TheFind Blog

Have Fun Drinking Red Wine and Live Longer!

The controversial question of health benefits and damages caused by consumption of alcohol has been around forever. The truth, however, is in the middle (as usual).

AOL recently published an interesting article: "Four Healthy Changes Can Prolong Life 14 Years" written by Michael Kahn. Among other recommendations it mentioned "moderate drinking." I would like to add something else: moderate drinking of red wine will help you live longer. Dr. Rendall Holcombe from the University of California and his group of scientists conducted a study focused on health benefits of grapes. They were using a nutritional supplement derived from grape extract to prove that grapes can prevent development of colon cancer. To be exact, resveratol, a chemical found naturally in grape skins, wine and peanuts can prevent development of colon cancer. The necessary amount of this valuable component equals half a glass of wine or approximately a pound of fresh grapes daily.

It is important to remember, however, that the clue is in the "moderate wine consumption." But what is moderate and healthy? Where is the line? Harvard School of Public Health came up with a great response: no more than 1-2 drinks per day for men and no more than 1 drink per day for women (where 1 drink is about 5 ounces of wine that deliver 12-14 grams of alcohol). They also mentioned positive effect of moderate drinking on the heart and circulatory system, as well as possible protection against type II diabetes and gallstones.

So, go ahead and have a daily glass of wine with your dinner without feeling guilty.

And TheFind.com will make sure that you always have the best choice of wines and the most stylish wine glasses and accessories you will absolutely adore.

This story is brought to you by OlenaInStyle.com, Atlanta stylish boost online.

Super Bowl Revisited

I watched the Super Bowl in it's entirety this year. Typically, I only watch the ads, but I actually watched most of the game. I think I fell asleep before half time, there was so little activity. I was starting to wonder if the score would ever move again. Thankfully, the action started back up during the second half. I don't recall if it was during third quarter or not, but I know that the fourth quarter was very exciting! I have to say, I was pretty happy to see the underdogs pull up and win it. That was really cool.

The real reason that I watch Super Bowl is for the ads, but this year was pretty disappointing. There were only about a handful of ads that were at all memorable and that also deserved to be aired during Super Bowl. I don't know what happened, but it seemed like the ad writers went on strike along with the TV writers this year. Tragic!

For first quarter, the only ad that I really liked was the Bud Light flame thrower. Remember the guy that was allergic to the cat and started sneezing fire all over the apartment? That was pretty entertaining and Super Bowl worthy IMO.

During second quarter, I really enjoyed the Budweiser commercial featuring Hank who didn't get to work with the hitch team, so he trains with the dalmation and gets in shape to join the team. So cute! The Tide to Go commercial with the talking stain was entertaining. I figured out what they were advertising early into the commercial, so that was cool. I also enjoyed the Bud Light commercial with all the guys with accents trying to pick up women in the bar. It was funny, but it wasn't a new concept for Bud Light.

I found the Planters nuts commercial to be disturbingly funny. And I was sorely disappointed by JT's Pepsi commercial. That ad received a lot of hype beforehand and I don't think it delivered at all. So he did his own stunts, wow. I guess that was the big claim to fame for that ad!

For third quarter, I'd say that Vitamin Water with Shaq on a racehorse took the cake, along with the new ETrade baby - he was pretty cute. The Coca Cola ad with the Thanksgiving Day Parade inflatables was funny, but I thought the ending was a real let down. They could've payed that off in so many ways, but they just gave the Coke to Charlie Brown. What?!? I think I would've had a battle between the two inflatables end in one of them being impaled by a pole on a building or something exciting like that.

And finally, fourth quarter I thought the Toyota Sequoia ad with the big wheel races was lot of fun! And Amp Energy's dancing car jumper was disturbingly funny (almost as disturbing as the Planter's commercial). The Gatorade G2 commercial that had the really cute dog drinking out of the bowl left me asking WTH?!? Cute dog, but the commercial did nothing for me.

As far as the ads go, Bud Light wins the Super Bowl. Here's my favorite ad this year:

So, that's it. No gut wrenchingly funny ads this year. I hope that the ad superstars come back to play ball next year and make those multi-million dollar ad spots really pay off. It is the advertising Super Bowl, after all.

Happy Watching/Searching/Shopping,
Payton

What WON'T You Eat on Super Bowl Sunday?

Super Bowl Sunday is fast approaching...are you ready? Whether you're hosting a party or attending one, chances are great that you're going to have to prepare food for the big event, not to mention you'll be eating a lot of food as well. So, what's it going to be?

- pizza
- nachos
- buffalo wings
- fried chicken
- 7 layer dip
- chips and salsa/guacamole
- potato chips and onion dip
- popcorn
- veggies & dip
- fruit salad
- spinach dip
- hot dogs/polish sausage
- pigs in a blanket
- spicy meatballs
- chicken & ribs
- steak (steak sandwiches)
- hamburgers
- mini cheeseburgers
- french fries
- onion rings
- pizza rolls
- Bagel Bites
- soft pretzels
- taquitos
- quesadillas
- burritos
- tacos
- Chinese food
- sushi

Ugh! Just looking at all the food on that list is giving me a stomach ache. What about dessert? Who's in charge of dessert this year?!? Some faves...

- brownies
- cupcakes
- cookies/cookie bars
- ice cream sundaes
- popsicles

Do we really need more than that? Probably, but that's my contribution for now. And finally, drinks:

- BEER
- soda (variety)
- margaritas
- water

Did I cover it all? Is there anything else that anyone in the world needs in order to enjoy Super Bowl? If so, please let us know! I'm dying to know if there are any other Super Bowl faves out there.

