Savvy Shopper

Looking for a something unique and special for Valentine's Day? We wanted to suggest to our readers that you consider a couple's photo shoot for the romantic holiday.


Call around ... some local photographers may be offering specials for the holiday. Ask whether they have props or scenery that will help you make a special romantic photo for Valentine's Day. Photographers who specialize in weddings may have the best ideas for poses, scenery, and props.





Silhouettes can be very effective, and black and whites can be classic and dramatic. Candlelight can be very flattering and adds instant romance. Various effects can be used to soften and dramatize photos as well.


There are two ways to use a photo shoot for the romantic holiday. One way is to have yourself photographed in a shot guaranteed to make your beloved's heart flutter and present the photo as a gift, complete with a beautiful frame (and a wallet-sized photo to carry around so you'll always be there for them!). A nice presentation might be a double-frame, with the photo of yourself in one half, and a special poem or sentiment in the other half.






The second can't be a surprise, but would be a lot of fun. Plan a photo shoot with your beloved, and make it a date. Find an accommodating photographer (it might be a good idea to explain what you have in mind beforehand) and enjoy yourselves. Consider a park with early flowers, the beach, a grove of trees, or some other romantic setting. The photographer might even thank you, if it gives them an idea for marketing the holiday to other couples.






Think of things that you both enjoy, or special items, that might make your photos more personal and take them along to be used as props. Dress up, make yourselves look good, have fun with it, and let your love for one another shine for the camera. Afterwards, you're all dressed up and looking fantastic, so treat yourselves and go out and enjoy a wonderful, romantic evening on the town!

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Want to do something really unique for Valentine's Day? How about a romantic getaway! There are lots of romantic destinations for couples to consider, ranging from fairly local (wherever you live, there's bound to be a romantic place nearby!) to world-famous to fit any budget.

There are actually two ways to give a romantic vacation as a gift for Valentine's Day (or any other occasion). One option to plan the vacation yourself and surprise your sweetheart with the tickets. Wrap them up in a box with travel brochures, pamphlets on area attractions, clothing or accessories suited to your chosen destination, such as a bathing suit or sunglasses for a beach getaway. Surprises can be a lot of fun, both in the planning and in seeing the reaction of your love when they open your gift.

Another option is to plan to vacation together, if you can't get away for the trip on short notice, or if for another reason you'd rather not book the trip before the holiday. You can actually double your enjoyment in this way. In this case, give the idea as a gift on Valentine's Day. You can buy something, like the accessories, and wrap them up as a gift, then when your sweetheart opens them (and maybe looks at you questioningly, especially if you’re giving a bathing suit for Valentine’s Day and you live where there’s snow on the ground outside!) … that’s the time to spring your surprise. Or include a card with a “coupon” for a fabulous romantic getaway to a destination to be named later. Another fun idea is to take a travel brochure with photos of people, and cut out their faces, affixing photos of you and your sweetheart behind inside the brochure so your faces adorn the slick presentation of your romantic getaway.

Then you can decide together where to go, visit travel agencies or websites, maybe check some books out at the library and spend a few afternoons browsing them, and exploring possibilities, spending quality time together as you have fun with the planning, making the trip that much more exciting as you savor your plans together.

You are the best judge of which would give you the best results. Some people don’t like surprises, and wouldn’t enjoy having something like a vacation decision “sprung” on them. Others get too flustered with planning, and there might be more strain caused by trying to work out the details than fun. Either way, enjoy your trip!

We'll be featuring some romantic destinations (and tips for saving money on them!) in upcoming posts.

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Valentine's Day is almost here, and we're looking for unique gift ideas to share with you!

One of the top websites for all things romantic is TheRomantic.com. Filled with creative and unique ideas, suggestions for romantic movies and gifts, fun things to do together, ways to make your loved one feel special, and much more, this website is a treasure trove for romance seekers. One of the best parts is that, while designed for couples, the website and all of its ideas and suggestions are basically "clean" and nothing raunchy or degrading is included.

