Fall In Love With More Free Templates! Click Here To Get Your Own Smitten Blog Design... »

Monday, November 22, 2010

What is the best Christmas gift you have ever received?

I'd love to hear the best Christmas gift you have received. Please leave a comment and I will feature your gift idea in an upcoming post.

Even the gift geek needs some help ;)

Keep on gifting - The Gift Geek

Saturday, November 20, 2010

I didn't think I could be a bigger fan of Admiral Road ... but I am!

I have blogged numerous times about one of my favourite companies - Admiral Road.

They sell the most amazing blankets for babies, kids and even dogs - yes my pup ethel has one.

If you haven't checked their site lately - you should. They have a few new ADORABLE designs:
Personalized Elephant Baby Blanket - Boy
Personalized Elephant Baby Blanket - Girl
Personalized Lion Baby Blanket


Personalized Blossoms Kids Blanket

I also think some of their camp blankets are new as well. They are certainly worth checking out.

I love the new products Admiral Road!

The Gift Geek

Coming soon! Toronto One of a Kind Christmas Show & Sale


I go to the One of a Kind Show at least once a year. This year's Christmas show runs from:

Thursday, November 25 to Sunday, December 5, 2010
Weekdays and Saturday 10am-9pm, Sunday 10am-6pm

Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place

TICKETS ONLINE

$10 Adults
(A $2 saving compared to ticket at the door!)
$6.50 Senior (65+)
$6.50 Students (13-17)
Free Children (12 & Under)

TICKETS AT THE DOOR

$12 Adults
$6.50 Senior (65+)
$6.50 Students (13-17)
Free Children (12 & Under)

Parking
Surface (Monday - Sunday) $13 daily, then $10 after 6 pm
Underground (Monday-Friday) $13 daily, then $10 after 6 pm
Underground (Saturday-Sunday) $15 daily, then $12 after 6 pm
Ontario Place parking $5 per day


Hope to see you at the show -
The Gift Geek

Gift Guides in time for the holiday season

Many online magazines/bloggers have published gift guides in time for the holiday season - check a few of them out below.

- NOW Toronto Holiday Gift Guide - 2010
- High-Def Digest Holiday Gift Guide 2010: The Essential Holiday Blu-rays
- 2010 Holiday Gift Guide: Geeky Gadgets, Fashionable Finds, and Great Buys For Boyfriends!
- CultofMacs 2010 holiday gift guide for teens
- CultofMac’s 2010 Holiday Gift Guide for Women

Keep your gifts unique - The Gift Geek

Friday, November 19, 2010

Proud to be a Torontonian!

When I came across this excellent piece of art from Ork Posters, I just had to get it. It was ordered today and I can't wait to have it framed and hung in my condo. For only $22 USD - poster ( 30" x 24")or $27 USD- screen print (30" x 24") you can get one of these awesome typography art posters of your favourite city:

POSTERS - White and black OR blue and green (below)

Screen Prints - Brown and Yellow or Red and White (below)



I learned about this company when The Toronto Star featured a Toronto artist creates similar art of Toronto neighbourhoods using words. Dave Murray sells his typography art of three Toronto neighbourhoods through his online store.

The three neighbourhoods are: Kensington Market, The Ossington Strip and Queen West & Parkdale.

The posters are printed on Japanese hemp paper and are 100% acid-free and lightfast - 21" x 31" in size. Posters are between $40-$50 Canadian dollars and there are three colour options.


Dave Murray is starting on Leslieville next, according to the Star article.

Although I believe in supporting local artists, I don't have a connection to any of the areas featured in Dave's art, so I purchased from orkposters.com. In saying this,I do look forward to seeing the neighbourhoods Dave will feature in the future.

Keep your gifts unique -
The Gift Geek

Thanks to Guest Blogger Amy - I purchased your recommendation

You may remember my friend Amy writing a guest blog a few weeks ago. Well I loved her "find" so much that I ordered her gift recommendation from vista print - address labels, pens and sticky notes for me, my sister and mom and dad. They are going to make great stocking stuffers too.

