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.)

I always wondered what I'd look like with antlers...

If you are just too lazy to dress up for Halloween, these mirrors from the Design Can might put you in the holiday spirit. Perfect for the friend who thinks it'd be cool to be a pirate. (What?! I'm the only one who knows someone like that?) Also just a fun mirror to give in general. The mirrors (don't worry, pirate isn't the only style) are available at Unica Home for $48.00 (found via Apartment Therapy).

New Orleans Baby!

In case anyone was wondering, the gift giver went to New Orleans on a three-day excursion. If you've never been, or if you haven't been post-Katrina, I highly recommend it. The city is really getting back on it's feet and the people there are all about having a great time. If you're in the area and looking for possible souvenirs/gifts here are some hot spots I found.

The New Orleans School of Cooking and Louisiana General Store in the French Quarter offers daily cooking classes, plus a store where you can get traditional New Orleans seasonings. I picked up some Joe's seasoning for stocking stuffers (also available in their online shop). The staff there is very friendly and willing to help with whatever you are looking for.

I'm not necessarily a sweet person, but it's had to go to New Orleans without passing a praline shop. Many claim to be the "original," and while that is an argument I wouldn't want to touch, I had a chance to sample Aunt Sally's at the French Market, and they are delish! Pick up a box for grandma.

If you head over to Magazine Street, you must hit up Pied Nu. It is a cute little boutique with all sorts of gifts, I especially love their jewelry (warning...they aren't cheap)! You may also want to check out Hazelnut, which has the "exclusive" New Orleans Toile. When I first moved to CT, I turned into a toile freak, and although I have since calmed down, my heart went pitter-patter at the thought of a New Orleans toile accordion file.

So, there you have it! Anyone else have good gift recommendations for the NOLA area?

Asian Inspiration at Horchow

While super-sheik Neiman Marcus retailer Horchow may be a bit out of my budget, they do have some nice once-in-a-lifetime gifts for weddings, showers and engagements. And if nothing else, they provide inspiration for your next trip to Homegoods.

These "Asian Treasures" would impress even your most critical giftee.

Antique Food Basket, hails from 1850-1870, $190.00

Antique Grain Barrel, circa 1850-1870, $300.00


Antique Drum, 100-120 years old, $379.00 (marked as a "special" HA!)

Welcome Home

Is it just me, or does everyone seem to be buying and/or selling houses lately (myself included)? When I saw this over at How about orange (one of my favorite blogs) I instantly thought, "Housewarming gift!" This Welcome Sign comes from Spell with Flickr, an online tool where you can type in a word and receive a regeneration of the letters spelled out using photos from Flickr. Pretty cool, huh?

Just print out your word of choice (maybe even trying out different languages, like Benvenuto, Italian for "Welcome") on photo-quality paper, frame it, wrap it with a snazzy ribbom or bow, and voila! I think I might try it out this weekend. If I do, I'll be sure to post the results.



This would also work as a gift to someone using their name (as suggested via nested). I can think of a few new, hip mommies and teens who would really enjoy their own Photo-Letter Name Sign.

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