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My apologies for leaving anyone who was following my gift guide countdown hanging.
Things got a little out of control/frenzied around here. We had three dogs running up and down the stairs wanting to play, three different bathroom schedules, a big cat stalking anyone in the kitchen who might open the fridge, and finally my boyfriend’s parents arrived from Vermont. They will be with us for two weeks and we have many fun adventures planned, including a day trip to Catalina and a ski trip to Mammoth.
MaineMan’s mom is furiously making us dinner downstairs — the second day in a row of her home-cooked meals — YAY ME! — and I’m finally sitting down at my new iMac to write a finale post to my countdown, despite it being nearly three days late and the holiday season of gift-giving being officially over. That is, if you aren’t returning gifts from relatives who failed to interpret your unique sense of style at the shopping mall.
While I was building this year’s gift guide, I failed to come up with a jaw-dropping final post. I couldn’t pick any store or website as my all-time favorite. Then when I opened my Christmas presents I was inspired to share a few faves with you all, in case you didn’t know these brands.
My mom surprised me with a pair of P.J. Salvage pajama pants. It doesn’t get any softer or better than their pajamas. Similar to how I felt when I wore my first Hanky Pankys, I do not ever care to wear another pair of no-name flannel pajamas. If they’re not P.J. I won’t be in them. In addition to the pajamas, my mom and I fell in love with a pair of boots from Sorel in Wilton at their Outdoor Sports Center. The salesman’s eyes left his head when I told him I wanted to wear these furry suckers in Los Angeles.
“LOS ANNNNNGELES?”
“Yup. It gets cold there in the winter.”
Anyhoo, check out these Joan of Arctic boots (Joan, apres Jeanne d’Arc, happened to be my confirmation name). I’m in love with the boots and I’ve been proudly sporting them on all of our puppy nighttime walks.
Just because it’s the last day of the gift/giving countdown doesn’t mean you get to stop looking for ways to give your time and/or money to charity. Today’s suggestion for donations is Coca Cola’s Arctic Home campaign, in conjunction with the World Wildlife Fund. Every time I see a commercial or nature show with polar bears I cry (similar to my reaction to Sarah McLachlan’s commercial for the ASPCA). I literally have to turn my head away because seeing what these animals are going through is just too painful for me to watch. Whether you believe in global warming and its impact on our civilization, there is no disputing that the polar bear has lost countless square miles of its habitat. Unless you’re Santa Claus or an Arctic explorer, chances are you won’t see one in the wild in your lifetime, so go to the Arctic Home website. It’s really well done and there are some cool video/tracking features where you can click on polar bears and capture a video of them in action.
Not inspired by my suggestions over the past 12 days? I’d love to hear what does inspire you. I always love learning new things and new ways to support those in need.
I hope you’ve had a wonderful holiday season so far. We still have New Year’s Eve to look forward to, so no getting the post-holiday blues yet! If you haven’t been, please check out my company website Rascals, Inc. We got new logos over the break and I’ve gotten to implement one in the header.
Previous days of gift/giving suggestions:
Duncraft/LLS
Daytrip Society/ Livestrong
Etsy/AHeirloom / Action Against Hunger
C. Wonder / Ace of Hearts Dog Rescue
Made / Pilots N Paws
Linus Bikes / National Wildlife Federation
Uncommon Goods / California Wildlife Center
Iomoi / Fran Crippen Elevation Foundation
Heath Ceramics / The Gentle Barn
Hipcycle / Ovarian Cancer Research Fund
Mxyplyzyk / Hope for Heddy
“Are we there yet?”
If I was my 7-year-old self, I’d be losing it right now. I’ve been receiving boxes at my house for a month under strict instructions not to open any of them and it’s been tortuous.
MaineMan’s parents get here on Saturday and we have three dogs on hyper mode running, jumping and sniffing around. I’m not sure how my friends with kids handle it. We are pooped and we haven’t even made it to Chrismas Eve yet.
We’re watching “Wet Hot American Summer” and I just cracked up at the following quote, “I mean, we’ll all be in our late 20s by then, I just don’t see any reason why we can’t be places on time.” If only…
My website/gift recommendation of the day is Mxyplyzyk. I am obsessed with this pillow and I fully plan on purchasing one for you-know-who’s birthday. It’d be perfect for our camping trips. You’ll find a lot of other cute unique gift ideas on the site.
