SIGIS Cyber Monday Shopping Suggestions

Cyber Monday is upon us.  While I do advocate shopping local whenever possible, I am also a shameless participant of online shopping.  And because this blog is a participant in the Amazon Associates program and gets a tiny bit of revenue when you order through my links, I'm going to share some gift suggestions and some of my favorite things with you!

First, I offer four terrific book suggestions. Yes, one of them is mine, but hey, it's a pretty good book! The other three I have read and are among my absolute favorites: Next, curl up under one of these great blankets while you read and stay warm this holiday: Stay warm with a new coffee maker: I have all but eliminated my use of plastic bottles this year; I've been using one of these refillable water bottles every day. As a bonus I have drastically reduced my soda intake. Some of my funky wardrobe favorites: I got this green ruffled jacket this week and I love it so ridiculously much: The animals are never overlooked around here; we recently bought these self-warming thermal pads for the outside cats and they love them. I know a lot of people who won't have an Echo in their house, but honestly we love ours. I have one of the older Echos, but we talk to Alexa all the time. She plays music for us, tells us jokes, gives me news updates, weather updates, and is generally all around useful. And the Ring doorbell? Everyone needs one of those these days: Some of my "must have" products: the L'occitane skin care line has been on my shelf for over a year now and I can't imagine being without it. I love it. The Redkin products for my hair have quickly become favorites as well. When you have fine, limp hair like mine, it needs all the help it can get! The video gamer in our house is hot on the Nintendo Switch these days: I have some favorite non-Amazon shopping sites too. For unique jewelry items checkout Restrung Jewelry out of New Orleans where a portion of the profits are donated to charities like The New Orleans Musician's Assistance Foundation, among others.

I also really like the beautiful work of Bayou Glass Arts Jewelry.  I've purchased some cool, unique pieces from Contina.

For stunning photographic prints and calendars, consider Nikki Sumrow Photography out of Texas.  The Longhorn Calendar is one of my favorites and I have the sunflower prints as well.  (Full disclosure: she is my very talented daughter!)

Have a happy shopping season and please share in the comments any great deals you find out there or suggestions for this post!  I'll keep updating it!

Shop Local in Shreveport: Small Business Saturday

It's Small Business Saturday which means you are encouraged to get out and spend your Christmas shopping dollars in local brick and mortar shops.

Small Business Saturday has been around since about 2010 when American Express first offered their cardholders a small cash incentive to shop locally after the Black Friday extravaganza.

Here, in Shreveport, there are many unique local shopping options.

If you head downtown, there are lots of options, from shops to restaurants:

Downtown Shreveport POP UP Shops at Artspace Shreveport - 710 Texas Street
Hippie Baby- 450 Clyde Fant Parkway
Appli-Ks- 450 Clyde Fant Parkway
Robinson Film Center- 617 Texas Street
Epic Aquaria- 725 Milam
The Agora Borealis- 421 Lake Street
Norsworthy Gallery- 214 Texas Street
Lena's Shoe Gallery- 501 Milam Street

Other downtown businesses offering Small Business Saturday specials include: Martha's Hallmark, On Time Fashion, Bon Temps Coffee Bar, Nicky’s Mexican Restaurant, and Fully Stacked.

Here's a list of some of my favorite shops and restaurants for truly unique gifts:

King Hardware:  you can get everything from home decor to a Yeti here, and if you're looking for gifts with a true Louisiana flavor, this is the shop for you.

Sweet Tee Shreveport: cool nostalgic clothing and other gifts with a local twist.

The Enchanted Garden on Line Avenue is a great shop crammed full with unique gift ideas from ornaments, clothing, candles, and home decor.  It's a great place to find exactly what you didn't realize you needed!

Lewis Gifts is offering store wide discounts today and is a Shreveport classic.

Kings Antiques and More (formerly Kings Ransom) next to Strawns is a fun place to spend the afternoon browsing for not only antiques but unique handmade gifts and even great collectible books!

And nearby is the terrific Shreveport Trading Company in the old Sooto Records building; this is another favorite of mine for antiques, costume jewelry, glassware, and other oddities.

If you like antiques, be sure to check out Timeline Antiques on Line.  I never leave there empty handed.

At Brewniverse you can create your own beer advent calendar!

Don't forget about our local craft breweries, too.  There you can find cool swag for the beer lover or foodie in your life and certainly gift certificates are always welcome!

Obviously my tastes tend to be rather narrow so be sure to  check out Cobalt Chronicles for more local shopping haunts.  As much as I love cyber-Monday for its convenience, I truly do love shopping local and believe in supporting our local businesses.

Happy Shopping!

Loose Thoughts on Shopping and Cultural Annihilation

I hate shopping.  Totally, one-hundred-percent hate.

I set out today into the grand metro-plex that is Shreveport/Bossier City to find one Texas Rangers t-shirt.  I also had to pick up a birthday gift for my grandson but that part was easy.

