This is going to be a LITTLE CONFUSING, because I have TWO reasons to persuade you to click through to another site today, and the two reasons can be combined, but I have very different reasons for the two reasons, if you follow me, and it is a little tricky to organize my thoughts when I am trying to be persuasive. Did I ever tell you about the temp job I took in sales when I was about 20? HA HA HA HA HA. I could not manage to (1) give away (2) free things (3) to people who wanted them.
Okay, okay. So, okay. The first thing is that I have a post up today at Milk and Cookies, which is the column Linda and I co-write for a site called “Work It, Mom.” Occasionally I tell you to click through a particular Milk and Cookies post (like if there’s a giveaway I want to let you in on), but usually I don’t: I figure you’re either reading it or you’re not, and product-related blogs aren’t everyone’s jar of coins.
But today I want to PUSH you a little, because I wrote a post on a subject we’ve been discussing here, which is gift ideas. The concept, like this post, is a little split and confused, but the basic idea is that these are gifts that (1) look big, helping to camouflage any cutbacks you may have made this year, and (2) are useful gifts for recipients who are ALSO trying to make cutbacks this year. YOU save money and THEY save money!
The second thing is that this site I write for has revamped their whole site. They want people to come visit it, hoping that people will like it better now. And as an incentive, they are dangling a $25 Amazon.com gift card on a stick. What you have to do—and pay attention now, because it is just a teeny bit tricky—is: (1) go visit “Work It, Mom”; (2) come back here (HERE, not THERE) and leave a comment saying something you like about the site (hey, how about “I just LURVE that Milk and Cookies column! It is teh fab! And the authors are so charming and lovable and I just want to SMOOCH them!”). You have until Friday the 5th, and then I’ll draw a winner in the evening sometime, assuming I remember, and if not I’ll do it on the weekend. I hope. …Maybe I’ll just write myself a note right now while I’m thinking about it.
Even though “Work It, Mom” is my boss, they’re not making me post this, and in fact they made it very easy for me to say no if I wanted to, and also I’m not getting anything out of it if you DO click through, so I won’t be all sad if you don’t. I’m doing it because I follow a lot of blogs and I know a ton of you are fretting about how to afford the holidays, and this seemed like a nice way to add $25 to one of us.
So to sum up: I have written a gift-ideas post elsewhere that I think it is worth the pain of clicking the mouse button for. And if you WANT TO, you can get a little chore done while you’re there: find something nice to say about the site (the colors are pretty! the banner is cool! I like the font! I like your earrings!) and type it here in this comment section, and that’ll enter you in the contest to win the Amazon.com gift card.
I like the way your picture and Linda’s pictures are right next to each other now, like you’re really hanging out together. Can I come hang out, too?
I can do this! Okay! So! How about: even though product columns aren’t actually my bag of coins, I love going to the Milk and Cookies site, because although yes, it’s a product site, it talks about products as they operate in life. So really it’s about life.
Also: giving the gift of a brownie pan with the brownie already inside! That’s genius, to me. Me the giftedly deficient.
I usually click over there anyway, so don’t feel you unduly pressured me! I love Milk and Cookies! Anyway, it was a great post and I wish I could order the throw, but I’m done my Christmas shopping and DH would not be happy to see more Christmas credit card bills! :)
Thanks for reminding me that I’ve been meaning to add milk and cookies to my google reader. I also had fun clicking around Work It Mom! Like I needed ANOTHER place to spend internet time ;-)
Great column! Those were gift ideas I definitely hadn’t thought of.
I haven’t been on WorkIt Mom in a while, but I think the new layout is much cleaner and easier to navigate.
(see, you sold me!)
I actually read three of the Work It Mom blogs, you and Linda, Kristin and Natalie’s. I am not even a mom and I love it!
