Last Minute Gift Idea..

This is a last minute gift idea that I think, personally, is amazing.

Netflix. That's right, if you have it, you know.

Everyone loves movies, and if any other place is like my hometown (Charlotte, NC), then you know that Blockbusters are closing left and right.  It literally takes like 1.5 days to get a new movie in the mail from Netflix.  It's also rather inexpensive, depending on the package you choose, to give to someone as a gift (or stocking stuffer). Moreover, all you have to do is print out the certificate, after choosing a seasonal background, and you're set!

1 month of 1 rental at a time + live streaming of selected movies on your computer - $8.99 2 at a time- $13.99
2 months of 1 rental at a time - $17.98  2 months of 2 rentals - $27.98

you get the picture... it's great for all ages. yay

Great Stocking Stuffers for the Gents....

Pretty much the same, but for men.

1. Porto Candles in wood scents ($34.99)- They're great for guys, because they won't be embarassed about a fruity smell.  They come in Birch, Mahogany, Oak, Redwood, & Teak scents.  Sooo manly.  Like Paul Bunyan's gonna rage when he finds out about these.

2. Cell Phone Cup ($6.99)- This little cup keeps things organized in the car.  It holds the cell phone, a pen, change, keys, and you can connect your phone charger up through the bottom of it.  It's cheap and cool.  Gooo phone cup! 

3. Motorized Grill Cleaning Brush ($20)- um it comes from Brookstone, pretty self explanatory.

4. MP3 Shower Radio ($12.99)- waterproof (obviously), shockproof, takes 4 AAA batteries, and hangs in the shower. 

Great Stocking Stuffers for the Ladiesss.....

Stockings are weird. According to Wikipedia the whole stocking thing started when a man was too poor to provide for his three daughters at Christmas.  Saint Nicholas was passing through town and heard of this predicament and crept through the chimney to place bags of gold in their stockings drying over the fireplace.  Quite frankly, I'm getting tired of telling this story so we're gonna move on.  Before we do though, Saint Nicholas is creepy.... (no offense Santa), but let's get real.  This guy... snuck into a house through a chimney? Then, he was checking out their stockings; it was like he left gold in them because he knew he was being a creeper.  I'll let him creep as long as he leaves a '54 convertible too, light blue. 

Since stockings are weird, we're gonna try to find things small enough and cool enough to go in them.

1. Engravable Silver Plated Bookmark from Pottery Barn $12.  It's under $15, and can be personalized.  It looks like you put more thought into this gift than you actually have to.

2. Ribbed Merino Glittens from J. Crew $24.50 - great for those with an IPhone, because you can use your fingers to touch the screen without having to take your gloves off. 
3.  Luggage Tag ($9.99) from J. Crew.

  Great for a traveler, and it comes in a variety of colors.  Moreover, it's on sale; it was originally $20. 

4.  Bobbi Brown Pink Ribbon Lip Collection ($40).  

It's a limited edition lipstick and glitter lip balm and a portion of proceeds goes to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. 

5. Westbury Lisa Wallet from Kate Spade ($89 + free shipping from katespade.com)  Although a bit pricier, it's a nice surprise to have a pricey gift in your stocking. 

I'm too good to open that hood.

I use to have a portable battery my dad gave me to carry around in my car in case I ever needed a jump.  It required just the portable battery, no other car.  I thought that was great, and I used it a bunch without ever needing to plug it in to my car to jump another car off.  Yes, it was extremely convenient, but it was huge (um the size of a car battery). Well... get a load of this one kiddies.

It's a jumper cable you plug into your cigarette lighter ($24.99).  The cord stretches from one cars plug to the next car.  There's no need to ever pop a hood.  The device will show a green light when your battery is charged enough in order to start your car.  A great stocking stuffer!

It's a-me, Mario!

I've always (when it's available.. so technically I'm lying about always) used Mario Badescu facial soap and toner.  The brand is more famous for their drying lotion you can put on blemishes to get rid of in a jiffy.  After spending about 45 minutes in Ulta buying miscellaneous beauty products I didn't need and/or Christmas gifts, I was surprised to see they carried Mario Badescu.

