Pink Cows (And More) at Cow Parade

This cow is so excited to go home with you, he has butterflies on his stomach!

I've discussed my love for many different animal representations here at Toad, most recently squirrels (mostly evil), goats (I want a real one), and the always sinister bunny rabbits (Donnie Darko, anyone?). Cows, with their slow moving ruminant natures, were not on my list. Until now.

Until now, pink, red, and multi-colored cow. The moving art installation CowParade is a huge art exhibition of, you guessed it, life sized cows. These cows are designed by famous and not so famous artists, designers, and sometimes celebrities, and are then auctioned off at the show's end to benefit non-profit organizations (mostly benefiting children). Now, unless you have an estate, a life-sized cow sculpture is probably out of the realm of decorative possibility. That's why CowParade makes smaller cows, ranging from three inches up to a foot. The 2013 CowParade is still on right now, in Vallenciennes, France, and the auction for the huge cows happens November 6 (just in case your giftee has the space for a big one).

There's realistic cows (even in brown), psychedelic cows, and cows doing un-cowlike things, and prices range from around $30-75. There's even one that holds real flowers. Browse this virtual pasture at CowParade.

For Your Easy Rider: City Cycling Guide by Rapha

These eight guides give the skinny on European city cycling. In rainbow brites!

There's no doubt that bicycling is on an upswing in popularity; I only have to take a glance at bikers blatantly running lights through L.A. intersections to know that. Some cities, though, are better suited to cycling, and many are in Europe.

That's why this City Cycling Guide Set from Rapha is so excellent for the bike enthusiast on your gift list. Each set has individual guides to eight European cities, from Amsterdam to Paris, Barcelona to Copenhagen. Each guide is illustrated by individual artists and tailored to that particular city, including maps, tips, and functional layouts. And, the entire thing is wrapped up in a single sturdy slipcase for storage and easy access. It's pretty much the essential Europe cycling guide, and would be perfect for a Fall spin.

Did I mention the low price? It's just $40 for eight cities of cycling Nirvana. At Rapha.

Give Fit Friends Flexibility with Fit and Bendy

You think this is bendy? Kristina's just getting started!

Living in Los Angeles, I have a lot of very fit friends. They do aerial work, go to barre classes, run, bike, ski, and walk their way to fit bodies. But the thing every fit person probably doesn't do enough of is stretching.

That's because, done right, stretching is hard work. In fact, the most sore and achey the Toad has ever been was from a flexibility class, taught by contortionist and dancer Kristina Nekyia. Her class was work, good work that left me floating out of the building like my body was attached by elongated strings. She's a flexibility witch, or wizard, or guru. Now, you can purchase her DVD, Get Bent: Circus Style Flexibility, and give her magic to the fit friends who want to do more than just touch their toes. In 60 minutes, Kristina will stretch and elongate every body part, and there's even a tutorial on how to get great splits.

The DVD is just $25, and would be an ideal present for your favorite workout buddy (especially runners with tight hamstrings and IT bands). Go to Fit and Bendy and check it out.

For the New Little Dumpling: A Bib 4-Pack by Garbella

Who's my little empanada?

While it's always tempting to purchase new parents a fuzzy stuffed animal or silver baby rattle, those presents are essentially useless. You know what new parents need? They need coverage, baby.

New parents need bibs. Yes, maybe they need bibs for themselves as, sleep deprived and sloppy, they can't even keep food in their mouths. But mostly, the new baby needs coverage as she spits up, drools, and lets milk dribble down her jowls. This 4-pack of cotton bibs, from Garbella, contains the cutest coverage. Each features a culture's stuffed specialty, from dumpling to samosa. Yum. Plus, newborns, swaddled and swelling daily, look like stuffed specialties, anyway.

Order these four bibs by Garbella for $62 on Scout Mob. They'll be in constant rotation for months.

Boost a Friend's Creative Venture with Business Cards from Moo

For a stylin' salon

Besides advice, it's hard to help out with someone else's new business. Sometimes, though, you can hand them some tools, and the company Moo has some great ones.

For a wordsmith

I've always felt that business cards fell into two categories: boring and cheap, or interesting and expensive. There didn't seem to be an in between. Moo fills that gap by letting the customer upload her own images (or, use one of Moo's designs, like the two I chose above) to make truly customized business cards (Moo calls this option Printfinity). It's particularly useful for visual creatives: an artist friend of mine printed her cards using a variety of her own artwork on one side, essentially creating twenty or so different cards. Every time she hands out her card, the recipient enjoys a different image of her work. Brilliant. A copywriter could print a number of her favorite words, one for each card. The possibilities are pretty endless. Plus, Moo's cards are sturdy, double-sided color cards for as low as twenty bucks for fifty cards.

Remember that, for a business person starting out, every little bit of help counts. Give a gift of cards from Moo and help them stand out in the marketplace.

Another Bizarre Bunny Accessory

Maybe he'll share a Mai Tai with you.

Ever since I saw Donnie Darko, I've had a thing for bunnies. The contrast between the furry, fuzzy little cuddler and the big eared and sinister really gets me.

When I see a new creepy bunny decorative item, I must feature it. It's some sort of a decorating imperative. Thus, this ceramic container: half bunny, half.... pineapple? Yes, the bunny and the pineapple have mated, producing a container perfect for storing cookies, or candy, or a stash of whatever. Never mind the fact that, out of all the pineapple fields I've seen, I've never seen a bunny anywhere near one. I would place bets that bunnies and pineapples rarely meet, except maybe here, on the Beklina site. Either that, or some pineapple had a
whimsical moment and donned a pair of bunny ears it found lying around. Unlikely.

At $120, this isn't an impulsive gift purchase. Know your giftee's taste in advance, because this bunny doesn't want to live in the closet. At Beklina.

Here's To Some Gender Role Free Halloween Costumes

This Pterodactyl is pterrifying!

First off, let me just say that I actually really enjoy the Chasing Fireflies catalog. It has cute (if pricey) clothing and some of the best Halloween costumes around. I love thumbing through it, and I've purchased many a costume for my daughter from its pages.

Naturally, when I saw this ridiculously fabulous Pterodactyl costume, I just had to feature it. I mean, what kid wouldn't want to be a giant extinct flying dinosaur, particularly if they're still under about three and aren't able to protest against your funny choices yet? (I, for instance, dressed my Tadpole as a Skunk one year; she doesn't remember it, but that little stinker looked adorable). Besides the Pterodactyl, the site offers many other animal choices, both real and imaginary. How about a Billy Goat? Or an Octopus? Dragon? Maybe your child would be happier as a pizza slice, a s'more, or a cheeseburger? The site features those costumes, too.

Unfortunately, if you have a girl, and you look in the Girls Costumes section, you won't find any of those costumes. Apparently, those costumes are for boys, and are categorized as such. I say "Boo" to this. Look, I know that some costumes are gender specific. I don't have a huge problem with a girl wanting to look like a fairy princess, or a boy who wants to be Superman. I get it. But, why in the hell are animal costumes gender specific? And why must my daughter dress as a pink sprinkle covered doughnut, but not as a slice of Brooklyn's finest? Just asking.

Anyway, if you're looking for fantastic costumes, look no further than Chasing Fireflies. Just make sure you search all the categories to get the complete picture.