Holiday Shopping Hours at Swagger Gifts

Swagger Gifts will be closing on December 24th at 3pm to spend Christmas Eve with our families and friends and we'll be closed from December 25th until January 1st for inventory and to recover from the Holidays :-)

We will reopen on January 3, 2011 for normal business hours!

See ya this week or see ya next year!

XoXo,
Gina

3rd Annual Tacky Christmas Sweater Extravaganza

Get Your Merry On at Swagger Gifts!
With only SIX shopping days left until Christmas, it's time to get a little tacky!

Who: You and Your Tacky Sweater
What: The 2010 Swagger Gifts Tacky Sweater Party & Sale
When: Saturday, December 18, 2010 - 10am until 5pm
Where: Swagger Gifts
Why: To bust that holiday stress and save 20-40% off any item

Come on in dressed in your tackiest holiday getup and we'll be happy to share in the Christmas spirit with you with Pick-A-Candy-Cane for 20-40% off any one item (excluding already discounted items and local artists)! We only ask that you pretty please let us know that you're there for your candy cane... sometimes we just can't tell this time of year! ;-)

What are you going to do with 7 shopping days left?

Some of the best gifts of the year are still within reach!

You can still order Monogrammed Jewelry and Embroidery in time for a Christmas delivery (cut off date to order is December 18th!), plus Swagger Gifts has just received several boxes of new merchandise including new Firelites, watches, and everyone's favorite... Entertainers (the two-section hot and cold dish carrier that can be monogrammed - pictured below as Kelly's favorite)!



That Santa Claus sure knows how to work a holiday, y'all!

XoXo,
Gina

Trolbeads Trunk Show Starts Today!

Our Holiday Trollbeads Trunk Show is today through this Saturday December 11th!  We are open 10 - 7 Today through Friday and 10 - 5 on Saturday! 

We have several specials that I know you Trollbead Fanatics will LOVE!  We have the new Christmas Bead Release, Jasper, Christmas in Hawaii & Christmas in Australia as well as new unique beads!  Call us or come by for all the details! 

Hope to see you this week!

Christmas Jewelry - Oh My!

What do you guys think?  Do you think I have the Christmas Spirit today?

Merry Christmas Y'all Tshirt - $20

Flashing Bulb Necklace - $5.95

Christmas Earrings & Bracelet starting at $2

Overall Look - Priceless!!

You know you want my look - makes Holiday shopping that much more fun:)!  Or hey - you could always get this stuff for a Tacky Christmas Party - ha!

"The South" Frames & Plaques by Magnolia Lane are back in!

After what seems like FoReVeR - we finally have "The South" frames and plaques (big & small) back in - woohoo!  So now y'all can come and get 'em:)!

Seriously the perfect gift for any or your southern friends - or for one of your yankee friends that now loves living in the south - bless their hearts!:)

Holiday Ordering Deadlines for Personalized Gifts

So I just googled "Days till Christmas" and I almost passed out! It is only 26 days aways - yikes:)! I found this website and put it as a shortcut on my desktop so I can stay on top of it - Christmas Countdown 2010 - Find out how many days until Christmas 2010 !

Don't worry - you can still order personalized items on SwaggerGifts.com and in our store in Cary, NC, but I did want to give out the deadlines so you guys know how long you can procrastinate till:)

Holiday Ordering Deadlines:
Tara's Picture Tiles - December 4th
Tervis Tumbler - December 4th

PSA Stamps - December 10th

Bigwood Cutting Boards - December 11th
Engraved Jewelry & Embroidered Items - December 15th

Danielson Designs - December 15th

Engraved Glassware - December 15th

Well - I'm off to decorate my Christmas tree! Wish me luck - I'm not very good with the lights:)!

Turkey Day Specials and an AwEsOmE Pumpkin Soup Recipe!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!!!  I am hosting my first Thanksgiving in almost 10 years so I hope I don't mess up the Turkey (or my husband's favorite stuffing!)!  So if you guys could send me some good Turkey mojo that would be great!:)

However, I did make an AmAzInG Curried Pumpkin Soup last night - if I do say so myself:)!  No seriously I think it is going to be my new Thanksgiving Eve traditional menu item!  I have posted the recipe at the bottom in case you want to make it - yummmmmmmmmmmm!

I also wanted to post a couple Thanksgiving Day Specials for all you guys who want to start your Black Friday shopping early!  So without further delay - here they are:

Sterling Silver Mother's Pendant - regulary $125 today $100!  I love this with the kids name around it, but a quote or saying looks great too!

Monogrammed Bucket with Bottle Top Opener - regularly $38 today $30!  This is a great gift for a couple!  I use this for all my entertaining - I like to use it as an ice bucket!  It is heat sealed so it doesn't leak and the monogram makes it looks so cute!

