Shape Up Saturdays and Red Red Wine

Sure, red red wine might make you feel so fine, but it also contains a variety of beneficial components that can help with the fight against heart disease. Studies show that drinking a glass a day, mixed with proper exercise, can lead to a healthier lifestyle.

That's why everyone on the CSN Stores Blog Network has teamed up to make our first giveaway of 2009 the Alessi Anna G. Corkscrew by Alessandro Mendini - so you can open a bottle in style, and start living the new year with a healthier heart. Just make sure you always drink responsibly.

If you haven't seen this unique item yet, you've got to check it out. Here is a link.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS POST YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS ON ANY ENTRY IN THE BLOG, AND YOU WILL BE ENTERED TO WIN. Good luck, and have a great weekend!

Family-Focused Fridays -- Classy Alessi Giveaway

Welcome back to Family-Focused Fridays on the CSN Stores Blog. Our New Year is off to a great start and we're going to forge ahead with a very positive attitude. In the pervasive spirit of embracing change, I wanted to bring up a few fun items with you today. One is a campaign we created to help those who can't make it to Washington, D.C. for the Presidential Inauguration. It offers suggestions on how people can stage their own Inauguration Party at home. Several media outlets have been interested in this idea and here's a new clip from the Staten Island Advance/silive.com outlining a few of the options we proposed.

Patriotic Home Furnishing for the Inauguration
By Maura Grunlund / Staten Island Advance
Monday January 05, 2009
As the excitement builds toward the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama Americans are buying patriotic home furnishings. Plenty of these items are sold at stores all over Staten Island, but if it's cold and you don't want to venture outdoors there's always the Internet.
CSN Stores, an e-retailer for home goods, is offering a variety of politically themed items. Advanced Graphics Celebrity Cardboard Cutouts are life-size standins of politicians such as Obama and future secretary of state Hillary Clinton and symbols such as the Statue of Liberty. Presidential war art such as prints and paintings of Obama and previous presidents also are sold.
Plush Joy Carpets with presidents and other patriotic symbols are available. The web site is loaded with flags and Old Glory theme products.
Cuisipro Red Stars Cookie Cutter Sets are ideal for people baking cookies to celebrate the inauguration. Stuffed animals such as American Eagles are made by Hansa.
A lit God Bless America sign on the lawn would be a bold way to put a message on your lawn.

Maura was kind enough to include many links to these items in her article. But to make it easier for you, you can click here to see a variety of Obama-themed pieces for your own party. You can also search http://www.csnstores.com/ for the other items.

Now, in honor of throwing a party, for the Inauguration or any other occasion, CSN Stores is also staging its FIRST GIVEAWAY this year, by offering this very creative and stylish Alessi Corkscrew. A dark red version is up for grabs, retailing for $54.

All you need to do to enter our random drawing for this piece is to reply to this post (or any other CSN Stores Blog post) and tell us you want it. (Sorry, no CSN Stores employees or family members are eligible.)
Thanks everyone.

Have a great weekend.

Best, Chloe's Dad

Thoroughly Pets Thursdays and a Recap of '08 Hot Sellers

Welcome to Thoroughly Pets Thursdays on the CSN Stores Blog Network. We've finally made the transition into 2009, certainly a lot faster than expected, and everyone is looking forward to a better and brighter new year. We have a lot on the horizon, pet-wise, to unveil as the year rolls forward. For now, I'd like to highlight some of the Best Sellers of 2008. These items received rave reviews on our pet sites by our customers, for value and quality. There was a lot to choose from, so I picked my top 5:

1. Mr. Herzer's Litter Box Cover - $99.99
2. Pet Gear Home 'N Go Pet Pen - $114.99
3. Midwest Homes Critter Nation - $239.99
4. Kuranda Chew-Prood Dog Bed - $62.99 +
5. Snoozer Front Bike Pet Basket - $49.99


To view a full list of our Best Sellers you can click HERE. Stay tuned for more exciting updates in the world of pet furniture and accessories, and thanks for reading!

Work-A-Day Wednesdays -- Bringing Back The Office Birthday Cake

Welcome back to Work-A-Day Wednesdays on the CSN Stores Blog Network.

I just wanted to take a moment and share a very unique and delicious "office cake" with you today.

Jen L., our master chef and foodie extraordinaire, made the cake to celebrate the birthday of the biggest Celtics fan anywhere, Brent.

There's really nothing like a homemade cake in an office to bring people together. Years ago, people made cakes for each other all the time. But given today's busy lifestyle, you don't often see a cake in an office that has true homemade appeal.

Jen's "Go Celtics" cake was so nice-looking, that it took people several minutes to conjure the courage to cut into it. Here it is, along with the Nordicware pan Jen used to help create this masterpiece.

You might want to celebrate your office birthdays in style with a stadium cake like this one for the sports fans.

People are sure to remember it as a very thoughtful and delectable gesture. If you'd like to get one of these pans for yourself, click here for more information.

Best, CSN Blogger

Tuesday’s Top Ten: Fitness Equipment Best Sellers

The first week of January is one of the hottest weeks of the year for fitness equipment. Everyone is optimistic about their New Year’s Resolutions and shedding those holiday pounds. And with everyone looking for ways to save money this year, affordable home gym equipment offers a perfect alternative to expensive gym memberships.

So for this Top Ten, we reached out to our fitness specialists over at FitnessEquipmentAndMore.com for ten of our best sellers. Check them out below and be sure to check out our Fitness Blog, Fitness Focused, for tip, trends, and product spotlights.

10: Body Solid - Manta Ray Squat Attachment - $50
9: Kettler USA - Favorite Rowing Machine - $429
8: Stamina - Magnetic Resistance Upright Bike - $199.99
7: BodyCraft - Xpress Pro Home Gym - $2,399
6: Weslo – Pursuit Upright Exercise Bike - $165.99
5: Stamina - Pilates Magic Circle - $27
4:Stamina - InStride Cycle - $39.99
3: Body Solid - Inversion Boots - $58
2: Stamina - Fold to Fit Equipment Mat - $44
1: Weslo - Pursuit 360 Recumbent Exercise Bike - $185.99

CSN Mondays: CSN Gives Back to ‘The Home’

For this year’s toy drive, CSN teamed up with The Home for Little Wanderers, a local organization that strives to ensure the healthy, emotional, mental, and social development of children at risk throughout Massachusetts. The Home allows donators to order gifts online and ship them to their location, a perfect format for CSN’s web savvy, e-shopping experienced workforce. Employees accessed over 200 CSN sites to find items that were on many ‘Little Wanderer’s Wish Lists.’ Having over 1 million plus products in a variety of categories allowed us to locate certain products that are difficult to find locally in malls.

Once all the toys were shipped and the final numbers were tallied, CSN matched the total value of the contributions. So, on top of all the toys sent, CSN donated an additional $2,000 to be used by The Home for other goods. We formed a great relationship at The Home this season and look forward to working with them in the future. They’re a really, really great organization and we encourage everyone to check them out at their website here: The Home for Little Wanderers. Happy ’09 Everyone.