Editor's Picks

TPhone Eco-Design Apple iPhone 4 100% Hard Wood Case from Accessorygeeks - I bought the iPhone 4 as soon as it came out this June. I needed a new phone because I was going to study in Milan for a few months. I needed a smartphone that had wireless connectivity and other advanced capabilities. If I was going to be walking around Milan by myself, I wanted to be able to download maps, Italian dictionaries and public transportation information directly to my phone.

My iPhone survived the trip. And I dropped it at least 2 dozen times while I was traveling. Any other phone would have snapped in half with all of these falls! But this phone has lasted, mostly because of the exclusive TPhone Eco-Design Apple iPhone 4 100% hard wood case from Accessorygeeks.com.

This hard wood case is sleek, unique and very sturdy. It is made from teak wood and it, along with its packaging, are environmentally friendly. You can still access all buttons and functions while the case is on. No need to slide the case off to access the screen. Most importantly, this case absorbed the impact from falls, thus preventing the phone from breaking.

After seeing Milan and traveling through much of Europe. I’ve learned a little bit more about the beauty of our planet. Save Earth and your iPhone 4 using the TPhone Eco-Design Apple iPhone 4 100% hard wood case from Accessorygeeks.com!

RonBow vintage walnut Kumi wood vanity cabinet - One year ago, I had many high hopes for my professional career as a college graduate. But then again, with the economy the worst it’s been since the Great Depression, finding a job proved much more challenging than I could have ever imagined. No job means no money, and that means no moving out and starting life on my own. I was lucky enough to be able to move back in with my parents.

I packed up all of my furniture and moved everything back into my bedroom. I got rid of a lot of furniture, but one thing I kept was the RonBow vintage walnut Kumi wood vanity cabinet. This vanity cabinet was amazing for my dorm room! It has a frosted glass door and a bottom drawer. The dimensions are 21 5/16 inches by 21 7/8 inches by 32 inches, which is the perfect size for sticking next to my bed. I used it to store books, display framed photos and hold some of my jewelry.

Now the vanity cabinet is back at home with me. Along with my alarm clock and some books, I have my espresso machine on it. I can stay up late and focus on studying for graduate school entrance exams!

Lena Liu Moments to Cherish Wooden Cuckoo Clock with Cardinal Songbirds – With my brother leaving for college, my mother has been eager to celebrate the back-to-school season in her own special way by revamping his old room into a cute little reading nook in the house. She pulled me in to help decorate (much to my brother’s chagrin due to his childhood room disappearing) and knowing her passion for bird-watching, I thought I’d contribute with the quintessential cuckoo clock above one of the arm chairs. After finding some large clocks and small ones, I picked out something cheerful and sweet and found the Lena Liu Moments to Cherish Wooden Cuckoo Clock with Cardinal Songbirds. With two little birds perched at the “roof”, carved out pine trees and clusters of leaves framed around the clock, she just adored it.

Each little cardinal on this wooden cuckoo clock chirps at the start of every hour and this is lovely for mornings of waking up to birds chirping, a personal favorite for my mother. A swinging brass pendulum hangs below an illustrated image of two songbirds nurturing baby birds while surrounded by blooming flowers, suiting our homey reading nook and setting the scene for some hours-long novel reading. Mom also decided to interpret the baby birds as my brother and me off to take on the world!

Admittedly, it was hard to decide where to put the clock, because this Lena Liu cuckoo clock really has its moments to cherish, especially with Mom associating the clock with my brother moving out of the house. Initially, Mom insisted on hanging it above the kitchen entryway where it suits our woodsy brown kitchen cabinets. She thought it’d be just wonderful to have it chirp while she’s cooking or baking, but perhaps I’ll just buy another one to make her happy with her birthday coming up!

Standard Stratocaster Electric Guitar – Lately, I’ve been struggling with what to get my music-obsessed boyfriend for our anniversary coming up. Although I was slow on the uptake, after walking past his walls full of vintage LPs, his collection of band shirts, and his various posters of rock gods and legendary music tours, I took the hint. For the perfect gift, I opted to amp it up for our anniversary with a standard Stratocaster electric guitar paired with music classes for the upcoming semester to get him started on a real rock star’s path. After encouraging him for the last few months that Guitar Hero is a legitimate form of rocking out, maybe this’ll give him the gentle nudge to move up the musician’s career ladder and move on from button controllers. This’ll also be the perfect gift to help him finally declare music as his college major!

