Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2007: Part Two“0 Comments”
steve | 6:38 pm | October 7, 2007 | Gifts for Mom, Electronics, Gifts for Daughters, Gifts for Nieces, Gift Baskets, Chocolate, Snack Food
Two of Fannie May’s signature products, which have been sensations in the Chicago area for decades, and are now starting to be discovered by the rest of the country, are their Mint Meltaways and their Pixies.
Mint Meltaways are small, bite-size square chocolates that have a rich, chocolate center, surrounded by a minty outer shell. 
Pixies are a mouth-watering blend of milk chocolate, silky caramel, crunchy pecans, covered by an outer chocolate shell.
For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Fannie May has produced two pink versions of these signature chocolates. 10% of proceeds will go to support Chicagoland cancer organizations, including the Cancer Wellness Center, the Jennifer S. Fallick Cancer Support Center, Wellness House, Wellness Place and Gilda’s Club Chicago. And thanks to the generosity of The Coleman Foundation, your 10% will be matched by another 10%, for a total of 20% that will be donated.
As much of a Chicago treasure that Fannie May Chocolates is, Cheryl&Co Cookies are equally a treasure in the state of Ohio. Their Cookies for a Cure collection contains six incredible assortments of bakery-fresh cookies, brownies and cakes, snacks, and gift baskets. And of course, their famous frosted cut-out cookies.
You can choose an entire sampler of tasty treats, or get a box of their heart-shaped frosted cut-out cookies. They’re all dressed up in pink to support breast cancer research at two distinguished cancer research and treatment organizations in Ohio: the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and the Richard J. Solove Research Institute at Ohio State University.
Last, but certainly not least, Problem Solvers by Plow & Hearth has this great pink desk lamp. A stylish way to remind yourself or a loved one to support breast cancer research and to get screened for the disease once a year.
10% of proceeds go to the National Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Everyone here at 1-800-Flowers.Com, Inc. is pleased to be part of the nationwide campaign to strike out breast cancer. Even if you don’t send one of the gifts above, we do urge you to please donate generously to the causes listed above, and to remind yourself or the important women in your life, especially those over 40, to get screened for breast cancer early.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2007: Part One“0 Comments”
steve | 11:59 pm | September 30, 2007 | General Comments, Gifts for Mom, Flowers, Gifts for Daughters, Gifts for Nieces
This month, October 2007, is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
According to the American Cancer Society, there is a 1 in 8 chance that a woman will develop breast cancer during her lifetime. In 2007, about 178,480 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer.
While these statistics are staggering, the good news is that death rates from breast cancer contnue to decline, thanks in large part to early detection through screening and increased awareness, in addition to improved treatment.
1-800-Flowers.Com, Inc. is an active supporter of helping to stamp out this scourge once and for all. Many of our online stores offer products that contribute a portion of the proceeds to major Breast Cancer organizations. During this October, consider one of these gifts, or donate directly to one of the organizations that help
From 1-800-FLOWERS, this pink bouquet of fresh roses comes with a beautiful Lenox pin. Even after the roses are gone, the pin can continue to serve as a reminder to all women to get screened. A portion of the proceeds will go to Breastcancer.org for Breast Cancer Education.
This is a bouquet of fresh deep pink roses. 10% of the proceeds go to the Carol Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Foundation at the Stony Brook University Medical Center in Long Island.
The roses come as a standalone bouquet, or with a clear vase or a special pink vase.
Tune in next week for more meaningful gifts.
It's Slinky! It's Slinky!“1 Comment”
steve | 12:37 am | September 16, 2007 | Christmas Gifts, Gifts for Daughters, Gifts for Nieces, Toys, Gifts for Sons, Gifts for Nephews
In 1943, a naval engineer named Richard James, stationed at the Naval shipyards in Philadelphia, was working on an instrument for the Navy to use on battleships. A spring he was using fell to the ground, and he noticed it kept moving. He told his wife Betty, “I think I can make a toy out of this.”
In 1945, The Slinky debuted at Gimbel’s Department Store in Philadelphia. After a 90 minute demonstration, all 400 Slinkys sold out immediately. James started a company to produce Slinkys in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Betty James was instrumental in making the company the success it became, including introducing an ad jingle most of us know and love:
“What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, And makes a slinkity sound?
A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing, Everyone knows it’s Slinky…
It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky, for fun it’s a wonderful toy!
It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky, it’s fun for a girl and a boy!
The Slinky has a storied history. University Physics departments use it to explain wave motion and seismology. In Vietnam it was used as antennae for radio transmitters. In 2001, the Slinky was named the official toy of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Betty James was inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame that same year. The rhythmic sound and feeling of transfering it from hand to hand even makes a great desk accessory for grown-ups (a better way to reduce stress and pass the time than any squeeze ball).
And of course, anywhere there is a kid and a staircase, it is unthinkable not to have a Slinky there too.
In 2005, the Slinky turned 60 years old. Hearthsong, in its Classic Toys collection, has two very special limited edition versions of the Slinky to celebrate. First, the original Slinky, in a replica box of the very first Slinky in the 1940’s. Second, a “bona fido” (shame on you, Hearthsong catalog writers!) replica of the first Slinky Dog.
In the last 60 years, over a quarter billion Slinkys have been sold. I accounted for about 9 of them throughout the 1970s and 1980s, four lost and five tangled beyond repair after countless trips down (and up!) the stairs. I’m all grown up now, but now that I realize that Hearthsong sells it I do plan to go for #10 as soon as I finish writing this.
What a dollhouse should be.“0 Comments”
steve | 8:38 am | September 7, 2007 | Birthday Gifts, Christmas Gifts, Gifts for Daughters, Gifts for Nieces, Toys
I will admit that I very much live up to my title of being a doting uncle. When you’ve got two nieces and a nephew who are bona-fide cutie-patooties, it’s very, very difficult not to be.
So when I went birthday shopping for my niece, Kristi, I wanted to get something really special. Unfortunately, these days, when you walk down any toy store or department store’s aisles, it’s difficult to find toys anymore that really teach old-fashioned values. Barbie’s gotta have her “fashion fever”, her “glam pool” and her “bling bling”. And let’s not start talking about those “Bratz” dolls–I’m no prude, but the “Bratz Babyz Night Out” outfits are enough to make me blush!
That’s what I really love about Hearthsong. When’s the last time you saw a real doll house like this one, made of real wood, not with plastic and lead paint. Check out all the furniture collections, and the happy family all ready to move in.
And the best part about this dollhouse is what it’s missing. A child’s imagination. In a world that’s filled with licensed cartoon characters and shoot-em-up video games, that’s often the one thing that is lost. And I admit, when I see my nieces coming up with their adventures, it makes me feel great (and provides some entertainment–the “dad” eerily share some characteristics with my brother).