“Anyone who literally takes you away from washing dishes to have sex with you? One of the hottest things to happen in a domestic relationship. Even hotter if you, in this day and age, still own/use dishwashing gloves.”

— #lizadvice

bookriot:

This subway library has posters of books and scannable barcodes—zap ‘em with your phone to get a 10-page preview while you ride!

Really neat.

Wishpot

Let me be clear, this post is not being written because my birthday is about a week away. 

There’s a site called Wishpot that I love. It’s an online (free) service that allows you to keep many types of lists with items that you find on other sites that you either need to purchase or would like to have as gifts. I know. That sounds kind of… gauche. And it is, a bit. But once you accept that general gaucheness, it’s really quite great. Once you have an account, you have an “Add to Wishpot” button installed in your bookmarks and whenever you come across something you want, you just add it to your pot.

I have two lists. One consists of “Things That I Eventually Need To Buy” and of course a “Wishlist” for when it’s gift giving times and someone asks me what I’d like. 

And honestly, if someone’s sweet enough to ask me what I’d want, my answer is usually, “Oh, I have everything. Don’t be silly. You’re so nice to even want to give me anything. You’re the best!” But the real answer would be, “Umm, of course there are frivolous things that would be great to get.” And that’s where this list comes in. In all honesty, the only people who have taken this list seriously and actually use it are my brothers and, like, two friends. So… is it really useful? I can’t really say. What I’m really hoping for is enough notoriety one day so that fans seek out this list and lavish me with these treats. That’s not gonna happen, maybe - but one can dream. 

Oh! I also forgot the best feature. If you do take a look at someone’s list and want to buy something for them, there’s a button to press to make sure no one else buys it since it’s then reserved. And at the same time, the person who the gift is for knows nothing because they don’t receive any notification that someone’s buying them something. Such secretism! 

In conclusion, if this post were being written solely because my birthday is about a week away - then I would’ve blogged about it sooner since there’s no way, with shipping, that’d I’d get any of those gifts on time. See? Not a horrible person. Not a great one either, but I’m comfortable with that. 

Peppermint Extract For Lips

If you’ve ever bought any sort of product that advertises itself as a lip plumper, then please read on. If not? I don’t know, maybe go here and make your brain better or something. (Also, if you’re a woman who’s adequately happy with what her lips are doing for her? I envy you.)

I never buy any of those products anymore - mostly because the majority of them are trash. Expensive trash. I read the following tip in a “Fun Facts” section of a cookbook once, so that’s probably why I trust it.

After you put your lip balm on, dab a bit of peppermint extract on next. It pumps them up like mad. I’ve been doing this for about, oh, say six months or so and I feel like it’s been working. 

(Extra tip: using hot sauce does the same thing, in very small quantities, of course. Though, I wouldn’t fully endorse that idea because then you just smell like you ate something spicy all day. Not the hottest, but I’m sure some people are into it.)

Tip of the Day - Change Your Bedspread

Something that you should do at least once every season (so at least four times a year): change your bed sheets. Now I’m not talking about “having clean sheets”, silly. This isn’t what I’m saying. I mean the main bedspread that you have on top your mattress, that needs to change with the seasons. Why? Because everyone needs a bare amount of variety in their lives.  I only started adhering to this policy last year, and I’ve got to say - it makes a difference. Mentally. 

I don’t want to get too metaphysical on you right now, but doing this just feels important to  avoid ever feeling stale or dated or basically just less happy, surroundings-wise. 

I like to change them up as the seasons change, since that just makes sense logically to me. Whenever you’d like to do it, just make sure it gets done. You don’t feel the same way consistently every month, week or day - so it only makes sense that you shouldn’t immerse yourself with monotony. 

This may seem like a dumb tip, and if you firmly still think that it is, well, cool. What of it. This is just something I feel pretty strongly about and with the nicer weather coming up, I wanted to propose the idea to you. 

The Old Farmer's Almanac

This is a reference book that is pretty dominant in my life. I primarily use it for the dates and times that it tells you to do certain activities - these times are supposed to be the most advantageous times to do these things. Does that make sense? If I’m unclear explaining the book, maybe it’s better to just go on over here to read about it. 

There’s a website (which is easier to browse as opposed to the book) that is pretty useful, if you’re… what’s a kind word for it… *unique* and you place a lot of value in this kind of stuff. I, unfortunately, do. Thanks to my mother, who has read it for years. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been as into this stuff as I am now if it weren’t for her influence. 

I really only go to the site to see what days I should wax my legs on, since there are specific days when you can cut your hair and it’ll grow less/more depending on what you want and what day it is. If that sounds like witchcraft, well, it sort of is, I suspect. And I don’t know how hardcore I believe in this stuff, but I still do it, so I guess that says it all really. 

For example, the upcoming days you should cut so your hair so it won’t grow quickly are:

March: 5th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 27th, 28th, 31st

April: 1st, 5th, 6th, 27th, 28th, 29th

May: 2nd, 3rd

And there are a ton of other specific dates to do things other than cutting hair, such as the perfect days to go hunting, quit smoking, harvest, buy a home, host a party and even slaughter. There are a few nutty ones like that last one, but I didn’t want to list all the absurb ones ‘cause I thought it would lessen the validity of me telling you, “Hey! Try this! It’s neat!”

But seriously, c’mon, take a look, it’s pretty neat.

Biblio-Mat in Toronto

At The Monkey’s Paw on Dundas West. Seems neat.

“When sweeping the floors, do little bits of dirt stick to your feet or socks while you do it? Wear heels. A cleaner and sexier solution.”

— #lizadvice

Secrets of White Teeth

If you’ve seen me in real life, have you wondered why I have such white teeth? It’s genetics.

(That’d be really funny if the post just ended there.)

Ignoring the fact that I compulsively like to talk about when I’m “being really funny”, the real answer is because of whitening toothpaste and mouthwash. Colgate Optic White, to be precise. The toothpaste and the mouthwash. Over the years, I’ve tried a bunch of different ones but, in my opinion, this one is the cheapest, the best tasting and the most effective. I was going to put a side by side photo comparison of my before teeth and after teeth, but then realized that I have been using this stuff so long that I only have after photos. I know, it’s a hard life.

Also, if you’re reading this and you’re a smoker? Wow. That’s cute. Stop smoking, dummy, and then you can benefit from my inadequate years of experience. 

Mouthwash Tip of The Day:

Don’t pour a whole lot into your mouth when mouthwashing, that’s a waste. Just put, say, less than 1/4 of a cup (why am I using baking measurements? Sorry, but those are the only I know). Anyway, just pour a tiny bit in your mouth, but then swish it around like a madman for double the amount of time it says on the back label (usually about a minute). You’ll go through your mouthwash much slower than you regularly do, but with double the results. 

I know this post sounds like a commercial. Frankly, someone should take these words, make it into a commercial somehow and pay me some money. It’s a great line of products.

You can see more posts like this on my latest newsletter.

Sandwich Bag Artist Dad

David Laferriere is a graphic designer and illustrator. He’s also an awesome dad who has been drawing stuff on his kids’ sandwich bags since May 2008, using Sharpie markers.

Reblogged from here.