Mother's Day Shipping Schedule

Mother's Day is a day of appreciation celebrated in countries around the world. For example, Norway toasts her moms in February,  Kurdistan in June, Thailand and Costa Rica in August, Argentina in October, and Russia in November. In the U.S., the second Sunday of May each year is set aside to honor our Moms. This year Mother's Day is Sunday, May 10th. Why not surprise your mom, step mom, foster mom, mother-in-law, grandma, or even a special auntie with a special Mother's Day gift this May 10th?  Zoey's Attic can help. The good news is there is still plenty of time to order and have delivery of your custom Mother's Day shirts and sweet gifts such as the Grandma's love bugs bib apron, Mom and Nana tote bags, custom throw pillows, and personalized drinkware for everyone on your list. And even better, if you order by May 2nd you will only need to add BASIC shipping for processing and delivery before Mother's Day. This applies for U.S. shipping only as the international shipping deadline for a May 2015 Mother's Day has already passed... so sorry! After May 2nd our U.S. customers will need to upgrade the shipping method at checkout to USPS Priority Mail or USPS Express Mail to ensure the U.S. Postal Service can deliver your custom shirts and gifts in time for Mom's special day. Be sure to check back after May 2nd for current deadlines for Priority and Express Mail shipping. And as always, thank you ever so much for shopping with Zoey's Attic! 

Mother's Day Shirts and Gifts from Zoey's Attic

Bling It On!

It's amazing how our littlest angels' personalities, likes and dislikes, develop at such a tender young age. I never imagined my little girl wouldn't love all things sparkly. She never wanted to wear flashy jewelry and certainly nothing glittery on her clothes that might bring attention to her. Honestly, I couldn't understand it! I mean, really now, what girl doesn't like to glitter and shine? Then one day much to my surprise, it happened and she was all about the bling! I was thrilled! So if you know someone who loves all the flashy girly glitter, check out Zoey's Attic collection of the trendiest glittery shirt styles for little girls, big girls, moms, and moms-to-be!

How fun would it be to host a gender reveal party and the mom-to-be fashionably arrives wearing a maternity tee featuring an adorable glittery jeweled crown belly print revealing a sweet little princess will soon be the newest member of her royal family. And if mom isn't far enough along to require a maternity style top,  no problem she can have the shirt made in a non-maternity style. The sparkly glitter is actually a vinyl glitter, is machine washable, and not messy at all! And if the mom-to-be isn't revealing the gender but wants to make a surprise pregnancy announcement, then the adorable "pot of gold" maternity shirt fits the bill. Perfect for the Irish mom or Irish wanna be mommy, and it's especially fun to share your good news, if possible, wearing this top around St. Patrick's Day. Or, if you already have a little girl, why not let her spill the beans wearing one of our "big sis" sparkly shirt designs.

Glitter Collection from Zoey's Attic

And you will want your little princess to shine at her first birthday party! The unique sparkly birthday tees with four leaf clover or heart design are perfect for any age. So if your little lady isn't quite yet into the bling scene, just wait... she will be one day and the glittery birthday t-shirt designs can be custom made for her 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or any birthday at all. Another option for the older girls and young women is the glittery monogrammed shirt. I'm all about the personalization so this design is definitely a favorite!

Glittery Collection from Zoey's Attic

Guess what? When your little Miss is about ready to become a Mrs. our sister site, You're Worth It, will be there to supply all the bling she will need for her engagement and bachelorette party! There are fun tops for the bride like the "final fling before the ring" in tank, crew, or v-neck styles. There are even sparkly mason jar mugs and koozies that make super gifts for the bridal party! And of course, sparkly "bride" shirts to wear while getting ready on her wedding day.

You're Worth It Bridal

Mother's Day is almost here and so to all my family...Bling It On!

Taxing Time

Courtesy IRS.gov

Over the past few years several major cyber attacks have been announced by a number of well known companies such as Target, The Home Depot, and the arts and craft store Michaels.  I have shopped and used my debit/credit card at all of these stores on numerous occasions, and so I was not surprised when I received letters from each stating my banking information may have been compromised. Then JP Morgan Chase was breached, and of course I have a Chase Visa card, so I found another letter in my mailbox informing me that my personal information may have been stolen. Then we learned several health insurance providers including Anthem BlueCross BlueShield and Healthcare.gov had also been hacked. More letters arrived at my home with the news my personal information including the social security numbers for both my husband and myself may have been stolen. It seems there are daily newspaper articles or news segments on the nightly news dedicated to IRS Identity Theft.

Tax Day, Wednesday, April 15th is rapidly approaching so a few weeks past I gathered all my financial information and visited our accountant. He is a very reputable CPA whom has prepared our tax returns since we were first married many, many years ago. Then last week when he tried to electronically file our tax returns the filings were rejected by both the Federal and State governments. It made me physically sick when I received his phone call informing me that our IRS identity had indeed been stolen. The perpetrator stole both of our social security numbers and filed separate Federal and State tax returns in each of our names. I can't even begin to tell you how angry I am with this scene! My husband and I have worked our entire lives, sometimes two and three jobs at the same time to make ends meet and provide for our family. We have always lived up to our responsibilities and paid our bills in a timely manner. As a result we each individually have excellent credit ratings. So I didn't take it kindly when I learned we had been victims of tax related identity theft!