1. I already follow Milk & Cookies in my reader because I like it.
2. I think the new design is much less cluttered and easier to follow, which I like.
3. I like that Work It, Mom! asked me to write a Problem Solved column about food allergies. I think they should have me write MORE. :)
I love the product columns and gift ideas because I never have time to browse when I shop. I am totally getting that travel mug coffe maker for my husband.
Great post, Swistle. I don’t read Work It Mom as often as I should – I’m going to be going there more often.
I love the way you don’t just present gift ideas (no pun intended!) but discuss them in a chatty, friendly, real way.
BTW, the graphics are good over there – clear and simple.
I like that you don’t have to be a mom for the content to be helpful :)
Love the popcorn maker. I was just thinking about finding one the other day!
You know, that redesign IS better! I like the new colors.
The new layout over there looks really nice! I, too, love the brownie pan idea. You can never have too many of that size pan. And with brownies INSIDE? Glorious.
i heart work it mom and milk and cookies is my FAVORITE!
I like the Blog Categories section on the right… it makes it really easy to find what you’re looking for :)
The redesign looks great! Seriously, much nicer.
I do like the redesign muchly. And those are some great gift ideas!
What a fabulous site!
That popcorn maker rocks!
I haven’t been to that site enough to be able to identify any changes from the redesign, but when I noticed that Milk & Cookies had a category that uses the word “toothsome”, I immediately added it to my reader. Great word!
I like the site & the fact that all advertisements are to one side and not interrupting the flow of the article.
Oooo, those were some good ideas. I particularly like the popcorn maker. Great column!
The post secret books have been coming into my life a lot lately, so I just might have to pick one up as a gift (for myself?) this year.
I really like the clean new design, and how your pictures are together on one side, instead of on either side. And I totally admit to being a non-mom who loves to check out Milk & Cookies. But you have so many great suggestions! And you are funny!
This may sound silly but I’m supposed to comment about what I like on the blog — I like how the photos flow well with the rest of the writing — sometimes photos are too big, too small, have ugly borders or backgrounds — each of the photos are well sized and shaped.
I also like Milk & Cookies for product reviews!
O.K., I’ve been hoarding microwave popcorn coupons for a while now, but just haven’t been able to “pull the trigger” because they’re just so darn expensive (plus, we have a HUGE canister of popcorn in the pantry – talk about lazy…). But, now that you’ve shown me the light on the popcorn popper…well, let’s just say the section of my desk where I have this incredible stack of coupons has just gotten a little neater, if that’s possible.
THANKS SWISTLE!!!
I like the way the site is layed out–it looks “fresh and clean”.
That being said, I LOVE THE POSTSECRET BOOKS!! Good choice!
I just LURVE that Milk and Cookies column! It is teh fab! And the authors are so charming and lovable and I just want to SMOOCH them!
Uh, the new site does look better. The font on the titles is cute. :>
Great choices for gifts! I am totally going to use making brownies and wrapping them up. Great idea!
I enjoyed the post, as I do all the posts! :) I liked how the RSS link is a nice size so I finally added you all to my Google Reader.
I love the tag line “better than coffee” although, depending on the time of day, I may not agree with it.
Mornings–disagree
Evenings–wholeheartedly agree
g~
I’ve already been loving your Milk and Cookies columns for some time now. The new design looks great, though! And, those are all really fabulous ideas! (As usual!)
I’m not just kissing butt here, though I would do worse to get an Amazon gift card, but I’ve enjoyed Milk & Cookies since its inception (sp?) and have found a lot of your advice very useful. It’s one of the sites I check almost every day to see what coolness you guys have brought.
Like your ideas Swistle. Okay, okay, I know that you were looking for “bang for your buck”, but I have to chip in that we have this
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Senseo-Coffeemaker-%252d-Red/dp/B000ETVRIG/ref=pd_bbs_5?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1228315863&sr=8-5
coffee maker here at home and it brews some of the most delicious coffee ever produced on the planet and I so highly recommend it! Like seriously, it’s having your won personal starbucks at home.