I looked for this Rangers shirt yesterday at WalMart.  No go.  We also looked at Dick's Sporting Goods yesterday.  Nope.

Today, first stop was Target.  It is not possible to buy a Texas Rangers t-shirt at Target in Shreveport, but you can buy a Hello Kitty microwave (pictured above).  WTH kind of sick mo-fo would put Hello Kitty in a microwave and who would want this in their kitchen?  What's the big fascination with Hello Kitty anyway?  Whhaaaaa....???????

My next stop was Academy Sports where, again, it is not possible to buy a Texas Rangers t-shirt, however, a helpful clerk advised me to "try the internets."  Blast!

To St. Vincent's Mall!  There are "sports" stores in there!  You can buy all the LSU gear, New Orleans Saints gear, Louisiana Tech, and Dallas Cowboys crap you want there, but no Texas Rangers anything.

However, you CAN buy a bottle of Justin Beiber's Girlfriend perfume:

Oh.my.god.  Need eye bleach.

Between that and the ProActive Acne Care talking kiosk which scared the ever loving hell out of me, I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

I gave up and went to wash the Jeep.  Car washes are safe.

Then I got a message from a friend directing me to Fantastics! at the Boardwalk in Bossier City who, I'm told, sells Texas Rangers gear.

I fortified myself with two tacos from Taco Bell and set out for the Boardwalk.  Let me just point out that the people who design parking garages are sadists on crack.

I found this store, Fantastics!, and walked in, full of optimism.

The heavens opened up and the angels sang:

There they were.  So many from which to choose!  It was wonderful!  Blues, reds!  Jerseys!  T-shirts!  Shorts!  Tanks!  Caps!  Texas Rangers stuff everywhere!

I grabbed a Darvish t-shirt, paid for it, and got the hell out of Dodge.

Like I said, I hate shopping, and I don't do it often.  From what I saw today, Texas Rangers aside, we are on the verge of cultural annihilation.  The abyss looms.  Justin Beiber, Hello Kitty, cheap tacky plastic flip flops from China and Taiwan, beaded and studded iPhone covers, talking kiosks, and in-the-middle-of-the-mall-massages?

It's all enough to send one to "the internets" when any shopping must be done.

Take a Trip to the 2012 Natchitoches Christmas Festival

I've lived in Louisiana all of my life, let's just say over 50 years, and I've never gone to the Natchitoches Christmas festival before Christmas.  We've been after Christmas before and we've seen the lights, but I've never gone and seen the fireworks and the crowds.

Oh goodness the crowds.  Now I know why I haven't done this before.

The Natchitoches Christmas festival is grand; it's wonderful for the city, for tourism, and for the state.  It draws people from miles away through the entire month of December.  The festival first began in 1926 and kicks off with a Christmas parade and the turning on of the lights.  It draws over 100,000 people each year who leave the city flush with tourism dollars.  Like I said, it's wonderful.

But I hate crowds.

Hate them.

Yet I had some shopping to do, and silly me, I thought I could just cruise through the Front Street shops like always and knock out my shopping in an afternoon.  I have no idea why I thought this could happen.

Our first clue that we were screwed was when we had to park some four blocks from downtown and even then had to "urban offroad" onto a grassy hill to park the Jeep.  And we were damn lucky to get that.

One of the better decisions of the day was to go ahead and eat.  We went to our favorite, The Pioneer Pub, for burgers, pub fries, and beer.  Business was brisk and steady.  We are long time fans of "the Pub."

All of the food at the Pub is made fresh and the extra effort pays off.  Everything we've tried there is excellent.  It was, of course all decorated for Christmas complete with stockings hung by the fireplace:

Our first shopping stop was Kaffie-Frederick Hardware Store.  

It was way too crowded.  I could not move.  Every aisle was filled with streams of people.  Again, this is a good thing for Natchitoches, but not a good thing for me.  I found the Michael Henry books, though, and replaced my copy of Atmosphere of Violence which I have loaned out to someone.

Steve found a pillow he liked:

and we looked at some unusual Christmas trees.

I liked this vase a lot.  It is quite tall and very heavy.  It looks sort of like a candy cane:

I didn't buy it, but I liked it.

I picked up a couple of gifts and we paid up and got out.  I love that they use the old cash register - no computerized model for them!

The buggy tours were working overtime; it was over an hour wait in a very, very long line for a ride:

We walked right on past that.

We found a new antique store (open since April) on St. Denis street: Tres Bien Antiques.  I loved this store partly because it wasn't filled with tourists.  I bought several gifts in there and Steve found a bar for sale:

It was an impressive set up, but who in the world has the room for that?  It was huge.

