Toothpaste Font

I’m going to spring two tips on you because it’s Friday. You’ll have all weekend to recover from so much information. (Heck, I’ll probably need several drinks after it. Ahh, who am I kidding, that’s every weekend.)

Okay, so first, we've already discussed my strange obsession with fonts. Here's my new favorite – a font made from toothpaste. Some crazy Dutch graphic designers created Heldentica, their alternative to Helvetica. Notice the blue and red striping through the white paste. You can almost taste the mint. Download it for free and print a reminder for your kids to brush their teeth. (There’s also a ketchup version!)

Now I’ll give you the link to Autobahn, website of said crazy Dutch graphic designers so you can read all about how they created it.

What? You can’t read Dutch? No problem – time for the second tip of the day, which is Google Translate. Type in the website address into the Google Translate box, choose the language and voila – you see the English version of the page. Scroll over the text to see the original Dutch version.

Now spend the weekend surfing some international web sites. It’s almost like traveling to a foreign county, but without the strip search at the airport.

Autobahn
Google Translate

eCreamery

I was a little surprised to learn that a local Marble Slab Creamery closed. (Well, I did my part to support it.) Luckily, I found a new outlet.

eCreamery lets you create your own ice cream from a list of flavors, add a variety of mix-ins and even choose the packaging. They sell ice cream and ship it to you in sizes of a half or full gallon.

If you’ve read Snackworthy for a while, you know I like bacon. (Who doesn’t, right?) But I’m just not sure about it in my ice cream. Somebody must like it though, because eCreamery offers ice cream with ingredients such as bacon, cheddar cheese pieces and wasabi peas.

Or you could go with the more traditional like I did. Peanut butter and chocolate ice cream with Butterfinger pieces and brownie bites.

Was that the UPS man? Gotta go.

eCreamery

Poochie Bells

There's someone in my house who has a serious drinking problem. (No, it's not me.)

My dog loves her water bowl. Every time she walks into the kitchen, happy hour starts all over again. She'll tank up several times a day.

I've got no issues with that. The problem is the inevitable puddle that appears later.

So, I've ordered her very own doggie door bell. The postman may ring twice, but I'm hoping the pooch will just ring at least once when she needs to go.

Poochie Bells

The House Bunny

Hear me out on this one. I really liked the movie. It's silly and light. Something nice after watching The Duchess (the uncut version and oh, it should have been cut).

The movie stars Anna Faris as a Playboy bunny who gets kicked out of the mansion for being too old. She then becomes housemother to a college sorority of rejects. Comedy ensues.

Perhaps the funniest moment in the movie is when she recreates the famous Marilyn Monroe scene. It's hot. (See it...real hot!)

The House Bunny is available on video on demand.

FML

Think back to the worst day you've ever had. Now, compare it to the rest of the world.

That's right. Everyone else's bad days are now available for your review.

Go to F*** My Life. (Although, I would not suggest doing this at work. Or else you could post a story to the site.)

In one sentence, visitors describe the moment which ruined his or her day. The short story always begins with "Today" and ends with "FML".

There, your day's not so bad after all.

F*** My Life

Photo Lunchbox

The economy looks bad, but that doesn’t mean it should reflect on you. Let’s consider your lunch for instance. Maybe you’re taking lunch to work more often to save money. Yea – good for you! But a brown paper bag? Or worse, a plastic grocery bag? Did we not just talk about Bagnesia?

Dig out your favorite photo and send it to Photo Lunchbox. They’ll set you up with a primo classic metal box. You can repeat the image on the front and back or even choose different images for each side.

Suddenly, you’ll be invited to sit with the cool kids at lunch. Your stock is rising. Well, maybe not your financial stock, but definitely your hip cred.

Photo Lunchbox

Sushi Pillows

This posting is for my friends in the Sushi Cult. You know who you are. "Try it. You'll like it. Be one of us. Let's go get some sushi." Over and over again.

Next thing, they'll put on a white shirt, blue tie, and go door to door with pamphlets about the wonders of sushi.

Anyway, two actors from the musical Miss Saigon cooked up (get it? cooked up? oh, forget it.) the idea of pillows designed to look like sushi. This was while they were on tour. Now you know what traveling acts do when not on stage.

No idea if they've quit their day job, but will someone please feed the girl in this picture? She's about to eat a pillow. She's even started to get those zombie eyes. Oh yeah, it's a cult.

The Original Sushi Pillow

Custom Headboards

Imagine waking up underneath the Eiffel Tower.

OK, maybe you’ve already done that before during your wild and crazy nights in Paris. This time, enjoy it from the comfort of your own bed. The French gendarmes would really appreciate it. I mean really.

A friend recently moved into a new condo tower. He’s an artist and was looking to do something different with his new bedroom. He told me about a company in Canada that creates custom headboards.

Choose from their varied selection of artwork, select the size of your bed and decide on framing. Create your own art or ask them to contact your favorite artist. They’ll create a unique piece of art that you’ll enjoy waking up to every morning.

One+Only Custom Headboards

Datz

So last weekend, we were invited to an opening party for a new deli in town. Some friends of ours helped design the space and created the artwork, and we've really been looking forward to seeing them open.

A group of six of us met for drinks beforehand (they don't serve vodka at the deli, for goodness sakes). Since the very same weekend, there happens to be a parade going on very near the new restaurant, we all decide to take one car and everyone piles into an SUV. Two in the front, three in the middle and one person graciously offers to ride in the cargo area. This SUV doesn't have the fancy third row seating (cheapskates).

We're all having a great time - talking, talking, and more talking - on the drive over to the deli. We park the car about a block away because of the parade crowd and get out of the car, very focused on getting to the new restaurant. We’re about half way down the block when a woman walking away from the parade yells, "Excuse me, you left someone in the car!"

Only then do we realize, the cargo area doesn’t have an inside door handle. And the knocking we kept hearing – it wasn’t fireworks. It was Charles locked in the back.

True story.

If you’re in Tampa, visit Datz Deli. It’s so good, you might forget someone in the car. Maybe that should be their new tagline.

Datz Deli

Chocolate Photo Oreos

Think you can get by with just buying flowers for Valentine's Day? Here's a better idea.

Start with chocolate covered Oreos. (Sure, they’ve been around for awhile. Oh yeah, I know.) Then, have your favorite photo of a loved one printed on the chocolate. And yes, it is edible. This company will even put sprinkles on as a frame to your photo.

Just try dipping a bouquet of flowers into a glass of milk. Here's a gift that is personal...and delicious.

Better hurry. Valentine's Day is coming up fast.

Edible Gifts Plus

Cupcake Envy

You know the two words that drive me into a panic? Valentine’s Day. What? You thought I was going to say "in-laws"?

What are you doing for Valentine’s Day this year? Flowers? Chocolate? How about both?

Check out Cupcake Envy. See the photo on the left? It’s a hand sculpted cupcake that is iced with a layer of vanilla buttercream (yum) and then decorated with handmade sugar roses.

You’ll want to take your time eating this work of art. It’s not cheap. But you’ll sure score points for individuality.

Cupcake Envy

Mardi Gras

I love Mardi Gras. You get to celebrate all the best of New Orleans. Jambalaya, crawfish, pralines, king cake and, of course, drinking.

And nothing says Big Easy (you saw that coming, didn’t you?) like a great set of beads. Make sure you’re properly attired when attending a Mardi Gras party. Buy some specialty beads to stand out from everyone else.

I love the fleur de lis design, but it might be a little overdone. Look around MardiGrasOutlet.com for the purple, green and gold beads that best fit you.

MardiGrasOutlet.com