I don't know about you, but I'm ALL about the ads during Super Bowl. I was very happy to hear that there won't be any political ads this year. Thank goodness! This is the time for advertisers to shine and show their best and sometimes craziest stuff. It's the Super Bowl of advertising and I can't wait.

BTW, who's playing?!?

Happy Searching/Shopping,
Payton

Early Valentine's Day Indulgence

It's January, it's cold, it's raining outside and shopping has never been better! What can I say, it's after Christmas and I have a wad of gift cards burning a hole in my pocket. Wandering through the mall, you find sale after sale after sale. The Spring clothing lines are making their way onto the racks and the Winter fashions are being shoved to the clearance racks -- SCORE!!! How cool is it that it's still dreadfully cold out and all the Winter gear goes on clearance?

In addition to all the clearance fun, there's also an overwhelming amount of Valentine's day gifts and decorations throughout the mall. Many of us will argue that Valentine's day is one of those "holidays" invented by Hallmark, but I have to admit that some of the stuff they sell for Valentine's day is really cute. All the corny little heart shaped things, funky candles and cupid laden gifts. You gotta admit that some of it is just adorable.

Aside from all the Valentine's day cuteness, my favorite part is the vast variety of chocolates! You know by now that I'm a total shopaholic, but you may not realize that I'm also a chocoholic. If I haven't admitted it before, I can honestly tell you that shopping and chocolate are my only two vices. That's not bad, considering that I could be an over-caffeinated, smoking, alcohol drinking machine. But, I'm not! Just take me to the mall and feed me some chocolate and I'm good to go!

Or, change the scenario up just a bit...give me a nice red, heart-shaped tin of Mrs. Field's premium assorted chocolates and a computer to shop online with and I'm also a very happy camper. I don't discriminate when it comes to shopping in a mall vs. shopping online. I'm just as happy with instant gratification as I am having brown boxes show up on my doorstep. It's all good fun to me!

Okay, so I ratted myself out. I stumbled upon a box of Mrs. Field's premium assorted chocolates the other night; promptly bought them; went home, got into my pajamas and shopped online while indulging in the chocolates. Mmmmmmm...now that's what I call a great night!

Happy Searching/Shopping,
Payton

Combatting Winter Time Blues

Winter is a time when people tend to feel blue (aka depressed). While it's often not a clinical depression, the happiness that many of us know when the weather is great tends to slip away when the skies are gray and cloudy. It's cold outside, sometimes rainy or snowy and exercise may subside during the colder months. With all those agitators, who wouldn't feel a little blue?!?

Combat the blues by dressing to impress! You don't need somewhere special to go in order to dress impressively...dress for yourself! When you're feeling blue, skip dark and drab colors. Go for bright yellows, pinks and reds to liven up your day. Put on clothes that fit you well and make you look your best. Somehow wearing bright yellow sweats won't make you feel better. Pair a brightly colored top with your best fitting jeans or skirt, a cute pair of shoes, some flashy accessories and you're good to go. If you need a little attention once you're dressed to impress, take a trip to your local mall and watch heads turn as you go by. That will definitely put a smile on your face and warm your heart. While you're there, buy yourself something cute! A little retail therapy goes a long way.

For dinner, cook up your favorite meal or go to your favorite restaurant. They say that a way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right? Well, if that's true then you should be able to brighten up your day (or someone else's day, for that matter) with a great meal! Just avoid turning to a pint of ice cream. It really won't make you feel better. On the converse, it will probably make you feel sick! But I've digressed.

Finally, call a close friend or family member who you haven't touched base with for a while. Bridging the gap in time since you last spoke is sure to warm your heart and make you feel good. Good friends and close family members are great for making you forget your problems. And to me, feeling blue is a big problem! Even if it is only temporary.

Happy Searching/Shopping,

Payton

Cupcake Crazy!

I didn't think it would happen, but I have fallen in love with the cupcake craze! I was at a party early last year and a friend of mine was talking about cupcakes and how crazy she is about them. Not only the actual cake-like replicas, but anything and everything cupcakes. I thought it was kind of funny at the time, but I have since joined the cupcake craze. Is that crazy?!?

I really enjoy baking (when I have time) and have found that baking cupcakes is a really fun creative outlet. You can create many flavors and varieties in one batch and you can decorate each cupcake any way you want to. I find it very satisfying to be able to make such a wide variety without making multiple batches of cake mix. Could you imagine the mess if you made six cakes in one day all because you wanted to decorate six different ways. Or, maybe you couldn't make up your mind on cake flavor and fillings, etc. I don't know how things are at your house, but people get grumpy at my house if there are too many sweets sitting around. So, I try to be respectful of everyone's waistlines and experiment several different ways with one batch of cupcakes. My favorites are the jumbo cupcakes. Due to their size, they allow for a lot more room for creativity.

I recently discovered this cool super duper cupcake cake pan. I'm definitely going to buy it because it's just too darned cute to pass up. Once in a while you just have to go for it and make a full-sized cake, right? So, why not make one that looks like a cupcake?!? It's too perfect, really.

Outside of baking cupcakes, I found this really cute cupcake necklace that I'd love to have. It's too bad I didn't find it before Christmas. I could've put it on my Christmas list. That's alright, Valentine's Day is right around the corner! I'll just email it to my Sweetie so he doesn't have to guess what to get me. I wonder if I'll have to spell out that this is what I want for Valentine's Day. Yep, I better label it just to be sure.

