Daily Chuckles - My completely random gift guide

I feel like I've been completely lacking inspiration for gifts this year - I was even having a hard time deciding what I wanted for myself (seeing as I wasn't going to make husband buy me a $500 camera lens).  I also go through the annual problem of having our wedding anniversary, Christmakuh and husband's birthday all within 3 weeks.  Yeah, I know, first world problems.

Anyway, I took to the internet for ideas and, in doing so, found a lovely assortment of completely random gifts that I just had to share with you all.  Here it is - my completely random gift guide (a/k/a stuff that I find hilarious).

	Moo, I'm A Goat T-shirt (courtesy of Snorg Tees) - $19.95 This shirt needs absolutely no explanation...or does it? Perfect if you enjoy seeing how long it takes for your friends to try and figure it out.
	Magic Wand - Programmable TV Remote (courtesy of Think Geek) - $89.99 Apparently it learns from your existing remotes, which inspires Harry Potter geeks and Muggles alike to be running around the house yelling "expelliarmus" and "accio" while waving the wand at TVs or ceiling fans. I'd actually be sorely tempted to teach it how to work the remotes in the office too, to really get everybody thinking that I have magical powers. Oh, the possibilities are endless!
	Clocky Alarm Clock on Wheels (courtesy of Brookstone) - $39.95 Don't go to the gym, just chase your alarm clock around the house! Apparently, Clocky will give you one chance to wake up and then will jump off your nightstand and take off. It doesn't say if Clocky is any good at hiding, seeing as an alarm clock you can't find could be a bit of a problem. Also doubles as a pet toy.
	Kilt Beach Towel (courtesy of Catalog Favorites) - $29.95 This will have folks wondering what your man's got under his kilt. I think this one is best used in public places and perfect for covering up those Speedos.
	Monkey Tea Infuser (courtesy of Waste Some Cash) - $9.75 If you've ever wanted to hear the phrase "there's a monkey in your tea", this is the time. You can then correct them by saying, "actually, there's tea in my monkey".
	Slingshot Flying Monkey (courtesy of Amazon) - $2.09 (sale) While we're on the topic of monkeys, want an awesome gift for any white elephant gift exchanges coming up? This is guaranteed to be a big hit at meetings, given that it is a toy complete with screaming sounds.
	Air Swimmer Remote Control Shark (courtesy of Toys R Us) - $49.99 Another great item to have in the office, parties, or just following you around in general...especially if you've already purchased the wand remote.
	Star Wars Chop Sabers (courtesy of Think Geek) - $12.99 Technically, if you were really a Jedi, you could use mind tricks to get the food in your mouth. If that fails though, might as well use these chop sabers, which you could also use in battle should somebody try to steal your sushi.
	ABC (Already Been Chewed) Cookie Cutters (courtesy of Waste Some Cash) - $7.99 This may be the most brilliant method of keeping the cookies all to yourself!  An alternative for those of you who are used to licking your food to stake your claim.
	Cock Blocker Wine Stopper (courtesy of Amazon) - $7.95 (sale) You always need something to prevent unwarranted advances...on your wine!  Helpful if you don't have your light-saber chopsticks on hand.

Daily Craft - Jewelry tags

I've been trying to decide what I want to do for jewelry tags now that I have my online shop up and running.  Naturally, I figured I could make the tags myself, but wanted to go for something that wouldn't be a huge time-suck, would still look nice, and wouldn't cost an arm and a leg!

I wanted to stick with simple cards that have the company name, my name, and the website - i.e. nothing too fussy that would be a distraction to the jewelry itself.  Using thin white card stock that I had on hand, I made some proto-types.  I already bought some small clear bags that the jewelry can be placed in for protection, and these cards will fit nicely inside them. I'll probably switch out the top to have my actual logo (although need a little Photoshop magic which isn't accessible to me on a lunch break) and, while I do like how clean the white looks, I'll be looking for some nicer card stock to print onto.

For now, it's a work in progress, but at least I finally have a starting point.  Of course, I'm open to suggestions!

Daily Ramblings - That's handy!

I hope you all had an enjoyable 3-day weekend.  I would have some pictures to share of the delicious hummus, and honey-wheat bread that we made yesterday, but the app I was using on my phone decided not to save any of them (which I didn't realize until I'd started eating, and half-eaten food isn't all that appetizing in a photo).  Seeing as I have no food photos, here's a photo of Deuce taking a stroll in the courtyard. 

I'd also decided to check out some Memorial Day sales, which I found to be pretty disappointing overall seeing as I returned home pretty much empty-handed.  The one thing that saved the trip to the stores was learning that Michaels can now scan coupons straight off your smartphone!  I have been saying for a while that it would be awesome if stores could do that.  Think of all the paper being saved, and not having to print out coupons that you end up losing somewhere in your purse/car/couch, just to rediscover them two days after they've expired.  The guy at the register simply asked me to enlarge the one that I wanted to use, and scanned it straight off my phone.  Brilliant, I say. 

