Valentine’s Day Gift Roundup

The big day is almost here - Valentine’s Day. If your’e still stumped on what to gift your honey with, we’ve pulled together a selection of past posts that will come in handy.

Valentine’s Gift Guides

 * Megan suggested four great gifts for your low-maintenance sweetheart.

 * Blondefabulous made a Valentine’s wish list ranging from sweet and romantic to sweet and yummy.

Sites We Recommend To Find The Perfect Gift

 * Lisa reviewed Moonpig.com, a quick, easy and fabulous way to send a beautiful custom card to anyone this Valentine’s Day.

* Megan introduced us to Style Outside The Box, which offers a collection of items that include home decor items and jewelry by up and coming artists. Find something unique for your favorite woman there.

Quick Picks

Want us to hand it to you on a silver platter? Fine:

 * Is your girl a photog? We’re willing to be she’d love a great looking camera bag.

 * Got a fitness buff in your life? Give her a Nike +.

*  Is she a social butterfly who loves to entertain? A set of classy-but-fun glasses might just hit the spot.

If you play your cards right, you might find yourself in need of one of these.

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Five Fun Gifts For The Traveler

You know that friend that you have that’s never in one place too long? The one who posts pictures from all over the world on her Facebook page? If you’re stumped as to what kind of gift to give her (if she’s rarely home a vase isn’t going to cut it, is it?), I have got some great ideas for you, clever gifts for the traveler in your life.

5 Gifts For Travelers

1. Cute Passport Cover- Going through immigration can be a drag, but a whimsical passport cover will bring a smile to her face even while she’s waiting in line. This is not only useful, it’s quirky, colorful and fun. The bonus is that she’ll think of you every time she pulls it out of her bag. Whether or not this will translate into her taking you with on the next trip, I can’t say. But it couldn’t hurt your chances.

2. Standout Luggage Tags – Everyone’s got a lime green or red luggage tag these days, but not everyone has smart-ass luggage tag. She’ll be able to find her hides-marks-really-well-when-you-travel-a-lot black suitcase in a crowd of them. And maybe it will even help her meet that cute guy in seat 12a.

3. Travel Makeup Brushes – The whole makeup thing may be the most irritating part of negotiating travel. What to bring, what to leave home. Hauling a set of expensive makeup brushes may not make the cut. Enter this kit. A great set of brushes in a neat travel pouch that will stand upright on it’s own on a crowded hotel vanity. A great, inexpensive gift that will get used again and again. At least it would if it were mine.

4. Scratch-Off Wall Map – This cool map will help her keep track of where she’s been, even if she can’t remember. This is also a great gift for kids or anyone who’s got a travel wish list. Just scratch the gold coating off the countries you’ve visited, revealing the blue underneath. When the whole map’s blue, you’re done!

5. Go Clean Bag – Dirty, wet, smelly clothes can really stink up a suitcase—and the clean stuff inside of it. Problem solved with one of these clever bags. They’re made of a heavyweight nylon that keeps dirt and odor inside. The drawstring laundry version comes in its own zippered bag, compact and ready to pack. It’s handy to haul to the laundromat when you’re on a long trip, too. Other versions include the wet suit bag, shoe bag and miscellaneous stuff bag. You can also get a set of their most popular bags packed in one kit; you’ll be giving the gift of a clean, fresh, organized suitcase, and nothing says love more than that. Does it?

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5 Gifts for Minimalists

I may be one of the few people in the world who hate when someone asks, “what do you want for Christmas/your birthday?”

It’s not that I don’t like people buying me presents; it’s that I don’t like people buying me crap.  And my threshold for what constitutes not crap seems to be higher than most people’s.  I’m very picky about the stuff that I let accumulate in my life, and I’m only getting more picky with age.  I don’t want candles or bath salts or kitschy home decor items.  I don’t mean to be a bitch, but owning stuff means having to clean, put away and make room for stuff.  I try to ensure that the stuff I will end up cleaning, putting away and making room for is stuff that is really, really important to me.  Scented candles?  Not even close.

What do you get a minimalist crab like me?  Of course, you can always give gift certificates and “experience” gifts.  But if you absolutely have to have something to wrap up in pretty paper, try some of these gift ideas.

