What’s Hot and What’s Not – Appliance Trends For 2012.

It’s getting steamy...

Washing machines that use steam are big news for 2012. Steam can reach higher temperatures than water, and so can penetrate much deeper into fabrics, which means stain removal is not a problem. Your clothes will be as good as new when washed with steam, over and again. These steam machines also use less water than traditional washing machines, so they’re better for the environment (and your bank balance!) The LG Steam Direct Drive F1479FDS6 is a gorgeous looking steam washing machine, and its 20 minute Steam Refresh cycle can lift odours from lightly soiled clothes so that they’re ready-to-wear again in no time at all.

Green is the new black...

With everyone tightening their belts, efficient appliances have never been more popular. Energy prices are on the rise, so a super-green appliance can guarantee huge savings on your energy bills –exactly what you need in these tough times! Siemens have
recently released their new range of amazingly efficient A+++ fridge freezers. These technologically advanced models can save you 60% more energy than a standard A rated model – leaving you with spare cash after the bills have been paid! They’re packed full of features designed to keep your food fresher for longer too, so you’ll be throwing less wasted food away. The coolBox, for instance, (found on Siemens products) is the perfect place to store meat and fish. It keeps them at a lower temperature than the rest of the fridge, so when you cook them, they taste as delicious as they would’ve done on the day they were bought.

LG have also picked up on the trend of helping you to make your food last longer. One of LG’s newest models, the LG GWL227HHXV, has a V-Fresh compartment. V-Fresh technology is exclusive to the brand – it sucks the air out of a special compartment to keep your veggies fresher for longer than ever before – so you can stock up at the supermarket, safe in the knowledge your lettuce won’t be soggy in two days time.

What’s en vogue for refrigeration? French doors...

Making a stylish feature out of an appliance is easy with a French door fridge freezer. These models have side-by-side fridge doors, and a bottom drawer for the freezer. They look unusual and elegant – and the freezer drawers provide loads of space for frozen goodies. The Samsung RFG23DERS American fridge freezer has 127 litres of space inside the freezer – the ideal amount of storage space for a larger family’s weekly shop. You don’t even need the space in your kitchen for an American style model to embrace the French door trend either – LG’s brand new GM5148AERV is only 70cm wide, and has 3 freezer drawers with a whopping 109 litres of freezer space.

Love the style, but not sure about the price? Affordable alternatives to these models are Hotpoint’s Quadrios. Available in gun metal grey, stainless steel and black, these fridge freezers provide good looking, high quality refrigeration for a bargain price. They’re so stylish, they’ve even featured in television programmes and cooking shows.

Experience Traditional Americana At Johnny Rockets’

On our upcoming Vegas trip, we are excited to get the opportunity to eat at Johnny Rockets at the Venetian Food Court.

The first Johnny Rockets opened in 1986 in Los Angeles with a belief that everyone deserves a place where they can escape from today’s complicated world and to experience Americana’s uncomplicated goodness-in fact name originated from the timeless Johnny Appleseed story. Each year, Johnny Rockets serves 17 million hamburgers, 11.3 million soda pops, 8.3 million shakes and malts, 8 million pounds of fries, 2.1 million orders of onion rings and 815,000 gallons of ice cream. This is truly the place for classic “American Cuisine” with a huge selection of their 1/3 pound hamburgers, rocket-melts, sandwiches, and starters. To complete the Johnny Rockets’ Americana experience make sure to grab some mouth watering shakes, malts and floats available in dozens of different flavours.

We love the general atmosphere as well as the delicious and fun food.We don't have Johnny Rockets where we live, so take full advantage of them when we travel! Click here to find a Johnny Rockets location nearest you.

Saturday-January 28th-A Cave In

Wasn't what Gerry wanted to see this morning when he headed outside to shovel snow off the roof of our trailer, but he noticed the car port that we use for storage, had a caved in roof!

Snow had weighed it down and buckled it inwards.

