Interwebz

iomoi is a website I frequently turn to for gifts, especially hostess gifts.

I love the fact that you can customize almost everything they sell and that their products are both timeless and modern- a rare but ideal combination. And with prices under $50 for a lot of their items, how can you go wrong?

They specialize in paper products (including e-mail stationary!), but also offer handbags, scarfs, belts, loafers, trays, pillows, coasters, ice buckets, paperweights, desk accessories and so much more.

I frequently stock up on their notepad and bamboo pen sets, as I think they make a great hostess gift. Plus, the designs make the gifts unique. Two of my favourites are:

Ubud pattern in Navy

and

My Favorite Charms

They have tons of options for designs, but I really love:

 Canary Islands Green & Navy 

and

Fishers Island Blue & White 

Check out their website, you might just find that perfect gift you've been searching for or the ideal stationary pattern for yourself.

Interwebz

I was recently introduced to Print What You Like.

We have all come across something online we'd like to print. But when we got to print, we end up printing a ton of stuff we weren't interested- such as ads, pictures or even irrelevant information.

This website will solve that issue. It's super easy to use and it allows you to print exactly what you'd like to print from a website.

All you have to do is go to the website, enter the url for the page that you'd like to print and hit start. It will then open the url in page with an editing tool bar on the side. You can 'hide' the background, pictures and margins with a simple click. You can also change the text font (which is useful if the page font is hard to read) and the text size.

You can also easily remove portions of the page, such as headlines and paragraphs of text.
I've used this website to print pages with recipes. I don't need to print the headers or backgrounds of the page. Nor do I need to print the portion where the recipe is the authors great-great-great-great-great grandmothers and the only thing she brought over with her from Europe. I don't need to know the history or how it has been passed down for generations. I just want the recipe, the step by step portion!

If you frequently print from websites, definitely take a look at Print What You Like. Super easy to use, I love it and highly recommend it!

Interwebz

Maybe a year or so ago, I heard of this great website; Kiva.org.

This websites allows you to make a loan for as little as $25 to someone starting out in business. Your loan helps the business person establish or grow their business and support and provide for their family. Most of these loans got to third world countries to people who may not be able maintain their business if it weren't for the loans from Kiva.

All people asking for loans are screened by the organization before they are listed on the website. As someone who is interested in giving a loan, you visit the website and look at the profiles of the people applying for a loan. YOU get to pick who you would like to invest in! These are people from around the world, different ages, and a variety of business- such as agricultural, retail or service (ie tailor). You will get updates on how the business you invested in is doing.

The receiver of your loan will work towards paying you back, with a payment rate of over 98%. But like any investment, there is no guarantee that you will get all of your money back. The website has more information on this. When you get your loan paid back to you, you have the option of loaning it to someone else or pulling the money out to spend elsewhere. Or even donating it to the Kiva organization so they can run (100% of your loan goes to the receiver of your loan, none of it goes towards running the organization).

So if you happen to have an extra $25 sitting around and you don't know what to do with consider lending a loan via Kiva. Or, if you would just like to help someone out. Either way- or for more information- visit kiva.org.

Interwebz

A few weeks ago, I was introduced to the website Polyvore.

There are so many things that I love about this site.

I love the different pieces of art, but I am an art lover.

I love the interior design ideas, as I'm always looking for unique and creatives ideas for my house and even my office.

The main focus of the site is fashion!  You can shop on the site by either brand, category (ie skirts) or even by trend, which makes it super easy to find what you are looking for. It is an interactive site, so you can ask questions and get answers from other members.

Hands down, my favourite part of the website is the 'create' part. This allows you to pull together outfits. You can drag in different outfit elements, like shoes, dresses and accessories, to see how they will look together. It's a great way to plan out outfits and also to see how specific pieces you are interested in buying will integrate into your existing wardrobe- see how that $500 top you are thinking about investing in will look with skirts, pants and shorts you already own.

If you have any interest in fashion, even just a tiny bit, head over to this site and see what it's all about.

Interwebz

This is the last Saturday of January and January is Alzheimer Awareness Month. So, in honour of this month and with Alzheimer Society of Canada launching a new website, I thought that it would be fitting for today's website to be Alzheimer Society's new website.

From this site, you can easily access the provincial and local chapter sites. It not only has information about dementia- explaining different dementias and Alzheimer's disease, information on getting a diagnosis, understanding behaviour, etc- but also information on living with the disease- for both people living with the disease and caregivers, information of safety, treatment and advance care planning and more.