So what about you? Has the cupcake craze hit your or is it just a passing fad that you're going to let pass? I'm totally on board and having fun baking crazy creations! Whatever your passion, I hope you have lots of fun with it.

Happy Searching/Shopping,
Payton

Is Your Family Naughty or Nice?!?

I find family holiday stories to be both enlightening and entertaining at times (depending on the story, of course). There are some families who get together for the holidays, have a proper meal or meals together, exchange gifts and leave happy. There are other families who get together for the holidays, have a proper meal or meals together, exchange gifts and a whole lot of drama! So, which family do you belong to?!? Are you brave enough to admit it? :o)

My family typically falls under the second category, but we usually have *interesting* drama. The holidays tend to go one of two ways...a few people drink too much and all the old stories come out. Once the stories hit the table, the room gets loud as people debate and argue over what really happened Christmas of '86 (or whatever the topic may be) when the Christmas tree caught fire. What happens more often is that a few people drink enough to be silly and that's when the fun starts: Grandma sings in Spanish (note: we're not a Spanish speaking family); we have contests to see who can hang a spoon on the end of their nose the longest; we have dessert eating contests: who can eat the most or the fastest. It's all very silly, but it's fun and makes for some good memories.

Thankfully, we don't have a rogue <insert relationship title here> relative who shows up drunk with a six pack in hand who's slinging put-downs the moment he/she walks through the door. We used to have someone like that around, but she's since been disowned. I know, that sounds bad, but there's something to the old adage that "family is what you make it." It's true, you can't choose the family you're born into, but you can certainly make alterations to the cast of characters. Unfortunately, that means that sometimes you may lose a few that you wanted to keep, but there isn't a whole lot you can do to control that. Sometimes you do what you gotta do to live a sane life and be happy, right?

Or, what about the relative who shows up to every holiday function with a different date?!? Do you have one of those in your family? I suppose there's nothing really wrong with it, but it's a family function and these occasions should be reserved for family and really close friends, etc., not the "flavor of the week." I don't know, what do you think?

Overall, I would say that my family is nice during the holidays. The real drama quotient is typically low and we have fun together. Chime in and tell us about your family!

Happy Holidays,
Payton

Enjoy the Holidays Without Gaining Weight

How do you get through the holidays without gorging and gaining weight? It's not easy, but it is doable. Here are some tips and tricks that can help you enjoy the temptations without going wild!

1. Before going to dinner or attending a party, indulge in a salad or eat an apple. Give your body some good nourishment and some fiber to fill you up some.

2. Control your portions!
    a. Don't grab food off every tray that passes by as you're chatting with people. Pay attention to what and how much you're putting in your mouth. It's easiest to monitor if you put a few snacks on a small plate and then leave it alone.

    b. If you're sitting down to dinner: fill half your plate with vegetables (salad, side dishes, etc);  reserve one quarter of the plate for protein (meat, fish,  beans); and reserve the other quarter of the plate for carbohydrates (rice, potatoes, pasta). This allows you try lots of dishes without getting up for seconds and thirds and over doing it.

3. Wear tight fitting pants or belt. I know, it sounds funny but you'll be very aware when your stomach expands. And guess what, it's definitely time to stop when that happens.

4. Share food with a friend or loved one. Rather than indulging in whole portions, cut them in half and share. This way, you can sample more foods without taking in all the calories.

5. If you can't say no to sweets, fried food, butter, cream sauces, salad dressing, and gravies, then do your best to control your portions (once again).  Eat one fried shrimp instead of five.  Skip the butter and dip your bread in the gravy that you're already enjoying on your potatoes. Ask for salad dressing on the side and dip your fork in it before spearing your salad. You get the idea, right?

6. Get moving! If you're not currently exercising, start a walking program for yourself (take your dog, if you have one). If you are currently exercising, add more cardio fitness to your workouts during the holiday season.

Hopefully, one or all of these tips will help you get through the holidays without gaining weight. If you have any other tips or tricks, please let us know. We'd love to hear more ideas!

Happy Holidays/Searching/Shopping,
Payton

You Got Bacon in My Chocolate!

Remember the old Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercials? They'd show a guy running  with peanut butter and girl roller skating with a chocolate bar and they'd bump into each other and their peanut butter and chocolate got mixed up. Then the guy exclaims, "You got chocolate in my peanut butter!" And the girl responds with, "You got peanut butter in my chocolate!" And they eat the new concoction and find that they taste great together. Remember that?

Well, I don't know how it happened, but somehow Vosges (a gourmet chocolate maker) came up with the idea to introduce bacon to their chocolate bars. Okay I fibbed, I read a story about how it happened...something about chocolate chip pancakes sharing a plate with bacon and syrup. I get the bacon and syrup thing, but I cannot imagine bacon in chocolate! Am I alone here? I suppose I'll never know. Besides the fact that this combo doesn't appeal to me at all, I don't like meat, so I'll never know if I'm wrong or not. Oh well. I trust that some brave soul somewhere will try it and let me know. So, if you've tried it, please leave a comment with the gross details. :o)

Happy Searching/Shopping,
Payton

Thanksgiving Cooking, The Bon Appetit Way

It's here! I just got the latest edition of Bon Appetit magazine. The Thanksgiving dinner issue is my absolute favorite! I love all the Thanksgiving ideas that they publish. My Dad was always a huge fan of their Thanksgiving recipes as well. He was an amazing gourmet cook and would often use Bon Appetit's recipes/meal plans for Thanksgiving and they were always wonderful. Since Bon Appetit has always been such a big part of this holiday for most of my life, it's come to be something that I really look forward to.

