Guy Gift Guide: Geek on the Go

December 8, 2009 by

Your Sig-other is always talking about Hertz, or HDMI, or H-something-something-yada-yada-yada, right? If so, here’s a list of gift ideas for the geek on the go. You can also read about my guy gift guide for chef guys.

But a secret about most geeky guys I know — we all like to envision ourselves travelers, even if the most we ever get out is to the grocery store for nonfat organic milk. Wait, I mean the liquor store for liquor, amirite??

umm, ok, so on to the gifts:

jw-gift tech

  1. Cradlepoint Travel Router $98 – Plugin your 3G usb card into the router and it creates a wifi hotspot for you. So if your family is driving across the country, you power up your laptop and this cradlepoint into your power inverter (gives you a real power plug from your car), and then watch Hulu all the way to grandma’s house!
  2. SlingBox Solo $179 – OK, so get this. You leave the slingbox at home, hooked up to your Tivo or cablebox or satellite or whatever. You then go on a trip, get on wifi, and then either with your computer or with your iTouch/iPhone and run the slingbox app (there’s also a blackberry version). Then you watch your home tv live and control it. People, I’m talking pay $8 for hotel internet, then watch your home DVR collection of Lost or the football game from earlier that night. Magic meets the future!
  3. Survival Kit in a Can $14 – So if your guy is like me, he thinks he could survive on his own in the wilderness. I mean how hard is survivor really ? With this kit, he (and by he I of course mean I) might have a change for another 24 hours on his own. At least until the pizza arrives. I also thought this book on the US Armed Services Survival Guide was cool looking.
  4. iPod Touch $181 – If he doesn’t have an iPhone, he’ll want this just to download and install apps. I personally make due on the phone side with an old blackberry and use the iTouch (iPod Touch = iTouch) for a ton of stuff. Like the grocery shopping app, or the Amazon Kindle Reader app. Best part = no monthly fees!
  5. TheJooJoo $499 – ok, so this is a bit risky, but if you want to truly wow your techie sig’other, this is a gift to show him that you like him a lot. The “joojoo” (means magic) was originally going to be the “CrunchPad”, but it morphed into this tablet PC that I personally think is going to rock. At $499 its a bit expensive, but for couch web browsing it will be most awesome.
  6. Western Digital HardDrive $109 – I’ve had external harddrives before, but honestly they were way too “external” — this fits in your pocket or bag and lets you keep a backup of your videos and pictures. If you have a Tivo, use TivoToGo to copy over shows and movies before your trip … if you don’t have a tivo, umm why?
  7. Wilife Security System $279 – A security system that you can login into from the road and check out what’s going on at the homestead. Also, it detects motion and starts recording, so if someone does break into your house it’ll have evidence for you. How this hasn’t made CSI yet I have no idea.

Jesse is a guest author; his claim to fame is being Tipsy Society author AK’s husband. He creates websites at http://comalproductions.com.

Filed Under: gifts, holiday Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

DIY Gifts for your Neighbor, Co-Worker, Teacher or somebody like that

December 3, 2009 by

Are you looking for a cheap gift to give a neighbor, a co-worker, a teacher, a babysitter or somebody in that realm…you don’t want to spend a ton but you want them to know you care? I’m going to give you a few ideas…

ak-gift in a jar

Give them stuff in a jar.  Get a jar, get some cute fabric, and get some raffia to tie the fabric on with and shove one of these ideas in.  You can either put the ingredients for a mix of some sort minus the wet ingredients or put something pre-made (ala nuts). Write or print out the recipe and attach it.

  1. Cowboy Cookies
  2. Nuts:  Sweet (Cinnamon Almonds) or Spicy (Hot & Spicy Peanuts)
  3. Hot Cocoa Mix
  4. Spice Rub
  5. Bean Soup
  6. Dog Biscuit Mix

Thinking something a little more hardcore than nuts, cocoa mix and dog biscuits?  How ’bout a round on you? So…this may not be the one to give a teacher or babysitter especially if they are caring for your children at the time…this might be more of a neighbor/co-worker thing.

ak-gift in a jar part 2

Make a homemade mixer and pour it in a pretty bottle, then include whatever libation goes with it in mini bottle form, put them on a mini serving tray (or dessert plate) and tie it up with some cellophane.  Write or print out the drink “recipe” and attach it.

  1. Pomegranate Martini
  2. Margarita
  3. Spiked Hot Cocoa
  4. Spiked Apple Cider
Filed Under: ak, cocktail, coffee, dog mom stuff, food, gifts, holiday Tagged With: ,

Go On, Get Your Bake On!

