The Succulent Wife's Favorite Things

INTRODUCING THE BEERBELLY® - a great gift idea for your scrumptious man!

We know, we know… This item is seemingly a little out of our range of expertise. But for having sneaked our fair share of Jones Sodas and Toblerone chocolate (ok, and the occasional flask filled with a Cosmo) into movie theatres, we totally got this the second we saw it.

Whether you see The BeerBelly as a gag gift or as a really useful and essential device, know that The Beerbelly Deluxe Kit can contain any drink of your choice, hot of cold. Yes, think outside the beer bottle for a moment and dream of margaritas, hot chocolate, lemonade, hot cider, soda or your own signature cocktail in any place you want, when you want.

The designers of the little appliance were tired of being gouged when buying their drinks at the games. Hence The Beerbelly. Now, that’s succulence in action!

GET The Beerbelly HERE!

And for the ladies? Lest our potential enjoyment to consume our favorite beverage anywhere any time be ignored, The Beerbelly developers came up with this clever contraption: The Winerack! Too funny and certainly the favorite prop at any girls’ night out event! GET The Winerack Here!

Yeah for Nordstrom's - One Holiday at a Time!

Via The Consumerist by Carey Greenberg-Berger

"Nordstrom has conquered the urge to celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving. The retailer announced its decision to respect the calendar and common sense by hanging signs declaring that they will wait until the day after Thanksgiving, the earliest acceptable moment, to display their Christmas decorations. The vainglorious announcement is an important indicator that Nordstrom's competitors have overdone the unseasonable cheerfulness shtick".

I always respected Nordstrom. Even more now!

Scoot Coupes: The FUN-EST Way to view the Strip

This was so much fun… We rented these brand new Scoot Coupe vehicles the other night and “pranced” around the Las Vegas Strip and Fremont Street (aka Downtown Las Vegas). We took the kids and some friends.

Each three wheeled Scoot Coupe seats two. Our whole group created quite the parade with its seven coupes following in a neat row. We instantly became an instant attraction on the Strip.

The most memorable part of our ride was the unobstructed views that we had from the mini vehicle. No roof, no windshield to block the view. The Strip never looked so glorious. I guess that you would get this same view from a motorcycle or a regular scooter too, but since I don’t ride either of those, I never got to see the city from this new “close-up” angle. And, for having gone up and down Las Vegas Boulevard too many times to count, it’s only in riding this little vehicle that I got to notice landmarks and things that I had never seen before.

The Scoot Coupes are small little things but they feel zippy. They have all the trappings of a safe vehicle: turning signals, lights, a LOUD horn and seat belts.  Oh, and the 30 MPH speed limit reinforces the safety aspect. You can’t go crazy in these. We felt safe and, with all the attention we were getting, we also felt kinda hip! I also felt like a kid. And my kids felt like… kids having a blast.

I would recommend this to anyone in any age group. I would especially recommend going at night to get a full sense of the lights that illuminate the Strip. Here’s where to go to rent the little machines:  Scoot City. Rentals are 1 hour for $49.00, 3 hours for $99.00 and 24 hours for $249.00.
 
Have fun!!!

 

How to Get Off Selected Catalog Lists – New Service & It’s Free!

Wow, look at what I just found: www.CatalogChoice.org. Now you can get your name and address off catalog lists thanks to this new service. I have a noticeable feeling of guilt every time I open my mailbox and shift through all the unwanted and unsolicited catalogs. Some I got because I ordered something, once,  years ago and they continue sending. Others because my name was sold to a mailing company. Regardless, I don’t need catalogs. I can find anything I want by going online.

So, I was quite thrilled to find out about this new, a sponsored project of the Ecology Center. It is endorsed by the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Defense Council, and funded by the Overbrook Foundation, the Merck Family Fund, and the Kendeda Fund. This page will tell you all about that.

