Ice.com has suggested gifts based on price, relationship status, even popularity.  I found the “relationship status” organization quite unique.  Whether you are in a new relationship, truly committed, or tying the knot, they have put together ideas just for Valentine’s Day.  On a budget?  They have hundreds of gift items for under $100.  The best part is they don’t look like they are under $100!  Ice.com even offers payment plans so that nothing will get in your way of the perfect gift.

Diamond Earrings

They offer beautiful pendants, bracelets, earrings, and, most importantly, rings.  Their site is well-organized and easy to browse.  With Valentine’s Day just around the corner you may be hesitant to order online.  What if the gift doesn’t arrive on time?  Nothing is worse than telling your special someone that “their gift is on the way.”  Ice.com has guaranteed FREE Valentine’s Day delivery.  Not only that, but if it’s the wrong size, color, or just not what she wanted, they have free returns too!  If all that wasn’t good enough they are offering 20% off any order between now and Valentine’s Day.

Valentine's Day Watches

Like many people, I have a horrible story about a Valentine’s Day that was ruined by someone who gave me a lame gift. I was 17 years old and my boyfriend showed up with a Panda Bear dressed in a referee shirt and a candy bar that he obviously picked up at a gas station on the way over. He gave me the gift and I was so upset, I broke up with him that night. Now I am not the kind that expects diamonds or something expensive, but I do expect you to put some thought into it.

Like me, Valentine’s Day is a very important day for many people around the world. You want to make sure you let that special someone know how much they mean to you. You want to find a gift that’s perfect for them. Ashford has decided to make it easier for you by creating a gift finder. Just click on the link and you can sort by gender, style and price of watch you want to buy. This will help you find just the right gift for the right price.

I just searched under men’s, classic and $500-$1,000 and found 16 different watches to choose from for my husband. It’s just that simple. With the help of Ashford, you can make sure this Valentine’s Day is one to remember.

Emergency Kit

This time of year comes with a lot of great times with family and friends. Sadly this time of year tends to bring a lot of weather problems also. Anything from Blizzards, Snow Storms, Flooding, Hurricanes, Ice Storms, and Power Outages. NOW is the time to be prepared for the unexpected.

I remember as a child when a storm would come our way, and the power would go out, my mom would scramble around the house trying to find as many candles as she could, start the fire in the fire place, and see what canned foods we had. Now as an adult I feel there should be an easier way to be prepared. Well I found a great website to help with these needs, Beprepared.com. This sight has all your Emergency Essential needs. Anything from Blankets, Ponchos, Lighting, Water, First Aid Kits, Food Storage and much more.

If you’re like me, I do not plan very well to save for food storage. So I was happy to see at Beprepared.com they offered a year supply of food at discounted prices and different choices to meet your family’s needs. This is easy to ensure you are prepared for whatever disaster might come your way. You are now able to easily provide the essential needs for you and your family in the case of an emergency.

At home you can prepare for these emergencies but why not your car. Simply creating your own emergency kit to keep in your car might be a life saver if you find yourself in an emergency with your family. Beprepared.com helps families to take a little time to prepare for these events and to ensure they have all the essentials.

Beprepared.com also has resources on their site to refer to for information and feedback. And for many, including myself, I don’t know how to cook a lot of the camping or emergency food. Beprepared.com offers recipes and instructions on preparing the items.

When an emergency hits, the last thing you want to do is wish you would have been prepared more. With the help of Beprepared.com you will have that confidence that you are ready for those times.

The first one I want to share is called The Karaoke Channel.  I enjoy karaoke as much as the next person and have performed karaoke about 6 or 7 times in my life.  My brother likes it even more than I do and invested in a very large karaoke collection.  He has 2 massive albums full of songs to choose from and a program that hooks up to his TV and entertainment system.  It works really well, but it not very portable.  The Karaoke Channel has created a way for you to download karaoke songs onto your MP3 player, iPod, TV, PC or Mac computer, video game console, and will soon be available on the Android.  You can pick just the songs you want, use it at home or on the go, and share it with all your friends.  You can have your very own karaoke party in your living room dorm room or even at the park.

The second site I want to share takes you back to a time when you were young and the world seemed like a less complicated place.  You hung out with your friends, listened to good music and imagined what you would become someday.  Whenever you long for that nostalgic feeling again, check out Wolfgang’s Vault.  Here’s you’ll find rock memorabilia from the last 60 years, including tickets, posters, apparel, and photography from legends like Van Halen, Grateful Dead, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and many more.  You might find a copy of the first record or tape you ever owned.  Maybe you’ll see a poster for a concert you went to back in the day.  Who knows what fun memories will come flooding back to your mind.