No rips or tears but piping on the inside was bent. Gerry had to run to the hardware store and now has to construct beams inside the car port to keep everything up.Temperatures were -28 with the wind this morning, so not something you really want to be doing when it's cold out, but had to be fixed nonetheless.

***Sunday brought us a leaky hot water tank- setting us back another $340!

What Does Your Future Hold?

Many of us have a great interest in the mysteries of our future. Psychic Source is a group of screened and verified psychic readers, who are best in their area of expertise. There are numerous types of psychic readings available such as tarot readings, runes, astrology and more. The site features the various psychics’ specialities, so you can choose the one that matches your need.

I was very happy with my experience and based on the introductions I listened to, I connected with psychic of my choice. I was surprised that I could ask questions about my health, money, family and so much more and my psychic seemed to hit things dead on.I loved this service and have always enjoyed getting a reading done. It always amazes me what these people have insight to.

To find out what the future holds, or just for fun, Psychic Source is a great experience.

5 Ways To Say “I Love You” For Less

Valentine's Day is only days away, and many of us are probably still scrambling around trying to find the right way to say “I love you” to those who mean so much to us. However, roses, fine candies, and fine jewelry can all come with a steep price tag – ones so steep that they aren't always feasible. So instead of looking at the latest in men's rings or purchasing $100 worth of red roses, consider doing some of the following for an inexpensive Valentine's Day treat:

Homemade Cards

You may think that homemade cards are for kiddos, but they can mean a lot to your significant other as well. The time that you put in to creating a card will not only be a nice throwback which will be sure to give your partner warm and fuzzies, but the card will also be more personal which is sure to please your partner. Not only that, but you won't have to deal with hunting through vast rows of cards or waiting in lines at retail stores, and you can make it with items already within your home.

Make Your Own Delectables

Instead of spending an arm and a leg on chocolate covered strawberries or a decadent candy of choice, consider making it yourself. Most candies and confectioner delights are easy and relatively inexpensive to make, and allow you to add your own personal touch. They also prevent you from having to order weeks in advance, and allow you to create fresher treats.

Dine In

Going out is often a tradition on Valetine's Day, and while it is nice to go out, it can lead to an incredibly high bill – with many fine restaurants clearing tabs as high as $100. To stay within budget, cook your partner's favorite meal at home. If you have kids, send them to a willing relative's house and cook a romantic meal with your partner. It will be a great, inexpensive way for you two to get quality time together, and you won't have to worry about getting all dressed up.

Do a Few Chores

Are there a few things that your partner always does even though they hate it – such as laundry, cleaning the bathroom, or scrubbing floors? Instead of letting them do it, yet again, consider doing a few household chores for them as an extra sign of your appreciation for them being in your life. Sure, it might require a little more effort on your part, but your partner will be surprised and delighted to come home with nothing to do but put up their feet.

Give a Sensual Massage

There is nothing more personal and romantic than treating your partner to something similar to a spa night. If you really want to have a great Valentine's day night, simply run a warm bath for your partner and then follow it up with a massage. Aside from the cost of bubble bath and massage oil, it is virtually free and will provide you with a bit of intimacy.

Valentine's Day truly is a great time to tell someone you love them, but that doesn't mean that it should leave you in the red or charging credit cards. If you don't have a big budget for the upcoming holiday, don't sweat it. Simply use some imagination, and you should be able to come up with several great ways to have an enjoyable Valentine's Day without the high bills.

DiGiorno Countdown to Greatness Sweepstakes ( US only)

I wanted to tell you about the  DiGiorno Countdown to Greatness Sweepstakes on Facebook.

The sweeps is a great opportunity to win some awesome prizes!

Only a few more days left to enter for your chance to win a 65" TV, $5,000 in cash, a surround-sound package, a stainless steel fridge and free DIGIORNO® Pizza for a year. Now, get in there and enter for a chance to win before it's too late, the sweepstake ends at 11:59 PM 1/28!

