I can’t believe Valentine’s Day is just two weeks away.

Clearly it’s too late now for me to find a hot date for the night (barring divine intervention) so it looks like I will likely be spending it in a similar fashion to last year: at a girlfriend’s house drinking white wine from a cardboard box and watching Fatal Attraction on DVD, hooting and hollering “you go girl” at the screen.

Though admittedly that Valentine’s Day was marginally less pathetic than the previous one… but let’s not go into that as I don’t wish to appear too sad.

Yes, Valentine’s Day is an occasion that’s pretty much reserved for couples, singles with an active dating life and stalkers. If you fall into one of those categories, you will love these prize packs we have from stationery and gift company kikki.K.

kikki.K has some great ideas for Valentine’s Day that offer something different from some of the usual tacky Valentine’s Day paraphernalia. This includes The Love Book, which you can use to record your memories of your partner and how you met as well as filling out the quiz and personality trait rating.

Another nifty idea is the 10 Things I Love About You book, which makes a nice alternative to a traditional card - you can record what you love most about your Valentine.

There’s also the Love Conversation Starter, which contains cards that help recall your favourite memories together… for example, your funniest moment and your hopes for the future. kikki.K also does a version of the Conversation Starter for Christmas (although it can really be used at any time of year for any gathering where you want to get people talking), which can bring up some interesting thoughts once your relatives have had a few glasses of wine (for example, fill in the blanks, “my guilty pleasure is…”).

I have six kikki.K prize packs to give away in time for Valentine’s Day. The first prize consists of one Love Conversation Starter, one My Love Book and one 10 Things I Love About You and is valued at $50. There are also five runner up prizes of a Christmas Conversation Starter, valued at $14.95, to be won. To win, simply email kikkik@lasoo.com.au with the word KIKKI in the subject line and tell me in 25 words or less who you would give the kikki.K Love Book to, and why.

Entries close at 5pm on Friday, February 8 and winners will be notified by email. Good luck and check back here often for more competitions!

By Caroline Warnes

The Nokia E65 achieves what is very rare in business-orientated mobile phones: it packs all the functionality you need in a phone for work into a sleek and stylish body.

It’s not a clunky phone, as many business phones are - it weighs in at just over 100 grams and is small enough to slip into your pocket. Thankfully, the keys aren’t too small for bigger fingers, either, which is a problem you often encounter in smaller phones.

The Nokia E65 manages to keep its compact form thanks to the ingenious sliding front panel, which moves up to display the keypad.

When it comes to connectivity, the E65 excels. It boasts quadband GSM, 3G and Wi-Fi, as well as USB, EDGE, infrared and Bluetooth. Because it’s a business phone, Nokia has included the Quickoffice document reader (which allows you to view documents created in Microsoft Office programs) and an organiser as well as an instant messaging feature.

Nokia has clearly taken the “all work and no play” lesson on board with the E65 as it also features some entertainment capabilities. This includes in-built video and audio players and enough storage for around 10 or 15 average MP3 files. There’s also a 2-megapixel digital camera built-in.

As a business phone, the E65 is best suited for entry-level users who won’t need to perform intensive applications on the handset. If you need to edit or create Microsoft Office documents on the fly, you may need to look at a more comprehensive smartphone.

Click here for offers on Nokia mobile phones near you.

By Caroline Warnes

If you’re looking to get your first digital Single-Lens Reflex (dSLR) camera, the Canon EOS 400D makes an ideal entry-level model.

dSLR cameras are generally preferred by more experienced amateur and professional photographers. So if you feel you’ve outgrown your compact digital camera and are looking for more precise photos, it may be time to step up to the next level.

Unfortunately dSLR camera tend to be far more expensive than compact digital cameras - they may set you back several thousands of dollars, depending on what features you require. However, this is not the case with the Canon EOS 400D. It’s one of the most affordable dSLR cameras on the market - and Canon hasn’t scrimped on the features, either. The EOS 400D boasts a good mix of automatic and semi-automatic controls so you can start experimenting with photography without being thrown in the deep-end.

But the Canon EOS 400D isn’t just for beginners. If you’re already familiar with using a dSLR camera, you can make the most of the included manual controls to show off your skills.

Keep in mind that if you want to take photos in high resolution, you should pick up a CompactFlash card also as the internal memory won’t fit more than a few high-resolution images.

This digital camera is incredibly portable and easy to use, and is also very fast so you won’t miss out on that great shot while you’re waiting for your camera to ready itself.

Click here to find offers on the Canon EOS 400D digital SLR camera near you.

By Caroline Warnes

The Canon IXUS 80 IS compact digital camera won’t be in stores until March, however chances are that anyone who wants this camera likes to know about things way ahead of time.

