Where the Boys Are Part 3

Today I decided to seek out more traditional gifts for our menfolk - with a playful or unique twist to them! I'll have to say it was not an easy task because there is a wonderful selection to choose from and with all of the different themes to choose from, narrowing my choices down to a select few was a chore. The items I'm sharing with you are some of the best of the best, but of course that is in my humble opinion - but I hope you'll think so too!

Ties... I can hear Al groaning now - he hates the few occasions where he has to wear a tie. In fact, in the 5 1/2 years that I've known him, I've seen him in a tie exactly once...and that lasted about an hour, until all of the other guys at the business dinner started shedding theirs too. I personally love the look of a guy in a suit and tie, and I really think ties are a great opportunity for men to show off a little bit of their personalities and personal style... and can be a great conversation starter! With a shop subtitle of "Ties That Don't Suck", Cyberoptix Tie Lab - otherwise known as toybreaker on Etsy, ended up being my shop of choice. Ties should not suck - and theirs definitely don't. I picked their Gear Shift - 6 Speed manual transmission Screenprinted microfiber necktie to display here since I don't think I've ever met a man who didn't have a love affair with cars, but if you're in the market for a tie, check out their amazing collection of themes!

Next up, I went hunting for wallets... and let me say that there are a LOT of wallets on Etsy! From hand tooled leather to duct tape and every material in between, there are bifolds, trifolds, biker and trucker type wallets, card cases, and man bags, passport folders and just about any other configuration you could want! Since I'm trying to keep this fun and as somewhat personal, I picked this Power ) Bifold Wallet from QuietDoing to share with you here. I like it because it's pretty basic, somewhat trendy, and is visually appealing - and of course looks very well made!


A lot of guys (and gals too!) form an attachment with their writing implements... and for them, what could be more thoughtful than a lovely pen and pencil set that will personalize their writing implements as their own?!? I found this beautiful Set of Spalted Maple Wood Pen, Pencil, and Letter Opener at avintageflair. Definitely beautiful and I'm guessing pretty one-of-a-kind, I think it would make a wonderful traditional gift for one of the guys in your life!

Thanks for shopping with me today... I'm still working on a theme for tomorrow's shopping spree, so suggestions are welcome! Happy Friday - hope your weekend gets off to a great start!

Where the Boys Are Part 2

Happy Thursday! For today's shopping trip, I'm sticking with the toys for our (adult) boys theme and decided to go window shopping looking for items that I thought might appeal to my own "boy" - my husband Al - the Great Wizard of Odd. You have to know him well to really appreciate Al's personality, likes and dislikes, and above all - really weird sense of humor. He grew up in his father's restaurant business, travelled the world as a network engineer, loves to read and learn about pretty much everything (but especially history and science - fiction, fantasy, and fact) and has a penchant for practical jokes. (Although I still say I'm the better practical jokester!) So... today I looked for things that I thought might appeal to him, or man-boys like him!

I'm not sure why, (well, maybe I am..lol) but I could imagine Al terrorizing some of his coworkers and even our friends with this Cockroach USB Flash Drive from stexe on Etsy. Definitely one of the more unusual items on Etsy, but it just goes to show that there is something for everyone there!




This next item I chose because it is a saying that tends to be bandied about our castle when one of us is doing something that the other one is being a bit nosey about (like wrapping presents or working on surprises), so of course it was an easy choice! This "Meddle Thee Not in the Affairs of Dragons For Thou Art Crunchy and Wouldst Be Tasty With Ketchup" sign from CountryWorkshop would go perfectly in our medieval castle master suite along with the other 50 or so dragon related items we have making a home there!




My final choice brings the thought that "turnabout is fair play" to mind... you see, one of Al's favorite gifts to give others is a nice impossible-to-solve puzzle - in fact an order of 7 of them arrived today that will have some of our friends and all of his kids cursing him before the holiday season is over! I've yet to see him receive a puzzle that he couldn't figure out though - we have a great collection of the hardest tavern puzzles, wood puzzles, and entanglement puzzles, but he manages to solve them all in less time than he should. Me? I stick to jigsaws and word and number puzzles. One type of puzzle I haven't seen him solve yet is a puzzle box. While the hardest known puzzle box has over 320 steps - and at a cost of around $950 is still a bit outside of my budget - this Nineteen Step Puzzle Box from Boxnmor probably would keep Al (or your favorite puzzle pundit) busy for a little while and it might be a great starting point in building his skills!

Well, that wraps up my shopping trip for today - I'm going to spend one more day on the boys, and then I 'll get back to more generalized gift themes so be sure to keep coming back for more!

Where the Boys Are Part 1

I've spent a lot of time looking at gifts and accessories for the ladies lately, so I thought I'd spend a few days looking at gifts for the boys in our lives. Yes, that's right, I said boys - for the simple reason that all men are really boys at heart - and the only difference between a man and a boy is the price of his toys! (and at the rate gaming systems are going, there isn't as much of a price spread between what our littlest boys want and what our boy-men want anymore!)

Today's shopping spree focuses on gifts for the outdoorman. I realize that there are quite a few women who enjoy some of these same hobbies, so these might work for the outdoorswoman too, but I was definitely shopping with the guys in mind! Since my brother-in-law and nephew are avid hunters and fisherman, and enjoy a number of outdoorsy activities, these items were selected with them in mind! (Btw, I am definitely not into the whole hunting scene, although I do love to fish, but I accept that alot of people are... and I hate to see anyone left out!)



Fishing lures make a great stocking stuffer for your favorite fisherperson and when you find a deal like this assortment of 12 Hand Tied Deer Hair PAN FISHING LURES from sheluvsfabric, it's kind of hard to pass it up!




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Bowie knives have been around since the early 1800's and are a popular tool among hunters and outdoorsmen the world over. While there are many bowie knives available on Etsy, this
CUSTOM HAND FORGED CAMP/BOWIE FIXED BLADE KNIFE from rats1053 caught my eye beacuse it is so beautifully rustic and i thought the knife sheath that it comes with is just really great!












How about a hand tooled rifle sling for your favorite hunter? I absolutely love this
Leather Rifle Sling - British Tan Tooled Diamond Fire Pattern from Leather Pro on Etsy!










Hope your Wednesday is/was a great one! See you all tomorrow for more goodies!