What's in Store

This week we found Do it Yourself (DIY) and more last-minute gift ideas for those of you that have been busy, and for those of you that like to procrastinate:

DailyCandy gives us helpful ideas for DIY gifts. Share recipe cards and cookbooks, create CD labels or calendars, make a photo album, or whip up a batch of tasty cookies. These are just some quick, easy, and fun ways for you to show your friends and family that you’re thinking of them during the holidays. Now it’s time to get creative and have some fun during the process!

Parents magazine raves about the Silver Streak, an “it” purse that can make you feel pulled-together instantly. For all stylish moms, this metallic stunner is an incognito diaper bag (it converts to a stroller bag too). Heidi Klum wears it — wouldn’t you love a dash of her gorgeous mommy style?

Splendora adds the Zyken Night Cove Alarm Clock to its holiday wish list. A gadget which doesn’t look like a time keeper at all, but rather a minimalist lamp or second cousin of H.A.L. Insomniacs are meant to be enraptured by the Cove’s intuitive high-tech features: rotating hues of various wavelengths, tailored to help you fall asleep quickly and comfortably.

Engadget unveils its Holiday Gift Guide! Instead of tackling the crowds, the traffic, and hearing Jingle Bell Rock 80,000 times, find the perfect gift online. Got a dad who never gives any insight into what they want for the holidays? Look no further — the Oregon Scientific’s Crystal Weather Station tells time, daily weather and serves as a paperweight.

Stylehive arms us with fun, colorful, and full of personality DIY stocking stuffer ideas for kids and kids at heart. There’s an innocence that make them a welcome diversion from the Polly Pockets, bulked-up superheroes, and Barbies that kids think they want. Try making a deluxe socktopus for your loved one, as it’s always a classic gift, and the fact that it’s handmade will make it unforgettable and irreplaceable.

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This week we found stylish and fashionable wear to help to keep you warm during the winter months:

Splendora ogles the Supreme Being Millie Jacket - an omnipresent cold weather staple with a twist. While winter pea coats seen on the streets and in stores often blend together indistinguishably, Supreme Being has created an inspired alternative with their Millie jacket. Its mixed fabrics and nipped-in waist with long hem looks both feminine and industrial, keeping you warm without sacrificing superb design.

SheFinds dotes on the pinstriped wool cloche hat from Helen Welsh. This flirty, ’30s-inspired cloche hat is THE winter accessory and goes nicely with a kicky houndstooth swing coat. The pinstripes lend a menswear-esque feeling of order, but the black velvet bow and sweet shape make the overall effect decidedly feminine.

Stylebites blogs about oversized sweaters and reminds us that this season is all about staying cozy. Wearing voluminous sweaters is the easiest way to keep warm when the weather turns wicked. A sweater can look proper when worn over a white shirt and tailored trousers, or, if long enough, can be belted as a dress. Aside from having the vital details, like billowing sleeves or ultra-long lengths, these sweaters all come in this season’s hottest color-gray!

The Budget Fashionista goes gaga over The Red Coat. One of the hottest color trends in coats this season is red. Whether it’s a bright cherry or a muted burgundy, the color adds a much needed break from the traditional (and sometime boring) black coat. Check out the faux fur collar on this coat, which looks fabulous while adding much needed warmth!

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This week we found cheap holiday gifts with a whole lot of personality:

The Budget Fashionista raves about the Crazy Cat Action Figure by FredFlare for your friend who has a great sense of humor. At only $10 this gift is a great stocking stuffer as well!

Shiny Shiny touts the Emoticon Stamp for $5.99 that will allow you to squeeze it into a number of different emoticon shapes. This is a great small gift to get a bunch of your friends. Who knows, maybe they’ll start a trend of signing all of their notes with their emotions along with their signatures!

SheFinds.com pulled a list together of great gift ideas for your female BFFs and family members. Everything from jewelry, handbags, scarves and gift boxes filled with bath products made the list. The best part is that most of these products are discounted when purchased online!

