Monthly Archives: November 2013

Gift Guide: 5 Gifts For The Work From Home Parent

2013 Holiday Gift Guide, Gifts,

It takes a special kind of person to be a work from home parent. You’re stuck in an office in your home where you’d probably rather be catching up on your favorite tv show, making sure the kids are doing their homework, ‘helping’ your spouse cook dinner, or smelling the roses in the garden. No.. you’re stuck in your home office which hopefully has a door and is an area that the kids are not allowed to enter. If I’ve learned one thing in the 13 years I’ve been working from home it is to set boundaries for who and when someone is allowed to step into my office. If you’re not here to help me sort through paperwork, write a story, or call clients, do not spend more than 30 seconds in my office. Or you will get sucked in! 😉

The items featured in my ‘Work from home parent gift guide’ are things that I being a work from home parent, find useful and fun!  I especially love the cork planters (#5).  One cork planter can add a touch of green to your office while the other holds pens.  My second favorite thing on this list is the rolling foot massager.   I just love this because my feet get tingly when I’ve been sitting for a long time.  The rolling massage plus heat makes for a relaxing, spa experience right from your home office!

Work from home office gift guide

1 – iTunes Gift Card
Every work from home parent needs a plethora of music choices at their disposal.  Sometimes we need music that gives us energy and sometimes we need music that calms us down.
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2 – Rolling Foot Massager with Infrared Heat – $139
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3 – HP Smartphone and Tablet Wireless Inkjet Printer w/ Your Choice of Tablet + Bonus 8GB USB Flash Drive Value Bundleicon – $122

4 – Big Head Memo Pad icon – $25

5 – Cork Plantersicon – $50

Gift Guide: 5 Unique and Useful Gifts For Teen Girls

2013 Holiday Gift Guide, Gifts,

My daughter is not a teenager but from what I remember, teen girls, want fun and unique gifts for  Christmas and other holidays for that matter.  A subscription to Highlights magazine and new clothes for her favorite doll (from when she was 7) aren’t going to cut it now that she’s 13 or older, right?

Considering what I was into when I was a teenager, I sought out 5 fun and unique gifts that I think your teenage daughter might enjoy getting for Christmas!  I wish I thought of keeping the ticket stubs from the concerts I went to as a teenager.  Four concerts I went to when I was a teenager were Sinead O’Connor, Cocteau Twins, Sarah McLachlan, and The Prodigy.  How I wish I had those stubs and photos from the concerts.  Or not.. actually.   What concerts did you go to as a teen?

Moving on.. teenage girls spend a lot of time on their iPhones listening to music, texting, and playing games (all at the same time). What cooler way to listen to music than through crocheted headphones?  How cute are these (#2)?  I could have used a white board magnet board like #4 below, but in all reality, I probably wouldn’t have used it because I was under the impression that I could remember things.  Right.

Here is a list of 5 gifts that I think would be a lot of fun and useful for a teenage girl.

5 unique gifts for teen girls

1 – Animal Socks icon– $27
Take a walk on the wild side with graphic sets of colorful socks nipping at your ankles to keep you warm.  Sold in a set of three.

2 – Crocheted Headphones – $38
Warm up to new music with these charming, nubby headphones. Handmade by artist Traci Medeiros-Bagan, its sweet design recalls vintage crochet with a modern twist: beneath its yarn are high-tech headphones ready to plug into your on-the-go playlist.

3 – Ticket Stub Diary – $12
Your daughter will never forget those front row seats at her first concert or her first movie with her friends. With this Ticket Stub Diary your daughter can preserve your precious memories from concerts, museums, movies, and more. This book comes with clear sleeves that fit a variety of ticket sizes, plus space in the margin to write down your memories from the event.

4 – Cloud Magnet Board –  $25
Bid farewell to scattered post-it notes and forgotten trains of thought. Daily to-do lists, invitations, and treasured photos will be front-and-center on this magnetic message board, fashioned from cold rolled steel and cut in the shape of a whimsical cloud. Write your last-minute ideas right on the board (marker rubs right away so you can start fresh when you please) and watch your genius takes shape. All it took was a little organization! Made in China.

5 – Blue Bird Clutch – $32
This light-hearted clutch will bring a fresh flight of fancy to your look. Handcrafted by artisans in Nepal, it’s felted from 100% natural sheep’s wool. The zippered closure and handy strap make this bag a perfect little nest for your necessities when you’re on the wing.
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2013 Black Friday Sales

New posts, Sales & Events, Shopping,

2013 Black Friday SalesBlack Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is known to the one of the busiest, if not the busiest shopping day of the year.  Shoppers are drawn to the special offers offered by retailers and some even stay up for well over 24 hours to get the ‘best’ deals on everyone in their family’s wish list.  I call them crazy but if you are one of them, don’t mind me. 😉

I personally don’t usually brave actual physical stores on Black Friday.   I’m not that cool. I prefer to shop from the comfort of my home using that thing called the Internet.  Many online stores offer free shipping and amazing deals on Black Friday.

Here is an ongoing list of stores that are having Black Friday sales.

Click on the store name or the image above the store name to go to that store’s Black Friday sale page.

Some stores may not have a live Black Friday sale page live yet but an announcement page. Bookmark this page and check back often to see when new stores are added.

The stores are listed in no particular order.

I am going to add stores regularly through Black Friday so check back often!

Fashion & Style Guide: 6 Beanies Under $50

Fashion & Style, Style Guide

If it is below 50 degrees outside, you’ll find me bundled up.  About the only thing I enjoy about winter is wearing cozy clothes.   I don’t like not getting to go outside the with the kids without having the bundle up, looking out the windows and seeing leafless trees, and getting into a cold car.  Enough said about that.

