The Paperless Scratch Pad

 

Just about every busy family employs some means or another to  communicate messages and reminders to the rest of the household. OK, maybe it’s usually Mom reminding the rest of the family members about the chores, things to  do, the kid’s soccer schedule, and well the list is endless, right? Typically, we like to use a chalkboard, or stick-it notes affixed to the refrigerator, or even a small dry-erase white board that we keep in the  kitchen. Now there’s a better way with the Paperless Scratch Pad from Hammacher Schlemmer.

Forget about the countless stick-it notes that are nothing more than an endless waste of  paper. And dry-erase white boards are really  a mess to deal with. You always have to clean them and replenish your supply of  dry-erase markers, not to mention the markers are always out of dry-erase ink just when you need to write something in a hurry – they really don’t last very long. And let’s not mention those dry-erase ink fumes you probably don’t care to inhale. Chalk-boards aren’t too bad, but they’re a mess too. Lot’s of chalk dust, and constant erasing of the board to keep it clean, as well as keeping track of that eraser – now where did I put the eraser?

OK, managing some form of message board in the kitchen isn’t the most insurmountable problem to contend with, but the Paperless Scratch Pad truly does fulfill the “better mousetrap” promise with new and improved technology. The paperless scratch pad is a completely electronic memo board that erases at the touch of a button. It eliminates the mess and hassle of a dry-erase board. No chalk boards, erasers and chalk dust to deal with. And forget about the endless waste of paper sticky-notes that you chase after every day.

The Paperless Scratch Pad is a durable, scratch-resistant LCD surface that responds to pressure using the included stainless steel stylus to capture whatever you want to write. Text, messages, drawings, diagrams, pictures, etc. You easily create lines of varying thickness, the more pressure you apply, the thicker the line. Less pressure with the stylus produces a thinner line. And you don’t even need the stainless steel stylus, you can simply use your finger to write if you like (but the stylus usually produces cleaner looking text and lines).

And here’s the great convenience. A single press of the erase button and you clear the screen. Now that’s much easier than a dry-erase board, don’t you think? You can even lock the paperless scratch pad to prevent accidental erasure until you have a chance to capture the thought, message, text, list or chart elsewhere for more permanent retention (or just insure that the rest of your household has a chance to see the message pad).

The Paperless Scratch Pad includes two AAAA (quadruple-A) batteries that provide up to 50,000 erases. The electronic scratch pad comes with a durable ABS case, has dimensions of 8 3/4″ H by 5 1/2″ W by 1/4″ D,  and weighs in at 4 1/4 oz.

Available: Hammacher

Price: $59.95

Cuisinart ICE-45 Mix It In Soft Serve 1-1/2-Quart Ice-Cream Maker

 

Nothing beats homemade dishes, hands down. Mom’s chocolate chip cookies could never taste the same as the one bought at the bakery. And now, thanks to innovation, you can have homemade ice cream! Yummy ice cream is just a push-button away with the Cuisinart ICE-45 Mix It In Soft Serve 1-1/2 Quart Ice Cream Maker.

This is a very easy ice cream maker machine to operate, basically because all you have to do is just follow the easy instructions given. It also comes with a recipe book with many different ice cream flavours to try. No additional salt, ice or chemicals are needed. Nothing like making your own  fresh homemade ice cream out of natural ingredients.

The cool part is this ice cream maker allows you to pick your own condiments. It comes with three condiment dispensers, where you simply pull the tabs and the condiments drop into your ice cream.  Condiments are added to the ice cream as you dispense, so everyone can enjoy a different condiment with the same batch of ice cream.

You may need to slice or chop the condiments depending on what you’re putting in. Smooth surfaced items such as M&M’s work particularly well. The Cuisinart soft serve ice cream maker is also easy to clean as all parts are detachable. No worries whether you are using ice cream cones or serving in a bowl, the Cuisinart Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker comes with a dispenser to pump out your ice cream with a flair. And your kids will love to make their own ice cream with Mom in the kitchen!

