Tailgating traditions focus on food for the pregame party

The football season has just begun, which means it’s time to cook up a football feast that’s sure to score big points with family and friends. Tailgating traditions and menus are just as important as any play made during the game for many football fans. Autumn kickoff’s the season for fans that really enjoy watching the game in person or on television, tailgating parties, get-togethers with family and friends and of course, good food that is easy to prepare and eat.

Tailgating parties happen under a tent, outside the stadium, in a friend’s backyard, behind a truck bed or in your living room, recreational room, basement or garage. Remember to keep a cooler handy or a small baby raft filled with ice to keep drinks cold as well as perishable foods such as meats or dishes created with dairy products so they keep their proper temperatures the entire time. Bring along a roll of plastic wrap to keep all food containers covered when not in use to prevent flies and other insects from contaminating your best football snacks and finger foods. A roll of paper towels, a jug of water and a bottle of hand sanitizer are also good to have on hand to clean hands and spills while parting.

Foods that can be consumed without the use of utensils or plates are the best ones to bring along to a tailgate party. Vegetable platters, cookies, brownies, mini cupcakes, skewers, sliders, hot dogs and hamburgers are all great choices for quick serving without all the added tableware to worry about. Toothpicks are good to have on hand to poke though finger foods such as breaded chicken wings, pigs in a blanket or sandwiches. Don’t forget a black permanent marking pen so everyone can write their names on their cup to go back for refills instead of using a new cup every time they needs more to drink or forget which cup belongs to them when more than one are placed on the same folding table, snack tray or tailgate.

Tips, tricks and suggestions:

• It is good to remember that the rivalry belongs on the game field and that everyone around the grill are friends and don’t have to compete for the best dishes; you’re all there to have a great time together.
• Always begin with a clean grill.
• Before firing up the grill rub the grates with a thin coat of oil on a paper towel.
• Once the fire is started it might be a great idea to add a few seasoned wood chips to add more flavor to the food about to be cooked.
• Split the charcoal coals into two separate piles. Use one side for very hot coals and the other for ones that are for keeping foods warm that don’t require very hot heat. Now you’ll have a split grill to cook with using both direct and indirect cooking areas.
• Most grills have a lid. Keep the lid down when grilling thicker cuts of meat and raise it when cooking thin cuts of meat so they’ll all come out perfectly.
• Barbecue sauces should be applied to grilled foods in the last 5-10 minutes of cooking.
• Allow the meat to retain its juices by letting the meat rest for a few minutes before cutting into them after being grilled to your friend’s preferences.

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Want a unique dining experience in YOUR home? Kitchit!

Impress friends and family with a unique and memorable dining experience from the comfort of your home. Kitchit provides diners with an exceptional meal prepared by a creative and gifted professional chef, in your kitchen and then cleans up all traces of them ever being there. You’ll be the talk of the town with friends and your family will think you’ve been holding out on them. Want to spice of up your date life or give your spouse the night off? Plan a Kitchit dinner and use the time you would have spent cooking and cleaning to actually share a mindful moment with a loved one.

The Kitchit personal chefs take care of everything from groceries to clean up, eliminating the work associated with hosting a dinner party and thus allowing the hosts to connect with their guests - stress free and at an affordable price. Kitchit founder, Brendan Marshall gives you an inside peek at why Kitcit is catching fire in the Bay.

Tell me little about the inspiration behind Kitchit?

My co-founder, Ian Ferguson, and I were at Stanford business school. We ran into a chef who was talking about how he traveled through Italy and the new recipes he experienced. He was working for a catering company, so he got the opportunity to prepare the recipes instead of just talking about it.

We invited one of them over to cook for us, but thought it would be way too expensive. He said, “No everyone just give me 40 bucks.” He cooked a feast and it was great fun. He became the first chef at Kitchit and he’s an amazing cook! He served lots of food and talked about where the dishes came from and inspiration behind them. We had an awesome time and when it was over, the kitchen was spotless. Traditionally, you have to go to a restaurant to get that level of convenience and experience. With Kitchit, we found an opportunity to bring that intimacy, convenience and the power of the dining experience into the home. We realized this was a really magical experience. The food is one component but, it’s really the experience of connecting with others around the table.

What’s the philosophy behind Kitchit?

The whole mission of Kitchit is to connect through food. To take a moment out of your busy life and really be cared for by professionals who create an experience that’s really YOUR experience. It’s in YOUR environment. An opportunity to slow down and take a moment to really connect with friends and family and strengthen those connections. To relive and talk about the dinner party and dining experience years from now because of the memories that are shared with friends and family.