A few years ago, I hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for a group of friends and it was a lot of fun. We followed recipes from Bon Appetit and had an Indian feast! I haven't looked through the recipes for this year, but I can't wait to check them out and decide what to cook! It's the little things in life that make me happy and for that, I am thankful.

Happy Cooking/Searching/Shopping,
Payton

Cereal on the Go!

I've been on a "make your life easier" kick with many of the products I've been posting about lately.   Coincidentally, I was introduced to another product that fits this theme over the weekend. Cereal on the Go is the name of a cleverly stacked set of bowls that house milk and dry cereal (separately) so you can take your cereal with you and eat it later. This clever combo provides an insulated 5.7 oz cup for freezing milk before traveling with your Cereal on the Go. And it's topped with a 12 oz cereal bowl to keep your cereal crispy and dry before combining it with the milk. In addition, there's a folding spoon that snaps into the lid.

This is a great solution for people who can't eat first thing in the morning or who don't have enough time to eat before leaving the house. It's also perfect for those who hit the gym before going to work too!

I haven't tried this product yet, but I was told that the size has it's own pluses and minuses. Plus: It fits nicely into a water bottle pocket on a backpack. Minus: The bowl is a bit too deep and narrow. The user felt like the milk was hard to access through the cereal. Other than that, she really enjoys the product and owns it in all four colors!

I can imagine that this would work well with yogurt and fruit or granola. I would suggest a test run with freezing the yogurt though. :o)

Happy Searching/Shopping,
Payton

Dinner on the Go!

Some of you may assume that dinner on the go means "take-out" or "fast food," right? Not for this blog post. And, I'm not writing about making a sandwich and running out the door either. Nope, I'm talking about a home cooked meal right in your car! Yep, you read that right...cooking in your car. The really cool part is that you wouldn't be cooking from the tailgate while you're parked outside a stadium. Instead you could be cooking dinner while sitting in traffic on your way home from work (or insert whichever starting and ending points you'd like).

How do you perform this minor miracle from your car? It's easy, if you have a Burton 12 Volt Lunch Box "Stove to Go" Cooker. The 12 volt cooker plugs into an outlet in your car (You know, the ones you use to charge your iPod?) and instead of juicing up your tunes, you can cook a casserole, soup, stew, or whatever you want. You can even heat up leftovers or a frozen meal!

The cooker holds up to 5 1/2 cups of liquid and it reaches up to 300 degrees farenheit. There's a 6 foot cord, 18 recipes and 3 foil pan liners to get you started. What more could a busy commuter ask for?!? You're right, you could ask for a personal chef, but if your life's anything like mine...it will never happen. So, go for the next best (affordable) thing and try cooking while driving. Your commute will never be the same!

Happy Cooking/Searching/Shopping,
Payton

Why I Love/Hate Vacations

I have a real love/hate relationship with vacations. There are a lot of reasons why I love them and a whole 'nother set of reasons why I hate them (mind you, hate is too strong of a word for this but I'm feeling dramatic today)...

I love to get away from it all, but I hate to prepare for it. Have you ever noticed that you do 10 times the amount of work you would normally do prior to leaving for vacation? Leaving for vacation means putting in lots of extra hours so you CAN actually jump on a plane and get out of town. It's stressful trying to get projects buttoned up and in a place where you can leave them with co-workers, but it's very necessary.  Nobody likes to be the one left behind with mashed up projects that don't make any sense, right?

I loathe packing for a trip! I'm not a big procrastinator, but for some reason I will find 100 other things to do rather than pack a suitcase. I have friends who really enjoy it and take great pride in starting their packing a week before they leave for vacation. I, on the other hand, often leave packing until the last minute. Sometimes I get lucky and do it the night before, but this is a rare occurance.

I flew to Seattle Monday morning and at 11:15pm Sunday, I was still emailing people at work and wrapping up projects. At that point, I hadn't even pulled my suitcase out of the garage yet. I got up early Monday morning, fed my cats and dog and then retrieved my suitcase from the garage and proceeded to pack. I had no idea what to pack either because Washington weather is all over the place and I didn't have an activity agenda. Anyway, it's not just this trip specifically, it's pretty much all of them. I never know what to pack or what I'll want to wear on any given day. I mean really, does anyone plan which outfits they're going to wear in a given week? I usually end up packing several pairs of jeans/pants along with 2-3 tops for each. Luckily, I was smart enough to pack layers for this trip...I've needed them! I went shopping in Seattle yesterday and it poured rain most of the day, but I didn't pack an umbrella. So, I bought a cute compact umbrella in the afternoon and from that point forward, I didn't see a drop of rain! Thank you "rain gods."

While I'm ranting about what I hate, I'll add that I'm not wild about flying or about long road trips in the car. I'm not afraid of either activity, but I can't stand sitting for long periods of time! I think I have a bit of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). I get super restless and just want to jump up and run as fast as I can! The flight to Seattle was pretty short, it was only 2 hours so I did alright on this flight. We visited the Space Needle, rode some amusement park type rides, grabbed lunch and shopped around and then got in the car for a 2 1/2 hour trip to Port Angeles. The only fun part of this leg of the trip was driving the car onto a ferry. So, I caught a break and was able to run around the ferry for about 20 minutes before being "sentenced" to more time in the car! (I know, I'm a tortured soul at times.) Admittedly, this is nothing like visiting my Grandma in North Carolina -- that's a 6+ hour flight usually with a layover and then a 2 1/2 hour drive to her house. That's just too much for me to handle, sorry. She wonders why I haven't been there for so many years.