Check out some of the items I ordered ...

PEN


Return Address Label (Address removed)

Sticky Note PadThanks again Amy!

Your pal the Gift Geek

The perfect Mo Sista thank-you card

For the third year in a row I am participating in Movember. During the month of November men (Mo Bros) grow moustaches (Mos) in support of men's health (In Canada -Prostate Cancer Canada). Women (Mo Sistas) can also participate by providing the Mo Bros with morale support and collecting donations for the cause.

This year, I have collected $1000 (so far) from my generous sponsors. To thank them I ordered the most fabulous personalized cards from etsy store ylimepulp. The seller changed the cards to read Mo Sista (rather than mister) and my full name.


Although the seller is in the U.S.A, the cards arrived within a week and a half. I am going to frame one of my cards for my desk as the 3D moustache makes me smile every time I look at the card.

ylimepulp has a wide variety of stationery, which makes this gift geek very excited.

Thank you Emily from ylimepulp for putting a smile on this Mo Sista and all of my Movember sponsors.

Check out Emily's shop and tell her the gift geek sent you.

It's gift giving time - keep it unique!
The Gift Geek

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Another great baby shower gift idea - at least I think so.

My friend Amy and I were excited to be invited to our friend Denise's baby shower. We spoke about possible gifts and settled on an idea ... granted an idea I stole from a facebook friend. We decided to start the baby a library!

The library would consist of two bookends and as many books as we could purchase, keeping in mind our budget.

I went to Chapters/Indigo and found the most adorable bookends by a company named Zuny. The ends are sold separately for $29.99 a piece. For the most part, the bookends are animals and there is quite the variety to choose from. Chapters had five choices and I decided to pick-up the Elephant and a Lion.


I wrapped it up nicely with the books we picked up to help start the babies library and voila!


These bookends are also designed to work as door stops, so I wasn't too upset when Denise received a second elephant (her favourite animal). I was apparently not as original as I thought.

As I mentioned, I stole this idea from my friend Jordana. How nice do these bookends look on her son's bookshelf??!!!! GORGEOUS!


Note: The bookshelf itself is from ducduc -- an American company. Designed in NYC and built in Connecticut from sustainable wood. www.ducducnyc.com. Purchased from Ella & Elliot in Toronto.

Back to the shower ...

Denise's shower was a lovely luncheon event at Fire on the East Side. The meal was delicious, the conversation was great and Denise was glowing. She is such a beautiful expectant mother.

One of Denise's friends made cupcakes for each of the shower guests to take home with them. They were amazingly delicious and so cute.

The chick is made of cake that was dipped in white chocolate. YUM!

Denise said her husband liked the idea of receiving books for their new baby. I hope they will enjoy reading these books to their baby for years to come.

Keep on Giving -
The Gift Geek

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Do you know anyone moving?

Guest blogger - My friend, the fabulous Amy

At my monthly girl’s dinner last week my friend Jill surprised another friend of ours with the cutest little gift: Return address labels. Now I know that doesn’t sound super exciting, but wait until you see them:




Cute right?

At Vista Print (where I also ordered my wedding invitations and must say was very happy with the quality), you can order address labels with a variety of different designs. In this case Jill customized Katie, her husband, and her cat’s caricature on to the address label. Caricature options include customizing one’s head shape, eye color, hair color etc not just for humans, but for your animal too! That way you can make sure to include everyone in your house on your label. You can even put head pieces like antlers on your little furry friends. Jill’s gift also included matching pens and sticky notes with the same design. So cute!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

I ran a half marathon - what did you do?

On May 30th I completed my first half marathon with some of my good friends - including Amy, Elizabeth and Alison. My mom, aunt and cousin were there to cheer me on, which made the experience extra special.





