Last week I talked about the gifts we were getting/considering for Edward, who is turning 8 next month. This week it’s Elizabeth’s turn: not “girl gifts,” but gifts for a child who is, as it happens, a girl.

Owl apron (photo from Amazon.com). The one I bought her was from Home Goods and has an all-over pattern of owls, but I can’t find it online and this one is cute too.

Personalized street sign (photo from Amazon.com). She’d expressed enthusiastic interest in it a number of months ago as a gift idea for a friend’s birthday party, saying she’d want one for herself, too. But then we realized with the shipping time it wouldn’t arrive before the friend’s party, so we gave up on the idea. When Paul and I discussed still using the idea for Elizabeth’s birthday, we got hung up on not knowing what the quality of the sign would be like, and not even knowing if she’d still want it now—especially if her friend didn’t have a coordinating one. Plus, I know this is a gift for HER and SHE likes the pink, but if _I_ were getting a personalized street sign I’d want it to be GREEN. And I’m not sure that shade of pink would go well with her magenta walls. So anyway, we’re not getting it for this birthday. But maybe I’ll mention it to her again and see if she still wants it at Christmas.
Read the rest of this entry

You know how owl stuff is everywhere? Just EVERYWHERE? I’m so happy.

Kikkerland Owl contact lens case (photo from Amazon.com). This makes me wish I wore contact lenses.

Owl flatware (photo from Amazon.com). Ohhhhh, I wish I had seen this for the silverware post! (One more wish and I’m out of wishes.)
Read the rest of this entry

Gift ideas for guys seem to fall into the same category as gift ideas for teenagers: with so few ideas, sharing what little we have can only improve matters. So here are some of the things I’ve given Paul recently, in case they’d work for your guy too:

Cooking for Geeks (photo from Amazon.com). I was irritated but affirmed when I bought this for Paul for an upcoming holiday and then saw he’d checked the same book out of the library.

Paul kept complaining about (and breaking the handles off of) my “sucky” measuring cups, so I did a post asking for advice on a good manly set. To my surprise and dismay, the comments section filled up with suggestions for measuring cups that cost about triple the amount of money I’d had in mind. But I thought about it and got used to the idea that maybe better quality = costs more, and then there was a sale combined with a free shipping deal, and so I bought him a set of the Williams-Sonoma measuring cups and spoons (photo from Williams-Sonoma.com)—and Paul LOVES them. On the next gift occasion, he hinted that he would also like the odd-sizes set, so I got him those too. (He was slightly cheesed that the two sets of measuring cups don’t nest together, but it wasn’t a big deal.)
Read the rest of this entry

We have a flatware pattern I love: it’s Hampton Finesse and it looks like this (photo from Amazon.com):

We got it at Target kind of a long time ago, and I’m certain we didn’t pay $40 per four place settings: I see similar Hampton sets selling now at Target for $20-35, and also I remember dragging Paul frantically to Target because there were orange tags everywhere and I couldn’t choose a pattern. We chose Finesse only partly for the look of it (though the look has grown on me even more with time): other issues were how the side of the fork handle feels when you’re cutting something, the bowl size/shape of the spoons, etc.

ANYWAY. We need more of it (I keep having to wash silverware in between dishwasher loads), and it’s not available anywhere except online for that high price (PLUS shipping), and I finally bit the bullet this weekend and just PAID it. It’s one of my biggest hurdles: paying more for something I could have gotten for less if I’d realized I would need it. When I am an old lady, that will be my main beef with the world: “Young man, I could have bought this on clearance at Target for ONE TENTH that price in MY day!”

But BEFORE I bit the bullet, I spent some time looking at other flatware patterns, trying out the idea that I could get a non-matching set and we could just mix them in. I didn’t find anything that made sense for this idea (the sets we liked cost MORE than our favorite set), but I did find some fun flatware.

Present Time Mix-and-Match Cutlery (photo from Amazon.com). I love this so much it makes my HEART POUND. The reviews unfortunately indicate that it may be cheap as all heck.
Read the rest of this entry

I chose my kitchen wall calendar: it’s the Art of Valentina one I mentioned in this year’s calendar post. I put it up yesterday at midnight, after spending part of the evening doing my usual New Year’s Eve tradition of copying all the birthdays and anniversaries from the old calendar to the new. (I made a mistake right on the first page and had to scribble it out. Excellent.)

I also have a second calendar on its way to me: a Wallpaper calendar (photo from Amazon.com). I’m not sure about it, though; from the picture it looks like it might be iffy quality (the font does not inspire confidence, especially on the front cover), and there aren’t any reviews. I got it on a nice enough price that it was a gamble I was willing to take in case it’s awesome. In the meantime, I still have other choices in my Amazon cart, and as they drop to half price I might get a different one. It’s just for next to my computer, so I don’t need it first thing on January 1st as I do with the kitchen calendar.

