pretzels, Pretzels

Best Multigrain:
Trader Joe's Multi-Grain Nuggets with Sesame Seeds

Best Honey Wheat:
Shearer's Honey Wheat

Best Peanut Butter-Filled:
Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Filled

Clean Stove

Before you cook, apply a layer of car wax to the enamel surface with a soft rag, then wipe off. The thin layer that remains will prevent greasy splatter and spills from sticking.

Keyboard Cleaner

Keyboard Brush!
"soft brush with long fibers that gets between your keys without pressing them"

Votive Clean Up

Spray the inside of a votive candle holder with a thin coating of Pam cooking spray before lighting it. After it burns down, the spray will make it easier to remove the leftover wax.

Cleaning Wreaths or Flower Arrangements

An easy way to clean a pinecone or evergreen wreath...it even works on some artificial flower arrangements: place the item in a paper bag and pour in a quarter cup of table or kosher salt. Fold the bag and gently shake. The salt knocks off dirt and dust.

If you have a flower arrangement that is too fragile for that, try spritzing it with a little water from a spray bottle. (I usually lay mine in the bath tub to let them dry.) But don't get then too wet, they'll lose their shape.

Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes

I recently saw this idea...I suppose it will work, especially when you're trying to do some things ahead of time for a large meal. Peel, cook and mash potatoes ahead of time. Pour a half of cup of milk in the bottom of the crock pot and pour the potatoes on top. Then just turn on the crock pot a couple of hours before you are ready to eat.

Create your own Coaster

A great idea for a party...create your own coasters.

Print a four-inch picture, graphic, clip-art, poem, etc. and then use a spray adhesive to glue it to a piece of 4-inch square card stock or cork board. If you need them to be more heavy-duty, brush a coating of Modge Podge over it so that the ink won't bleed from condensation.

You can also print a map from National Geographic's MapMachine to use for a Bon Voyage party, Moving party or other geographically-themed parties.

Another idea...use a coaster as the actual invitation that you mail to guests. Use a print out of the party details along with a graphic.

Book Subscription

I wrote here about a book subscription service. Another one is Bookswim.com. You can rent classic and new titles with free shipping. Subscriptions range from $15 a month for 2 books to $36 for 11 books.

Rug Design

I'm sure that by the time I need a new rug, this one will be long gone. But I wanted to post the picture as a reminder of colors.

Simple Spinach Quiche

Unroll a 9-inch refrigerated piecrust and press it into a pie plate. Combine 2 boxes of Stouffer's frozen spinach souffle with 4 beaten eggs, 6 oz. grated swiss cheese and 1/4 tsp of pepper. Pour mixture in the pie shell. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

Washing Jeans

I have a new pair of jeans that I'd like to last...
"To keep jeans from fading, wash in small loads in cold water (with more water than clothes) with all-purpose detergent. It's common for jean to shrink in length, so hold them by the waistband and legs and gently stretch them vertically before drying. Dry on low or medium heat; overdrying causes extra wear and tear, so take jeans out when the legs are done but the seams and the waistband are slightly damp."

Angie's List

Have you heard about Angie's List yet? It has thousands of detailed reports on service companies in your area, from plumbers to auto detailing. "More than 650,000 consumers use
Angie's List to find high quality contractors, service companies and health care providers." Reviews by real people.

LOTS of PHOTOS

MyHomeIdeas is a great website with tons of photos with a million ideas for home style and design. I like photos!

Calculating Your Water

An easy rule for figuring out how much water you should be drinking:
Figure your height in inches. THAT is the minimum amount in ounces you should be drinking per day. So if you're five-six, that's 66 inches or 66 ounces. Now get to drinking!

Sideswipe Blade

I'm surprised KitchenAid doesn't have something like this, but this one does fit a KitchenAid mixer. This mixer attachment scrapes ingredients as it blends which saves a little bit of time since you don't have to stop mixing to scrape the bottom and sides.

Glue Strips

Heavy duty glue strips that you can cut to the size you need. It's double-sided and much easier to use than regular glue.
UGlu

Easy Chocolate Croissants

2 ingredients!

Unroll tube of refrigerated crescent rolls. Place about 10 chocolate chips on each triangle and roll the dough up. Place on a lined baking sheet and cook at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes.

Hairdryers

My current hairdryer is dying a slow death, so I know I'll need this in the future.