What makes using Kitchit different from just hiring a personal chef?

It’s a simplified experience where the chefs get to express their creativity. We also have a review system where clients can see comments about previous experiences. And the pricing is consistent; it will always be $39 per person and $9 per child.

Can your clients customize their own menu?

Yes, in addition to a Kitchit Tonight prefix menu, we also provide food restriction options like vegetarian and gluten free. Our chefs can also add-on or fully customize a menu from scratch.

Is it formal dining or casual dining?

It’s usually casual dining; get togethers with friends and dinner parties. It’s an easy way of doing it, but without all of the work. We do have clients who have used Kitchit for formal intimate gatherings. Either way, it’s an effortless dinner party.

What would you recommend to the new clients to make most of the experience?

You don’t need a fancy kitchen or a large one, for that matter. You just need a heat source (read: stove), some pots and pans to cook with, dishes and plates to eat on; and general kitchenware and utensils. It’s fun to see what a chef can do with limited resources. They are very talented and they are professionals.

I think the magical number for a dinner party is 6 people. Plenty of people do date night. The chef is busy with cooking and cleaning so, it’s not awkward having a third person. You’re just having a fun time with your significant other. There is always a nice balance between intimacy and group conversation. Also, I highly recommend having some kind of playlist.

How are the ingredients sourced?

All of the ingredients are locally sourced. Things like olive oil might be imported but, one of the huge advantages is the Bay Area has some of the best produce in the world and we try to partner with local farmers and seafood purveyors, like Two by Sea.

Do you get lot of clients who want something really out of the ordinary?

We get a lot of birthday parties and casual dinners, but sometimes we get dinner parties where the guests dress up in costumes, like Game of Thrones. It’s pretty funny.

Do the chefs really clean up after your task has been done?

We are totally hassle free so, people love it. A very important component is delivering the experience where you don’t have to do any work and you can focus on people around the table and you can have a great time.

How far would the chef travel? How far out would people travel? What is the distance?

The Kitchit Tonight prefix menu for $39 is available in the Greater San Francisco Area and we just opened in the penisula region; Menlo Park, Stanford, etc. We also have the Chef Market that serves the entire Bay Area, down to Santa Cruz and over to Tahoe.

How often do you change the menu?

The menu is changed on a weekly basis. There will be four menus that are available at any given time and each week we change one of the menus and replace it with a new menu. We found that people like having certain menus available throughout the month; they want to have it more than 1 time in a month. Customers would come back and say, “Hey, we love that and want it again!”

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Facts you need to know before installing Lift leveling kits

Many truck owners like the idea of using a lift leveling kit to raise the front of the vehicle. While this is an inexpensive and attractive way to even out the front-to-rear stance and allow for the use of taller tires, there are some facts to consider before you purchase and install one.

The most important are knowing that not all leveling kits are manufactured in the same way. Many truck owners simply look for the least expensive leveling kit they can find, without considering or having any knowledge of the overall design and quality of manufacture. Name brand leveling kits such as those made by Performance Accessories, Ready Lift, Daystar, Trail Master and more, are manufactured to ensure that the kit is properly designed, matched to the vehicle, and is reliable for each application.

Here's some other important facts you might consider, if you're contemplating a leveling kit for your truck or SUV.

1) Look for high-quality manufacturing techniques. Anyone with a drill press and the right tools can make a leveling kit, but name-brand kits are manufactured using precision laser cutters, high-quality steel, and forged components. Better construction quality prevents component failures (cracking) and a better fit.

2) If you have a torsion bar style suspension, never torque the factory torsion bar keys. Use only forged, not cast, aftermarket keys. Cranking the torsion bars can add a tremendous amount of pre-load to the torsion bars causing a harsh ride when you hit a pot-hole or bump. Because of the tremendous spring pressure, cast keys can crack and have been known to break, even during installation. Forged keys are much stronger, lift your truck and are designed to prevent excessive torsion bar pre-load to maintain a smooth, factory ride.

3) Beware of extra thick coil spring spacers. If a 1.5-inch coil spring spacer is good, then a 2.5-inch spacer must be better, right? Not always. Adding a thicker spacer will compress the spring in the coil/shock assembly and make it incapable of properly supporting the vehicle and controlling oscillations. This is why in many instances, manufacturers like Performance Accessories splits the difference between a coil spacer and spacer that fits on top of the coil/shock assembly. This prevents excessive coil spring pre-load and maintains a smooth ride.