What an awesome day. Now as this was my first, I learned of a few items that I absolutely love. Here are a few:

My favourite by far is the Nike Sports Band. It comes in a variety of colours and tracks pace, kms or miles, time, calories burned. I will admit when I first got this it didn't collaborate properly (off by .5 -.75 kms, but Nike has since fixed the problem and when I ran my half last May, it was dead-on. A small chip attaches to your shoe laces or if you have a Nike shoe, goes under your insole. The black piece (show below) communicates with the chip and plugs into your computer so that you can track your distance. My mom - who is just getting the hang of technology - uses one and loves it. She has only had to call me a handful of times with questions. I find the band is a motivator as when I start to feel tired, I know how much further I have to go and keep pushing through.


Another item I love is Road ID. They come in many different styles - ankle, wrist, shoe pouch or shoe id. The idea is that should you ever get into trouble while running, all of your important info will be on your id so that you can get the appropriate help - eg. year of birth, telephone numbers, city etc. (especially since a lot of runner don't carry ID. While I don't own this yet, I will be purchasing in the near future. I like the shoe id myself, because I wouldn't have to worry about remembering to put the id on before each run - plus I already wear my sports band on one wrist and sometimes an interval timer on the other.




I love he Lulu Lemon Running tights. LOVE!!!!! Their running shirts with the scuba hoods and cuffins are also great. Check out their full line of running gear.

I could probably go on forever about the things I like and dislike, but instead I am going to start training for the next Women Set the Pace - Toronto Women's Half Marathon in May. This year will be special as my mom won't be cheering from the sidelines, but joining me for the run. I couldn't be more proud!

Make your gifts memorable!
The Gift Geek

Friday, June 18, 2010

So - I won a trip ...



I'm not sure if I shared with you all that I won a trip for 4 to Orlando from Breakfast Television and iTravel 2000. At the end April I boarded the plane with my guests - Dianne, Fraser and Jocelyn. If you want to read out blog from FLA, take a look: http://flafour.blogspot.com/

Enjoy the weekend and keep your umbrella handy ...

Speaking of umbrellas ... I'll share that in another post. But believe me- It's a great gift idea in my mind and an awesome conversation starter!

Keep on gift giving!
The Gift Geek

Friday, June 11, 2010

Miss Muggs turned 5 on June 8th - Happy Birthday Ethel

My baby ethel turned 5 years-ols on June 8th. We celebrated with a trip to Bark & Fitz to get her some yummy puppy birthday treats, followed by a walk in her FAVOURITE park in the beach - a place we go every year on her birthday.

Here is Miss Ethel Muggs with one of her favourite birthday treats!



Happy Birthday ethy baby!


The Gift Geek - Your Mama

Rhys & Super Rhys

Thank you to my dear friends Tatiana and Sean for sharing this adorable picture of new baby Rhys with the sock monkey I made him. The sock monkey is complete with a cape - making him Super Rhys ... Baby Rhys' little buddy.


I can't wait to met you Rhys! I am sure that Super Rhys will watch over you until then.

xo
The Gift Geek

Friday, May 28, 2010

A gift that touched my heart


Four of my "little friends" surprised me with a very special Christmas gift, purchasing a bedkit for a child in Belgaum, India through Sleeping Children around the world.

I was thrilled to know that these four little girls (thanks to their terrific moms) already know the importance of helping others.

The photo shows 1 bedkit that each of the children will be receiving. 4000 children in total received bedkits via the SCAW kit distribution in Belgaum. AMAZING!

The sign in front of "my child" reads: Erin Truax - Christmas 2009 -From Ava, Kyla, Emma and Janessa.

Each bedkit includes a:
towel, sheet, mat/carpet, mosquito net, blankets, cap, water bottle, bowl, plate, glass, raincoat, pillow, pillow cover, school bag, sweater, flip flops, stationery, slate, slate pencil, clothes and a packing bag.