That’s because the IXUS 80 is shamelessly designed to appeal to style hunters: it comes in a choice of five colours (blue, camel, pink, brown or silver, pictured here) and with a lightly curved chassis.

This 8-megapixel Canon digital camera comes with a 2.5-inch LCD screen, which reproduces colours faithfully (or so the manufacturer claims). The screen is dirt and scratch resistant, too, so you can slip it into your pocket or handbag.

Other key features include a 3x optical zoom lens with optical image stabliliser, face detection technology with in-camera red eye correction, motion detection and noise reduction technology.

The recommended retail price for the Canon IXUS 80 IS will be confirmed closer to its March release date.

Click here to find offers on Canon digital cameras near you.

By Caroline Warnes

I’ve just returned from a long-weekend getaway to the Hunter Valley with my sister and must say I had a fantastic time.

Located a couple of hours north of Sydney, the Hunter Valley is best known as a wine-producing region (both the white and red varieties) but also boasts some excellent restaurants, art galleries and antique stores - and then there’s the picturesque countryside.

We managed to get around to several wineries and attractions over the course of three days, but there were some that really stood out over the others.

Petersons Champagne House

Petersons Champagne House was the very first place we visited after arriving and may well have been the highlight of the weekend for me. Petersons specialises in sparkling wines made by the traditional method. We started off by tasting some of the sparkling whites then sat down with a bottle of the N/V Sparkling Cuvee and a cheese platter.

However it was the sparkling roses that really stood out for me - the Illusion Rose was probably the nicest sparkling rose I have ever tasted, and for something lighter there’s the Pink Blush (all available through the website).

Mistletoe Wines

Speaking of Rose, if you’re a fan, no trip to the Hunter Valley would be complete without a visit to Mistletoe Wines. The winemakers here specialise in Rose varieties and “The Rose” (described as having a “bouquet of crushed flowers and spicy Turkish delight. Fresh, lively palate, full of red berry flavours with a clean, crisp acid finish”) is a highlight. We ended up buying a half-dozen.

Scarborough Wine

If you prefer chardonnay, I can highly recommend Scarborough Wine, also located in Pokolbin.

The wine tasting was one of the better ones we went to - staff sat us down with tasting notes and a cheese platter and explained each wine as we went.

The White Label Chardonnay was very easy to drink, however it’s only available at the cellar door so you’ll need to get it while you’re in the Hunter.

Tempus Two Winery

Tempus Two Winery is one of the bigger venues in the area, featuring large tasting rooms, Oishi Thai/Japanese restaurant and Ludo, a lounge bar that is opening soon.

It’s also the venue for some outdoor events. Elton John played here at the end of last year, and in the coming months Rod Stewart, Santana, kd lang and Matchbox 20 will be here too.

The Verandah

If you’re looking for something different for a light dinner, try The Verandah at Calais Estate in Pokolbin.

Food is served tapas-style - lots of smaller dishes that you can order as you feel like it - on the sweeping verandah overlooking the vineyard (in winter, you can sit inside near the open fire). The staff were very friendly and helpful - chef/owner Matt Dillow came out and had a chat with us and even had me trying his speciality, duck liver parfait (no mean feat considering I only ended 13 years of staunch vegetarianism a year ago). The escargot with garlic croute was also very tasty, as were the tempura zucchini flowers filled with pumpkin, ricotta and basil.

The restaurant is both licensed and BYO, so you can either enjoy your finds from the other wineries or choose from the menu.

Cafe Enzo

Another good restaurant/cafe (perfect for breakfast) is Cafe Enzo, which is part of Peppers Creek. There’s a lovely courtyard to sit in overlooking a fountain and some rather aggressive ducks that provide hours of entertainment to diners.

Peppers Creek is also home to some interesting shops, including an antique store.

Bluetongue Brewery

Not a big wine drinker? Then you need to visit the Bluetongue Brewery at Hunter Resort. We went here for lunch on our final day and ended up sampling Bluetongue’s ginger beer, which I love but have a hard time finding in Sydney.

For $10 you can get a beer sampling paddle, which offers a taste of all six of Bluetongue’s beers. Return the paddle to the bar (obviously some people used to do a runner with theirs) and you get a free middy of beer.

The food is good and there’s also a friendly dog who belongs to the resort who will come and keep you company in the courtyard.

One final word of warning: this time of year, the mosquitos bite (hard) in the Hunter, so make sure you bring some insect repellant. I didn’t and am now paying for it.

By Caroline Warnes

These days it’s pretty widely known that if you’re storing anything of any importance on your computer’s hard drive, you also need to have a back up copy.