Valentine's Day Gift Guide:Gourmet Gift Baskets Plus a Giveaway

Shopping for your valentine for Valentine’s Day can be a difficult task, sometimes you just can’t decide what to get.Why not get it all with a Gourmet Gift Basket filled with their favourite treats- it is the perfect way to show your love.

Give the gift of decadence or elegance with Champagne and chocolate suitcase filled with Moet & Chandon White Star Champagne, two champagne tumblers and many gourmet indulgences in a keepsake, sophisticated black suitcase. If your Valentine dreams of visiting the most romantic city in the world a Day in Paris gift basket featuring all the Parisian delicacies may be just up to their taste.

There are many themed gift baskets to choose from including; BBQ,Be My Valentine™ - Valentine's Day Gift Basket, pictured above, Microbrewery, Golf, Fishing, as well as Spa, Chocolate, Fruit and so much more. You can even create a personalized gift basket for that unique Valentine.

So why settle on one gift, when a gift basket says so much more?

Gourmet Gift Baskets would love to give away one of the beautiful baskets above to one lucky winner from Canada or the USA. A random draw will be held by Random.org on February 10, 2012 from all entries received.

To Enter:
Please leave your email and a comment for Gourmet Gift Baskets

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Grab the button from The Life of Ultimate Luxury

Best of luck to all!

Let Your Child's Imagination Soar With Wuggle Pets

Wuggle Pets are winning the hearts of children and parents alike. Kids can create, personalize, collect and trade their Wuggle Pets to their hearts content.

There are eight Wuggles to collect, each pet comes with a birth certificate, magic dust, personality charms, the zipper tool and fluffy softness, and, each order includes one fun filled factory to bring your Wuggle Pets to life.

For birthdays, holidays or any other fun events the party pack, offering the full collection of Wuggle Pets offers the best value for the parents and kids. Alternatively a starter kit is a great idea for those beginning their collections. The kit includes one fun filled factory, a Cuddle Puppy, with all the accessories, and you can even make Wuggle Pets talk with an optional voice box.

With these toys there truly is no limit to where your kids imagination can take them.

Review: Sandy Feet Cards

Sandy Feet Cards  is a division of Sandmade Photos and is located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.The husband and wife team take messages written in the sand and turn them into one of a kind note cards.They  have a large selection of cards that can work for a variety of occasions and if you do not see a sandwritten message that works for you, they will be happy to write something custom for you.

 A great deal of patience is required to make sure each image comes out just right. When you work with something that is constantly moving like the barrier islands of the Outer Banks…the result is unique and beautiful, and you can truly see this in their unique cards. I had a variety of the cards to review and they were all quite nice . I would think that these would also have been nice to see in color, although that is not an option with these cards.

Be sure to check out their great selection of one of a kind Valentine's Day cards and get yours ordered today.( Please note: these cards come blank inside.)

January 31st-Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment DVD & Blu-ray New Release: The Big Year

Comedic Icons Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson Star in the Hilarious Outdoor Adventure Coming to Blu-ray and DVD January 31!

 Let the fowl play begin! Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment presents the story of a competitive trio who quickly turn a simple quest into the ultimate competition when THE BIG YEAR spreads its wings on Blu-ray and DVD January 31.

Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson portray three men from very different walks of life, facing a mid-life crisis, a work-life crisis and a no-life crisis. In the biggest competition of their lives, they undertake an unforgettable trek through North America, engaging in hilarious and bizarre adventures and forming friendships that will last a lifetime!

THE BIG YEAR Blu-ray is loaded with special features including the theatrical and extended editions of the film, over 40 minutes of deleted scenes and the featurette “The Big Migration.” The Blu-ray combo pack and single-disc DVD will be available for an average retail price of $29.99 and $19.99 respectively.

Runtime is 100 minutes.

Uncovering The Big Year With Avery Delacroix