This year, because I guess we really do get smarter as we age, I am adding hats to my winter wardrobe.  I suppose pulling my coat over my head and covering my ears with my hands isn’t the smartest way to not freeze.  I saw a woman wearing a beanie yesterday at my daughter’s Thanksgiving Feast as school and thought about how cute.. and warm she looked.  Maybe I ought to give that a try.  Beanies are the ideal winter hat because they slide on, fit cozily, and there’s not so much of a risk of them being blown off by the wind.   I also love how compact they are.  I could easily put two or three beanies in the glove compartment of my car and never be without one!

Beanies come in a lot of styles.  You could have one for each day of the week and every dress situation.  A casual beanie, a dressy beanie, a fun beanie, a boring beanie.. I could go on and on.

A few things I have been looking for on my search for a few perfect beanies are neutral colors, a loose fit style (so I’m not left with a red line on my forehead when I take it off), and a tight-knit would be good so the cold air doesn’t seep in through the holes.

Here are a few beanies I love that are under $50

 

Beanies under $50

1 – Echo ‘Milk Made’ Slouchy Beanie – $35 at Nordstrom.com
Available in 8 colors!

2 – Mossimo® Beaded Beanie Hat – $12.99 at Target.com
This knit beanie is studded with glittering silver beads for a bit of sparkle and shine.

3 – Perfect Slouchy Knit Hat – $48 at NeimanMarcus.com
Hat Attack’s Perfect Slouchy hat caps your casual look with a cozy, chunky knit.

4 – Flecked Pastures Beanie – $32 at Antrhopologie.com

5 – Crochet Beanie Hat with Flower – $16.99 at Target.com

6 – Beaded Spiral Rib Beanie – $48.00 at Shopbop.com

 

Do you have a favorite beanie or are you looking for the perfect beanie?  Let me know if I can help you find something!

Alicia, The Mommy Insider blog author

I LOVE the Personalized Christmas Card I Created On Cardstore.com!

Gifts, Holiday, , ,

Mom Central Consulting

My to do listWhat’s on your to-do list today?  Here is mine ->

If you’re wondering what my to-do list writing strategy is, I don’t have one. 🙂

As you can see at the bottom of my to-do list, I want to take photos of the kids for Christmas cards.  I was left inspired and motivated after creating a customized Christmas card on Cardstore.com yesterday.

In 2011 and 2013 I mailed Christmas cards to family.  Great job, I think to myself – better than the other 12 years since I’ve had kids when I didn’t mail Christmas cards out.. but they weren’t the cards I wanted or visioned.  I visioned a Christmas card with a gorgeous photo of the kids ON the front of the card with an inspiring holiday message of love and well wishes for our friends and family overlaying or above or below the message.  Instead I sent out standard stock holiday cards with a photos of the kids inside it.  Boring.

I am so grateful that I have Cardstore.com to turn to this year.   Cardstore.com allows users to choose from hundreds of gorgeous holiday card designs and customize the card with a photograph and text of their choice.

The great thing about creating a customized card where you embed a photograph ON it through a website like Cardstore.com is that their designs make any photograph look good.  Yes, that awkward photograph of your three kids, one with a clump of flyaway hair, one with cross-eyes, and one who isn’t smiling at all, will look good ON a Christmas card.

Here is the 1st Christmas card I created on Cardstore.com

Cardstore.com customized Christmas cards

It is very easy to create a personalized card on Cardstore.com.

To create a customized holiday card on Cardstore.com simply follow these steps:

  1. Go to cardstore.com
  2. Click on ‘Christmas’ in the top left
  3. Cardstore.com photo upload optionsClick on photo cards in the drop down menu that appears
  4. Choose to refine your search (select how many photos you’d like on your card, background color, etc)
  5. Click the ‘make your card’ button to the right of the card you’d like to customize
  6. When your card design opens, click on Your Photo Here with the + symbol
  7. Choose how you’d like to upload your photo
    (Initial options are: your device, Facebook, Dropbox, Instagram, and Flickr but if you click “see all options” you’ll see these options: Picasa, Google Drive, SkyDrive, Box, and Evernote!)
  8. Browse your selected choice and click on the photo you’d like to upload
  9. Once you click the photo, you will need to double-click it to add it to your card
  10. Click the pink ‘done’ button
  11. To change the default text on your card design, click directly on the text.  A text box will appear allowing you to change the text verbiage, font, color, and size.
  12. Click Save at the top of the page when you are finished customizing your card and follow the steps as prompted.

The process of finding and customizing my Christmas card on Cardstore.com took about 10 minutes.

I had so much fun playing around with designs on Cardstore.com and already have card ideas in mind for other holidays!

I am going to create another custom card on Cardstore.com once I get a good photograph of the kids.  Wish me luck!  I’ll be searching Google for “how to take holiday photographs of kids” later today. 🙂

Cardstore.com stands out because of its clean, beautiful site and its ease of use and who doesn’t love pretty cards?

Cardstore.com can be a busy parent’s best friend year round!   Imagine the cards you can create for:

  • birthdays
  • Mother’s Day
  • Father’s Day
  • anniversaries
  • and for your child’s teachers!

Create your own personalized holiday cards at http://po.st/PersonalizeYourCard today!  From November 21st – 26th Cardstore is offering 30% off holiday cards!

Here’s a tip from one parent to another:
Don’t worry about having the perfect photo for your Christmas cards!  
Your friends and family are going to love your Christmas card no matter what!  Enjoy a few minutes on Cardstore.com and you’ll see that even the most imperfect photos make for a great Christmas card!

 

Alicia, The Mommy Insider blog author