4) Spacers that fit on top of the coil/spring perch should be precision laser cut or CNC machined from high-grade steel or aluminum. Leveling kit spacers connect the top perch to the strut tower frame mount and should come with longer high-grade hardware that replace the mounting studs. This ensures that the bolts are extended properly and seat with the factory bolts on top of the coil/shock assembly perch.

5) There's a difference between a $50 leveling kit and a $200 leveling kit. Look at the quality of construction. Bolts holes should be perfectly cut. There shouldn't be any casting flash or welding splatter. Place spacers on a flat and level surface and see if you see any gaps. Higher quality construction typically costs more because components are created with sophisticated machinery and lots of development time behind them. This gives you better reliability and longevity.

6) Make sure the leveling kit is complete. Many kits are less expensive because they don't include items like shock extension brackets, longer anti-sway bar end links, a rear add-a-leaf (on some applications where they are necessary), or even shocks; like on some Ford F-250 systems. Do your research on a variety of leveling kits and find out what major manufacturers offer in their systems. You'll quickly realize that some kits come with more items to do the job correctly, and you'll discover why those "economy kits" aren't really worth it.

7) Look for leveling kits that come with an extensive set of installation instructions. Manufacturers of high-quality leveling kits have comprehensive installation instructions that show you, step-by-step, now to install the system. Many will also allow you to download the instructions before your purchase, which is a great idea before attempting the install yourself.

8) Make sure you have a coil spring compression tool, or know someone who has and knows how to use it. Most trucks and SUV's that will utilize a coil spacer style kit, will require you to remove the coil spring from the coil/shock assembly. So you'll need a coil spring compression tool. These can be dangerous to use if you've never used one before. If you don't have one, make sure you know where you can take your coil/shock assembly to get the coil spring removed and reinstalled safely.

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6 Flawless Makeup Tips to Apply Lipstick to Thin Lips

In today's beauty world, many women are seeking ways to enhance their smile and naturally plump up their lips. While there are a variety of cosmetic procedures that work well to temporary plump up the lips through filler injections, there are also some simple tricks that allow you to create beautiful, full lips with a simple tube of lipstick. By following a few easy steps when applying your lipstick, you can create a luscious, healthy and beautiful smile in just a short period.

Step 1 - Gently Scrub Lips

One of the most important aspects of creating luscious and kissable lips is to make sure they are properly scrubbed and exfoliated before applying lipstick. This ensures that all the dry skin is removed, allowing for minimal flaking, ensuring a smooth and slick appearance. You can easily scrub the lips with a soft washcloth and natural cleanser, and there is also all-natural lip exfoliating scrubs that help to gently remove the dry skin while promoting healthy collagen production. You only need to exfoliate the lips once a week, but it is important to gently scrub them with a soft cloth before your daily application of lipstick.

Step 2 - Drown the Lips in Moisture

The next step is to drown your lips with moisture. This can easily be accomplished with an all-natural lip moisturizing balm. It is important to use a natural moisturizer, as they contain ingredients such as Vitamin E and Aloe Vera that deeply penetrate the lip skin and promote moisture and suppleness. Allow the lip moisturizer to soak into the lips for at least twenty minutes, and gently remove any excess balm to ensure a smooth and slick finish.

Step 3 - Apply Your Lip Liner

The third step in creating beautiful and dramatic lips is to apply your lip liner. Lip liner can be applied directly on the lip line, or if you are looking for a more pronounced effect that will enhance the size of your lip appearance, you can cheat a bit and draw a new lip line a millimeter or two above your natural lip line. Choose a color that complements your lipstick and blends in naturally, as this will help to maintain a natural and luscious appearance as opposed to a penciled-on look. Let your lip liner settle into the skin for at least five minutes before taking the next step.

Step 4 - Fill In Your Lips With Lipstick

The next step is to fill in your lined and moisturized lips with lipstick. You can be generous when applying, as you will blend it all in with the next step. Make sure to cover the entire lip area, all the way up to the lip line. Once you have applied your lipstick, blot your lips on a tissue or rub your lips together to begin the blending process.

Step 5 - Use a Lip Brush for Blending

Using a lip brush for additional blending will provide a smoothed out and shiny appearance, and will blend the colors of the lip liner and lipstick perfectly. Lip brushes are small and similar to an eye shadow brush, except the bristles are slightly stiffer. Wet your lip brush before blending in your lipstick to ensure proper blending and additional moisture.

Step 6- Clean Up Mistakes

Using a wet tissue or a cotton swab dipped in makeup remover, gently clean off any nicks or smears around your lips. This will allow for a picture perfect smile with absolutely zero flaws.