On a more serious note (I’ve mentioned her here before), a former high school classmate of mine Heather Hickey was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in May of 2010. She has been fighting the big C for over a year with courage and tenacity, and despite many ups and downs, she continues to inspire friends and strangers alike on her blog Hope for Heddy. I don’t know the exact details of her condition today, but the doctors recently found tumors in her brain and she underwent brain surgery just last week. If you’re looking to give to a worthy cause this holiday season, give to Hope for Heddy. Go to her blog and just click on the Paypal link. She’s worth it.
Previous Days Gift/Giving Ideas:
Duncraft/LLS
Daytrip Society/ Livestrong
Etsy/AHeirloom / Action Against Hunger
C. Wonder / Ace of Hearts Dog Rescue
Made / Pilots N Paws
Linus Bikes / National Wildlife Federation
Uncommon Goods / California Wildlife Center
Iomoi / Fran Crippen Elevation Foundation
Heath Ceramics / The Gentle Barn
Hipcycle / Ovarian Cancer Research Fund
If you haven’t gotten your gifts squared away yet, you’re in trouble. Unless you live by a mall and you like running around like reindeer before they met Rudolph.
I have a pile of cardboard boxes that are waiting to be wrapped so I’d say I’m in pretty good shape. My parents just decided where they were going to spend Christmas so their presents will be more like New Year’s presents (sorry mom and dad, same goes for the cards, too).
But this is a gift guide and I have a couple more days to wow you with websites so here we go.
Hipcycle, where have you been all my life? I really wish I could come up with something clever like this, but I’m thankful someone else did. You want frames? They have them. You want pots for your garden? They have those too. Or how about a Mentos wrapper trash bin? You have to see it to believe it. I found some pretty neat things on this website and let’s just say Hipcycle is tucked away in a safe place in my head for future gift-giving occasions.
My charity today is the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. A friend of mine from New York, TinkerBell (who just started her own floral company, check it out at B. Floral), was really involved with this organization and she invited me to several events to raise money for them. I would be remiss to not list them in my gift/giving countdown. Donate to OCRF here.
Previous Days of Gifts/Giving Suggestions:
Duncraft/LLS
Daytrip Society/ Livestrong
Etsy/AHeirloom / Action Against Hunger
C. Wonder / Ace of Hearts Dog Rescue
Made / Pilots N Paws
Linus Bikes / National Wildlife Federation
Uncommon Goods / California Wildlife Center
Iomoi / Fran Crippen Elevation Foundation
Heath Ceramics / The Gentle Barn
No gift guide would be complete without a link to Iomoi. To those of my married friends reading this, you might notice something familiar in their online catalog. I love their ice buckets, but the genius doesn’t stop there. They sell other items like trays, bags, phone cases etc. and you can personalize them with monograms and some of their other quirky designs. Think elephants and monkeys. I discovered them a few years ago, but they just made it onto GOOP. Oh, Gwyneth Paltrow, you’re so behind the times…
Today my charity suggestion is the Fran Crippen Elevation Foundation. You can donate by clicking here. Fran, who passed away while competing in an open water race in 2010, was a part of my University of Virginia Swimming & Diving family. While we were never teammates, I was lucky enough to have met him on a few occasions.
From their website: “The Fran Crippen Elevation Foundation was developed by Fran’s family and friends to continue Fran’s legacy. The FCEF empowers athletes who exemplify the principles Fran embodied as they journey to elevate themselves, by providing aid for athletes as well as advocating for safe competitive environments.”
Previous Days:
Duncraft/LLS
Daytrip Society/ Livestrong
Etsy/AHeirloom / Action Against Hunger
C. Wonder / Ace of Hearts Dog Rescue
Made / Pilots N Paws
Linus Bikes / National Wildlife Federation
Uncommon Goods / California Wildlife Center
Busy day here, hence the delay in adding to the gift guide countdown.
MaineMan and Agnes are sound asleep so this will be brief.
I don’t know how I ended up with this catalog, but I’ve kept it because I folded a few pages down for gift ideas. Uncommon goods. They’re based in Brooklyn (so if you’re in New York you may get quick shipping), and while some of the gifts are cheezy, like the personalized state necklaces, the majority of the stuff is actually quite cute, like the soup and sandwich ceramic trays and the cloud tumblers.
As far as charities go, the one I’ve chosen for today is the California Wildlife Center. I volunteered for them for several weeks earlier this year, though have been on hiatus since being laid off, and they can always use your help. It’s expensive to feed and care for all the sick, hungry animals, but they must and I look forward to rejoining their team soon.
Previous days:
Duncraft/LLS
Daytrip Society/ Livestrong
Etsy/AHeirloom / Action Against Hunger
C. Wonder / Ace of Hearts Dog Rescue
Made / Pilots N Paws
Linus Bikes / National Wildlife Federation
