Universal Wrapping Paper ( For any occasion)

 Universal Wrapping Paper is a Solution to the infamous celebration and holiday dilemma question -  What's the occasion. any people feel because they are not the same religion as their associate - they don't want to be This is a great idea because it saves money since it can be used year round. It also reduces any stress of having to remember religious celebrations of co-workers or friends.

Miami City Guide - The Art Deco South Beach

Miami City Guide - The Art Deco South Beach

Art Deco came about in the 1920’s almost as a reaction to the First World War and the austerity people had lived with for so long. It took a while, but in the 1930’s this movement reached Miami’s south beach and influenced the buildings that were being built here at the time. What was produced was a neighbourhood that stands today as a proud memory to the architectural revolution of the art deco movement.




Read Full Article

Related articles

• 48 hours: Miami Beach (independent.co.uk)
• Five places where Art Deco lives on (sfgate.com)

Cooking Ideas for Busy Professionals

For many New Zealanders, the thought of cooking for themselves and/or their family at the end of the day is a daunting prospect. However, with a little planning and the help of some handy hints it needn’t be.
Basic Ingredients
Quick, tasty meals need not be at the expense of healthy and low cost options. Basic ingredients for your pantry such as rice, pasta, couscous, flavoured tomatoes, fish, canned beans, canned soups can form the basis for a hearty meal, or be added to a soup or as a base for a pasta dish.
Frozen vegetables in the freezer can quickly add serves of vegetables to your meals. Some salad greens in the fridge will complete a simple meal of steak and salad with a minimum of effort.
Time-savers

• Make a bigger batch of a dish if your food budget will allow it. This will mean you can heat up leftovers the next night, or put it away in the freezer for another night. Alternatively, have it for lunch the next day.
• Cook extra rice and freeze leftovers. Pull it out and throw some frozen vegetables, egg and meat if wanted, for easy fried rice.
• Make a big pot of mashed potato, and use the leftover to top a cottage pie. If you have the oven on to cook something, quickly chop some potatoes, kumara, pumpkin, and bake them. These vegetables can be reheated on their own or used as the basis for another meal such as roast vegetable lasagna, or a roast vegetable soup.
• Consider buying healthy convenience foods - quick cook rice, or fresh pasta cooks in less than 10 minutes. Look for them on special, there are many Weight Watchers and low fat options available to keep your kilijoules low, even on instant meals.
• Invest in kitchen appliances such as a slow cooker and use it to make casseroles, soups, cooked whole chicken, baked potatoes, risotto, or a health grill to quickly cook meat while removing the fat.
• Make meals in advance at the weekend and freeze part or whole meals to take out during the week.
• Cook savory muffins or scones, which can make a meal with a bowl of soup.
• Look for recipes where you can use a basic recipe and adapt it to make different meals. For example, create a meat and tomato sauce which can be used for spaghetti bolognaise, nachos with some beans and lasagna or cottage pie. This sauce can be frozen and used when needed.

There are websites available which allow you to enter ingredients you have and it gives you possible meal recipes such as Healthy Food Guide.
Make your own takeaways and get your children involved
This will save you money and doesn’t take that much work. Think of the time it would take you to drive, order and pick up your takeaways. It's enough time to put some crumbed fish pieces, fish fingers, chicken nuggets, or burgers on to cook, with some home made fries (these cook quicker if cut smaller and/or cooked for 5-10 minutes in the microwave), or frozen chips. Plus once again, it's a healthier version of a commercially made treat meal.
Buy ready-made tubs of falafel, make patties, add tomatoes, beetroot, lettuce and put in a burger bun.
Make pizzas with bought bases or use a bread maker for easy and tasty pizza dough.Let the kids create their own flavorings.
Cook smart!
Consider investing in a good recipe book or two which have quick, easy recipes which can become your weeknight lifesavers. This will also mean you can plan your meals and your grocery shopping. Once you have a few tried and true recipes up your sleeve you can avoid culinary chaos.

Source: http://www.nzs.com/new-zealand-articles/lifestyle/cooking-ideas-for-busy-professionals.html

Pamper Yourself with Bloomingdale's: FREE Lancome Gift

Sophisticated Shopper: Bloomingdale's: FREE Lancome Gift ($110 Value!)

Cruise to the Bahamas for only $19.99

Bahamas Fun Day Cruise from only $19.99* per person


Book before Sept 30 and travel Oct 1st thru Jan 31st. Price varies on other dates / days and is inventory controlled on a first come basis.

limited Offer - Florida Residents Special

Cruise FREE during the month of your birthday!