Eagerly, I grabbed the soap I wanted to get on my merry way.  Then.... I saw OTHER products he offered.  Like, the soap that actually fit my skin type versus the one the Nordstrom's sales clerk told me to buy (what does she know).  Then I thought a facial mask would be good since my skin's been acting a ruckus lately.  I bought the Whitening Mask ($24), because it reduces redness, unclogs pores, and makes your skin super bright.
I could go on about all the magical powers Mario put in their, but I don't really know what I'm talking about.  All I know is that it works; after the second time I used it my face looked so clean and shiny, and all the little spots on my face that bothered me were not as noticeable.

You can get it online at www.mariobadescu.com, and they send a TON of free samples with it.  It's awesome.

I love this movie...

The Tuohys and Michael Oher.

The Blind Side... excellent movie. 
Reasons to see it:
1. It's southern
2. It's bittersweet.. a little more sweet than bitter
3. It has a family in it
4. Tommy Tuberville makes an appearance
5. They're Christians
6. They own Taco Bell franchises
7. I said it's good, and you don't question me.

Mrs. Burns, you remind me of Leigh Anne Tuohy. I don't know why.. you just do.

I'm feeling Knobby.

Great Christmas gift idea... go to Knob Stoppers!  They have a large variety of wine stoppers that are very different.  My personal favorite is this one, it's a flower with a votive holder ($32).  You can use your wine bottle as a centerpiece, a source of light, and a source of alcohol.  That's three uses people.. and they're all good.  Or.. for your man friend, get the golf ball stopper ($29). 

No Worries, I'll disinfect it!

I feel the hardest people to buy for are those you know the best, when it comes to Christmas gifts.  For example, my dad.  What the heck does he want?  If he wants it that badly, he's just gonna buy it himself... I can't beat him to it.  He travels a lot...overseas.. underseas.. through the seas.  Well I don't even remember where I saw this, perhaps flipping though a SkyMall Magazine while flying.  With all the nasty germs and flus out there, something COOL and GERM-FREE would make a great gift.  Which is why I am buying my dad THIS for Chritmas.  It's a Nano-UV Disinfection Scanner ($60).   You basically scan it over any surface that you want disinfected for ten seconds.  It disinfects hotel beds, pillows, silverware, and airplane seats.  Woohoo!

Another Great Blog.

I don't really consider this a 'blog' per se, because it seems more like a just a plain good website.  The 'blog' is called Design Sponge and it shows great home ideas, recipes, and before and afters.  My personal favorite are the Before & Afters.   I'll show an example below.  So inspiring.... I'm not saying I'm actually going to act on any of this.. but it inspires me to think about doing something. Does that count? No? ok.

An Extra Penny in Your Pocket.. or $10.

Anthropologie is one of my favorite stores.  That being said, I'm fairly familiar with their merchandise.  I noticed a beautiful cuff a couple of weeks ago.. I almost bought it for a lunch date, but got sidetracked and bought a necklace instead.  My Michael Kors watch can't compete with this cuff, and I want all my jewelry to be friends.  They all live in the same drawer, and I would hate to wake up one day and find them tangled because they couldn't talk out their problems.

So, I'm flipping through my favorite magazine, Self, and saw the cuff!  But wait... it WASN'T the same cuff.  It was a Henri Bendel cuff for $68, and the Anthro one was only $58!  Ahhh sweet savings.  Moreover, the cuff from Anthopologie comes in three different styles.  Henri Bendel's...well... doesn't.

Here's da cuff, yo.

Cozy in Your Face!

Before I start writing I just want to address the fact that the opening page of the Victoria's Secret website says something about their new push-up bra.  It says that it will "instantly add two cup sizes!" Ok... thanks, but no thanks, I'd rather not have an F Cup. 


Now. Let's get to my point.  I got a Sherpa Trimmed Fleece Robe ($49.50)  and love it!  It's so soft and warm.  It comes in cute colors, and it isn't frumpy looking.  I don't like the color in the picture, but I have it in "heather peach" aka baby pink. 

Really Simple to Take Credit.

