We have received some info about a campaign Macy’s has. Here we go:

Customers who make tabletop and houseware purchases of $150 or greater from one of 30 participating vendors between September 23rd and October 4th are eligible to receive a $25 cash rebate in the mail. This is the perfect opportunity for friends and family to get the happy couple a wonderful wedding gift.

In order to redeem this rebate, forms can be found in-store at any Wedding & Gift Registry department or at macysweddingchannel.com/offers. Purchasers simply need to mail-in their original receipt and a copy of the couple’s registry to the specific vendor’s address found on the second page of the rebate form. The $25 rebate check will be mailed within 60 days.

You may visit this resources page for additional information.

Buying Off the Registry Ensures It's a Gift They Want. photo courtesy of ginnerobot

Heading to a wedding or baby shower this summer? You’re probably planning on bringing a gift along to mark the special occasion. But how do you know where the lovely couple or new mom is registered? Rather than buying them a gift card to a store they don’t care for or just picking up a generic gift they may not even want, use these tricks to find out exactly where they’re registered and what they need.

Read the Invite

Usually the invitation to the wedding or shower will have details about where the registries are. Sometimes rather than printing the details directly on the invite, they’ll include a small slip of paper with the store’s name. Throw the invite away? Then keep reading.

Check the Most Popular Choices

There are some stores that are extremely popular for gift registries. Make a quick visit to websites like Target.com, CrateandBarrel.com, and BedBathandBeyond.com if you’re searching for wedding registries. If you’re searching for a baby shower registry try BabiesRUs.com and Target.com.  The odds are good that you may find your registry here.

Use a Registry Finder

Since there are so many more places to register now than ever before, locating a gift registry may require a registry finder. For instance, at WeddingChannel.com they’ve got a registry finder that searches more than 15 different stores and retailers to try to locate the one you’re looking for. So rather than visit all of those stores hunting for your registry, look for it in one place.

Think Regional

Different parts of the country have different go-to department stores. Depending on where you live, the most popular department store may vary. Think about where the event is being held and what stores are popular in that community. That may give you a clue as to where the registry is held.

Ask the Host

Still can’t find the registry? Just bite the bullet and ask the bride, groom or mother-to-be. You’ll be glad you asked rather than winging it in the gift department.

We mentioned Kushlanihall.com in our 2009 Valentine’s Gift Guide.

Detail of Essence of Sri Lanka Necklace. photo courtesy of kushlanihall.com

About the artist:

Kushlani Hall is a very talented painter and jewelry designer. She is known for her beautiful color schemes and her unique designs in jewelry. 

Kushlani teaches both oil painting classes and jewelry making classes and workshops around the San Francisco bay area.

About the products:

Kushlani offers an amazing collection of handcrafted jewelry, from earings to necklaces and rings – all unique and one-of-a-kind! She uses all sorts of materials, from glass to sterling silver, pearls, quartz and so on. All her designs are absolutely gorgeous!

My favorite piece is Essence of Sri Lanka Necklace (4). More details: pendant: 2.5″ Fine Silver Rhodocrosite and Keshi Pearl flower, finished with pearls, rose quartz sterling silver.

Any of Kushlani’s designs are an excellent choice for a Valentine’s Day gift, or wedding gift or just “for no reason” gift.

To see more selections and choose your favorite please visit www.kushlanihall.com

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If you’ve purchased her jewelry, please leave a message. Share the love! We’d love to hear from you!

We mentioned Intouch IT7150 in our 2009 Valentine’s Gift Guide.

wireless internet frame. photo cortesy of Giant Wireless Technology

If you’re looking for a unique Valentine’s Day gift for loved ones on the cutting edge, then I hope you’ll consider a practical wi-fi frame that keeps users entertained and connected by providing a multi-media window to the world — the Intouch IT7150 takes the Wi-Fi digital frame to the next level by combining wireless access to digital content from popular photo sharing web sites, RSS news feeds, Internet radio and WEB TV all on an easy-to-use true touch screen. Users have the flexibility to access digital content provided through the partners or to set up personalized RSS news feeds directly making it easy to obtain content on even the most unique hobbies such as skydiving or bird watching. It’s the first wireless internet frame to combine this variety of multi-media content with a touch screen, making it the most versatile digital frame on the market.

Intouch IT7150 Key Features:
· 7” color digital display screen (16:9 aspect ratio)
· High resolution (800 x 480 pixels)
· Touch operation with on-screen QWERTY keyboard
· Wi-Fi connectivity (embedded WiFi 802.11b/g standard)
· USB cable included to connect to PC
· Digital photo frame with FrameChannel partnership providing easy photo sharing and 400 channels of dynamic content to customize frame with news, weather, sports and more
· Wireless RSS 2.0 feed reader
· Live internet radio with additional vTuner partnership providing 11,000 mainstream radio and internet only stations and over 800 WEB TV stations
· Video/audio/photo playback function
· Stereo speakers (1W x 2)
· Memory formats supported: Secure Digital (SD) Card, Compact Flash (CF) Card, Memory Stick (MS), MultiMedia (MMC) Card, XD-Picture card expandable memory
· 128MB of internal memory
· Audio jack for headphones or external speaker connection
· Clock, calendar and alarm
· Rechargeable battery with estimated 1.5 hours battery life for easy mobility

Price: $229.99. On sale today for $224.26!