Enjoy a Discovery Fun Day Cruise from only $19.99* per person. When you sail on a Discovery Fun Day Cruise to the Bahamas here's what's included:

• All-you-can-eat buffet breakfast on the way to Grand Bahama

• Spacious sun decks & pool

• Indoor and outdoor games, bars, entertainment & shows

• A Las Vegas Rules style Casino with slots and table games including Craps, Blackjack & Roulette

• A video arcade

• Live music & dancing

• All-you-can-eat buffet dinner on your return cruise to South Florida

•3 hours to enjoy Grand Bahama Island

DAILY SAILING SCHEDULE

(No Sailing on Wednesdays)

Departure: Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale 7:45 AM

Arrival: Freeport, Grand Bahama 1:00 PM
Departure: Freeport, Grand Bahama 4:45 PM
Arrival: Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale 10:00 PM

FUN DAY BAHAMAS CRUISE PASSENGERS MUST RETURN ON SAME DAY OF DEPARTURE.

IF YOU WISH TO DEPART AND RETURN ON A DIFFERENT DATE YOU MAY DO SO WITH EITHER OUR "CRUISE & STAY" OPTION OR "CRUISE TRANSPORTATION ONLY" OPTION

Cruise FREE during the month of your birthday!

Discovery Cruise Line would like to wish you a very Happy Birthday and welcome you to celebrate on board with us. Take a day cruise to the Bahamas for FREE* during the month of your birthday when you purchase one full priced adult day cruise.
 
SEE FULL DETAILS: BAHAMAS PARTY CRUISE

Saks Fifth Avenue Special Giveaway (First-Ever Shampoo Swap)

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17, FOR ONE DAY ONLY

Visit Saks Fifth Avenue for its first-ever Shampoo Swap.
Bring any full-sized shampoo you currently use* and exchange it for one full-sized

complimentary bottle of new Fekkai Advanced shampoo of your choice ($23 value).

Visit the Fekkai facebook page for all Saks locations

One per customer, please. While supplies last. In-store only.
*Shampoo bottle can be full or empty.
Shop Fekkai Advanced Now at Fekkai.com

Is Walmart planning to take over the world?

Walmart loves to shock and awe. City-size stores, absurdly low prices ($8 jeans!) and everything from milk to Matchbox toys on its shelves. And with the recession forcing legions of stores into bankruptcy, the world's largest retailer now apparently wants to take out the remaining survivors.

Thus, the company is in the beginning stages of a massive store and strategy remodeling effort, which it has dubbed Project Impact. One goal of Project Impact is cleaner, less cluttered stores that will improve the shopping experience. Another is friendlier customer service. A third: home in on categories where the competition can be killed. "They've got Kmart ready to take a standing eight-count next year," says retail consultant Burt Flickinger III, managing director for Strategic Resources Group and a veteran Walmart watcher. "Same with Rite Aid. They've knocked out four of the top five toy retailers, and are now going after the last one standing, Toys "R" Us. Project Impact will be the catalyst to wipe out a second round of national and regional retailers." (See 10 things to buy during the recession.)


Though that's bad news for many smaller businesses that can't compete, Walmart investors have clamored for this push. Despite the company's consistently strong financial performance, Wall Street hasn't cheered Walmart's growth rates. During the 1990s, the company's stock price jumped 1,173%. In this decade, it's down around 24% (Walmart's stock closed at $51.74 per share on Sept. 3). "Walmart is under excruciating pressure from employees and frustrated institutional investors to get the stock up," says Flickinger. (Read "Can Toys "R" Us Sell Toilet Paper?")


Many analysts believe that the store-operations background of new CEO Mike Duke will keep investors quite happy. Though the recession finally caught up to Walmart last quarter, when the company reported a 1.2% drop in U.S. same-store sales, Walmart was a consistent winner during the worst days of the financial crisis, as frugal consumers traded down. While most retailers are shutting down stores, Walmart has opened 52 Supercenters since Feb. 1. Joseph Feldman, retail analyst at Telsey Advisory Group, estimates that each store costs Walmart between $25 and $30 million. In order to continue the momentum that it has picked up during the retail recession, over the next five years the company plans to remodel 70% of its approximately 3,600 U.S. stores.

Read Full Article: Walmart's Project Impact: A Move to Crush Competition

What I Got With Cash for Clunkers

What I Got With Cash for Clunkers

by Julianne Pepitone
Friday, August 7, 2009
provided by CNNMoney.com



Caroline Radtke: SUV to Diesel
Traded: 2000 Isuzu Trooper (15 mpg)
Bought: 2009 Jetta Sportwagen TDI (40 mpg)
With two children, big grocery purchases and a drive to save the planet, we'd been considering getting a new car even before the Cash for Clunkers program. The Trooper was a good car, but I felt bad about the environment every time I filled that guzzler. And I wanted something safer for my kids.

