Tag Archive for 'gift ideas'

Zak's Favorite Things for 2008

Published on November 13, 2008 in Shopping. 0 Comments Tags: Antica Farmacista, Archipelago Botanicals, bacon, Bacon of the month club, Bare Escentuals, culture, custom yoga mats, Douglass Fudge, FAO Schwarz, Fresh, fudge, gift ideas, Grateful Plates, Hero Nutritionals, I|M, Kiehl's, lip gloss, lipstick, muppet, Muppet What Not, Oprah's favorite things, pomegranate, ponytail holders, saltwater taffy, Slice of Life, sugar body scrub, Sun Jar, Urban, vosges chocolate, Wacky Walk'r, Yogamatic.

Welcome to the 2nd annual publication of Zak’s Favorite Things.

There aren’t strict qualifications to make the list. Some of these items are on my wish list, and some I already own and love. Others I stumbled across on the web and couldn’t help but investigate further.

ActiveHold Technology

As a gym rat, my hair is either in a ponytail or braids during my workout. As any woman with long hair can attest, fashionable hair elastics typically don’t have staying power: they fall off, and they stretch out. While I’ve yet to find a product that perpetually springs back to its original size, I|M offers elasticized bands that you won’t lose half way through your workout or on your way home. Their “ActiveHold Technology” runs a rubber tread through their I|M Active products. You avoid the painful dislodgement of a typical rubber band, but the tread grips enough to keep your hair accessories in place. ($4.99 for 4 thick bands, 8 thin or medium bands)

Gummy Bears, err Fruit Slices, are good for you!

Hero Nutritionals created Slice of Life, a line of gummy vitamins for adults. Surely I’m not alone in envying all the tasty chewable and gummy vitamins available to children. Gummy vitamins feed your inner child. While not the most comprehensive multi-vitamin on the market, looking forward to gummy slices means I’m more apt to remember to take calcium and wheat grass supplements as well. (Suggested retail $19.99 for a 30-day supply, but I found them for $11.95)

Lip Service

In 2005, custom cosmetic site reflect.com shut down. I stocked up on my favorite lipstick as they shipped their final orders. I recently accepted I needed to find a new lipstick brand or brands because I have reached the dregs of my final tube from reflect.com. The berry tones I love are really hard to find; apparently, they don’t flatter most complexions. My search brought me to two brands I recommend.

Bare Escentuals offers a 100% natural lipstick line. No chemical additives or preservatives. The lipstick applies a bit dryer than other lipsticks I tried, but a layer of lip gloss solves the problem. It’s supposed to “hug” your lips for 6 hours (if you’re a talker, divide by 2). Red Zin is my hue of choice, held in a curvy, but a tad oversized cylinder. ($15 per tube)

Launched in 1991, Fresh is just reaching the West Coast markets. Stand alone stores have popped up in Los Angeles in the past couple of years. Though a bit more expensive than I’d prefer ($22/tube), their lipsticks slide on like butter; no gloss needed. You can’t put a price tag on sexy, silky lips. Cranberry Lemonade is my color of choice.

PS. My favorite lip gloss? Try Kiehl’s for slight sparkle and subtle mango flavor.

Hanes Tees

Threadless offers great graphic tees, but Hanes is the ticket if you need basic solid tees. I’ve never understood how some people pay $100 for a t-shirt, when you can get quality at a much more affordable price. I’m particularly fond of their 3/4 sleeve boatneck t-shirt ($16); so much so, that I have it in 3 colors. Hanes keeps you covered in fitted and relaxed t-shirts, tanks and camisoles, as well as comfy loungewear for rainy weekends in.

Douglass Fudge

photo from www.douglasscandies.com

Family vacations as a child meant a road trip to the Jersey shore. My family stayed in the same motel every year for more than a decade. The best part of the trip was the last day’s stop at Douglass Fudge, famous for its saltwater taffy and, obviously, fudge. All week long we’d snag samples as we passed the store each night, and on the final day, before the drive home, my mom would buy a variety of Douglass products by request for various members of the family. If you’re a fudge person, I recommend their coconut cream and chocolate marshmallow flavors; for saltwater taffy, take the sampler.