December 1, 2009 by

The month of December usually means full discretion to bake anything you normally wouldn’t throughout the rest of the year.  Ordinarily, you would feel bad about just randomly baking some creation at any other time of the year, but if it’s in DECEMBER it’s just commonplace that you are baking because it MUST mean it has something to do with a holiday tradition of some sort, am I right? (say yes)

And if you are like us Tipsy Girls, you want to look GOOD baking!  BAKING TIP:  throw a little flour on the apron as you are walking the plate of cookies over to your neighbor’s house even if they are slice and bake, they’ll think you’ve been baking for hours just for them!!

  1. Anthropologie, Big Frills Apron
  2. Paper Flowers Etsy Shop, Hostess Apron
  3. Anthropologie, Extra Ingredient Apron
  4. Cocoa Dreams Etsy Shop, Casey Scroll Apron
  5. Pier 1, Vintage Printed Halter Apron
  6. Decorative Instincts Etsy Shop, Grey Polka Dot Apron
  7. Garnet Hill, Reversible Retro Apron
  8. Anthropologie, Succulent Apron
  9. City Girl Aprons Etsy Shop, Autumn Halter Apron
  10. Anthropologie, Winterfest Apron
  11. Brassy Apple, Hostess Mod Bloom
  12. City Girl Aprons Etsy Shop, XMas Trees Apron
  13. Annies Attic Etsy Shop, Santa Baby Apron
Filed Under: ak, food, girly, holiday Tagged With: , , , ,

Guy Gift Guide – Chef Edition

December 1, 2009 by

Your significant other is a guy and a chef, and you are looking for ideas to get him for Christmas and/or other Holidays celebrated at the end of the calendar year. I’m here to help… I’m Jesse, the husband of Tipsy AK, and a self-proclaimed chef wannabe.. mostly wannabe. Here are seven ideas to purchase for that inner chef of yours:

  1. Square grill pan ($99) so most guys grill steaks outside, but at some point try to move it inside, searing the steak on the cooktop and finishing in the oven. The trouble I always found was that most grill pans have this very annoying long handle. With this grill pan, you can put the grill directly in the middle of the oven without a handle. Score!
  2. Shun Japanese Vegetable ($119.95) Knives are pretty personal, but if he doesn’t have this knife he’s missing out. This knife is very sharp, fits nicely in your hand, and is unique (which helps increase bragging potential).
  3. Food Grinder for Stand Mixer ($49) Things guys enjoy: sausage and hamburgers; with this grinder, your man can buy steaks and grind his own hamburger meat which is cool for 2 reasons: a) ever had a burger thats 1/3 brisket, 1/3 sirloin, and 1/3 chuck? (Thomas Keller has). b) Making your own sausage? come on, that’s just awesome.
  4. Herb Grinder ($9.95) Many recipes, such as homemade pizza, call for fresh herbs… I’d like to use this to grinder up and chop fresh rosemary for focaccia bread, or maybe some fresh thyme for a steak. Either way, simple and easy gift.
  5. Granite Mortle & Pestle ($32.95) I heart this, honestly I do. You use this to grind up garlic, or create your own spice rub with whole peppercorns. You can even grind up the avocados and ingredients and serve guacamole at the table in this thing. love it.
  6. Bialetti Mukka Express Cappuccino Maker ($72) I like to think that Mukka really means Mocha, even though there’s no evidence to support this theory… What I like about this maker is that you can make cappuccinos, or in my case mochas, with no fuss at all. You add water, ground espresso, milk and you set it on the stove. Consider this a way to save much moneys in 2010 (cow or aluminum … your choice!).
  7. Cooking Class ($60 or so) .. Houston has Leisure Learning, Texas has Central Market cooking classes , and everywhere else has Sur La Table cooking classes has excellent cooking classes too. I’ve been to several and have loved every.single.one and learned something new every time.

Jesse is a guest author; his claim to fame is being Tipsy Society author AK’s husband. He creates websites at http://comalproductions.com.

Filed Under: gifts, holiday Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Twelve Days of Jack

November 30, 2009 by

So.  October 2008, my husband and I welcomed a little bambino.  Because of the timing, we got a ton of Christmas baby stuff…booties, hats, PJs, bibs–you name it.  So the hubmeister and I came up with a way to showcase our little man in all his winnings but not put him through 500 clothing changes in the one day that is Christmas.  Our solution?  The Twelve Days of Jack (that’s his name hahaha)!

This is the way The Twelve Days of Jack worked:  In the 12 days leading up to Christmas day, we would dress him up in his Christmas socks or his Christmas bib or what have you.  Then we would upload that pic to Totspot which is a Facebook type of thing for babies. It’s fabulous–all your relatives and friends sign up to be your kiddo’s friend and then you upload your journal entry, picture or video ONCE and it sends out a link to everybody he’s friends with.  Each day SOMEONE gets to relish in the fact that their Christmas themed present was showcased AND your kiddo doesn’t have to endure the revolving dressing room door.  It’s definitely a WIN WIN.

