A pearl revealed in each and every trip
I remember dealing with left-hander issues back in kindergarten. I am sensitive to whether an item was made left-handed or right-handed. I lived with years of ink on the side of my hand, bumping elbows with dinner partners and ladling soup out of the ‘wrong’ side of a ladle. I’ve gotten very adept at adjusting to a right-hand world but really struggle finding the perfect luggage that is left-handed. Read more of this article »
For a really fun way to get holiday shopping done in one day flat while having an experience of a lifetime, check out A New Look at Holiday Shopping.
With Christmas just around the corner, the majority of us still have a long list of people to buy gifts for. It's challenging enough to find the perfect gift for someone. Add in the challenge of being on the road for business or conferences and then finding the time to shop is the biggest challenge.
I only have 5 days at home between today and December 24th before I head to Chicago for the holiday, and I have only just begun to think of my Christmas list or where I am going to shop at. After this article is written, I had better get my shopping started!
I have a deadline of next Monday, December 15th, to have gifts ready for a child I selected to buy for in Houston, so that will get me heading to Amazon
MSNBC had a great article this week on giving yourself the gift of air miles while shopping for the holidays. Many airlines have partnered with loads of great name stores so that you can buy exactly what you're looking for at typical online prices, with the added benefit of getting air miles for each dollar spent. Prices are no higher by going through the airline's shopping link, as you are redirected to your desired store's website. The airlines get their revenue from the stores themselves, typically a percentage of what you and I spend. So there is no cost to you to use the airlines' online stores … just the added benefit of getting air miles for your purchase.
I created an account with Delta's SkyMiles Shopping so that they could record my miles for what I spend. It's easy to see how many miles are offered by store, so that I can select the stores that I want to purchase from:
Your purchase will be sent to you directly from the company you purchased the item(s) from, not from the airline.
Not only do you get air miles for your purchases, but for many airlines this is a legitimate way to keep your account active if you have not flown their airline in awhile.
I'm off to get my shopping started. With four new nieces this Christmas (2 born last week; 2 born in September), it'll be fun to shop for tiny baby clothes! Then I'll have the more difficult task of figuring out what to buy for our mid-20's kids. Baby clothes are much more fun to buy than big kids' stuff!
Check out this article on MSNBC and start shopping and earning air miles!
How many of us have tourist attractions right near where we live that we almost never go to? I live in between Disney World and Daytona Beach and rarely get to either. When I lived in Chicago, I stayed in suburbia and seldom ventured down to State Street or Michigan Avenue. Granted, I am only home one to two weekends per month, so I usually do not want to venture anywhere away from my beloved home. But it is really nice to spend the day as a tourist in one's own hometown once in awhile.
St. Augustine was my touristy experience this weekend. It's about a 90-mile drive from my home, and it was a sunny, beautiful day to drive north on I-95. My daughter, Jenn, was in town from Chicago and her girlfriend Rachel joined us.
St. Augustine is the oldest U.S. city, first sighted by Spanish explorer nter Don Juan Ponce de Leon on Easter, March 27, 1513. He claimed the land for Spain and named it La Florida, meaning "Land of Flowers". The oldest wooden schoolhouse in the U.S. is here, built over 200 years ago.
The schoolhouse is on St. George Street, which is also the main shopping avenue of St. Augustine. Our goal was to get our Christmas shopping started and we found some great things in the unique shops along St. George Street and the surrounding area. Music was playing from various restaurant decks, and there was a festive feeling in the air.
Lunch was a special event at Columbia Restaurant. A pitcher of Sangria and fantastic 1905 salads were enjoyed at this Florida tradition (their restaurant in Ybor City near Tampa was founded in 1905).
All in all, it was a great day in Florida. Tourist attractions, great lunch, wonderful Sangria, shopping and time with my daughter … what more could I ask for?
Rachel, Jenn and I