Sorry Frannie hasn't found much lately, Frannie hasn't been sittin on her fanny writing. 

I love the magazine Real Simple.  It'd be super easy to be like 'Oh look what Frannie found, and made up all on her own', but I'm not gonna do that.  I was reading the latest issue of Real Simple and found some really good stuff... so now I will share it with you. 

1. Does your dog's collar jingle jangle?  Yes?  Well if you want it to stop... you can place key protectors on the tags to stop the noise.  Well, I kind of enjoy the noise.   My dogs have the tendency to creep up on me real bad if I can't hear them coming.  Like, weird weird creepy stalking dogs.  One minute I'm standing in the kitchen, and the next my dog is standing 5 inches away from me staring at me like he was there the whole time.  I'm not okay with that.  By the way.. the picture up top is of my dogs.  Boo and Kael.  Boo, the creeper, is on the right.  I mean he doesn't look possessed at all, right? RIGHT?

2.  Repairpal.com is a website that allows you to go on and get an estimate on repair work for your automobile.  For example, let's say I (the sweet, innocent, unsuspecting, not to mention trusting girl) walk into an autoshop to get my brakes fixed.  How would I know how much that would cost? I wouldn't.  Whyyyy would I research that? I wouldn't because I'm too busy being smart and innocent... and trusting.  Well go on to this site, and it will give you the true approximate cost of the repair for YOUR car and you can even factor in your location to the cost.

For All The Wrong Reasons...

I'm going to volunteer a day of my time for al the wrong reasons.  Disney is giving away a day at a park if you volunteer at a participating organization next year. You must be at least 18 to participate, but children can volunteer as well as long as they're with a parent.  The ticket also must be used before December 15, 2010.  I've already planned out my summer.  If they're still giving away a day on your birthday... I'm gonna get two free days in a row.  So there Disney, put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Fashion In Your Namaste!

For those of you that know me, know I am rather tall... 5'10" to be exact.  Therefore, finding a long pant is hard.  Life can be so hard without long pants... so, so hard.  Regardless, I found out that Victoria's Secret Yoga pants are amazing and come in several different lengths.  I go with the 36" inseam... and it's great.  The foldover yoga pant is my favorite, and they come in variety of colors.  Right now they're 2 for $50 on sale.  I wear these pants like my job, and it wouldn't surprise me if my friends make fun of me behind my back for how much I wear them.  At least I have a 36" inseam.. booyah.

Breast Cancer Awareness Gifts!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is obviously in October, and as a part of that many businesses sell items that give a portion of the proceeds to fund research.  Ralph Lauren offers their Pink Pony collection ranging from $30-$498, and a 10% of proceeds go to the Pink Pony Fund.  There's also this cute wine glass from Home and Garden Art for $23.75.  Lastly, you could go to The Breast Cancer Site and find just about anything breast cancer related in a gift, they have bags, bracelets, bras, sweaters, etc..

October

Hello, October. The birthstone is an opal and the flower is the Calendula (the what?).  Halloween... yay.. costumes.. even better.


Here are some other observances for the month:
German American Heritage Month (yay me! sorta... my mom's probably gonna laught at that one)
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Domestic Violence Awareness Month (also Alpha Chi's philanthropy)
World Blindness Awareness Month

Healthy Lung Month (stop smoking!)

National Down Syndrome Awareness Month                              

What a guilty pumpkin

Fashion in Your Face!

I watch Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood.  I'm not really proud of it, but it's entertaining.  I got even more into it when I started watching all of the old school 90210 re-runs on the Soap Net.  Even more embarassing.  One thing I did find interesting is her jewelry line for HSN (Home Shopping Network).  I never ever ever watch HSN, but I went online to look at her jewelry line, and it's not half bad.  Moreover, it's not too expensive either.  MoreOVER, I read her book Stori Telling... it was good... it had pictures.  To the left is her Vintage 36" Drop Necklace ($27.97 org: $59.95).  I also like her Oval Cabochon Ring ($32.95), which also comes in ivory and black. 

Stay Organized!

