The King Cake is a large round cake colored with gold, green and purple sugar, made just for parties which fall on or between the Feast of the Epiphany (also known as Three Kings Day, or Twelfth Night) and Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent begins – this year that’s Feb. 5.) The cake is round to portray the circular route the Three Kings took to get to the Christ child. Its colors symbolize gold (for power), green (for faith) and purple (for justice.) Read more about the cake’s history here. King Cakes also have a trinket hidden inside – usually a tiny plastic baby, symbolizing the baby Jesus. At King Cake parties, whoever finds the baby inside their slice is meant to host the next King Cake party. These gatherings (especially popular with Louisianans) continue until Mardi Gras. Luckily, you don’t have to be an ace baker to enjoy a King Cake. At Kingcake.com, you can order them the traditional way (unfilled, just the sweet bread with the sugary topping), or filled with various flavors including coconut cream cheese, lemon, pecan and pina colada. Prices start at $29.99. You can also order them in a package with Mardi Gras beads and other trinkets, for $32.99. Kingkingcakes.com is another good online source for King Cakes. Their medium size serves 20 people; their large version serves 30 to 35 people; they are sold plain or filled, for $27 to $32. Their fillings include pecans, cream cheese, pralines or strawberry cream cheese; you can also get them with chocolate frosting. If you want to try to bake one on your own, Food Network star Emeril Lagasse has a recipe for King Cake; while you’re at it (do you have all weekend to cook?) you can make his Mardi Gras Jambalaya.  

As much as we hate the Hallmark-ization of seemingly every holiday (really — who’s out there buying cards for Friendship Day?), we get some kind of nostalgic rush from doling out the cards on Valentine’s Day. Maybe it’s our Save Charlie Brown complex, but there are too many funny, unexpected ways to say “I love you” — or just “You’re Kind of Cool” — out there for us to let this holiday pass us by without using up all our LOVE stamps. Jack Cards is stocked with simple, straightforward designs and motifs (a shamrock-stamped card ensures “You’re getting lucky tonight. (Just thought you should know.),” with an off-kilter sense of humor (a cross-stitched Adam-and-Eve-motif card suggests: “Let’s Do It.”). The New Yorker Store.com has stacks of Valentine’s Day notecards reproduced from classic illustrations from New Yorker covers as well as cartoons (a snail convinces his fellow shell-dweller that he’s in love with a tape dispenser). Cupid goes mod with Seltzer Goods’ cards with simple graphics and irresistible one-liners (a mustachioed paramour stares out at you and commands: “look into my eyes. we are destined to be lovers.” Who could argue with that?). Kate’s Paperie offers charmingly retro choices plucked from old-fashioned ephemera. But perhaps our favorite collection comes from the uniquely twisted sense of humor over at Selfish Kitty, like the Happy Valentine’s Day wish from a secret admirer . . . ”You may remember me from outside your window.”

‘Tis the time of year when certain folks develop the blues, also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder. According to the engineers at Apollo Health, the culprit is not enough of the right type of light for your body’s particular needs. Utilizing research on Circadian Rhythms from the National Institute of Health, NASA, and several medical universities, they created a line of full-spectrum, 10,000-lux light boxes to reset the body’s clock and improve sleep, mood and energy cycles. Take their free test to learn more about your body’s clock, then check out their products. The briteLite6 ($299) is a compact box powerful enough to work 20 to 30 inches away on a desktop. Their portable goLite products (various models, $229-$299) make use of research on the body’s response to blue light, the most advanced, fastest working treatment, and are less intense than traditional light therapy devices. Their Daybreak Duo ($199) works with your bedside lamp to simulate a natural sunrise each morning that lets you wake up gradually and complete the final sleep stage. (Alarm clocks apparently interrupt that cycle and leave you with “sleep latency” the rest of the day.) The device also provides a sunset that tells your body to slow down at the end of the day. For acne sufferers and spa rats, there’s healing light from Light Therapy Products. Their Dr. Kern Beauty Skin Light ($299) irradiates blemished skin using blue light to create free oxygen, unblock pores, and restore the healthy bacterial flora that prevent pimples and blackheads. Their LED Skin Rejuvenating Light ($349), according to the site, can reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, facial blemishes and crow’s feet by stimulating cellular collagen activity and reducing melanin production. Don’t let the darkness of winter get you down. Bask in the light, even if you have to plug it in.

In the world of gift giving, nothing says “I’m Committed!” more than a personalized gift. Whether you have something engraved, embroidered or monogrammed, a confident gift giver often gets a big thumbs up from recipients who are bowled over by the thoughtfulness. Most malls have a Things Remembered. But you can also order all of their items online and have them shipped directly to loved ones. They offer everything from traditional wedding flutes to a Heritage Family Tree. They even have NFL-themed gifts for the sports lover. And of course there is always the option of classic stationery or notecards by Fine Stationery.com , which offers beautiful and unique choices by paper companies including Crane & Co., Vera Wang, William Arthur and more. And for the new baby, there is no shortage of adorable and fetching gift options at SignatureBaby.com, including embroidered terry velour hooded towels, chenille blankets and bodysuits for tiny boys and girls. For trendy and unique personalized soaps, cosmetic bags, terry slippers and other chic gifts for ladies, look no further than MulberryMoon.com. But for the very special occasion or event, consider commemorating it with an exquisitely engraved silver platter by Silverandpewtergifts.com, where they also offer an array of trophies, barware and ornaments. And at PersonalizationMall.com, there is a wide selection of laser engraved wood frames for grandparents, couples, kids and just about anyone on your gift list.