Make Your Lipstick Last

Once you have applied your lipstick, you may be wondering how to make your lipstick last. While it is important to re-apply every few hours, this can also lead to a caked-on look. All-natural lipstick top-coats work well to maintain your color without fading, and applying a clear lip balm on top of your lip color can also help to keep the color from fading.

Luscious and beautiful lips are easily attainable with a few simple do-it-yourself steps. By taking the extra time to exfoliate and moisturize, as well as apply a lip liner and top coat, you will be truly amazed at how beautiful and natural your lips look and feel.

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5 reasons why the Porsche 918 Spyder will influence your next sports car

The final Porsche 918 Spyder came off the assembly line in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. Porsche’s super sports car reached its limited edition limit of 918 units and these lucky few have the technology now that you will see in your sports car soon. What does the 918 Spyder feature now that many cars will be seeing soon?

The sports car you drive in the future will benefit directly from innovations found in the innovative 918 Spyder. Those high-tech goodies will equate to performance and improved fuel mileage in one smart package like the new Porsche super sports car.

Porsche systematically developed the new 918 Spyder to be a performance hybrid with plug-in technology (PHEV). The first example was a concept car and was unveiled at the 2010 Geneva International Motor Show where it was met with overwhelming approval. Buyers are looking for both performance and efficiency. This car delivers both.

The future is here now

918 lucky owners will be driving a super sports car that will now provide the data for the advanced development of technologies for the sports cars of the future. They're five key technologies in the 918 Spyder that you’ll see in future sports cars.

The key technology on this limited edition sports car is a drive concept which combines a high-performance combustion engine with two electric motors. This operating strategy is one of the unique aspects of the 918 Spyder that sets it apart from other performance PHEVs.

Porsche says the system uses various requirements ranging from an efficiency-oriented driving profile to maximum performance. This provides important knowledge for future production developments.

Porsche developers defined a total of five different operating modes that will maximize the efficiency and performance of the drivetrain depending on the individual driving situation.

Silver Porsche 918 Spyder 

New technology comes from motorsports

Like many automakers, Porsche uses the data from their motorsports division to develop new performance technologies that go into their production vehicles that you drive everyday. This new Porsche system is activated by the driver using a "map switch" on the steering wheel. Porsche used this motorsports knowledge in developing the characteristic maps and the algorithm stored in them for controlling the three drive units and other systems. The German automaker says we can expect to see this knowledge applied in future hybrid drives.

The fourth technology in the 918 Spyder that will be seen in future sports cars is the cars thermal management concept that features five separate cooling circuits and the innovative hybrid cooling of the rear electric motor using air and water.

The final example with future implications: the Porsche 918 Spyder can convert more kinetic energy into electrical energy than other hybrid vehicles because of its intelligent control of generator functionality and conventional brakes. The large capacity regenerative power boosts efficiency and driving range.

The new super sports car from Porsche is incredibly fast too. The 918 Spyder’s hybrid system pumps out a total of 887 horsepower. The car set the lap record for street-legal vehicles with production tires on the North Loop of the Nurburgring with a time of 6 minutes 57 seconds in September 2013. The record has never been equaled by any production car since.

The last example of the new 918 Spyder rolled off the assembly line this week and the super sports car has the technologies that will be influence sports cars of the future you will be driving. Stay tuned.

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What Are the Different Types of Lip Augmentation Procedure?

What is Lip Augmentation?

Lip augmentation or lip injections have slowly become one of the most asked about cosmetic procedures there are out there. If you're wondering why, we all know how the lips are the focal point of the face. Sexy and plump lips can exude a sense of sexiness that is just hard to mask. Women with naturally thin or oddly shaped lips are the most common customers in these kinds of procedure.

Lip Enhancement Procedures

There are different types of lip augmentation procedures, and it can range from a couple of fillers (no big deal right?) or more invasive procedures like lip enhancement done through surgical means. We intend to discuss all of those, including the different kinds of fillers, in this article.

Lip Enhancement Using Injectable Materials

For a less scary option, it is best just to go for fillers. They are not as invasive and they cost lest than surgical operations. Here are the different kinds of fillers you can choose from.

Collagen-Based Fillers

Collaged fillers come from, get this, cows. I know it may sound crazy but this actually works. Who knew cows can be used for more than a great steak every now and then right? Apparently, bovine-based collagen is a legitimate thing. Your doctor only needs to do a simple allergy test before performing the injection on you but other than that it is a pretty straightforward procedure. Some Collagen Based Fillers even come with PMMA, a certain kind of plastic, so that the effect of the filler could last a little bit longer than usual.