Just in case you couldn't get enough, Lilly Pulitzer makes stationery!  It's not exactly news, but I think her stuff is super cute.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the "Stuck on You" sticky notes ($12), that have 4 different sticky notes inside the little folder with her prints on them.  She also has thermal mugs ($15.95) and Mix & Match Stationery sets ($15.00).  Since you can't wear her bright, springy prints all year, here they are in a different form.  You can find a good bit of her collection at Swoozies.

Fashion in Your Face!

Kenneth Jay Lane jewelry is one of my favorite things.  If I had written the song "My Favorite Things", it'd go something like this: "Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens. Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Kenneth Jay Lane jewlery tied up with strings...."  You get the picture.  Anyways... it's super glitzy looking and Kate Spade even sells it in her boutiques.  Gooooo Kenneth!

What a Good Idea!

So imagine you're in the wilderness camping (your car is there of course), and you need to dry your hair.  Well now you can.  This is a Coffee Cup Power Inverter (29.99) from thinkgeek.com.  It looks like a coffee cup, plugs into your cigarette lighter, and then you can plug in your electronics.  Forgot your car charger?  Plug in your real charger!  It also allows the IPod cable to charge without using the wall socket. Woohoo. 


I have no idea if this thing is strong enough for a hair dryer... probably not.  Nor do I go camping.

Women of Tilonia

As an apparel merchandising major, I had the opportunity to hear a woman speak to us about fair trade and how she has opened the doors to many women throughout the world.  She has helped women in third world countries by distributing their goods throughout the world, allowing them to receive fair wages and benefits for themselves and their families.  One of the organizations she works with is Friends of Tilonia, Inc.  The company allows women of rural India, to produce their craft and sell it to the world... versus having to a more metropolitan area to try to find a better means of living. By supporting theses women, you not only help them survive and provide for themselves and their families, but you can get beautiful products that are less expensive than what you would pay in America.  Most of their quilts remind me of Anthropologie's bedding.. which we all know gets pretty pricey.  They also offer linens, furniture, pillows, and shawls.  What's even better is to view the bright Indian saris.  Their quilts are the famous Jaipuri Razai featherweight quilts, which are made of 100% cotton and will keep you cool when it's hot and warm when it's cold.  Pictured below is the blue and yellow floral featherweight quilt (Queen $129).

 

Bodagetta.. bahhhhh ha.

Toomer's corner in Auburn was demolished pretty much at the end of last year... to look better!  So you may ask, what happened to the OLD Toomer's corner?  Well.... it's for sale.  For $100, you can own a Toomer's brick.  The proceeds go to fund student scholarships, so I guess it's for a good cause.  It just be cool to have a brick from Toomer's corner in like 347 years, and be like "oh it's the brick great-great-great grandma Frannie invested in 347 years ago... we love great-great-great grandma Frannie"... and then they'll come give me a hug because medicine will have kept me alive that long.. and I'll still look good.  Ok, I'm done.

What A Great Idea!

Sometimes, it's hard to come up with creative birthday ideas.  Instead the Jelly of the Month club (Clark Griswold wasn't happy), how about a Year of Seeds ($69.95)?  Red Envelope has a great selection of creative gift ideas for women & men.  A year of seeds keeps on giving allllll year.  That way, every month, the person you give it to HAS to still like you.  You gave them a gift for every month...so basically if they ever get mad at you, you can be like, "No, no no.. I gave you 12 birthday gifts!"  They'll more than likely agree and forgive you.

Leathahhhh.

Leather comes and goes every few years, just like every other style known to man-kind.  Next year, flip flops will be out and everyone will be wearing Keds again... or maybe not.  I like leather/suede for this year.  It just depends on how you wear it.  I saw this little suede jacket from Anthropologie on sale the other day.  They only had extra smalls, so that was a bust.  The website has an abundance of them though.  It would be easy to dress up with a skirt... or dress down with jeans.  It's the Sleevescape Jacket for $129.95 , on sale, originally $248. 

Here's a different style that I've been eyeing for over a year.  It's the Mackage Lamb Leather 'Leane' Jacket ($415), from Bluefly.com. 




