Pee Pee Tee-pees on Brothers and Sisters

So last night I was catching up on all my DVRed shows and was so excited to see Pee Pee Tee-pees on my FaVoRiTe Show - Brothers and Sisters! If you do not watch this show - you really need to! (Especially if you have brothers and sisters -the family dynamics are "real" and it will probably make you feel like your family is more normal!:) )

Here is the clip from the show:

Pee Pee Tee-pee Poem

Changing a baby girl is not all glitz and glory;

Changing a baby boy is an even bigger horror story.

You hold his feet in one hand, and the diaper in the other;

The whole time praying,

"Please don't pee on your mother!"

This is a great gift for all the new baby boy moms - cute and functional - Pee Pee Tee-pees are "the cure for the sprinkling wee"! I just gave a set to one of my friends and she loves them! The Pee Pee Tee-pees come in cars, airplanes, and firetrucks in packs of 5 for $10. You can purchase them on our website HERE.

Thursday Morning Good Karma

Thursdays are always insane for me (and unfortunately, I can't use the whole "it's a Monday thing" as an excuse)... so I like to start the day off with a little bit of good karma.Swagger Gifts raises funds (nearly $1,300!) and awareness for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!

Read the whole scoop here:
https://www.swaggergifts.com/pr_2008_preview_party_successI think that's a good fit!

Three Cheers for Swagger Gifts!

Three cheers for the three different Maggy Awards categories that Swagger has been nominated in this year! (And many thanks to everyone who nominated Swagger for Best Bath Store, Best Boutique, and Area's Best Gift Shop!)

Please cast your votes online - voting has just opened!

A BIG Thank You to the readers of The Cary News!!

I wanted to express my gratitude to all the people who voted for Swagger in the annual Best of the West awards! We were so excited to find out that we were voted "Best Of" in three pretty major categories and received honorable mention in three more! There isn't a Best Gift Shop category so we were truly honored when we won Best Place to Buy a Gift for A Woman as this is a write in vote and there are so many different places to buy gifts for women! Also, I guess it goes to show that women love their "costume jewelry" as much as the real stuff when we were voted Best Place to buy Jewelry! And finally -Best Women's Boutique! We really appreciated this last one as their are tons of great women's boutiques in Western Wake! At your request we will be adding more "fashion pieces" in the form of tights, jackets, scarves, and pashminas in the next few weeks so make sure to check in often! Swagger received honorable mention for Best Customer Service, Best Place to buy a gift for a man, and Best Kept Secret! Thank you for all your support!

Retail Gossip!

I know you're all dying to know... so here's your scoop on Swagger's buzz this week:
Cary’s Swagger Gifts Celebrates “National Independent Retailers Week” by Saluting Local Independent Retailers

(Cary, NC) – Mandy Becker, owner of Swagger Gifts, has announced that the popular gift and accessories retail store, will celebrate National Independent Retailers Week by offering 20% off any one item for all local shoppers and fellow small business owners.
The event, which began on July 20th, 2008 and runs until July 26th, 2008 was designed by Profits+Plus for Small Business to “celebrate and promote those who own and manage the thousands of independent retail businesses around the world”, according to the ProfitsPlus.org website.
Swagger Gifts is participating in the event to raise awareness about the many inherent benefits of shopping locally and supporting the Triangle’s numerous small, independent retailers. “As a small business owner, I’m very aware of how shopping locally keeps hard-earned money within one’s own community,” says Becker, “and that’s hard to beat these days!” In addition to the revenue that stays predominately more local than when compared to big-box retailers with nationwide presence, local small businesses are incredibly active in local philanthropic and civic causes, continuing to give back in their own local communities.
As a special way of paying homage to other local independent retailers, Swagger will feature their staff members’ favorite recommendations for local shopping options in a host of categories every day this week on their blog at http://www.SwaggerGifts.com/blog.
Located in the heart of the Lochmere neighborhood in Cary, Swagger Gifts is located at 2425 Kildaire Farm Road and is open from 10am until 6pm, Monday through Friday, and from 10am until 5pm on Saturdays. Shoppers who cannot make it to the store, or who will be outside of the area, are encouraged to support their favorite Triangle-based retailers by shop online from www.SwaggerGifts.com at any time, from any location – continuing to invest purchases in their own community even when shopping online.
For more information about Swagger Gifts, please contact Mandy Kratus Becker at Swagger Gifts, 919-858-5884 or toll free at 877-792-4437 or visit the store online at www.SwaggerGifts.com. Becker can also be reached via email at Mandy@SwaggerGifts.com for additional comments or information.

About Swagger Gifts
Swagger Gifts, an upscale boutique with an eclectic flair, specializes in personalized gifts for everyone on your list - including yourself - has been in business for five years and has been voted the 'Best Gift Shop- by Cary Magazine readers. Having recently re-launched their web site, everything offered in their store, as well as great gift giving advice can be found online at www.SwaggerGifts.com – with new merchandise and features being added daily, including a blog authored by Mandy, her fabulous staff, and her customers in the blogging community!As if you needed another reason to read Swagger's blog on a daily basis (are we in your daily read feed yet?), we will be posting lots of our favorite local shopping recommendations this week... starting today! Be sure to email or link your friends if we recommend something that's just what they've been looking for!

