The best stuff ever in the whole entire world for hip, happening ladies!

Since I am taking off for the long trek to Wyoming tomorrow, I may or may not post. So today you get two wishlist goodies for inspiration (once again from a loyal reader). If you are like a lot of people, that shopping is not quite done (did you even start?!).

Without further ado…

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld looks like a good little easy read to throw in the mix. I am always down for a new book suggestion.

Help to protect your electronics with a surge protector. This one has individual on/off switches for each plug. Just remember, though, they don’t FULLY protect your expensive computer and television. You need a UPS battery back-up for that (I’ve been trained well with this crazy Virgin Islands power and a boyfriend who gets a slew of computers to fix after each outage).

Have you tried any Fresh products yet? If not, get on it! Delightful. Here is a pick from Lani, who I know is a big fan.

Sugar Lip Treatment- from Fresh (a fabulous brand, I love almost everything they make) I haven’t tried the new sugar rose yet. – Lani

These are the hottest products from my friend Mike, who is a minion of THE MAN (that Microsoft company). He used to be my go-to for all things technology, until I got a computer geek man of my own. Mike definitely knows what he is talking about when it comes to this stuff, even if you might not understand what all he’s talking about. You should see the television/computer/whatnots setup he has in his home. Seriously. Amazing, confusing, compelling.

I also thought that a key thing to note was that just like last week’s guy wishlist from Tim, this one has the Logitech Harmony Remote. I am thinking that this is a clear indication that it would be a fantastic gift for the deserving gents.

Read on for Mike’s faves…

Chumby One: The original Chumby was a geek toy that probably didn’t appeal to anyone other than a hard-core geek. With the new Chumby ‘One’ the company is taking the genre of small, cheap, dedicated internet device to the mass market. For $100 you get a great portable device that is able to run any of the hundreds of application available from the Chumby store (most are free). Fire up the Pandora app for an endless, playlist of music or set the device up to act as an alarm clock with weather details. The built in wifi and the ability to run from a battery really take the Chumby ‘One’ to the next level of usefulness. Great device for the geek in your life!

Zune HD Media Player: Disclaimer – I used to work for Zune. Nonetheless, the new Zune HD media player really is a delight to use. It feels really solid and has a good amount of weight to it. The OLED touch screen is gorgeous and really responsive. The new user interface took a bit of getting used to, but once I got the hang of it I found I really liked it. The recently released games (free!) really show off the power of the platform (it’s built on the NVIDIA TEGRA platform) and give a hint of great things to come from this device. The limited storage (32Gb max) was a bit of a downer (I had to trim down my music collection to fit on the device). But, everything else about this device is great.

Logitech Harmony 510 – Remote Control: The lowest end Logitech Harmony remote control is a joy to use! I have spent many years looking for the ideal remote control and have finally settled on the Harmony. For $100 you get a fully programmable remote control with a great suite of software for setting up all your AV equipment. It has an excellent ‘Help’ feature that guides you with easy to answer questions and troubleshooting tips for when things don’t work as expected. The choice of buttons and layout work really well and the battery life is great for this class of device. You could spend more money and get one of the fancier versions, but I haven’t found the need.

I am thinking cold weather now since I will be leaving my warm climate for the chilly Wyoming winter here in a few short days. 86 degrees F to -26 degrees F. Yes…that was the honest to God temperature in Buffalo, Wyoming yesterday (as reported by internet sources).

Exciting times! I love the snow and cozying up inside. It just doesn’t ever feel like the holidays in that same holiday-feel sort of way when you live in the tropics. But cozy indoors can mean some brutally cold outdoors. That is why I love this wishlist item submitted by a subscriber who lives in Colorado. She should most certainly know what she’s talking about.

North Face Hat – yes, it is possible to be cold and look cute at the same time. Love this little treasure! – Beth

My poor little gleegarden has been so neglected lately. I have had no time, and thus, a bunch of one sentence posts made possible due to my dear readers who sent me their wishlists have been all I can handle.

But I have been busy! Busy managing a boutique that just finally swung its doors open yesterday. Why do I let myself get talked into these things? But it has been quite fun actually. So I spend my few minutes in the morning hurrying to type up brief content. And today, my dear readers, will be no different. The only difference is that this particular product I have tried and adored. It is quite strange, I realize, to love a lemon squeezer. But when I visited Angie in Chicago and the occasion called for margaritas or some citrus squeezed for a recipe, I had my world rocked. This is the handiest, most thorough citrus juicer ever. And I want one!

Obviously there is more than one way to squeeze a lemon (or lime), but in my opinion, this is the best way. – Angie

I most certainly could not agree with you more, Angie! And don’t be fooled to think you need a green one for limes or an orange one for oranges. The yellow one has your bases covered.

Thanks for all your support, once again! Hope this lemon squeezer finds you in the best of holiday cheer.

How delighted would you be to drink nice chilled water (or a bit warmer wine) from this carafe? I think quite! Good gifting!

Another great gifting idea…a cute and practical winter boot.

I love my Tretorn rain/snow boots and so did my mom last time she came to visit.  They are cozy (faux-fur lining!), warm and bright.  I wear them everyday in the winter as I trek from my house to the train and back. My mom will be receiving the yellow pair! - Angie

Introducing my friend Joy! We were fortunately thrown together as freshman year roommates and the rest, as they say, is history. She’s always at the top of her fashion game, and she just introduced me to these super cute Tory Burch sunglasses.

Tory Burch Oversized Square Sunglasses – I want these sunglasses. Especially in light of losing those other brown Chanels. So sad. But at least these are a bit more reasonable in price and super freakin cute! – Joy

Some additions to Tim’s guy gifting list below from yours truly…

Molton Brown Black Pepper Products – I received a few bottles of this as a sample some years back, and it is my absolute favorite for men. Whenever I want to get Jason a little something special, I get him the body wash. He enjoys it as much as I do. Such a great quality product found at Barney’s. This here is the complete set, which would be an excellent gift.