Some people think we're trying to be big ol' cowboys with a diesel vehicle, but the Sportwagen fit our needs perfectly. We had to educate ourselves about it, but diesel is so much cleaner now. It's a great little car for only about $26,500 after the trade-in.
Diesel may not be the best choice for someone with a lead foot, but it works for my family -- without us sacrificing gas mileage or paying a nutty premium for a hybrid. And it's cute! I like a car with some sass.

Julie Callahan: Farm Truck to Cruiser
Traded: 1990 Chevy C1500 (15 mpg)
Bought: 2009 PT Cruiser (21 mpg)

We've known for a year or two that we needed to replace the Chevy. Its transmission was starting to go, and it had a bad computer. I've been waiting since I first heard about the Clunkers program, during the initial stimulus talk.

The PT Cruiser is not my first, second or probably even 10th pick for a car, but it's rated well and Chrysler matched the $4,500 federal rebate. I never could have afforded this without the rebate programs, nor would I have purchased a brand new car.

I have a bit of guilt that I'm sending the "great white dragon" (our nickname for the beloved Chevy) off to slaughter before its natural death, but it was on its way anyhow. And it's not lost on me that this program is funded by taxpayers. Does it make me part of the financial problem?

Read More: What I Got With Cash for Clunkers

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Miami, FL

Ft Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau 2 for 1 specials on attractions all over Broward County

Looking for great bargains in Fort Lauderdale this summer? The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau has a comprehensive on line site with everything you'll need to find them. From 2 for 1 summer specials to four live beach cameras with views from Deerfield Beach to Hollywood Beach, it's the best resource for what's happening around town that I've seen.

When you look at the list of businesses and attractions included in the for 2 for 1 special you'll see that they aren't limited to Fort Lauderdale. All of Broward County is represented. The Coupons for the Gre8ter Savings Summer promotion are valid until September 30th 2009. You have the rest of the summer to take advantage of these deals. It's a pretty impressive list of attractions:

1. Billie Swamp Safari
2. Museum of Science/Discovery/Imax Theater
3. Sawgrass Recreation Park Air Boat Tours
4. IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame
5. Dixie Diving Snorkel Trips
6. Pro Dive International Snorkel Trips and Glass Bottom Boat Trips
7. Ft Lauderdale Museum of Art
8. Mai Kai Restaurant and Polynesian Show
9. Aloha Watersports-parasail rides
10. Jungle Queen Rivercruises

By Ft. Lauderdale City Buzz Examiner -Cheryl Avins Smith

IKEA Sunrise Summer Sale Offers

IKEA Sunrise Summer Sale Offers

530,000 Starbucks coffee grinders recalled

530,000 Starbucks coffee grinders recalled
Viking built-in refrigerators also called back because doors can detach

The following recalls have been announced:

• About 530,000 Starbucks Barista blade grinders and Seattle's Best Coffee blade grinders, made in China and imported by Starbucks Coffee Co., of Seattle, Wash., because the grinder can fail to turn off or can turn on unexpectedly, posing a laceration hazard to consumers. There have been at least 176 reports of grinders that failed to turn off or that turned on unexpectedly. This includes three reports of hand lacerations that occurred when the grinders turned on unexpectedly during cleaning. The coffee grinders were sold at Starbucks and Seattle's Best Coffee stores nationwide from March 2002 through March of this year. Details: by phone at 866-276-2950; by Web at www.Starbucks.com or www.CPSC.gov.
• About 45,000 Viking built-in side-by-side refrigerators and freezers as well as refrigerators with bottom freezers, made in the U.S. by Viking Range Corp., of Greenwood, Miss., because the refrigerator doors can detach, posing an injury hazard to consumers. The company has received about 57 reports of doors detaching, including four reports of injuries involving bruises, broken toes and fingers and strains. There also have been several reported incidents of minor damage to floors and counters. The products come in stainless steel, various colors and wood finishes and are built into kitchen cabinetry. They were sold by appliance and specialty retailers nationwide from July 1999 through April 2006. Details: by phone at 888-345-2650; by Web at VikingRange.com or CPSC.gov.