5 Great Gifts For Women Who Hate Stuff (Or Call Themselves Minimalists)

1. Great sheets

I love sleeping in other people’s houses when they have better bed linens than I do, especially because I almost always end up going cheap on my own sheets.  A gift of high quality sheets would get enjoyed over and over again and is really a gift of every day luxury.

Style & Co makes a 300 count cotton percale sheet set that is soft, durable and easy to care for.  Available at Macy’s.

2. Leather driving gloves

These leather driving gloves from Saks ooze cosmopolitan style and they’re practical!  Fingers get cold!  A quality pair of gloves will last a woman years.

3. A Miche Bag (and shell, or two)

My mother has one of these and I am craving one of my own.  I need to get rid of the closet full of handbags I currently own, but a girl still  needs a purse!  This lets me be fashionable without taking up any space at all.  You see, the Miche bag allows you to change the outside of your handbag while reusing the same base over and over and over again.  If you haven’t heard of this yet, checkout their site.  Then buy me one.  Please.

4. E-reader

Whether it’s a Nook, Kindle or a Sony, an e-reader takes the bulk of a bookshelf and puts it into a slim, portable reading device.  A Nook may be the best bet for your favorite minimalist if she likes to lend and borrow books or make use of her local library.  You can find refurbished Nooks on eBay at a significant discount.

4. Handmade soaps

Bath salts?  No.  But soap?  Even minimalists wash up and handmade soaps will get used and be loved.  They’re also relatively inexpensive.  LUSH makes the absolute best soaps (and other body products), but you’ll get a better product if you purchase in store than you will if you order online and have to have it shipped.  Bath & Body Works is a satisfactory substitute if necessary.

5. Scarves

I may be pruning my closet in preparation for my big trip around the country, but I am keeping every single one of my scarves.  A collection of colorful scarves prevent minimalists from walking around in the beatnik black uniform.  Bonus? You get find tons of great colors and fabrics for a steal all over.  Target is my favorite place for scarves (and tights!).

8 Gift Ideas For Women Who Travel

Do you have someone on your shopping list that loves to travel?  Or maybe you need to get a present for someone who has to travel a lot for work.  Whether she travels for pleasure or business, these gift ideas for travelers will make her life on the road more pleasant.

8 Gifts For Women Who Travel

1. Personalized Leather Luggage Tags – serves the dual purpose of making a bag easier to spot on the baggage carousel and providing all necessary information in the event that her luggage is lost.  Something leather and monogrammed is a much classier choice than something polka dotted and flashing.

2. Cashmere Pashmina – a pashmina is an ideal accessory for a traveler because it can be layered when you find the weather chillier than the Internet told you it would be and it can be used as a blanket on the airplane, because they no longer offer those for the suckers in coach.  I am constantly freezing on the plane and use an over-sized scarf that Faiqa brought me from Saudi Arabia as my travel blanket and go-to layering piece.  A cashmere pashmina would also do the job nicely.

3. Sleep Kit - you can assemble the perfect sleep kit with a few items that help make a strange hotel room more comfortable: silk sleep mask, ear plugs, and a small (travel sized!) bottle of linen spray.

4. E-Reader gift cards - if the woman you’re shopping for is an avid reader and traveler, chances are she already has a Nook or a Kindle (or the Kindle app on her iPhone).  Find out which one she has and give her the appropriate gift card.  Regular Amazon gift cards cannot be used for books on the Kindle, so this is a gift that often gets overlooked and would be greatly appreciated by anyone who has found themselves spending $12.99 in a moment of desperation in an airport.  Repeatedly.

5. Portable Solar Charger - uh, yeah.  This thing is powered by the sun and can recharge almost any rechargeable device, including iPhones, Blackberries and many digital cameras.

6. Photography Gear - if your loved one (or liked one) travels for pleasure, there’s a really good chance that they have at least an amateur interest in photography.  Even if they aren’t good at, they probably want to capture the places they visit in pictures.  That means that photography gifts are perfect for travelers.

7. Underwater HD Video Camera – I got one of these for free at BlogWorld and it is amazing for taking underwater video.  If it can handle snorkeling, it can probably handle just about anything else your jet setter can put it through.

8. More travel! Did you know that you can actually purchase gift certificates from many travel companies, including airlines like Southwest and JetBlue?  These are great gifts if you’re hoping your frequent flier will eventually come visit you!