Great post. I’m glad you are just as fun on a review blog as you are here.
I read Milk and Cookies occasionally. It is a neat site with nifty ideas. And those were some good gift ideas.
The new site looks great!
And thanks for the gift suggestions–I am often worried about actual price vs. the price something LOOKS like. Who wants to spend money and then have it not seem like you’ve spent much money? Better the other way around: spend less money to look like you spent more…
Great gift ideas! The site looks nice.. the colors are comfortable to read.
Wow, is that new WIM site ever pretty! I mean, Wow! WOW!
;)
What a great column! I *love* the Postsecret books and many of my family members would enjoy the throw blankets.
I love the simplicity of the site. Easy to navigate, and not in-your-face at all.
Also: now I need brownies. And I was doing so well, resisting the urge to eat anything yummy today! I am easily broken.
I am a loyal Milk and Cookies reader already, but I usually just read it in my Google Reader window. I actually clicked to the site this time and I really like the new layout. It’s less cluttered and seems more reader-friendly.
I loved your ideas today, too, by the way. But I always love your ideas.
I Love the Milk and Cookies column.
And I’m not just saying that…I’ve been a subscriber since it started.
One of my favorite columns had the book suggestions for boys. My son read The Secret Benedict Society because of that column!
Leeann
niccofive.blogspot.com
I also read Ordering Disorder in addition to Milk and Cookies over on WIM. I have to be honest and say that I don’t see a lot of change…but mainly because I am very focused and pretty much stick to the entries and not so much the extra sidebar stuff, so maybe that got cleaned up and I didn’t know it was bad before because I never looked.
I always love your and Linda’s posts on Milk and Cookies. And hello! A chance to have my very own brownie pan JUST LIKE SWISTLE’S?! Awesome.
Also, the site looks very nice… I like the harmonious colors.
I just LURVE that Milk and Cookies column! It is teh fab! And the authors are so charming and lovable and I just want to SMOOCH them! And truly helpful on a busy morning too! It’s all about efficiency.
I agree that it’s not that different, but I really do like the new fonts and more rounded corners.
I don’t have time to read all of the comments, so maybe someone already said this, but one thing I DON’T like is how it’s all like, “To learn more about Linda, read her other blogs.” But does it say anything like that about Swistle?? NO! Make ’em fix it, darnit!
I usually read Milk & Cookies in my Google Reader, so I don’t really care what the site looks like – other than that, I mean.
The page loaded up for me a little faster than usual. Looks purty!
I like that the new site looks very clean – not a lot of flashy stuff to distract me. Just clean text and a simple white background. Very nice.
The site looks more modern and streamlined!
I love that you give product reviews of things you have actually used. It’s like having things recommended by friends.
I also like the new site. It looks very clean, organized and easy to navigate.
So enjoying your Milk and Cookies column even though my kids are teens–there’s plenty of great ideas! Keep up the great work!
Melissa
I have a little confession to make: I love your writing (ALWAYS) but the whole WIT site has always had so much “stuff” on there that it put my mind in a tizzy so I sometimes avoided going there. Thanks for letting me know about the re-design; I do think that it is easier to navigate and less busy looking!
Great tips also, but then again, what else would we expect from you?
I like the simplified site design. Also I like brownies.
I appreciate any site that isn’t full of flashy stuff and pictures right in the middle of content so you have to scroll through. Simplicity is a good thing, and the site looks great. Plus I’m hoping someone who knows me will do the brownie thing for me. That is sheer genius.
Oh, the site design really does look better!
I hadn’t been to that site much- in fact, only when you linked and told me to go there. :) It does seem cleaner and easier to use now though.
And also? It brews the coffee into a travel mug!!! I must have one!!!
I’m very much in the minority here. I actually have Milk and Cookies in my reader and have been to the site before to look around so was somewhat familiar with it. I was really annoyed when it took me a very long time and several tries to even get the site to come up. That’s probably why I found it such a let-down after all of the comments! It is very clean, but to me it now looks like quite a few other blogs I read and I find it a bit boring; I like interesting designs.
