Last Minute Valentines Day Gifts For Him.......But You Have To Hurry!!!

I was going to write a post earlier with gift ideas for Valentines Day but I didn't get around to it so now I'm writing a gift list with items that you should still be able to get by the time that you see your Valentine.  This is for all of my procrastinators.
The first item is a pair of Burberry boxers.  I have given this as a gift on Valentine's day and it's a hit.  This is a real luxury gift that is not very expensive.  They come in their own Burberry box so you don't have to worry about the presentation.  I would add a nice bow.  If you buy them from Saks Fifth Avenue you can have the sales associate add the bow for you.

Burberry Check Woven Boxers

My second item is from "The Art of Shaving". Whenever I would pass this store I would look in and admire the collections however I always thought that their products were made for men who shave with razors only and my husband uses clippers.  Eventually I got a sampler box from Sephora along with a purchase I made and let him go through the samples.  Ultimate he tried the "After-Shave Balm" and feel in love with it.  Now this is apart of his daily grooming.  If you don't have a "Art of Shaving" shop in your area you can also find it at Sephora.  Men who take good care of their skin are sexy so push him along.

Art of Shaving After-Shave Balm

My last item is very personal to me because this is an item that my husband always need...and it's a belt.  Or at least I always feel that he does not have enough belts. I feel that every man (and woman) should have a wardrobe of belts and the one that I am suggesting is definitely not a basic belt.  This belt is special.  I know that this is my second Burberry suggestion but I love Burberry for men gifts.  It cost more  than my other two suggestions at  $225 but it depends on your budget.  You can never go wrong with a great belt.  Even a person who have a great belt collection can appreciate a new luxury belt.

Burberry Barnsfield Belt

Nude Shoes, Nude Shoes, Nude Shoes

Let me tell you how I bought my nude shoes.  I had to go to two different weddings one week apart.  I had absolutely nothing to wear and ended up buying a hot pink skirt suit.  I knew that my suit would be used for both weddings because I could change it up with a skirt and blouse, or a complete suit with a closed jacket, or the suit with a camisole underneath a open jacket. When I saw the suit in the store I immediately loved it and knew that I had to have it so that choice was easy.  The problem came when I needed shoes.  Now, I had black heels but for some reason I really didn't love them with my suit so I decided to really research hot pink and fuchsia suits so that I could see which color shoes that people were wearing with them.  This actually became a real project. I came across silver shoes, gold shoes, black shoes, and nude shoes.  I did first think of the gold shoes because we're talking about weddings after all, however I was having a difficult time finding the right gold color with the right shoe fit.  I rethought the situation and did a little more research.  This time my eye really went towards nude because I started to think that if I had nude I could wear them all seasons as well as that fact that I would never be in this situation again.  If I found the perfect gold my next wedding might require silver, or my next graduation, or dinner date, or any other event.  At that moment in time I was so frustrated I just thought "I need a go to shoe".  Now, I know the time will come again when I need a certain color shoe again but I won't be so desperate because I'll have my "go to".  I can take as long as it takes to find other perfect shoes.  One person that I've notice wear her nude pumps a lot is Tracee Ellis Ross.  I was really inspired by her pumps.

(MediaOutrage)

(Blackstrands)

Corso Como Delicious Pump in Whiskey Calf

Finding the perfect nude is not exactly easy.  You have to go through a few to get a perfect match.  Thank goodness nude shoes are in right now so it's the perfect time to find the right ones because depending on your skin color you may have to wait a few season for certain colors to come again.  I ended up getting a pair of Corso Como Delecious Pumps in Whiskey Calf.  I love them .  These shoes are very comfortable and well made.  I like that they have a leather upper and sole.  The shoe box includes a nice leaflet on the care of your shoes as well as construction and the company's philosophy.  I bought them at Endless.com because they have free two day shopping and free returns.
Do you need darker or lighter?  Below are a couple of options.  I've been wanting to try the Cole Haan "AIR" shoes.  I've heard they were comfortable and I've tried on the Nine West Ambitious Pump when I was looking for my nude pumps. They were very comfortable, but the color was off so I  didn't purchase them.  I might still get them in another color.  Whatever the case I'm sure you'll find your personal nude.
Do you already have nude shoes?  What brand?  What shade?

