best gifts post

i'm all about gifts people will use as opposed to things that will take up space in a limited environment. the days of trinkets are gone, people. who has room for that anymore?

i like ice cream and have been known to eat a pint in one sitting even (although not for a few years now), but it's not something that tempts me at the grocery store. i'm more of a cake/pastries person than an ice cream person. can you hear the qualifier approaching?

BUT. Steve's Ice Cream is really good and has a flavor called Salty Caramel that is so good i can't stop eating it. my husband and i bought some for the holiday and oops, it didn't make it. so i went to our local organic place and got another. i'm not a huge fan of caramel or vanilla ice cream either but in this setting, the salty caramel and sweet vanilla melt together to create a symphony of contrasting yet harmonious flavors and....well, you get the picture. it makes no sense on paper that i would be obsessed with this ice cream but here we are. who am i to question the ice cream gods?

they also make flavors called Bourbon Pecan Pie & NOLA iced coffee & donuts. if that wordy endorsement wasn't enough of a reason to try it, then i don't know what to tell you.

this blanket from Eddie Bauer is on sale and the warmest, lightest, easiest to store thing. i bought one that was half price ($60) to replace some old throws and it would make a fantastic gift! if i could, i would buy one for pretty much my entire family. it gets over 700 5-star reviews. 'nuff said.

for the technologically advanced people in your life, you can get them Grid It, $12.79 on Amazon. i'd like to get this for my husband sometime soon. it's great for travel but also just organizing all the little parts that go together for our modern world.


for the little ones, you might get them a toy by Green Toys, a fantastic toy company that uses all recycled materials to make their products which are durable, lightweight and fun. we got the submarine for my 1+ year-old son for the bath and he loves it. it's very well made and i can tell he'll be using it for years to come. the submarine is light enough that he can play with it easily and the water pours out the front and side in a steady, pretty stream which makes him want to play with it and watch it. great for washing hair and just having fun all around.

for the 1+ crowd i'd also recommend the board book, The House in the Night. it's a rhythmic story about, you know, a house...in the night. it's very soothing and pretty and heartwarming without being too saccharin. there are good children's books and then there are special children's books. this one is both.

for the cook in your life, this Joseph Joseph spatula is great. i use it pretty much every time i cook for all the reasons stated on amazon.

if you live in NYC, and have an anglophile in your life, go to Myers of Keswick for some British meat pies and/or bangers. they are delicious and hard to find in the States.

we had some sweet friends send us an order from Zingerman's online deli that was really delectable. it blows Harry & David right out of the water as far as gift baskets are concerned.

more soon as i think of them!

Happy 2011

A new year, a new attitude, a new list of to-do's.

I spent the holiday with family which was very enjoyable. It's always a let down to wake up on Jan. 2nd thinking, "Sigh... the celebration is over, now it's back to regular life." But then I realize that I like regular life and have personal goals to attend to and get excited about that.

I have a baby quilt to make on commission.
I have cat hammocks to make and donate to my local cat shelter.
I have an apt to clean, laundry to do, things to write, to film, to edit, to work out, lose weight, become my better self that I am constantly revising and analyzing.

The list is long.
I have realized that I am hoping to be in the doing phase of my life. I spent many years analyzing myself, my life, my mind and soul... and now I want to implement some of that knowledge into action, into being so it's not just me, myself and I in my apt gazing out at the days as they pass. I'm a day dreamer and it's easy for me to let time pass without too much marking it. The time will pass anyway, right?

I'm not thin enough, rich enough, employed enough for my taste, but join the club! We're in a recession, there's snow on the ground, it's cold out, people are leaving NYC cuz they can't afford to live here... I'm surely not alone.

I have a job, a home, a life. I am thankful for all of these.

All of this nonsense, all these lists, items, ideas are my way of saying - I think I'm ok with how life is going right now; it's not perfect, it's not even close, but it's good. That's enough, right?