As with any gift, try to avoid the cutesy low-quality crap that’s more of a gimmick than it is useful.  Do not, for example, give me an inflatable travel wine bag.  Unless I am an avid wine collector, that is lame.

Novica: Artisan Jewelry And More

I love artisan jewelry. Last Christmas, my mother gave me a nicely fortified American Express gift card, so I decided to treat myself to a necklace that I’d seen in the Sundance Catalog, my usual place to get my earring and necklace fix. Unfortunately that necklace was sold out and there wasn’t anything else that I loved and could afford. I started poking around the Internet and eventually found Novica.

I got my jewelry fix. And a new, handmade leather purse that has the cutest little zip pocket in the back that my iPhone fits into perfectly. Plus I have a new place to roam around to hunt for glass vases, area rugs, sculptures, paintings and other handmade items. You could wipe out your whole holiday list in one shot. How cool would that be?

The best part about Novica is that all the merchandise is made by individual artisans from all over the world. Your purchase helps support artists in India, Chile,

Mexico, Thailand, Bali, the Andes and many other countries. If you have any reservations at all about dealing with Novica, it may help you to know that this site is presented in association with National Geographic. That’s why I eventually bought a gorgeous peridot (my birthstone) necklace made by a lovely woman in India who actually included a nice postcard with my order. My leather purse came up from Mexico in under two weeks. The necklace took a bit longer, but not much.

Since those first purchases, I have received more Novica jewelry as gifts. Still love it. And when I’m in

the market for home decor, I’ll absolutely make a stop here. The prices are reasonable, you can, at times, get free shipping (but shipping’s not outrageous either) and they have a rewards program that gets you discounts on future purchases.

All that and you can help someone in a developing country make a decent living. Not bad for a few mouse clicks.

Because Coffee Really Is The Most Important Food Group

Meet my precious: the Keurig coffee maker. The Mother’s Day gift I made my husband and son give me last year. Best gift I ever picked for myself, and trust me, I’ve picked a lot.

I was an avid coffee press person right up until the time my husband suddenly decided to start drinking coffee (what is up that, anyway?). The press became a huge pain because it only holds a couple of cups of coffee, so I would have to boil a second pot of water, clean out the press, etc. Really too much effort for a weekend (I wait for free work coffee during the week), don’t you agree?

Now, I had considered the Keurig before but since I was the only one drinking coffee the press was really ideal. But now that there were two (three if you count my son, who, inexplicably likes coffee) coffee drinkers in the house, this started to sound like a good idea. I could have my stronger coffee, and my husband could have the coffee equivalent of training wheels. And, my son could have a cup of decaf once in a while. Brilliant.

Let’s start with the obvious. This is a nice looking machine. It’s not huge; it probably takes up a bit less space than a conventional coffee maker. It’s slightly rounded in back rather than square so it fits nicely in a corner. The pan on the bottom, where the cup sits, comes out for cleaning and for tall travel cups.

There are three “strengths” you can choose for your cup. A small cup, which would be pretty strong, a medium (think Startbucks) and a tall. You’ll have to play around and try them all to see which suits you. Which is the beauty of the thing really. You can have one cup strong and the next a little mellower. Everybody gets exactly what they want every time with no compromises. I love it when I don’t have to compromise. It’s a little bit of Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one.

The other great thing is that you have many choices in coffee, from mild to bold, organic and not. You can mix and match so there’s something for every mood. Plus you can also get all kinds of tea and hot chocolate. Honestly though, I’m not a huge fan of the hot chocolate (at least the one that comes in the sampler you’ll get with the machine) because it is made with water rather than milk. But that’s a personal preference. And I see that Godiva makes a hot chocolate for the Keurig, so that’s an enticement for me to give it another try. You’ll find the most choice online at Keurig.com, but you can also buy the K-Cups (as they are called) at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Kohl’s, Target and other places. We buy a huge box of the Newman’s Own at BJ’s once a month. It has about 80 cups in it. You can also purchase a refillable cup to use your own coffee in, but to me that defeats the entire purpose because then you have to clean that thing.

Now, the cleanup. Ready? Just take the cup out and toss it. Done. Brilliant.

And the coffee? It is good. And hot. And takes only a few seconds to brew. The machine needs a minute to heat the water when you turn it on, but after that your cup of coffee is done in a flash.

Mother’s Day is coming up. So is Father’s Day. And bridal season. And your birthday. You can thank me later.

