Awesome Advice for Impressing Your Date

Everyone wants to impress that special someone when having them over for a date. But in the world of dating, everything is a challenge, and the slightest awkward moment could ruin your entire evening. Well, worry not! For I am here with some more of the Card & Gift Room's awesome items along with a step-by-step guide to having an evening you nor your date will likely forget.

Step 1: Dress Up for the Occasion

Whether or not you're a naturally good-looking individual (like myself), you'll want to add some flair to your attire if you want your date to really notice you. It is a proven fact that facial hair makes anyone, male or female, look incredibly distinguished and attractive. Instead of going through the hassle of trying to grow an awesome moustache or beard yourself, buy one! Stick on a moustache (in attractive styles such as Artist and Hipster) or blow up your own beard. Worried about those awkward moments when you gaze into each other's eyes? Try the Anime Eyes glasses to give your date something interesting to look at. And for  footwear, consider the Mop Slippers; everyone wants a date that can multi-task!

Step 2: Appetizers

You don't want your date to starve while they wait for dinner; it makes you look like a poor host. Whet your special someone's appetite with some bacon! Everyone loves bacon, and now you can enjoy it in a multitude of formats. Hang a bacon air freshener in your car to make an instant impression when you pick up your date; offer them some Bacon Gumballs or Gummy Bacon (Warning: Gummy Bacon is actually strawberry flavored) as a snack, or Bacon Toothpicks or Bacon Floss for a tasty way to get whatever that is out of your teeth. For chapped lips or the occasional boo-boo, there's bacon for that, too. By the time dinner actually comes, your date will be ravenous.

Step 3: Meal Preparation

It is always a good idea to impress your date with a home-cooked meal. The way to someone's heart is through their stomach, after all! If all that bacon didn't already win their heart, some of these impressive cooking accessories certainly will help. Show your date you take cooking seriously with the OCD Chef cutting board, which allows you to cut precise measurements of vegetables for the absolutely perfect dish. The Batter Finger spatula is a great tool for baking, and it doubles for an awesome "pull my finger" gag. Worried about burning your hand on a hot pan handle? Cover it with a silicone Banana Handle for maximum protection and potassium. If you plan to enjoy a bottle of wine, make sure to keep it fresh with one of our unique bottle toppers: Pickles, plungers, or bananas; there's something for everyone! Don't forget these whimsical oven mitts that make you look like an adorable animal has eaten your hand.

Step 4: Go with a Theme

Theme parties are not just for kids. A good theme will show your date that you have class and pay attention to detail. Here at Booksmith we happen to have some themed items set up for you, to save you the hassle of collecting them yourself! Russian Matryoshkas and Babushkas are adorable little dolls that your date will love. Put them in your kitchen as nesting Store-M Tupperware, M-Spoons measuring spoons, M-Cups measuring cups and Salt-M S&P shakers. If your date wants to freshen up in the bathroom, provide them with Babushka manicure sets, tweezers or matchbox emery boards. Their beady little eyes will make your date feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Step 5: Keep it Clean

Throughout your evening, you will want to show your special someone that you care about your personal hygiene. Your hands touch everything and spread germs everywhere! Protect yourself and your date with Handerpants, underpants for your hands. These attractive, stylish gloves will certainly make an impression--plus, they'll keep your date from noticing how sweaty your palms are when you touch. After dinner, don't let the entertainment end! Using these Dish Play rubber gloves, you can put on a show for yourself and your date while getting those dishes clean. Your skills at drama and puppetry will surely make them swoon.

 Well, that's about all the advice I can give you. With these tools at your disposal, you'll barely need to do a thing to make your special someone fall for you in no time. Your quest for romance is now complete!

You're welcome.

Nifty Gifties

We got some holidays coming up, folks! People are really into giving new books as gifts, but what about rare, out-of-print vintage cool things? Below I'm highlighting some of the most special things of all you won't find anywhere else in the WORLD but the Used Book Cellar. These are rad things you should totally give to those people on your list that have everything. 'Cuz they won't have these:

For the budding grand sommelier, an epic-huge hardcover book "Wines of the World" with full-color photographs, endpapers and a SLIPCASE. Nothin' says class like a slipcase. The book is huge and well-bound so it lies flat. It has a bit of the history of wine, and talks about some ideas for ones to look out for, but as this was printed in 1967, the bread and butter of this book (or cheese and crackers?) is the exhaustive guide to regions, and what kinds of wine come from where, what they taste like, why they taste the way they do. A really fascinating, beautiful book. $20 smackers.

For the funny-man, kooky-lady, anglophile or philosophy major who needs a laugh over the winter break, if I were you I would SERIOUSLY consider The Brand New Monty Python Bok [sic]. This book is rated NC-17 guys, but really there's something for everyone (over 17) here. In standard Python fashion nothing is sacred, all things are satirized and there are lots of pictures. Crude humor. Making fun of monarchs. Sex advice. Rat recipes. Fairy tales. Etiquette tips. Rene Descarte detective stories. Basically, you and anyone worth knowing deserves this book. All this can be yours for just $15 bucks. This is a HUGE savings off of the (fake) list price of £142.48½

For the history buff grampa who's always saying you wouldn't have a chance in a fight against Winston Churchill (I'm in therapy now, guys, don't worry) I present to you The New Yorker War Album. This book was printed in 1942 and is full of New Yorker cartoons lampooning the 1st and 2nd World Wars. Full of subtle humor and slices-of-life from the years of the Great War, this would make a rare, cool gift. $14

The UBC is mad-rich in fancy art books. Big ones, small ones, expensive ones, inexpensive ones. Rare, awesome, etc. We're all over the board! Art is the way to go to impress the cultured ones in your life, and why break the bank to impress someone? Everyone is impressed by the guy or gal who can get a $75 art book for $13. Which is possible here.

So show us the goods, you might be saying? Here is but a SAMPLING dear readers:

I'm obsessed with Penguin book covers, and look at this thing we got in that I DID NOT EVEN KNOW EXISTED: A whole MONOGRAPH of the full paintings used on Penguin covers. Some beautiful, strange stuff in here. Color and black and white. A cool old saddle-stitched book of paintings by Ben Shahn. In 1949 it went for three shillings and sixpence at modern art museums EXCLUSIVELY. But YOU can have it for $5.

For $20 we have a monograph of Anish Kapoor (the shiny Chicago bean guy) that is both physically a beautiful book (shiny endpapers! handwritten notes sewn into the center of the binding!) as well as a fascinating exploration into a VERY contemporary sculptor's process, inspirations and oeuvre.

And for $8 (this is a crazy deal) we have this really large trim-size (I'm talking 15" x 11") book of 16 color plates of French Primitives, beautiful paintings of French medieval life and interest beautifully reproduced (sometimes with metallic ink!). The pages are loose, making each leaf ready for framing!

Thanks for reading! If you have any books you want to turn into cash or store credit, we're here Wednesdays through Saturdays, 10 AM-4PM.