When picking out the Stratocaster with the rosewood fingerboard, I talked with the guitar experts at the music shop and they recommended it for being a great beginner guitar. It’s really easy to use and lightweight in case I’m ever inclined to learn guitar myself. I picked it up with no problems! With legends like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton trusting the Stratocaster name, hopefully this’ll inspire my boyfriend to become one of the greats as well… at least when he’s taking his beginner guitar course.

Sylvania 29610 from eLightBulbs - I am a proud alumna of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Go banana slugs! Like other college students I went to class, took midterms, studied long hours and learned a great deal. Not only did I learn from my books and lectures, but I also learned a lot from the culture at UCSC.

UC Santa Cruz strongly believes in protecting the environment. This campus and the students’ lifestyles all focus on being eco-friendly. Students take many steps to achieve this environmentally friendly lifestyle, including reusing grocery bags, recycling, not wasting food and water, and using eco-friendly light bulbs.

Eco-friendly light bulbs save energy. For example, I frequently used the Sylvania 29610 from eLightBulbs. This light bulb is a compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb. These 120-volt bulbs use 13 watts of energy and have a bulb life of 8,000 hours. Many other 120-volt bulbs might use 25 – 100 watts of energy! The Sylvania 29610 is also ENERGY STAR certified.

Using an ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulb can save you $30 over its lifetime. This bulb pays for itself after about six months and it uses 75 percent less energy than an incandescent bulb. These bulbs also last about ten times longer than incandescent bulbs! I recommend trying these eco-friendly CFLs out.

Staples Eco-Friendly Notebook, 9 1/2" x 6 - I was sitting in on another office meeting this morning when I noticed just how many pages of notes I take. My desk is full of notebooks stacked up against the cubicle wall, and I noticed just how much paper I go through each month. With meetings stacked back to back on some days, I would just grab my notebook and go. However, I thought about how green that was and it made me kind of ashamed. I mean, I drive a Prius and try to bike to work on Fridays, and yet I’ve been wasting so much paper! Once I worked through my notebook, I went to the supply cabinet and picked out a much better notebook. The Staples eco-friendly notebook is way greener than my old notebooks.

My Staples notebook is made from 80% sugarcane waste, so I don’t have to feel bad that I’m hurting the earth, because I’m not! It’s really durable too. The covers are pretty strong and it has a durable coil to hold the pages together. The pages are perforated in case I need to rip off a page for the big boss. It even comes with 2 pockets so I can slip in a few business cards after my meetings. This notebook has definitely saved me from forgetting important to-dos.

CamelBak BPA-Free Better Water Bottle (0.5L, Green) - While clearing up my desk at work, I realized that my empty water bottles had been building up for the past week. Although it felt great to get my desk free of clutter, I felt really bad about tossing so many plastic bottles into the recycle bin. I decided to finally take advantage of the office water cooler and get a CamelBak BPA-Free Better Water Bottle. It lasts a long time and is so hassle-free to maintain.

Some of my favorite things about my CamelBak water bottle are all of its cool bottle features. The cap has a loop that you can easily hook onto your belt, great for my weekend hikes. I can toss it into the washer without a problem, and the bottle fits my cup holder just fine. It’s even spill proof! At first, I didn’t believe it but after a few times of flipping my bottle upside-down, not a drip spilled and the office carpet was safe. The cap even comes with a built-in straw. On top of that, it’s made without BPA, an unhealthy compound that can mess with your hormones.

Now that I got this CamelBak bottle, I’ve gotten a little too attached to it. I bring it to work and whenever I’m out biking or hiking the trails of course, but it’s great for slipping in my bag to go to the theatre too. Why not, right? Since there are no spills, my drink and my belongings are safe, and I can enjoy a movie without the outrageous concession prices. I love it.

Boise ASPEN 30 Office Paper - I have spent my entire life living near the beautiful San Francisco, California. I have seen Paris, Hong Kong, London, Zurich, Berlin, Barcelona, and so many other gorgeous cities around the world. Yet I truly believe that San Francisco has some special qualities that can’t be found anywhere else.

San Francisco has the Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, and Alcatraz. It has cable cars, Gay Pride, and the SF Giants. All of these things help to make San Francisco a city with a very rich culture.

One aspect of this rich culture includes recycling. Recycling is a very important process seen throughout San Francisco. San Francisco recycles many materials including metal, textiles, electronics, plastic, glass, and of course, paper.

This SF culture has influenced me to always buy recycled paper, like Boise ASPEN 30 Office Paper. Using recycled paper (and other recycled materials) versus paper made from new materials reduces waste, reduces energy usage, lowers greenhouse gas emissions, and reduces water and air pollution.

