Noone likes to be stuck in traffic. The phone number 866-698-7232 can be called anytime, from anywhere. It’s the phone number for Traffic.com. When you dial in you can give the name of a major city and get a report of traffic delays. Traffic.com also offers a website that powers the phone number I gave you. Listings keep visitors informed of traffic incidents, events and roadwork and monitor traffic hotspots. The site is easy to use but I think it needs to cover more areas to be truly helpful.

I’ve been checking out a lot of personalized birth announcements lately, with the birth of my niece in the near future. PhotoAffections.com offers holiday photo cards, as well as personalized birth and wedding announcements. All of the photo cards looked terrific but some of the cutest ones of all were the Halloween cards. (I love the one with the cat on the front!) All of the products are created here in the US, with printing done by the in-house professional photo lab.The process is fairly simple. After finding and personalizing the design you want, simply check out and upload the photos you wish to use. Within three days you’ll receive your first of the three email proofs involved in the editing process. Once you’ve made your final approval the finished cards ship out in about two days. The site is very easy to use and there’s a big selection of unique cards. If you’re looking for some colorful and unique cards, check out PhotoAffections.com.

I’ve located another site that compares all sorts of travel rates and deals. It’s called BookingBuddy. It allows visitors to put in information on the travel they want to do and then choose which sites they want searched for pricing (there’s more than 140 according to the website).There is an option to check recently made searches. A free weekly newsletter is available as well that offers the latest deals.

About four years ago I had a heck of a time finding drapes to coordinate with my jade sectional couch. I looked in every store within two counties and checked more websites than I can count. Had I known about FabricWorkroom.com back then my search for the perfect window treatments could have been solved in a day instead of taking more than a month.

You see, FabricWorkroom.com lets visitors shop the site’s designer fabrics and then have products custom made according to their requirements. Some of the products they can make include curtains, drapes, valances, swags, shower curtains, pillows and bedding. Now anyone can have a home that looks like it was done by an interior decorator without the high price of hiring one. Concerned about ordering fabric over the internet? FabricWorkroom.com has an online fabric library and will gladly mail you sample swatches of many of their products.

To order your custom home decorations just select the the product you’re interested in customizing. Then select the fabric that you’ve chosen. Then consult the toolbox, which contains information on measurin, width, care and cleaning. Order the item and check out. That’s it. After you place your order your customized product will be made in a state of the art workroom here in the United States and shipped directly to you. There is no sales tax on US orders shipped to states other than CT. Most finished products shipped within the continental United States are shipped with no charge.

If you’re having a hard time finding just the right things for your home or if you enjoy creating a look, check out FabricWorkshop.com. There’s a fabric there for every taste. Happy window shopping!

Here’s another website I found out about. It’s the 360 Travel Guide. The site describes itself as offering virtual tours and travel guides. I can’t say that I completely agree with their description. The site offers what I would call 360 degree photos. You can click on the picture and orient your view to any angle you like. While it’s neat, to consider it a tour I’d actually want to be shown more than the view from one spot. I was really disappointed that there weren’t actual little tour videos on there. You know, something a few minutes long walking through an area, building or attraction. There are also travel blogs available on the site, as well as some travel guides offering calendars of events in certain areas. I think this site has the potential to be really good, but that it isn’t quite there yet.

Of course I’m not referring to noses. Or butts. I’m referring to picking your own fruits and vegetables. It’s a fun way to spend a day with family and/or friends and save some money on foods you love. The Pick Your Own website allows visitors to find farms in their area, as well as offering how tos, guides, picking tips and canning instructions. Farm listings are available to the US, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand. Fruit picking can be lots of fun and fresh fruit tastes soooo good. Have you ever gone picking for fruits or vegetables?

A website that I recently found out about is Road Trip America. Some of the features the site offers include destination suggestions, maps, motel guides, interesting sites, car games and a fuel cost calculator. They offer lots of tips and hints, as well as links to recommended books sorted by category that travelers might find helpful. My favorite part of the site is the the Funny Signs section, where you can look at lots of funny road signs and even submit ones that you’ve seen. You can have fun visiting this website even if you’re not planning a road trip.