Monogrammed Fleece Blanket - regulary $30 today $20!  A great cozy gift for a family! I  have one (of course) with "The Beckers" written in turquoise and I love curling up in front of the TV with it!  AND it looks great draped over the back of my couch.  I think it would be great for a little or teenager girl too!

Merry Christmas Y'all T-shirt - regulary $24.95 today $20!  How cute is this shirt to get you in the Christmas spirit?!?!

We will be open tomorrow with even more Black Friday specials in the store!  I will be working all day and hope to see you guys!

Happy Thanksgiving!




p.s. - Here's the Curried Pumpkin Soup Recipe
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tbsps butter
2 tbsps all-purpose flour
1/2 to 1 tsp curry powder
3 cups vegetable broth
1 can (15 oz) solid pack pumpkin
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Minced chives, optional

In a large saucepan, saute the mushrooms and onion in butter until tender.  Stir in the flour and curry powder until blended.  Gradually add the broth.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Add the pumpkin, milk, honey, salt, pepper and nutmeg; heat through.  Garnish with chives if desired.

Yield: 7 servings

What’s at Swagger Gifts right now? Check it out!

Savvy shoppers know that the selection at Swagger Gifts changes on a daily basis during the holidays, so I thought I'd give you all a sneak peek at what's in the store right this very moment!




If you're on facebook, stop on by the Swagger Gifts page and check out today's photo album that has all of the photos: What’s at Swagger Gifts right now?!



Swagger will be open today - Wednesday, November 24th - from 10:00am until 3:00pm for last-minute Thanksgiving hostess gifts and early Christmas orders and will be closed on Thursday to spend Thanksgiving with our families. (Have no fear, you can always shop 24/7 at SwaggerGifts.com!) The store will re-open on Black Friday with regular hours: 10:00am until 6:00pm. Saturday hours remain 10:00am until 5:00pm.

Happy Shopping!
-Gina

Psst: Swagger will be open on Sundays starting in December 5th!

Gifts with Attitude just in!

Today I realized that I haven't posted many "gifts with attitude" lately, so here are a bunch that we just got in that seriously make me laugh OUT LOUD whenever I see them:)!  These items would be great for stocking stuffers, dirty santa parties, or for that one person that you know would love it!

Do you have a tea lover in your life?  These are great and the fine point on all the boxes is hilarious!

We were crying we were laughing so hard the first time we saw these hand sanitizers!  In case you can't read them - they are OCD, Bitch Smack that Germ, Cleaner than Shit, Smack my Germ Bitch, and our personal favorite here at Swagger -

Maybe you touched your genitals - hahahahaha!  It's funny because it's true!

LOVE IT!

This oversized flask needs no explanation (and it would be perfect for Holidays with the family!)

You know - this mug reminds me - Where the hell IS my personal assistant?

This soap is great!  I especially love -

because I think everyone has one friend that is a Hot Mess:) and I love -

because you know - sometimes it does!

And finally, for the redneck in all of us - a little Jingle Juice to leave out for Santa!

I hope this "gifts with attitude" made you laugh!

Happy 8th Birthday to US!

Today is Swagger's 8th Birthday - I can hardly believe it!  To think 9 years ago I had a nice cushy corporate job - ha!:)  Of course I wouldn't change opening Swagger for the world!  Besides being surrounded by fun cute stuff all day, everyday - my favorite part has been meeting all of you guys.  We say all the time how lucky we are to have the most amazing customers!  That is why I am so happy to be back from living abroad -I missed everyone!   

To celebrate our birthday, we are having our first Peace, Love & Swagger promotion!  Wear your Peace, Love & Swagger t-shirt into the store today and get $5 off any purchase over $25!

Hope to see you soon!  Oh - and if you want to buy a tshirt online click here - proceeds from the sale of the shirt go to Nancy's Butterfly Fund and the North Carolina Coalition against Domestic Violence.

I've Got My Gloves to Keep me Warm!



 I know, I know.  It's only what, 85 degrees outside today?  Why on earth would I be blogging about "keeping warm"? Well, I am a fall and winter weather lover, so i've already put my summer clothes away in hopes that cooler weather will be coming our way!  In anticipation of cold weather, I just have to share with you all one of our newest items- Touch Gloves by Echo!  These are smart gloves for smart phones! Not only are these gloves super cute with ruffle trim and available in fabulous colors, but the thumb and index finger tip are made with Echo's exclusive eLink fabric.  This fabric allows you to interact with your touch screen iPod, iPhone, iPad and many more without removing your gloves!  So, don't let a little cold weather get in the way of dialing, texting, facebooking, app-downloading or whatever else you may be doing- get your hands in some Touch Gloves today! 



Trollbeads Pink Empowerment Beads 2010

Trollbeads Pink Empowerment Beads are in for Breast Cancer Awareness Month!  Come and get them before they are gone!

