The Insider is running an interview with Lindsay Lohan in which she shows off her home, which is jam-packed full of stuff, to a horrified Niecy Nash. One entire bedroom has been turned into a shoe closet, and her living room is piled high with junk. Insider says she is a "celebrity hoarder."
Here's a promo clip from the show. It's a bit shocking. Lindsay needs help.
Germaphobes will be pleased with this new product. Lysol has launched its No-Touch Hand Soap System. The antibacterial soap dispenser automatically senses your hands. The dispenser uses four AA batteries and can be refilled by purchasing new hand soap refills.
"One of the most useful lessons parents can teach their children from an early age is to practice proper and frequent hand washing," says Dr. Laura Jana, pediatrician and mother of three. "Moms are so busy juggling schedules every day that the last thing they want to worry about is whether their children are spreading and collecting germs via their hands, especially during cold and flu season. Products such as Lysol's new hand washing system can help make teaching and reinforcing hand hygiene easier for everyone and rewarding for mom."
The CDC also provides these hand washing suggestions:
Wet hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if it is available
Rub hands together to make lather and scrub all surfaces, including underneath the nails and back of the hands
Continue rubbing hands for 20 seconds, long enough to sing the "Happy Birthday" song twice
Rinse hands well under running water
Dry hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible, use a paper towel to turn off the faucet
The New York Postreports that Asian stink bugs are invading the Northeast. The stink bugs don't bite or spread disease but they do spread a foul order when they are squashed.
The fingernail-sized flying beetles are native to China, Korea and Japan, but made landfall in the US in 1998 in Allentown, Pa., according to Rutgers University entomologist George Hamilton.
"They're good hitchhikers," said Hamilton of the insects, which can lay up to 30 eggs at a time. "They get into clothes and suitcases and spread."
And while they don't pose a health risk, they've been turning stomachs in Park Slope this winter. Residents there are finding that when squashed or even vacuumed, the brown, long-antennaed bugs stink to high heaven.
The NJ.com site has a longer article about how difficult it is to remove the smelly creatures. The article warns not to use bug bombs or dusts to get rid of them because the dead bugs will attract scavenger insects - like carpet beetles - that can actually cause damage.
Photo: David R. Lance, USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org
Bloomingdales is opening two stores in Dubai today. Both are located in the Mall of Dubai. One 146,000-square-foot store features men's and women's clothing and accessories. The other will sell home furnishings in a smaller, a 54,000-square-foot space. Bloomingdale's licensed the stores to Al Tayer Group LLC, which is the premiere luxury retailer and distributor in the area.
WWD reports:
"This was a total collaboration, but there is nothing in the stores, from a creative point of view, that Bloomingdale's did not approve," said Michael Gould, chairman and chief executive officer. "What Bloomingdale's stands for is going to be embraced by Dubai."
Gould and his team will be keeping close tabs on the Dubai stores, located in The Dubai Mall, one of the world's largest shopping centers. "We envision a monthly communication -- at least," he said.
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"The stores are inspired by 59th Street, with Arabian influences tenderly cushioned throughout. There is a modern, contemporary feel to these stores," said Shireen El Khatib, ceo of Al Tayer Insignia, the luxury arm of the Al Tayer Group. "We have insured that the Dubai Bloomingdale's stores will encapsulate a world-class retail experience including the best international brands, a contemporary store ambience and excellence in customer service."
Pictured above is the 9,000 square foot shoe salon, which is the biggest shoe salon in the region, according to the
Gulf News.
Eden Design makes an enormous lamp called the XXXLamp. The room sized lamp is meant to hang just lower than head level so people will have to duck underneath it. The XXL-amp is a flattened dome, inspired by the shape of a Chinese lantern. The XXXLamps would be very cool for a party or special event. Eden Design also makes them with designs on the inside - see here. Pricing information is not yet available.
Dyson has launched the Dyson City DC26. It is the company's smallest vacuum cleaner. The tiny vacuum weighs just 3.5 kilogramsd. It is already on sale in the UK with a £249.99 price tag - about $400. A U.S. release date has not yet been released.
James Dyson says, "It took us five years to painstakingly compress and rebuild every single component before we had a machine that was a third smaller than its predecessor, yet could still tackle dirt like bigger machines."
The Wall Street Journalreports that Home Depot is cutting 1,000 jobs - about 1% of its large workforce.
The home-improvement retailer said the cuts, which represent less than 1% of the roughly 322,000 workers it employs world-wide, are intended to boost productivity and are not in response to broader business or economic trends.
In a memo to employees Tuesday, Chairman and Chief Executive Frank Blake said the company has no plans to close stores besides the three pilot outlets: a small-format store in Wilson, N.C., a temporary hurricane-recovery outlet in Waveland, Miss., and a clearance store in Austell, Ga.
"I want to reiterate that this is not a case of the company cutting expenses in reaction to broader economic pressures or our business performance," Mr. Blake said in the memo.
This news comes on top of reports that Walmart is shedding 13,000 jobs. It doesn't look like January will reverse the ongoing trend of the economy losing jobs each month.
Martha Stewart is moving
to The Hallmark Channel. Martha will move her show to the channel and she will have control over a block of programming. The move gives Martha a specific time for her show nationwide and gives her the chance to produce new shows.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., the company Ms. Stewart founded, doesn't make money on "The Martha Stewart Show," but uses it to promote the company's magazines, merchandise and other brands. The show has pulled in lackluster ratings, and Martha Stewart Living has warned it may have to discontinue production of the show in its current form.