Shortcuts for Everyday Tasks

Shortcuts for Everyday Tasks
By Amanda Hinnant

Keep a Journal
If the last entry in your diary is a cryptic scribble from 2003, stop writing and start printing―e-mails, that is. Since you’re probably already summarizing your life in e-mails to your friends and family, print them out and paste them on the pages of a blank notebook, suggests Oriah Mountain Dreamer, author of What We Ache For: Creativity and the Unfolding of Your Soul (HarperOne, $22, amazon.com). “It’s like my yoga teacher once said about working out: ‘All you need to do is stretch for five minutes a day,’” Mountain Dreamer says. “Of course, once you get going, it feels so good, you’ll wind up doing more.”

Run Errands
“Plan the order of your stops in a clockwise direction,” advises Susan Hamersky, owner of the Los Angeles–based errand company California Concierge. “That way, you avoid all the time-consuming left turns.” Also, schedule your errands so you can drop things off on your way out and pick them up on your way home, says Dan McMackin, a spokesman for UPS and a former driver. Keep a cooler in your car for perishables, too. Then a stop at the market doesn’t have to be immediately followed by a run home to the refrigerator, says Julie Hagenmaier, founder and CEO of My Girl Friday, an errand company in Cincinnati.

Get Your Daily Vitamins
Try a bowl of Total, says David Grotto, a registered dietitian in Evanston, Illinois, and a spokesman for the American Dietetic Association. The cereal is fortified with 100 percent of the daily value of 12 vitamins and minerals. Drink the milk, too―it will add even more vitamins, including those it washes off the cereal, Grotto says.

Turn Day Wear Into Evening Wear
Work is over, and you're ready for cocktails. Transform your office self for a night out with these tools.

• An extra pair of earrings. Always have two pairs―one small and one dangly. You can also attach clip-on earrings to your pumps.
• A lightweight shawl. "It's an easy new focal point for your outfit," says fashion consultant Leah Feldon, author of Does This Make Me Look Fat?: The Definitive Rules for Dressing Thin for Every Height, Size, and Shape (Villard, $15, amazon.com).
• A fancy pair of pumps. Or a pair of strappy sandals.
  Black eyeliner. For a smoky look, line your outer rims close to the lash lines, then smudge with a cotton swab, says New York City makeup artist Mally Roncal.
• A peachy cream blush. "The color will uplift your cheeks and eyelids," says New York City makeup artist Lea Siegel.

Get Cut Flowers to Bloom
First try cutting the stems at an angle, then placing the bouquet in warm water. If that doesn’t work, use a blow-dryer with a diffuser to simulate the sunshine’s warmth, says Denis Chandler, the owner of Bloomsberry Flowers, in Wilmington, Delaware.


Buy Clothes Without Trying Them On
You have good reasons to avoid the dressing room―long lines and fluorescent lighting among them―so skip it altogether by sizing yourself up first at home, says designer Cynthia Rowley. Note how your favorite clothes look when you hold them to your body, and recall that when you're shopping. If the fabric of a pair of jeans or a skirt doesn't exactly meet the edge of your waistline when you hold it up, it won't fit correctly, Feldon says. And the next time you're in a hurry at the department store, remember this measurement trick from Rowley: The distance from the side of your neck to the tip of your fingers (on an outstretched arm) is about the same length as your inseam.

Catch Up on Current Events
Nobody likes being out of the loop. Here's how the people who bring you the news get up to speed.

• I do a quick scan of CNN.com and AssignmentEditor.com, which allows you to access any newspaper in the country, and I read the Wall Street Journal's "What's News" section, says CNN's Paula Zahn.
• I put C-Span on in the background while I put away dishes or pay bills, says Mark Halperin, the political director of ABC News and the editor of The Note, on the network's website.
• On the Internet, scan the New York Times and the New York Post, says Post editor Isaac Guzman. Then watch a 30-minute roundup on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC.

Speak a Foreign Language
¿No habla español? No problem. You don't need to complete a six-month course of elementary Spanish to make your way in Madrid. “Get a little pocket language book, and instead of attempting to learn the language, learn a few key phrases,” says Harold Jenkins, a Chicago-based travel agent and a frequent traveler. Elizabeth Lunney, cofounder of New York City's ABC Language Exchange, recommends Berlitz Phrasebooks because they’re “easy to navigate, come in many languages, and help with pronunciation.” Don George, global-travel editor for Lonely Planet, says the following words and phrases are the most useful:
Hello
Good-bye
Yes
No
Please
Thank you
Excuse me
Sorry
Do you speak English?
I don’t understand.
How much?
I would like…
Where is…?
Train station
Bathroom

Read more of this Article By Amanda Hinnant