We got TONS of applause for this idea from the fam–everyone was anticipating the next day, excited to see what Jack would have on the next day.  So go forth and gear up for your Twelve Days!

Filed Under: ak, holiday, kids Tagged With:

Get Them Holiday Cards Ready!

November 30, 2009 by

So every year I TRY to get Christmas cards out. I have them in mind, I know where the addresses are but sometimes these things just slip through the cracks. It happens. If I had all the supplies I needed–which photograph I want to use for the card itself, the postage, self adhesive envelopes…I mean GAH I want it to go assembly line quick! Not that I don’t want everyone to think that I lovingly put all these beautiful cards together yada yada yada…. Here’s one thing that would make things a ton easier: a return address stamp, preferably self inking! Here are my favs out there:

  1. Emililies Etsy Shop, Self Inking (abby style)
  2. Emililies Etsy Shop, Self Inking (holly style)
  3. Polka Dot Design, Plain Jane and Gregory Stamp
  4. Polka Dot Design, Ogee Stamp
  5. Relish Design Studio Etsy Shop, Personalized Address Stamp-104
Filed Under: ak, gadgets, holiday Tagged With: ,

Hump Day Happy Hour: Cranberry Mimosa

November 25, 2009 by

It’s just about Turkey time, so I am sure that most of you could use a happy hour break from all that Thanksgiving dinner prep. I’ve got just what the doctor ordered… a Cranberry Mimosa! I make these for my family gathering every Thanksgiving and let me tell you… there sure are not any leftovers to take home!

In a large punch bowl, pour equal parts cranberry juice cocktail and orange juice, I use about 4 cups of each. Next, dump in 2 bottles of your favorite bubbly(I use $5 Andres and it tastes amazing) and stir. Garnish with orange slices if you’re feeling fancy!

Filed Under: der, holiday, hump day happy hour, party time Tagged With: ,

Turkey-Day Decor

November 25, 2009 by

Happy Thanksgiving!

  1. Etsy, Harvest Letters Pumpkin Glitter Decoupage Autumn Fall
  2. Etsy, Thanksgiving Turkey Fondant Cookie and Cupcake Art
  3. Etsy, Give Thanks Banner for Thanksgiving
  4. Etsy, This awesome outdoor decoration was listed on Etsy, but in no longer there because some one, who wasn’t me, bought it. This is an IMPORTANT lesson in you snooze you lose…
  5. Williams-Sonoma, Also another lesson in you snooze you lose, but these are equally as cute: Fall Leaf Wreath and Garland
Filed Under: holiday, sk Tagged With: ,

Reasons Bargain Hunters are Thankful

November 25, 2009 by

This is Turkey Eve and and I’m so excited I can hardly control myself, as we are only 2 days away from my actual favorite holiday! I love Thanksgiving time and no, it’s not for the food. This Tipsy girl spends her holiday getting a little bit tipsy while plotting her Black Friday gameplan with all the other women in her family. I have started plotting early over here.   This year I’ll be needing a few extra sugar free red bulls in my Black Friday survival kit because my local mall is opening at 12am for midnight madness .  No, I am not insane. This is a bargain hunter’s dream come true and I wouldn’t miss it for the world. There are some  bargains that just may be worth risking an altercation with a sleep deprived shopaholic maniac.

*I’ll report back on any Black Friday injuries sustained. You know, besides my credit card.

Photo Via Photobucket.com
Filed Under: der, frugalista, girly, holiday Tagged With:

Annual Thanksgiving Side-Off Competition and Dessert Scramble AKA Fake Thanksgiving

November 24, 2009 by

It happens every. single. sundaybeforethanksgiving.

fake bevfake more bevfake food arriv

fake turkey fryingfake voting committeefake dessert makersfake food readyfake skypefake turkey carvingfake sides presfake dessert presfake ballot codesfake electiontronfake winnerfake winner dessert


Technically its called the Annual Thanksgiving Side Off and Dessert Scramble.  Insiders call it Fake Thanksgiving.  This is a fierce, fierce competition.  Guys cook and name Thanksgiving Side Dishes and Girls cook/bake and name Desserts for the evening.  There’s drinking, there’s turkey frying, there’s shit talking discussion about recipes.  Once the turkey has been cracked open, eating commences.  Generally seconds will be had by most.  And then..DUM DUM DUM DUNNNNN DUNNNNNN….Voting begins on the Election-tron.  Yes its very high-tech, voting can be done via polling stations if available or via iPhone or Blackberry.  Results are calculated and followed by a Lou Holtz impersonation (trust me, it’s funny) and winners are announced.

It’s serious fun and it’s seriously yummy. TRUE STORY.

Do you have a holiday tradition with friends?

Filed Under: ak, holiday Tagged With: