I know it sounds like a gift for a girl but my husband always takes his wedding band off when he washes his hands and after one-too-many “Honey, I can’t find my ring” episodes, I decided to put ring holders near all the sinks in the house. Trouble us, most were too girlie or frilly or Victorian (yuck). I searched until I found a modern, clean-line, dare I say “masculine” ring holder. And here it is, made by Nambe. It’ll set you back $75 so it’s a splurge item but if your man is the sort who sheds his ring(s) often, it might be just the unique gift you’re looking for.

Keep checking back. I’ll be blogging other Father’s Day gift ideas all month. And if you have some unique ideas, please post them in the comments. Thanks!

Did you catch my Facebook posts yesterday? I wanted to let you know about some great sales:

Zulily - If you use the code DAILYCANDYKIDS, you get an additional 25% off their already discounted prices. I bought some stuff yesterday so I can vouch that the code works but it expires TODAY so hurry! Are you familiar with Zulily? It’s a members-only online club (free and they don’t hassle you); each day they have a couple of new “shops” open with major discounts. Most of the stuff is boutique-y kids clothes or nice wooden toys, that sort of thing. I bought some cute t-shirts yesterday from Fierce Hugs. LOVE the one of the marmalade jar chasing the strawberry!

Kushies - This is the Canadian company where I’ve bought lots of footie pj’s for my son. I also really love their taffeta bibs; good size, easy to clean and modern. Two of their lines are 50% off and if you use the code FAIRYTALE, you get an additional 20% off anything in the store! I love, love, love their raincoats (see pic of my munchkin!). This code is good today through 3/11. I’m going to zip over there and buy some more bibs and Lil Aviator pants.

Red Envelope is having their spring sale, with up to 50% off on some pretty great gifts. Check out this cute handprint growth chart for $14.99 (reg. $39.95) or this stud earring trio of semi-precious stones (peridot, blue topaz, and amethyst) – on sale for $29.99 (reg. $49.95).

Follow me on Facebook or Twitter; I try to keep my friends updated the minute I see hot deals or interesting articles! Happy shopping and I hope you have a great weekend! – Sherean

Oy. The little guy had a fever of 103 for several days this week with all the attendant fussiness one would expect. I think that’s the highest his fever has ever been, so of course, being the new mom that I am, I scooped him up and took him to the doc. Actually, with his history of bladder infection (he’s only had one but the docs consider that a history), we have to have him checked every time he has a fever. Fever with no other symptoms could be another UTI. And UTIs at his age can damage the kidneys.

So off to the doc we went. Do you know how they collect a urine sample from a baby boy? (If you’re a guy reading this, you might want to look away.) A catheter. Up the penis. Yup.

He’s had this done — oh I dunno — five or six times now but each time seems worse than the last. I actually cried with him this time. It’s just awful.

Urine was clean so file this fever under the 1,000 mystery viruses that babies get.

He seems to be cutting some pretty painful teeth again, causing more fussiness and lots of night wakings. And Suzy (our wonderful nanny) has been on vacation. She has a friend who fills in for her but our son still has a bit of stranger anxiety so it’s been a challenging week.

Still, I managed to squeeze in several meetings with clients and prospective clients. Lots of exciting things going on with my business. 2010 is off to a great start.

Speaking of great starts, this is always a good time of year for sales. I just got these green linen sheer curtain panels, 108″ long, for $34.95 a piece at Crate and Barrel. LOVE them! They will look fabulous in the great room of the new house.

And the end of January is always a busy time of year for us. My birthday is Sunday; my husband’s is next week. My sister, and an aunt and uncle, all had birthdays yesterday. My husband’s sister has a birthday next week. I’ve been scouring the web for good deals and gift ideas. Christopher’s sister loves to bake and I saw these nifty measuring cups that allow you to pour ingredients into your stand mixer without spilling them everywhere. I’m thinking I need to get these for myself! I’ll let you know if she likes them and how they work out.

There is a reason I call this blog Random Neural Firings. I am all over the map today, aren’t I? Hope you’re all having a great Friday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY RELATIVES!!!

I found this on Etsy a while back and bookmarked it: a message in a bottle service! This seller takes your text, types it up on vintage paper (using an old TYPEWRITER no less!), seals it with wax and your monogram, rolls it up in a teeny, tiny bottle and attaches a cute vintage key. She then boxes it up and mails it for you. All this for just $15.

How GREAT would this be for a niece of nephew? Just a surprise letter telling them how much you care — maybe on their “half birthday.” Or send your sweetie a note. I think my pirate-loving nephew would love this; maybe I’ll send him one for Halloween.

Stuck for a gift idea? Send me a note (or a message in a bottle) with the subject: “Find it for me ‘Rean” and if I use your question, I’ll send you a $25 Amazon gift card.