My personal favorite is the Boise ASPEN 30 Office Paper. This paper, though made all or partially from recycled materials, is just as bright as any non-recycled paper. It is engineered to work with all copiers and inkjet printers or lasers as well.

Robern Uplift Mirrored Medicine Cabinet from Quality Bath - I’m getting ready to move into my new place. I’ve got the necessary items, but I did make an exception to splurge on one useful item: The Robern Uplift Mirrored Medicine Cabinet from Quality Bath.

The Robern Uplift Mirrored Medicine Cabinet combines stylish form with practical function, making annoying bathroom clutter a thing of the past. It has a lot of great standard features not found in just any ol’ medicine cabinet. As the name indicates, the cabinet has sleek mirrors that slide upward (as opposed to pulling outward) and has a position-hold feature so you can choose how much or little you want to open the door. This Robern cabinet also features interior lighting that turns on when the door is open and turns off when the door is closed. Another great standard feature is the cabinet’s adjustable shelves that can be moved in two inch increments to accommodate all your medicine cabinet items and give you a wide choice of storage options. There are electrical outlets on the cabinet sides that make it perfect for plugging in electric razors or curling irons, a cable management system to hide cords, and an interior mirror that allows for easy access to a mirror even when the door is completely open.

The Robern Uplift Mirrored Medicine Cabinet also offers optional upgrades – you can also opt for a defogger to keep your mirrors crystal clear even after a hot shower, get a TV mount to accommodate a small television or order separate grooming trays to keep all your cosmetics and toiletries organized.

Women’s New Balance Rock and Tone Walking Shoe - I’ve never really been much of a runner, or one to go to the gym for that matter. I do, however, love the comfort that my New Balance running shoes have always provided me. Durability and reliability are things I have come to expect from those shoes. So, when I learned that New Balance was making a new walking shoe, I was eager to try it out!

The New Balance Rock and Tone Walking Shoe is all kinds of amazing! They have a premium leather/suede upper, and at only 9 ounces are incredibly lightweight. The specially designed walking strike path stabilizes the foot on the unique Rock and Tone sole. This walking shoe is designed to increase your muscle activity as you walk, making you burn more calories!

New Balance Rock and Tone Walking Shoes really make me feel the workout I get as I walk around the office, do my shopping, or drop the kids off at school. I can’t believe how easy it is to exercise while I go about my daily activities! I feel fitter and happier-- and I have better muscle tone in my legs than I've ever had. I really recommend these shoes to anyone looking to tone their muscles and burn extra calories during their daily activities!

Sony 60” LCD HDTV KDL60EX500 from Dell - I couldn’t make it to the FIFA World Cup this year, so I had to settle with watching it on TV. I have been watching the World Cup on a friend’s Sony LCD HDTV. This TV is incredible! Each World Cup player looks crystal clear on this screen. Each fan looks like he or she is right in front of me, proudly cheering for a favorite team. I feel like the World Cup is happening ten feet in front of me.

My friend clearly loves his Sony 60” LCD HDTV KDL60EX500, just as clearly as I can see the World Cup players. Both bright and dark colors are displayed magnificently on this LCD screen. For an LCD, the black-level performance is exceptional. There are three HDMI inputs, one PC input and many picture controls. He told me he bought his TV from Dell. Dell provided him with friendly, top-notch customer service and happily answered all of his questions about this TV.

I don’t think I’ll make it to Super Bowl XLV in 2011. But it’s crystal clear to me that I’ll be watching the Super Bowl at my friend’s house with his Sony LCD HDTV!

Stackable mini stamp bundle pack from 1Love1Dream - I was babysitting my neighbor’s five-year-old daughter, Sara, the other day and she really wanted to decorate her coloring books with stamps! At the time, I didn’t have any stamps so we settled with coloring her Beauty and the Beast coloring book. That night, after she went to bed, I surfed the web to find the perfect stamps for her. Then I found 1Love1Dream’s stackable mini stamp bundle pack.

These stamps are perfect for the arts and crafts adventures with Sara. This product contains twelve round self-inking stamps. These stamps are stacked into six “pencil” shapes with two stamps per pencil. There are a variety of stamps, including a purple butterfly, a green star, a blue daisy, a pink smiley face and more fun ones.

I brought these stamps over to Sara’s house one week later. Sara and her three-year-old brother just loved them! They spent two hours putting stamps all over their favorite coloring books. We also started building a scrapbook with pictures I’ve taken of our babysitting adventures. Sara and her brother love putting stamps on our scrapbook pages. I know these will come in handy when we start making cards for birthdays and the upcoming holiday season too.