Acid-Based Fillers

Acid-Based Fillers on the other hand are more natural sounding than the previously discussed filler. Acid-Base Fillers take advantage of Hyaluronic Acid (if it sounds familiar to you, it's probably because some anti acne products use this ingredient), which really comes from a carbohydrate that is naturally in our system, specifically our tissue and skin. Aside from the fact that it is more natural, it has been said that Acid-Based Fillers last longer than its other counterparts.

Using Fat Transfer

This kind of lip augmentation is not a filler per se but it offers a similar procedure. Basically your doctor takes fat cells from other areas of your body that are not as visible to the eyes, a very popular option is the bum, then they transfer such to your lips. Your doctor can have his own technique in taking the fat cells and in most situations; his technique will greatly impact how long the effects of your operation will last. However they last longer than the fillers mentioned above.

Cost

Well, the cost of lip fillers or fat transfers could depend on certain factors like your locality, the brand of the filler your doctor decides to use and even the expertise of your doctor. However, lip fillers will set you back around $300 per session while lip transfers will cost your around $5000. Whoever said the price of beauty came cheap?

Lip Enhancement by Surgical Method

Now it's time to bring out the big guns. Lip enhancement did through a surgical method although admittedly scary and is fairly new procedures does have its fans. The procedure goes like this, your doctor creates small incisions near the corners of your lips or he may decide to create incisions in other areas as well. Through these incisions he will insert a needle with an implant in it, these implants may be derived from human tissue and even in certain cases just collagen. This kind of procedure does not heal easily and may make you vulnerable to side effects like bleeding, cold sores, swelling, scarring and numbness. However most of these side effects are temporary in nature.

This procedure will cost as much as a lip transfer ranging from $4500-$5000.

We feel compelled to remind you that lip augmentation through fillers and surgical procedures can open you up to side effects. If you are not in any way burdened with extremely thin lips then it is best just to go for more temporary means such as lip plumpers or the illusion of makeup. But if you are desperate and this is your last resort then maybe the procedures in this article could be for you.

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Easy and Smart Ways to Getting Beautiful & Plump Lips

Nowadays the lip enhancement has modified so much that shades don't matter more. What matters is the efficiency with which the lip augmentation can work for enhancing the lips so they appear luscious. Thin-lipped women are more conscious about their looks; they search for perfect shaped and soft lips. The reasons for chapped lips are a lack of moisture on skin lips which make them more prone to become dry and scaly. These patches fall out and cause the cracked lips which make them look dull.

There are many approaches which can help in augmenting the appearance of the lips. Let us discuss the available options for having the plumped and rosy lips.

Options for getting big lips naturally:

The injectable dermal fillers, when used on the lip skin, helps in making the lips fuller and pouty. It can be injected around the mouth; this can be painful and it's quite expensive.
You can try the home remedies which are natural and easily found inside the kitchen. You can use lemon for minimizing the darkening of the lips and give them natural pink shade. You can try honey; use a thin layer on the lip surface. This will provide a moisturizing effect on the lips and give them luster that makes your lips shine. These methods aid to swell the tissue of the lips temporarily and make your lips gorgeous and sensual.
Lip plumpers with natural ingredients help in making the lips fuller, sexier and pouty. It helps in stimulating the lip tissues which gives the swelling effect on the lips and make them look beautiful.

How does lip plumper work to give you fuller lips?

The deficiency of collagen in the lips causes them to look thin and it causes drying. This will make the delicate lip skin more susceptible to become cracked and forms the lines on the lips. So the natural lip plumper has hyaluronic acid which helps in retaining the moisture of the lip skin. This will make it less prone to drying and thus prevent them from cracking. You can get fuller, healthier and glowing lips with lip plumpers which have longer and positive effects.
The composition in lip plumpers helps in improving the volume and shape of the lips without irritating the lip skin. It does not require time to heal compared with the lip surgery; and does not cause any discomfort. It is available in tinted gloss, gel form and fattens the under lip tissues to make your lips seem naturally plumped. Most of the plumpers have cinnamon which causes a mild sensation on the lip surface; this indicates its effectiveness for achieving fuller pout.

Get rid of lip lines effectively:

The smart way to get rid of lip lines and make them healthy is to use plumpers that improve the volume and structure of the lips. You should read lip plumper reviews; regarding the safety of the ingredients on every skin type. The lip plumpers when applied will stimulate the circulation of the blood towards the skin and give the lips natural red shade.

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