Royally yours

Two posts in one day! I guess I'm just spilling over with gifts I love.

And speaking of love, anyone who remembers my love of all things British will understand why I must post about the great designs over at Pintuck (via Print & Pattern). Check out their "Made in England" tea towels, aprons and bags. Perfect gift for your favorite Brit host/hostess!

I also love their "It's a Beautiful Day" print --- great for spring.

Flower Power

Love it a lot just posted this sweet little lidded jar from Whitney Smith. Perfect for your best friend's wedding shower or even as a gift for grandma. $44.00

Make your own cookbook

Know anyone who's ever wanted their own cookbook? My friend Paola sent me over this link from the New York Times about a new venture from Conde Nast and Kamran Mohsenin - Tastebook.com. Through this site, users can create their very own cookbooks, using up to 100 recipes from Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Epicurious, and other chefs. You can even add your own personal recipes - which is why I really like this concept. The book comes in a hardcover binder (you choose the front image and the title) and allows you to add chapters that are tabbed for easy access.

How much does all this cost? $34.95!

For gift-giving purposes, I suggest gathering up the family's favorite recipes and creating a cookbook using the family name (ie, The Smith Family Recipes) and gifting to all the chefs in your clan. This would also be great for showers, weddings, and office parties.

Thanks for the tip P!

Mixed Tapes: The Next Generation

One of my favorite things to give and receive has got to be the CD mix. The CD can be themed with titles like "X-mas", "Winter" or "Let it Snow"; or they can be themed to a particular type of music or upcoming event. Zeichen press gets this, and has come up with an array of awesome CD sleeves that would be the perfect compliment to any CD mix. Some favorites are below...pick them up, along with their other fabulous stationary, at the shops listed here. (Found via Indie Fixx.)

Matthew Mead: Style Genius?

Black.White.Bliss reminded me of one of my favorite party inspiration sites - Matthew Mead Style. His ideas are genius and I know for a fact he could out dress any table in the New England area (sorry Martha). His fall site is up, and some of his amazing downloads include jack-o-lantern inspired wine glasses, with an orange cocktail recipe; Halloween treat boxes and Halloween giftwrap; and thanksgiving place holders and favor boxes. Perfection!

Gift-list

For those of us who find inspiration for gift giving everywhere, here is the Little Gift Giving Book at Good on Paper. Now you can write down what your thinking whenever you have those light bulb gift moments, instead of wandering around the mall aimlessly the night before your mom's birthday. ($7.00, via Poppytalk)

Leaf Soaps

For the host/ess or even as a housewarming gift, I spied these neat leaf soaps over at apartment therapy. Set up in a wooden bowl (as pictured) and wrap in cellophane with a couple of lotus candle holders.

Ingredients for this gift:

-leaf soaps ($12.99)

-wooden bowl (DIY version $11.02, Ebay, around $6.00)

-lotus candle holders ($24.00 for two)

TOTAL GIFT TAG: Around $45.00