Whether you're eager for a romantic night with your sweetie or just want to forget about all that romance stuff and enjoy time alone, a tub is a great place to relax and unwind. Over on Homes and Hues, we compiled a list of the 15 most romantic hotel bathtubs in the world and you won't want to miss these sexy soaking spots.
While it's probably a little early to book a night at one of these rooms for this year, the list is a great place to inspire your fantasies for Valentine's Day and a wonderful source of inspiration for those who are ready to book ahead for next year.
Here at Neatorama, we love independant artists, which is why we are so proud of the NeatoShop's artist support. It's how we ensure our artists are treated right and rewarded fairly. But not everyone wants a tee (or a poster, bag, cell phone cover, etc.) and for those who love the artwork featured in the shop, then head over to Kickstarter and back VigilanTees, a book featuring some of the great artwork of tee shirt designs. The book's being put together by artist Duncan Craig and will feature artwork from other NeatoShop artists and other creators from around the world.
For $25.50 donation, you can get a limited tee shirt only available through the Kickstarter and for $37.50, you can reserve your copy of the book. Show your support for indie artists today.
There are plenty of geeky foods out on the internet, but not many places where you can order them in the outside world. Thankfully for those in Portland, there's Nom*Ables. This bakery isn't just full of sweet treats, it's also packed with all kinds of great geek stuff.
For example, the treats up top are called "S'mordor" and the one right above this is part of the Cornetto Trilogy Series called "You've Got Red On You." Nom*Ables even sets up shop at local conventions like the Wizard World Portland. They said they used to attend the ChocolateFest, which is at the same convention center on the same weekend every year, but the Wizard World better suits their demographic.
On the upside, if you don't live in Portland, you can still get a hold of your own Combustable Lemon Curd and Pokenoms through their online store.
Zeon and I recently went to Portland to check out the Wizard World there. What we didn't know is that the comic convention always lines up with the city's annual ChocolateFest -which seems appropriate since they no doubt bring plenty of attendees to one another's convention.
As you may have guessed, the ChocolateFest is a convention based around chocolate -not just eating it, but the production, cooking and history of the delicious treat. But aside from celebrating one of nature's greatest gifts, the festival also celebrates nature itself in that it is sponsored by the World Forestry Center and all proceeds go to support the center. -So you not only get to sample tons of exquisite, gourmet chocolates, you also get to support a good cause at the same time.
As a chocolate snob who has never been able to find anything quite as good as the chocolate I had in Switzerland, I was blown away when I discovered Cocotutti, which was one of the handful of companies that weren't local to Portland. The company made the best chocolates I've ever had. They were not only as rich and smooth as the Swiss chocolates, but they also had utterly amazing flavors like balsamic strawberry and lemon with lavender. I'm still kicking myself for not buying an assortment, but I was trying to save money since I was on vacation.
The festival also offered alcohol tastings so you could do wine and chocolate samples. Here I once again made an amazing discovery -though not with wine, but vodka. That's because Portland company Wild Roots makes and incredible infused vodka with Oregon's favorite berry, the marrionberry. Unfortunately, you can't buy this stuff out of Oregon, so if you live in the state, grab a bottle and celebrate your location.
As for ChocolateFest, the bottom line is that it's a great event for a great cause and if you make it, plan on getting drunk on chocolate before getting drunk on wine or booze because the delicious candy selection is certain to get your head spinning.
The Portland Wizard Con may not be as big as Comic Con or even their Anaheim incarnation -Wonder Con. Even so, there was tons of great cosplay at the convention -giving Zeon and myself a great excuse to take a work vacation up to the Rose City. Here's some of the best cosplay we spotted throughout the weekend.
One of the best events of the whole weekend was the children's cosplay contest. There we were treated with cuties ranging from Sally and Oogie Boogie to...
head strong Harley Quinn. The contest was great because it was sponsored by anti-bullying charity The Stewart-Beavers Institute.
Not that anyone would ever dare to bully Rocket Raccoon.
The kid's contest was packed with cuteness, so it really would have been impossible to pick a best costume.
So it wasn't all too surprising when the judges announced that everyone was a winner and could collect a prize.
I mean really, would you want to be the one to announce to tiny Rick and Daryl that they were any more or less awesome than balloon boy?
