Oh we so need one of these.

Every time we travel there are endless electronic devices that need to be plugged in, somewhere, in order to create our home away from home.  There’s the laptops.  The phones.  The iPods.  The iPhones. The Bluetooth headset for aforementioned phones. The digital camera.  Thankfully we have finally ditched the portable DVD player, thanks to Netflix and Hulu, but still – that’s a lot of stuff! If we’re in one hotel room, there are never enough outlets.  And if we’re in a condo, we have to hunt each piece of equipment down (the iPhone is charging in the bathroom?).

So finding the Chargepod V2 online is exciting to us.  It’s a multi-deivice charger with a 3-sided design that accomodates your various doodads as follows:

• one side for one laptop
• one side for 3 smaller gadgets like cell phones, mp2 players headsets and a high-input device (read that to mean video camera or digital camera or, for you oldheads, portable DVD player)
• one side that functions as a 3-port USB hub for data transfer or for connecting peripherals to your laptop

Pretty cool.  We probably already need two of these babies, but still, with its neat design and organization, this is great for travel.

It’s great for home too.

We’re a tad bummed that it’s not yet available but you can sign up to be notified of its availability, currently noted as 2Q2009.  We hope that means soon?

Chargepod V2, $199.95

Can we tell you how many times we’ve arrived at the airport all gleeful about our vacation, only to be slapped with a fee for extra weight?  It seems the hubby’s ability to pack a zillion items efficiently is actually a bad thing- who knew?  And we thought we’d wised up when we started putting the luggage on the scale at home, except that didn’t really help at the tail end of the trip after a few purchases…

That said, we love this new digital luggage scale from Balanzza, due out in May 2009.  You strap the handle onto your luggage, lift, and voila!  Instant weight.  Of course, the key is to do this at home while you can still remove various items without pressure and prying eyes (do you really need 5 bathing suits for a 5-night vacation?)   Don’t forget to take it with you; it runs on 2 AAA batteries and is both small and light enough to be squirreled away in your carry-on after it’s done its job.  This version upgrades the current model with a handy flashlight and timer alarm.  (Still not convinced? Check out this handy airline baggage fee chart that the folks at Balanzza conveniently have on their site.)

Balanzza TOO, available May 2009, MSRP $32.99

Okay, we know – we didn’t post specific gifts for moms and Mother’s Day just rolled on by. (Happy Mother’s Day by the way…)

We were too busy being feted by our own offspring – presents included some delightful tropical flowers, courtesy of Dad, and an absolutely gorgeous and priceless handmade jewelry box made as only a 4-year old can.

Now it’s Dad’s turn, and we have to post something, because let’s face it, shopping for Dad is always a little harder. Most of what’s out there is so boring – no matter how glamorous the tie is, it’s another tie. So we tried to scope out gifts for traveling dudes, gifts with a little pizzazz…

These leather golf club covers from Pellavera give daddy some extra style on the course. Forzieri, $425

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