If we as women want to be stylish, then it is important that the men in our life look good by our sides. As much as we all love our sweat pants, it’s always nice to put on our Sunday’s best and hit the town. What better way for our men to look good then in a tie? And what is better than a tie that also acts as a bottle opener? The man in your life with LOVE the stylish and functional look of a Hugh Simms tie.

Hugh Simms is a distant grandson of George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, the founder of Maryland and he has taken his rebellious English heritage into fashion. Hugh is armed with degrees from Cornell University and F.I.D.M. (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising). He was taught the art of fashion design at the early age of twelve from his grandmother who created restaurant uniforms for their family business, Phillips Seafood Restaurants. From there, he took a long and winding road that led him to start his own company. Having done high-end neckwear all handmade in Los Angeles, Hugh Simms set out to make a tie of that same quality while adding the ever elusive metal beer opener. In the words of Hugh himself “The Openers on the bottom of sandals is pretty nasty. My necktie is the clean, hygienic alternative.”

Other than the look of these ties, my favorite part of the Hugh Simms brand is that all his ties are all handmade in LA. There are five collections, each with their own story behind them. The happy hour collection are the ones with the bottle opener (my personal favorite!).

• Revolution
• Formal/Special Events
• Happy Hour
• Caulfield
• Fitzgerald

Each tie arrives in a handcrafted tin that can be used even after the tie is taken out. The tins tins bear a close resemblance to the early 1920′s tobacco tins. Every single thing about this brand is well thought out and has a purpose. Hugh seems to have put his mark on everything. You don’t get that on many products these days.

Any Hugh Simms tie would make the perfect gift for any man in your life. Why not get your holiday shopping started early? To jumpstart the holiday spirit, Hugh Simms is going to give Mommies With Style readers a discount code for 20% OFF with the code “mommy”  and  will give that discount for the remainder of 2011. This can be used on any of the HUGH SIMMS products.  A great way for women to get shopping early for holidy gifts for their husband, brother, son, father-in-law, or any other man in their life!

Whatever kind of man your husband/dad is, there’s a good chance that he’s a fan of one of these activities. And what do all these activities have in common?

They all need a good cooler.

Normally, I wouldn’t think of showing my appreciation for my husband with a cooler. But YETI does not make your average cooler. These are super coolers. Coolers for men who like their beer ice-cold – 4 days into their camping trip. For men who are reeling in fish SO big, they need a large and secure place to hold their catch. Men who pack so much meat for an weekend camping trip, they need an entire cooler – a bear-proof cooler at that – dedicated to their red meat stash.  They need a YETI.

What sets a YETI cooler apart?

- roto-molded for a much higher resistance to impact and increased long-term durability

- twice the insulation of traditional coolers (3″ in the lid, 2″ in the walls)

- full frame sealing gasket

- heavy-duty, rubber T-latches that can withstand ….

- molded self-stopping lid hinge with a full-length aluminum rod that can’t hyper-extend

- certified by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) for bear-resistance. (Yep, they let wild grizzles go to town on these coolers. YETI – 1, bears – 0)

Refrigeration doesn’t really do it for me, but my husband’s eyes lit up when he saw this box arrive. “A YETI??” Giddy as a schoolboy, I tell you. We’ve taken it out for a few trial runs and I can tell you it is lightyears away from your average cooler. No wondering if the milk is going to make it through the camp trip. No more worrying about warm beer. It’s durable, rugged and most importantly, it effectively does the one job you’re buying it for.

The cooler pictured is from their Tundra series – the mid-sized Tundra 50 to be exact – but YETI offers over a dozen different sizes. They also offer the Tundra series in a variety of sports team colors and in a cool camo print.

This is the cooler that you’ll buy once and use for the rest of your life. This is a cooler that will make your man feel like a man – and might just stay cold enough for you to stash some ice cream on that next family camp trip.

Visit www.yeticoolers.com to see their entire collection and find a local retailer.