For me, it is impossible not to be seduced by Nigella Lawson’s words — whether in print, on television, or like today, in person. I literally sit down and devour her cookbooks like they’re novels, giggling along the way at her witty observations. So it was a given that I’d be at her book signing in Atlanta this afternoon. (That it was at my neighborhood Border’s was a bonus!) She took questions from the audience. “Will you have time to try out some of the local cuisine while you’re here,” one man asked. “Are you mad?” She replied, “The first thing I do when I get to a new town is plot out when and where I’ll be eating.” (If you’re curious: she ate at The Watershed, which she proclaimed one of the best places ever and Bones.)

Have you ever watched her TV show? If you get it in your area, I highly recommend it. It’s a cooking show that your husband will watch with you because she is, um – let’s just say it – hot. In a very unfussy way. Which describes her cooking and entertaining philosophy perfectly: unfussy.

Her new cookbook is Nigella Christmas and would make a great gift for any of your foodie friends!

My best friend’s 10-year old daughter is in the Nutcracker this weekend and I’m going to see her perform today. This is her fifth year (or maybe sixth?) performing and it’s been fun to see her move up from hopping across the stage in a bunny costume to performing in two scenes this year. I’m so proud of her!

Last night, my son “cruised” for the first time, pushing his wagon walker across the living room. Very exciting!

And yesterday, we met with both the builder and decorator for our home. We made a few minor changes to the floor plan, like moving windows around, and made a lot of color and finish choices. We selected the exterior color (a blue-gray) with light tan accents and a dark Chestnut wood for the doors. We got the inspiration for the color palette from one of my son’s outfits!

I was at a marketing association lunch the other day and sat at a table of folks who work for a staffing company. They tell me that their business is growing and orders are up. I’m hopeful this means the economy has turned the corner since jobs are a lagging indicator.

What’s open in my browser? Well, I’m still shopping so Amazon is up, Red Envelope is up, and Toys R Us is up. Later today, I plan to do a holiday card so I imagine I’ll be spending some time on Shutterfly. But in terms of what might be interesting to you, check out these sites:

DesignPublic – a great site with modern furniture, accessories, and lots and lots of gifts. Plus kids stuff! You’ll find everything from Jonathan Adler to Thomas Frank to Dwell to Amenity here. Happy browsing!

CoolMomPicks Holiday Gift Guide – I always think I have good gift ideas until I check out their gift guide and realize I am SUCH an amateur. They have such great ideas and discounts on a lot of them. If you’re stuck for someone on your list, check them out.

Parenting.com’s Toy Contest – You may enter twice a day until Dec. 14th to win $900 worth of their selections for toys of the year. Get all your relatives without kids to enter, too, and increase your chance of winning!

Hope you all have a great weekend! We’re going to take the tot to Gymboree tomorrow and hit up some showrooms for interior house ideas (cabinets, tile, etc.). Atlanta’s supposed to be cold and rainy tomorrow, though, so that may put a damper on activities. What do you have planned?

Sorry I’m a little late to the party to post these; I had a business meeting this morning. LOTS of great CyberMonday specials. Check out some of these:

• Amazon continues to make me happy with lightning deals all day. Many more deals today than over the weekend (they really turned it up for Black Friday and for today). Keep your browser pointed to this page and be ready to buy when something you like comes up for sale.
• BabySteals.com is having a new “steal” every other hour. The next one is at 11:00 a.m., then one at 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00 (MST). The current steal is for toddler-sized Umi shoes at 54% off. You won’t know the next steal till 11:00 a.m. so keep checking back.
• Free shipping on a Kids Busy Box. I’ve blogged about these before. Great gift for a grandparent or aunt; it’s a craft box full of everything you need to make seasonal crafts. The boxes come out with seasonal themes several times a year. Free shipping is good today only. Use code CYBERMONDAY at checkout.
• Free shipping + 20% off everything (even new stuff) at Gymboree online. Monday only!
• Free shipping today only at Serena and Lily. Use code CYBERMONDAY at checkout.
• RedEnvelope’s sale has been extended. 50% off a lot of stuff plus an additional 10% off orders over $50. Use code REDFRIDAY at checkout.
• Crate and Barrel – today only – save 15% and get free shipping. Use code SAVE15 at checkout.
• DSW.com (awesome designer discount shoes) – 25% off online today only. Use code SAVE25.
• Borders.com (online only) – Buy 1, get 60% off your 2nd book. Use code BCM1219B. Plus free standard shipping on orders of $10 or more. These deals are good today AND tomorrow.

I’ll post more deals as I find them. Happy shopping!

I’m going to keep posting deals as I find them. Be sure and check Tuesday’s post for a good, long list of great deals and discounts. I figured I’d start a new post today because I’m discovering lots more good deals.