Everything is very clean and simple and easy to find, though. I like the colors, too. I’ll give it that. It may not be my favorite blog design, but it is far from the worst, as well. It just doesn’t stand out to me, I guess.
I like that to see your pics there! I had kinda forgotten about it. Thanks for reminding us just in time.
Those are good gift ideas! Thanks. I lurve you.
The layout seems more navigatable (is that a word?) than the last time I clicked on over there.
I love the great ideas from you and Linda on Work It, Mom! I read there often.
Love the new layout but most of all I heart you and Linda. :)
Love the redesign!
I just LURVE that Milk and Cookies column! It is teh fab! And the authors are so charming and lovable and I just want to SMOOCH them!
I have 2 questions– what does “TEH” mean??? And what makes the brownie pan so special? ou know, compared to my regular 9×13 pans?
i think it is easier to navigate and the colors draw you in. I liked your post…i want the air popcorn popper i also want a whirly pop lol
Well, I can’t say I spent enough time at the OLD Milk and Cookies site to truly appreciate Work It, Mom’s new look, but I will say that the look is clean and uncluttered and really, that is my most favorite way for a website to look, so yay.
And boo for my 5-line run-on sentence.
Love the nice streamlined look. AND loved your column. I just bought one of your gift ideas (the PostSecret book). Groovy!
SaLy- “Teh” started as an accidental mistyping of the word “the,” and as with many internet things, inexplicably started being used ON PURPOSE. So it means “the,” but cuter or more so. Example: “That is TEH AWESOME!” or “That is TEH CUTE!”
The only thing that’s special about the brownie pan is that it’s MINE. And that it comes with a cover, so you don’t have to use tin foil.
I liked both the popcorn popper AND the fleece throw. An enterprising person could purchase one for a sibling and the other for the sibling’s spouse, and voila! A “movie night” themed gift set.
Thanks for the ideas!
Heather
I already read and love Work It, Mom but I went over there specially for you today!
I love all the white space and how clean the site is. My hubby is a web programmer and in studying sites with him that I like, that is one of the things that appeals to me visually- clean, simple design with a lot of white space.
I like the new site; very clean looking. And your article had some great ideas as did the comments. I love the idea of giving cooking stuff with food (and/or recipes) INSIDE. (like your brownies in a brownie pan concept). Very cool and cheap!
I liked the old site, but I do think the new site looks cleaner, as others have said above. I love the randomness of the content, because it’s almost all somehow relevant to my life. You guys rock.
Thanks Swistle! Great article on gift ideas – I really like that Presto Power Pop!! I know several families that would enjoy that.
The site really does look nice now. It’s very clean and easy to navigate.
It really does look a bit “cleaner” over there. Great article and fabulous idea!
The new look is cleaner. Like it.
I really like the new look. Thanks!
Claire
Tutus for Toddlers
I have that popcorn popper! I don’t think I ever saw the milk and cookies site before, but I did think it looked very clean.
I do like the new look, and I like anything that you or Linda write!
I like the new look. I can’t really tell you what is better about it except I found two good blogs and a whole bunch of other stuff that I had never noticed before. So something’s working!
totally feelin’ ya on the whole “$20 doesn’t look like $20” thing. Want to come over and help me do holiday baking? Bring your pan!
I do in fact like their new font.
And Linda needs to update her bio stuff – Purple is a Fruit? That was so at least a year ago! :) (Although a great blog nonetheless.)
I like the new layout. It looks less cluttered.
Great Post, that coffeemaker is going straight into my cart!
thankyouthankyouthankyou… i am STUMPED on xmas this year and need as many linky posts as POSSIBLE to jumpstart my dead brain. i love that coffeemaker! makes me wish i drank coffee.
