Luxe for Less: Bamboo Bangle

I came across a gold bamboo bangle on Pinterest and loved it immediately so tried to find where it was from.  Turns out it was Gucci and costs a whopping $4,359 at Saks.  Ummm kind of out of my bangle budget to say the least.  I knew I had to be able to find something with a similar look and feel for less so I started to hunt around. I found it at C.Wonder for $28!  I'd say that's a pretty big difference.  Granted, it's not Gucci, but I'll take it anyways!  And the C.Wonder bangle comes in lots of fun colors making it perfect for stacking.

Gucci bangle                                   C.Wonder bangle 

Keep home close to you no matter where you go

Here's a great gift idea for someone who is about to move far from home...or for anyone who takes great pride in where they live, where they have lived, or where they're from.  Such a fun way to keep your roots close to your heart, no matter where you may travel.  

Maya Brenner's state necklaces:

{had to represent with my home state of CT!}

{for those who want to add a little bling}

{for those who prefer silver}

The Perfect Bubble Necklace!

There's not one thing about this necklace that I don't love:  its chain, its clasp, its blue color, its length - I LOVE it all!  This piece could seriously add some quick pizazz to any number of outfits, including your New Year's Eve outfit! 

{Dabney Bib Necklace}

Stylish iPad Cases

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving!  My long holiday weekend included a friend's birthday celebration, spending my first Thanksgiving with PRG's family, enjoying some post-Turkey Day R&R with my family, and going to our friends' engagement party last night down in CT.  It was a whirlwind of four days but everything was so much fun!

I started my Christmas shopping last week and, while I was out and about, I noticed that Bloomingdale's has a great selection of iPad cases.  Some cases include little stands, some include shoulder straps, and some are purely for fashion, but they all will protect an iPad nonetheless!

I snagged the #5 Ralph Lauren case below for my own iPad in a fun kelly green color - I couldn't resist.  The stand on it works well for reading in bed or browsing thru Flipboard while relaxing on the couch, two of my favorite nighttime things to do.  And I like how it has a professional look to it in case I end up using my iPad in client meetings.  Merry early Christmas to me!

 

1 - Kate Spade

2 - MARC by Marc Jacobs

3 - Burberry

4 - Lodis Accessories

5 - Ralph Lauren

6 - Tory Burch

7 - Marc Jacobs

8 - InCase

9 - Juicy Couture

10 - Bodhi

Fantastic Dabney Lee!

I first heard about the Dabney Lee site about a year ago, and I am a big fan.  I really like how everything they sell is customizable - there are countless prints and color combinations to choose from. 

Here are some goodies that I have received as gifts. 

First, this is my Dabney Lee calendar that spruces up my desk at work.  It arrived with a little lucite stand and I really like the variety that each new calendar brings.  I particularly love the contrast of the fuchsia and orange for the month of November:

PRG and I received this Dabney Lee lucite picture frame and this monogrammed Dabney Lee lucite tray as wedding gifts and they are awesome!  You can customize them to say any name or monogram you want. 

{large lucite tray}

{small lucite picture frame}

As you can see, Dabney Lee offers countless patterns and styles to choose from which makes it really fun to pick something out as a gift (or for yourself)!  Any of the Dabney Lee products would make excellent birthday, holiday, new home, new baby, engagement, or wedding gifts! 

 

Yes, Please for Some Society Social!

I have been wanting a bar cart for a while now but just haven't found one I love enough to buy.  I've particularly been wanting a faux bamboo one but all of the ones I'm finding are totally break the bank material.  Enter Society Social.  So many great ones to choose from in so many good colors!  Don't these make you want to throw a party? 

{Society Social}

Unique Belt Buckles

My friend CH was sporting the lobster claw and thought it was one of the coolest belt buckles I'd seen in a while.  I haven't bought one of these yet but I have my eye on the quahog buckle.  Apparently, JCREW was selling a version of the lobster claw buckle but it is currently sold out.  The buckles below can be bought here.

-PRG

Another Great Mother's Day Gift Idea!

I'm banking on this week not being the first week my Mom decides to enter into the blogosphere and visit my blog.  A tad risky, but I couldn't resist sharing this cute gift I picked up for her this past weekend at my local Kate Spade store - it's an idiom bangle that comes in either normal gold or rose gold and is a perfect Mother's Day gift!  It has cursive words of wisdom along the outside of it which read "be kind, call home, say thank you, smile often, chin up, mind your p's and q's" and then on the inside it reads "mom always said".  I really hope she likes it!

Available at your local Kate Spade store.

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Mother's Day is soon approaching on Sunday, May 8th.  Here are some gift ideas to help you in your shopping - and make sure to remember your Grandmothers too! 

Coffee & tea travel cups from my recent blog post you can find here. 

I posted about Ame & Lulu golf accessories previously here but they also sell great tennis, yoga, travel accessories and luggage.  Here are a couple of my favorite bag combinations:

A new J. McLaughlin tote bag which I posted about previously here. 

Beautiful jewelry, including a monogram necklace from the PRADMAN store on Etsy.  I got one of these gold necklaces with my new married initials as a gift from my sister and brother-in-law and I love it!  You could give a new mom a necklace with her baby's initials.