I saved my favorite new site for last.  The name of the site is Rakuten and it’s a Japanese store that sells the most wonderful assortment of random items I think I’ve ever seen.  Since I can’t tell you everything they sell, I’ll share some of my favorites.  They have a great selection of clothing and shoes for men, women and children.  Their women’s shoes are very cute and priced low, but they don’t carry large sizes.  As might be expected, they do have lots of Hello Kitty stuff, but they also carry rare items like placenta extract and seaweed.  I’m not sure what you’d use  placenta extract for, but if you need it, they have it.  They also have a large selection of nice looking wooden lunch boxes for adults.  They come in different sizes, and with different sized compartments within each box to store multiple items.  I think they’re a great alternative to the cheap plastic ones most people use.  They also have cool eating supplies for your kids. They have kid plates made out of cars, planes and even a space shuttle.  These plates aren’t flat either, they’re three dimensional.  I don’t know any kid that wouldn’t prefer to eat food served in one of these.

Well, there you have it; some fun new sites to check out and explore!  Happy surfing!

Way Cute Back Pack

Most of us want our homes to reflect our personality.  We pick things that we like and that say something about us.  My husband and I tried to do this with our first home.  We painted all the rooms different colors to give them personality.  We also decorated with items that you couldn’t find at IKEA or Walmart.  We found some stuff at garage sales, designed our own decorations or found great items online.  We have the same method of thinking when it comes to giving things to other people.  We want to give things that are original and have some personality or flare.  When it comes to birthday parties for my five year old daughter, we make something to give as the present.  Kids especially like things that are made just for them.  It gives them a well needed sense of ownership they crave so much.  Some people struggle to come up with ideas of what to make.  If you are one of these people, I have a few websites that can help you out.

Colorful Images is a website dedicated to just this.  They can personalize just about anything you can think of.  There are a host of websites that do this same thing, but as I searched through their site, I found a few that I thought were worth mentioning.  You can order mailing address labels that reflect your individual family.  You select the number of adults, children and pets you want represented and cartoon images of your family will show up along with your address.  If you know someone who is into fairy tales, I have the perfect thing for you.  They can create a  fairy tale book about your child’s name.  An enchanting story unfolds with colorful animals or delicately feminine flower fairies representing each letter of your child’s first and last names.  They also have something they call a Very Own Name Book where each page is about a letter of their name.  The last book I want to mention is the Who Loves Me Book; a sweet story that features the names of family and friends who love your child plus your child’s name, all interwoven throughout the reassuring tale.

Personalization Mall is another place I would recommend to find great personalized gifts.  You can create a photo puzzle of a child or favorite pet.  Imagine how much more fun it would be to put together a puzzle of something familiar.  You can even create a Happy Birthday coloring and activity book that includes the lucky child’s name throughout the book.  Imagine how special he’ll feel when he gets to color pages made just for him!  You can order lunch bags and back packs designed with your child in mind.  You pick the color and images and have their name sewn right on the outside. Not only will they have bags they love, they’ll never be confused as to which bag is theirs.  If you want something cute for a child’s room, order an interlocking wooden name puzzle to put on a shelf or dresser.  These puzzles are so cute and great for your kids to play with.   The last two things I want to mention are just nice to have around.  You can get a personalized luggage set designed just for you that will not get lost in the baggage claim area.  No more picking up back after bag to see which one is yours.  If you like to have a fully stocked cookie jar, it’s time you get one made for you.  Let Personalization Mall help you make one your kids or grand kids will always remember.

Puma is a great example of this.  Their goal for 2015 is to reduce CO₂, energy, water, and waste by 25%.  They’ve come up with a new version of the shoe box, which they’ve named the “Clever Little Bag.”  It uses 65% less paper to make and reduces water, energy, and diesel consumption during manufacturing by over 60% a year.  It also reduces their carbon emissions by 10,000 tons a year. Oh, and it’s a re-usable bag.  They’ve also redesigned their apparel bag.  By simply folding the shirt inside the bag one more time, they’ve reduced the packaging size and thus savings on CO₂ emissions. And by swapping the apparel bag material to 100% biodegradable cornstarch (dissolves in warm water) they have also reduced the amount of plastic they use by 720 tons a year. To reduce the paper usage in their hangtag system by a huge 45% a year (the equivalent of 182 tons of paper per year) they simply reduced the size of them and squeezed all the product information into fewer pages.  Last of all, they’ve created a new Carrier Bag which is made from 100% cornstarch. That means it’s 100% biodegradable so it will completely decompose within a three month period. Not only will this save 192 tons of plastic and 293 tons of paper every year but it will mean their bags won’t live in a landfill for the next 100 years.

Hewlett Packard (HP) is also doing their part to keep the earth as clean as possible.  In 2010 their recycling programs recovered approximately 121,000 tonnes (266 million pounds) of products, including 70 million print cartridges.  They introduced the LaserJet Pro P1102, considered by many to be the most energy-efficient laser printer on the planet.  They invested more than $11 million USD in energy efficiency improvement projects to save an estimated 70 million kilowatt hours (kWh) a year.  They also have an ECO Solution store where they sell products specifically designed to be better for the environment.  These products use less energy or are made with recycled materials.  You can even determine the carbon footprint of your computer or printer.

If every company around the world made changes like these, the earth would be a much better place.  Do your part by supporting companies like this, and the products they make.