The site redesign looks great! Love all the great gift ideas as well. I just discovered that I have the same brownie pan as you, mine doesn’t get much rest either!
I love the new format! It is cleaner and seems simpler. I will be using it when I need a break from reality.
I *do* like the Milk and Cookies site! Great suggestion on the air popper and on the coffee brewed into a travel mug (I’m the only coffee drinker in the house, which means resorting to instant most days. That brewer thing is going on my gift wish list.)
I have been reading your Milk & Cookies posts for a while now and really enjoy them. I wish I had read the bigger-looking-for-less-money BEFORE I bought all my presents, but alas, I am finished shopping now. Maybe next year… :)
I like the “better than coffee” and the font is nice too.
i haven’t spent much time on Work it, Mom! before, but I like that they feature the week’s most popular posts on the blog page!
I really like the Work It, Mom redesign. The header is smaller and doesn’t crowd the article as much. One quibble, though, they list Linda’s other blogs but not yours – why not! This blog is every bit as fab as Sundry.
I truly like the site redesign, simple, sleek, looks great.
But, Better Than Coffee? I have to respectfully disagree.
Also? The blanket is a great gift idea.
I SO already read the post earlier, that’s how loyal a reader I am. I love your ideas, you are my queen shopping buddy. Also: I want to smooch the writers of Milk and Cookies, they are teh fab!
Somehow I never clicked through to Milk and Cookies before, but I liked it. Easy to read..and I liked that it was Mom stuff for more than just baby Mama’s, but for teenager Mama’s too.
I DO read Milk & Cookies all the time, and I DO love it! Rock on with the new & improved site! It looks great.
I love Work It, Mom! I think that’s how I found your blog here. I always read Milk and Cookies and most of the other columns. The new look is very nice, too–I like the blue and the new font.
Glad to see your humor translates over to the Milk and Cookies site, too. Nice post!
I like the affordable luxuries part of the shopping tab at Milk & Cookies – some more great gift ideas!
I was wondering if that was your picture and now your readers say yes. Now I have a face to go with “Swistle”!
Love the Work It, Mom post-it note. Dont’ know if that’s new but I think it’s super cute.
Brownies = good present! I was literally just looking at brownie pans online before clicking over. I want the “all-edges” brownie pan. Yumm-o!
LUVED the gift ideas! Awesome!
I like the look of the new Milk and Cookies site. It’s more clear that you and Linda are sharing the site. One complaint, though. They tell where Linda has other blogs but not where you have other blogs. That seems like a glitch.
Great gift ideas at Milk & Cookies! I like the new site design; it’s nice and clean and tidy looking.
It is cleaner and easier to navigate. You said we had to say something nice so I won’t mention the boring banner…
But I love your column!!
Milk and Cookies rocks! Also I like your earrings! Also that blanket!
I dig the new layout/design. I don’t know if it’s just me, but it loaded faster.
Also, $15 and under gifts?! THANK YOU. The popcorn popper is going to my sister-in-law and the blanket (well, some blanket) is going to my college roommate.
Love the seems more expensive than they really are gift ideas.
as this was my 1st visit to milk & cookies i don’t know what to compare it to, but the site was uncluttered & easy to navigate.
and thank you-thank you! because i needed gift ideas for the ‘sis-in-laws’ & hadn’t found anything yet! the popcorn popper may be it! or brownie pan.
I am a regular Milk & Cookies reader and I am really loving the gift ideas. I’m still totally stumped for many of my Christmas gifts this year. Maybe we call that in denial of the impending holiday? Anyway, I appreciate any advice (and would also dearly appreciate that gift card in order to purchase some of those good ideas.)
I just LURVE that Milk and Cookies column! It is teh fab! And the authors are so charming and lovable and I just want to SMOOCH them! ;)
Seriously, I definitely like the new look better!!
The banner is much better than the old one. Cleaner and best of all, easier to navigate with the larger menu buttons. I like it!