CasaSugar highlights PressaRussa’s Star-Quality Holiday cards for when you just want to send a pretty note. The set includes four letterpress flat note cards with coordinating envelopes. All note cards are packaged in a clear sleeve and wrapped with an actual cigar band!

Uber-Review spotlights the wine glass holder necklace that gives chatterboxes the freedom to snack and socialize at holiday parties. The adjustable wine glass holder is only $25 so you can always pair it with a friend’s favorite vino as a gift.

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This week, we found some great ways to prepare for Thanksgiving that make it easy for the host:

Splendora recommends The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters as a “what to gobble.” Concur with her outspoken philosophy on food or not, no one can deny that she is one of the most influential figures in the culinary world and has been for the past thirty years. The latest cookbook from the kitchens of Chez Panisse is The Art of Simple Food, a collection of recipes which, as the title suggests, aren’t complicated, and which emphasize the importance of seasonal, local ingredients. It appears that Waters’ “delicious revolution” continues to blaze ahead with vigor.

Delight gives a helpful hint on using the Slipper Genie and its cousin, the Fuzzy Wuzzy Microfiber mitt, as ways to slip and slide to a clean house. Slipping and sliding are among our favorite pastimes - skiing, sledding, skating, moonwalking and, lest we forget, the seminal toy of summer fun, the Slip N’ Slide. Now with a little help from these amazing slippers, you can keep your floors and furniture looking beautiful, and get some exercise while you’re at it! Just slide on the slippers and mitt and slide your way around the house.

Productdose raves about the Digital Wine Cooler and Warmer. The beauty of this product is that it chills TWO wine bottles at once. Usually people drink with others, so having the capability to exactly control the temperature of two bottles of wine at a time, using neither water nor ice, is a great convenience.

Stylehive gobbles about using more than just a big sharp knife and touts the following cool kitchen tools and gadgets to use this Turkey Day:
• Talking meat thermometer
• Turkey lifter and roasting rack
• Nordicware ‘great pumpkin’ cake pan
• Le Creuset petite pumpkin covered casserole

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This week, we found wonderful decorating ideas and easy do-it-yourself creations for Thanksgiving:

The Smarter Home & Garden Blog gobbles up these leaf napkin rings which help set the festive Thanksgiving mood. These are versatile and can help set your table throughout the fall.

About.com: Landscaping revels over outdoor Thanksgiving decorations to replace the Halloween ones you’re taking down. While you may be on a tighter budget this holiday season, try to get in the fall spirit and make your own lovely wreaths with Indian corn and dried ornamental gourds. These natural touches give your outdoor Thanksgiving decorations a harvest theme that is so appropriate this time of year.

Now you don’t have to eat your vegetables, you can decorate with them. The Decorating Diva ogles the Better Homes and Gardens Thanksgiving Veggie Centerpiece, a floral and gourd decoration that’s easy to make at home. Use an apple corer or knife to carve holes in sturdy vegetables. Place candles of different heights in each vegetable, then light, and “serve”.

Good Housekeeping teaches us how to create do-it-yourself place cards. Among the myriad tasks associated with prepping a big meal, ensuring everyone sits in the right spot at the dinner table can get lost in the holiday shuffle. Plot out your seating plan with this cornucopia of fast and easy place card ideas. Dress up your dining room and make space on the table for heaping plates of food: Tie ribbon (any width or pattern is fine) around the backs of chairs and hang on folded place cards.

MarthaStewart.com thinks that paper turkey place settings are a “good thing”. Getting these brilliantly feathered friends to the table requires pasting (but no basting) and some cutting and folding. For a gobbling-good centerpiece, set out two or three in the middle of your table. Or let smaller toms do service as place cards.

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This week we found fabulous must-have accessories to pump up your fashionista stature and turn others green with envy:

Splendora warms us with Zero + Maria Cornejo Fingerless Gloves as a fashionable accessory to keep you toasty through the fall and winter months. Fingerless gloves aren’t just for post-pubescent hipsters or angsty pop stars like Avril Lavigne. Chilean designer Maria Cornejo used sumptuous cotton cashmere for her take on the style. The gloves extend to the elbows, allowing them to be scrunched to create different looks and warm your arms as needed.