Cute Easter Dress

The best time to buy items for a certain holiday is right after that holiday ends.  Companies want to get rid of everything they didn’t sell and that is when you can save a lot of money.  Because many people do just about the same thing every year for certain holidays, they know exactly what they’ll need for the following year.  All you have to do is buy the stuff now, put it in a box labeled Easter 2012, hide it away for about 11 months and open it up when the time is right.  Besides saving you money, you don’t have to worry about going to the store only to find out they’ve run out of the supplies you want.  There are some things you don’t want to sit in a box for almost a year, like candy or cookie making kits, but things like decorations, clothes or baskets are good to go.

If you are interested in some new Family Easter DVDs, Deep Discount has some great ones on sale right now for just $5.99 plus $.99 shipping.  If crafts are what you like, search for “Easter” at Joann Fabrics and you’ll see a lot of their stuff at 50% off.  Old Navy is the place to find really cute Easter dresses for kids for half their regular price.  If you have more than one daughter, you can even buy matching dresses in different sizes.  Instead of going from store to store with your kids, next Easter you can just open up the box of dresses and enjoy your darling girls.  My daughter is starting to read books on her own so Borders is where I like to spend my time.  They have Easter books as low as $1.04 a piece right now.  You just can’t beat prices that great!

I think the worst part of holidays is all the preparation that goes into getting ready for them.  By the time every thing is ready, you’re almost too tired to enjoy the actual celebration.  You can prevent this by planning ahead and getting what you need now while the prices are low.  Now, when Easter rolls around again, you can just sit back and enjoy making new memories.

Now is the time to buy the last of the fall and winter items because they are all going on sale.  Gap has reduced prices on tons of clothes for kids, including sweaters, stretch pants, jeans, jackets and graphic tees.  I checked these prices today and some were 60% off or more.  This is when you can stock up on school clothes for your kids.  Buy the items now while they’re cheap and you won’t have to worry about it when all the other moms are rushing like mad to get everything they need at the end of August.  Walmart has recently reduced their prices on school uniforms.  You can save big on polo shirts, pants, skirts, shorts and sweaters by shopping there soon.

Last but not least, I want to share a deal I just found on Amazon.com.  I live in a rainy place and have been in the market for some good rain boots for quite some time.  I wanted something practical, yet fashionable at the same time.  Just today I found a pair that was just want I wanted.  I ordered a pair of  knee high Jessica London Comfort Cradles rain boots for $25 (regularly $100) that are totally waterproof and very cute.  I knew if I waited long enough I could just just what I wanted at the price I was willing to pay.  Now it’s your turn.  Stock up on the deals I found today, and save money and the headache of looking for them later with everyone else.

Have you ever heard of VoiceYourFeelings.com?  I hadn’t either until a few days ago.  They are doing something brilliant that could make me want to send cards after all.  From their site you can send cards that include your personal voice greeting.  You record a voice message, design a card, and they will put it in the mail for you.  It takes no time at all.  You can even choose to add a sound effect or celebrity message if you want.  And, because they are very technology savvy, you can choose to send it to someone’s facebook page.

So, are you getting all this?  You can send a totally personalized card to someone you love, or just like for that matter, without going to the store or visiting the post office.  How fun would it be to send a card to your grandparents with your toddler’s voice recorded?  They would cherish it so much more than a card with some stranger’s words written on it.  Visit VoiceYourFeelings.com soon to see how easy and fun it is!

Awesome Outfit

My daughter has her very own unique fashion sense.  She has gone through different phases throughout her young life.  For a while, all she ever wanted to wear was pink.  Every attempt to have her wear anything else was accompanied by a huge tantrum.  After that passed, she loved to wear layers of clothes in odd orders that never matched.  I took several pictures of this fashion season as I found it very cute.  She now has color themed days where she will wear items that are all the same color, but different shades.  I once attempted to explain the theory behind matching colors, but realized that any explanation would be in vain for a 5 year old.  My only hope is to provide her with a variety of cute clothes to choose from.  In my search for cute clothes, I found a few websites that have really cute kids clothes at affordable prices.

Zuzily.com is a website that offers boutique style kids and womens’ clothes at discounted prices.  Once you become a member for free, you can then take advantage of their daily deals.  They have a new deal each day that you can only get that day.  Some of the brands they carry are Squeak Me Shoes, Jazzy Toes, Lilo Maternity and Trend Lab.  Limited Too also has trendy basic clothes at great prices.  Their swim item section is especially large, including swim wear, flip flops, sunglasses and pool toys.  With summer just around the corner, you should check them out.

The Children’s Place is always a staple for getting kid clothes for less.  They have a $4.99 and under category where you can find awesome clothes at prices you can afford.  If you watch the sales, you can even double up sale prices with coupons to save even more.  Besides clothes, their selection of shoes is also noteworthy.  If you are in the market for some new kids clothes, check out these sites to see what they have to offer.   Whatever your child’s individual fashion sense may be, you’re sure to find something that fits the bill.