Kenmore’s new Premium 5 Burner Gas Grill with Side Burner is the ultimate man machine (that moms will appreciate just as much). Four stainless steel burners provide 400 square inches of cooking surface while an integrated ceramic searing burner gives you an additional 208 square inches of cooking area and lets you to get that perfect, seared exterior. What does that translate to in real life terms? When I tested this baby out, it fit 24 hamburgers on one night and more hot dogs than I could count this last weekend.

Other features include:

• electronic ignition

• stainless steel grates

• porcelain cooking surface

• top rack for toasting buns

• sleek black and stainless steel exterior

• 4 rolling castors

• 12,000 BTU side burner

• 803 square inches of total cook space

• double door enclosure for propane tank (not included) with room for other storage

• handles on either side with rings to hang tools

This is a BIG grill and may be too much fire, power and surface area if you’re a small family. But if you’re a big family or a family of big eaters, this BBQ won’t disappoint.  One warning – this BBQ (like most) comes unassembled, and assembly can easily take 1.5-2.5 hours depending on your handiness. So if you’re planning on surprising dad with a finished, assembled BBQ make sure to set aside adequate time. And if you’re jut going to put a big red bow on the box to leave for him to assemble, you might want to get some nice steaks to inspire him to fit together all the pieces and enjoy the fruits meats of his labor.

The Kenmore Premium 5 Burner Gas Grill with Side Burner normally retails for $469.99, but right now it’s on sale for $369.99. Plus the Kenmore website is offering free delivery through a mail-in rebate and 12 months interest-free financing if you purchase the grill on your Sears card. Visit Kenmore.com for more information or stop by your local Sears store to see if they have one in stock.

Happy Father’s Day!

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Disclosure: Kenmore provided a tester product for this review.

If he loves to read:  An e-reader such as a Barnes & Noble Nook ($259) or Amazon Kindle ($259).  My sister and I got one for our Dad as an early Father’s Day gift and he was thrilled. 

It’s a great gift for a Dad who travels – no more schlepping heavy books or having to find a bookstore when he finishes the one he’s reading – e-readers like the Nook & the Kindle are the wave of the future.  Download books from anywhere and keep life simple with one of these.

For the new Dad:  DadGear makes Diaper Bags ($90) & Messenger Bags ($80) for Dad that don’t look frilly, girly, or frankly, like a “typical” diaper bag. 

While these bags are designed for function, they are also designed with the masculine folk in mind and some of the backpacks and bags are pretty hip looking. 

Use coupon code ClassyMWS to receive 15% off your order of anything on the site.

If he’s looking to decorate his home bar:  These personalized signs from Red Envelope are not only fun-looking but sure to provoke a few admiring stares from friends. 

My personal favorite is the “Man Cave” one but have it personlized however you like – with his name, the bar name ($49.95)

Use coupon code DD623 to receive 15% off your order at Red Envelope.

Since he won’t stop to ask for directions:  Amazon is having a crazy sale on GPS units at the moment.  50% off some great Garmin models. 

So what are you getting for the special Dad in your life?  Leave a comment if you have some good ideas!  I’ll be posting more ideas over the next few weeks.

He was thrilled with it.  We put various he goodies inside (various beer, a new grill brush and a new tea kettle), but he was happiest with the cooler.

It’s big – 75 quarts isn’t your small-sized cooler.  This is the all-day-party, several cases of beer and ice cooler.  The wheels and pull handle make it easy to transport — and it keeps ice and food cool up to 6 days due to the extra thick insulation that makes this cooler a useful product.  Check it out – you can find it on Rubbermaid.com or at any Rubbermaid retailer.