Trollbeads is proud to offer the Pink Empowerment beads in support of breast cancer awarenes and research.  Empowerment beads are compatible with Trollbeads and other major beaded bracelet lines.  For every Pink Empowerment bead sold, Trollbeads will donate $11 to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, a not for profit organization dedicated to preventing breast cancer and finding a cure in our lifetime. 

We thank you for your support!

Big or Small Let's Save them All T-shirts - Now Available!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and we just got the *Cutest* Breast Cancer Awareness T-shirts in! 

Heather workin' it in her new tee! 



A portion of the proceeds from every shirt purchased goes to the Carol M Bladwin Breast Cancer Research Fund, Inc. which supports both new and established researchers investigating the causes, prevention and treatment of breast cancer. 

(Just so you know - Heahter has on a medium size shirt so I would say they run true to size.)

T-shirts are $25 each or 2 or more for $20 each - to encourage buying one for you and one for a friend.:)  Breast Cancer AWARENESS is the key! 

T-shirts come in S - XL are a "Ladies Fit", so they look cute on!  Available instore only, but if you don't live in or around Cary, NC call us at 877-SWAGGER and we will hook you up!

Limited Edition Assorted 2 Trollbeads are Here!

Oh. My. Gosh!  The very limited edition (and very sought after) Assorted 2 Trollbeads have finally made their way over from Denmark and landed at Swagger Gifts!!!  Aren't they beautiful?! *sigh*

How exciting for them to get here before the end of our Trunk Show!  Come by today to view the NEW Assorted 2 beads (seriously I am going to go broke because they are so beautiful!)!

I know I will see some of you Trollbead Freaks soon!:)

Fall Trollbeads Trunk Show starts TODAY!

The Trunk Show starts TODAY, Tuesday September 21st and runs through Thursday September 23rd. The trunk show is all day 10 - 6 with extended hours till 8 pm on Thursday - for all of you who want to drink wine while you shop or just can't make it before 6 pm! ;)

We are super excited about showing you all the new beads including the Autumn 2010 Release, our brand new unique glass beads that arrived yesterday, unique amber beads, and the Empowerment Beads for Breast Cancer!

We are also offering lots of Trunk Show Specials (choose up to 2 per customer)

• Buy 4 beads and get the 5th bead free!! (5th bead must be of equal or lesser value)
• Receive $25 off a Fantasy Pendant with the Purchase of a Fantasy Necklace!
• Buy 2 sets of Earring Accessories and receive a free pair of Silver Hooks!
• Receive a free bracelet with the purchase of a decorative clasp!

We love this Wine Harvest theme for a Fall inspired bracelet!

You could also Win a $400 Trollbeads Bracelet!

Help cure cancer by donating to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at Swagger Gifts! And to sweeten the deal - every $10 donation gets you one shot at winning a $400 Trollbeads bracelet!

The winner of the bracelet will be drawn this Thursday Night, September 23, at 7 pm! Click here for more details!

Here's the bracelet YOU could win!

See you this week!

I want to be the Deep Fried Ambassador for the NC State Fair!

So I know what you are thinking - THE WHAT?!?!  Yes, the Deep Fried Ambassador.  And I think I would qualify.  My family and I have eaten EVERY deep fried item found at the NC State Fair!

Hmmmm.  My niece pondering. What can we eat next...

Deep fried Oreos.  Check.  Deep Fried Pecan Pie.  Check.  Deep Fried Cheese.  Check.  Deep Fried Candy Bars.  Triple Check.  Deep Friend Coke.  Yes - Coke.  Check!!!  And the list could seriously go on. 

But we don't stop there.  We eat everything else too.  And we check out the competitions, livestock, Village of Yesteryear, the rides (LOVE the rides), games - we've even purchased a bunch of stuff from the Commercial and Education Building booths (you know - the stuff that basically looks like it should be on an infomercial)! We leave no rock unturned - deep fried or not.

We love the candy apples!



I'm even cutting a vacation to Greece short to attend the NC State Fair with my family this year.  GREECE people!  Yeah - my husband isn't thrilled with this decision, but strangely he understands my obsession with the fair! 

The NC State Fair is good old fashioned family bonding FUN!  My sisters and their 5 children even travel in from other states to go to the fair!  We are a Fair Junkie Family! 

Do we look like we can rock the State Fair - or what?!?!

Last year we were living in Switzerland during the NC State Fair and I CRIED because I couldn't go.  Real tears.  But my family was so gracious to Skype me with their cute painted faces, prizes, and stuffed bellies.  (Thanks guys you really know how to make a girl feel better.)

