5 Gifts for Minimalists

I may be one of the few people in the world who hate when someone asks, “what do you want for Christmas/your birthday?”

It’s not that I don’t like people buying me presents; it’s that I don’t like people buying me crap.  And my threshold for what constitutes not crap seems to be higher than most people’s.  I’m very picky about the stuff that I let accumulate in my life, and I’m only getting more picky with age.  I don’t want candles or bath salts or kitschy home decor items.  I don’t mean to be a bitch, but owning stuff means having to clean, put away and make room for stuff.  I try to ensure that the stuff I will end up cleaning, putting away and making room for is stuff that is really, really important to me.  Scented candles?  Not even close.

What do you get a minimalist crab like me?  Of course, you can always give gift certificates and “experience” gifts.  But if you absolutely have to have something to wrap up in pretty paper, try some of these gift ideas.

5 Great Gifts For Women Who Hate Stuff (Or Call Themselves Minimalists)

1. Great sheets

I love sleeping in other people’s houses when they have better bed linens than I do, especially because I almost always end up going cheap on my own sheets.  A gift of high quality sheets would get enjoyed over and over again and is really a gift of every day luxury.

Style & Co makes a 300 count cotton percale sheet set that is soft, durable and easy to care for.  Available at Macy’s.

2. Leather driving gloves

These leather driving gloves from Saks ooze cosmopolitan style and they’re practical!  Fingers get cold!  A quality pair of gloves will last a woman years.

3. A Miche Bag (and shell, or two)

My mother has one of these and I am craving one of my own.  I need to get rid of the closet full of handbags I currently own, but a girl still  needs a purse!  This lets me be fashionable without taking up any space at all.  You see, the Miche bag allows you to change the outside of your handbag while reusing the same base over and over and over again.  If you haven’t heard of this yet, checkout their site.  Then buy me one.  Please.

4. E-reader

Whether it’s a Nook, Kindle or a Sony, an e-reader takes the bulk of a bookshelf and puts it into a slim, portable reading device.  A Nook may be the best bet for your favorite minimalist if she likes to lend and borrow books or make use of her local library.  You can find refurbished Nooks on eBay at a significant discount.

4. Handmade soaps

Bath salts?  No.  But soap?  Even minimalists wash up and handmade soaps will get used and be loved.  They’re also relatively inexpensive.  LUSH makes the absolute best soaps (and other body products), but you’ll get a better product if you purchase in store than you will if you order online and have to have it shipped.  Bath & Body Works is a satisfactory substitute if necessary.

5. Scarves

I may be pruning my closet in preparation for my big trip around the country, but I am keeping every single one of my scarves.  A collection of colorful scarves prevent minimalists from walking around in the beatnik black uniform.  Bonus? You get find tons of great colors and fabrics for a steal all over.  Target is my favorite place for scarves (and tights!).

For Your Smart Girlfriend: Holiday Gift Guide

Of course, we’re all smart, but your smart girlfriend doesn’t just accept information, she devours it.  Intellectual pursuit and curiosity define her.  Smart girls do like jewelry, handbags and perfume, but there are things that a smart girl just loves.  Like books, educational stuff, and Vera Wang.

As a self proclaimed “smart girl,” I’m writing this holiday gift guide to help you make, well, smart purchases for your smart friends.  So.  Here we go.

I love the library.  I do not, however, love carrying my books home every week in a reusable grocery shopping bag from WalMart.  It follows, then, that I need this Vera Bradley Tote Bag in Very Berry Paisley to carry said books.  Actually, I would pretty much accept any kind of Vera Bradley tote because I think they’re gorgeous.  This bag can be purchased directly from Vera Bradley or you could get lucky and find it on Amazon or Overstock.com, which both carry the brand from time to time.

Smart people love to be smart in several languages.  Don’t let the price discourage you, the Rosetta Stone software proves highly cost effective when compared to taking several college level courses.  Each language offered has several levels, and buyers have the option of purchasing one level at a time or an entire set.  The software can be purchased directly at the Rosetta Stone site and also at Amazon.

