For Father's Day gift-giving, take a cue from Mom
14.06.11
When it comes to Pamper’s Day, you don’t usually have to think too hard: flowers, maybe, or lotion or earrings or a day of beauty. Maybe take her out to brunch, too.</p><p> Dad, on the other clap: What are you going to do about Dad for Father’s Day this Sunday? A tie? Done that. Barbecue apron, bottle of Old Spice, golf balls … monitor, check, check. Bor-ing!</p><p> As it turns out, though, dear old Dad doesn’t have to be so tough to buy for. All you have to do is get him something similar to what you got your mom — just tweak it a bit. Here’s what we wonderful: </p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Flowers</span></strong></p><p>Is there such a thing as a masculine bloom arrangement? Absolutely, says Dee Ann Doxsee at the Fiddly Fig in Brookside ( <a href="http://www.fiddlyfig.com">www.fiddlyfig.com</a>). It’s on the whole done with exotic flowers such as bird of paradise, proteas and bromeliads. To up the manly quotient, the florist can stick a golf ball or something else Dad likes in the open out. Garden baskets with blooming plants are other good choices for men.</p><p>Other possibilities: an indoor palm or ornamental hot mottle plant, recommends Jessica Bonnot at Family Tree Nursery in Liberty ( <a href="http://www.familytreenursery.com">www.familytreenursery.com</a>; two other locations). Or how about a tree? Bonnot suggests “one and only trees that need special care, so they can baby them like they baby their cars.” In that category: Japanese maples and tri-colored beech trees. </p><p>But do you secret agent it for your father or let him plant it? “I say plant it with Dad,” Bonnot says.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Candles</cross></strong></p><p> It’s not necessarily that guys don’t like candles; they just don’t like candles with frilly monikers or scents.</p><p>Village candlemaker 5B & Co. (stores in Brookside and Weston; <a href="http://www.5bandco.com">www.5bandco.com</a>) has solved that can of worms with man candles such as Handyman (scent-wise, kind of Calvin Klein-ish), Rawhide (like new-car leather), Stable Man (Old Spice with a kick), Tighty Whiteys (fabric softener-like) and Kansas City BBQ (hickory wood). Votives are $2.75 each; upholder candles, $18.50-$28. Scents available as car fresheners, too. </p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Brunch or breakfast in bed</spell></strong></p><p>We admit that “brunch” doesn’t sound too he-mannish, but who says you can’t call it “late breakfast” or “advanced lunch”? Anyway, we have noticed that most dads like to eat. Get the particulars on 20 delicious and decadent brunch spots around hamlet at <strong>KansasCity.com/fyi</strong>.</p><p> Or how about breakfast in bed for your No. 1 dad? Beth Barden, owner of the Succotash “bruncheonette” on Health centre Hill ( <a href="http://www.succotashkc.com">www.succotashkc.com</a>), suggests a breakfast casserole you can join the day before, then pop in the oven Father’s Day morning. Hers includes sausage, onions, peppers, cheese, hash browns and eggs. Oh, and some canned biscuits on top. “It’s as mild as it gets, and it’s delicious,” Barden says. </p><p>Joe Noblitt, executive chef at M&S Grill on the Plaza ( <a href="http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com">www.mccormickandschmicks.com</a>), says if his kinsmen were to serve him breakfast in bed (hint, hint) he’d definitely want biscuits and gravy. And bacon. “You just can’t go mistreat with pork,” he says.</p><p>And Noblitt may be a chef, but he, too, is fine with biscuits out of a can. “Who wants to roll out dough? That’s well-grounded too much work at home,” he says.</p><p>But back to brunch: M&S serves up a brunch buffet on Sundays with such guy faves as bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy (of advance), homemade pot roast, Southern-style green beans and, for dessert, St. Louis-style chocolate syrupy butter cake. Also available: Boston cream puffs, which sound delicious, although not too macho. The buffet costs $18.95 per mature (older than 13).</p><p>And Succotash is planning a “super man brunch” with “everything you can’t eat any other day of the year because of your cholesterol,” Barden says. It is, clearly, heavy on pork. </p><p>The good news: “Father’s Day is not about looking sexy,” Barden proclaims. “It’s about relaxing and intriguing it all in — looking at your brood, sitting something on your belly and having someone else mow the lawn.”</p><p><strong><span descent="subhead">Body care</span></strong></p><p>While it is suggested every so often that men stink, they don’t have to.