Smells Like Gift-Giving Success

Finn here again. I’ve got a lot to say. Apparently.

I’m not hard to buy for—if you pay attention. But so many people just don’t. Or at least that don’t pay enough attention. Maybe they realize that I am a perfume whore (The more the merrier, I say and I’m not ashamed). What they don’t get is that just because I like fragrance it doesn’t mean I will like their favorite, which they will invariably assume, even if I didn’t say I liked it or even notice they were wearing any. And invariably that scent will be something sweet and delicate, which is NOT me at all and should be obvious to anyone who’s ever been in my presence.

But enough about me.

What I’m getting at is this: Unless you know for sure what your giftee likes perfume-wise, it really has been better just to refrain from giving that particular item.

Until now.

Sephora has the perfect solution:  Sephora Scent Samplers. It’s ingenious really. You buy the sampler, which includes a handful (7, 10 or 12 depending on the collection) of sample bottles of their bestselling fragrances. Once you’ve tried them all and decided on a favorite, you bring the enclosed voucher to your nearest Sephora store and redeem it for a full-sized bottle of your pick.

Easy-breezy and oh-so-cool. Plus, they have samplers for men, too.

A few caveats: You must redeem the voucher at a Sephora store; you can’t use it online. And it’s not valid for our Canadian friends unless they cross the border. Finally, there is always the chance that the recipient won’t like any of the available scents. But the included selection is diverse enough that the chance would be slim. Two of the collections have one scent that I’ve recently fallen in love with and I’m picky as hell.

Pricing on these are $50 for the Best Sellers or Deluxe samplers and $75 for the Collector’s Edition, which features seven miniature versions of the regular perfume bottles rather than the little sample packages. For men there are two versions, the Deluxe for $50 and the Collector’s Edition for $75.

I gave one these to both my brother and my dad for Christmas (they like cologne almost as much as do) and they loved it. Gift-giving WIN I tell you. Even my mother liked the idea and she’s a pain in the ass when it comes to gifts. Trust me, you’ll be a hero. Try it.

P.S. These are a great way to sample several fragrances and even save a few bucks on new scent if you’re in the market for yourself.

Maybe, just maybe, someone in my life will get the hint (anyone?) and buy me one of these babies. But they’re probably not paying attention.

Cookbooks: The best of the best with Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

On principle, I rarely suggest cookbooks as gifts for women.  I also don’t want a vaccuum cleaner for Valentine’s Day or a new ironing board for my birthday, thanks.  Apparently, I have a little feminist rebellion in me after all.

And yet, one of the best wedding presents I received was a cookbook I got from my Nanna.  A cookbook as a wedding present?  Sure, it’s a little cliche.  But I think every kitchen has to have this cookbook in it.

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15 Ideas for Graduation Gifts for Women

Holy crap, it’s May.  How did that happen?

As the days get warmer and Christmas becomes a distant memory, no doubt your mailbox will soon be filling up with graduation announcements.  Yes, further reminder that time has flown by and it’s time to start thinking about ideas for graduation gifts.  High school and College graduations have begun and chances are good that someone you know will be in need of a graduation gift in the next month.

Of course, you can always stick money in a card and call it a day – or you can go the extra mile and make sure your money doesn’t go towards beer and take out.

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10 Gift Ideas for a Housewarming Party

Over on my personal blog today, I’m hosting an online housewarming party for a friend of mine who just moved to Florida.  Like any internet savvy woman, she’s made an Amazon Wish List for herself so that we all have loads of ideas of things to buy for her new house.

If only ever party invitation we got came with a link to an Amazon Wish List!

Alas, no.  More often than not we have to use our own noggins and try to guess what would make the perfect gift for someone else’s new home.

10 Housewarming Gift Ideas:

Alora Ambience Reed Diffuser

The rental company that manages my friend’s new home used these amazing reed diffusers.  It was the very first thing we noticed when we walked into the house.

The verde scent smells like fresh cut grass and makes you feel like you’re standing in a clean home on a crisp spring day.

It’s to die for.

It’s also expensive as hell and not the kind of thing most people would buy for themselves.  Even in my own home I stick with Bath & Bodyworks Wallflower units.  I’m ashamed to say this – but these smell much better than anything I’ve ever used before.

Available online from Alora Ambiance.

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