• Friday until 10:00 a.m. — get 20% off your entire order at Bed, Bath and Beyond.
• 25% off your ENTIRE order at Kushies Friday- Sunday. Use code “blackfriday” at checkout. For those of you new to this blog, Kushies carries those adorable PJ’s I put my son in. Be sure and check out their clearance section. They have some cute reversible cardigans for just $5.99 — plus you’ll get 25% off. I own several of those and love them for cool days here in the South. They’re a thick cotton so plenty warm until we get our “winter.”
• FatWallet.com has a running list of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals including sneak peeks at ad flyers.
• For the baseball fan in your life (i.e. my husband), EverythingBaseball has Black Friday deals here and Thanksgiving week specials here.
• And don’t forget Amazon’s Lightning Deals happening now. New deals every hour on the hour. Gotta be ready to snap them up, though! I just got the Bond movie Casino Royale DVD for $2.00. Great stocking stuffer for my hubby!

UPDATE:

• Gymboree – 30% off EVERYTHING online NOW through Friday at 3:00 p.m. Or if you want to go to the store, it’s 30% off until noon Friday. After that, 25% off everything.
• Red Envelope is always great when you want a nice gift but aren’t sure what to give. And even better with their Black Friday sales (which are already underway). UPDATE: Use code REDFRIDAY to get an additional 10% off orders over $50 (ends 11/29).

UPDATE (FRIDAY MORNING):

Pottery Barn: Spend $100, get a $20 gift card. This weekend only.

OK, so I have a little secret: I hate the mall. I loved it when I was a teenager but today, I think it’s loud, noisy, and crowded. (Or it used to be crowded before the Big Scary Recession.) So I do most of my shopping online. I’m an Amazon Prime member and I order just about everything I can — even diapers — on Amazon.

So I’m always scouring the web for good deals and there are some outstanding ones right now. Of course, there are also some great deals in the stores — and many more coming this weekend for Black Friday.

I’m going to start posting deals as I find them. I’ll also tweet about it so follow me on Twitter if you want the deals quick and dirty.

All right, let’s get started, shall we? As noted in the New York Times today, Amazon is in a price war with Wal-Mart. And when these two behemoths start fighting, you and I are the lucky winners. Are you familiar with Amazon’s Black Friday “lightning deals”? They post a new deal (or two or three) every hour. Limited quantities. Well, this year, they’ve started their lightning deals early. As in, they’re already up. I just got a Wall-E DVD for $4.99. Here’s the link that will take you directly to the deals. I’ll tweet out good ones as I see them, too.

Any Kohl’s fans out there? On Facebook, they’re promoting an extra 15% off EVERYTHING online starting tomorrow through Saturday.

Old Navy is getting a jump on Black Friday; their stores are open Thursday with great deals. On Thursday only, you get $10 off any purchase of $50 or more.

IKEA has one day only deals Friday – Sunday. Plus, free breakfast until 10:30 each of those days! Sample deal: 6-pk of wine glasses for $1.99 (reg. $6.99) – Friday only.

West Elm is offering an additional 10% off any in-store purchase of furniture, this Thursday – Monday (4 days).

I love photo gifts and I love them even more when they’re 50% off! Lots of great deals at Shutterfly through Dec. 2, including free shipping. Get your holiday photo cards (buy 50, get 25 more free) or get the grandparents a mug with your munchkin’s “mug” on it (I crack myself up); they’re buy one, get the next one half off.

UPDATE:

Toys ‘R Us is creating quite a buzz in the blogosphere for their special Black Friday preview that’s exclusively available to their Facebook fans. Mystery specials, too.

UPDATE (Wed. Nov. 24th additions):

Up to 50% off basic items and free shipping if you spend over $25 at Drugstore.com. Stock up on diapers, soap, lotion, shampoo!

ONE DAY ONLY — TODAY — IN STORE ONLY. Great deals at Border’s. That’s one store I don’t mind going to!

I’ll keep posting deals as I find them so check back here often and happy shopping!

What do you give a colleague or friend when you want to mark an occasion with just a little token? Not a full on gift, but a little somethin’? Candles are tried and true, but what about a 100% soy candle with a twist? Friend just got pregnant? Check out the “knocked up” candle from Scent of a Scandal (baby powder fragrance). I gave that to my friend, Lisa, when she was pregnant with #2.  Know someone about to take a dream trip to the Amalfi Coast? Give her the BEE-OTCH (honey fragrance) candle and let her know how you really feel.

Wanna bring in something other than candy to the office for Halloween? Try the “Turning Tricks” (candy corn) candle.  Guaranteed to bring a smile plus it smells good!

p.s. I’m just getting settled into the house so I may be updating some old posts this week. Follow me on Twitter for all the gory details on the move. On second thought, you might not want to. As a friend told me yesterday, he’d rather slam a stapler into his forehead than move. I so get that.