Birthday Gift for Uncle

I know I said I wasn't too crazy on photo gifts, but sometimes sentiment rules.

Got a super cute photo of my uncle and myself and put it on a photo mug from snapfish, and it turned out great!

Father's Birthday Gift

It's hard to shop for my father because he doesn't need much and what he does need, he gets. We'll be meeting in CA soon, so I thought I'd get him a nice framed art print that'll remind him of summer. I got him this beautiful print of a sailboat that has these architectural lines that he'll appreciate. It's from an etsy shop called delaflamant, this artist makes great modern prints!

Birthday Gift for my Mother

So I normally steer clear of buying my mother clothes or anything related because she's a stylist and I get nervous on the likely chance she finds it heinous, BUT- I found this leather jacket at CUSP which I thought she'd love. One, it's so soft and incredibly thin which is perfect for a california night as a quick layer, also, it's in a beautiful chocolate brown which she'll love... hopefully! You can also get it at Nordstrom, Neimans, or Barneys.

A Gift for... me

You have to get a nice gift for yourself every once in a while! Got a perfect cocktail dress from Alice and Olivia for the wedding circuit. RULE: I always think it's best to get cute dresses when you see them because when you're scrambling for one the weekend before an event, you always buy one you don't necessarily love.

Birthday Gift for my Grandmother

Sometimes it's good to go in on a gift with someone else. My Grandmother LOVES scarves, so my dearest cousin picked out a really cute Missoni one!

Birthday Gift

Sometimes, I prefer to get a few smaller gifts rather than a big one. For my best friend Sara, I got her 3 of her favorite things; anything pomegranate (pomegranate/white tea gummy pandas from Bissinger's Confections, they also have other flavors like blueberry acai and goji guava), a cute printed clutch for summer (from J.Crew), and a little "gossip" (Amazon always has great prices for DVD's).

My Mother's Day Gift

I'll be seeing my mother shortly, so I wanted to give her something I could present to her in person. She has a weakness for figure sketches, and I saw this one on Etsy from the artist Gretchen Kelly and it was a done deal!

Mother's Day

Boyfriend: What's a good gift for my mother?

I reminded him that his parents are planning to travel to Africa soon and that he should get something related to that... I hinted towards a travel journal and Kolo has such cute ones that are part journal, photo book, and agenda. The small and larger journal comes with two inserts (photo sleeve and notebook) and the larger one can even fit a third insert which you can buy separately.

Me: Get this, say it's for the upcoming Africa trip, insert a picture of you, your brother, and the family dog so she won't miss you too much. Mothers can't get enough of that stuff!

Birthday Gift

Just purchased this print for my friend Jeff. He's a pretty hip guy who just moved to NYC, so I wanted to get him something cool to hang in his new apartment. It's from the artist S.Sarat's Etsy Shop. Etsy is an online community of buyers/sellers of all things handmade or vintage, and it's a great place to find something unique that won't break the bank, although be warned... you'll have to sift through a lot of stores to find the best ones. I'll post links to any of the stores I purchase from.

Engagement Gift

Great gifts don't have to be expensive! Recently, two of my best friends got engaged. We don't live near each other anymore, so we were thinking "what can we send as a cute gift to say congrats?"

We sent off a couple bridal magazine subscriptions each (one was Southern Bride for my Southern belle gf) and a small little something (CD from Williams-Sonoma made for playing at a dinner party, for the pair who likes to entertain frequently). This is great because it's a gift that keeps giving pretty much until the wedding, and it helps the bride-to-be get excited about all the planning!

Love this site because they can send greeting postcards along with your gift subscription.



Congrats to Dane/Fish and Kate/Matt! xo

Soap/Candle Gift Set

Found another on GILT. The himalayan larch set from Red Flower, includes a soap, a soap dish, and a candle. So perfect for housewarming or gifts that need to go to couples! I know just who I want to give this to!

P.S. When doing fragranced items, make sure you know the tastes of the recipient. If you don't, it's better to go with a non-fragranced item or something that's very neutral. Never pick something that's a strong scent unless you know the person will love it. Ex: red currant.

Fun Earrings

I'm not going to lie, I love a good deal.

Just snapped up two pairs of Kendra Scott earrings from GILT for $42 (originally $88) and $35 (originally $75). They aren't fine jewelry, but great pieces for your girlfriends because they're fun and for a season. I'm thinking one for the gift box, and one for me! If you're not a member of GILT, you should join because they have some great deals.

Pictures are below, and check her website if you want to know where to purchase her jewelry.

Last Minute Gift Scramble No More

This post is directed towards my fellow ladies, I don't purport to think that my male counterparts will have the foresight to do this... but maybe someone will surprise me.

Have you ever been invited to a last minute house warming party? An office colleague's bday? Or you forgot about your friend's birthday dinner... that's tonight?

THE GIFT BOX

Every sensible lady should have a gift box in her home, a place to stash good finds and cute treasures to give at a future unknown date for an unknown recipient/occasion or for a very specific occasion for a known recipient.

Stocking the gift box: This is an easy task for ladies who are often out and about. Whenever I'm shopping, I always keep an eye out for things that are appropriate to stock up on. If you see a cute item and you think to yourself, "this is so cute, but I don't really need it" or "this would be great for so and so but their birthday just passed," then you should purchase the item for the gift box! I'm a huge fan of buying something you love when you love it, instead of scrambling to buy something that's not even that great later on when you're in a crunch.

Good things to have on hand in your box or to get you started

• nice candles (Votivo is great)
  
• gift cards THAT DON'T EXPIRE or REDUCE IN VALUE (restaurants, spas, itunes)
• great stationary (Cartier, Kate Spade, Crane and Co.)
  
• wine
• nice cookbooks (Willams-Sonoma has great ones!)
  
• leather notebooks/passport cases/luggage tags
  
• cashmere accessories
• Coffee table books (destinations, artist's work, photographs)
  

Currently in mine

• Candles (in different scents, some are seasonless so I can give them year round and others are more season specific), I recently purchased Votivo garden candles on sale from GILT

• Kate Spade Gift Cards (these are labeled for someone in particular)

• gloves
• A set of Richard Avedon postcards (Portraits of Power)
  
• Really cool silicone propeller trivets by Verbena

The gift box also helps when you've already purchased a gift for someone and you want to top it off with another little item!

First Post

I love gifts.

I love the whole process; the buying, the wrapping, the giving, the opening bit. I really just love knowing that I've given a gift the recipient will enjoy.

Good gift giving can be tough; never get an item the recipient would purchase for themselves! So many times I've heard the usual complaints, "I don't know what to get," "It's so hard to find a good gift," "what are you getting him/her?" Etc.

I genuinely enjoy the process so I've decided to blog it; it'll help me track the good gifts and help me not repeat (although repeats don't necessarily have to be bad!), and perhaps it might even give others who are in a bind a good idea.