Happy Holidays!!! Can you believe how fast 2011 has flown by? Like previous years, a bunch of our favorite stores have generously given us coupon codes to share with you to help your money go further this shopping season! Additionally we also have 30 incredible daily giveaways lined up starting black friday through christmas eve!!! (First one launching a few hours from now.) So if you’re ready ~ head to the next page to browse the awesome deals! Enjoy!

p.s. Please note start/end dates and conditions on the coupons ~ some retailers are more specific than others!

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Christmas markets, coral lodges and Canadian escapes are all a part of this week’s roundup from NotVentures. To find out more about each destination, click on its individual image.

Of all things i’ve unboxed, the Jawbone UP (see the unboxing here) has lead to SO many questions over im, twitter, facebook, phone, in person lately… and i’ve been doing so much random research, compiling it and privately linking people to it ~ finally decided to just post it. As all the posts come out about people who love or hate their UPs ~ and after many discussions about how long it will take before someone (or everyone) makes the “croc charm” biz model happen accessorizing the UPs… even Brit wrapped her’s in brass wire… which i have to admit makes it feel far more tesla coil than fashion accessory… So what do i ACTUALLY think about the UP?

LOVE THE ALARM CLOCK. It vibrates to wake you (and just you ~ not your neighbors, whoever is in bed with you, etc.) ~ also meaning not jumping up to a jarring noise. It uses its approximation of your sleep cycles to wake you at the best time with in a half hour before your set alarm time. And in all honesty, i’d been sleeping terribly, and have been waking refreshed since i started trying it. Is it a coincidence? I’m not sure, but it’s been a noticeable enough difference that i’m intrigued enough to keep trying it.

I CUT THE RUBBER OFF WITHIN 24 HOURS. I tried to wear it around, but it just didn’t feel good… rubber on the skin 24/7? It was even more comfortable with just its minimal tech guts. Experimented a bit ~ and in the end decided to pull out the old little kid string from friendship bracelets ~ and friendship bracelet-ed it. It’s SO much more comfortable to sleep with now, and far thinner/more discreet than the original (and yes, no longer shower proof, but working great.)

I ONLY USE IT WHILE SLEEPING. The truth is ~ the food part, i’m not really going to take pics of everything i eat. The activity monitoring feels more like INactivity monitoring ~ great to let you know if you need to move more (you can have it buzz to remind you to be more active). And unlikely i’m really going to do the group thing and team up against friends to work out more.

BEST SLEEP TRACKING/ALARM I FOUND. Going through all the other options with my priorities being size/comfort, optimal wake up alarm based on sleep cycle, and vibration alarm ~ even throwing in price… the Jawbone UP is the best option i’ve found. Chart and links to all the others (devices, apps, etc) i looked into on the next page.

Anyhow, i think that answers the questions everyone’s been asking a lot… check out the next page if you want to see the actual guts of it, my experiments, and the comparison chart of other sleep monitoring options on the next page.

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Leave it to Sam and Harry, the jellymongering duo Bompas & Parr, to help us celebrate this holiday season with an ‘Adventure Hamper’ unlike any other. Available from the 15th of December at Selfridges. The hamper is not your usual fare (no stodgy puddings here!), instead it’s an adventure ready pack that comes with a guide book and manual for your adventure and the hamper comes filled with “functional pickles and jams that will help with malaria, altitude sickness, insect bites and jellyfish stings to more exotic kit like the hand customised ice axe, and a Magnum of a Piper-Heidsieck Rare Vintage 1998 to celebrate the successful expedition.”

Find out more about the Adventure Hamper, including a full list of what’s inside on the next page! And we can’t wait to see what the boys get up to with their accompanying in store installation to be unveiled in December!

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Regardless of your addiction of choice ~ be it Caffeine, Chocolate, MDMA, Nicotine, THC, or DMT ~ Aroha Silhouettes latest collection Molecular Addictions has you covered. Each of the necklaces are made of strong lightweight stainless steel that has been finished in a smooth matte black powder coating with gunmetal chain and findings. Take a peek at Tania’s new collection with photography by Kelly Jill on the next page!

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While i’m not a huge camper or backpacker ~ i’ve always had a fascination for the wonderfully efficient products that come out of their needs! They pack down to nothing ~ make use of every pound and every inch… multipurpose mixes that normall wouldn’t happen ~ somehow work! Tables ~ Cookware ~ Lighting ~ you name it ~ its some of the most functional and uniquely designed stuff out there! And i was just fascinated with the latest from Snow Peak! They’ve even made the jump that all the impressively modular camp kitchen ware and let it work at HOME in a gorgeous wooden outdoor table set! And their latest for this year ~ the Tulip lamp works in every which way ~ stand alone, hanging in your tent, bedside, you can get creative with it. I also adore the little round bamboo tables that work as well at camp as they do for kids or as a coffee table, and it folds up to make space into a nylon carrying bag. And as for unexpected mixes ~ how about a spatula that can turn into a fork or…. well check it all out on the next page! I love how these new products allow you to seamlessly transition your camping/adventuring gear into usable goods at home ~ or vice versa!

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Honey-Bourbon Toddies, El Diablo Chocolate Truffles and flaming strawberries are all part of this week’s roundup from Tasteologie and Liqurious. To find out more about each delicacy, click on its individual image.

Catch up with the latest from London with our UK-based editor Justine Aw.

