The problem with most online shopping is that you have to spend hours wading through middling products to find anything of quality. It’s the Walmart problem. Enter ShopRunner. This membership-based site is more like an upscale shopping mall – everything here is curated and from the best name brands. Obviously membership sites come at a cost (in this case $8.95/mo or $79/yr) but Shoprunner has the perfect promotion for the holidays. Right now if you spend $100 on the site – easy to do this season – you’ll get a whole year’s membership for free. And what do you get with a membership besides their careful curation and aggressive pricing? Try unlimited free 2-day shipping (suck it Amazon Prime), free return shipping, special pricing, express checkout, and more. Yeah, you’re gonna want these kinds of deals on brands not available on Amazon Prime for more than just this crazy month.

While Shoprunner runs the gamut of sexes and preferences, Uncrate is just for the men in your life. This site is all about collecting the hottest products of the moment and showcasing them daily. Most of the time there is no deal involved, and there are a lot of sponsored posts to watch out for. Not to mention that many of the featured tech can run into thousands if not tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. But if your gift recipients need the coolest stuff out there and price is no object, Uncrate is the place for you.

If cool simply isn’t cool enough for you, and you have hipster friend who needs things pre-cool (or you just want to let everyone know you are ahead of the curve), you want Product Hunt. This brand new site showcases the newest of new tech and products and letting them percolate up through a voting system. Think of it like reddit for new stuff. Product Hunt is a startup that is the talk of Silicon Valley right now and it is easy to see why. By surfacing all the latest tech without descending into Kickstarter’s morass of failed campaigns and missed deadlines, Product Hunt offers you minty-fresh products you can actually buy and have delivered in 7-10 business days.

You’re down to less than 30 days of holiday shopping, but this is no time for a full-on fruitcake panic. If you step your online game up, you can come out of this looking like a pro. How you navigate awkward family dinners, however, is up to you.

Shoprunner.com is the best way to shop online for the stuff you love. Visit www.shoprunner.com/2014holidayoffer to sign up! Plus, for a limited time only, make a $100 purchase at a partner store and get a 1-year membership to ShopRunner.com for free! A $79 Value!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of ShopRunner. The opinions and text are all mine.

The post Bro, Do You Even Shop Online? appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

After uncorking the large bomber and pouring Gift of the Magi Ale into a large tulip snifter the deep golden honey brown color of the beer formed a deep and thick off-white head that dissipated into a still thick but small cloud of foam. The taste starts with a malty sweetness that is indicative of Belgian Strong Ales and caramel undertones work well with the base malt.  The hop profile is quite firm but overall subtle and not overpowering, Lost Abbey even uses a small bit of Frankincense as a bittering agent that gives it an ancient and unique feel.  The nose is one of the best I have ever experienced; it is spicy and floral, highly reminiscent of a slowly crackling fire.  Once again Lost Abbey fully embraces the season by adding the herb Myrrh which adds a nutty characteristic to the nose and accents the overall taste quite well. Even though this is a big beer in every way imaginable it finishes clean due to the lager yeast used during fermentation which mellows the strong taste profile. Gift of the Magi is a huge beer that drinks surprisingly easy and will warm you up even on the coldest of winter nights.  

I recommend picking up this Christmas seasonal immediately as it is truly one of the best in class and will not be on shelves forever. Gift of the Magi Ale from Lost Abbey is a gift fit for a king, or even a savior.  

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Let me introduce you to the term ‘mise-en-place’. A culinary term, when translated from French, literally means to ‘put in place.’ Your kitchen from start to finish must be organized, clean and in order. And for the amateur cook, that can be the most difficult thing to do.

Your first step for a successful dinner is to plan the menu, and plan it well. Think of all the details and balance all aspects. Don’t go buying an ingredient that’s not in season and please remember to make something for the vegetarians and those with allergies. Get your recipes ready and the shopping list written out. Buy your ingredients and order your meat well in advance. Purchase in the right quantity. And don’t go and waste all the good rum into eggnog, you know a lot of people aren’t going to drink it anyways.

Now to start with the actual ‘mise-en-place.’ It is all the necessary preparation needed to be done before the cooking of your dish. If you’re going to be cooking a bird, remember to thaw, brine/marinate it a few days before the dinner, you don’t want a thanksgiving disaster on Christmas. Next you are going to clean all your ingredients, cut, slice, chop, make the sauces and work out the dough. This can be done a few hours before you start cooking or even the night before. But remember to store your items correctly, in the refrigerator, plastic wrapped or in well sealed containers.

When you start cooking you should have a good plan of action. Figure out the cooking times and plan your day well. Most of the items in your menu might need to be served hot. Figure out how you are going to keep them warm and ready for service.

It’s Christmas, the last thing you want is a burning pan, a messy kitchen and, hence, stress. There will be guests coming over, keep the kitchen clean. Enjoy the cooking, keep the Christmas spirit and drink some good spirits too! And don’t worry if things go wrong, you can always try again for the New Year’s feast!

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