I was so touched when I received the photo in the mail. It was a complete surprise and after reading through the newsletter that accompanies the photo, I was truly moved.

What an excellent gift!

Thank you to my little gift giving friends who not only put a smile on my face, but also one on the face of a little person in Belgaum.

To learn more about Sleeping Children Around the World, visit www.scaw.org

Still smiling -
The Gift Geek

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Babies, babies and more babies ... A perfect reason to give a gift!

Congratulations to all of my friends who have had babies over the past couple of weeks -

The Glenfield/Jovic family welcomed Rhys

The Bourgon family welcomed Kiera

The Chambers family welcomed Matthew

The Proudfoot family welcomed Matthew

The Reid/Cansino family welcomed Maeve.

Congratulations to you all ...

Still waiting on my new baby cousin to be born. Thinking of you April and Ryan.

I love babies -
The Gift Geek

Need a teacher gift?

Thanks to my Twitter friend @Karmak1 for directing me to Savvymom.ca

@SavvyMomdotca has some great end of year teacher gifts.

Need an idea? Check out Savvy Mom's suggestions HERE

Of course the personalized stationery is my favourite. Check out Penny People Designs for some of the best personalized stationery I have found.

Yours in gift giving -
The Gift Geek

Saturday, January 16, 2010

My new favourite find is e.t. - erin tyner

Everyone now knows that I love ETSY. I now go there first when looking for any gift. I love personalized items, so on a whim I typed my name - "erin" and found the most wonderful photographs by a talented artist named erin tyner (yes- we have the same initials too) that I just had to have. erin's etsy site features her Half Awake series, an ongoing series featuring miniature figures that she prints in two sizes 6"x6" or 8"x8".

What the gift geek thinks you need to know:
Photos come unframed.
Safely package and quick delivery
Great communication with seller
6"x6" - $20 each (printed on 8”x10” matte archival paper
8"x8" - $32 (printed on 8.5”x11” matte archival paper)
Shipping t0 Canada - $5USD
Oh- and you won't be disappointed

I purchased these three:


I plan on framing them similar to how Erin displays them on her site:

There are a variety of minatures photos. I have raved about these photos to my colleagues and friends and everyone agrees that they are just fabulous. One colleague is thinking about purchasing a few for her daughter's bedroom. How fabulous would that look?!

Kudos to erin for her talent and for putting a smile on my face every time I look at the photos. I think I am going to hang the photos above my bed.

If you place an order - make sure you tell erin that the "gift geek" sent you. Don't you think erin would do well at the Toronto One of a Kind Show? I know her photos would make me stop and look!

Keep your gifts unique-
The gift geek

Sunday, January 10, 2010

My friend made my day ...

Need a thoughtful and quick gift to send to your friends, check out EAT MY WORDS. After a couple of tough weeks at work, my dear friend Amy sent me a hat box of delicious Lola mini cup cakes from Eat my Words. The pretty flowers on the top makes them look far too good to eat - but my colleagues and I shared.


Their delightfully decorative, and divinely delicious edibles help to raise money and awareness for the Stephen Lewis Foundation, whose tireless efforts on behalf of those in such dire situations warrants all the help we can give.

These cupcakes are a great alternative to flowers and the presentation receives an A++. Thanks to Amy for brightening my day! A couple days later I actually sent a box of these cup cakes to my friend Malia and her husband Vic as a house warming gift. They too enjoyed these cup cakes.

Here is a photo of the box of cup cakes I received. Aren't they fabulous?



Check out Eat My Words for some of their other delicious treats.

Note:
Every mouthful is made with only the finest ingredients. NO preservatives, emulsifiers, lard, or margarine.
Although none of our cakes, cookies or brownies are made with nuts - please be aware that we are not a designated nut free bakery.
Eat My Words treat boxes can be delivered anywhere in the GTA. MonkeyBiz items can be shipped anywhere.

Happy gift giving -
The Gift Geek