Jersey Alert: BELLE DE NUIT Silk Flowers & Candles at Riverside Square

My calling it Riverside Square goes to show how long it's been...Oh and read the bottom for the Guerilla Shopper insider special!...

Top-notch silk flower designer - BELLE DE NUIT - is holding court at THE SHOPS AT RIVERSIDE, HACKENSACK, NJ (ROUTE 4 WEST ) through New Year's Day.

Monday - Saturday, 10am - 9:30pm (Closed Sunday - BLUE LAWS!!)
BELLE is located inside the mall between Bloomingdale's & The Cheesecake Factory

GREAT GIFTS
BELLE DE NUIT CANDLES: Great scents; three sizes

Special Guerilla Shopper Deal:
Mention Guerilla Shopper + SPEND $100.00 or more = receive a 100% soy candle for FREE.  Yay!

Wrap it Up, I'll Take it: Jan 12-25

RTR Packaging

M-F 12-8p; Sat-Sun 1-6p

RTR Packaging Showroom

27 West 20 Street (5th-6th Avenues) Street Level

Gift Wrap & Gifts

Early spring sale. Save 50% Off. With spring around the corner, RTR Packaging has everything you need for gift wrapping this season. RTR’s gift wrap in 25 foot roils are $8 per roll with tons of prints and patterns to choose from. Also find other spring must haves, including ribbons, gift boxes, gift bags, greeting cards.

And ... Jonathan Adler pillows, teapots by Martine Goron, Handbags and much more. Save 50% off their already low wholesale prices.

Need more than one bag? They have items available by the case (bags, boxes, tissue & ribbon). Buy the case and save more. Free ground shipping for all orders of $150 or more.

Daffy's: Baby Gift

OK, so I realized that I can't really talk about what Christmas presents I am buying or the places I am buying them in, or else those who I am buying for will know what they are getting (assuming that they read my blog on the regular)! But what I will talk about, because I'm pretty sure that they don't read this blog and their newborn baby certainly does not (yet), is the fantastically cute and well-priced gift I bought in anticipation of everyone's favorite party: THE BRISS...

I should probably buy the kid a plane ticket so that he can get out of Dodge, but instead I bought him a wee winter coat (that resembles the one pictured above) by miniman at Daffy's on Madison Ave. And I had a 10% off coupon! Rejoice!

Exclusive Mother's Day Jewelry Discount!

Just in time for Mother's Day (Sunday, May 13), Dori O'Dea (jewerly designer) and Guerilla Shopper (me) are offering a 20% discount on Ike Designs - the exquisite jewelry meticulously hand crafted by Dori herself. She has created intricate necklaces and earrings using beautifully colored gems that will thrill any mother in your life including -- but not limited to -- your: mother, wife, sister, daughter, niece, cousin, mistress, girlfriend, acupuncturist, beer wench...

Visit http://www.ikedesigns.net/catalog.html to peruse Dori's inventory and make your selections. To receive your 20% discount on online orders made between today and Tuesday, May 8, follow these steps:

1. Place your order online - http://www.ikedesigns.net/catalog.html

2. Then, send an email to dori@ikedesigns.com with "Guerilla Shopper" in the subject line and your order number in the body.

3. Dori will then discount the charge when she processes the card (it won't show at checkout, but will be reflected in the receipt she emails back to you as confirmation upon Credit Card Authorization).

4. Alternatively, there is a space for comments on the cart page, where you can write "Guerilla Shopper" and get the 20% discount, as per step #3., above.

Also, on Saturday, May 5, stop by Actorcrafts at 332 W. 43rd St. where Dori will be selling her good works at half the Web site price to promote a great cause and a great day. The show benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and Dori offers her whole collection at half of its retail price on that day only (no combination with any other discounts). In addition, other great artists will be there selling their creations thereby making Mother's Day shopping a snap!

Be nice to the mothers,

Ike & Guerilla Shopper
. . .

About Ike Designs

Pictured above: Antiqued silver filigree earrings with faceted quartz briolet and ivory freshwater pearls.

Dori also works in gold and other gems - labradorite, pearl, solmonite, smokey quartz, rose quartz, quartz, goldstone, hematite, calcite, andalusite, malachite, jade, sapphire, diamond, and whatever else she can get her hands on! Dori's online collection includes necklaces and earrings, but she also does bracelets and is developing a line of rings. Dori does custom work and specializes in bridal parties, with all kinds of budgets.

About Guerilla Shopper NYC

Launched in October 2006, the Guerilla Shopper is your feet on the street in New York, telling you where to get great stuff at a good deal. Follow her as she treks through the stores of New York (and upstate, New Jersey and online) on your behalf...relaying sample sales, interesting shopping tidbits, retail warnings, restaurant recommendations and more. Listed on and quoted by other reputable shopping Web sites including Racked and A Girl Must Shop, the Guerilla Shopper is helping the non-socialite set to own tons of great stuff while having fun and not breaking the bank.

Nanette Lapore Smells Good

This stuff smells so good that I want to eat my own arm off when I wear it.

When I find a scent I like, I wear it for years. Nanette Lapore is one of those scents. In high school I wore Animale, which is probably a very funny 80s commentary.

Anyway, I again have to give thanks to the Guerilla parents who bought me the pictured Nanette gift set, which includes a GIANT bottle of perfume (much bigger than I would buy myself) as well as a candle and body lotion that is just as fragrant! I believe they picked it up at...that's right: Lord & Taylor.

It's all pink and beflowered and girly and when I wear it, I have to run down the street from all the men who chase me as if I were an ice cream truck on a summer's afternoon.

