A shopping blog of cool gift ideas

I understand that St. Patrick's Day isn't exactly a huge gifting holiday, but there's no reason you can't send flowers to your favorite Irish lass on March 17. After all, how could anyone turn down the beauty–not to mention good fortune–of a Green with Envy bouquet, filled with gorgeous chartreuse cymbidium orchids, accented with green carnations, mixed greenery and presented in a kiwi green vase? It's also a good flower choice to say "congratulations" or "good luck."

Green with Envy starting at $62.95

Did you know that a single bouquet of flowers can not only brighten your sweetie's day, but can also help in the fight against AIDS? Every Hallmark Believe Bouquet from (PRODUCT) RED includes nine gorgeous red roses, leucadendron and papyrus, grown and arranged by African farmers. Each message card reads, "Believe in a thousand impossible things you've never believed before."

More meaningful than a bouquet bought at the corner market, the inspiRED bouquet is a perfect last minute Valentine's Day gift that expresses your love and charitable heart. 

Hallmark Believe–Hallmark RED Bouquet starting at $49.95

If you know someone who has declared 2008 the year to make a career–or to at least make it to the next rung on the corporate ladder–these corporate flashcards, featuring a pronunciation guide and definition and synonyms for 60 terms, are a great way to brush them up on their jargon and help fight that case of post-holiday, back-to-work blues.

While they won't guarantee an instant promotion or dream job, the flashcards will at least provide a helpful guide to climbing the corporate ladder. They're also a great gift for the recent college grad still looking for his or her first "real job."

Corporate Flashcards starting at $14

I have a couple friends training for the NYC marathon. One used the race as an excuse to buy all sorts of gear and gadgets. First he got the iPod Nano complete with the Nike + iPod Sport Kit. The cool thing is, not only does it keep track of how far you've gone and how long you've been going, it'll tell you during your workout and later you can upload and track progress online. You can also program a "go to song," so when you're low on energy it's easy to skip to your favorite pump up jam.

Then he got a Garmin Forerunner, a wristwatch that tracks distance and time accurately using GPS. And to top it all off he got a hydration belt so finding water on long training runs won't be a problem.

Now with only about 5 weeks left before the big day, friend number two (who didn't buy a bunch of gadgets) needs some major motivation. If you need to encourage a friend to get to the finish line, one of these gifts should help her reach her goal.

If you're a marathoner, what gift would help you stick to your training schedule?