7 Must-Haves For The Holiday Season

Liza again!  Here I am with my 2nd annual 7 Must-Haves For The Holiday Season!

Who needs some gift giving ideas?

Liza’s 7 Holiday Must-Haves

Alex and Ani.  I am in love with their Single Charm Bangles in Russian Silver.  With charms like Pursue Happiness, Miracles Do Happen, Compass, Path of Life, Eye of Horus, Love (noticing a theme here?) and so many more… I could go on with more of my favorites.  Most go for between $24-$38 though the price can go higher for some.  Alex and Ani’s bangles have replaced traditional clasps with a sliding mechanism, making each piece adjustable.  And they are always coming out with new charms!

 Smashbox Lip Glosses make my list once again.  Addicted and the answer is still no, you can never have too many!  Hard to choose between this years Snap You’re Fab 6 Pc. Lip Gloss Set you can purchase for $30 through Ulta OR the Softbox Lip Gloss Collection for just $29 directly from Smashbox.

Origins’ GinZing so I can look perky any time.  It’s a refreshing eye cream that retails for $29.50  – made from a complex of Caffeine from Coffee bean (lets hear it for another use for coffee!!!), Panax Ginseng, Magnolia Extract and natural optic brighteners.  Actually got to try it out at Origins when I had a mini facial and it rocked.

And like last year, we have the big guns section.  The all too expensive but they are making my list anyway because here at Buy-Her, a girl can dream can’t she?  (Tell my husband she can!)

Have a blogger in your life you love dearly?  TRUST me when I say she will want this almost more than anything.  Full conference pass to BlogHer 2012 in NYC (August 2-4th).  WANT THIS BADLY.  And FYI, conference passes to just about any conference would always be appreciated, but this one is the biggest.

Jessica Simpson.  She might always make my list.  No not her, her collection.  I am Obsessed with her collection.  The Tylera Black boot.  Not sure what what it is that calls to me but these boots would look awesome on me, I just know it.  Did I mention its currently on sale for $149?  (Don’t judge.)

Flip Video UltraHD Video Camera.  Yes I know that Cisco discontinued them and let me tell you, mega case of the sads.  I am sick of trying to film myself for blogging things with my Droid in my bathroom mirror!  My mom says the shower head in the background looks like it’s growing out of my head when I do that.  I need to be more high tech.  Luckily you can still find them online.  The white and blue is adorable but that one seems hard to find.  Really any one will do.

Keurig.  I kind of hate how expensive they are.  I have tried to tell myself for Months that I don’t want one.  That I wouldn’t use it.  The same way I don’t use the coffee maker I have at home now.  (I don’t… I find myself running to Dunkin Donuts instead.)  But something about those k-cups… coffee, iced coffee, tea, iced tea, cider, cocoa…where does it end!  (It doesn’t!)  Damn you Keurig.  Damn you.

Those are My 7 must haves for this holiday season. (And if still in doubt, you can never go wrong with a gift certificate to your favorite girls hair salon or wherever she gets manicures and pedicures!) Happy shopping!

Featured photo

Is the Keurig Worth It? Absolutely!

I know that the Keurig brewer is not a brand new item on the market. They’ve been around for a while. But they are kind of a high dollar item, and in a world where you can buy a cheapo coffee maker at any drug store, why would you pay at least $100 for a coffee maker? Because it is oh-so-worth it!

The Keurig I have is the Elite (also called model number B40). There are models that are slightly less expensive and slightly more expensive. The Elite retails for $109 on the Keurig website, with free ground shipping. Amazon also carries these, but I noticed they are about $20 more expensive on Amazon.

So, why would you want to spend this much money on a coffee maker? Let me count the reasons.

#1 – Perfect Coffee Listen y’all, I make the world’s worst coffee. This has been verified by several individual coffee drinkers. I can make perfectly delightful creme brulee but cannot brew a pot of coffee. My dinner guests used to be well aware that if they wanted coffee with dessert, they would need to brew it themselves. But with my Keurig, there is no room for error. Hit a button, pop in a K-cup and you are off to the races. You can even vary the coffee’s strength by choosing a larger or smaller cup of coffee. And you can make more than one cup of coffee without having it sit around and burning in the pot.

#2 – Cost Effective Eventually, this will pay for itself. If you are one of those folks who stops at a coffee shop on your way to work every day, it doesn’t take very long to add up to the $100 the Keurig cost. Plus, you never have to buy filters again. OK, I know filters are very cheap, but still, it’s one less expense you’ll have.

#3 – Variety With the K-Cups, you can have a huge variety of coffees on hand at all times. Decaf, different flavors, different brands, teas, hot cocoa, hot ciders…. I currently have on hand some Newman’s Own Organic, some Gloria Jean’s Butter Toffee, and some Tully’s Kona Blend. You can buy packs of all one variety or you can buy variety packs. The brewer comes with a 12 cup variety pack so you can check out some of the most popular flavors. At my parents’ house, my dad hates what he calls “girly” flavors of coffee – anything other than regular black coffee is too girly for him. But my mom and I like the flavors – butter toffee, french vanilla, hazelnut, pretty much anything. With the Keurig we can each have a cup of what we want with no hassle.

#4 Customer Service This is the part that amazes me the most. The people at Keurig are so nice! Last month, I was having trouble with my brewer. It simply would not work. So I called customer service for some troubleshooting help. I talked to two very nice people who were even able to listen to the noise my brewer was making. Although it was ultimately determined that I had probably caused the problem by not descaling my brewer, it was under warranty, and they shipped me a completely new brewer for free. And they never once made me feel stupid for having messed up my $100 coffee brewer.

In short, while this is a fairly significant purchase, I think it’s one you’ll love. It is convenient, easy to use and produces cup after cup of great coffee.

Poppy’s Top 5 Holiday Gifts

I’ve been nice and naughty, so here’s what I hope someone gets me for the holidays:

Keurig Special Edition Brewing System
$139.95 with free ground shipping
This brewing system can brew hot or iced K-Cup beverages of your choosing. It is programmable to wake up before you do and has an energy savings mode that turns the unit off when not in use. It offers a 6, 8, and 10 oz cup and holds 48 ounces of water in its reservoir. The best part? Quiet-Brew Technology so that you don’t wake up the neighborhood brewing your morning K-Cup of coffee! YAY!
Purchase at: Keurig

Colin Stuart Embellished Boots
$158
These boots exude sensuality! An unreasonably high 4 1/4″ heel makes these boots perfect for special events or bedroom romps. The studded buckle, built-in platform, soft suede, and knee-high length make the perfect fashion statement. Wear these boots under or over a pair of jeans or to complement a little black dress.
Purchase at: Victoria’s Secret

Yummie Tummie Skinny Tank
$62 to $68
Be proud of your muffin top! But if you need to make it disappear for a bit wrap it in this fantastic slimming tank top. Polyester and estaline help you keep your voluptuous curves looking fierce.
Purchase at: Yummie Tummie

Coach Poppy handbags
$118 to $598
This collection of bags goes full range from fun and flirty to chic and sophisticated, so there’s a bag for every woman’s needs! Featured is the punk girlesque Tartan Glam Tote for $198, gorgeous outside and in.
Purchase at: Coach

Xbox 360 Kinect
Xbox 360 with built-in Kinect sensor – $299.99 to $399.99
Kinect sensor for your existing Xbox 360 – $149.99
No more wired or wireless controllers to play your favorite games because YOU are the controller! The new Kinect sensor technology brings you into any Kinect capable game by making your game character move just like you do.
Purchase at: Amazon

Feature photo credit: Dov Harrington

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.