FabSugar highlights these L’Agenda Moderne colorful leather business card holders. They’re cute and perfect to slip into your bag — just in case you meet someone worth seeing again. These colors will brighten up your day and will really pop during the upcoming gray and white months.

Delight enjoys the Ahoy Canvas Swallow Tote and tells us that birds are ‘in’ everywhere; on plates, t-shirts, pillows, and more. The same can be said of the nautical theme, so here are the two trends combined into one classically adorable bag. This durable, lined canvas tote will take you through fall into winter with style and a bit of sass. Not a detail was left off this bag – a sweet combo of appliqué and embroidery is topped off with a satin sash that gives it a little something for everyone.

SheFinds brags about the Botkier Bianca Satchel as a must-have for this season. Spotted on the arms of celebs like Jennifer Garner and Lindsay Lohan, a Botkier has become one of the most coveted bags around. The Bianca comes in soft lambskin leather with polished brass hardware and easily accessible zip pockets on the outside. Due to its high demand, however, retailers report that the stylish sacks sell so quickly they can hardly keep them in stock.

Stylehive reminds us of Diane Keaton‘s character Annie Hall, and the borrowed-from-the-boys approach to dressing. Tailored vests, wide-legged pants and the classic button-down shirt look effortless, and can be dressed up with accessories, like a sophisticated hat, a striped scarf, or trendy oxfords. This look is best when you mix in one feminine element, like a tweed mini skirt, or a billowy white shirt to balance out the masculine pieces.

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This week, we found fun games and toys to arm you with ideas for your holiday wish list:

Engadget talks about Nintendo’s plans to launch Wii in China and South Korea, just as soon as the whole “global shortage” thing gets worked out. Furthermore, its current priority is to deliver as many consoles as possible to existing markets, as these beauties will be a highly coveted commodity this holiday season.

DailyCandy gives us ideas of how to have fun and stay young by playing casual games. Big Fish Games is the master of the casual games universe and the makers of Mystery Case Files, the super-popular hidden object game. With more than 1,000 games to choose from, Big Fish Games spans generations and gender, with many games emphasizing teamwork – making it a great activity for the family. Plus, studies have shown that games help alleviate stress and increase concentration. Check it out!

GeekSugar raves about the release of DanceDanceRevolution Universe2 Song Lineup. All you fans will be pleased with the artists and song list for the game, which is set to release this winter. It will include fun songs by Franz Ferdinand, Outkast, Herbie Hancock, Ferry Corsten, Kool and the Gang, Men Without Hats, and my favorite, The Bangles. It also introduces a Freestyle Mode that allows you to dance without the use of directional arrows, which is great for people with two left feet – or those of us who like to use DDR as an intense workout! A new Quest Mode lets you build your own character to challenge fellow online players via Xbox LIVE, unlock new songs, and download new music for the game.

ShinyShiny boasts about Apple’s Leopard release that is hitting the tech streets at MacLive Expo. Some exciting features include new ways to scan the contents of folders without launching a program – for example, by using Cover Flow, which you’ll recognize in its other incarnation on the new iPods. Also new is Time Machine, a quiet background automatic backup, and now Boot Camp will come pre-installed rather than being a downloadable option. So if you’re determined to run both Windows and Mac on one machine, it’ll be one step easier.

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This week, we found great pieces for men to style it up this fall and winter:

Forbes.com showcases casual pieces that are not only comfortable, but extremely stylish as well. Whether you are dressing for casual Friday or everyday at work, Thomas Pink’s Casual Mallard Plain Men’s Shirt will become a staple in your wardrobe. The brushed cotton shirts are cut to fit a well-built physique, helping you show off that body you’ve been working on all summer.

