Tag Archives: gifts

Black Cyber Week: A Melting Pot of Sales

The below was originally posted on December 2nd of 2014, but the bombardment of never ending sales/deals/things-i-would-never-buy-but-now-feel-I-must-have-them, I felt it appropriate to repost. Plus, why not for Throwback Thursday?

Did you know the first official Cyber Monday was in 2005? After 10 years, you’d think they would just consolidate Black Friday and Cyber Monday into one big week. Oh, wait…..THEY HAVE! Amazon has their Cyber Monday Deals Week and just about every other retailer around has their own version.

Yes, I’m guilty of “buying” into Amazon’s deals, so sue me, but I refuse to actually set foot in a store. I rarely ever do to begin with, and certainly not now with all of the chaos. Okay, I’m rambling, before this turns into a whole other post, I’ll stop. Hope you’re having a great week!


 

I’m a semi-hypocrite. The after Thanksgiving extravaganza crap-fest deals ummm, deals always strike a chord with me in a negative way. Instead of simply enjoying good food and drink with loved ones (which, in and of itself is stressful work!), so many people have one thing on their mind instead…..SALES!!

No thanks to commercials constantly spouting out about how stores open the evening of Thanksgiving to kick-off their great deals and our endless hunger to snatch everything for everyone on our list, it’s something to expect every year. And every year I scoff and bicker at the commercials or people talking about where they want to go first or who has the best deals. It drives me insane!

But then, I get sucked in. It starts with an innocent click on some ad that somehow knows I was looking at those Ninja Turtle toys on Amazon, and before I know it, I have 20 different items in my cart and if I add just one more I’ll get a free gift with my order. “Free gift”, sounds redundant to me, and very gimmicky. No matter, I want that free gift and I’ll be damned if I don’t get it!

This happened to me several times leading up to Thanksgiving, the  Black Friday “week” deals, and like a fish in front of a rubber worm, I took the bait; multiple times. Since I do have some dignity, I only kept to the online deals and kept away from stores at all costs. I actually had to go to Costco with Avery on Black Friday, and on my way, made a quick change in direction to go to a small grocery store instead. Best decision ever!

Keeping out of the physical stores allows me the status semi-hypocrite, right?

My wife usually sides with me on the absurdness of the deals, but her and I both had our eyes asphyxiated to our screens in search of gifts for each other. My eyes still burn and don’t feel like they’ll recover soon.

I remember when Black Friday used to be for in-store deals and Cyber Monday was for online deals, but now they’ve just become one big melting pot of sales from the week leading up to Thanksgiving and the following weekend. The coined terms are irrelevant and I vote for a change.

How about removing Friday and Monday from the names and just say “Black Cyber Deals Week”? Technically, that’s exactly what it’s become. The good news is that I got everything covered for Going Mom’s gifts, and she’s the one I want to get something for the most. My mom (G-Ma) is the other one and I think we’re good there too.

Have I gone on long enough? I’m going to say yes.

*Steps off soapbox*

In other news, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving with just the three of us at home and great food cooked by yours truly. We didn’t have a big spread, but just enough for seconds and leftovers. Mmmmm, cold turkey is the best!!

Avery has been taking a couple steps at a time now and I feel a “She’s Walking!” post will be coming soon. Stay tuned. In the meantime, here she is searching for leftovers to make a cold turkey sandwich.

Where is that mustard?
Where is that mustard?

What are your thoughts on all of the sales?

Do you go to the stores or stick with online only; or nothing at all?

Still have a lot of shopping to do or are you all set?

Pictli: Gift Your Memories With This Photo App + Discount Code

How many pictures do you have posted on Facebook and/or Instagram that you wish you could print and frame to place in your home or give as a gift? If you’re like me, the parent taking pictures of every little move your kid makes, then most likely the answer is “A lot.”

Well, lucky for you (and me), there’s an app for that! Did you see it coming? 🙂

pictli, app, memories, custom, frame, print, gift

 

Pictli is a photo printing/framing app for the iPhone or service for Android/PC users (such as myself) that allows you to easily upload a picture from Facebook, Instagram, or your computer, select one of many beautiful frame options they have, and have your framed photo sent to you or someone else as a gift.

pictli, app, memories, custom, frame, print, gift

Thanks to Frank, founder / Chief Memory Maker of Pictli, I was given the opportunity to try their service myself. I was hesitant at first because I’ve messed with other online photo printing services that work okay, but end up taking longer than I’d like. Plus, the frame choices were never that impressive to me.

Because of this, I started the process not expecting much, but just five minutes later and I was searching for more pictures to print and frame! Guys, forget flowers for the lady in your life, Pictli delivers something they’ll cherish for years (it won’t die the next day) and is easily the same price as the basic flower arrangement. And jewlery? Most (yes, some simply just want the bling) ladies would absolutely love a moment captured and framed over something flashy that can seriously lighten the load on your wallet.