Anyway, once I get to my destination I'm a happy camper. I love getting out of the chaos that goes with living in the Bay Area. I love having no real agenda (which is strange for me, as I'm a very scheduled person in real life). I love to hang out and not stress that I'm not doing laundry or working or insert whatever action item you want, I'm not stressing about it. I love to shop wherever I go! That's always a plus and a favorite activity for me. I love sightseeing and playing the role of tourist (even though it's cheesey and stupid, I just have to do it). Along with being a tourist, I always have to take photos with statues and stupid things that you find around most towns (that I would never take photos of or with otherwise). I love visiting family and friends, but I usually wish that we lived closer so we could spend more time together.

In the end, I typically have mixed feelings about going home. I love to go home because I miss my animals and any family/friends that I leave behind, but I usually don't want to leave whomever I'm visiting because we just didn't get enough time together. If I'm not visiting anyone then I'm usually game to go home after about 4 nights of being away. At that point, I really start to miss sleeping in my own bed.

I think that about covers my major loves and hates of vacations. How do you feel about vacationing? Do you love it hate or love/hate it? Do you have any other loves or hates that I didn't mention? I'd love to hear about them, so please share!

Happy Vacationing/Searching/Shopping,
Payton

Red, White, and Blue(berry)

Celebrate our country's independence with a good ol' fashioned BBQ with friends and family! The BBQ part is easy...steak, chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, fish, veggies, whatever you want. A BBQ just isn't a BBQ without a few staple dishes: green salad, watermelon, potato salad, chips and dips. But the desserts are what it's all about! Have fun making easy themed desserts to share with your friends and family.

American Flag Cake
One of the easiest themed desserts to create is to bake a cake in a 9x13 pan and frost it with white icing. Top the left corner with a square space filled with blueberries. Then, create rows of sliced strawberries to create the stripes on the American flag. Be sure to leave white space between the strawberry rows to account for the white stripes. If you prefer, you can bake a shortcake instead of a traditional cake and "ice" it with whipped cream instead of white icing.

Star/Flag Cookies
Sugar cookies are a perennial favorite for many people, but they're particularly popular with children. Every child I've known loves to help make sugar cookies. If you have children around, bake a huge batch of sugar cookies and show them how to make a star on the round cookies and flags on the rectangular cookies for some Independence Day fun! Individual creativity is the limit here!

Lemon Bar Flags
Bake a batch of lemon bars and dust with sifted powdered sugar. Cut into individual, rectangular serving sizes and stripe with red decorative icing and use blueberries for the stars. (Lemon/blueberry go really well together- yum!)

Red, White, and Blue Popsicles
Pick up some popsicle molds and wooden popsicle sticks to get this quicky dessert started. Pour a red juice or soda of choice into the mold (fill about 1/4 of the way), cover with plastic wrap or foil and insert the wooden popsicle stick. Freeze about an hour or until solid. Remove plastic or foil cover and pour in a clear/white juice or soda of choice, recover molds and freeze for about an hour or until solid. Repeat with a blue juice or soda of choice. In the end, you'll have cute flag colored popsicles. For variation, try alternating juice with soda or vice versa.

Chocolate Cupcake American Flag
Bake chocolate cupcakes and frost with red, white, or blue frosting. For this project, you'll be creating a flag with all of the cupcakes instead of individually decorating each one. You can alter the number of cupcakes based on the amount you need, but I'd suggest that you frost as follows:

9 blue cupcakes (embellish with white stars if you'd like)
42 red cupcakes
33 white cupcakes
84 cupcakes (total)

With this, on a rectangular platter create a square section of blue cupcakes in the upper left corner.  The first row that extends from the blue section should be a red row of 9 cupcakes. The second row that extends from the blue will be 9 white cupcakes and the third row will extend another row of 9 red cupcakes. After that section is filled in, start immediately below the blue section and create a row of 12 white cupcakes. Alternate with the red and white, ending on a red row. When it's complete, you'll have a rectangle that's 7 cupcakes by 12 cupcakes (or 84 square cupcakes).

Have a happy and safe 4th of July! Eat well!!!

Happy Searching/Shopping,
Payton

Microwaveable Implosion

I own a super old school microwave -- I don't know for sure, but I'd be willing to be that it's older than me. It just dawned on me that I've had it for 17 years and I am not the original owner. It's one of the huge 2.3 cubic foot ones that you could fit a turkey in, if you wanted.

Anyway, it's been acting up for the past few years and I resisted replacing it for fear that I wouldn't be able to find another one with 2.3 cubic feet of space. Call me crazy, but I like that I can fit just about anything in my microwave. I can't stand the little ones that really only accomodate a bag of popcorn. What's the point of that?!? I already own an air popper!

I searched around and found that there are many 2.3 cubic foot microwaves to choose from. Who knew?!? (Not me, obviously.) It's a darn good thing that they still make the big ones because my microwave officially bit the dust today. Now it's just a 2.3 cubic foot digital timer! I'm not kidding. If you set a time on the type pad and hit "start," the microwave doesn't turn on, but the time counts down ever so faithfully. It's really kind of sad.

I guess the good news is, I will finally upgrade to a large microwave from this century with lots of new features and confusing buttons. The bad news is, I won't be able to put metal in the new microwave. :o(  My old one was very forgiving!