So many things can happen to your computer that it would be foolhardy not to - it could be stolen, broken and then there’s the almighty system crash that sees your computer die, making everything saved within irretrievable.

There are lots of external storage solutions on the market today, including DVDs, Zip drives and hard drives. The Maxtor OneTouch Mini 4 is one of the latter.

As you can probably tell by the name, the OneTouch Mini 4 is… well… tiny. This makes it ideal for use with a laptop or for anyone who travels a lot. Though naturally it is suitable for use with a desktop PC, too.

It comes loaded with data protection and recovery software, including a feature called Maxtor SafetyDrill. This recovers the contents of your computer’s hard drive if it ever crashes or is attacked by a virus.

The drive also writes data to it very quickly, which means your back up will be over and done with in a matter of moments.

The Maxtor OneTouch Mini 4 comes in three capacities: 80GB, 120GB and 160GB.

Click here to find offers on external hard drives near you.

By Caroline Warnes

Jumping off high things, skiing down a mountain in a blizzard, surfing a 20-foot wave - these activities aren’t for everybody.

However if you are a member of that exciting breed known as an “extreme sport enthusiast”, you’ll want to get your hands on the Oregon Scientific Waterproof Action Cam.

Up until the arrival of the Action Cam, cameras that could safely film extreme sport activity were pretty much the domain of professionals making documentaries and so on, given the hefty price tags. However Oregon Scientific claims its Waterproof Action Cam is the world’s first waterproof and shockproof hands-free digital video camera for amateurs.

It comes equipped with mounting equipment for handlebars, helmets, your arm and more. This means you can strap the camera on and capture all the action from a first-hand perspective as you’re skiing, surfing or jumping out of a plane. It can even go underwater.

It films in resolutions of either 640×480, 320×240 or 160×120 and at either 30 frames per second or 15 frames per second (30fps will give you a smoother recording while 15 will give you more recording time). The image quality is surprisingly good, too, considering its recommended retail price is just $199.

The Action Cam comes with USB and RCA cables included so you can play your footage back on a TV or computer.

Click here to find offers on waterproof digital cameras near you.

By Caroline Warnes

It’s just been announced that the next Designers For Target collection will be revealed to the public on February 27.

Following on from the success of the Gail Sorronda and Yeojin Bae collections (remember the lace cutout dress, as pictured here? Sigh), hopefully this next collection will be just as good.

No clues so far on who the designer is, but you can visit the website to enter a competition to guess the identity of the next designer as parts of the picture are revealed.

All you can see so far is a patch of dark, wavy hair so it could be anyone! However by guessing correctly you can a limited edition designer evening gown in either red or black as inspired by one worn by a leading actress to the Emmys.

If this evening gown that’s up for grabs is designed by the mystery candidate, can we conclude that this is a designer known for their glam, formal evening wear? That narrows the choices down considerably… so start researching…

By Caroline Warnes

My latest obsession is Pandora charm bracelets: they’re a new take on the more traditional charm bracelets.

The Danish company began making bracelets, necklaces and charms over 25 years ago and today sells jewellery that is both unique and affordable.

I am absolutely in love with the charm bracelets - they start from $39 at Pandora Charm Bracelets and run right through to an eye-popping $1533 for a 14ct gold bracelet. You can choose bracelets with either a traditional clasp or the Pandora bead clasp.

Then there are the charms and beads that you can add to your bracelet as time goes on. Pandora’s charms use a combination of precious and semi-precious stones to create the charms. Murano glass is used to create the spacing beads that you place between the charms to give the bracelet bulk (check out the Pandora website for some inspiration).

The charms on offer range from letter plates to birth stones, and the Murano glass beads are a work of art in themselves.

Pandora also sells a range of rings, necklaces and toe rings, so check out the website for stockists.

By Caroline Warnes

Russell Hobbs has been one of the world’s leading small appliances brands for over 50 years, with the emphasis of the product range being on stylish looks.

The Russell Hobbs Reflections range is no exception, featuring an elegant mix of glass and stainless steel.

The Reflections Rice Cooker is just one member of a range that includes toasters, a slow cooker, cordless kettle, panini press and rechargeable salt and pepper mill. Each appliance is designed to complement the others for an entire bench top aesthetic.

For such a basic food, rice can be one of the hardest to get right. It’s very easy to overcook or undercook and doing either can leave your rice virtually inedible.

This Russell Hobbs rice cooker makes the job easy, featuring very basic controls. And it can be used for other purposes apart from steaming rice, too - including boiling and simmering.

Best of all is the affordable price tag - its RRP is just $69.95, which is very good for such a stylish-looking appliance.

Click here to find offers on rice cookers near you.

By Caroline Warnes