My First Present: Kenneth Cole Watch

Yay! Here's the first full-fledged Christmas present I received so far this year (from my "very special friend"): the Kenneth Cole KC4451 for Women.

As the minutes tick by, I like this watch more and more. It's packed full of bling in a low key way through its streamlined design. But it also has a pink face! Oh pink!

The band is a tad big, but I shall have a link or two removed as soon as possible so that it, like me, is perfect. sigh...

Wrap it Up...I'll Take it

I am feeling somewhat guilty that I haven't been spending as much time on bloggy as I would like to...my day job has been incredibly hectic, thereby reducing my time available to both shop and write. OK, now that I've gotten that out of my system, onto business...

I am hoping today or tomorrow will be my last day of Christmas shopping - I am in the final stages of buying Mother Guerilla some key gifts. And without her there'd have been no baby Guerilla, so she deserves careful consideration, i.e. "I have to get my momma some good sh*t." But that is all I will say for now, lest I eliminate any element of surprise.

But remember, purchasing a gift is not the final step! You must package and market said gift appropriately...you don't have to spend a lot of money to do this, most wrapping supplies can be bought at the local 99-cent store. But better, and I wish I had remembered this myself, is Old Navy. They have some of the coolest, high quality wrapping paper at a very reasonable price. It's like Christmas pop culture on paper! [Thanks to my day-job co-worker for reminding me of this little Old Navy secret].

I know, I know, many of you (especially the boys) don't want to get involved in wrapping paper, ribbons, cards, etc. But just think - if you've spent the time thinking about what to buy, shopping for it, paying for it...don't you think that you and your gift deserve to be presented (no pun intended) in the best possible way? It really adds to the whole gifting experience overall. Trust me and the Ms. Manners who sometimes dwells within my soul.

And check out my gift display! Makes for festive Xmas decor to boot.

Gift Cards: Cop Out or Not?

I guess it's my Ms. Manners mother who has influenced me to think that gift certificates and the like do not make particularly good gifts. They are impersonal, cause the recipient to then have to go out and get something for themselves, show exactly how much you spent, and don't require much thought. I tend to agree with this line of reasoning. She also likes to wrap presents and awe the public with her skills. A gift card doesn't really allow for wrapping so much.

However, I think that they serve a purpose in some instances.

If you know that your friend is an avid reader, but you are not so savvy in the literary arts, a gift certificate from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Borders is suitable (OK, yes, I admit it, I'm talking about myself here!). Or if you feel that your friend is in dire need of new shoes, but don't really know what style or size she would be happiest with, a gift card from DSW would be a semi-thoughtful gesture. Which leads me to my next point...

Sign up to become a DSW Rewards Member TODAY because starting this Sunday, November 19, if you buy a $50 gift card, you get a $10 bonus card redeemable between January 14 - February 3. What could be better? Buy a gift for someone else and get a gift for yourself!

Remember, you can only make others happy if YOU are happy.

Black Friday - Just Say No

I do not recommend shopping on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). It's kind of like the New Year's Eve of shopping when all the amateurs come out en masse. If you don't like shopping to begin with, you will HATE it, and if you do like shopping, you will begin to seriously question your sanity.

While it's true that the stores offer all kinds of discounts and deals on this special day, realize that it is merely a marketing ploy to instill panic and fear in the hearts of those who don't know better or have not read my extremely informative blog. G.S. insights to consider, and act upon include:

• Retailers want your money any day of the week. Meaning, there will be other sales and promotions up until Christmas Day, and probably better as Christmas draws closer.
• Buy early what you can online to avoid crowds and malls and ensure timely delivery. If you wait too long, problems with availability and delievery can arise. However, I almost never buy clothes or shoes online because I really need to see and inspect apparel first hand and I hate having to return things in the mail.
• Don't buy anything for yourself until after Christmas. First, you never know what you might get as a gift. Second, the sales after Christmas are even better than on Black Friday.
• If you can, take a day or two off of work in December to go Xmas shopping (a Monday or Tuesday, let's say). If you can't, go as early in the day as possible on a weekend. Except if you live in Bergen County, NJ where the stores are CLOSED on Sunday because of some 3,000 year-old "blue law" that was surely inspired by religion.
• Avoid shopping until after Nov. 20 because Mercury is in retrograde. OK, I read this somewhere, that you shouldn't buy electronics because of this crazy astrology stuff that I don't believe in. Except that I'm not going to buy anything until after early next week. Call me superstitious.
• Buy gifts at stores with good return policies. This unfortunately usually means going to the big department/chain stores, however, it's worth it in the end because your loved ones can get what they really want, or what fits them...and don't you want to spend your money effectively? One year I decided to only shop at independent stores and it was a huge debacle where nothing was returnable, or only for store credit good for a week.
• Downsize the list of people you buy gifts for, if only to reduce your stress during the holidays. Can you buy one big gift for your uncle's entire family, instead of one gift each for your uncle, aunt and three cousins? Can you arrange a dinner out with all of your friends instead of buying each of them a present? All of this rabid gift-giving can really get overwhelming and I believe that there are better ways to enjoy the holiday (food, drink) and each other than via a new green pullover fleece!
• URGENT NOTE: BOYFRIENDS/HUSBANDS MUST BUY GIRLFRIENDS/WIVES NICE GIFTS AND VICE VERSA. Cost isn't necessarily the issue, it is really the (serious and creative) thought that counts, I swear. And if you don't do it, you suck and will be in the dog house, possibly for eternity.

I will provide more holiday shopping insight and experiences during the festive season! Stay tuned.