Hearts of Glass

Show your valentine you have heart and class with brilliantly colored vases from Salviati.

Designer Maria Christina Hamel’s heart-shaped vase, called Cuore ($1,975), reflects the charm and sensuous movement of color in the mouth-blown Venetian glass.

The Cuoricino ($775), a smaller version of the Cuore, has the same charm and color of the larger vase.

The vases are available at Modern Living, 8125 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 655-3898.

The Big Chill

Now you can go grocery shopping in the morning, lunch with friends, run errands and pick up the kids from school without having the milk, butter and ice cream melt in the car.

Keep your perishables cool for hours in the Thermal Whiz collapsible cooler, which has state-of-the-art cooling capabilities.

The cooler has high-density closed cell foam insulation, leak-proof liners for easy cleaning, exterior compartments for extra storage, snag-proof zippers and a padded shoulder strap.

When you’re finished using the cooler, it folds up flat and can fit under the seat in the car or in a suitcase.

The cooler (from $15 for a six-can cooler to $50 for 72-can capacity), is available in the county at Sav-On, Target, Walgreen’s and Kmart.

Horticulture Hotline

Amateur gardeners can now get expert tips, thanks to a new hotline offered through the Master Gardeners program.

The questions are researched by volunteers who have completed an 18-week gardeners training program.

“We answer questions about horticulture, home gardening and even household pests, such as, ‘What is that strange bug on my wall?’ ” says Mike Henry, one of the forces behind the hotline.

The hotline accepts queries 24 hours a day via a voicemail system. Volunteers collect the questions twice daily, then conduct research and respond to callers within 48 hours.

The Master Gardener program is offered through the University of California Cooperative Extensions Office.

The hotline number is (714) 708-1646.