OKAY - what's my point here.  I want to be the Deep Fried Ambassador to the NC State Fair (yes this is a real (really awesome) title bestowed upon one lucky person), but I CAN'T :( .  I can't because I don't arrive back from our trip to Greece until October 14th and the Deep Fried Ambassador's official duties start on October 11th.  *sigh*

So I'm telling all of you guys about it so maybe one of you bloggers out there will get the title and possibly let me tag along one day.  I even promise to carry your winnings, hold your fried food, kiss a carnie (okay - not really) - but you get the point!  I NEED one of my friends/customers to WIN THE TITLE of DEEP FRIED AMBASSADOR! 

If you are interested (and why wouldn't you be?), here is the link to the NC State Fair Deep Fried Blog post where you can get all the details.  And if you win, will you put in a good word for me for next year?!  I would appreciate it!

Long live the NC STATE FAIR and fried food!:)





p.s. - You can even "like" the NC State Fair on Facebook!  Heck yeah!

Trollbeads World Tour hits Germany!

Trollbeads is currently going on a World Tour!  Each month Trollbeads is "visiting" a new country where they will introduce four new beads exploring the history, culture, and charming quirks of that corner of the globe.   The World Tour collection is available only in it's homeland.

The first country they visited was Denmark (of course)!  Denmark is where Trollbeads originated so it makes perfect sense that they would start there!  The beads designed for Denmark were a Viking Ship, Design Troll, Anemone, and Runes.  You can check them out on Trollbeads Universe here. 

Once they started selling the beads in Denmark they announced the next country on the list would be Germany - arriving in September 2010!  Which I was super excited about, because I was also arriving in Germany in September 2010:)!  Hamburg, Germany to be precise - the weekend of September 3-6.
The Trollbeads Universe website said September 2010, but not an exact date, so I kept my fingers crossed that they would be there when I arrived on September 3rd!

My husband and I went to Germany to visit our good friends, Miriam and James, and when they asked if we had any "must see" things while in Hamburg, I said "YES - we have to go to a Trollbeads store!:)"  I'm guessing they weren't expecting that, but hey I knew they would take us to all the other cool places!

So, not even 3 hours after arriving in Hamburg we found the first Trollbeads Shop on my list!  "Where are your special  Deutschland World Tour beads?" I asked the friendly sales clerk.  "I'm sorry they don't come out until September 15th" she said.

What?  Booooooooh!  That put a damper on things.:(

I asked the sales clerk a few questions like, do you know what they are, do you have pictures of them, can you mail them to me in the USA.  No, No and No.  :( 

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Oh well - I tried. 

A couple hours later, we passed by another store that sold Trollbeads - the name was easy to remember from my "Trollbead stores in Hamburg research", Becker's Jewelers (my last name is Becker - we're German:)).  Of course, this only made me more depressed. 

James told me I should go in.  WHY?!?!  He said he had a good feeling about this store.  Dude - no good feelings - THEY HAVEN'T COME OUT YET.  But he pushed us all in any way.  And low and behold...

THEY HAD THEM!!!

And not only the beads, but also beautiful brochures about what they meant and special boxes just for the World Tour beads - ah-mazing!  The four beads (which have now come out on the Trollbeads Universe website) are a Gnome, VW bug, Brandenburg Gate, and The Frog Prince.

I was in TROLLBEAD HEAVEN!  I was the first person to come in and ask for them (probably because they weren't supposed to come out for another 2 weeks!), so I got my pick of the litter!  (And if you know about Trollbeads, you know that all the glass ones look slightly different so this was awesome!)

Now which one(s) do I want?:)  Hmmmmm.

Well - living in Zurich (the German part of Switzerland), gave me a new obsession for Gnomes!  Yes weird, I know!  But they remind me of all our hikes in the Alps, because seriously they are in EVERYONE'S yards!  You have no idea how many pictures I took of gnomes and gnome gardens.:)  So I HAD to get the gnome...

Isn't he so cute!!!  Every time I look down at him I smile!

Then there was the Frog Prince.  I loved the Brother's Grimm when I was little, and this bead with the cute frog with a crown on his head and with a beautiful green glass ball under him.  You KNOW I had to get him too...

 Don't you just want to kiss him to see if he turns into a prince?!

Yeah for great Trollbead KARMA!  I'm not sure how that worked out in my favor, but I'm not asking any questions!  I know the beads were released officially Today, so I am one lucky Trollbead FREAK:)!

I had to get a photo in front of the "Becker" store with all my goodies! 

It had to have been Becker FATE! 

Today they also announced that the next country will be ITALY!!!  The beads will be available some time in October.  Italy is my favorite European country so HOW AM I GOING TO GET TO ITALY before I leave Europe and move back to the United States on October 14th?!  I'm working on it and will let you know;)

So my final question.  It was announced that the World Tour will be stopping in the USA some time in 2011 (no I don't know the dates).  What four beads do you think they will design to represent the USA?  A McDonald's arch or a Starbuck's coffee cup?:)  But seriously...

WHAT IS OUR U.S.A. STORY?