Still, my favorite sweet is their molasses paddle — a dark chocolate-covered molasses caramel on a stick. You can pick up a box of 6 for $16.50 + shipping. I like to cut them up in 8 pieces and freeze them, so I can enjoy a square a day.

Warning: These are super chewy and sticky, so be careful if you have a lot of fillings.

PS to Mom: Hint Hint, X-mas is coming!

Wacky Walk’r

The Urban Wacky Walk’r is a stretch rubber leash that doubles in length from 3 to 6 feet as you dog applies forward pressure. The give of the rubber is much easier on your joints when your dog tries to make a dash for it, but its stretch limitations means it keeps your dog in line and at your side.

Fear not that the rubber could snap, all leashers are reinforced with an inner safety line just in case. They come in a variety of funky colors, so you can keep your dog both safe and styling. This awesome line of leashes runs between $21-$31 depending upon the size of the dog. (Amazon offers a 15% discount off typical retail prices)

Pomegranate

archipelago

Pomegranates are my favorite fruit, making the POM Wonderful brand icon one I look forward to each winter when pomegranates come into season.

Since quality pomegranate seeds aren’t available year round, Archipelago Botanicals’ Pomegranate Body Collection provides an olfactory fix. I’m particularly enamored with their sugar body scrub. With a liberal inclusion of fragrant oils, you and your apartment will smell fabulous for hours after you shower, and you’ll have softer skin to show for it. ($25-$35 depending on retailer)

Antica Farmacista

I didn’t wear perfume for a very long time because I broke out into burning red rashes shortly after application. Then I discovered Antica Farmacista, which is heavy on essential oils and natural ingredients. A little goes a long way, lasting up to 8 hours. I’m a fan of the Vanilla, Boubon, & Mandarin scent, but there are 12 to choose from. I lucked out and picked my first bottle up on clearance from a retailer that was no longer carrying the line, but it’s well worth the sticker price of $58 for a bottle.

YogaMatic custom mats

Regulars in mind-body fitness classes of all sorts tend to own their own mats. After considering the germs and bacteria hanging out on gym-owned mats, they invest in their own. And yoga mats can tell you a lot about a person. Do they like solids or prints, thick or thin mats, textured or smooth, muted or bold colors? You can make a statement with a custom printed mat from yogamatic. Upload a jpg, and for $85+ shipping you can have the most unique mat in class.

Customize a muppet

photo by carlosfpardo

This Christmas FAO Schwarz is offering the Muppet What Not Workshop. (What Nots are background players in muppet shows.) Start with an orange, blue or green muppet. Customize the eyes and a nose, as well as hair. And then pick out attire, like a hoodie sweatshirt. Instead of just singing along to the Avenue Q soundtrack, you can act it out! ($90 + shipping)

Bacon-of-the Month Club

photo by shawnzam

Several articles this summer pointed to Bacon as the hot new food trend. Bacon: it’s so bad for you, it’s good. Thus, I present The Grateful Palate’s Bacon-of-the month club. For $275 (inclusive of shipping), you’ll receive a monthly delivery of artisan bacon along with a variety of schwag, including site discounts, a monthly comic strip, a rubber pig and snout, tee and pen. Oink!

For a more affordable bacon fix, try Mo’s Bacon Bar by Vosges Chocolate, which combines salty bacon pieces with milk chocolate. ($7.50 on the Vosges website)

Le Fin

What new products or old favorites made your list this year?

Here’s a shortcut to my 2007 list.

What Would Jesus Buy? Our obsession with stuff

Published on June 9, 2008 in Money, Shopping and Society. 6 Comments Tags: Christmas, Church of Stop Shopping, consumer culture, consumerism, gift ideas, Reverend Billy, Shopping.

A few months ago I posted a great award winning video, The Story of Stuff, which looks at consumer lifestyle in the US. Given the average American has more than $9000 in credit card debt, materialism is not a relic of Michael Douglas’s Wall Street.

But you have to wonder, where do people put all their stuff? I know a guy who collects Legos; he dreams of one day building a Lego master piece and is painstakingly collecting all sorts of special Lego pieces for this grand oeuvre. Where does he keep the thousands and thousands of legos he has amassed? In a store locker on the East Coast. . . seriously.

