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.)
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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.)
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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.
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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.
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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.

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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.
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Vanessa asked if I’d do a post on college graduation gifts. At first I misread the request as high school graduation gifts, so I was all, “Hot pot and a box of Ramen! X-long sheet set! Gift certificate for pizza place near dorms!”

College graduation is a little trickier, because the way people live in college (and their plans for what’s next) can vary so much. It’s similar to buying a wedding gift, where it depends if the couple are leaving their parents’ houses for the first time, or if they’ve been living together for years, or if they’re combining two households. Some college kids live in the dorms the whole time, so they could use “first apartment” gifts. Other kids get an apartment at some point during college and so they pretty much have everything—oh, except the coffee pot belongs to this roommate, and the silverware belongs to that roommate, and the furniture was all found at the curb, and actually they do kind of need new-apartment stuff. Some kids are going to move back in with their parents for awhile; some are launching off next week to a new job in another state.

So my first recommendation is to take the post-college plans into consideration, and see if you can buy something that would be useful for that. Helpful! The old “Hey, how about buying them something they’d like and/or could use!” gift suggestion!
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This is the time of year my mom and I notice ourselves craving spring colors. “Oh, soon the SPRING STUFF will be here!” we exclaim as we walk through the aisles of clearance blankets in the browns and wines and golds and deep olives that looked so warm and cozy a couple of months earlier and now look heavy and dark. It’s still winter, but we’re pining for spring.

Grasslands Road Just Desserts Parfait Cups (photo from Amazon.com). Ahhhhhhh.

Geninne Zlatkis Walkabout Framed Print (photo from UrbanOutfitters.com). Spring bird! With flowers!
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Every year, EVERY YEAR, I feel like it is wayyyy too early to discuss gift ideas / holiday china / holiday cards and so everyone will be annoyed because OMG SWISTLE IT’S ONLY HALLOWEEN—and then every year I am sitting here with only two Wednesdays left before Christmas, thinking, “There’s no tiiiiiiiiiime! There’s no tiiiiiiiiiiime!!” Still on my post list: gifts that have to work for an unknown recipient, food gifts, holiday cards, holiday china patterns, a holiday craft a child can make as a gift and it’s something a non-related-to-the-child person might even WANT, gift-idea books for children, gift-idea books for adults, good general DVD gift sets, puzzle brand comparison, teacher gift ideas, stocking stuffers, gift ideas for 4/6/10/12-year-olds. We can pick two of those. And by “we” I mean “me,” because by the time you read the first of the two posts (this one), I’ll already be working on the second one. So. Next year don’t be surprised if I start the discussion in October.
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Le Creuset 12-ounce pumpkin casserole (photo from Amazon.com). Let’s not even look at the price. Let’s just focus on the cuteness and imagine making each dinner guest their own personal Thanksgiving-leftovers casserole in one of these. They’re 4-for-3, so…. No. Let’s not compute the price. Let’s just daydream a little longer.

Wilton pumpkin-pie-shaped pie tin (photo from Amazon.com). This seems clever AND adorable, especially for families that make more than one kind of pie. Er, not that there’s any confusion once the pies have been cut into. Still. Cute.
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