Happy Searching/Shopping,
Payton

Best Friends Week -- Travel Ideas

There are few things in life that trump taking a trip with your best friend or a group of friends for that matter. Hanging out in your home town is one thing, but traveling to a place where nobody knows your name can be a whole 'nother story! You know the saying (and now ad campaign) "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." Well, let's just say you could apply that to all your trips with friends..."What happens in ________, stays in ________. If your friends are like mine then you know that the over-embellished stories will follow! So, they may not exactly *stay* in said town, but that shouldn't stop you from letting loose and having tons of fun!

I think the best trips are created to match your mood, don't you? If you're feeling like laying low and being pampered, then you should go for a spa weekend. If you feel athletic and adventurous then you should go backpacking, right? Let's go with this theme for some fabulous travel ideas based on mood...

Your Mood: Over-stressed and in need of pampering
Your Adventure: Napa Valley for a spa weekend

Take a trip to beautiful Napa Valley for a weekend of wining, dining and fabulous spa treatments!  Take the Wine Train to create an experience to suit your mood. This ride can range from a nice lunch and a tour of wineries up to a Murder Mystery Dinner on the train with you and your best friend in costume to play along. Follow up your wine train adventures with a rejuvenating mineral or mud bath, soothing massage and a fabulous facial.

Your Mood: I feel like conquering the world
Your Adventure: Camping in Yosemite and hiking Half Dome

Hiking Half Dome is a safe way to conquer a mountain without having any technical climbing skills, but at the same time getting to the top makes you feel great! You'll need about 12 hours (give or take) to hike up, hang out at the top, and hike down again so eat a hearty breakfast and pack a good lunch before you go! For those that are experienced, you can actually rock climb up the other side of Half Dome instead of hike and rely on the cables. Best of luck!

Your Mood: Rough & tumble
Your Adventure: Horseback riding at a Dude Ranch

Dude Ranches can be found all over the United States. Once you get out on the ranch and start working the cattle, it won't even matter what state you're in because you will be so far removed from what most of us know as reality. With that said, you're just a well off to choose a ranch that's close to home and give it a whirl. I guarantee that it will be unlike any other vacation you've ever had (unless you work on a cattle ranch already). It would be wise to take a few horseback riding lessons before you go so you can focus on working the cattle and not on how to ride a horse.

Your Mood: Marathon retail therapy
Your Adventure: A multi-day trip to the Mall of America

Many people say that retail therapy cures everything. At the very least, it makes you feel better temporarily, right? If you're a believer then you'd more than likely enjoy a multi-day trip to fabulous Minnesota for a super marathon in the Mall of America! This is a 4-story mall folks with 520 stores, 50 restaurants, an indoor amusement park with more than 30 rides, an aquarium, a flight simulator and so much more. It's the only mall that I know of that offers a visitor's kit and travel packages. Major bonus: no sales tax on shoes and clothing!

Your Mood: Adventuresome
Your Adventure: African safari

Venture to beautiful South Africa for a wonderful safari where you'll encounter all kinds of wildlife and amazing discoveries. Depending on the safari you choose, you may venture out for most of the day and return to a thatched hut at night OR you may camp out every night. It depends on what you want out of the safari, but do whichever you prefer. Do you want to help hunt for your dinner or do you want to sit down and be served?

Your Mood: Up for a good challenge
Your Adventure: Train and compete in a triathlon

Training for a triathlon is a great way to spend time with your best friend. The longer the distances that you plan to race, the more training that's required. In addition to being a great bonding experience, a fabulous challenge for your mind and body, it's also the perfect excuse to travel to new places. Triathlons happen all over the world. Find one in a place you'd like to visit and book your trip! Be sure to arrive several days prior to the race so you can acclimate to any climate changes and try to stay at least an additional week after the race so you can enjoy the area.

Your Mood: Need for speed
Your Adventure: Cedar Point Amusement Park

If you're a roller coaster afficianado then you must make your way to Cedar Point in Ohio! They boast a whopping 17 roller coasters which is more than any other amusement park in the world. What more could you ask for from an amusement park? I know, more roller coasters, cheaper prices and a multi-day pass. I couldn't agree more!

Your Mood: Relaxing day/party night
Your Adventure: Cabo San Lucas

Take your adventure to the beaches of Cabo San Lucas. This is a great place to relax by day with your best friend on the beach. Enjoy your time gossiping, drinking and playing in the water. If laying on the beach isn't your speed, you can take a variety of stimulating boat rides. Top off your relaxing day by bar hopping and dancing the night away.

I could probably write another week's worth of posts about traveling with your best friend, but I think this gives you some really good ideas of places to go and things to do. If you have any other ideas to contribute, leave a comment and I'll add it to the list. Enjoy!

Happy Traveling/Searching/Shopping,
Payton

Best Friends Week -- Travel

In yesterday's list of things to do with your best friend, thing #100 was to take a spontaneous trip without luggage. How does that sound to you? Does it sound fun, interesting, scary, weird or just down right crazy? It sounds like fun to me! I've always wanted to take a trip without luggage. So far, the closest I've come was recently when I was in New York. I checked out of my New York hotel room and left my luggage there for them to hold while I met up with some friends from New Jersey. Meanwhile, the friend I was traveling with went back to the hotel to pick up her luggage and picked up mine as well. It was a nice thing for her to do, but we were staying in different parts of New Jersey that night, so I was stuck without any luggage! Oops! We stopped at a drug store and picked up a few essentials and made the journey to New Jersey. I met up with my travel buddy the next night and was reunited with my stuff. So, that's the closest I've come. Have you ever traveled without luggage? What's your story?

Come back tomorrow for travel ideas with your best friend!