My friend is not alone. Alternet’s Martin John Brown writes:

According to the Self Storage Association, an industry advocacy group, square footage of rentable storage has increased 740 percent in the past two decades; a billion square feet of storage space was created between 1998 and 2005; and there are now 6.8 square feet of storage for every man, woman and child in America. Chris Sonne, a storage expert at Cushman & Wakefield Inc., estimates there are 45,000 storage facilities today compared to zero 50 years ago.

I’m flabbergasted that people buy more stuff than they have space for. If you aren’t going to use it regularly, is there really a purpose in buying it at all? When shopping for clothes I aways consider the price:use ratio. If it’s an item I’m likely to wear weekly, I can justify spending more for it. But to have boxes of household goods and clothing in storage for perpetuity? Why do you have that stuff in the first place?

Average tenancies nationwide are somewhere between one and two years, say Scanlon and Sonne, and some renters simply never leave.

“I have one renter who’s been here since we opened — in 1990,” says Dawn Spencer, a manager at Clackamas River Mini Storage outside of Portland. “He pays automatically, by credit card, never comes in. Lives in another state now.”

“It’s an industry that builds on inertia,” says Paul Adornato, an analyst for BMO Capital Markets. “People would much rather have $150 withdrawn automatically out of their checking account every month than have to wake up on a Saturday morning, rent a truck, move out the stuff, do something with the stuff … see what I mean?”

Our nation’s obsession with “stuff” is rarely discussed, despite its impact, which is why I so thoroughly enjoyed the documentary What Would Jesus Buy? The film documents Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping on their holiday crusade to get people to give more and buy less. (The group has officially been banned from Starbucks locations globally after taking their act to a Starbucks venue.) The films looks at the community impact of excessive shopping at discount retailers, as well as the financial and social effects of reckless consumerism. Their tale is easier to swallow cloaked in humor, but it does address the serious realities of our shopping culture.

Though we have 198 days until Christmas rolls around again, I highly recommend the film, perhaps partnered with a money party for your closest friends.

Zak's Favorite Things of 2007

Published on November 23, 2007 in Shopping. 0 Comments Tags: almond butter, Bella Bella, Blik, Cloudstar, Corazonas, digital frame, dog earred, gift ideas, k.hall designs, Nintendo, Oprah's favorite things, peanut butter, reuseable grocery bags, Spread restaurant, stationery, tees, Threadless, Wii.

In an effort to back up my criticism of Oprah’s very lame Favorite Things of 2007, I offer you my take on great gifting this holiday season. Since I spend a lot of time researching great products for donation outreach for a variety of non-profit events, I’m always stumbling across great products. I offer you ten such items below, in no particular order.