Here’s a tip. The Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker uses a freezer bowl to make the ice cream. When you make ice cream with a freezer bowl, you will need to plan ahead. The freezer bowl needs to be placed in the freezer approximately 16 hours before making the ice cream. If you want to make multiple batches of ice cream at one time, you may want to get an extra freezer bowl since you can will need to freeze the bowl after each  batch.

Available: Amazon

Price: $75.90

Fridgeezoo Refrigerator Pets

 

Have you ever instinctively went over to your fridge, nab the handle and pulled it open? Your eyes dart around, looking for random stuffs instead of your usual snacks and cooking ingredients. It seems forever, standing there, savoring the cold breeze. It never ceases to amaze me that every time, without fail, I’ll open the door of my fridge just to stand there and look for food that never existed.

That’s until I found a Fridgeezoo creature hiding behind a box of fruits. Fridgeezoo are creatures that ‘hide’ in your refrigerator and surprise you with a different greeting whenever you open the fridge door for a peek. It is not only cute but also very small and adds a new look to the dull background of your refrigerator. In a deeper aspect, they’re not just toys or displays, try leaving the fridge door open for a period of time and see. If you’re lucky, you might get hear it scolding your for doing that!

 

This is an extremely beneficial function since it serves as a reminder for you if you unintentionally left your fridge door open for a long period of time or if the situation such as the one above occurs. It not only allows you to conserve precious energy and but also keep the food in the fridge fresh. For $15.99 and a choice of either a boy or girl Polar Bear, the Fridgeezoo creature is in fact, loved by both kids and adults for its adorable design and special characteristics.

Available: ThinkGeek

Price: $52.99

Salad Sunrise XL

 

Preparing salad for your dinner guest is not as easy as tossing some lettuce and tomatoes together and serving it in a fancy bowl. Guests can be picky with salad; some may want French dressing and others may opt for herb or balsamic dressing. The pickier guests are even concern of the vinegar to olive oil ration that you use in your salad dressing. To overcome this dinner headache, an olive oil cum vinegar dispenser called the Salad Sunrise XL was created.

The Salad Sunrise XL kitchen gadget looks like a vertically elongated tea pot. It has one long spout that comes out from the base and another shorter spout that comes out from middle. Using the Salad Sunrise XL is pretty simple based on the law of density. The two major components of vinaigrette are olive oil and vinegar has different density. Therefore when you pour both into the Salad Sunrise XL; you will find that the oil will come on top while the vinegar rests at the bottom.

Should your guest prefer more vinegar instead of olive oil, they simply tilt the Salad Sunrise XL so that the longer spout at the base will pour out just the vinegar at the bottom. The spouts have small openings for easy control of the amount your guests would like to have in their salad.

Besides the olive oil and vinegar combination, you could also try olive oil and lemon juice. On top of that, you could also add fresh herbs into the Salad Sunrise XL, so that your guest won’t need to add extra seasoning into their salad.

Available: Amazon

Price: $79

Perfectly Wrinkled Tablecloth

 

Ironing is one of the most unpleasant house hold chore. It is hard work bending over the ironing board and trying to maneuver the iron head around those delicate buttons. After an hour or so, you will have a sore back and perspiring over the heat from the iron. Now imagine ironing something even bigger; a table cloth; it is certainly an ironing nightmare.

Fortunately for those who hate getting the crease out of a table cloth, the Perfectly Wrinkled Table Cloth is now available. This table cloth will never need ironing again because its creases are disguised by vibrant colors digitally printed unto its 100% cotton cloth. The Perfectly Wrinkled Table Cloth was created by a Copenhagen based textile manufacturer. The multi colored lines cleverly covers the creases creating an attractive grid like pattern on the table cloth which will certainly add character and attitude to your dinner party or dining area.

On top of that, should your guests stain the table cloth at the crease area, the reactive dye used to color the cloth would camouflage it immediately saving you the heart ache of trying to wash the stain out of the table cloth.

Sadly, that is as far as this table cloth goes and Martha Stewart would definitely disapprove of a table cloth that clashes with the table’s centerpiece and cutlery. Otherwise, for USD 160, you not only have a table cloth but a fancy work of art which you can hang up on your wall or drape on other furniture in the house.

[Source: Incredible Things]