Are you looking for a unique wedding or anniversary gift?  Do you want to offer a gift that is fun and brings laughter in the bedroom? Well, I think I have the right gift idea for you!

The “His & Hers Sheet Set”

His & Hers Sheet Set from www.BedHog.com

If you want to stay away from any conventional gift and offer something fun and unique, I suggest the “His & Hers Sheet Set” from www.BedHog.com. The set is made of 1 flat sheet, 1 fitted sheet and 2 pillowcases. The 100% cotton sateen sheets are white with a stylish “His” and “Hers” print on them. A line down the middle will delimitate the two sides and help reveal who the real Bed Hog is!! The flat and fitted sheets are reversible so partners have a choice on which side they want to sleep.

The set comes in King ($119.99) and Queen ( $99.99) sizes. I wish they had a California King size to fit MY bed! hahaha Anyway, this would be an excellent choice for a unique and special gift! One of my favorites!

For $29.99, you can buy a separate pillowcases set; they even offer pillowcases sets for Gay Couples or singles who like to have the bed all to themselves!

Who is Behind BedHog.com?

photo courtesy of BedHog.com

The story goes that Sue and Patrick were newlyweds when all of a sudden they had an important debate in the bedroom. The topic: who was hogging more than their fair share of the bed?! In order to find out, they created the Bed Hog sheets. So, now they are sleeping on their own Bed Hog sheets and are happier than ever!

To read more about their story please visit www.BedHog.com  

image belongs to getbuttonedup.com

I stumbled upon this item a few months ago and have found it so useful that I have since been recommending it to everyone I meet. This is a unique personal gift that you can give to a family. Any new family starting out or one that just needs to get organized can use it. The Life.doc is an attractive way to keep your life organized. Anything dealing with a family and home is kept safely and neatly in the beautiful red linen-feel clad folder.

The folder is split into 8 useful sections that can be filled in by printer or handwritten with your information. The most useful sections for me were In Sickness & Health, Insurance, and Home Sweet Home. But all the sections are quite useful and very cleverly put together on pre-organized forms. Included with your purchase is a CD, which walks you through the process of getting your Life.doc perfectly put together and printed out, if you choose.

Life.doc consists of 120 pages to be completed for storing all your family’s vital information. It is nice to be able to keep all your important information in one place and in order. Any family would love to receive this item as a gift. Not only is it useful and just about necessary, but it also is very attractive. They may have a hard time putting it away once they have completed it. Anyone looking for a unique gift for a family should check out the Life.doc from getbuttonedup.

Price: $29.95

Do you really need crystal goblets or fancy place settings? If your answer is no, then you may want to consider registering for your honeymoon. Honeymoon registries are a popular trend among soon-to-be married couples.
Read more…

Gifts are great, especially when you can use them. The worst type of present is the one that never gets used. It’s a picture frame that doesn’t quite go with the decor, a shirt that’s too small, or a kitchen gadget that’s resorted to collecting dust. Before you give a gift that just ends up earning a couple bucks at a future yard sale, consider these practical gift ideas.

For the New Mom

It’s so fun to pick out little pink or blue outfits, but practical gifts are great for new parents, too. New babies can use up to ten diapers a day and if you’ve walked down the baby aisle lately you know that is a major expense. Wrap up a big box of diapers- it’s a gift that really will get used.

For the Graduate

College kids typically don’t have the best cars, yet they can spend a lot of time on the road. Buy them a AAA membership and it might come in handy during a difficult situation. Instead of being stranded on the side of the road with little cash, they’ll be able to use that membership to get help. Plus it comes with lots of other perks, like discounts and coupons.

For the Younger Child

It’s never too early to start saving. Teach a youngster about money by giving them a cool bank. Start them off with a few dollars in change. It will get them excited about saving.

For the Homeowner

Looking for a good gift for newlyweds, new homeowners, or anybody that’s too busy to mow? Try treating them to some free lawn care. Have a service cut their grass, trim the hedges and pull some weeds. Taking care of this chore will be a welcomed gift.

Photo courtesy of Siti Saad

You want to give your family and friends the best, but the best can often come with a hefty price tag. There are ways to save money while being your thoughtful, sweet, creative self. Here are a few ideas.

Plan Ahead

One of my best friends is getting married in a couple of months. I knew she would be having a bridal shower so back in February ago I got to work. I bought a Sharebook like this one on sale at Hobby Lobby. It’s a great product because it takes a lot of work out of putting the scrapbook together. It comes with envelopes and pre-made pages so you just have to send them out to friends and family members and wait for them to return to you. I included about ten of her closest family members and friends, assembled the book and shipped it to her so she could open it at her shower. The entire thing probably cost me under $30, but she told everyone it was her second favorite gift. (Her favorite was a handmade cookbook complete with family recipes that her aunt had compiled.)

Shop Smart

There are several sites that will pay you to shop with them. One to check out is Ebates.com. Just for signing up for an account they’ll give you a $10 gift card to a store like Target or Sephora. Then, you just shop online like normal. You’ll get cash back (usually 1-4%) from the sites you already probably shop at. It’s a cool way to get a little something back when you’re buying gifts for others.

Buy in Bulk

Come across the perfect gift that just about everyone will love? Why not buy it in bulk? Maybe a case of wine? Or a box of jam made by a local farmer? That way it’s ready to go when the need for a gift comes up. Plus you’ll save money by purchasing a large quantity.

Photo courtesy of scrapbookexpress.com