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Unlike its existing arrangement where TV channels decide when to broadcast "The Martha Stewart Show," Hallmark Channel will air the show at 10 a.m. each day, and rerun it multiple times, giving extra opportunity to sell commercial spots.
Hallmark Channel, owned by Crown Media Holdings Inc., will start airing "The Martha Stewart Show" beginning in September, after the current NBC Universal distribution deal winds down. The companies said Tuesday they also expect to create other shows together, including an extra daily show featuring personalities other than Ms. Stewart, and holiday specials.
Martha Stewart Living expects to make more money from the new arrangement than it does from its current deal with NBC Universal.
Sales of existing homes slowed
in December, much more than anticipated. The expiration of the government tax credit for first time homebuyers is thought to be a major cause of the drop. Purchases of existing homes were down 17% in the biggest drop since 1968, when records were first kept. Bloomberg reports:
First-time buyers rushed to complete deals before the $8,000 government incentive was due to end, pushing sales up 28 percent in the three months to November. The subsequent extension and expansion of the credit to include closings through June signal demand will strengthen in the first half of 2010, while raising the risk the market will then slow anew should jobs remain scarce.
"We'll see a pickup in existing home sales in the next couple of months,ā€¯ said Adam York, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina, who forecast a 5.4 million sales pace. Although "we're past the bottom," he said, "I don't think there's going to be a lot of buyers out there looking for a home outside of the tax-induced effects until they feel more comfortable with the labor market."
When all sales figures from 2009 are counted, sales of existing homes rose 4.9 percent to 5.16 million. The median price dropped 12% from the year before, down to $173,500.
Walmart has announced the launch of a new line of home solutions from Canopy: Closet Storage and Organization. Here are some highlights of the new organization products.
customizable drawer, floor and shelf organizers starting at $9.00 that
can store everything from clothes and jewelry to linens
totes, lined wicker baskets, lidded boxes and under-bed storage
ranging from $9.00 to $24.00
hanging wardrobe organizers, garment bags, and
shoe organizers , $14 or less
non-slip hangers, available in three colors (black, ivory
and pea pod), $4.00 for a set of five
"you cube" recycled storage blocks that can be grouped together, $10 each
"it's a snap" storage boxes, sold in sets of 3 for $9.00
"roll with it" storage carts that contain three interchangeable drawers, $20.00
Your crowded kitchen probably doesn't need any more specialty appliances but this mini cupcake maker from Small Planet looks like a lot of fun. The non stick cupcake maker can make mini cupcake treats in five minutes. You can makes up to seven tiny cupcakes at a time. The mini cupcake maker can be purchased from What on Earth and on Amazon.com. Small Planet also makes a mini donut maker.
Real Simple magazine recently tested over 200 kitchen products that slice and dice. Real Simple magazine's food director Allie Lewis Clapp shared the magazine's findings with CBS News. Some of the top choppers include the OXO Good Grips Hand-Held Mandolin, Chef'n VeggiChop and the De Buyer Mandoline. Progressive International Fruit and Vegetable Chopper, which can be found discounted on Amazon.com, also made the cut. Another gadget, The Vacu Vin Pineapple Slicer, provides an interesting way to create perfect pineapple rings. The corresponding CBS Newsarticle explains where to get these slicers and dicers. Take a look:
The Wall Street Journalreports that P&G is launching an online shopping website. P&G says the store will be a "learning lab" where they can study consumer buying habits.
P&G spokeswoman Tressie Long said the company sees the new online store as more of a "learning lab," where it can study consumers' online buying habits, rather than as a direct source of sales growth. P&G, which already sells its products online through the Web sites of such retailers as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., says it will share what it learns with retailers that carry its brands.
P&G's new "eStore" will start as a pilot using 5,000 consumers in coming days. The site will carry only P&G products but will be owned and operated by PFSweb, an e-commerce service provider. Pricing on the site will be at the discretion of PFSweb, P&G says.
PSFweb will run the online store for P&G. The store's website will be pgestore.com when it goes live this spring. Shipping will be a flat $5 at the online store.
Target has launched a line of cookware products and specialty food items called Giada De Laurentiis for Target. Giada De Laurentiis is an award-winning chef, cookbook author and popular culinary personality. Her popular half-hour, daytime cooking show, Everday Italian, runs on the Food Network. The Giada De Laurentiis for Target collection ranges from kitchen gear, such as cookware, ceramic bakeware and kitchen tools, to pasta sauces and flavored coffees.
"It is so exciting to pass along my family's cooking traditions to America’s home chefs," said Giada. "The products I've designed for this line are essential in my own kitchen, and now, through my partnership with Target, at-home cooks will be able to make effortless meals affordably."
You can see the Giada De Laurentiis for Target collection here on Target.com.
Target has acquired the Smith & Hawken brand and other intellectual property from Smith & Hawken, LTD, a subsidiary of The Scotts Company LLC.
"We're thrilled to own such an admired and iconic brand," said Kathee Tesija, executive vice president of merchandising, Target. "We believe the Smith & Hawken brand complements our existing portfolio of owned brands and provides our guests with another compelling reason to shop Target."
Target was already carrying the brand in its stores and on Target.com before the acquisition. You can see some of the Smith & Hawken line here on Target.com.
The New York Post 
The Wall Street Journal 
Martha Stewart is 
The Wall Street Journal 
Target has launched a line of cookware products and specialty food items called Giada De Laurentiis for Target. 