I type nearly all correspondence on my keyboard, but I love the idea of sending hand written notes to my friends and family.  There’s something incredibly classy about penning a “Thank You” note completely from scratch on your very own personalized stationery.

There are tons of places on the Internet you can find designs for stationery.  I really liked this one at Finestationery.com.  Mostly because it’s called “Saffron,” and because it was designed by Vera Wang.

On any given day, I might be in the process of reading up to three books at the same time.  That doesn’t mean that each of these books doesn’t need to feel special which is why I’m a bookmark junkie.  I have metal, ceramic, plastic, leather and glass ones.  While I may have lots of bookmarks, I do not have a hookmark which can be purchased at, you guessed it, Hookmarks.com.  It’s a definite bonus that this vendor mentions free gift boxes with each hookmark you purchase.

There’s probably a specific topic that whips your smart friend up into a frenzy.  Most likely, it’s something she can talk about for hours that would cause her to set aside her normally awesome social skills and cease to notice the deadened look in your eye as she goes on and on about it.

If you’ve been harassed about you’re aware of this well loved topic, head over to PBS’s site and click on “Shop PBS.” You’ll find numerous documentaries for sale, at least one of which will be entirely devoted to the thing she loves to talk about most.  While many of these titles are available on Amazon, purchasing directly from PBS ensures your money will go directly to creating more educational programming on the network.  If you can’t decide exactly what to get, they have gift certificates available, as well.

The best gifts, I think, are the ones that are both given from the heart and adequately reflect a measure of consideration for a person’s true passions in life.  Of course, if your smart friend  is really smart, she’ll like whatever you give her because she knows it’s being given with love and sincerity.

HowEVER.  If I’m your smart friend, know that my birthday is in January and this was just one big hint.  Consider yourself warned.

Happy holidays.

10 Stocking Stuffers for Her Under $15

I like trinkets and trash, so stocking stuffers are my favorite part of Christmas. Have fun, don’t over think it, and take a look at ten of my favorite stocking stuffers for her (for the most part – some things are fun for all!) for under $15.

10 Stocking Stuffers for Under $15

1. Poochi Mini Pouches $10.50 – Super cute silicone pouches old-school bead closures that come in a rainbow of bright colors. Perfect for loose change, cosmetics or keys.

2. Snow in a Can $4.99 – Don’t live in a winter wonderland? Just add water and you’ve got yourself a white Christmas.

3. Jelly Camera Phone Filters $15 – Most of us use our camera phones more than our cameras, so why not take our camera phone photography skillz up a notch? These starburst, kaleidoscope and wide angle filters attach to your key chain and fit any camera phone with reusable gummy rings.

4. Holly GoNightly Sleep Mask $14 – Catch some zzz’s in this iconic sleep mask.

5. ila Pebble Personal Security Alarm $14.50 – Attach this little beauty to your key ring and if anyone calls your bluff just push the button and pull the ring to emit a 130 decibel siren that will sound continuously for 10+ minutes.

6. Sephora Color Wand Lipgloss $10 – Six mini lipglosses in one mega lipgloss wand? Yes, please! Comes in three color pallets and smells like mangos!

7. Holiday Smencils – Smencils make me feel like a kid again – and their holiday collection is irresistible! Smencils are made from recycled newspaper and packaged in biodegradable tubes so that holiday scents like sugar plum, holiday cheer, gingerbread, cinnamon, and candy cane stay fresh for up to two years!

8. Self Adhesive Mustaches $5.25 – Best. Holiday. Photos. Ever.

9. The Indie Rock Coloring Book $9.95 – Because coloring is soothing. And trippy. Don’t forget the crayons!

10. Holiday Socks $12.99 – No stocking is complete without goofy holiday socks for the entire family! Or you could get her something she wouldn’t beat you over the head with – like these moisturizing gel socks from Bath & Body Works.