Best rated hairdryer: ConairPro Silverbird

Other tips:

• Fine hair needs only 1,200 watts
• Normal and coarse hair needs 1,400 watts
• Cooler temps give volume by roughing up the hair cuticles
• Higher temps work for sleekerlooks since heat smooths the cuticles

Veggie Storage

The best ways to store different veggies:

• Corn - refrigerate ears unshucked in a bag
• Cucumbers - keep in a plastic bag on a shelf toward the front of the refrigerator, which tends to be warmer
• Eggplant - refrigerate in a plastic bag in the veggie drawer
• Squash and Zucchini - refrigerate, unwashed, in a plastic bag in the veggie drawer

Tips to tame your Schedule

Just random info on schedules, life, stress, etc.

• Make a list of all the activities that you long to do more of...things that make you happy, relaxed or sane. Then rank the list in order of importance and pick one or two to focus on.
• "Devoting more time to what you love can help you get more done overall. Research shows that to be productive and creative, you must take time for recreation and relaxation. Trying to skimp on them hurts your motivation and often leads you to procrastinate. Plus, being a little selfish will keep you from becoming resentful, burned out, or cranky. And that's a good thing for everyone."
• A 2004 study shows that office workers are interrupted, on average, every 3 minutes. The study also showed that it takes about 23 minutes for people to get back to the task they were taken away from.
• "Limit distractions: resist the urge to check your email 500 times a day. Experts recommend checking only twice day - at noon and at 4pm. Those are the times when you're most likely to have responses to your previously sent e-mails." (I'm not sure if I could do this, but it sure would allow me to get a lot more done!)
• "Schedule a quick and brainless task first. This will allow you to cross something off your list right away and to start the day feeling accomplished. Schedule your most onerous task second, it's better to get it over with it."
• (My hubs does this, but I haven't perfected it yet.) On Friday afternoons, set aside a half hour to go through what has been accomplished for the week and map out the next week.
• "Force yourself to work on a procrastinated task for a short period of time - perhaps as little as one minute. When you realize how much of the anxiety was created in your head, you'll give yourself the jolt needed to follow it through."

Best Outdoor Tableware

Melamine Dinner Plates from Pier1 (out of season now)
$2 each...great price!

Melamine Dinner Plates from Smith and Hawken
$14 each

Duraclear Iced-Tea Glasses from Williams-Sonoma
$48 for 6

Zak Designs Park Tumblers from Target
$25 for 6

Fish Bowl Temp

My fish, Peanut Butter, is going strong...even though I don't really regulate the temperature in the bowl. I now know it's supposed to be between 65 and 75 degrees.

Adhesive Wrapping Paper

Why hasn't anyone thought of this before??

"The first-of-its-kind product is coated on one side with a low-tack adhesive invented by Hallmark, which sticks firmly to packages, creating a beautifully wrapped gift without a lot of extra work. It is being sold exclusively at Hallmark Gold Crown stores."

The entire back side is sticky, and it will supposedly peel off without leaving a mark!

Yogurt, Dill & Walnut Dip

Sounds good...hope to try soon!
Combine 2 cups of Greek yogurt, 1 clove garlic (chopped), 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, 1/4 cup chopped dill, and 1/2 tsp kosher salt.
Serve with carrots, cherry tomatoes or blanched green beans.

Design your own Rug

"FLOR carpet squares let you easily design area rugs to fit any size space or install wall-to-wall in minutes. Available in a variety of beautiful colors, patterns and textures, FLOR's easy-to-install tiles give you creative control over the largest canvas in your home - your floors!"

Very cool...just put in your floor dimensions and start designing!

Instant Nail Lift

Creative Nail Design Solar Oil
Apply a drop to your nails and rub in for an instant shine of jojoba, vitamin E and sweet almond oil.

Drink Pairings...on a budget

Backyard Bar-B-Q with burgers, franks, chicken, steak and ribs.
Red: 2006 Valentin Bianchi Elsa Malbec $9
White/Rose: 2006 McManis Family Vineyards Viognier $11
Beer: Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Pale Ale $4

Happy Hour with cheese, crackers, nuts, olives, dip and chips.
Red: 2006 George Duboeuf Chiroubles Beaujolais $12
White/Rose: 2006 Big House Pink $10
Beer: Harpoon India Pale Ale $8.50

Casual Dinner with soups, salads, pastas, and light chicken dishes
Red: 2005 Michele Chiarlo "le Orme" Barbera D'Asti $14
White/Rose: Broadbent Vinho Verde $12
Beer: Blue Moon Belgian White Ale $8

Easy Key Lime Pie

Mix a can of sweetened condensed milk, a can of frozen limeade concentrate and 1 cup of heavy cream. Pour into a graham cracker pie crust.

Email Organizing

I put a * in front of my most used email folders. And I put a "z" in front of the folders I use least. It's a small thing but it works well.

Tupperware storage

I'm shamed to admit that I'm drawn to this. It's because I still haven't found a good tupperware solution. I like this because all containers have a one-size-fits-all lid. And we don't have a lot space, so storage is an issue.