Featured romantic gift ideas include a message in a beautiful bottle, a personalized novel, and a couples' computer game called "Bliss." By exploring the site, you will find a great many more suggestions for all kinds of creative things suitable for Valentine's Day and year-round romance.

You can also subscribe to the weekly newsletter from the website, which includes weekly ideas for romancing your loved one. The following ideas for Best Valentine's Day Gift Ideas are taken from the newsletter, and seemed especially appropriate for sharing in this post. (You can subscribe to this free newsletter - The Romantic Tip of the Week - as well as others on the homepage of TheRomantic.com.)

From The Romantic Tip of the Week

1. Above all, give a gift that is personal. Why give a dozen red
roses if your sweetheart just LOVES yellow ones? Don't give a
generic box of chocolates without thinking a way to personalize
the gift (try little notes under each chocolate). Think about a
gift that would have a special meaning to the two of you. Everyone
gives flowers and candy. Can you do something different?

2. Try to be a bit creative. You can buy an ordinary card or you
can create your own. Do a twist on a traditional gift that shows you
put thought into it. Everyone has an artist side - find yours. Or
at least steal someone else's creative idea that works.

3. If you are still wondering if your idea is good, ask some of
your friends or co-workers of the opposite gender what they think
about it.

4. Wrap it up! Even an ordinary gift can become extra-ordinary by
doing a unique wrapping job on it.

5. When all else fails, create a romantic dinner for two. The time
and effort spent on the meal would melt anyone's heart.

This newsletter is one we have subscribed to and enjoyed for years, and we thought this a great time to share it with our readers. The website is also good for days worth of browsing. So take time to visit TheRomantic.com while planning your upcoming Valentine's Day!

(Text as noted above as well as image are from TheRomantic.com and used by permission granted on website.)

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The internet is a valuable tool for researching all kinds of information when shopping, whether for actual goods like digital cameras or computer accessories, or services such as those of an attorney or plumber, or even more important decisions as when you are seeking a mortgage lender or a college to attend. Online articles offering advice for any of these topics and hundreds more are readily available. It is usually a good idea to search for and read a number of articles to determine which offer sound advice, since anyone can post anything online. For example, if you wish to find a medical technology college, there are articles available just one click away from a search result. Once you have the basic information you need to proceed, you can then begin your search by visiting school websites, such as http://www.sbnewyork.com/ which tell about their programs and generally offer a contact form for requesting more information.

Whatever you are seeking, there is plenty of information available to help you make a good decision. The important part is finding whose advice can best be trusted, so that you start your search with the best possible information. Don't overlook product review sites, consumer resource magazines such as Consumer Reports, and online consumer resources like Consumerworld.

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Now that the Christmas trees and decorations are (hopefully!) put away, maybe you are looking around your home and things feel a little dreary. It might be a little early for spring cleaning yet, but maybe you are thinking of ways to spruce things up and make some changes -- kind of a new start in your home to go along with the new year. But as savvy shoppers, we want to find ways to make big impact without having to plunk down payments for a big cost. Two of the best ways to do this are with either paint or rugs (or both!).

For this post, we're going to focus on area rugs. Area rugs can instantly "dress" a room and make it feel finished. On uncarpeted floors, you gain the advantage of both visual and actual added warmth as well as dampening of noise and echo. (And echo is one of the factors that so easily make a home feel unfinished or too empty.) Area rugs can serve to visually anchor your furniture grouping and are a favorite tool of interior designers. They also help to define areas within a room, such as when a large area rug is used as a frame around a dining area that is part of an open design, or when it is used within a seating arrangement to make it feel cozy and welcome people in.

There are so many designs available, you are sure to find one that suits your style. Oriental Rugs
are among the most popular. The style is so well established that oriental rugs are easily at home in a variety of room styles, from Victorian to traditional and many others. Traditional Oriental designs are not the only choice, however. There are other Asian patterns, geometric designs, designs that resemble scenery and incorporate elements of nature, patchwork patterns, designs with contemporary flair, mosaics, Southwest influence, cottage designs, botanicals, and too many more to list. Shapes are not limited to rectangles but also include ovals for some designs.