Cole Haan Talia Pump in Dark Chocolate

Nine West Ambitious Pump in Light Taupe

Do You Know HSN, QVC, Or ShopNBC??

(HSN.COM  -  QVC.COM  -  SHOPNBC.COM)

Well you should!  But be careful it can be addictive so don't over do it.  Whenever I hear the words 3, 4, or 5 easy payments I get so happy.  Let me tell you why.  First of all you don't have to apply or use any credit!  Secondly it's almost layaway, which I always forget to use, only better because you receive your items right away.  My third great point is that there is no additional fees to use easy pay and my last obvious point is that it allows you to budget in your purchases monthly in order to better afford items you may not normally be able to purchase in one lump sum.
My favorite way to shop on these channels are by already knowing what I want AND THEN look online to see if either company sells it.  That way I wasn't talked into anything.  It's like grocery shopping, only use coupons on items you actually already use.  So basically I use the payment system on items that I would have bought anyway.  Another thing that I love to do on these channels is to watch the presentation on things that I already own.  You can really get in-depth information and additional uses for your previously purchased items. The brand selection is pretty good and gets more and more extensive all the time.  On top of the easy pay option you also have deals like "sales" and "introductory price" . 
Definitely check these channels out.  I've often been surprised at what I've found on them.  Use my simple tips:
1.  Don't go crazy.
2. Shop strategically.
3. Buy less items in exchange for better quality.
4.  Read customer reviews esp. "customer top rated"
 5. Shop first for items that you already wanted to buy.
At some point I'll do a post about some of the things that I've bought from these channels.  Have you bought from any of them? Do you have a favorite shopping channel?  Tell me about it and tell me why.

China Glaze - For Audrey Nail Polish

Let me tell you about this nail polish.  A year or so ago I ran across this nail polish on a blog dedicated to  Audrey Hepburn.  At the time I looked to purchase it I couldn't find it anywhere and it was out for a while at that point that I figured OK I missed the opportunity.  For some reason recently I was looking at this blog that I like "You've Got Nail" and I came across the post for "For Audrey" and I decided to research the nail polish again and just like that I found it.  My go to place is Amazon.com and they had it but I also realized that Sally Beauty Supply had it.  OK so I made the decision that I would have my husband go up to Sally's and try and find it on his way home and if he could not I would order it at Amazon.  Well the conclusion to the whole situation is that Sally's had four bottles left in our store and we got all four!  Talk about excited.  I never even realized that Sally's sold China Glaze much less For Audrey.  This color is almost pitch perfect in color to the signature Tiffany's blue.  Let's put it this way, I polished my nails and held one of my Tiffany's boxes and it looked exact.  The name "For Audrey" is clearly a dedication to Audrey Hepburn and her iconic role in Breakfast at Tiffany's.  I love this as a small luxury because every time I look at my nails it puts me in the mind of being wrapped in the exclusiveness of Tiffany's and for less than $5!  Listen, please don't ask me why that is because I don't know and I'm enjoying the moment. I know that I'm not the only person with the same feeling so if you have this nail polish and for the same reason let me know. 

Satiable Goal for 2011 - Business - Topic 5

Business can encompass all sorts of things from actually running a business to managing your household.  Having a blog is like having a little business because you have a product which are your post and you have a consumer which are your readers.  If you neglect your blog your readers will leave you and if you stay consistent and interesting your readers will stay.  The only thing about a blog is that you can literally have no readers and still write post, however without the sense of community are you really successful?? I don't think so.  Also you can really turn your blog into a financially compensatory business with advertising or new customers to try out your actually products if they exist.  In my case I was going to start a website for my candles, then I decided I wanted to add a blog to my monetary site, then somehow I started the blog before the monetary site and that's where I am now.  This year however I have a goal to link the two and create a real Satiable community.  I also have a business goal to post a self drafted pattern for sale on BurdaStyle.com.  I also have a Satiable book I'm working on so I have a 2011 goal to have the book completed.
That's it for my 2011 business goals.  I'm sure I will add.  Do you have any?  Are you working on any projects?  Tell me about it.