The fact that you can do it all from your phone (if you download on iTunes) or computer and choose from all of your amazing photos on Facebook, Instagram, or saved on your computer makes it even better. The process is quick, simple, and even a little fun.

Once you pic from the thousands of photos we all have (I’m not the only one, right?) selecting a frame to compliment your memory and design taste is made easy as you scroll through seeing what your pic will look like in each frame. You can even adjust the size, rotate, and zoom in/out to your liking.

Not my picture…or phone, but this is the app on an iPhone

Before I began, I knew the picture I wanted to frame. It’s my background on Facebook, and one I recently shared on a #MySundayPhoto post. Picking a frame took the longest, but mainly because I just liked looking at each one and messing with the settings. Then I selected the recipient which was just me because I’m selfish I guess, and presto, my framed memory was on its way!

And talk about customer service, Pictli is outstanding with their friendly responses and order update to let you know when to expect your treasured gift. It quickly arrived securely packed in bubble wrap, safe from any delivery drivers’ lack of handling care.

pictli, app, memories, custom, frame, print, gift

I loved the neatly tied string with personalized note you can add.

pictli, app, memories, custom, frame, print, gift

Since it was just for our home, I only put the date the picture was taken. Avery’s growing so fast, I figured having a date will prove quite handy years down the road. And the finished product was an absolute masterpiece!

pictli, app, memories, custom, frame, print, gift

I went with The Rawls wood frame and think it matches the picture wonderfully. I never told my wife, Kelley, about the service or the picture until it arrived, and she was in love with the quality and detail. We now have the frame setup above the kitchen sink, where I spend a lot of time, so we can see our beautiful girl staring back at us with that cute smirk that never grows old.

I have zero complaints about the whole process and am scrolling through my pictures to find what I’ll frame next. Anyone looking for a great gift or just a simple way to frame a cherished memory, Pictli has what you’re looking for. Download their app on iTunes or access their site on your Android/computer to get started now!

But wait! Before you check out, you can save 20% off their already super awesome prices by using discount code RC1509. The code is good through the end of September and can be used for as many framed memories as you’d like.

So skip the flowers next time you need to get a gift, and give something with true, lasting meaning, a framed memory you can have on its way in 5 minutes by just using your phone. Remember, tell them R.C. sent you, but in the form of a 20% off discount code RC1509, they probably won’t care about the former. 😉

Disclosure: I received a gift code to purchase a Pictli print. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own.

Daddy-Daughter Photo Book: Birth to 19 Months

For my first Father’s Day, Going Mom made a Dad and Avery photo book that means the world to me. It’s not just something anyone can buy, and she put some obvious love and quality time into making it.

A photo book of daddy and Avery from my loving wife!

This year, for my second Father’s Day, she slipped the book from it’s spot on our bookshelf (or tried, because I noticed it was missing) to add to it with more daddy-daughter photos. In my last post, Kelley was in the process of putting it together as I wrote (all hail nap time!), and after seeing the final product, my heart turned from mush to pure liquid. Kinda sounds bad, but trust me, it’s a good kind of mush-to-liquid.

I love it so much and every time I flip through the pages beginning from the first day Avery was born to just a few weeks ago, I am still amazed at how much she has already grown. I figured I’d share the entire book in a post for everyone to appreciate Kelley’s lovely crafting skills and pictures we will hold dear for eternity.

DSC_0735 DSC_0737 DSC_0738 DSC_0739 DSC_0740 DSC_0741 DSC_0742 DSC_0743 DSC_0744 DSC_0745 DSC_0746 DSC_0747 DSC_0748 DSC_0749 DSC_0750 DSC_0751 DSC_0752 DSC_0753 DSC_0754 DSC_0755 DSC_0756 DSC_0757 DSC_0758 DSC_0759 DSC_0760 DSC_0761 DSC_0762 DSC_0763 DSC_0764 DSC_0765

I’d like to note, the pictures of me wearing Avery in a Baby Bjorn are before we learned of the dangers of wearing babies in “crotch danglers” for impeding their hip development among other issues. Plus, having them face outward is also not the best. Not judging, I’ve obviously been there too, but I stopped right after learning of this and hope any babywearing parents will consider the same.

Okay, I’m done with the thought of the day. I can’t express my gratitude to Kelley enough for making this book of memories, and wish I was at least a quarter as crafty as her so I could do the same. Makes my photo coffee mug I got her pale in comparison.

I’ve said it already, but THANK YOU, Kelley, for being such an amazing wife/mother and for the best gift ever. Oh, and the beer of the month club is just stevia sweetened icing on our homemade chocolate cake! 🙂

Do you love sentimental gifts like these or prefer getting gifts from retail stores instead?

What would be your favorite personalized gift to receive? A photo book, jewelry, framed picture, kitchenware, etc.?