My mom loves fresh flowers more than anyone I know and I'm sure would like the gift of a monthly flower delivery!  Here is a flower of the month club gift idea from ProFlowers which was voted as "best value" by the Wall Street Journal.  You can pick from 3, 6 or 12 month options.  Or, another flower gift idea could be to get her this spring bulb flower garden which includes 5 tulips, 3 hyacinths and 2 narcissus from Plow & Hearth that looks like this:

My mom also loves shoes more than anyone I know.  Over the years, whenever I was unsure of what to get her for her birthday or Mother's Day, I went with shoes!   One year she had talked about wanting a cute pair of everyday sneakers so I got her these Puma "Mostro Perf" sneakers from Nordstrom.  That same year, we ended up giving another pair to my grandmother for Christmas since she liked my moms, liked the good grippage on their soles, and liked how their velcro closure made them easy for her to slip on and off - pretty cool for an 87 year old to wear, right?!  Last year I got my mom a pair of metallic Jack Roger sandles because they are one of my spring and summer wardrobe staple!

For any mom who loves sparkling water you could get her a SodaStream Sparkling Water Maker from Williams-Sonoma: 

Here are some great personalized tote bags from Ballard Designs for the mom on the go:

 
Last but not least, if you live locally to your mom and grandmother(s), I'm sure they would love nothing more than the gift of your time.  You could invite them for a girls shopping/lunch day, to a day spa, to play golf, or any other ideas you have that would involve hanging out and treating them to something fun!  Or, if you don't live near each other, you can give them a gift certificate from Spa Finder and they can pick to apply that gift certificate at a spa near where they live.  Who wouldn't enjoy some pampering? 

Earring Organization

I love earrings.  A lot.  However my earrings were in desperate need of some organization.  This past weekend I stopped into Marshalls and the second I saw the below earring stand for only $9.99 I knew I had to have it.  They had a bunch of these in stock so maybe the Marshalls near you has some too!

As you can see from this "before" photo, my earrings were living all over my dresser without rhyme or reason.  Some were in a travel jewelry holder (permanently), some were in a ceramic bowl, and some were in a little white cardboard box.  Not pretty and difficult to keep track of.

The "before" shot:

The "after" shot:


Much better!



The Easter Bunny Has Good Taste

The Easter Bunny brought me a fun box filled with lots of goodies, including some Stonewall Kitchen treats.  I absolutely love their balsamic fig salad dressing and now I'm excited to try their apple balsamic salad dressing too.  PRG loves their strawberry balsamic jam so I think I'll have to share that one...




What a pretty box!



Stonewall Kitchen goodies



Red Wine Transformation

Who would have thought it was possible to transform a mediocre wine into something enjoyable?  Certainly not me...until I received a red wine aerator for my b-day. This magical device instantly strips out the harsh aspects found in most inexpensive wines and makes them much more smooth.   I'm not saying this is going to transform Mad Dog Red Grape into Duckhorn, but it does make a substantial difference in the character and taste of the wine it's used with.  My love of finding budget-friendly wines at the under-$20 price point makes the Vinturi Red Wine Aerator a near necessity. This is, without a doubt, worth the $40 investment and would serve as a great gift for any wino! 

-PRG

New Baby Gift Ideas

This past weekend I was in Chicago visiting my best friend CGP who just had a baby boy.  It was so much fun to finally meet her new son in person and get to spend some quality time with them!  Here are two of the gifts I've given CGP for her new baby that I want to share in hopes they might come in handy for you down the road.  Both of these ideas are from Etsy which has definitely become one of my favorite places to shop online!

Custom Birth Announcement Wall Art from mosieposies:

All you have to do is message mosieposies with the colors you want used, the new baby's name, and the
baby's birth weight/length/time/location and they send you a proof for review, it's so easy!

Monthly Baby Onesie Stickers from babycakesdesignco:

Just apply these monthly stickers to a plain onesie and take monthly photos to watch your baby grow and track the changes.  This would be a great baby shower gift for a mom-to-be!

The stickers don't need to be ironed on - you just stick them onto the onesie and then peel them off .

Colorful Gift Ideas

Here are some colorful ideas to keep filed away...a little variety of things to keep in mind should you need some gifting help down the road.

I have to thank the Chic Geek blog for this great idea.  These are called Eco Chic Cups and they are re-usable 16 fl. oz. ceramic coffee and/or tea cups with silicone lids and sleeves.  And, to top it all off, they are dishwasher & microwave safe. 

Blue Floral ECO Cup from Amazon
Red Ikat, Blue Ikat and Spring Floral ECO cups from South Moon Under

Check out this striped Sharp Hill Designs "Grace" clutch with a bow that's both pretty and functional!  It comes in navy or red. 

I love these personalized monthly calendars from the Stationary Studio, and you can have your year of calendars start at any month you would like!  One of these adorns my desk at work and it definitely adds some fun color to my workspace.

Monogrammed cell phone case covers from the Dani Notes Stationary store on Etsy: 

These snap onto any iPhone or Verizon 3G phone to
protect and personalize!  Each one is custom-made so you
can pick the design, color, monogram and font of your choice!

Gearing up for Golf Season

One month from today PRG and I will be leaving for Puerto Rico, and I'm particularly excited since it's been such a long and snowy winter here in New England.  As part of the trip, we're going to play golf which is one of my favorite things to do.  I love being outside for a few hours (hopefully in good weather), spending quality time with whichever family members or friends I happen to be playing with, and trying new courses.

A couple of years ago I received Ame & Lulu golf club head covers, a shoe bag holder, and a carry-all for Christmas and they certainly add some pizazz to my golf bag.  Playing golf is fun, but having good-looking accessories while playing makes it even more fun.

Here are some of Ame & Lulu's newest golf accessory patterns from their new spring line.  You'll definitely be able to find one to match your bag and they're very affordable to top it all off!

Golf Club Head Covers: $79
Golf Carry-All: $26
Golf Shoe Bag: $44

Ame & Lulu also makes great tennis accessories, yoga accessories, diaper bags, dog beds and leashes, travel bags, laptop bags, and the list goes on.   You can check out their site here.