I was intrigued when I got an email about Hendrick’s Most Unusual 13th day of Christmas. The window promised to house “ten sleazy ‘Lords a Leaping’, twelve ‘Wild haggis drumming’ to, three ‘Giant snails’ pretending to be French hens to a lone partridge in a cucumber plant”. So we popped down to Jerboams Belgravia to see what it was all about!

Sure enough, the display was a proper cabinet of curiosities featuring work from a number of artists all curated by Matthew Killick and including plenty of twists on James Halliwell’s 1842 classic Christmas carol. I especially loved the haggis drummers from the Little Theatre of Dolls and what’s not to love about giant African land snails posing as French hens?

You can catch the window at Jerboams for the next two weeks, or catch it in Peckham’s, Edinburgh in December and be sure to see more photos on the next page.

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Musical business cards, paramotors and lovely owls are all a part of this week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.

Icebreaker ~ the New Zealand Merino wool wearable company that keeps us warm (and has that adorable Baacode system that lets you trace back and see what sheep your clothes came from) ~ has always had some awesome and crazy surreal ram/man photos… well today their new lookbook came through ~ and it brought out the little kid in me ~ i love the flash card set feeling of the book! And it definitely made it easy to flip through and make little piles ~ figuring out ones i was curious about/etc! As much as i shop online ~ i must admit i love catalogs and look books in print ~ it just FEELS great still! (And its a nice break from so much screen time in our lives!) Take a peek at some of Icebreaker’s imagery on the next page as well as their flashcard look book for SS12 ~ the bliss wrap in black is looking particularly cozy tonight…

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While this isn’t exactly a “window” seat ~ the stunning images of Rüdiger Nehmzow certainly fits in the category of stunning views from above into clouds and the world beneath. What really sets Nehmzow’s photographs apart is his technique… taking a plane up a few miles into the air over Manaus, Brazil, he takes pictures out of the open DOOR! (Don’t worry, he’s armed with oxygen mask and protection from the freezing temperatures!) These took my breath away when i saw them over at Cup of Jo! Take a peek at the making of video as well as some of my favorite shots from Rüdiger Nehmzow’s Cloud Collection on the next page!

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It’s mail order season ~ new seasonal UPS/Fedex/USPS guys showing up daily ~ packages on every doorstep it seems ~ lines starting at the post office, and i can’t help but get curious about how people are packing things, how much waste we’re using to ensure our goods are protected to their destination. Well, the Kindle Fire just arrived ~ and i must say, i love how streamlined their packaging is ~ it just keeps getting cleaner and simpler, yet still creates a nice, satisfying unboxing experience ~ creating that perfect element of surprise even when you know what you’re getting as you pull the strip, and lift open the box ~ and the Fire is there presented to you! Take a peek at their nice, minimally designed box and reinforcements on the next page while i go check on whether the updates to it have downloaded so i can play with it.

p.s. Only criticism would be maybe it shouldn’t be SO obvious what’s inside on the outside of the box… the first Fire seems to have “disappeared” somewhere between delivery and ever making it here!

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This post is sponsored by San Pellegrino’s Fine Dining Lovers and as usual the content is all NOTCOT! Check out Tasteologie Editor, Jackson’s, adventures in Malibu!

Wine makers and connoisseurs often talk of terroir. The taste that the place imparts on the grapes. You can close your eyes and taste the soils… the micro climate… get a sense of the life of the wine. It’s rare that we think of dinners as having the same property, but after meeting Helene and dining at her Malibu Farm. I now know that the an entire dinner can taste and feel of a place. The dinner was delicious and thoroughly Malibu in every sense. Some of the vegetables were grown on the property, just feet away from where we dined. The salads were dotted with pomegranate and the guest list was gently peppered with Hollywood. Winter soon brought nightfall but a gently heated tent, a live band, and plenty of local wine kept the party going late into the night. Being so close to the roots of one’s food was an amazing experience and I can’t wait to show you the rest.

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Magical tech filled bracelet that tracks my sleeping, eating, activeness? Who wouldn’t be curious? And with this trend of iOS app driven sleep trackers (see also Lark on your wrist and Zeo on your head) ~ with silent vibrating alarm clocks that dont wake neighbors/bedmates/etc (thinking of the Mute Watch?) ~ a sudden wealth of health data at your fingertips (think fitbit?) ~ this holiday season personal data overload/data visualizations are definitely the hot trend of the moment… and as always ~ when Jawbone jumps in to the game, you can count on gorgeously designed packaging, product design, and user experience…

The Jawbone UP made quite a splash ~ and tonight i couldn’t resist and had to give it a try ~ a week of terrible sleep seemed a good enough excuse to try out the new gizmo. And using MotionX sensor technology it tracks the slightest movements ~ and combined with some discipline on your part ~ you can switch between active, workout, and sleep modes… and the app will have you tracking meals (with pics!), calories, activities, setting vibration alarms and trying to meet various goals throughout the day… you can even compete/share/motivate your friends. Granted this isn’t an exact science by any means ~ it seems that just providing more data and creating more awareness of ones activities might help in ways you didn’t even imagine… or does it? I guess playing around with it for the next week or so will help me find out! For now though ~ take a peek at the initial unboxing and set up on the next page!

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Firefly squid, grandeur in Bordeaux and underground hotels are all a part of this week’s roundup from NotVentures. To find out more about each destination, click on its individual image.