Arrow fixed LCD wall mount from Viva la Deals - One of the perks to living with my parents after college is being able to watch TV on their 60 inch LCD TV. I didn’t have much time to watch TV in college, let alone fit a TV in my tiny bedroom. Now I can catch up on my favorite TV shows after my work day is over. And to thank my parents for letting me stay with them, eat their food and watch their TV, I bought them a new Arrow fixed LCD wall mount.

This wall mount is incredible! It securely fastens the LCD screen to our family room wall. This screen mount was easy to install and fits most 30 inch to 63 inch plasma and LCD screens. It’s slim, yet supports up to 165 pounds because it is constructed from a heavy gauge steel. It also comes with theft-resistant fasteners just in case you are worried about someone taking your LCD screen.

This screen mount is easy to install and even easier to buy. I bought my screen mount from Viva la Deals. I recommend using this mount to ensure that your TV screen is securely and safely set up on your wall.

Hav-A-Tampa Little Cigars Sweet from Gotham Cigars - Now, I consider myself strictly a social smoker. There are some special occasions that call for lighting up – especially during the summer when the nights are warm and parties can be moved outdoors. My first choice of smoke? Hav-A-Tampa little cigars sweet.

The first thing to keep in mind is that size isn’t everything when it comes to little cigars: lighter than traditional cigars and cigarillos, little cigars (which are also known as small cigars) more closely resemble cigarettes in size. It’s this smaller size that makes them the perfect alternative when you want a short smoke (it can take anywhere between half an hour to an hour to smoke a regular cigar) but don’t want to sacrifice any flavor. Hav-A-Tampa Little Cigars Sweet are a great choice if you want something light and mild – wrapped in a tobacco leaf and filled with a blend of Honduran and Dominican tobaccos, these little cigars offer a smooth and sweet flavor and aroma.

Another plus? Little cigars are generally more affordable than pricey cigars, and Gotham Cigars sells Hav-A-Tampa 10 packs of 20 for a discounted price of $29.99.

Protein Powder from 911 Health Shop - My brother recently decided to bulk with protein powder. He loves the results! After a few weeks of drinking protein he had developed more muscle tone. His protein shakes were effective and healthy. He even liked the flavor!

Why would you use protein powder? There is the possibility that your body may lack the necessary proteins and amino acids to build muscles after a workout. Consuming protein powder after you work out ensures that your body has the nutrients it needs to build and repair muscles. Without this protein powder your body may have a harder time building muscle.

The best time to take this supplement is after you work out. This way the protein will help repair your muscles while you cool down. You may not want to consume this protein powder before a workout because your body will use up the energy to digest the protein powder instead of helping your muscles during your workout. Therefore, protein powder is most effective to muscle growth when consumed after a workout.

My brother bought this protein powder from the 911 Health Shop, which sells protein powder with the optimal amount of nutritional benefits. At this shop you can find this Syntha 6 Protein powder with vitamins, minerals, low sugar content and a great flavor.

Muscle Milk Light from Advantage Supplements - About a year ago a friend of mine decided to train for a marathon. He was a full-time student so finding the time to train and study was difficult. He had to forego a lot of sleep in order to study and train. Finding the energy to train for a marathon was pretty tough. He decided to try using a pre-workout supplement called Muscle Milk Light. This supplement gave him the energy he needed to train for a marathon!

Muscle Milk Light is a flavorful, low-calorie formula that helps you to manage your weight and it gives you energy.

Benefits of using Muscle Milk Light:

• Weight management - designed to keep you from feeling hungry and give you energy
• Muscle growth - you can lose weight and promote lean muscles
• Maintains blood sugar levels - maintain stable blood sugar levels, which means increased energy and helps to maintain your weight
• Great taste, vitamins and minerals - Muscle Milk Light tastes good, has essential vitamins and minerals and isn’t loaded with sugar
• Satisfy hunger - consume between meals to help satisfy hunger

Muscle Milk Light, which my friend bought from Advantage Supplements, helped him feel less hungry and increased his energy level. This energy shake can be taken 45 minutes to one hour before a workout and again immediately after a workout. Consume two to three balanced servings of Muscle Milk Light between balanced, portion-controlled meals to feel less hungry and more energetic.

