Looking to update your kitchen? Well, before you start looking at new countertops and cabinets, first consider some functional and very cool new appliances. Not only will they help update your kitchen but they’ll also make cooking a little more fun.

The Eclectrics series from Hamilton Beach has a blender, coffee maker, drink mixer, toaster and stand-up mixer to choose from. Each appliance also comes in a choice of 7 different colors, Apple Green (shown: coffee maker), Licorice Black, Moroccan Red (shown: toaster), Pineapple Yellow, Sea Breeze (shown: stand-up mixer), Sterling or Sugar White.

Make yours or a friend’s kitchen a lot more fun this holiday season with the Eclectrics collection of kitchen appliances.

Cooking.com also has a great promotion running currently where you get either
Get $40 Off an order of $300 or more
or $20 Off an order of $150 or more. Either way that’s more than 10% off your order.

Great holiday gift idea for that friend of yours that loves to look and feel great. Or if you’re tired of shopping for other people, splurge on a set for yourself.

Made from pure crushed minerals, Bare Escentuals makeup is renowned for its look and feel. Over 7 million women have already feel in love with Bare Escentuals. Now with Bare Escentuals’ Get Started Kit you can give it a try too and save a bundle of money by doing so.

Each Get Started kit includes two shades of bareMinerals SPF 15 Foundation, bareVitamins Skin Rev-er Upper, Mineral Veil, Warmth All Over face color, an application brush, a full-coverage Kabuki brush, a maximum coverage concealer brush and how to DVD full of beauty tips.

Bare Escentuals’ Get Started Kits also come in three shade varieties:

• Fairly Light/Light
• 
  Medium Beige/Medium
• Warm Deep/Deepest Deep

Recently we featured one of Zaum’s messenger bags, but we’re digging their stuff enough to give ‘em another shout out.

The Tetra Mini is a really cool and unique little bag that would be perfect for storing some toiletries, a small artkit or any other little toys that you have.

Measures approx. 5″ x 6″ and is available in a bunch of different colors and styles.

Add a little artistic flare to any room with the Leaf Light designed by Yves B?har for Herman Miller.

This remarkable design not only allows you to control the light intensity but also lets you choose from warm light or cool light. Never worry about this Leaf Light over heating; it is designed to be cool to the touch.

Very cool and a great unique gift idea for someone looking to modernize their office space.

It’s getting colder outside which for many of us means the end of grilling season (wipe the tear from you eye). But not the end of eating hot dogs, we found this cool Pop-Up Hotdog Cooker that cooks not only two dogs but also 2 buns.

Might be the perfect new kichen appliance to help you survive the long, grill-less winter season.

I think we may have a winner here for “Coolest Christmas Gift 2006.” Cupcakes. They’re seriously sweeping the nation right now. Oprah has openly endorsed Sprinkles as here favorite. Sprinkles has bakeshops in Beverly Hills, Newport Beach and Dallas.

However, the cupcakes pictured above are from Crumbs Bakeshop in Manhattan. With flavors like Red Velvet, Twinkie, Banana Split, Fluffernutter and a bunch more to choose from you’re sure to find the perfect assortment for anyone of your holiday shopping list. Make your own delicous six-pack of assorted cupcakes, wrap it and you’ve got a fantastic gift. Yummy!

Ok now the tricky part: almost none of the cupcakeries online will ship their cupcakes, so if you want to give some one the goods you might have to do a little research on where to get them locally. Those near NYC, Beverly Hills, Newport Beach or Dallas, we’ve done the work for you already.

Or Make Your Own Cupcakes

If ordering cupcakes online doesn’t work out you can always make your own. Here’s three great books with delicious recipes:

• Cupcakes!
• Cupcakes Year Round
• 500 Cupcakes

Happy Baking!!!

Forget a bouquet of flowers…give someone the gift of life! We’re talking about this In Vitro Orchid.

Not only does the recipient of the gift get a flower, but they also get to watch it grow into a momma flower without ever having to care for it in any way. The special nutrient gel, provided with the orchid, is all the orchid needs to grow. So they can sit back and watch their beautiful baby orchid grow with no worries.

Great, unique gift idea for a girlfriend or maybe even that friend of yours who can’t seem to keep plants alive on thier own.

Got a Grey’s Anatomy fan or two in your household? How about giving some Grey’s Anatomy gear this holiday season? ABC TV’s online store has a bunch of different Grey’s gifts to choose from.

Our personal favorite, the McDreamy/McSteamy mug (shown in picture). When the mug is cold it reads “Dr. McSteamy”, then add some hot liquid and the mug will change to read “Dr. McDreamy”. Hilariously fun.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Grey’s Anatomy, go to abc.com and you can watch a few episodes for free. Trust us you’ll love it.

Some other great Grey’s Anatomy gifts:

• Grey’s Anatomy DVDs: Season Two or Season One.
• The 2007 Grey’s Anatomy Calendar

Today’s entry for coolest gift idea for the coming holiday season is the new NBA basketball by Spalding. With all of the debate swirling around the new ball, why not decide for yourself if the ball is good or not. LeBron James and Shaq, in addition to a bunch more NBA players, have been critical of the new ball claiming that it can get a little slippery when wet (Bon Jovi reference).

So how is all of this fuss gonna turn out? Well, here at FreshTrend we’ve done a thorough analysis of the situation and see two likely outcomes:

Outcome #1 - The ball sticks around, players get used to it and everyone lives happily ever after (or at least until the next marketing deal that leads to a new ball). In this scenario, giving someone the new NBA ball as a gift is cool because they’ll be one of the first to have the new rock that LeBron, AI, Kobe, Shaq, D-Wade and everyone else is ballin’ with.

Outcome #2 - David Stern (the NBA commisioner) is overcome with grief due to the player’s outcry against the new ball. In an effort to atone for his mistake, Stern pulls the new ball and switches back to the old leather ball. In this scenario, by giving the new NBA ball as a gift this Christmas you will have given someone a true collectors item, the basketball ball that lasted only a few months in the NBA.

We see it as a win-win gift. But most likely Outcome #1 will happen which we think is the cooler of the two options for giving the new NBA basketball as a gift.

Is the new NBA ball the coolest possible gift for this holiday season? Post a comment and let us know what you think.

Husbands, wives, fathers, mothers…listen up. If you’re family is in serious need of some new living room furniture, check out the Tribeca Chair from Target. Might be a great gift for the family this Christmas or if you can’t wait go pick one up today.

The Tribeca Chair is available in a stonewashed denim, chamois microsuede or willow microsuede. I’m not sure that the pattern in the picture shown here is available anymore, but it was the only pic on Target’s site. Bummer.

FYI - I originally heard about the Tribeca Chair at Slave To Target an excellent shopping blog covering all different cool stuff from Target. We’re gonna add a link to them in our FreshTrend’s Friends sections so you’ll always know where to find Slave To Target.