Happy Traveling/Searching/Shopping,

Payton

Best Friends Week -- More Things to Do

Okay, so yesterday I introduced the concept of this week being "Best Friends Week," right? I gave a few ideas of things to do with your best friend. Well, now it's time to get down and dirty and create a list of things to do with your best friend! You're welcome to comment to add to the list (and I will), so please feel free to contribute!

1. Shop online (at TheFind.com, of course!)
2. Shop at the mall
3. Try a new restaurant/cuisine
4. Go to the movies (try a premier or opening night of a really hot movie)
5. Check out a "B" movie
6. Get a makeover
7. Go to the salon together for new hairstyles
8. Clean out your closets and swap clothes (donate the rest to charity)
9. Buy new furniture and assemble it together
10. Have a garage sale
11. Host a tea party
12. Go out and support your favorite local band
13. Attend a concert
14. Try a new sport
15. Join a yoga class
16. Join a gym (and actually go workout regularly)
17. Go ice skating or roller skating
18. Learn how to play ice/roller hockey
19. Go rock climbing
20. Train together for a running, walking or cycling race
21. Train for a triathlon
22. Join Weight Watchers or a diet center of choice
23. Attend a monster truck show
24. Go check out Nascar
25. Get in the driver's seat and race go-carts
26. Hang out at the beach
27. Host a bon-fire party at the beach
28. Adopt a puppy and enroll in puppy training
29. Take your dogs to the dog park (after they're trained)
30. Buy a right hand ring
31. Go wine tasting
32. Go beer tasting
33. Hang out in a biker bar
34. Take tennis lessons
35. Take cooking classes -- sushi anyone?
36. Take a jewelry making class
37. Take a pottery class
38. Volunteer at a soup kitchen
39. Tackle house work (or spring cleaning) as a team
40. Write a story or book together
41. Go golf or learn to golf
42. Make fondue
43. Go out and sing karaoke at a bar
44. Play laser tag or paint ball
45. Have a TV or movie marathon at home
46. On a rainy day, go out and stomp through puddles
47. Learn how to knit or crochet
48. Join an online community and get involved
49. Join a dating service (if you're single)
50. Go on a blind double date (again, if you're single)
51. Have a spa day
52. Go for a manicure & pedicure
53. Be an animal/mammal trainer for a day at a participating zoo
54. Go on a ride-a-long with a cop
55. Tour a fire station
56. Have a sleep over and stay up all night
57. Host a game night (play all night, if you can)
58. Go to San Francisco and play chess or checkers against someone on the street
59. Play pool with pool sharks
60. Go to Coyote Ugly and dance on the bar (among other things)
61. Go out for a nice dinner and a play/musical
62. Go out for a nice dinner and the opera or ballet
63. Go to the flea market and haggle 'til you get what you want
64. Sell things at the flea market
65. Host a "Cook for the Cure" dinner (Susan G Komen foundation)
66. Take a trip to the wine country
67. Go camping in the Sierras (or destination of choice)
68. Go horseback riding
69. Make crafts and sell them at a craft fair
70. Host a cookie exchange
71. Paint ceramics and give them to one another
72. Sneak "drinks" into a movie theater (21 and over only, pls)
73. Create match.com profiles for one another
74. Brush each other's hair
75. Shop for engagement rings
76. Ghost or Guest blog on one another's blogs
77. Redecorate a room in one another's house
78. Host a poker party
79. Create a time capsule
80. Scrapbook together and/or host a scrapbooking party
81. Go to farmers market
82. Create a secret sorority or fraternity
83. Give each other nicknames
84. Make a comic book of your adventures
85. Host a pleasure party
86. Host a fake bachelor/bachelorette party
87. Learn how to fly a plane/helicoptor
88. Go skydiving
89. Take a beer or wine making class
90. Visit a convalescent home (take your dog)
91. Have a belching contest
92. Make Christmas ornaments
93. Take a Santa picture together
94. Make chocolate truffles
95. Scrap each others cast off clothes and make a quilt
96. Shop for books for one another in a used book store
97. Find a festival (music, art, wine) to attend
98. Go hot tubbing and/or skinny dipping
99. Take pole dancing classes
100. Take a spontaneous trip without luggage
Reader Contributions start here...
101. Hang out drinking a great bottle of wine
102. Go surfing
103. Watch sports on TV all day long

So, what do you think? I'm sure there are plenty of things on the list that you have done, but are there any you haven't done? Do you have more ideas to contribute? Comment now and let us know!

Happy Adventuring/Searching/Shopping,

Payton

Best Friends Week -- Things to Do

I've received many inquiries about things to do with your best friend (and not the four-legged kind), gifts for your best friend and travel with your best friend. Given all the requests, I've decided to dedicate this week to best friends, hence the name of the post "Best Friends Week" (pretty original, huh?). Summer's on it's way and it's an ideal time to travel and hang out with friends, so here we go off to a best friends journey...

Best friends can take many forms...they can be sisters, brothers, cousins, in-laws, acquaintances that become your best friend, boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses and more. You never know who you're going to click with, but having a best friend is much like finding your true love. It may not happen to everyone, but if you're lucky, you'll find a best friend who you can hang out with, confide in and fulfill any emptiness that isn't being filled.

If you're like me, you consider your best friend to be family and often times his/her family become your family as well. Growing up, my best friend's Mom was more of a Mom to me than my own. Unfortunately, she passed away a few years ago, but she lives on in my heart and soul. My best friend and I have been through a lot in the past 26 years and yet we're still going strong!