The other thing I've considered is the Tupperware Flat-Out...containers that collapse for storage. Anyone found any other solutions that work?

Keyboard Organizer

I think I like this idea...don't know how practical it would be, but it sure has received a lot of rave reviews.

Best Beach Towels (a little late...or early!)

Best Bargain:
Cabana Fish Towel by Bed Bath and Beyond $8

Best Style:
Modern Damask Beach Towel by Christy $30 (hard to buy...London store)

Best for Traveling:
Beach Towel and Tote by Garnet Hill $34 (just noticed this one is now on sale for $9!!!!)

Best Oversize
Beach Blanket with Stakes by Lands' End $50

Missing Money

Do you have unclaimed money? You should check and see. Just submit your name and the states you've lived in. What if you were a millionaire and didn't know it? Okay, not likely, but it's worth checking, right?

MISSING MONEY

Juice Choices

To piggy-back on my last post...
To go with my breakfast bar, a glass of juice is good too...makes me feel a little more well-rounded. Apparently the best juices based on calories are tomato (53 calories) and grapefruit (96 calories). Since I don't like tomato juice, I do drink a lot of grapefruit juice. All the other juices are more than 100 calories. According to the experts, the top 4 juices that pack the most nutrients with the fewest calories are cranberry, grapefruit, orange and tomato.

Breakfast Bars

Unfortunately, I often have to grab a breakfast bar in the mornings. I do feel better throughout the day if I eat a decent breakfast. If I'm gonna have to do a bar, this is what "they" say is better:

• 5 grams of fiber
• 5 grams of protein
• Less than 200 calories

I just checked and I'm doing pretty good with my current selection.

RoadSide America

A great website for offbeat attractions on America's roadsides!
The results for places close to me:

• Captured leg of Santa Anna
• World's Largest Catsup Bottle
• Purple Martin Capital of the Nation
• Popeye Statue
• Circus Performers Mass Grave
• 2-story Outhouse
• Museum of Funeral Customs

WOW! You should look up what oddities are close to you!

Interstates

I've heard this before but can never remember it when it's important. Thankfully, the hubs has a steel trap brain!

Odd-numbered highways run north to south
Even-numbered highways run east to west

(I still believe you can't always count on this!)

Removing Perfume

Use a cotton pad and alcohol...pretty simple!

Stationery Website

Expressionery: A website I just found out about that has a lot of great stationery options, including some really cute, hand-drawn paper people.

Quick and Easy Cocktails

For Taran!

Margarita = 1 Corona + 1 can thawed Limeade + 1.5 cups Tequila

Strawberry Daiquiri = 1 pint strawberry sorbet + 1.75 light rum (blend with 6 cups ice)

Sangria = 1 bottle red wine + 3 cups apple juice + 1 peach (sliced)

Scar Prevention

Massage a new scar for five minutes twice a day. Applying pressure forces the body to make scar tissue that is flatter and lighter in color. Start massaging 2-3 weeks after the injury and continue for up to a year.

Best Ice Cream Pops

Winner of the best-tasting and least calorie ice cream pop:
The Skinny Cow Mini Fudge Bar
"big chocolate taste for only 50 calories"

BTW, did you know that the way to get rid of "brain freeze" from eating ice cream too fast is to press your tongue to the roof of your mouth or drink a glass of warm water? I didn't, but I plan to try it next time.

Most Economical Online Photo Printing

I should've known! Walmart won. In second place...Snapfish.com.
4x6 inch prints were $.09 at each place.
5x7 inch prints were $0.79 at Snapfish but $0.58 at Walmart.

Fur Fighter

I haven't tried this yet, but it looks like it might help with all our Bailey fur. (We do keep a sheet on our couch most of the time so that it's not as hard to clean when we have company.) The Scotch Fur Fighter Hair Remover supposedly removes embedded pet hair from upholstery.

Gel Pack

I often need frozen gel packs when I have a headache, and I didn't realize you could make your own. Freeze one part rubbing alcohol with three parts water in a Ziploc. I like the soft gel packs better than the ones that freeze solid.

Best Face Sunscreen

The best face sunscreen for the traveler: California Baby Sunblock Stick

• Compact and easy to pack
• Wide stick for face or body
• Does not sting eyes
• Created for those who can't tolerate fragrance

Berry Vodka Spritzers

Halve four limes and squeeze into a pitcher. (If desired, cut the squeezed limes into small pieces and add to the pitcher.) Mix in 3 Tbs. sugar. Add 1 liter club soda, 1 cup berry-flavored vodka, 1 cup blueberries, and 1 cup raspberries. Pour over ice. Serves 8.