It’s a wonderful world these days where it is now sooooo easy to organize your photos and publish your own photo book full of memories.

Giving a custom-made, personalized photo book is a fantastic gift, and practically guaranteed to WOW!! the recipient.

Unless, you don’t take great pictures, or if slap something together as quickly as possible, or the person receiving the photo book doesn’t like the memories you are presenting….

There are so many occasions that fit this kind of present – anniversaries, graduations, birthdays, thank-you’s, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day (maybe), and even just-because.

Most people already have their own personal favorite photo-sharing website, but here’s a quick list just in case you don’t have a favorite yet:

	PhotoWorks
	Shutterfly
	Snapfish
	Blurb
	Vistaprint
	MyPublisher

Have fun creating your photo book, and get ready for the crazy amount of praise you are going to get!

For a twist on giving the gift of photo memories, you might look at creating an online video out of your pics:

Animoto.com

(Oh, and Mother’s Day is coming up soon enough, so put this idea on your list.)

We were recently contacted by Jason Danzi of My Teddy Bare via our Suggest a Gift form.

While we receive many suggestions for reviewing gifts, we don’t write about them all. I thought this one was a pretty cool romantic gift idea!

There are a variety of options that are listed on the My Teddy Bare site:

• Lingerie Bear
• Pajama Bear
• Bath & Spa Bear
• For Him Bear
• Couples Bear
• Bridal Bear
• Bachelorette Bear
• And – Stuff Your Own Bear!

Think romantical thoughts…

When I think 4th of July I think beer, fishing, fireworks and smoking a cigar outside.  Nothing better than smoking a nice big stogie while hanging out with your buddies.

Here are four rare cigars you wish you could be lighting up this weekend:

Arturo Fuente Opus X Cigar (Dominican) From Cigars.com “The Fuente OpusX is one of the rarest cigars in the world. It is elusive to almost every smoker because of its limited production…the OpusX has a world-renowned reputation for quality and class. It is full bodied with a rich and robust flavor.”You may be able to find them at various smoke shops or online but they go quick and aren’t cheap. Famous-Smoke.com offers a box of 22 for $750 and Cigar.com offers a small sampler for $150!

Partagas 150 Signature Series “Don Ramon” cigars (Dominican) The Partagas is created by master cigar maker Ramon CiFuentes and was made to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the brand. According to ThompsonCigar.com “this is probably the world’s hardest-to-find cigar”. Prices range from $158 for a box of 5 to $950 for a box of 20.

Punch Rare Corojo Cigars (Honduras) Not as rare as the Partagas but limited due to its rich, reddish wrapper leaves that are only grown in small quantities. According to Cigar-Review.com “Rare Corojo cigars are made with extra rich, dark Sumatra wrapper leaves that are grown in the mountains of Ecuador. The filler is a rich blend of Honduran, Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos.” Tinderbox has prices ranging from $98 to $138 for a box of 50.

La Aurora 100 Anos (Dominican) Very rare and pricey, “available to only a small handful of suppliers, the La Aurora 100 Anos is one of the highest rated brands ever made. Each 100 Anos utilizes only tobacco that is grown and rolled in the Dominican Republic…one of the worlds only cigars to use 100% Dominican Tobacco” Only 300,000 were produced and won’t be made again. A box of 25 will run you about $300

To some, snow globes are those gifts you get and think, “Now what do I do with this?”.  But to others they are fun to collect and can be gazed upon for hours.

While snow globes aren’t exactly unique unto themselves, there are some pretty awesome/hilarious ones that are.

Martin & Munoz have created a line of hand-crafted snow globes featuring scenes you would not typically find in a snow globe.  For instance, the travelers collection contains scenes of a man with a giant spider behind him or a kid being held over a well by one foot.  There is an island scene with people walking on stilts and another of a man being held at gunpoint. They are really quite interesting and make you think about what you are seeing.

They also are limited in numbers and hard to find.  I did come across some at Unica Home but I am not sure of the availability.  A warning, these aren’t your typical snow globes in looks or price.  Each one will run you about $750!  Here are some additional ones:

Imagine your loved ones/friends receiving organic produce every week for 20 weeks in the summer/fall! And each time they receive their fresh bounty, they remember what a great gift giver you are.

I was recently flying on Delta Airlines and read an article in the Delta Sky magazine about community supported agriculture (CSA). The author, John Grossmann, described (wonderfully) how he and his wife had recently joined Honey Brook Farm’s CSA program by purchasing a “share” of the crop for the year (summer/fall).

I can’t emphasize enough what a great read that article is!!! (here’s the link to the article again for convenience)

And, I immediately thought – what a cool gift idea to give someone a share in an organic farm’s produce!

Basic Information

While you can easily find information about Community Supported Agriculture with a simple Google search, you may find some fairly dry information such as this Wikipedia entry. You can also find some more user-friendly information such as this very nice Squidoo lens on the topic.

How Much Does it Cost?

I’m not exactly sure how much Mr. Grossmann paid for his share, but in this article about a new farm program that Honey Brook set up in Chesterfield, PA, shares were going for $358 for an individual and $604 for a family (per season).

The Wikipedia entry referenced above indicates that shares can range from $350 to $500 for a season.

The Urban Ecology Center provides some indication of costs on this page. Here is the excerpt for your convenience:

The typical cost of a CSA share averages from $20-25 a week. As a shareholder, you pay up front for the entire season, which ranges from 19 to 27 weeks, depending on the farm. Share size also varies from farm to farm. Some farms offer “worker shares” exchanging work for a share of produce. Others have either convenient payment plans or assistance funds that can offset part of the cost of a share.

How Do I Find a CSA?

Here are a few resources for locating a CSA farm near you:

• Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association – CSA Locator (use the sort by state function to browse for farms in your state)
• Newfarm.org – Farm Locator (nice way to search their database)
• National Agricultural Library – CSA Resources

More Information

Some blogs published by local CSA farmers:

• Belmont CSA, Belmont, MA
• Claggett Farm, Chesapeake Bay, MD
• Eat Well Farm, Dixon, CA
• Smith Gardens Community Farm, Cochrane, WI
• Full Circle Farm, Carnation, WA
• Sackville CSA, New Brunswick, Canada

(I’m thinking that Mom might really enjoy this as a gift on Mother’s Day!)

There are a number of books on the topic of Community Supported Agriculture farms. Try searching on Amazon.com for “community supported agriculture“. Here is one of the books that seems to be most popular:

Eat well, my friends! – GiftGuy