So remember rugs, when it comes time to make a big statement in a room all at once! But this is one of those purchases where you are better off to do your homework and be sure to select a product that is high in quality, even if it costs a little more, because it will have to stand up to footwear and is only as valuable as its good looks. Make sure the rug you are considering is high quality, and then seek the best price available.

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We've checked into a number of websites offering free ringtones. Generally speaking, receiving free ringtones involves a subscription service to be billed monthly to your wireless phone. For your payment, you receive a set number of credits to redeem for ringtones of your choice. Sometimes you have the option of downloading wallpapers and other cool items to personalize your phone, and some services even offer games in exchange for your credits.

Polyphonic ringtones create multiple notes at the same time, as opposed to the older phones that offered only a single note at a time. As a result, polyphonic ringtones offer a more realistic music sound.

Whether you are looking for Hip Hop, Country, Rock, Kids' Songs, Pop, R&B, or Dance Ringtones, check out the wide selection offered. Some of our favorites are the more unusual ones, such as the animal sounds and the movie theme song ringtones.

Why be one of dozens digging for your phone when that same old beeping song starts to play and no one can tell whose phone is ringing? Treat yourself to a ringtone as unique as you are! But don't expect to get them for free, no matter what the ad says, until you read ALL the fine print.

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If tennis is your sport, we've found a great online tennis store that offers a huge selection of tennis rackets, shoes, apparel, balls, strings, bags, grips and overgrips, and accessories ranging from shock dampeners and court equipment to posters, dvd's, and books. Whatever you are looking for, check TennisPlaza.com (voted #1 retailer by RSI magazine). There is also a physical storefront located in Miami, Florida, and the website offers information in Spanish and Portuguese as well as English.

When purchasing shoes for the tennis court, it is of greatest importance to buy the right type of shoe. Running shoes, for example, have thick cushioning built into the heel to soften impact on straight-ahead running, but lack the support needed to protect the ankle when moving quickly to the side and can leave the player vulnerable to ankle injuries on the court. View detailed information on both women's and men's tennis shoes in order to make a good selection tailored to your particular needs.

When shopping for tennis rackets, you have a wide variety of quality brands to choose from, including Babolat Rackets, Dunlop Rackets, Head Rackets, Prince Rackets, Tecnifibre Rackets, Volkl Rackets, Wilson Rackets, and Yonex Rackets. Occasionally there may be used rackets offered for sale at discounted prices, but many styles of new rackets are available and the images on file allow you to zoom in for a close-up view of your racket before purchasing. Your racket will be custom made to your specifications regarding grip size, the type of string you prefer, and the tension you order. You have the option to have the logo added to your racket, or leave it off. Detailed technical specifications were available for every racket we viewed, and most include a discussion of the particular racket's construction and details about its performance during the game.

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One of the best ways to make sure that you are getting a good value for your dollar is to purchase quality goods. Even if you spend more, it can be more than worth the extra expense. One example is with vacuum cleaners. There are many brands available, but in my experience, one of the very best is Hoover vacuum cleaners.

My aunt used to own a Hoover vacuum cleaner that she bought used, at already ten years old. She continued to use it several times a week to vacuum several large carpeted rooms for quite a few years, and ended up finally reselling it for more than she orginally paid for it. It was rather beat-up, eventually dingy-looking, and certainly not sleek, but it never needed repairs in the time she owned it, and the people she sold it to were quite pleased with it as well.

Another useful tool for savvy shoppers involves consumer ratings. There are a large number of online rating sites, as well as the popular published magazines like Consumer Reports and Consumer Reviews. The strength of published sites is that they tend to compare different brands with standardized testing methods, giving a good comparison of performance and reliability. The strength of online ratings sites that offer ratings for everything from digital cameras to Hoover vacuum cleaners to computer components and much more lies in the variety of responses from people who visit the site and submit their reviews. You are much more likely to get a practical overview from sites like these, such as "The cord wrapping mechanism is too difficult to unlatch" or similar comments. If there are enough responses posted, you can also get an idea of whether or not the product tends to include lemons.

When you find a reliable online rating site you like, be sure to bookmark it because it will be a valuable resource to return to later.

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