Our mission:The mission of Catalog Choice is to reduce the number of repeat and unsolicited catalog mailings, and to promote the adoption of sustainable industry best practices. We aim to accomplish this by freely providing the Catalog Choice services to both consumers and businesses. Consumers can indicate which catalogs they no longer wish to receive, and businesses can receive a list of consumers no longer wanting to receive their catalogs.

They ask to HELP SPREAD THE WORD, hence this post. You can do it too by displaying a badge like the one to your left. 

Over eight million tons of trees are consumed each year in the production of paper catalogs (read about other environmental impacts here. It took me just 15 minutes to go through the entire list of catalogs and unsubscribe from 36. Boy, that felt good!!!

VW's New Campaign - Blatant Acts of Road Joy!

I've been waiting for these commercials to appear on YouTube before I shared this with you... LOVE this new campaign recently launched by VolksWagen Canada. It promotes... Road Joy!

The campaign is actually deeper than just the cheery commercials that you can view below. Indeed, if you go to this website, www.vwroadjoy.ca and enlist to carry out one blatant act of Road Joy, you earn the right to buy the VW Jetta or the VW Golf at a slightly more appealing price. Besides those depicted in the commercials, some other blatant acts of Road Joy include "meter over feeder" (leave some free minutes for the person rolling into your parking spot after you) and "Dust Grafitti" (write something nice on a needs-to-be-washed car).  The only part that saddens me is to witness how little the Acts of Road Joy counter has moved since the campaign was launched. For all its viral potential, I'm not sure it's catching on...  Sniff.

Our Funky Holiday Hostess Aprons Are In!

That that is "in" as "in stock" and as "IN". We can't keep them in stock! If you see one that you like, hurry! These hostess aprons are all one-of-a-kinds funky and artistic gems made with vintage bits.

See them in our store HERE.

Radiators as Food Warming Device

Too Clever! I love this cool design that accommodates a century old idea. There's a little enviro-friendly touch to this as well. From Yanko Design:

As winter’s cold creeps in, we all revel in the little things to keep cozy. The Natural Wave is ceramic plate that fits over an old school radiator. The heated plate keeps your drinks and snacks warm without having to use additional power and energy like a microwave or oven. Pretty ingenious and if anything, it makes those old rusty radiators look a lot better. (Designer: Byung-seok You)

Next, the clothing dryer rack version...

Buy Handmade this Holiday Season -take the Pledge

Tired of all the mass-cutesy stuff with no personality? Join the movement!!! Buy handmade! Go ahead and sign the BUY HANDMADE PLEDGE.

Enough of the mass-produced stuff. Give something real! BTW, lots and lots of beautiful handmade things in our store, TheSucculentWife.com

lululemon on Oprah & Where to find lululemon in Las Vegas (Henderson)

I was very excited to see that one of my all time favorite brands, lululemon athletica, was featured on Oprah yesterday in one of those fashion makeover episodes. This gives the brand a whole new level of must-have. Lloyd Boston, author of Before You Put That On, picked the lululemon outfit for this woman that was lost in the 80's with her workout wear. I love how he "converted" her workout outfit to a casual city outfit by changing the jacket for a cardigan and suggesting the change of shoes. But truly, this would explain one of the reason I so enjoy wearing lululemon. It has an elegance to it that doesn't confine us to wearing the pieces only in the gym. Some of the tops are sexy and flattering enough to wear on a night out!

Lululemon stores are now opening everywhere, so you'll soon be able to get your fix wherever you are. In Las Vegas, they will be opening in the Fashion Show Mall in December. In the meantime, if you live in Las Vegas or Henderson, know that you can get some of the best core pieces at my friend Ki's studio, the Ki-Atsu Institute for Healing Arts, located at 11251 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 180, Henderson , NV 89052. tel 702-263-9000. 

Espresso Culture & Cuisine – A rare true café in Las Vegas…

In any other town, this delightful little café might be just that...a delightful little café. Here, in Las Vegas it’s actually a real gem. Indeed, this restaurant café (bordering Henderson) is independently owned. That’s almost an anomaly in this town that works on chain restaurant formulas. And if it’s not a chain, then the restaurant is owned or operated by a corporation, most likely a casino. So, in the rare instance where I stumble upon a place that is owned and cared for by REAL people, I just want to shout and dance.