Moreover, let's cover one more thing.  If you're anti-leather/vegan/animal rights, that's great. I don't care.  They're not gonna stop making the jackets, so you might as well wear them and look good. Soo good... in your animal skin. 

Here's a baby lamb.

A Barn of Pots.

I love Pottery Barn.  I'm sure Pottery Barn loves me, too.  I hate how expensive some of their stuff can get though, until I discovered the Pottery Barn Outlet.  That's right... OUTLET.  I always stop at the one off I-85 in South Carolina... it's about an hour away from Charlotte, so that works.  They always have their things on sale... like the sale items are on sale.  They have furniture, draperies, vases, holiday, and bathroom accessories (towels, curtains, etc.)  It truly is great... and it's stuff you always see in their catalogs, so why would you spend more money than you'd have to?  You wouldn't... good answer.

Click HERE for a list of their outlet locations!

 
 
By the way, all of Pottery Barn's Halloween collection has free shipping right now.

Watch It!

Michael Kors watches are one of my favorite things.  I've already gone through one, and just bought my second.  The only reason why my first one didn't last was because of the leather band.  Now, I have an all gold finish watch, which I hope will last longer.  I seriously get more complements on it though!  You can find them at Nordstroms, and it's best to wait for their half-yearly sale to take full advantage of the prices.  They're not too expensive as far as watches go, they range from $160-$200+.  Definitely worth the investment.  Yayyyy Watches!

What A Great Idea!

Ok, obviously this is a bit early to talk about, but I'm too excited.  Halloween/Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and I have to start playing it up.  I was in Hobby Lobby the other day, and came across all their Fall merchandise, most of it was on sale already... please someone explain that to me.  My point is, I came across these fake pumpkins called "Funkins".  They look pretty legit, and they are 100% carveable.  Wow, yay, no mess.  Some are around $30, which is extremely expensive for a fake pumpkin.  But let's think about this... you're gonna spend a couple bucks on a pumpkin at the grocery store, and maybe you'll carve it.  Let's say you carve it.  That'll last a couple days; it'll either rot or get thrown in the street by some hooligans.  If you buy a Funkin, then you can say you already carved your pumpkin and it's ready for next year! woohoo yay for pumpkins.  I mean..............funkins.

yes, this is a Funkin

Fashion in Your Face!

What happens with the sad, broken, torn or ripped sails of the world?  They're made into bags!!! I know, I thought there was a cemetary for sails as well, but no.  Of couse the sailing community is eco-friendly, I mean, come on, they're still using boats instead of cars... the last thing they want to do is hurt the environment.   Only kidding.  Anyways, these bags are going to be extremely durable, if you've ever touched a sail you know they're not kidding around.... it's a piece of cloth that's made to pull a boat.  It better be durable. Moreover, they've come out with a limited edition Breast Cancer cure bag, and HALF of all sales go to the Maine Cancer Foundation.  Yahoo!

Stay Organized.

KangaRoom is a company that offers a variety of new solutions to staying organized.  After traveling this past weekend, I found how truly annoying it is to keep up with electronics and their cords/chargers.  Here is the Personal Media Travel Pouch ($12.99) that protects your phone, iPod, or camera and allows you to keep track of its charging cord as well.

Furthermore, KangraRoom has a cool hairdryer hanger ($12.99) to keep your hairdryer out of the cabinet and within reach.  I feel like everytime I have to dry my hair, untangling the cord from my last use is a 30 minute ordeal.  Moreover, storage is a big enough deal... it's not like they're building cabinets with hair drying storage.  Wait... I think that's a great idea.  

Holly Golightly... in your dreams!

Like most women, I'm an avid Audrey Hepburn fan.  I love most of her movies, and of course you have to love Breakfast at Tiffany's.  I love the scene of her wearing the sleep mask and tassle earplugs.  I want that mask.  I got that mask... several years ago.  Although I bought mine (two of them because I was afraid of never finding them again) from Fredflare.com, I found something similar at another sight.  The Holly Golighly Sleep Mask ($33) from Mary Green does a good job of capturing the original sleep mask.  Now you can look almost as good as Holly Golightly when you're unconscious... almost.