The Succulent Wife's Favorite Things

The Succulent Wife Trunk Shows

Thank you Liz for hosting one of our first Succulent Wife Trunk Shows in Las Vegas. This  home shopping party took place just before Valentine's Day. We offered shoppers a variety of absolutely unique gift ideas for their Valentine(s), may they be the darling little one or the better-half.  Debby Jewesson from Branching Out Creations trunked her goodies all the way from Dallas for the occasion, while the delightful Ms. Jennifer Quinton created all sorts of romantic jewelry designs for our Valentine's Day shoppers.

Liz, our charming hostess had her beautiful home ready and sweetly fragrant with the aroma of pink cupcakes and chocolate dipped strawberries just for the occasion. Just to get us in the mood. It worked. We had a blast!

Let us know if you'd like to host a trunk show. We currently set up pop-up shops in the Southern Nevada and Southern California areas.  You may contact us here for details.

Craving Cookthink.com - The Really Useful Recipe Website

Still in beta & dubbed as the Pandora for Recipes, I'm indeed craving this new recipe-finding website. Cookthink.com.  Users enter search terms based on their craving of the moment... or planned craving. In my case, it would be more often a case of "what do I have to work with in my fridge and pantry" but it would work the same way.

I entered sundried tomatoes as my first keyword. Then added chicken and olive as two additional keywords. I got a wonderful Pan-Seared Chicken With Two Olive Tapenade And Sundried Tomato Cream recipe. Don't know that I would have all the ingredients for that on hand (I'd be missing the cream) but i would definitely be bookmarking this one.

The site is extremely user friendly and smart. You can see that the creators put some real thought into developing their site: handy tips and accompaniments to the highlighted recipe appear alongside it. User reviews should appear shortly once the site gets a bit more traffic.

Some things still need tweaking. The keywords do not always bring up relevant results. Earlier on today, a keyword search for Chicken, onions and herbs revealed a recipe for mussels. Huh? I think that Chicken got mistaken for chicken broth. I'm sure that this kind of thing will be fixed soon.

Still, I'm thinking that this will be my new go-to online recipe resource.

The Nuddle Blanket - The Cannot-Be-More-Perfect Way to Nap and Relax

A simple but yet life-enhancing invention by Jenn and Todd Feldman at Nuddle.  Indeed, the Nuddle Blanket offers the most wonderful new way to cozy up and relax. In their words:  Nap + Cuddle = Nuddle.

Made of sinfully soft, ultra-plush (and washable) microfiber fabric, you'll want to stay wrapped in the Nuddle forever.  This very clever blanket has slits in the front so that you can pass your hands through to grab a cup of tea, the remote, a book, a pen and journal or if you prefer... a glass of wine. There's a pocket at the bottom of the blanket so that your toes won't slip out and get cold.

Warning, Linus tendencies to hold on to your blankie all day are likely to resurface!

Find the Nuddle Blanket here at TheSucculentWife.com.

The Ultimate Purse Organizer - Thank Goodness for This Accessory

I love big bags because I fit everything in there. The obvious drawbacks are that big purses get heavy and easily cluttered. I would consistently miss every call because my phone was always lost somewhere in the vast bottom of my bag. No more! After seeing the review for the Joey Junior Ultimate Purse Organizer™ in InStyle magazine, I ordered one and was so happy with it that I decided to carry them in my store.

There are enough pockets to organize all the little - usually floating – items in your purse. The organizer wraps in a circular form and has a Velcro adjuster so that you can fit the size according to your bag. Mine is extended all the way because of my giant bag. I drop my wallet right in middle.

There is also the Mini Purse Organizer for the smaller handbags to keep all items nice and tidy.

These both come in either cotton or Ultra Suede fabrics. The Ultra Suede fabrics are perfect to match the Louis Vuitton or Coach handbags. More respectable, you know… While the cotton fabrics, in fun cherry red and animal prints are great for any other bag.

