A Few Of My Favorite Things

It's that time of year again where I delay and postpone most of the major shopping for holiday gifts because I haven't a clue what to get anyone in my family. My friends are easy, but because I haven't found the key to Independent Wealth, they understand their gifts usually come after the big day and not before. I do have one day off this week with Fatima to spend however we wish sans toddler, my gorgeous niece, except for the one in her belly oven, and I'm supposed to get all my shopping done this day. I keep wondering, HOW am I ever going to do that?! And with only one paycheck that oh.. other bills are supposed to be paid from too. It's going to be a holiday miracle people. Something that Hallmark or Lifetime will want to produce as their next female driven tv movie, but luckily where no one gets beaten first, because that's just not very warm and fuzzy for this time of year.. obviously.

ANYWAY.. I've compiled a little list of gifty type links for you and me so we can all browse together. Shall we?

Let's get straight to one of my favorite things: T-shirts. I heart a great t-shirt. I really do. That's probably why when I recently bought one for the holidays for my friend who will have to go unnamed just in case he may actually read this post tho he never reads anymore (so why am I getting him anything?! I wonder this too, but this shirt is perfect!), I had to buy one for myself as well. Had to. So I went for Noisebot.com. Some are odd, some I don't get, and yet, some never stop being funny. And similarly - almost eerily alike - there's Busted Tees, which may just be a tad cheaper (of course I find something like this AFTER I buy 2 shirts on the previous site..) and how can it be bad when all the shirts come with descriptions? It can't! This one has to be my favorite. And then there is Threadless.com, which is apparently, cheaper still due to their $10 holiday sale that ends.. oops.. today.. but you go and get on that anyway.. because how can you go thru life without a t-shirt like this? I ask you. You can't. That's how.

For other wearable items, especially for your favorite cook, I still like these adorable aprons I found on Wrapables.com. I could totally see my dear little Shine in this one or this one and I also like they have a cute selection of kids' aprons too.

I thought these little wine stoppers were pretty cute for your favorite wine drinker who may be torn between right and wrong now and then. I mean.. it happens, right? When wine is involved.. you just never know.

And what goes with wine? Bread and cheese, right? And what goes with good bread? Yummy dipping oils from Williams-Sonoma. While there you could pick up some of their high heat spatulas, measuring spoons and a cute little timer because your own chef at home probably needs some of these fun things that might cost a little more than say.. shopping at Target, but make the kitchen feel more personal and your chef a little spoiled, as they should.

And tho I linked to this last year, this light is still one of my all-time favorite bits of decor (not that I have one and you might consider it on my list as well.. ahem).

For the person who is always coming and going in your life, you might give him or her these sassy luggage tags so their belongings are unmistakable along with this sexy travel bar for which they can make the friendly skies just a bit friendlier if the mood strikes them.

For the person you know who lives amidst blank walls, you might try giving them something a bit different than just your average Monet print. Scribble has gift certificates available for their removable wall decals and your giftee can even custom design it themselves. And then there's Blik who has so many different choices you may be overwhelmed but one of their partners is actually Threadless, the t-shirt company I listed earlier. So how fun would something like this be? Tho I think this one is my favorite.

And if you want something a little more functional, you could always try these fun removable chalkboard things that Shine and I just put up in our kitchen. Not only are they affordable, but you can arrange the panels any way you see fit or cut them to pieces and put them other places you thought a little chalkboard was necessary. Chalk is even included! Awesome, right? So much!

If you're actually looking for art tho, I will direct you to a personal friend of mine, Jason Waskey. He's a painter. A really, really good painter and he also has a blog where you can check out the small works he's selling currently. Some are as cheap as $100 like this gorgeous little number he's holding for me, which just happens to be the ticket from the show I produced in November and I think that's pretty special. So go get some art. Monet would be proud of you.

For a little camper I know I thought this mini remote-control lantern could be just the thing to light up her tent at night when she's in the desert and it only takes one AA battery! Serious radness from Restoration Hardware.

Shine and I have also taken to playing Scrabble on Facebook these days with many of our friends so a vintage wooden box edition of the real thing might be uber snazzy. And even better if it came with its own dictionary. There's even a very cute little travel version for killing time between the holiday dinner and that inevitable popping in of The Christmas Story that your brother will insist on watching for the zillionth time.

For the girl in your life who likes snazzy bits of pretty things, I still highly recommend this very fancy mascara, big gorgeous eyes, by Philosophy because who doesn't want eyes that pop? No one! No one doesn't want those. Then there's this lovely fragrance called grace that smells so light and pretty you will want to buy boxes of it like I wanted to when I discovered it. And the staple I cannot live without is their kiss me lip gloss that isn't sticky, isn't glittery, and is just the best lip gloss ever, period. I love the clear for everything, but the red is very sheer and gives a little extra kick in these early darkened evenings that go perfectly with a glass of cabernet and a handsome, holiday date.

If your girl is a little funkier in her tastes, I personally like this cute little hat from delia's, this adorable pink clutch from Urban Outfitters because she's still girly and this shiny bit of electricity for around her neck to let her know she really creates a spark when she walks into a room.

For the music lover, an iTunes gift certificate would never be unappreciated and I would recommend one of my favorite cd's this year, which is The Shins, Wincing The Night Away. The new Feist, Reminder is another good one, and KT Tunstall's latest, Drastic Fantastic. If you like a little more bass in your tunes, I liked the new Mark Farina, House Of Om or for a little more housey, Miguel Migs', Those Things was good to groove to this summer. Lastly, for simply the most amazing guitarists you will ever hear in your lives - and you should really see them live because they will knock your socks off - Rodrigo Y Gabriela were one of the best discoveries this year. Just phenomenal. There are really not enough descriptive words to say how incredible they are.

For other more personal gifts, there are always sweet ideas of baking homemade cookies, putting together a mini book of your favorite poems or recipes, hand-written and bound with pretty ribbon, or searching thru some of the local antique and second-hand stores to find a one-of-a-kind little knick-knack or bauble or antique book that might bring a sparkle to someone's eye for its originality.

If you wanted to use your ingenuity to better the world, you could take on sponsoring a child thru Children International and tho I'm not here to preach, I have to say I do get choked up every time I get a letter from Christian, who I sponsor out of the Phillippines. There's also Heifer International, which by a small or large donation, can provide a family with a new way of life completely so that they can provide for themselves. It's all pretty wonderful if you ask me.

This week is sure to be filled with a large to-do list for me: shopping for family and friends, making travel arrangements, eating and drinking way too much with friends before I head to Oregon to do the same thing with my family, hitting the gym as much as possible so none of the said stuffing of face will matter anyway, reflecting on my decisions that brought me both happiness and heartache this year and thinking about those around me who influenced each, what I can do better to contribute to my overall sense of self, not to mention the world to make it a better place - and wishing you, my dear readers, a very lovely holiday filled only with peace and love because that's what you all deserve. I hope you find the perfect gifts for your loved ones and travel safely to all your destinations. Do avoid your crazy aunt's fruit cake tho.