You know that we have quite a penchant for Box-of-the-Month subscriptions. Whether the theme be beauty, adult, healthy eating, men’s gifts or anything in between, we feel that box-of-the-month subscriptions make great gift ideas. Certainly, it gets your gift recipient to think about the gift-giver (you!) every time a new box is received.
And with February being synonymous with all matters of the heart and pretty things, we thought that we would mention these jewelry subscription boxes as delightful gift surprises for a Valentine in your life:

Lucid Box – For $26 per month, Lucid will send the subscriber two “surprise” pieces [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Chief Editor
I find that as I got older, Valentine’s Day has taken on a whole new purpose. In fact, I don’t know one of my friends who actually celebrates this occasion. For my husband and me, it is more of a reminder of the amorous side of our relationship than it is of us trying to shoehorn all sorts of overblown expectations of romance into one day.
Intimacy is known to take the back burner when reality has you dealing with stress from work, the daily responsibilities of parenting and just plainly being too tired. Déjàmor understands this. [...]

By Anne-Marie Kovacs, Chief Wife
The upcoming party season (which begins for me tomorrow!) has most of us gals thinking about what we will wear. Personally, I always start with the shoes and get inspired from there. This year, I am NOT about to get another pair of black shoes. I already own a pair in every heel height and comfort level. But I am thinking of dressing up my heeled pumps with some sparkly shoe clips. We’ve seen the high end designer shoes get embellished with all manners of adornment. But I’m not into paying $895 for a pair-of-party-shoes-that-I’ll-only-wear-a-couple-times (for example).
It’s gonna [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor

I have boots in my closet that I have worn for years. Basic black and brown with basic heels. They’re always right there, on the edge of being fashionable but they have never quite gotten there. Until this…!
The two trends I have noticed this fall are ankle boots, which I have, and fur. Lots of fur accents, coats, shoes, vests and so on.
Donna Salyer’s Fabulous (faux) Furs has the cutest Fur Boot-Toppers to give my ankle boots just the right update. You can go either wild  or tame, either option adds an eye-catching accent in [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
Every once in a while I come across a company and the story behind the person who started it makes me just want to write about them. Newly founded Get Happy Inspirational Apparel is one of those companies. At age 33 Maria Carmel woke up one morning in her friends apartment with her young daughter sleeping on the floor. Homeless, jobless, without family support, she decided right there that she wanted to Get Happy – her first independent decision in her entire life. Growing up in an unsupportive and emotionally abusive environment, Maria never felt [...]

I’m pretty sure most women will agree: Jewelry is ALWAYS a welcomed gift. Especially if it has sentimental value, as when the jewelry piece is composed of gemstones which each (could, but don’t have to!) represent a special family member.
Erin Gallagher’s Gem Bar can help us create such customized jewelry designs quite easily. Her company offers a great choice of “Design Your Own” jewelry pieces, whether it be necklaces, earrings or bracelets. For Mother’s Day, I really like the idea of a pendant necklace where each gemstone would represent the birthstone of a child, and heck, why not, even that [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
Sending mom a Mother’s Day card and/or a bouquet of flowers is a simple way to say that you are thinking of her – particularly if you live far away. Postcarden cleverly combines the beauty of flora with a greeting card creating a simple and inexpensive way to show how much you love your mama.
These pop-out cards transform into mini-living gardens and are available in three designs: Botanical, City and Backyard. Your mom will open and unfold the card, water it and sprinkle the enclosed edible cress seeds onto the damp paper. Within a few [...]

We know the joke: “You’re unique. just like everybody else“. But joking aside, we still like to think that we are unique. Which is why at The Succulent Wife, we always like to feature lots of indie and artisan businesses. Because when we shop with them at least we know that the stuff we buy is NOT like everybody else’s…
And, that goes for shoes too. Probably, especially for shoes. And so, we love this company… Shoes of Prey.
Shoes of Prey is a site that allows women to custom design their own shoes. Pick from a variety of heel heights and [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
I am in love with Jo Malone fragrances but the size of any of the bottles makes it almost impossible to take along with me. Traveling anywhere with large bottles of perfume is just not convenient. I can’t take them in my carry-on without losing the bottle to TSA. And most definitely can’t fit a large perfume bottle in my evening clutch!
I have tried other travel-sized perfume bottles but I seem to always spill more perfume out of the funnel than I can get in the other bottle. Way too costly! And anyhoo, if the [...]

By Anne-Marie Kovacs, Chief Wife
I’m dating myself (at this point, it can’t be avoided), but I remember my dresser drawer full of silk, satiny scarves in the 80′s and 90′s. Always the perfect accessory to perk up that otherwise drab business suit (yeah, I used to wear suits to work, even with a silk cravate in the mid 80′s. Scream!). And then, fashion scarves were gone. Until recently. Scarves have made a major comeback and I’m sooooo pleased.
Seriously, what’s not to love about a scarf? Besides their ability to enhance almost any outfit and to add color, scarves are our [...]