By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
I am very excited about this new app for the iPhone. Viddy is another Social Media outlet similar to Instagram. Where with  Instragram you can add filter effects to your photos and share them, with Viddy you can do the same with videos.
Viddy is a simple way to share 15 second vignettes of life around you with movement, audio and music. There are a variety of different effects to enhance your video. Connect with other would-be cinematographers, Facebook and Twitter friends, plus share on YouTube and Tumblr. Just one more way to bring the fun [...]

The Gift Giving Advisory Board (GGAB for short) is announcing our top holiday gift recommendations of 2011! Our board members have been working hard the entire year to seek out the most meaningful, unique and one-of-a-kind gift ideas and have compiled them into our sponsored, but oh-so-highly-curated, 2011 Holiday Gift Guide.

We’ve loved UncommonGoods for a long time. Probably as long as they’ve been established (in 1999). UncommonGoods.com is a unique online store that offers truly unique gift ideas that range from beautiful to fun, quirky and light-hearted. Never a boring gift idea in their catalog pages… We also love that UncommonGoods is an independent business that supports independent artists and creators. Plus, many of their gift items are made from recycled or up-cycled materials.
Need a great gift idea for your wife, your mother, sister, best friend? Here are some original ideas for the women in your life…
TO PUT UNDER THE [...]

By Anne-Marie Kovacs, Chief Wife
Evenings are getting longer. And c-c-c-cooler. And though we have a fireplace in our house, we are notoriously lazy about lighting it up. We love the coziness effect, the warm ambiance a beautiful fire creates, but between you and me, it’s sooooo much work. And I’m just thinking about the getting the firewood in the house part…
So, I’m thinking of going instant. As in Instant Fireplace.
No, I’m not talking fireplace DVD here (cute, but where’s the heat?)
No, no, no. I’m talking a fireplace with real flames and capacity to heat up the place a little. And [...]

By Anne-Marie Kovacs, Chief Wife
Remember the days when you would have to beg someone to recycle your diagnosed-as-obsolete cell phones, computers and other electronics? Drive miles and miles to visit that charitable organization that would – if the volunteers felt like it – take in your old desktop and television? Pray that there be a recycling box at Best Buy where you could drop the last generation cell phone?…
Well, it appears that there may be a better way to do these things now: NextWorth.com‘s tagline says it all “Recycle your old electronics for cash“.
Our portfolio of product exchanges provides a [...]

We have mentioned E.L.F. (Eyes, Lips, Face) makeup before in both our Drugstore Essentials article and last year’s Stocking Stuffer Gift Guide. I have personally been a huge fan of E.L.F. makeup for years. The reasons are 1) you can’t beat the price and 2) for the price, you can have both quality and quantity. Indeed, E.L.F. offers premium quality cosmetics and, at these prices, you can afford to have fun and grab the latest colors in eyeshadows and lipsticks, experiment with new colors and shimmers and bronzers…without a trace of guilt.
If you are not familiar with E.L.F. makeup, you [...]

By Anne-Marie Kovacs, Chief Wife
These days, we know how special it is to receive a real note card in the mail. Like with a stamp on it. Handwritten and all… It’s even more special if it’s also addressed by hand… And how about if it was personalized with a photo stamp to identify to sender? Even more charming.
PJ Greetings has a very unique offering: custom pre-inked stamps that can transform your favorite photo into a stamp.
As you already guessed (because our readers are all very clever that way), a photo stamp can be used for all sorts of purposes, such [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
My daughters love hot chocolate! But what kid doesn’t, right? Now that it is getting cooler in the mornings, the girls love having their hot chocolate (I usually use Olvaltine or Carnation Instant Breakfast on school days) before school.
I just discovered the easiest way to make a hot chocolate drink that looks like it was made at a French bistro. That is the Froth & Pour Hot Chocolate Pot made exclusively for Williams-Sonoma.
Simply add milk and chocolate mix into the pot and put it in the microwave. Once heated, press the mixing button to whip [...]

Need a great hostess gift that will not only say “thank you for the invitation” but that is also something truly original (that your hostess most probably will never have seen before) AND is practical. AND is something that she will want to use immediately. AND that is fun for guests too?
We’re thinking that the Coasterica™ Coasters are perhaps the only hostess gift that can meet all those requirements and then some… Because the Coasterica all-in-one coasters not only protect furniture, they also serve as drink charms. Simply slip the silicone coasters onto the stemware and the coasters will travel [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
I will be the first to admit that Halloween is probably my least favorite festivity. But that does not mean I am a party pooper. Au contraire! With two young girls in the house, I have to keep my ghoulish spirits up during this time of year.
And although I can’t say either that I am a very crafty person, I do like to do fun projects with my girls who love being creative. So, this year I searched for a few simple things for us to do together and I came up with some great [...]