Simple and neat. I like it. :)
The layout definitely looks cleaner and easier to navigate. Why is it everytime I read about great gift ideas, I just want them for myself? Maybe that popcorn popper can cure my addiction to Pop Secret Homestyle? Mmmmm
I love this blog! I am sending it on to some of my favorite friends who could use a smile and some good ideas at the same time….
My husband will not be happy about me falling in love with another site but alas *sigh* I loved Milk and Cookies!
I actually really like this new layout. I find it easier to follow, and it seems to have better flow. I want to say it seems less cluttered, am I right? Very nice new look! Very inviting.
Nice design! I’d never visited the site before, but will return. Still need a little convincing, though, that it is “better than coffee.” :)
The redesign is pretty nice. I liked it. Your article gave me a few really good ideas for this holiday season and for that I *really* thank you!
I want to buy all of the products you listed–for myself. Urgh. I like the site and particularly the lifesaving tips section. (I can’t remember the exact words anymore because I read too many comments.)
Like the site, especially the fact that I (with no children of my own) can find interesting things to read- it’s not at all exclusionary (which I believe is totally misspelled- sorry!)
I like the brownie idea… yum.
Laura
O.M.G. 122 comments? Seriously.
I hadn’t been to the site much before, so I don’t know what has changed. How’s that for helpful, eh? But I do like the post you did, and will keep on checkin’ back in for more like it.
Also, good idea (from earlier) about Want Not. Good stuff!
That popcorn popper *is* awesome. It’s a nice way to make “healthy” popcorn that doesn’t taste like cardboard. (My mother liked ours and asked for one for Christmas last year.) Thumbs up all around.
My my, what a lovely website that was. Such wonderfully soothing blue tones. And the writing! Exquisite! Why, I think I’d click ANY link to read more from that writer!
I’ve never read the Milk and Cookies website before, but now I’m CONVERTED! And all because of you and your persuasive awesome-ness.
I love Post-it Notes. So yeah, the logo? Nice.
GREAT post!
thanks for the reminder about milk & cookies – i always forget to check out your stuff over there! :) the new design seems simpler…a little easier to navigate too. woot!
The look is a lot cleaner and simpler. Makes it easier on the eye–no jumping around trying to navigate it.
Whee!
Giving a brownie pan with brownies already baked in it. GENIUS!
What great girft ideas! Thanks!!
I like the new site organization. But I wonder, why does it say “posted by Swistle” when you post and “posted by milkandcookies” when Linda posts? To me, you’re both Mike and Cookies!!
I just LURVE that Milk and Cookies column! It is teh fab! And the authors are so charming and lovable and I just want to SMOOCH them!
[heh heh heh] ;)
I like the pretty colors and the cleaner layout. And you smart and savvy ladies at milk & cookies are awesome too.
Simple. I like it because YOU write there. ;-)
I’ve been reading Work It, Mom for a while now- I especially love ordering disorder- the recipes are great (and of course milk and cookies!)
-gina
Very nice site, and I like the gift ideas.
This may be lame and it may not be new, I don’t know but I like the Work It Mom logo with the post-it notes. I also like your pic on the top of the page with the other pic. Nice touch.
BTW, I have one of those microwave popcorn poppers and I look forward to replacing it with a more traditonal air popper model. I like to make Caramel Popcorn but I need to pop about 6 batches of popcorn in that tiny bowl to make enough popcorn. It’s probably fine if you only want a small amount of popcorn but if you want much at all it’s too small.
I do like the simpler design, it’s a little easier on the eyes.
I think it looks more user friendly. Like they decluttered the place. Very nice.
I love it when a website is not too cluttered! I have left other websites behind in the dust when they’re too cluttered or too difficult to navigate, so yay!
I like the new site – the fonts are cute!
I also liked your ideas for the “big” gifts – I think my brother and sister-in-law will be getting a throw blanket this year.
Will you be putting up your gift books series on Milk and Cookies? That was so useful to me.