But, aside that endearing attribute, the Espresso café offers a symphony of reasons as to why you’d want to hang out there. Super friendly staff for starters. Free WiFi, bien sur (seamless connection with plenty of power plugs). Fun décor with a mix of seating arrangements to suit your specific purpose at the time of visit: the LeCorbusier (copies, shhhhh) chairs were perfect for an early Saturday morning coffee-and-paper routine with my husband, while the tables and chairs where my choice for a business rendez-vous later in the week. There is also a little sofa nook that seems to be the most prized area.

The coffee is Illy (they invented espresso you know?) which in itself gives the place an official stamp of approval. No regular drip here. Only the espresso machine is used and you can have an Americano if you want the drip alternative. Anything lighter than that and you’ll want to go to Coco’s down the street (ugh!). Espresso makes serving coffee an experience with every cup presented on its own little tray, with all the coffee accoutrements, anise biscotti included. Food stuff is mainly paninis and salads. There is live music on certain nights and that’s where the culture bit comes in.

Love it. This is my new neighborhood hangout.

PS: find it at 9555 S. Eastern Av, Las Vegas, NV, 89123 - 702-243-4559. I’m not sending you to the website ‘cause it’s an insult to the café. You’ll need to find that on your own!!!

Beyond Motherhood - Flexible Job Opportunities for Moms

I love this new service & website launched by Shannon Davis. How clever and how needed! Her cute and functional website, www.beyondmotherhood.com, creates a network that brings together talented applicants and in-need-of-help employers. Having had a foot in both worlds I certainly appreciate the potential for such a network.

In Shannon's own words:

“Beyondmotherhood.com is a new niche job board that connects employers with the “untapped” workforce, stay at home moms. There are thousands of educated and experienced moms nationwide looking for flexible/part-time opportunities, and Beyondmotherhood.com wants to connect them with employers.  Some moms are looking to get out of the house a few hours a week and earn a extra money….while others are looking for a stepping stone to a full-time opportunity in the future.  Beyondmotherhood.com is for ALL moms, with ALL types of skill sets. Employers are as diverse as the moms and are posting both work from home and on-site opportunities. Register today at www.beyondmotherhood.com!”

BeyondMotherhood is still in launch mode and is looking for both applicants AND employers. Please share this great tool with stay-at-home moms that might need the occasional change of scenery (oh, and the extra income is nice too!) and to potential employers that need that extra little bit of help in certain specialty areas.

Congratulations Shannon!

Trader Joe's Fruit Floe Popsicles: My FAVORITE 100 Calories Sweet Treat

I'm seriously addicted to the Trader Joe's Fruit Floes and don't understand that it did not occur to me, until today, to share about them. Actually, it's only upon watching a Tivo-ed Oprah episode where she shares about her favorite 100 calorie snack (The Skinny Cow Fudge Bars - these are good too!) that I went "duh" and knew that I had to write this blog post.

The addiction officially set in over the past summer, where I could easily go through two or three boxes (4 popsicles to a box) of these - to myself!!! - per week. Sure, there is sugar in these, fructose and sucrose, but there are no artificial flavors and no preservatives. So, when I have this gnawing for a little something sweet, I find these entirely satisfying. They come in 4 flavors. My favorite is strawberry, but there is also mango, Caribbean (pineapple and other fruit) and lime.

What does a floe mean? I knew you were dying to know! This French Canadian had to look it up 'cause this word was not yet activated in my vocabulary. Dictionary.com gives this definition:  1.  Also called ice floe. a sheet of floating ice, chiefly on the surface of the sea, smaller than an ice field     2.a detached floating portion of such a sheet. Makes sense.

Enjoy & let me know what you think of them if you've tried them too! I only hope that you have a Trader Joe's in your 'hood...

I knew I wasn't the only one! Anita Renfroe's Total Momsense