For Your Smart Girlfriend: Holiday Gift Guide

Of course, we’re all smart, but your smart girlfriend doesn’t just accept information, she devours it.  Intellectual pursuit and curiosity define her.  Smart girls do like jewelry, handbags and perfume, but there are things that a smart girl just loves.  Like books, educational stuff, and Vera Wang.

As a self proclaimed “smart girl,” I’m writing this holiday gift guide to help you make, well, smart purchases for your smart friends.  So.  Here we go.

I love the library.  I do not, however, love carrying my books home every week in a reusable grocery shopping bag from WalMart.  It follows, then, that I need this Vera Bradley Tote Bag in Very Berry Paisley to carry said books.  Actually, I would pretty much accept any kind of Vera Bradley tote because I think they’re gorgeous.  This bag can be purchased directly from Vera Bradley or you could get lucky and find it on Amazon or Overstock.com, which both carry the brand from time to time.

Smart people love to be smart in several languages.  Don’t let the price discourage you, the Rosetta Stone software proves highly cost effective when compared to taking several college level courses.  Each language offered has several levels, and buyers have the option of purchasing one level at a time or an entire set.  The software can be purchased directly at the Rosetta Stone site and also at Amazon.

I type nearly all correspondence on my keyboard, but I love the idea of sending hand written notes to my friends and family.  There’s something incredibly classy about penning a “Thank You” note completely from scratch on your very own personalized stationery.

There are tons of places on the Internet you can find designs for stationery.  I really liked this one at Finestationery.com.  Mostly because it’s called “Saffron,” and because it was designed by Vera Wang.

On any given day, I might be in the process of reading up to three books at the same time.  That doesn’t mean that each of these books doesn’t need to feel special which is why I’m a bookmark junkie.  I have metal, ceramic, plastic, leather and glass ones.  While I may have lots of bookmarks, I do not have a hookmark which can be purchased at, you guessed it, Hookmarks.com.  It’s a definite bonus that this vendor mentions free gift boxes with each hookmark you purchase.

There’s probably a specific topic that whips your smart friend up into a frenzy.  Most likely, it’s something she can talk about for hours that would cause her to set aside her normally awesome social skills and cease to notice the deadened look in your eye as she goes on and on about it.

If you’ve been harassed about you’re aware of this well loved topic, head over to PBS’s site and click on “Shop PBS.” You’ll find numerous documentaries for sale, at least one of which will be entirely devoted to the thing she loves to talk about most.  While many of these titles are available on Amazon, purchasing directly from PBS ensures your money will go directly to creating more educational programming on the network.  If you can’t decide exactly what to get, they have gift certificates available, as well.

The best gifts, I think, are the ones that are both given from the heart and adequately reflect a measure of consideration for a person’s true passions in life.  Of course, if your smart friend  is really smart, she’ll like whatever you give her because she knows it’s being given with love and sincerity.

HowEVER.  If I’m your smart friend, know that my birthday is in January and this was just one big hint.  Consider yourself warned.

Happy holidays.

Win a Wm. J. Mills & Co. Parachute Bag

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to our winner (chosen by Random.org)…CharissaRenee!

No matter how big our purse is, sometimes it just isn’t big enough. Laptops, cameras, water bottles, planners, and sunglasses are all necessities (or maybe I just carry everything but the kitchen sink around with me) and there’s no reason why we can’t carry everything in style.

The Parachute Bag from Wm. J. Mills & Co. is a chic messenger bag, a sturdy briefcase, and a versatile travel bag that is perfect for weekend adventures and business meetings.

This bag is machine washable and wears like your favorite pair of jeans. Plenty of pockets help keep you organized with room to spare. 20 classic color combination as well as hand and shoulder straps, make the Parachute Bag a wardrobe staple for both its style and versatility.

I love Wm. J. Mills & Co. for the quality of their products and the integrity of their company. Founded in 1880 and still run by the same family, they are the oldest operating sailmaker in America. Lucky for us fashionistas, they branched out and have been using their impeccable craftsmanship with canvas to create timeless bags.

The Parachute Bag is available online, at the Wm. J. Mills & Co. Greenport, NY store and exclusively at Henri Bendel in NYC on 5^th Avenue (how’s that for chi-chi?!).

Now comes the part you’ve all been waiting for (I know I’ve been waiting to tell you!). Wm. J. Mills & Co. has offered a Parachute Bag for one lucky reader! This chic wardrobe staple is worth $225!

All you have to do to enter is answer…

Where would you take your Parachute Bag?

Submit your comment by Monday, November 1^st. We’ll draw a random number on Tuesday, November 2^nd, and the winner will be contacted by email.

Please take a second to like Wm. J. Mills & Co. on Facebook for offering this fantastic giveaway and to keep up to date on all their latest products.

This is a sponsored giveaway. Prize will ship directly from sponsor. Winner will have their choice of colors. All bags are sewn to order, so please allow 1-2 weeks for prize to ship.

Laptop Backpack Bag – I am in LOVE.

A friend of mine recently mentioned that carrying a laptop through an airport is much easier with a laptop backpack, as opposed to a shoulder bag.  I’m headed for Chicago next week for the BlogHer conference and had kind of been dreading hauling my laptop around for four days.

The laptop backpack seemed like the perfect solution for my aching shoulders and back.

I jumped on Twitter and asked if anyone had any recommendations for good laptop backpacks.  Within seconds, @ShredderFeeder told me about his Swiss Army bag and @Laci_Loo told me about a laptop backpack on sale at Amazon.  As luck would have it, it was a SwissGear bag (which I am almost positive is what Swiss Army bag means) that was on sale!

My new SwissGear laptop backpack arrived this week.

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10 Things Every Woman Needs To Travel

In the last few years, I’ve become an avid traveler.  Like anything else, the more you do it, the better you get at it.

How can you be good at traveling?

Watch someone who travels for business pack.  They never forget anything, they know what’s essential and what’s dead weight, and they’ve discovered all kinds of tips and tricks for making life out of a suitcase easier.

Whether you’re planning your first vacation in years, or cashing in your frequent flyer miles again, here’s a few things you can’t leave home without.

10 Things To Buy A Woman Who Travels

1. Hanging Toiletry Bag

Baggallini Hanging Cosmetic Bag

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