The best part of the day was finding our old friend J. Michael Kenny right next door with his own new antique shop!  We were crushed when he closed his shop, The Book Merchant, this year.  But he's back, and has a nice antique shop.  He even kept his old sign:

That sign is iconic to anyone who loves Natchitoches and Front Street.

The next thing we had to do was stand in a restroom line (all the portable facilities were down by the river and you had to pay $5.00 to get down there).  The shops all have signs that say "No Public Restrooms" so you're forced to stand in a very long line (if you're female) at the end of Front Street.  By the time I got out of that line it was dark already (30 minutes) and we had to hurry and finish our shopping.

We did finally pony up our $10.00 and go down by the river to see the lights.

There were so many people down there you could not walk.  Wall to wall.  People were line up 30 deep in front of the food vendors while others were laying on blankets and sitting in lawn chairs by the river waiting on fireworks.

But the lights are wonderful.

Grand for Natchitoches.  We threaded our way through the masses, went back to the Pub for a beer and some fried alligator bites, then hit the road for home.

Next year, I'm going between Christmas and New Years.  No crowds.  You can still see the lights and you can walk along the river without masses of humanity in your way.

But, everybody ought to do it at least once!  It's a great family event and great fun.

Natchitoches, I love you, but I'll see you next year.

The SIGIS Take a Trip Series:
Take a Trip to the 2012 Grand Cane Pioneer Day and Christmas Parade

Take a Trip to the 2012 Highland Jazz and Blues Festival

Take a Trip to the 2012 Vets for Vets Event

Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Photographs of the Vietnam War Exhibit

Take a Trip to Octoberfest 2012 at Barksdale Air Force Base

Take a Picnic Trip to the Lock and Dam and a Detour to Lake Bistineau

Take a Dinner Ride Through East Texas

Take a Trip to an End of Summer Party and Listen to Soulfish Blues Band

Take a Summer Trip to Jefferson, Texas and Meet New Friends

Take a Trip to Dallas, Texas and The West End

Take a Stocking the Freezer Trip to Ed Lester Farms and Find a Cool Truck!

Take a Trip to Coushatta Down Louisiana Backroads

Take a Sunday Drive in North Caddo Parish

Take a Trip to Minden's First Annual Cinco de Mayo Festival

Take a Trip to the 2012 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at BAFB
Take a Springtime Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden, LA
Take a Trip to Logansport, Louisiana
Take a Trip to the Lock and Dam on Red River
Take a Trip to the 2012 Barkus and Meoux Parade
Take a Christmas Shopping Trip to Second Hand Rose in Minden
Take a Trip to the Fourth Annual Barksdale AFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Grand Cane's Fifth Annual Pioneer Trade Day
Take a Trip to the 2011 Highland Jazz & Blues Festival
Take an Autumn Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Take a Fall Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base
Take a Summertime Trip to Grand Cane
Take a Trip to Desoto Parish
Take a Summer Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Melrose Plantation 
Take a Trip to Ed Lester Farms and a Random Antique Stop
Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Masters of Cuban Art Exhibit
Take a Trip to Natchitoches to See the Christmas Lights
Take a Trip to the Third Annual BAFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Oakland Plantation
Take a Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Oktoberfest at BAFB

NYT: Black Friday Shoppers Forced To Go Out in the Dark of Night for Deals While Idle Rich Stay Home

If one is to believe the New York Times, all you Black Friday shoppers out there are miserable, poor underlings forced to leave the comfort of your Thanksgiving tables and stand in line at WalMart in the dark of night with a passel of kids in tow because you can't afford a babysitter.

Meanwhile, the idle rich never leave the comfort of their warm, comfy homes simply because they don't need to do all that:

Budget-minded shoppers will be racing for bargains at ever-earlier hours while the rich mostly will not be bothering to leave home.

Toys “R” Us, Wal-Mart, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Best Buy and Target will start their Black Friday sales earlier than ever — at 9 and 10 p.m. in some instances — with dirt-cheap offers intended to secure their customers’ limited dollars. A half a day later, on Friday morning, higher-end stores like Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom will open with only a sprinkling of special sales. 

Is The Times suggesting that retailers are sacrificing profits to help the lowly, unemployed shopper?

The low-end and midrange retailers are risking low margins as they cut prices to attract shoppers, while executives at luxury stores say that they are actually able to sell more at full price than in recent boom years. 

The Times misses the point that stores are opening earlier and earlier, not so much because people have fewer dollars and they're just feeling benevolent, but because they're trying to scoop each other.  

It's less of an altruistic move on the part of the big box store than a profit hugging move by savvy retailers.

And those damned rich people!  They can stay home and order their cashmere sweaters while tucked under their down comforters using their iPads and their American Express cards!

Meanwhile, many affluent shoppers will avoid the scene altogether, he said. “The women who are shopping the fourth floor at Saks are not Black Friday shoppers,” he said.