Shop for the Cure on Friday at Swagger!

Have you heard the good news? If you're on facebook like me - be sure to check out the event invitation online and invite some friends! If you're not on facebook, you sure are missing out, but I'll let it slide... this time.
Here's the scoop - courtesy of the latest press release from Swagger just this morning!
Cary’s Swagger Gifts to Donate Portion of Days Sales to Breast Cancer Research
(Cary, NC) – Mandy Becker, owner of Swagger Gifts, has announced that the popular gift and accessories retail store, will donate 10% of its in-store and online proceeds on Friday June 6th, to the Chix in Business Team participating in the 12th Annual 2008 Komen NC Triangle Race for the Cure, supporting breast cancer patients and survivors and the ongoing efforts aimed at finding a cure for the disease.
Swagger Gifts is participating on the Chix in Business Team as part of the entire effort benefiting the NC Triangle Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Becker has served as board member of Chix in Business in the past, coordinating and contributing to several projects for the organization.
Becker is no stranger to philanthropy shopping events, either. Swagger Gifts is locally known for its annual Holiday Open House which attracts shoppers from all over the Triangle and raises hundreds of dollars for a different local charity each year. “Contributing to a better life for everyone in our community is something that’s very important to not only those of us at Swagger, but for our customers, as well”, says Becker. “Almost everyone I know, myself included, has been personally affected at some point in their life by breast cancer, whether personally, or through a family member or close friend, so we are more than thrilled to be part of Chix’s participation in this cause.”
Located in the heart of the Lochmere neighborhood in Cary, Swagger Gifts is located at 2425 Kildaire Farm Road and will be open from 10am until 6pm on Friday, June 6th for the event. Shoppers who cannot make it to the store or who will be outside of the area, are encouraged to support the shopping day by purchasing online from http://www.swaggergifts.com/ at any time, from any location, on the same day.
Chix in Business, Inc. is a Triangle-area community of passionate women business owners who support and educate each other through building personal and business relationships, information sharing, seminars, mentoring and community outreach. For more information on Chix in Business, Inc., visit their website: http://www.chixinbusiness.org/.
For more information on the 12th Annual 2008 Komen NC Triangle Race for the cure, please visit the event website: http://www.komennctriangle.org/race-for-the-cure.php.
For more information about Swagger’s special fundraising event, please contact Mandy Kratus Becker at Swagger Gifts, 919-858-5884 or toll free at 877-792-4437 or visit the store online at http://www.swaggergifts.com/.
About Swagger Gifts
Swagger Gifts, an upscale boutique with an eclectic flair, specializes in personalized gifts for everyone on your list - including yourself - has been in business for five years and has been voted the 'Best Gift Shop- by Cary Magazine readers. Having recently re-launched their web site, everything offered in their store, as well as great gift giving advice can be found online at http://www.swaggergifts.com/ – with new merchandise and features being added daily, including a blog authored by Mandy, her fabulous staff, and her customers in the blogging community!

Every Now and Again, A Girl's Just Gotta Brag!

Of course, it's wayyyy cooler when you get to do it about one of your friends rather than yourself!
I have always gone to Swagger's owner, Mandy Becker, for gift-giving advice. From the traditional to the trendy, her gift-giving taste is impeccable and it's a "gift" she uses to help others just like me select personal and appreciated gifts for friends, family, co-workers, professional acquaintances, neighbors, and more.
Apparently, Swagger's most-frequest customers aren't the only ones who have noticed: Mandy was honored in this month's Realtor® Review! The editorial team behind REALTOR® Review tapped Mandy as an industry expert in the feature article Thank You Gifts – When Words Are Not Enough.
For Becker, tying her two professional backgrounds together, gives her a unique opportunity to show her clients just how much they mean to her as a real estate broker, and she shares her knack for selecting unique and functional gifts with the entire REALTOR® community in the article. “The key with items like this is to provide something unique and useful,” Becker noted when being interviewed for the article.
“The most successful gift of this type will be something the recipient uses again and again and hopefully, thinks of us when they do.” As a fellow entrepreneur, Mandy is aware of the value of time and limitations that business owners face when investing in client gifts. She noted in the interview that “many agents select a particular gift to be sent to all of their clients… but what can make each one unique is personalization or engraving”.
A Monthly Publication of the Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS®, Realtor® Review keeps local REALTORS® informed of not only pressing industry challenges and opportunities, but provides insight into how agents can continually develop the ever-important relationships between an agent and their client.
The full article featuring Mandy Becker and Swagger Gifts can be found online at: http://www.trianglemls.com//rrar-mayrr08-thank_you-gifts.htm.
To read about the personalized gifts that Mandy recommends to other REALTORS®, her coveted-selections are detailed here on SwaggerGifts.com at: http://www.swaggergifts.com/realtorgifts!
Want to check out the official press release online? Please feel free to read the scoop on PRLog.org or PR-Inside.com!