7 Must-Haves For The Holiday Season

Can you smell it?  Mm mm.  I CAN!  The holidays are upon us!  Who needs some gift giving ideas? (Paging my husband…)

7 Holiday Must-Haves

Dance Central for XBOX 360 Kinect.  Because WHO does not love to dance, while losing some extra weight in your own living room, while Also being able to upload your super hot dance moves to All of the internet.

‘Wish for The Perfect Pout’ set of 6 Smashbox lip glosses (from Sephora).  If you didn’t know already, I am in LOVE with lip glosses.  The addiction started with a multitude of chap sticks as a kid, and then I moved onto the gloss.  I just can’t. help. myself.

‘Skinny Italian,’ Teresa Guidice’s cookbook.  Love love love her!  My inner table flipping Jersey girl (who happened to actually be born & bred in Rhode Island) needs. these. recipes.  Who couldn’t use some Healthier Italian recipes to boot?

‘Cold Beverage Jar with Stand’ from Crate and Barrel.  OK, that one doesn’t sound so fantastic, but go on – LOOK at it.  Can you not just see your homemade sangria in that?  Can you hear the ooohs and aaahs from your guests?  (Red wine, I like Red Wine!)

And then there’s what I like to call the big guns.  Shoes and pocketbooks…  oh my.

Uggs! ‘Women’s Ultimate Short’ in sand or chocolate (did I mention my size would be an 8?  Yes, their sizes run a bit different – just in case you were wondering – or wanted to send me some).  Oprah may have just given away the glittery ones as a favorite thing, but I am still partial to these.

‘Madison Dotted Op Art Swingpack’ by Coach in silver/khaki/mahogany…  OR in brass/mahogany…  you know, depending on what color my Uggs are.  I like my colors coordinating, what can I say.  Then again, the all black one would pair nicely with:

Jessica Simpson’s ‘Tessie’ Boot in black new bomber.  And did I mention while they may retail at $210, boots are currently $50 off through 11/30 with coupon code ’50BOOT’ -AND- they happen to have Free standard shipping!  Woo hoo!  Merry Christmas!

Those are My 7 must haves for this holiday season.  (And if still in doubt, you can never go wrong with a gift certificate to your favorite girls hair salon or wherever she gets manicures and pedicures!)  Happy shopping!

Photo by: Nicole
Feature photo by: Kevin Dooley

4 Free Disney On Ice Tickets And Miss Britt Family Night! – if you can get to Orlando

I was complaining on twitter the other day about being in a bad mood and annoyed at people in general.

I received a direct message from a local PR rep asking if she could perk me up with Disney On Ice tickets to giveaway.

I asked her if I could “give them away” to my two kids – because, um, giving stuff to other people doesn’t perk me up nearly as much as making my kids think I do not, for one night, suck as a mom.

She said no, basically, that I had to give them to one of you people – but generously offered to put 4 tickets aside for me and my family too.

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5 Ideas for Personalized Wedding Gifts

It seems like the moment you finish buying graduation gifts for the year, wedding season arrives.  Wedding season means buying wedding gifts – or buying a card and sticking money in it while you sit in the church parking lot.

While cash is always an option, and many couples have wedding registries to give you gift ideas, some wedding presents call for a little more thought and personalization.  Maybe you’re a friend of the groom and can’t get excited about giving him kitchen cutlery as a wedding present, or maybe the happy couple has been living together for a while (oh, for shame!) and is already well stocked in the domestic department.

Or maybe you’re just a big sappy romantic yourself and you love the chance to give a sentimental gift – and what better excuse than a wedding?

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15 Ideas for Graduation Gifts for Women

Holy crap, it’s May.  How did that happen?

As the days get warmer and Christmas becomes a distant memory, no doubt your mailbox will soon be filling up with graduation announcements.  Yes, further reminder that time has flown by and it’s time to start thinking about ideas for graduation gifts.  High school and College graduations have begun and chances are good that someone you know will be in need of a graduation gift in the next month.

Of course, you can always stick money in a card and call it a day – or you can go the extra mile and make sure your money doesn’t go towards beer and take out.

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