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TGIF. It’s a big deal in my office. I mean, a BIG DEAL. After wearing a monkey suit all week, it’s kind of refreshing to dress down. But I realized last week that I looked kinda ridiculous carrying my take-no-prisoners power brief case to work while sporting my casual slacks, and my favorite football polo shirt (I told you, Casual Friday is a BIG DEAL).

So, I bought this awesome messenger bag from Fossil. I swear, the thing makes me look younger. It’s a rich, milk chocolate leather bag with a barber of seville-thick leather strap that’s not going to roll up on you or anything. It’s got a good-sized front pocket and a roomy interior section. It clicks shut AND those front-locking straps are REAL– the bag doesn’t just click shut– this is not the 80s. Everything is functional on this thing. You can jam your lunch, your reports, and your a portable shaving kick in there. This is a man’s man-bag, I mean this isn’t some silly tote bag– look at it– it looks like it was taken care of like a relic and handed down to you. I usually don’t get all warm inside about accessories, but that top stitching and the old school hardware on this thing makes me feel like a hard-boiled reporter– like one of those classic detectives in old black and white movies who could do anything. Anything!

Every man’s got to have a dream.

…I’m not walking around the house with tissue boxes on my feet, washing my hands every five minutes, but winter makes you acutely aware that those springtime cross breezes that clear the funk out of your house are a long ways off. I’ve noticed that my eyes are constantly dry, and my house smells like. . . well. . . me. When I was a teenager– basically like the inside of a well-used, gym locker room. And, we’re just eating recycled, bad air, like you do on a cross-country airline flight. You just KNOW that air has been in someone else’s mouth like ten minutes ago. I mean, I don’t care all that much, but you know, the wife. If I don’t do something, she’ll start spraying fruity sprays around here, and then there’s no going back. 

That’s why you can’t dismiss the Swiss- -sure, they’re neutral in war, and those crazy coo-coo-clocks but man, can they make a great humidifier. The Swiss Hot Steam Humidifier first off, looks like a football with a drinking straw sticking out of it. I’m sold. Anyways, it goes from zero to steam in three minutes, and helps get rid of bacteria and viruses while it pumps fresh, slightly moist air into the room. I can actually blink now– the air’s not all dry anymore. I know what you’re thinking– how many gallons of water do I need to haul from the well the fill this thing. It’s small– it weighs seven pounds and it can fit on your night stand, or bookshelf. You can set it to use one or two gallons in a day, you can refill it by putting it under the tap. Done. And as far of wattage, it draws almost nothing– you can choose between 150 and 300 watts– an LED light comes on when it runs low on water. The Swiss have their finger on the pulse. Besides, it looks like a football with little legs smoking a cigar! I never thought I’d love a humidifier so much.

Ok, so every year, I make some resolutions….do I keep them…?? Hmmm, that’s for me to know and you to find out. Anyways, so this year, one of my resolutions is getting organized with everything and in any way I can….Here are some cool gifts for staying organized.

IN YOUR CAR: Personalized Car Organizer

Your car does not have to be a mess anymore…nice little mesh holders to place all your miscellaneous stuff while traveling. Has a couple of bottle holders as well. Cool thing is, that you can get it personalized by getting your name or initial embossed on it.

ON THE MOVE:

Traveling time…business conferences, weekend trips…keep a toiletry bag ready. That way you won’t forget your toothbrush like you normally do. Made in leather, looks stylish!  Can be personalized with his name.

AT HOME:

A unique beanbag cell phone chair…so now your cell phone has a bean bag just like you! But how often we get home from work and don’t know where we’ve left our cell phone. But if you have a cell phone holder, it’s much easier to know where exactly your things are.

Golf:

So it’s your day to chill and relax, and of course the most perfect weather to play golf. Boy aren’t you lucky. So you get ready and gather up all your stuff, but you can’t find your bag, and you’re wasting precious time. The last time you had seen it, was last week when you came back from that exciting golf game. So…say goodbye to clutter with the Golf Organizer . You can keep all your golf gear neatly organized. And no more searching for stuff. Everything is organized in one corner.

It also has a bed shaker. So for those who quickly grab their alarm clocks and put it under their pillows hoping it stays quite, you’re mistaken, for it’s going to shake your bed till you’re awake.

And here I thought ninjas were supposed to be quiet and stealth…

This is a great time for gifts and all the good stuff. Speaking of which I saw this classic pair of cuff links. It’s a titanium finish with a satin center and just the thing to make you look spiffy. It’s great to get him all dressed up for a special occasion…after all it’s not just another day. So this Christmas, these cuff links completed my look and gave me that dashing edge :-), I might add.

Seriously though, cuff links are a nice accessory which can enhance your clothing. Check it out!