You can find out how the Society can help you. This can be education, information and training. Provincial and local chapters also offer support groups, volunteer companion programs, music and pet therapy programs and valuable resources. The website also has information on how you can get involved via fundraising, donating and volunteering. And of course, information on the latest research.

I really like the Brain Booster part of the website. This has:

• Information on fitness- was that you can easily build fitness into your daily routine and lifestyle. There are even specific sections for everyone from children to older adults.
• Puzzles- a variety of puzzles to do that will keep your brain active and healthy.
• Recipes- easy and healthy.

This site has tons of information and with the new design is easy to navigate. Definitely go take a look!

Interwebz

A friend of mine recently introduced me to picnik.com.

This is a photo editing website and because it is closing in April, ALL features are currently FREE! It's really easy to use. Just upload a photo and use the tools to edit your photo. Tools include adding themed stickers and boarders to changing photo colours, adding make-up, tans and airbrushing. You can also make teeth whiter, get rid of wrinkles or reduce red eye. With this site, you can make sure you always look your best in photos. There's even a feature to make you look thinner! It's a fun site. I like turning my photos into polaroid's and I love the before & after feature.

Interwebz

January is Alzheimer Awareness Month so I feel that I should recommend the official website for the 2012 Awareness Campaign: Let's Face It.

On the site you can find information about Alzheimer's disease and related dementia's and how to contact your local Alzheimer Society, who will help you through the services and programs that they offer- most of them free of charge. Your local Society will also be able to help answer any questions you way and navigate life after an Alzheimer's disease or dementia diagnosis for either you or a loved one.

The site also has the results of a survey done by over 950 caregivers, with a focus on the respondents knowledge of warning signs and their willingness to get an early diagnosis. 44% of respondents waited a year before seeing a doctor for a diagnosis and 75% wish they had gotten a diagnosis sooner.

The focus of this years campaign is early diagnosis and the importance of it. You can get information on getting a diagnosis as well as information on brain health and how to prepare for a doctor's visit. You will also get personal stories for people with the disease, caregivers and family members.

Tons of useful information... so, go over to the site and take a look.

Interwebz

With today being new Year's Eve, I thought that a good website for this week would be Start A Resolution.
I stumbled across this website and really liked the concept. You enter your resolution (and then creat an account). The person who signed up before you, becomes your coach and the person who signs up after you becomes the person you coach. This helps you stay involved in the community and helps motivate you to keep your resolution.
Regardless if you make a New Year's resolution or not, I hope everyone has a great and SAFE NYE!

PLEASE NOTE:

If you're planning on going to any parties on New Year's, pay attention. Don't drink and drive - and don't ride with anybody who does.

Tipsy Tow is offered by AAA/CAA. You don't have to be a AAA/CAA member, from 6pm-6am on New Year's Eve/Day they will take your drunk ass and your car home for FREE. Save this number... 1-800-222-4357 .

This is nationwide In Canada and the US. Drunk driving kills...

Interwebz

With Christmas days away, I've decided that this weeks entries will have a 'Christmas' theme. 

I have two websites this week:

Portable North Pole is website where you can have a custom message from Santa! It's super easy to set up the video! Messages can be customized for children or adults, and you can also indicate if they are on the 'naughty' or 'nice list'. Just fill in a few details about the recipient and you're done! The videos are cute and kinda funny.

NORAD Santa Tracker This is one of my favourite websites! NORAD tracks Santa. There's a map and you can see all the places he's been already, where he currently is and where his next stop will be (with a count down as to when he'll arrive). The map is interactive- There's a Santa icon on the map so you can see where he actually is, but after he leaves, it turns into a wrapped present. If you click on the present, it tells you the location and shows a picture. There is also an icon on the map for Santa Cam, which shows different parts of the World (ie Great Wall of China). This is a really great, fun website. I'm 27 and still check it out every year.

Interwebz

The website I'm going to recommend this week is milkandbookies.org.

Milk & Bookies is actually a non-profit organization that is a literacy initiative. It also teaches children about the importance of giving. Literacy and closing the education gap are important topics in today's society. Equally important is teaching kids about philanthropy so that when they are older, they continue to give back to the communities that they are apart of.

You can host your own Milk and Bookies event as away to support this super great organization. Or you can buy their book Sweet Pete- which makes a FANTASTIC Christmas present- with the proceeds going towards this great cause.