Satiable Goal for 2011 - Appearance - Topic 4

OK so this is one of my favorite topics.  Appearance can encompass so many things that it can be an endless conversation, however for the sake of this post I will try and hone it in.  I find that my present overall style is not exciting me or representing me.  I use to  have a very distinct style and I was very clear of my direction.  I now find that I feel much more constricted in my choices.  The problem could be with growing older or with a changing body.  Either way it's time to make real changes because I have an education in fashion and it's really important to me. This year my goal is to reintroduce myself to a personal style that I am really excited about and stay committed and consistent with it.  I have so many good shopping sites to talk to you about in future post and believe me I know how to get a good deal. On the subject of clothes I have a goal to make(sew) at least one new garment a month..at least.  This year I will make a workout schedule that is doable and really commit to it.  I expect to have a completed schedule by Valentine's Day.  Last year I went the whole year without going to the hairdresser which is huge deal considering I've gone to the hair salon most of my life.  I decided last year to really learn how to do my own hair in totality and it has been a real journey because come to find out their is actually a lot to learn, at least for the most healthy hair.  My goal for this year is to perfect my hair care regimen and be completely self sufficient on the matter.
Something that can be overlooked a lot is the inner health for outward appearance.  In a previous post I spoke about some of my nutritional goals. Nutrition is important to your outer appearance and so is overall health so being very diligent with my doctor appointments is definitely a 2011 goal.  I'm usually pretty good but I can be better so I will.  I can be guilty of rescheduling.  I have so many goals in several areas and I don't really want to overwhelm myself so I will stop in appearance with the previous goals.  If  I am really successful I will continue to add new goals throughout the year.
Do you have any appearance goals for this year?  Are they very specific or rather broad?  Let me know.

Satiable Goal for 2011 - Emotions - Topic 3

 

I've recently been going through a roller coaster of all sorts of things.  One thing that I have learned and I know for sure is that I am not alone.  We all go through major things at different points in our life because...it's life.  The major theme of this blog is about having a satisfying life and you can't have a satisfying life without being satisfied.  One of the things that I pride myself in is on being able to really appreciate the "small things".  As you already know I really LOVE small luxuries and can genuinely find a pure joy with the use of my imagination, however I do have my moments when life is a real challenge for me and I really have to search a little harder for that satisfaction.  This takes me to my third goal of managing my emotions.  I actually own the book "Managing Your Emotions" by Joyce Meyer and have never read it.  I have now made that my step number 1. My goal is to read this book by March 1st.
Another book that I own that I will be reading daily throughout the year is "The Book Of Awakening:  Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have" by Mark Nepo.  In this book there is a story or essay entry for each day of the year.  The author is a poet and a cancer survivor so you know he's reflective and expressive.  The entries really give you a reason to pause and take note.
My goal with this book is to be consistent with reading this daily as well as really reflecting on each and every entry.
This is a goal that will evolve throughout the year because I may need to add to my to do list for it.  Once I've read " Managing Your Emotions" I should have a better grasp of where I might want to go from there.  One thing that I know about goals is that you have to be very specific in order to be more successful at achieving them so I know that as my thought process become more clear my continued goals in this catagory has to become more defined.  I'm sure we'll keep talking about this throughout the year.  Do you have any emotional goals for 2011?  Are you thinking about your emotional health?  Let me know.  Sidenote:  The calendar at the start of this post is the calender that I bought for this year.  I like to have a theme every year with my calender reflecting the type of year I want.  I bought mine at Calenders.com but they are sold out.  I found this one " The Gift of Zen" at Amazon.com, however it's a little pricey.  You can always find your own theme.  There are many choices still available.