One of our favorite things to do together is shopping. When we were teeny boppers, we would shop endlessly! We had a lot more time than money back then, so a lot things went on lay-away (remember that?!?). These days we have more money than time, but we still LOVE to shop! It always makes me laugh when we pull out the same item of clothing to show to one another at the same time. Some things never change. Now that we live in different states, we do a lot of shopping online and over email. Thank goodness we have MyFinds so we can easily email items to one another.

When we were young, we used to spend a lot of time at amusement parks. Personally, I still love roller coasters, but we don't get out to amusement parks together like we used to. These days, we find ourselves at spas for the weekend. We're big girls now and big girls like mineral and mud baths, saunas, and massages. We can't forget manicures and pedicures! Who better to primp with than your best friend?!?

Wrapping up the day by cooking or going out to dinner makes for the perfect closer. My best friend and I both love to cook, but if we indulge in a day of pampering then we prefer to order food in and relax with a good movie.

What are you favorite ways to spend time with your best friend? Do you have any routine outings that you do together? Leave a comment and share your experiences! Stay tuned, there's more to come.

Happy Time Spending/Searching/Shopping,

Payton

More Fabulous Mother's Day Gifts

Have you checked out out Mother's Day StyleGuides yet? There are some fabulous gift ideas for your Mom! Shopping at thefind.com is easy...we bring you thousands of products and merchants AND thoughtful StyleGuides (also known as gift guides). What more could you ask for?

ConnectingMoms presents cool gadgets, fun gift baskets and more! While Eating Out Loud brings fabulous food finds to the table. Go ahead and find the perfect gift for you Mom now. What are you waiting for?!? Do you have any great ideas for Mother's Day gifts? Comment here and let us know! I may even blog about it.

Happy Searching/Shopping,
Payton

Cook for Your Mom and More!

Some Moms have it all, so they're not easy to buy gifts for. If you have a Mom like this, you may want to try cooking for her instead! I stumbled upon Cook for the Cure®, another brilliant Susan G Komen endeavor to raise money to cure breast cancer. Please note that Cook for the Cure is not your average family dinner. Instead, it's a dinner party where the dinner party attendees bring donations for the foundation. It's pretty brilliant, really. Why not donate money for Mother's Day instead of buying gifts?!? You could host a Mother/Daughter Cook for the Cure dinner if you'd like. Of course it could be a Mother/Son or Mother/Child dinner, whatever strikes your fancy! Heck, you could host a table for everyone's dogs too if you want to get them in on the fun. Isn't half of America hosting dog birthday parties these days anyways. Gone are the "kids tables" of yesteryear...make way for the "dog tables!" Okay, I'm being silly, but I wouldn't be surprised if somebody did host a "dog table" at a formal dinner gathering. And you know what, I say, more power to them! As a side note, I did attend a horse's 2nd birthday party last summer. It was a Barbie theme because we all refer to this prissy little horse as "Barbie." She's a Palamino with long blonde hair and she's not a fan of getting dirty. How else would you describe a horse like that?

Sorry, I've digressed. If you perform any searches on thefind.com, then you know that we've been raising money for Susan G Komen for the Cure by donating $1 for each pink search performed everyday (one per person, per day). TheFind is a very community-centric company and we're really vested in doing good things and raising money for great causes. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I stumbled upon this dinner party idea and thought it would be fun for Mother's Day. I was thrilled to find out that this also benefits the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation!

The Cook for the Cure site is great! They give you all the tools you need to plan and organize your party: invitations, recipes, menus, coordinating donations and more. I'm thinking about planning a dinner party for both Mothers and Fathers along with their children to celebrate a Mother's Day and Father's Day   together. What do you think?

Get into the spirit with some pink and white decorations. There are quite a few pink ribbon decorations that you can use the set the tone for the party.

Happy Partying/Searching/Shopping,
Payton

Dazzle Your Mom with Amazing Chocolate Truffles

If you can't find the perfect gift for your Mom, then give her the perfect chocolates. At the risk of grossly generalizing, I'll venture to say that most Moms love chocolate. I don't know what to tell you about the ones that don't love chocolate...I can't imagine such a thing!

A friend of mine turned me on to this fabulous chocolatier. The chocolates taste amazing and they're beautiful too! They make the perfect gift chocolate if you ask me.

One of my favorites are the Cupcake Truffles--yummy and oh so cute!

The Spring Bonnet Collection is pretty and fresh. They're sold out on Moonstruck's site, but you can get them here still. Act fast though, they're sure to go quick with Mother's Day coming up.

I also fancy these darling Truffle Tea Cups and Saucers. I would commit myself to 4 o'clock tea if these were served everyday. What a fun treat!

Cleaning up the farm takes on a whole new meaning when you're talking about Country Critter Truffles. I think they're almost too cute to eat!

If you want to find more fabulous chocolates, go explore here to get lost in all the beautiful chocolate. Enjoy! :o)

Happy Chocolating/Searching/Shopping, Payton

Caffeine in the Shower

Caffeine is everywhere you look and now you can get it in the shower! No, you don't have to take your cup of coffee with you. You just bathe with Shower Shock Caffeine Soap and you'll be ahead of the game. The caffeine is absorbed through your skin instead of your stomach -- a caffeine buzz that's calorie free, doesn't stain your teeth, or give you ulcers; sounds like a good thing to me! Each "serving" is packed with a whopping 200 mg dose. The average cup of coffee typically contains 100 mg of caffeine. How easy is that? You get up, take a shower and you're 2 cups of coffee into your day and you don't even have to go to Starbucks.

Don't like bar soap? You might prefer Shower Shock Caffeinated Body Wash instead.

Happy Caffeinating/Searching/Shopping,

Payton