As a tribute to Oprah’s obsession with kitchen products this year, I want to start with an enviroment-friendly shopping option. Reuseable grocery bags are growing in popularity since it’s finally sunk in that when asked “paper or plastic,” neither is a great option for the environment. I suggest Get Hip Get Green as a stylish reusable bag option, even better that the bag itself is made of recycled plastic.
Dogearred created the Make-A-Wish necklace which would be a sweet gift for girlfriends or daughters. You simply make your wish and wear the string necklace with a tiny wishbone charm until the necklace falls off, bringing your wish to fruition.
Speaking of dogs, Cloudstar makes Organic Buddy Biscuits that are sure to be a winner around the water bowl. The little smiling , gingerman-shaped treats come in flavors like roasted chicken, sweet potato madness and bacon and cheese. You can also choose between chewy or crunchy biscuit options. . . be sure to pick up a few “Wag More, Bark Less” bumper stickers for the people in your life.
Threadless T-Shirts are a great opportunity to buy a friend a limited edition tee that won’t be found on the racks of any retailer. Threadless runs an ongoing “contest,” inviting people to submit tee designs. The winners are printed up and sold on the site with a portion of the profits kicked back to the designer. The tees are sold in a variety of cuts and colors for men, women and children. Sport sayings such as “Movies: Ruining The Book Since 1920,” or images like “Tragedy Struck” (see below) all in good fun.
I’m a self-proclaimed foodie. Who doesn’t love discovering unusual gourmet treats to try. I was delighted to run across San Diego restaurant Spread‘s array of peanut and almond butters. Handmixed, they come in small plastic jars with enough of the treat for 4 sandwiches. I thoroughly enjoyed the dark chocolate almond; with flavors like cinnamon cherry peanut, dark chocolate lavender peanut, and sexual chocolate almond I’ll be ordering again. Running from about $8 to upwards of $35 per jar; these spreads make a great hostess gift.
Scent a room or your body k.hall designs‘s almond cocoa-scented products for bath, body and home. This company has mastered the art of less is more, with a fragrance just strong enough to faintly linger, but not so much as to be overwhelming. From shower pastes and gels to shea butter creams to candles and linen sprays, k.hall designs can cover gifts for the girls or make for a great hostess gift
Corazonas Tortilla chips are made from oats, plant sterols and soybeans. Ok, so maybe that wasn’t the best opener for Zak’s favorite thing #7. Plant sterols have been shown to lower cholesterol, and the chip is chock full of complex carbohydrates, so it’s healthy junkfood. And you know what, those chips are darn tasty too. I got to sample them at the recent California Governor’s Conference for Women. So encourage healthy snacking, and look for yummy flavors like Salsa Picante, Margarita Lime, Jalapeno Jack and Baja Bean dip at a grocery store near you!
Let’s face it. Letter writing is a lost art in the age of e-mail. But now and again, a person note adds a special touch that will make you stand head and shoulders above the crowd. Help friends and family make that gesture a memorable one. I suggest Bella Bella Co. They provide stylish and, alternately, elegant couture note cards that can be bought in singles or in sets. Yes, there is more than one way to leave a lasting impression. Why not personalize a set as a gift?
Everyone has pictures of someone they care about. Now it’s easy to update and rotate your picture collection using a digital frame. Store your jpgs on an online account that your frame can access via Wi-Fi. Update your pictures from anywhere in the world and share them with friends and family for their own use.
Though I don’t personally own one, the Nintento Wii seems failsafe. Senior citizens in nursing homes are rediscovering past times like bowling that have been lost to arthritic joints. Kids are getting a workout while boxing and dancing along with their game. Given the family friendly game choices, it’s a piece of technology that could unite rather than further fragment family.

There you have it folks, 10 way more original suggestions than Oprah’s Favorite things. Could there be another installation next holiday season? You just never know.

These are a few of Williams-Sonoma's…umm. . .I mean Oprah's, favorite things

Published on November 20, 2007 in Entertainment and Shopping. 0 Comments Tags: gift ideas, Oprah, Oprah's favorite things, Williams-Sonoma.

Oprah brought back her “favorite things” programming just in time to kick off the holiday season. Once audience members and fans at home are done going ga-ga over the abundance of freebies handed out, will anyone dare turn a critical eye to this much loved annual episode?

Does anyone else find it suspicious that 3 of Oprah’s 20 favorite things of 2007 happen to be sold exclusively at Williams-Sonoma? Did Williams-Sonoma pay for that privilege? Probably. I wonder what the price-tag is for blowing out sales on those 3 items for that vendor.

Next, did Oprah do a kitchen remodel this year? Isn’t it sort of accepted at this point that most women aren’t putting kitchen gadgets and cleaning supplies on the top of their wishlists for holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries? Just like men’s toes aren’t curling over a top of the line law mower (maybe aside from those working in the landscaping business). Why then, did Oprah’s favorite things include melamine cooking gear, a free-standing mixer, a panini press, and a refrigerator and cleaning supplies. Surely there were better lifestyle offerings being considered.

Finally, I think the inclusion of the latest Oprah Book club pick (Ken Follet’s The Pillars of Earth) and O’s Guide to Life were just lazy and self-serving suggestions.

Right now you’re probably thinking, it’s easy to complain, how about you come up with a sundry list of favorite things that could placate most. . .so I think I will. . . I need to think it over for a few days, but I’ll be back with my list of favorite things this holiday season.