Tulip bouquet from 800Florals - Spring’s in full bloom, and while my allergies dictate my inability to withstand the outdoors for long periods of time, that doesn’t mean I can’t spread the joy of spring – especially when it comes to finding my mom a gift for Mother’s Day.

800Florals features beautiful and complex floral arrangements for Mother’s Day (and plenty of other occasions as well), but my eye was immediately drawn to the stylishly simple tulip bouquet, which features multiple bunches of fresh spring tulips in different colors clustered together in a glass bowl or rectangular vase. Though my mom doesn’t have much of a green thumb, tulips are relatively low-maintenance flowers: A cool area away from direct sunlight and drafts, a vase full of water (tulips love water), and preservative solution are all these flowers need to stay bright and happy. Tulips with cut stems generally have a lifespan of at least five days.

For any last minute gift buyers, 800Florals.com also has an extensive choice of next day flowers that have direct-ship next-day delivery. And if flowers aren’t your thing (either because of preference or allergies), there are other choices to fall back on: Take a look at the selection of green plant arrangements offered, and the site also has a selection of gift baskets chock full of fresh fruit and gourmet treats.

Digital Voice Recorder from ABT - I love my digital voice recorder. It has helped me throughout college and with the start of my career.

A voice recorder is simply a device that is designed to record sound. Some voice recorders can record up to almost 300 hours of sound! Many of them are PC-compatible. This way you can download the files from your recorder to your computer. I can email any important ideas or notes I’ve recorded to myself or to my colleagues!

Why would anyone need a voice recorder? They are actually extremely useful. A student can use it to record lectures and study for exams. A musician can record songs from the radio, record their own music and keep an audio diary of new lyrics. A businessperson can record ideas and meetings. An actor can use it to remember lines. Anyone can use it simply to remind themselves to run an errand!

I chose to use a small, portable digital voice recorder from ABT.com. This voice recorder can record any of my lectures, meetings and ideas. I can plug my voice recorder into my computer, download the files from my recorder and email the files to myself, my friends and my colleagues.

Pet seat cover protector from Accessorize Your Vehicle - When I got my dog Max last summer, I didn’t realize the extent of things I would need to buy to accommodate my new lifestyle with a canine. Puppy pads for bathroom accidents, dog food, dog bed, dog shampoo and conditioner – the list went on and on.

It didn’t take me long to find out that I also needed some puppy supplies for when I shuttled my little Pom back and forth from my place in Davis to his grandparents’ (aka my parents’) house in the Bay Area. I couldn’t bear the idea of stuffing him in a crate for the entire ride, but I also wanted to protect the interiors of my car.

I found the perfect solution over at AccessorizeYourVehicle.com with the Canine Covers Custom Pet Seat Protector. Designed with rounded corners to fit the rear seat of your car, SUV or pick-up truck, the protector covers the entire backseat of your car to let your dog ride in comfort. It’s made of a durable, poly-cotton with a water-repellent finish, nylon liner and non-skid backing, and it also has a hook-and-loop flap that works with most seat belts. I ended up going with the standard bench seat cover for my car, but there are many different sizes, fits and patterns to ensure the best fit for your vehicle.

Pilates Premier Reformer from Mercantila - I’ve never been much of a gym rat, but lately, I’ve been trying to incorporate a regular workout routine into my daily schedule. After trying out different routines with a relatively unenthused spirit – making up excuses to avoid running in the mornings, feeble attempts at weight lifting, uncoordinated approaches to several aerobics DVDs, just to name a few – I finally found my workout soul-mate in Pilates.

Often compared to yoga, Pilates consists of a series of controlled movements, but unlike yoga, it emphasizes physical conditioning over inner tranquility. There are six principles to Pilates – centering, concentration, control, precision, breath and flow – all of which work to improve deep core strength, flexibility and body tone. And with all the variants of Pilates, it’s an ideal choice for those who get easily bored with having to do the same workout routine day after day.

To get the most out of my workout, I use the Pilates Premier Reformer from Mercantila. With this easy-to-use Pilates machine, you can engage the core muscles of your powerhouse with each exercise to work the entire body as a whole as opposed to isolated muscle training. The reformer helps to develop better balance, coordination and posture as you move back and forth on its smooth rollers that features four levels of resistance – lay flat on your back to work out your arms and shoulders, sit up and pull yourself back and forth to help improve posture or follow along with the free workout DVD featuring Pilates expert Marjolein Brugman. The machine also features shoulder supports, foot and hand straps and an adjustable contoured headrest to ensure a comfortable and safe workout. And with free shipping, the reformer is an excellent at-home alternative to expensive studio classes.