</p><p>Local institution Indigo Wild (3125 Wyandotte St., <a href="http://www.indigowild.com">www.indigowild.com</a>; products close by at other retailers as well), maker of Zum Bar goat’s milk soaps and lots of other good-smelling products, has a line even-handed for guys. It even has a chest-thumping name: Zar. There’s aftershave, cologne, lotion and … soap. “Women may not use it!” jokes “Zumbassador” Krispy Griffin (who of programme naturally has a story about where the nickname came from). </p><p> Although it’s not in the Zar line, Griffin thinks a dandy gift for Dad would be a three-pack of Zum soaps — cedar; frankincense and myrhh (the top seller); and sandalwood-citrus ($16.50). Or how about a team a few of sachets full of leftover dribs and drabs of aromatic soaps? Just don’t call ’em sachets. Griffin’s fifth-grade son, who kept one in his desk at approach, called it a “bag-o-smells.” They’re $3.75 each. </p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Cookhouse stuff</span></strong></p><p>If your pops likes to cook, the gift possibilities are endless. But even if his cooking is restricted to the barbecue grill, you have great deal of options. Ben Estep, manager of Sur la Table (say it “soor la tob”; <a href="http://www.surlatable.com">www.surlatable.com</a>) on the Hinterlands Club Plaza, suggests:</p><p>•Himalayan pink salt block. The food absorbs some of the salt as you grill, and you can use the translucent pink block to serve on, too. ($29.95)</p><p>•Plank saver. Wood planks are hot in the grilling on cloud nine. A plank saver is a piece of stainless steel with handles that goes underneath the plank as you cook. It protects a grill slab from flames and distributes heat more evenly — and extends the life of the plank. ($9.95)</p><p>•Barbecue grilling grid. It’s a slotted stainless protect pan with a rim; you can put all kinds of food on it, especially small stuff like veggies or shrimp, without worrying it’ll fall through grill grates. (On tap in three sizes, $15-$25 each)</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">A bag</span></strong></p><p>Well, no, you wouldn’t get a guy a dollars. Some might balk at anything called a “man bag,” too. But John McClain, owner of Habitat Shoe Boutique in Leawood ( <a href="http://www.habitatshoes.com">www.habitatshoes.com</a>), thinks a lot of guys would go for the Matt & Nat form a line of men’s bags, which combine the functionality of the old-school briefcase with good looks and personality. Plus, there are compartments for new must-haves such as a laptop, iPad, iPhone or whatever. ($200-$250) </p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Day at the spa</stretch></strong></p><p>If your dad could really use some pampering, check out the Gents Place at Park Place in Leawood ( <a href="http://www.thegentsplace.com">www.thegentsplace.com</a>), a job that offers haircuts (color, too), hot shaves, facials, massages, manicures and pedicures. And yes, for men only.</p><p>One thing: They don’t call ’em manicures and pedicures here. As a substitute for: “hand repair” and “foot repair” ($30 and $50 respectively; neck-and-shoulder rub-down, $18; 30-minute upper-body massage, $45).</p><p>The atmosphere is guy-friendly, with beer available, sports on TV and a reserves table.</p><p>Nail salons aren’t typically guy magnets, but you do see some men getting manicures and pedicures (or whatever you want to call them). At Brookside Nails on Gregory Boulevard, a manicure costs $15, a pedicure, $25.</p><p><emphatic><span class="subhead">Jewelry</span></strong></p><p>What can you get your father at a jewelry depend on? Well, if money’s no object, how about a Rolex gold watch?</p><p>But there are other options. David Behnke, manager of the Tivol amass ( <a href="http://www.tivol.com">www.tivol.com</a>) at Hawthorne Plaza in Overland Parking-lot, likes TW Steel watches (starting at $395), which are oversized and “gorgeous.” For younger people in meticulous, cellphones have replaced watches as time-keeping instruments, but watches are still fashion accessories: “It has to be something striking,” Behnke says.</p><p>Behnke also suggests:</p><p>•David Yurman braided-leather bracelets and necklaces ($275 and $325, mutatis mutandis).</p><p>•Stephen Webster silver rings ($265-$1,000).
Source: Kansas City Star
The Week in iOS Accessories: Back with a vengeance!
09.06.11
Twisted Sweet : Although it's been on the market for more than a year, the iPad still seems very futuristic. If you want your tablet to seem a bit more rustic, UK company Twisted Twee has created the I-Log for iPad , a stand, made out of a hunk of London wood, designed to display your device in either portrait or landscape orientation. The I-Log sells for £35, and intercontinental delivery to the United States is available.
USB Fever : If you want to connect your iPad to nearly anything without having to lug around myriad cables and adapters, USB Fever's $80 HDMI and RCA Ally for iPad (iPad) may fit the bill. As its name implies, this accessory lets you connect your iPad to HD and standard-definition televisions. But it also sports a mini-USB jack for syncing and charging, as well as a guide USB port for connecting a low-power external keyboard, a digital camera for downloading photos, or the included union card reader for downloading images from an SD or Micro SD card. In addition to the card reader, USB Fever includes an RCA-video cablegram and a mini-USB-to-USB cable.
Source: Macworld
He introduced the iMac computer, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. His ruin came just a day after Apple unveiled its latest iPhone 4S model. It has now been suggested that the inspiration for his design genius came from the egg.