Considering I use coupons at Joann's more often, I hope that they adopt this policy.  I believe that you can get the coupons sent to your phone but you have to enter your phone number, which many folks are [understandably] wary of.  It would be so much better if they could just scan the coupon straight off the e-mails we receive. 

Do you know of any other stores that are now accepting electronic coupons straight from your phone?

Daily Craft - Fleur De Lis & a shop preview

I'm not usually drawn to necklaces seeing as I seem to have a habit of getting them either tangled in my hair, or wrapped around my neck in choke collar fashion, at some point during the day.  It's probably why I'm so drawn to making earrings, which I've never managed to strangle myself with...to date anyway.

That being said, I found some super cute Fleur De Lis pendants at Michael's yesterday and set about making necklaces for my new shop.  The second I made this necklace, I knew I wanted to keep it - which leaves me glad that the pendants came in a pack of two, one for me and one for somebody else out there.  I used simple black acrylic beads and used a chain to join the sections.  I'm thrilled with how it turned out.

Speaking of shops though, you may notice that I have a widget on my sidebar now.  This is not the type of widget that comes in a Guinness can and keeps your beer tasting delicious.  It will however take you to my shop, which is in beta right now.  I'm still working on logos, pointing the domain to the right place, and all that back-end fun, but feel free to browse.  I'm hoping to make a proper grand-opening announcement soon!

Daily Ramblings - Duvet cover madness

I don't know how many of you may have tried attempting to shop with a straight male for bed linens, or linens in general, but it's rarely as easy as it should be.  Yesterday, I took it upon myself to go shopping for a new duvet cover.  The one we have now we bought off our registry when we got married and all was well until my smartass threw it in the washer without thinking to look at the care label.  Now, I should make the observation that I don't dry clean stuff.  I'm all about easy care and very rarely buy anything that can't be thrown in the washer, even if it's on the handy dandy "handwash" cycle (which I do not know how I lived so long without!)  Anyway, the point being that it turns out the duvet cover had a high enough silk component that it just started shredding after the washing machine incident.  It's never looked the same since and although the cat likes to play with the dangling threads, it's not the most attractive thing to sleep under.

Our bedroom is filled with lovely espresso colored wood furniture, and beautiful handmade chocolate brown curtains (one of my finer home decor projects).  Our sheets have a golden tone, while the current duvet cover is a bronze shade.  Armed with a pillow case stuffed into my purse, I set off on my trip feeling like one of the poor women on "What Not To Wear" because rather than having Stacey and Clinton in my head (now that's a scary thought), I have the "rules of bedroom linens" as imposed by my husband, who elected to stay home and watch the Laker's game, ringing in my ears.

• Linens should not be shiny
• Linens should not have texture
• By no means should they have any kind of pattern, applique, or anything remotely looking like flowers
• Decorative pillows do not belong on beds.  They are completely useless and just have to be removed every night anyway.
• Manly perceptions of how one might describe an ivory tone vs. a mid-brown vs. dark brown are different from female perceptions.  Men know that women are not describing things properly.  Women believe that men are color blind.

As if all of this isn't bad enough, it would seem that duvet covers just really aren't the thing to buy anymore.  Comforter in a bag sets are all the rage and after visiting 5 stores, I decided that Bed Bath and Beyond really might be the only physical shop I can go to that has a decent enough selection.  After wandering around the bedding section for a little bit, sure enough I find the answer to my problems - a really nice, modern, and manly duvet set.  After much waving around of the pillowcase, checking it against all the brown tones featured on the duvet cover, I was sure this was the one he would like.  I called home to have him check online and provide an opinion...so he pulls it up on his computer...and then says "doesn't that look kind of grey?"  (We later discovered that the colors on his computer monitor aren't calibrated properly.)  Several minutes of convincing him it was the exact shades of brown we needed, he told me to go ahead just as I find that they don't have any queen size in stock!  Urgh.

After calls to 2 other branches, and a trip home to fetch husband and make him accompany me to the store to be 100% sure he's ok with the purchase, we ended up doing an in-store online order - which is a first for me, but a great way to do it as they'll let you use your 20% off coupon!  Nowhere had this set in stock as apparently everybody in Southern California within a 10 mile radius of my house owns this duvet cover set and we're just very unoriginal in our choice.  When all is said and done though, by the end of this week our duvet cover set (complete with 2 euro shams, 2 regular shams and 2 decorative pillows - yes, that's 6 completely unnecessary pillows people!) will be in hand.