The best part, if you are one to change your handbag every day, is that this makes it a cinch to transfer items from one bag to another. You will LOVE it!

Find them here at The Succulent Wife.  BTW, these are great gifts ideas under $30. I know, I gave a few and received wide acclaim!

Oh, and you’ll want to consider the Purse Hook to keep your bag off the floor (yuck) and in safe proximity.

InnocentKids.co.uk - Adorable Children's Website

Developed for the Innocent Smoothies kid audience, this site is adorably... innocent. I don't think that we have Innocent Smoothies here in the U.S. but that does not prevent any kids on this site of the pond to visit this wholesome yet uber cool website.

It has everything from factoids (did you know that you will swallow 14 bugs in your sleep over the course of a year?), to recipes, games and experiments. My favorite element is the grown-up alert button that immediately switches the page over to a fabricated encyclopedia page. Yes,  go ahead and think that you can fool us parents.

Hope your wee ones enjoy! I'd say this is perfect healthy fun for kids ages 6 to 12.

I don't need mention the obvious branding messages in the website. This InnocentKids.com site provides an unobtrusive and entertaining way for the younger set  to familiarize itself with the brand. It speaks authentically, in keeping with the brand's tone of voice, so it passes my test.

Via if.psfk

Adi Dassler - The Real Story and the Real Person Behind Adidas

Maybe it's my "duh" but it never occurred to me that the Adidas brand was actually named after a specific person.  I love this Adidas campaign. There is nothing better than a real story to make a brand come to life and have it mean something.

Enjoy!

Clean Drinking Water for Third World Countries

How very, very, very clever. This little "bicycle" allows residents in third world countries faster and easier access to water sources and allows them to filter the water as they transport it.  This arduous task is usually assigned to the village women who most often have to walk miles to a water source.  Could this contraption provide some aid and relief?

I so admire the minds that create these things. Bravo!

Beautiful Gift Packaging Ideas For Little (Precious) Gifts

Take a look at these gorgeous petite Flower Paper Boxes that I just added to my store. You know like me that presentation is everything, so you can imagine the effect that you will create as you offer your gift in one of these charming little  boxes.  Beautiful pieces of jewelry are perfect to slip into these gift boxes.

Peonies are my favorite flowers - I love their elegant messiness - so I could not resist these peonies flower gift boxes:


And then the classic rose bouquet box, also available in various colors of paper rose flowers is quite tempting too:



Made of all natural papers, this is a gift box that no one will toss away. You can find them here, at TheSucculentWife.com.

Do-it-yourself Paper Birds

I love this.  Family-friendly, adorable and free!

Very talented illustrator Josh McKible has created some downloadable Paper Bird templates that you simply need to print and assemble. Or, if you are at all graphically and artistically inclined, Josh also has a blank template for you to create your own paper bird. BTW, he is welcoming participation to create new bird designs.

See them here on www.McKibillo.com. Spirited little creatures, eh?

The Winerack™ is Getting Worldwide Press!

The Winerack™  is making quite a sensation here in the  US  and  across the pond  too.  See it  here  reviewed  on the  Tonight  Show as  a  SuperBowl  "accessory"  and then  featured in  Metro.co.uk  as a  news  item. 

The Brits are describing the Winerack as only the Brits could do: "Be it a rock concert or simply a trip to the women simply need to fill up the sports bra device with their favourite tipple and then once inside suck the liquid out of the special teat."

In case you really need one, the Succulent Wife has them in her gift store right here. And for the guys, she has the Beerbelly®, bien sur!

 

Japanese Boxed Lunches - Or why I feel like an incompetent mom!

Wow. I have never ever prepared lunch boxes like this. Ok, I admit, I have slipped cute love notes and the occasional Hershey Kiss, but this is nuts! Healthy AND cute (except for what's that blue stuff???) Inspiring and charming but absolutely out of control. Actually, I'm hoping that these are lunch boxes are commercially prepared. If any Japanese moms are actually making these for their kids,  I want to know what they're taking!  Via LikeCool.