Tetley's Nails It

If you drink tea, you are familiar with the method of plopping your wet tea bag against the side of the mug to drain it. No more! Tetley's has a drawstring tea bag that eliminates the need for wet plopping! It's fantabulous!

This is what the packaging looks like. I'm not certain if these are available stateside yet.

And here, from the package, are the step-by-step directions for using the drawstring bag. Pretty clever!

Thank you, Nutella!

...for not only producing one of the most delicious substances on the face of the Earth, but also for providing built-in self control with your single serve pouches. Kudos. It's a packaging win for Nutella!

 

Make Dinner FUN with Face Plates!

As we enter the New Year, many of us are fighting the same battles--especially with our kids at dinner time. Even good eaters can have their less-zealous moments. These plates from Fred & Friends will make mealtime a LOT more fun!

Basic foods are transformed into elements of design: noodles for hair, ketchup for rosy cheeks, fruit for earrings. Everything works with these plates! Do yourself a favor and grab a set, and avoid the hair-pulling at dinnertime...because while kids should eat as they're told, parents need to stay sane, too.

Happy New Year!

Snobject: Best Father's Day Gift Ever

Yes, I missed Father's Day this year--but if you missed it too, look sharp! This is the perfect gift to make it up to your husband, dad, or grandpa. Whiskey Stones, from Teroforma, are exactly what they say they are: little stones you use to keep whiskey cool.

Hold On! They're not just for whiskey. I don't drink whiskey! I use them in nice, girly framboise lambic, and alternately in lemonade. These little stones live in your freezer in a washable fabric bag. They are the RIGHT solution to keeping a beverage cool without diluting it. Ice cubes make your drink watery. Plastic ice cubes are, well, plastic. And warm drinks are yucky.

So grab some of these little (or big) stones for the man in your life, or for yourself. They're hand-crafted. They're eco-friendly. The packaging is ridiculously sweet, and the price is just right. Plus, they work. Whiskey Stones are awesome all around.

Oh, Scotch Tape! What Have You Done?

This landed in my inbox this morning. What is it? Well, it's a promotional tape dispenser shaped like a high heeled shoe, of course! I'm stunned. Scotch is a brand I've always respected--a classy company that makes tough, practical products. What on earth makes them think I'll collect shoe dispensers from them?

I also don't get the timing of the promotion. Maybe this is a Mother's Day push that got stuck on the boat. That's the only vague tie I can find to validate a high heeled dispenser. Even then, I really question if this is in line with Scotch Brand consumers--this dispenser is huge, must be out on a table, can't fit in a drawer, looks awkward to actually use, and would require regular dusting.

Those aren't product characteristics I think moms are screaming for. But who knows, maybe I'm wrong--perhaps tape dispenser collecting is the next big wave in scrap-booking.

Baby Roll Asleep

I'm flabbergasted. Does it seem to work? Yes. Did Baby Roll Asleep miss an incredible opportunity to cross-promote with Swiffer? Maybe.

Ritz Packaging Fail

There was a surprise in our Ritz box today--the box looked a little more . . . er . . . pregnant, than usual. This is why. The final tube somehow folded in half as it entered the box on the assembly line, and ended up smashed into 50% of the space it usually gets. And it fit. So, I guess Ritz are at least 50% air. Which makes me glad I used a coupon.

Sephora + Pantone = Cool?

Billed as a "breakthrough partnership" between two giants in the world of color trends, Sephora and Pantone have launched an exclusive color of the year campaign. Pantone's marketing of color trends is undeniably sexy, down to the name for the color of the year: Tangerine Tango.

Are average consumers familiar enough with Pantone's brand for the collaboration to matter? It may not matter, because so far the marketing strategies and visuals are compelling and cool. Passerby may wonder what the heck a "pantone" is, but in the end all they made need is the juicy colors and assurance that these colors are exclusive to buy in.

 Promotion for the collaboration includes an undeniably cool pop-up shop(featuring pantone's trademark color palettes in super scale), which was just in Chelsea in March, and can be viewed at The Grove in LA from April 18-22.

Sushi Lovers Rejoice!

Part of what's so appealing about eating sushi is it's appearance. I crave the cute little compact, colorful bites of deliciousness, and now with Rice Cube, I can make food have a similar appeal at home! Jazzed to try this one out! If you have, let us know how it went.

Reason #100 to Love a Dyson Animal

If you have a pet, and you do not have a Dyson Animal vacuum, let me share this with you: it is really worth all that money. Yes, the vacuum is over SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS. But, really, I have never seen a more intuitive, durable, or functional machine.

This morning after eradicating the ten tons of dog hair from my house, I noticed a slight decrease in suction. What? A decrease in suction? Surely not! Dyson says I'll never lose suction! I listened to the vacuum and thought, that sounds like something's blocked.

Turned it off, looked at where the attachment hose meets to machine, followed the purple tabs, and voila! The hose trap popped off the bottom, revealing a small Lego man trapped inside. Now, if Dyson hadn't made such a wonderful machine that really, honestly requires no user manual, my house would never be this clean again -- and that poor little Lego man would've been trapped for eternity in dog hair.