The Times also misses the point that a lot of those Black Friday shoppers actually enjoy the "sport" of it:

“Those in a more modest income situation are the people who are going to the Wal-Marts and the Best Buys and the Targets at 8, 9, 10, 11 p.m. with little kids in tow because they can’t afford a baby sitter,” said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a retail consultant firm. “It’s a very unpleasant shopping experience, frankly, for a lot of people.” 

 I know a gal who gets together with her girlfriends and they comb the ads, plot their stops, and fan out.  They aren't miserable, poor shoppers having to suffer the indignities of WalMart at midnight while dragging kids behind them.  They just like the thrill of the chase.

The Times is simply adding fuel to the OWS fire.  The evil, idle rich get to sit home on Black Friday eating bon bons and tallying up their money market accounts while the unwashed masses sit in pup tents in front of a Best Buy in the drizzling rain.

Oh!  The unfairness of it all!


(Photo:  Henrietta Widsmith/The Shreveport Times)

(More at Memeorandum)

Christmas Windows

I'm not one for celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving is over and we still have four more hours of Thanksgiving SIGIS time.  However, I did check out Vanity Fair's Christmas windows from around the world.  There's some weird stuff going on out there, man...really weird:

I mean, it's kind of cool and it's very creative, but does it just scream "Christmas!" to you? 

When I think Christmas window displays, I think A Christmas Story:

And no.  I'm not doing Purple Thursday, Black Friday or any of that standing in line nonsense.  Crowded WalMarts, lines, and crazed shoppers are so not my thing.  But if it's yours, good luck to you!

Meanwhile, it's time for a turkey sandwich.

Shopping with SIGIS

I just saw a report that the Kindle Fire is expected to hit four million in holiday sales! That's a lot of fire. Consider doing your shopping from the safety of your laptop this year and help your blogger friends get a little kickback from your shopping.  SIGIS will periodically be providing shopping links and suggestions for your convenience and as always, you can search through our Amazon search box on the sidebar which helps YOU and it helps ME!

And be sure to check out the SIGIS store, complete with a Christmas wing.

Cyber Monday Shopping

Seventeen percent of Americans are planning to do their shopping online this year on Cyber Monday.  Just in time for your Cyber Monday shopping, I've set up (finally) my Amazon shop. 

It's heavy on books, of course, and all of the books in my Amazon shop are books I've read and actually recommend or books I'm currently reading (and still recommend). 

I've included some favorite DVDs, household things, a Christmas section, and in honor of my beloved Checkers, a Boston Terrier section.  There's a link to the shop on the sidebar.

Pop on over and peruse the goodies, and by all means, get your Christmas shopping done and help this little blogger at the same time! 

Holiday Shopping

I'm not about to get out and do Black Friday. The only thing I'm going out to buy today is dog food and a loaf of bread.

I have, however, started shopping a little bit. I just purchased the Sookie Stackhouse series for my teenager (it's okay - he doesn't read my blog). He's a reader and he liked the Twilight books. He has read the Christopher Paolini Eragon series over and over and over (and over), so I also picked up the new Paolini companion picture book. Very nice!

Last year I made a Christmas wish list on this blog, just for fun. I'll probably do that again, just because it was fun, and a girl can dream, right? In fact, looking back at it, I didn't necessarily get it all for Christmas, but I did get everything on my list except for the Charlie Brown DVD set. And the Clapton tickets weren't at Albert Hall, but in Dallas, which was even better because I got to see my daughter and son-in-law as a bonus! Definitely the highlight of my year. Nikki - you're covered for Christmas already! You can send me a card or something! I'm good.

Anyway, in the interest of capitalism, I'm stealing a page from Stacy McCain and will be posting some shopping links for your consideration. Who needs Black Friday and long lines when you can shop and help yourself and your blogging friends, too? And leading by example, I bought Donkey Cons and Going Rogue off Stacy's site. He probably made $0.35 off my clicks this month.

Black Friday - Bah Humbug!

Are these people nuts!? Call me Scrooge, but I just don't get into the whole get up at 4 a.m. and go stand in line for hours just to get a discount on a DVD player thing. And here in Shreveport, it is raining, thundering and lightening, just to make things more fun. Shopping is just not my thing, anyway. I love finding the perfect gift but it's even better if I can find it online. I'll pay the extra bucks for shipping just so I don't have to go out, fight traffic, find a parking place and go get it. If I can order it online and have someone bring it to me, all the better.

As far as I know, nobody has been mauled here locally but in New York some poor guy, a store worker trying to hold back unruly crowds, DIED as they ran over him. That is just SICK. And another woman had a miscarriage in the same melee.

No, I will stay in today, out of the rain and away from the over zealous crowds and traffic! I have lots of research papers still to grade, lots of good books to read, Christmas decorations to drag out, and Thanksgiving leftovers to eat.

(Photo credit: Val Horvath, The Shreveport Times)