Automatic Battery Charger – I honestly think that this is a must own for anyone with a car. An automatic battery charger. It is the worst when your battery dies and you have to run around looking for a car to help, and then someone with jumper cables too. And hopefully, on top of it all, your vehicle is in a position that another car can reach it. Well, worry no more. These little packs are the perfect gift for any car owner.

Here it is…for all your shopping needs…the ultimate guide for shopping for the men in your life.

Here’s my list for of gift for guys… its a little mix of things I want and things I’ve already got and fully endorse. – Tim

1.  XBox 360 or Roku Netflix Player.  Ok, if you haven’t heard the gushes from the techie or movie buff in your life, streaming Netflix is legit. It is revolutionary actually. All you need is a good home internet connection and even the lowest tier Netflix subscription for about $9 per month and you can easily stream thousands of movies and television shows. If you didn’t need to watch the PBA on ESPN every Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET you might even consider canceling your overpriced Comcast basic cable. I like the Roku box for non-gamers because it requires no on-going subscription besides Netflix.  If you could see your self playing some Call of Duty go for the X-Box 360 and spring for the Gold Live subscription.

2.  Filson Sportsman’s Bag.  I’ve had my on this bad boy for a few years… but can’t bear to spring $275 for a duffel bag.  I planned to write about this bag two weeks ago and then recently saw a pair coming off the plane this past weekend… I started telling my brothers about them then realized the owner was standing next to me.  He said he’d used them for 10 years and had nothing replaced.  The best part is if you ever, and I mean ever need anything replaced they will do it for free.  I can see myself packing this up for a trip to Vashon on the weekend… throwing gym or ski clothes in it or overnighting to Alaska for a good friend’s wedding.  Where do you imagine the man in your life going with it?

3.  Logitech Harmony Remote.  There are $1,000 versions and $40 dollar versions.  If you own more than three components that are connected to your TV you owe it to yourself to get one.  I’ve been using $40 and $100 models and set up a few $50 models for my in-laws and they are all brilliant.  The true magic is in the cloud and the intuitive device knowledge and settings they have coded for old and new electronics is staggering.  Your settings are stored online so trading up remotes or changing models of any component can be done at the click of a button.  It eliminates clutter from the living room and is really easy to use as it automatically sets inputs for any activity (movies, music, tv, videogames, apple tv, streaming netflix, etc.).  As two of my closest tech advisors said when they were selling me on it… “it is so easy my wife/girlfriend can use it”.  Nuff said!

4.  EMS Techwick Boxer Briefs.  Ladies, stuff your man’s stocking with some underwear that will change his life.  They are durable, comfortable and look great.  I’ve written about these before and frankly I can’t say enough good things about this product. (See last week’s post on these here)

5.  Canon G11.  This digi cam looks sweet.  It has a lot of pro features at a relatively low cost ($450).  It isn’t a bulky SLR so you’ll actually pack it with you on that ski, beach, or european vacation and you might even take it out for night of Halloween debauchery.  Be the envy of your friends on Flickr by upping the quality of images.

6.  Ride Machete/Lib Tech Skate Banana/K2 Slayblade.  An interesting thing happened in the last couple years… snowboards changed shape.  Everyone is talking about reverse camber.  It helps you float in pow, keeps you from catching edges and in general makes your snowboard experience more like surfing.  I’m personally coveting the Ride Machete but there are a lot of cool reverse camber boards from almost every manufacturer now.  I can’t wait to try one!

7.  Apple iPhone 3GS.  Ok, don’t go out and buy someone an iphone without consulting them first (or offering to pay for two year’s of service). This thing has changed my life… I really wish these bad boys were around when I was traveling all over the country for Jim Beam because I would have saved a few gray hairs (or bouts of random alapecia). My wife loves hers too… in fact she’s playing on it next to me as I type this.

8.  27″ Apple Imac.  I can’t believe I just gave Apple two in a row but wow, the screen on that thing is so big and shiny.  It just sucks me in like a can of Pringles. I’d like to sort my pictures and make family videos with this thing all night long.

9.  Nike ID sneakers.  This is a fun gift. You can make them for someone or you can let them make their own or you could even make them together. I made my wife a pair of vintage running shoes in a Valentines Day colorway a few year’s back. Pink canvas, red leather swoosh and a nice light brown suede upper and heel. The tongue has an evergreen tree graphic and the insole has a couple laying under a tree and dreaming.  She gets tons of compliments on them and I love it. I’ve made my own Air Max 90’s… I call them T-Max 90’s. I’ve got a sweet northwest inspired colorway; gray, turquoise blue, green and brown w/ zebra insoles and metallic silver tongue graphic. They are flashy but one of a kind. I love almost any “mass customization” company or product.

10.  Netbook.  I’m pounding this list out on my new Dell Mini 10 but I’d suggest getting something with 2GB of RAM, Windows 7 and a better video card than my Dell. A netbook is relatively inexpensive (as low as $200) and it is great for traveling especially if you already have a notebook and/or a desktop.  I can see students packing this to class along with heavy books for quick web searches and taking lecture notes.  I packed it on a recent personal trip and could keep up with some of my work and upload photos to Flickr every night from the hotel bed.

Quick shopping tip… avoid the stores and buy online.  Amazon is great especially if you haven’t used your complimentary subscription to Amazon Prime.  The month of December is a great time to “test it out”.  Free two-day shipping provides that almost instant gratification and it is so easy to buy… almost too easy.