A reader made me aware of this cool deal. You can get a $20 Amazon gift voucher for just $10. I just bought one since I shop on Amazon a lot. Just visit the link here and put NYC as your city. This offer is just valid for today. [Link]

The blog 965malls went around The Avenues yesterday and took a picture of every store front that had a sale. In total they counted 98 stores on sale! They then took the 98 pictures of the store fronts and put them together in a collage which you can see a part of in the image above. Check out their blog for the full image and more [Here]

So just before New Years The Avenues announced that starting 2011 it would be non-smoking mall. Well it’s 2011 and I haven’t seen any change. As expected people are still allowed to smoke freely and today I even spotted a shop employee smoking outside her shop as well. We’re still the first week of 2011 and it looks like the smoke free idea has already collapsed.

I think there are a few reasons behind this.

1) There are no signs inside the mall that say “No Smoking”
2) Looks like the employees of the shops don’t know it’s now a smoke free environment
3) Not enough personnel to look out for smokers

Here is what I suggest as solutions:

1) There should be better coordination between the shops and the mall. Maybe the mall could provide the stores with a kit that contains a no smoking sticker for their door and small no smoking stands to place inside the store next to cash register. Maybe there could be a small booklet that explains to the employees why there is this band and what to do in an event they catch a smoker who refuses to stop smoking
2) There should be no smoking signs next to the trash bins and all around the mall
3) There should be more people stationed around the mall keeping an eye out for smokers
4) Create posters or give away fliers to people explaining to them the dangers of smoking and second hand smoke. That way customers will understand the reason behind the ban
5) Think bigger and create a campaign for a smoke free Kuwait and The Avenues could set an example by being the first major establishment to support this

If you guys have any other ideas post them below.

My friend spotted the banner above at Holiday Inn Salmiya. Seems there is a 95% sale on designer brands taking place at their ballroom. I don’t know how long the sale is there for but according to the banner they’re open from 10AM to 10PM.

Thanks Q

Update: Seems today (Wednesday) is their last day

Yesterday the local blogosphere came alive about how starting January 1st The Avenues would turn into a non-smoking mall. I for one was very skeptical when hearing this since the airport for example is supposed to be smoke free yet people there smoke casually without any consequences. At restaurants smokers also usually have the best tables while non-smokers get shoved all the way in the back. Since I was in contact with someone at The Avenues, I decided to find out more about this smoking ban and how they were going to enforce it.

First of all The Avenues is going to be smoke free except for the following areas:
- Designated areas in cafés and restaurants
- Seating areas and space outside The Avenues (open air)
- 9 air freshener machines (pictured above) will be installed at all the basement entrances and those stations will be designated as smoking areas

Regarding enforcing this ban, if The Avenues security personal find anyone smoking they will approach them and ask them to stop. Since they’re a mall they can’t fine smokers themselves but they will be cooperating closely with the police who are present at the mall on a daily basis.

I am a non-smoker and I hate walking in a mall behind someone smoking so personally I really hope this campaign succeeds and The Avenues can truly enforce this smoking ban and set an example.

Last night I posted a sneak peek of the new Choowy Goowy Cafe that’s opening up at 52 Degrees and today Nat passed by and was able to send me pictures of 52 Degrees as well. The place so far looks really cool and that has a lot to do with the fact it was designed by the Kuwaiti architect Ahmed Al-Baghli, the same guy behind the beautiful MELENZANÈ. Nat on the other hand created the 52 Degrees identity. You can check out some sneak peek pictures below, they are soft launching tonight.

For those of you who don’t know what 52 Degrees is, it’s basically a department store that will be filled with Kuwaiti products and creations from clothing and accessories to food and desserts.

I found out about the Withings bathroom scale yesterday and straight away added it to my Christmas wish list. The digital scale not only records your weight but also your fat mass, muscle mass and BMI. The cool part is it then automatically uploads this data onto an online database which you can then check and use to monitor your progress. It also has an option which will automatically share your weight along with all the other data to your twitter or facebook account (I’m serious). Finally you can also download the free iPhone/iPad or Android app and view and monitor your results with your mobile. Pretty cool for a simple bathroom scale. I just ordered mine (along with an SSD drive) from Amazon for $159. [Link]

A reader sent me two pictures of a very long queue at Geant right now. Seems they have an offer on Samsung 1080 phones, they’re selling it for KD1 and that includes when you buy a KD5 phone line.

Thanks Yousuf

GoNabit is an interesting website that’s been around for awhile now I guess but just recently included Kuwait. It’s a website where they have new offers all the time. Last week for example you could open up an Aramex Shop&Ship account for half price, today for example you can get a KD10 voucher to use at Diva’s for KD5 or you can pay KD10 and get a KD20 voucher to use at Saso Ocean Groove. They have limited quantity on these offers and once they run out they move over to the next offer. For each deal to work a minimum amount of people is required to sign up. For example for the Diva’s offer 10 people need to sign up for it at least. If 10 people sign up then the deal goes through and you get your voucher. If less than 10 people sign up then you get your money back and the offer is canceled. [Link]

Thanks Ghinoua

Update: I added more details on how GoNabit works

I was at Dean & Deluca when I spotted the sign above and I could make out the word seedless underneath the sticker. I love seedless watermelons and always have them whenever I am in the States but never knew why we never got them in Kuwait. So I asked an employee there if they had any seedless watermelon and he told me they ran out but are getting some again in a couple of weeks. Finally seedless watermelons in Kuwait!

So a reader sent me a link to her blog where she wanted me to check out this toy gun she found being sold here in Kuwait. I didn’t see what was so interesting about it until I watched the video. Not sure if I find this funny or serious since it goes both ways depending how you look at it. Make sure you have the volume loud. [YouTube]

Thanks Elle

I noticed Sports Corner in Salmiya has a small section with authentic Red Bull Racing Gear. They had a bunch of their Formula 1 branded gear including Vettel tshirts and Red Bull racing caps and polos. For those of you don’t follow Formula 1, this year Vettel who drives a Red Bull car was the champion.