Though expensive, swinging by a coffee chain or the local java house is pretty easy for my dad, so anything that was going to attempt to replace a daily coffee house run needed to be as convenient as possible. The DeLonghi EC155 makes being your own barista a breeze.  First, the removable water reservoir is easy to access and holds enough water for about 9-10 shots of espresso.  Depending on how much espresso is consumed in your house, the tank will only have to be filled up once a week.  Purists like my dad can grind their own beans, but for an even faster brew and clean-up, you can use the wide range of available E.S.E (easy serve espresso) pods since the EC155 allows either method.  Water heats up quickly and the DeLonghi EC155 consistently produced espresso with great crema in under 30 seconds.

If lattes or cappuccinos are more desirable, the machine includes an adjustable stainless steel swivel jet frother wand with a plastic head.  The frother doesn’t have incredible clearance (only 3.25 inches from counter to bottom of wand so be sure to use a smaller pitcher), but the results were superb.  Milk frothed easily and reached 160ºF without a problem.

This Father’s Day keep the men in your life happy and caffeinated with the DeLonghi EC155 Espresso Maker.  Visit DeLonghi to learn more about this unit or check out their online store to order one in time for Father’s Day.

What You Get: The Squeezebox Duet consists of a Squeezebox Receiver, remote with charging station and necessary batteries and cables.

How It Works:  The Squeezebox Duet uses WiFi technology to allow you to play your computer-based music collection as well as Internet-based radio and music services on your home stereo system – without wires, without your computer being on and without physically transitioning between various stereo equipment. (Still confused about what exactly the Squeezebox Duet is? Check out this YouTube feature which shows the Duet in action.)

System Requirements: Here’s what you need to make sure your computer has.
• 256 MB RAM and 80 MB hard disk space
• Ethernet or wireless network
• Windows: 733 MHz Pentium running Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista
• Mac: OS X 10.3.5 or later
• Linux / BSD / Solaris / Other: Perl 5.8.3 or later
• Broadband Internet connection

How To Set It Up: There are four parts to the set-up.  I’m going to try to keep it as un-techy as I can – just be sure to keep track of all the different “squeezes”.
Receiver: Plug the Squeezebox Duet receiver into an outlet and connect it to almost any stereo or powered speaker system with the included RCA cables.  Insert the battery into the remote and plug it into the charging station.
Internet:  Set up a SqueezeNetwork account online.  SqueezeNetwork is Logitech’s free, Internet-based service that allows you to connect to a variety of Internet radio stations and music services like Pandora and Last.fm.  You can also store your own MP3 music collection in a “digital locker” here so that you can access your song collection even when your computer is off.
Your Computer: Download and install the SqueezeCenter onto your computer.  This is the application that allows you to wirelessly connect your computer to the Squeezebox receiver and give it access to your music desktop music collection.
Remote: Remove the remote from the charging station and follow the directions on the remote LCD to connect it to your computer network as well as to your receiver.

Things I Like:
• Listening variety!  I love the hundreds of artists, albums, stations and music services that are available at your fingertips.
• You can quickly and easily build and add to playlists from the remote.
• I don’t have experience with the other music services, but with Pandora the Squeezebox Duet remote allows all the same functions that the Pandora website offers – approve/disapprove songs, create new playlists, find our more information about a song or even purchase it.
• Since the remote works through WiFi, you don’t have be in sight of the receiver to adjust volume or change song or music source. You can even add additional Squeezebox receivers and control the music in multiple rooms with the same remote.

While set-up was not seamless, it was well worth the effort.  I love that we can seamlessly transition between various music sources on my computer, my husband’s computer and the Internet.  The remote is sleek and attractive enough to sit on the counter and I’m impressed with the features, options and settings the it offers.  Visit www.slimdevice.com to learn more about the Squeezebox Duet or take advantge of the current free shipping offer and order one for your main squeeze in time for Father’s Day.  And for those who love the concept, but don’t have an existing stereo or speaker system to connect the Squeezebox Duet to, consider Logitech’s Squeezebox Boom, an all-in-one unit that provides many of the same features of the Duet as well as built-in speakers.