Have you noticed that just when it’s the Christmas season, and with all the partying and hosting you do, you never manage to lay your hands on a good corkscrew? It’s so annoying, just when your ready to pop open that bottle of Chardonnay, you can’t find that corkscrew. Then you go searching frantically all over the place. One thing that I found really useful this holiday season was this cool Bar Tool Pair.

This one’s pretty cool. You can kiss your other useless ones goodbye. This wrench-shaped corkscrew is pretty sturdy, has a foil knife and a bottle opener. The really neat thing about this tool is that it comes with a stopper that is designed like a machine screw, so you can use it, and keep your unfinished bottles from spoiling. How cool is that! Ultimate man gear!

  The cigar smoker needs two tools with him at all times, a lighter and a cutter.  So why carry both, when he can carry one of these two new cigar lighters from Blazer?

The Chief II and the Optimus (below) are both premium butane cigar lighters that feature the powerful wind-resistant blue torch flame.  Each also holds it own Japanese Steel guillotine style cigar cutter.  Each comes in its own gift box.  Which ever one you choose, I’m sure it’ll quickly become his favorite lighter.

Thanks to everyone who participated.  Below are our winners!

I hope that our celebration can be even bigger next year!!

-‘>Deluxe Domino Set in a wooden box – Judith Boenke of Bel Air, MD
-Grip Master – Maggie Chen of San Diego, CA
-1 set of Power Stays from Wurkin Stiffs – Kim Chopper of Baltimore, MD
-Leather Playing Card Set – Ellen Clark of San Luis Obispo, CA
-A case of energy drinks, your choice.  Courtesy of Energy This – Skylar Sutton of Akron, OH
-A $50 gift certificate to either The History Channel Shop or The A&E Shop – Sarah Couch of Cheektowaga, NY
-2 shaving product packages that include: Face Wash, Beard Destroyer Shave Cream and After Shave from groominglounge.com – Pierce Nathanson of Somerville, MA & Dan Tiemeier of Centerville, IA
-A Pepper Head Cover, Tabasco Cap, or a Jim Furyk Performance Camp Shirt from Spicy Times – Head cover to Nicole Wallace of Houston, TX, Hat to Janet Bly of Milford, DE, and Shirt to Nicole Forsythe of Milford, CT.

The rest of the entrants will be getting a Spudz.

Usually a gift of wine is reserved for a couple or a household.  As a guest, it’s common to take a bottle with you to offer your hosts.  I’ll admit that it’s not often that I’ve thought of wine as a great gift idea for men.  But, unique is the name of the game here.

I was contacted by the folks at Hall Winery out of Napa Valley and asked to take a look at their innovative wine gift sets specifically geared toward men.  Well I have to tell you that I was really impressed.

What really caught my eye was the Molton Brown Gift Set, which they sent me a sample of.  Almost always, when a gift set features spa products, there are scents like sun-ripened raspberry, or mango melon.  But not this one!  This features the popular, and manly, Black Pepper scent Shower Gel from Molton Brown of London.  I was so intrigued by this pairing, and certainly wasn’t disappointed once I got it.  The box and presentation was beautiful.  I almost didn’t want to open it.  Inside, you not only get the shower gel, but a black pepper scented candle, and a bottle of a lightly scented Coco de Mer lotion.

Now I am not a wine expert, so I’m not going to embarrass myself by trying to comment on the Kathryn Hall Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.  But I can tell you that my wife and I throughly enjoyed it. 

Molton Brown and Hall got together because they respected each other’s products.  They decided that they were both “in the business of inspiring the senses;  Molton Brown through the feel and  aroma of spa products and Hall through the sensory (taste and smell) experience of wine.”  They sampled a bunch of Molton Brown’s scents along with different wine choices to come up with this fantastic pairing.

As stated before, I really like this gift because it’s luxurious, while still being manly.  But if you like the idea of a wine gift for him, but don’t think the candle and lotion will fly, Hall has a couple other great options.  Consider their Napa Valley Grill set which includes River Ranch Merlot with “Mediterranean Tapenade, Napa Valley Meritage Rub and Classic Dipping oil”.  Or take a look at the Cabernet Gourmet set with two different bottles of cabernet sauvignon plus “Tulocay’s “Made in Napa Valley” Stone Ground Mustard, Spicy American Barbecue Rub and Mexican American Meat Rub”.

You’ve still got time!  They are shipping up until December 20th!

Well its snow time again.  Personally, can’t stand it.  Snow simply isn’t my thing.  The thing I hate the most is having to clean off the car in the morning.  No doubt, it’s always me who gets all ready to go, dress clothes and all, before realizing that I’ve got a chore outside before I can go anywhere.  Ugh.

I know it’s silly, the the idea of changing into boots and carrying my good shoes out to the car just doesn’t appeal to me.  Maybe these Trekker Overshoes are exactly what I need.  Lightweight and waterproof these overshoes will protect your leather loafers even in deep snow.