I belong to a wine club of about a dozen of the prettiest women you’ve ever met. Somehow, perhaps because this is an alcohol-centric activity, at least one of us seems to be pregnant at any given meeting. One of the most recent members to make the transition to maternity wear showed up at a meeting wearing a smashing white wrap top that we all ooh’d and ahh’d over; when she pointed out that the wrapability would allow it to grow along with her little basketball of a belly, we were all swooning and scrambling to write down the name of the designer. Turns out Isabella Oliver makes tons of brilliantly designed, chic, sexy maternity clothes. While the wrap-around top (pictured) is what initially won us all over, the puff-sleeve and cutaway variations are equally amazing. A kimono-style wrap can be worn open or with a sash to accommodate your bump throughout your pregnancy, and the adjustable-waist Garbo trousers will take you through your whole 9-plus-month journey. The prettiest floor-length wrap dress is almost (almost!) enough to make me wish I were pregnant again. And we love the fact that most of these fashions are now on sale. But it’s the ingenious “Bump Band” set (just like the now-ubiquitous Bella Bands) that really make me wish I’d waited the extra four years until they’d been invented before having kids.

Perhaps on your to-do list, between cleaning the garage and organizing thousands of family photos, is “writing the Great American Novel.” Even if you’re just testing the waters, you’ll need a few items to get your creative juices flowing. Why not start with the notebook that Hemingway loved? Moleskine notebooks are a must-have for any writer-to-be, especially those who prefer to jot down their ideas in longhand. Every writer needs a special place of her own; a new writing desk can be just the thing. If your book requires equal parts research and creativity, Writer’s Blocks software allows you to take control of every aspect of the process by leaving behind notecards and using digital blocks to organize notes and ideas. For inspiration, turn to writers like Natalie Goldberg and Anne Lamott, who share their thoughts on how to get started, stay motivated and finish the job. The essential book for any aspiring writer is the 2008 Writer’s Market, a comprehensive guide to publishers, agents, magazines and more; the Writers Market online version is a quick and easy way to find contact information and track your writing submissions. A subscription to Writer’s Digest or Poets & Writers can provide the latest news on writing programs, contests and book releases. The ultimate writer’s tool? Well, you will already have to have that fat book advance in order to afford a Montblanc pen, such as the Boheme Jewels Topaz pens ($899, pictured), the crown jewel of writing instruments. Maybe you could save that for the book signing?

We got all excited when we heard that Loeffler Randall was Target’s next big haute-design-on-the-cheap victim — after all, we’d been obsessing over their ruffle-trimmed flats since the weather started to turn cool last fall. But as amazing an eye as starlet designer Jessie Randall has, we just can’t help but be disappointed by the clunky, plastic-y materials and awkward metal plackets declaring “Loeffler Randall for Target” on each piece — such as this woven hobo that, in another life, could have been cool; and this metallic clutch (pictured), which really doesn’t inspire us to bring it to any party at all. If Target’s mission is to offer high fashion for next-to-nothing prices, it negates the whole envy-of-all-your-neighbors factor if what your bag says about you isn’t “I have an excellent eye for just the perfect accessory, and I’m not afraid to splurge on style,” but “This is what was staring me in the face when I went into the chain superstore to buy toilet paper.” So we’ll sit this one out, thank you very much, and hope that Target encourages a subtler branding from their next great runway-worthy find. And while Loeffler Randall’s “For Target” collection is a near-total miss, there are still some great Erin Featherston pieces to be found in Target’s clearance section. As for Loeffler Randall, for us, it’s worth the $350 for the real thing.

Searching for something fun and different for a Valentine’s gift? Shopperati found these quartz timepieces by Marc Jacobs irresistible. The Padlock Heart Charm necklace (pictured) has a Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz feel to it and can be yours (or yours to give to a loved one) for $125. Available at eluxury.com, the red plastic charm hangs from a 27″ inch chain, has a mineral crystal and is water resistant.  If you’re smitten and you know it, the Padlock and Key Pendant ($150) would also make a nice gift. If both of these make too much of a romantic statement, or if you’re just looking for a Valentine’s trinket for your BFF, sister or daughter, then check out the Star Charm Watch Necklace ($125). Perhaps the classic retro look of this Round Watch Charm has the vintage vibe you crave. Or maybe the people on your gift list are not the pendant type at all, in which case there are a few bracelet watch charms like this Star Watch Charm bracelet ($200) that features a black star dangling from an antiqued brass chain. And while there are no lions or tigers or bears, there are some Apples and Cherries and Pears. Oh my!