Okay, so I know it’s freezing outside and popsicles are probably the last thing on everyone’s mind, but hear me out! The Zoku Quick Pop popsicle maker is the neatest thing I’ve seen in a long time, so I need to spread the word, regardless of the weather.
It’s a let-down when you want a frozen snack, but making popsicles takes a couple of hours of freezer time. Enter the Zoku popsicle maker which creates fully frozen popsicles in just 7 minutes! No word of a lie, all you do is pour your favourite fruit juice into the molds and 7 minutes later, voila!
The maker uses a proprietary solution sealed inside that ensures uniform freezing. Just store the maker in your freezer so you can be ready to create yummy popsicles at a moment’s notice. At only $50, this is a total steal, and a fab gift idea.
Available at Williams-Sonoma.
Although I don’t have any little ones running around my apartment, I can appreciate a good product when I see it. Check out the Babycook from French baby food maker, Beaba. This small counter appliance multitasks as a steamer, warmer, blender and defroster to prepare fresh food for your babe. It basically steams the food first, then purees it to the desired consistency. What a great way to save some cash and be absolutely sure what’s going into your baby’s food.
Available at Williams-Sonoma, $150 US.
I’m not sure about the rest of you Canucks across this fine land, but summer here in Toronto has been less than desirable, to say the least. Alas, this does not make my cravings for ice cream dissipate, and I’m constantly feeling the urge to pound back a tub of mint chocolate chip.
Check out this neat-o White Mountain electric ice cream maker at Williams-Sonoma. Just follow the instructions, and your gallon of ice cream or frozen yogourt is ready to go in 20-40 minutes. It’s also available with a manual crank, but I’d rather be sipping on a mojito while waiting for my frozen goods to be ready.
$170 for manual or $230 for electric, available at Williams-Sonoma.
I may not be a Parrothead, but heck, take me on down to Margaritaville! As my boyfriend and I complain like a broken Jimmy Buffet record about the heat in our apartment, I can’t help but crave everything frozen. Ice cream, popsicles, a frozen drink… or two.
Williams-Sonoma eases my sweat-laden woes with their Premium Margaritaville Trio Frozen Concoction Maker, which has 3 pitchers available to hold 72 oz. That’s a heckuva lot of margaritas, perfect for a pool party (speaking of which, anyone have a pool I can frequent?). This frozen drink maker is truly heaven sent, as it features two mechanisms: one for shaving the ice, and a second for perfectly pouring the right proportion of ingredients and ice into each pitcher. With 6 different blending settings, you can easily concoct the most delish margaritas, mojitos, smoothies, or mudslides. Save one for me!
Premium Margaritaville Trio Frozen Concoction Maker $500 US, Williams-Sonoma.
In the past couple of years, I’ve moved several times from apartment to apartment, and each time, I’m faced with the task of taking a printout of the floorplan and trying to arrange my furniture with hand-drawn replicas within the tiny borders (neither pretty nor accurate, might I add). As I start preparing to move into a larger space come May, I’ve also started hoping I can find an easier way to plan the layout of the space.
My wishes were not made in vain, because I found floorplanner.com, a fab website that allows you to digitally create your own floorplans. What’s the best part about the site? It’s free!
The site offers a ton of cool features, so here’s the gist: sign up for a free account and start building. Drop-down menus for room selection and objects make it easy to remember what needs to be considered for each space. Drag room objects onto the layout and size them to the scale of the room. Everything is virtually customizable and you can switch between 2D (shown above) and 3D to view. The options are endless. Having a big party in your backyard? The site has objects that let you plan for table arrangement and centrepieces, and garden objects that may obstruct views and groundspace.
With the free version, you can create up to one house, but there’s an upgrade available for $28 US that lets you build up to 5 houses. If you’re in the professional field, whether it be a designer or contractor, floorplanner.com has specialized accounts to cater to your business.
What’s not to love?
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Since I live in a 500 sq. ft. apartment, I’m always on the lookout for ways to save space. While I love my mp3 players and cranking out tunes from my iMac, sometimes I need to get things a little louder (which I’m sure my neighbours love).
Both of these reasons are why I adore this wall-mounted CD player by Muji. It takes up no horizontal space, and would look super sleek and stylish in any area of the home (think kitchen, where counter space is sacred). The function buttons are on the top of the player and you simply tug the power cord to turn it on and off.
Visit the MoMa Store to purchase, and start spinning your favourite jams!
Price: $178 US
With Thanksgiving coming up, I’ve got turkey on the brain. And I sure could use this wireless thermometer and timer when I – ok, my husband cooks up a bird this weekend.
The thermometer has two parts: a base with a heat sensor cable and probe that you insert into the bird, and a remote that you can carry around with you (it has a belt clip if you want to go for geek fashion, or use the stand if you’re just chillin’ in the living room). Wander up to 100 feet away and you’ll still get the alert that your meat is done. A 10-degree pre-alert tells you when food is almost ready, and audio and visual alerts let you know when the desired temperature is reached.
More handy features include a backlit display that shows current and target temperatures in either Celcius or Fahrenheit, preprogrammed settings of different meats according to USDA safety specifications, and a custom program to set your own desired temperatures.
Wireless Probe Thermometer and Timer by CDN. Price: $74.99 Available at: Kitchen stores across Canada. Call Browne & Co. at 866-306-3672 for retailers.