The IRS Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft offers a wealth of information on the steps to take if you have become a victim. We first met with our financial advisor and were given a list of steps to take to hopefully resolve our tax situation while also protecting our credit scores. We both had to first prepare affidavits stating who we were and that we had been victims of identity theft. If you prepare your taxes on your own you will need to stop by your local IRS office and enlist the aid of an agent to help you prepare the affidavit. You must attach to the affidavit a copy of a legal form of identity such as a valid driver's license or passport. We chose to use our licenses and were told it must be an enlarged copy. So we were off to the nearby FedEx store for copies of our individual licenses. And yes, it also cost us to obtain these enlarged documents. If you are a victim of tax identity theft you must file paper copies of your returns and the affidavits must also be attached to the returns.

Courtesy of IRS.gov

Next we were advised to bring copies of the affidavits to our local police department and file individual police reports. Check, we did that and were given our police report numbers. Make sure you get these numbers because you will need them for the next step.

Now it is time to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. You can go online and complete the paperwork at www.identitytheft.gov or call the FTC Identity Theft Hotline at 1-877-438-4338 to report your details. I chose to call the hotline and after waiting for several  minutes I was finally connected to an agent and successfully completed reports for both my husband and myself. When making this report you will be asked for the name and phone number of the police department where your identity theft report was filed and you must also provide the FTC with the police report numbers.

Next you need to contact one of the three major credit reporting bureaus to place a "fraud alert" on your credit records. You only need to report your identity theft to one of the agencies as that bureau will contact the other agencies for you. The credit bureau agencies and contact information are as follows:

Equifax: www.Equifax.com  1-800-525-6285

Experian: www.Experian.com  1-888-397-3742

TransUnion: www.TransUnion.com  1-800-680-7289

The credit agency recommends you obtain a copy of your credit report and review it carefully specifically looking for any fraudulent accounts that may have been opened in your name. You can receive a free copy of your credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com. If both your husband and your social security numbers have been stolen you will need to obtain the credit reports for each of you. After reviewing both reports I was starting to feel a bit of relief as everything appeared intact with no negative information nor any identifiable fraudulent accounts. Sadly my relief was short lived. A few days later I received a debit/credit card in the mail.. one I had not applied for nor requested. It was from T-Mobile, had an incomplete name, and an incorrect zip code on the envelope. Somehow by the grace of God, it was delivered to me. At first I thought it was a fake card with an invitation to apply. The more I looked at it I realized it was a real debit/credit card. I then called T-Mobile and after several phone prompts was able to connect to a live customer service representative to discuss what I believed was a fraudulent account in my name. Sure enough, it was an account opened without my permission by someone unknown to me. I was then connected with an Identity Theft Specialist who asked for additional information and promptly closed the account.

Now I wait with apprehension to see what happens next. I mailed the paper copies of my Federal and State tax returns today. Oh, and please let me know if you have been a victim too and what steps you took to correct the situation.

Father's Day Savings

Adorable Babies Gift Set

Father's Day is Sunday, June 21st and here is a little peek at our adorable shirts and gifts for Dad and Grandpa! That's right, just day "NO" to ties and "YES" to tees or any of our other unique Father's Day gifts! It just makes perfect sense to give something special to the very special men in your life! Also excited to share the news that starting NOW you can save an extra 10% at Zoey's Attic Personalized Gifts on all your Father's Day purchases! Just use coupon code NOTIES at checkout for your 10% savings on items in your shopping basket. Be sure to check out all our personalized shirts for Dad and Grandpa. Also choose a fun and personalized gift such as a custom bib apron for the Dad who loves to cook or barbeque or the funny "gut fish?" apron for the fisherman in the family!  The personalized coffee mugs for the "World's Best Grandpa" or daddy also make great Father's Day gifts. There are sweet and sentimental designs too such as the "family tree" or "love you to the moon" throw pillows. There is even a "family tree" tote bag for Grandpa or Papa, a family tree wall canvas, and a  matching "family tree" t-shirt!  And if you decide on the "love you to the moon" throw pillow you will just have to complement it with the matching moon coffee mug!  And, of course our adorable original design "I Make Adorable Babies" dad and baby gift set is our #1 best seller! Zoey's Attic also has many other Dad/Kiddo designs to choose from and these matching sets are always fan favorites! Just imagine the adorable photo ops with dad and his little pride and joy! You'll really have to check us out for the cutest Father's Day gifts ever! And don't forget to use your coupon code when checking out for 10% off the items in your shopping cart! Happy Shopping!

Father's Day Gifts from Zoey's Attic