First Blush organic grape juice -- A couple years ago in Asti a friend gave me a bottle of organic grape juice made from local wine grapes and it was more flavorful and had more body than any grape juice I'd ever had. Now you can get something similar here (at Whole Foods, for one). First Blush (Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay and "Rose" are available) is 100 percent varietal grape juice with nothing added. I tried the Cabernet and it's packed with flavor and sweet as pie. And it may or may not be top-loaded with the same health benefits as the vinified version. But, hey, you can drink it while driving! Check it out at firstblushjuice.com. -- Bobby Tanzilo
The photo memory book by Snapfish.com -- In these digital days, taking 75 pictures within the first hour of your vacation is common (and awesome), but the inevitable downfall of such technological advances is the loss of hard copy. The upside, obviously, is the ability to sift through and choose which 20 of our 200 shots we'd actually like to keep. Individual prints are cheap and easy, but Snapfish's hardcover memory book ($19.99) is 20 pages (or more if you need them), personally designed and laid out with just about any combination of photos and text you'd like. The best part is that the graphics are mature and artsy, not cheesy and generic. It's all done online and the book ships in about a week. It's a great gift and a cool way to document your exciting life. -- Julie Lawrence
Every Man Jack -- For some reason Target never has my stand-by Gillette Series foam shaving cream in stock. I've used it seemingly forever and always been a basic shaving cream guy. That is, until I saw Every Man Jack. It has a great product design here with funky graphics and an industrial look. This is not a "men's version" of some crappy women's product line. Every Man Jack's Shave Cream is really more lather than cream. But, this stuff is good. It touts something called Squalane, which is derived from wheat germ. Not sure of much else, but it makes my Fusion razor slide very nicely. Jack products don't use parabens (synthetic preservatives) instead they opt for natural alternatives. Other things not in this shaving cream include dyes, sulfates, oils and SLS. All of this is no surprise, though, as the line is the creation of the former Method VP for Marketing, Ritch Viola. All Every Man Jack products sell for $4.99 or less, too. -- Jeff Sherman
Wisconsin Mac and Cheese from Noodles & Company -- The soon-to-be-7-year-old in my house asks for this dish constantly and can usually polish off an adult-size portion. It's easy to see why. The creamy cheese sauce is tasty and the cheddar-jack blend sprinkled on top adds extra zing. When I finish my Indonesian Peanut Saute (with tofu), I always ask the young ‘un for a bite. The Web site is noodles.com. -- Drew Olson
The Invisible Heart -- An economic love story? You got it. This is a great book and should be, as a friend suggested, required reading for every Economics 101 course. Your politics may not be quite as libertarian as lead character's Sam Gordon's or as liberal as Laura Silver's, but if you believe in capitalism and the virtues of a free market economy yet struggle with why the politics of poverty and greed have divided us so, you must read this book from Russell Roberts, an economics professor at George Mason University. Sample it here. -- J.S.
Walking the dog -- Since not everyone has a push-up club at their office, it never hurts to get a little exercise. Walking the dog is one of the best ways to accomplish that while bonding with your best friend. Take along an iPod and plastic poop bag and explore different streets in your neighborhood. Fido will thank you and your doctor may thank you, too. -- D.O.
Outside.in -- This is a national site that localizes and aggregates content. Nothing earth shattering here, but it's a nice daily way to get a quick grasp of Milwaukee blogs, community sites, newsgroups and even a few mainstream and OMC media stores. Check it out at: http://outside.in/Milwaukee. -- J.S.
"Intervention" on A&E -- This show, which follows substance abusers as they bottom out and are confronted by friends and family members, isn't particularly easy to watch. But, it's also hard to turn off. Reality TV that makes you squrim and think? Interesting twist. -- D.O.