Highsnobiety.com raves about the Moncler x Junya Watanabe Fall/Winter 2007 collection that is celebrating a comeback with the new pieces. The line sports colorful, sporty pieces as well as dressier designs. The collection’s down blazer is great for guys who need to stay warm in winter weather, without sacrificing their polished look.

Mens.Style.com highlights the shoe that will never go out of style: Converse’s Chuck Taylor. Japanese musician and influential streetwear designer, Hiroshi Fujiwara, created his own take on the classic shoe for its 100th anniversary. Fujiwara’s creation is selling out everywhere has hit prices of $150 on eBay.

Omiru.com styles men in a timeless and versatile piece: the blue blazer. To keep this piece from looking frumpy and “old”, the blog suggests to sport it with a crisp white oxford shirt or a graphic tee.

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This week we found ways to give new meaning to the phrase “trick-or-treat” this Halloween:

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes about the most popular pop culture costume for Halloween based on a recent Shopping.com consumer survey revealing that Paris Hilton in jailhouse stripes is what folks are dressing as this year.  Now, that’s HOT!

Splendora spooks us with news about Butch Patrick’s (aka Eddie Munster) Halloween single. According to Butch’s official Web site, he’s recorded a single called “It’s Only Halloween.” The audio clip shows off his “singing talents,” which can be compared to those of William Shatner. He tries to speak the lyrics in a scary voice à la Boris Pickett singing “Monster Mash.”

Gizmodo quivers over Halloween preparation with Stupid Spooky Furniture. This selection of spooky furniture is a perfect choice if you’re opening a haunted fairground attraction or looking to scare your family. It’s expensive and in bad taste (that bloodied-baby-cradle combo must really tie a room together), but since it’s almost Halloween, now’s the time to buy!

MarthaStewart.com glows about pumpkin creatures for late-October evenings. For all of the trick-or-treaters in your neck of the woods, check out these delightful pumpkins carved to look like animals skulking about for trouble. Carve a pumpkin snake for your front steps to protect you from ghosts and goblins.

The Wall Street Journal bleeds about devilish décor and great items to decorate with come October 31st. Recommended items to scare the freaks out at night include: Halloween bat topiary, witch weather-vane, garden cat, and assorted set of three white pumpkins. A creepy, lifelike set of birds (an owl with four small crows) covered with real black feathers are especially spooky. Act like a spider and jump on the Web to spookify your home this Halloween.

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This week we’re thinking pink as we celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Here are some ways for you to help support the cause and show you care:

FitSugar gets excited about this Pink Ribbon Sports Bra as an October must-have. You can support your gals, while supporting wider access to mammograms. The Breast Cancer Site will cover one percent of a mammogram for every bra purchased. While that might not seem like a lot, those percentage points add up!

Splendora shouts to all of us bagistas about the “Shop pink” mantra and Rebecca Minkoff’s pink croc patent leather clutch to help support Breast Cancer awareness, research and survivors. I always knew that shopping could be wonderful and beneficial for everyone!

FabSugar drools over Breast Cancer Awareness Bling and Mauri Pioppo Sundari Necklace. Treat yourself to some adorable pink rocks for the cause. In addition to the myriad BCA cosmetics and makeup offerings, a number of companies have come out with cute jewelry and other accessories that contribute a hefty chunk.

StyleHive boasts about Privo’s limited edition ‘Ribbon’ flip flop, dedicated to finding a cure for Breast Cancer. $2 from each pair sold will be donated by Privo to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The upper straps feature the universal ribbon emblem in full grain leather. The billowy, synthetic wool lining offers added comfort and delicate femininity. The footbed border and embossed outsole feature the BCRF’s commitment to ’stepping toward a cure’. The EVA midsole gives you added cushioning with lightweight support.

eBay Giving Works hosts loads of charity auctions benefiting the cause. For example, Munchkin, Inc. has enlisted the support of a diverse group of celebrities to sign and decorate Munchkin’s limited edition pink bath ducks scheduled for auction in October. All auction proceeds will benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

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