Chances are you're using a light in the room you're in right now, but it's probably not all too exciting. Home lighting is just one of those things people tend to buy, install and forget about, but these great lamps we featured on Homes and Hues are certain to get and keep your attention.
From floating lights to dripping ones and from color-changers to herb-growers, these great lamps will not only make your space brighter, but also make your home decor a little more brilliant as well.
There are a lot of twists on Mario cosplay characters, but I totally love this great punk take on Princess Peach. She was one of a whole group of punk Super Mario characters cosplaying at Ichibancon. This lovely cosplayer is Amanda Finley and the photo is by Double Stomp Productions.
If this look seems a little familiar to you, it's probably not because you've seen a similar cosplay before, but because Nevermind the Blocks is a popular NeatoShop tee that we've featured on the main blog before.
It's easy to love comic books, even if you're only a casual fan of the movies that are made based on the characters. It's a bit harder to love the big comic book publishing companies though -and the more you learn about them, the more you have a hard time defending their actions.
This great Top Tenz article provides ten great examples of comic book companies screwing over the creators that developed all the characters we've come to love. While you probably already heard a bit about the whole Jack Kirby issue, you might not know some of the stories, like how Marvel countersued Gary Friedrich after he lost his case against them regarding royalties for the Ghostrider movie -claiming he had no right to sell merchandise based on the character he created.
There are those who think you just can't have enough glitter -and then there's the rest of us. If you are one of the non glitter lovers than you know one of the substance's most annoying attributes is that it sticks to everything and seems to never leave. That's why SendYourEnemiesGlitter.com is such a brilliant idea. You can finally torture those you truly hate without doing anything remotely illegal or unethical.
So how much does this marvelous torment cost? Only $9.99 AUD. Sure that's a lot for an envelope filled with glitter, but keep in mind that they also prevent you from having to touch the terrible stuff and they provide you with a return address that isn't traced back to you.
Sometimes the journey is greater than the destination, and sometimes the hotel room is the best part of the vacation. That really might be the case in vacations that involve stays in these strange wonderful hotel rooms we featured on Homes and Hues.
From Batman-themed love hotels to converted airplanes and from hotels built just above the water to those built under water, these hotels are totally fantastic and utterly strange.
The Bat-slap meme is just one of those things that makes me crack up every time. If you're like me, that makes this dry erase board a must-have for your home. Just imagine getting to change the meme every time you think of something new and funny and letting your friends edit the board to write in their thoughts. It even works for your to do list as Batman can threaten to slap you if you fail. It's the perfect home accessory that combines function and style.
Before someone even enters your home, your doormat lets them know a little about you. Are you friendly, efficient, OCD? What about geeky? That's right, now you can express your nerdy self with all kinds of great doormats.
Over on Homes and Hues, we rounded up 12 such geektastic rugs to greet your guests with. From fantasy to gaming and from Doctor Who to IT jokes, whatever your favorite geek interest, there's sure to be a great rug out there to make you smile.
When you get a tattoo, it's important to find a shop that not only does good work, but does good work in the style you're looking for. If you're looking for an utterly amazing tattoo, you'll be hard-pressed to find a more qualified shop than Adorned Precision Body Arts of Vancouver, given that they proudly declare themselves to be specialists in tattoos featuring unicorns with sharks for arms -aka, the best tattoos ever created.
If you are what you eat then it shouldn't be too surprising that squirrels are all a bit nuts. They're so nuts, in fact, that they don't even mind upgrading themselves into Cybermen just to get a few more tasty treats. Creator Emma Young thought the squirrels in her garden might just be that kooky, which is why she was willing to take hours of her time to dismantle a novelty radio and fill it with peanut butter and nuts. I'd say it was well worth the efforts for this great footage -now she just needs to add a few choice Cybermen sound bites to the footage.
Waffles are one of those perfect foods, but what could make them better? How about pulled pork and barbecue sauce? We're not just talking about a savory waffle with pulled pork inside (which would also be tasty), but a waffle made completely out of pulled pork.
Instagram's the Vulgar Chef created this amazing monstrosity and even capped it off with bbq sauce, mac n' cheese, and, of course, bacon. He also made a similar creation with beef hash and a Spaghetti-os pizza that looks like vomit but probably tastes like heaven. Be warned though, as the name implies, there is a lot of foul language at the link.