Page-a-day calendars are the same way: I don’t mind catching up on the first couple of weeks all at once. Paul and Rob wanted puzzle ones this year, so I got two (photos above from Amazon.com) when they dropped to 50% off, and now Amazon keeps suggesting more page-a-days. I haven’t had one in recent years, but I might like to.
Read the rest of this entry

I am in full Enjoyable Calendar Fuss Mode now. When I went to my Amazon cart this morning, one of my calendar options (the Wallpaper calendar, which I found after writing this year’s calendar post) had dropped to half price so I bought it—but I’m not really sure about it (the picture of it makes it look like it might be one of the cheap dollar-store ones that rips and curls), and also I still need a second one.

In the meantime, let’s exchange loot lists! Here are some things I got this year:

A Week in Winter, by Maeve Binchy (photo from Amazon.com). This won’t be released in the U.S. until February, so what I got was a note in an envelope saying it had been pre-ordered. Which is what I asked for: this is Maeve Binchy’s last book (she died this year) and I really really really really really want it the very first minute I can have it. I don’t want to patiently wait for the library copy, or for the next gift occasion.

Kiva gift card (screenshot from Kiva.org). Kiva is one of those places where you can give a tiny loan (like, $25) to someone else. Then that person pays it back to you, and you can loan it out again. And again and again. The idea is that sometimes people only need a small boost to make a huge difference in the way they make a living (especially in a country where a little cash goes a long way), but banks are not going to loan them $100. Four Kiva members can team up to loan it, though. I’ve been enjoying loaning and re-loaning so much, I put a $25 Kiva card on my wish list.
Read the rest of this entry

This is my favorite post of the year. I usually prefer to do it the Wednesday after Christmas, because that’s when it’s nice to have something fun and interesting to help counter the after-holiday slumpy feelings, and because a lot of calendars get marked down to 50% off the day after Christmas. But on the other hand I like to have the calendar in my hands before New Year’s Eve, and not all of us have Prime shipping. Plus, even if we didn’t want to BUY the calendar until it goes on sale, certainly we’d want to be READY to buy it, rather than scrambling to decide as favorites sell out. And finally, calendars are not all that expensive full-price, and they make very nice last-minute gifts for anyone you still haven’t found something for.

All of this is to say, “Hi! We’re talking about calendars today!”

Little Critters calendar (photo from Amazon.com). I chose the 2012 version of this calendar last year, and I have enjoyed it very much and would recommend it to others. Each picture was cheerful and whimsical without feeling too babyish—and yet it would also be cute in a child’s room. (I used to put up a calendar over the changing table just to have something to look at as I stood there two dozen times a day.)

This is San Francisco calendar (photo from Amazon.com). I’ve visited San Francisco several times and I had such a nice time there that now I have a soft spot for it. This calendar is a frontrunner for me this year. I love the style of art. There’s also a This is New York calendar and a This is London calendar by the same artist.
Read the rest of this entry

One of my sisters-in-law loves cats and cat-related things, and I have been searching for a cat-related gift for her, so I have cat gifts ON THE BRAIN.

Chuvora Sterling Silver Cat Silhouette Earrings (photo from Amazon.com). I think these are pretty, without being too Cat Lady.

Black Cat Print Set by Kerry Beary on Etsy (photo from the shop). This is more than I want to spend, but I love them and want them FOR MYSELF. And there are a number of $20 prints I want to consider for my sister-in-law. And I’m going to go back later to browse more and put some on my own wish list too.

Read the rest of this entry

I had Thanksgiving at my house last year, and I’m planning to do it again this year. Last year was the first year I was interested in other people’s posts about what they were cooking, and I took notes: one person’s baked mashed potatoes recipe, another person’s roasted root vegetables recipe, another person’s pumpkin pie recipe. I liked being in the kitchen and thinking of how very many of us were ALSO in the kitchen, all making the same sorts of foods.

One of the upsides of hosting Thanksgiving is that I can buy a few accessory pieces: I have enough place settings of my grandma’s china, but I could use some new decorative things for the center of the table, some pretty paper napkins, more salt-and-pepper shakers. I’m not rushing it: everything went fine last year without those things. But it’s fun to have a gap to fill. At a consignment shop I found a good price on a serving dish in my grandma’s pattern; before, I would have thought, “Oh, it’s great, but I’ll never have a chance to use it!” This time, with Thanksgiving dinner in the future, I got out my wallet.

And when I saw acorn placecard holders at the store, instead of thinking, “I never use placecard holders,” I thought “Hey! I could use placecard holders! To hold placecards!” So it has been pleasant, is what I’m saying.

Read the rest of this entry

This Saturday will be the first day of autumn. This puts me in the mood for hot drinks, and for down-filled blankets it’s still not cold enough to use, and for LEAF COLORS.

Le Creuset salt and pepper shakers in Flame (photo from Amazon.com).

Reversible Damask/Polkadot Lumbar Pillow (photo from Amazon.com). The price seems high for a single pillow, but it is a very pretty pillow.
Read the rest of this entry