Holiday Gift Guide 2020

Hey everyone! Today I thought I would share some ideas for this holiday gifting season!

We've been doing a ton of Christmas shopping around here and I think I'm finally done. My husband has a bit left to do and I do need to wrap a few things but I'm done ordering online and shopping in store. More than ever this year I ordered the majority of my gifts online since it's been so hard to shop in person but we did make an effort to shop small and local in order to support some of our favorite local shops. I'll be highlighting those here for anyone who is in the Rhode Island area, but also sharing links for online items if you are looking to shop from home this year.

Dog Dad

Are you married to a dog dad? Well here are some items he might like.

How adorable are those socks?! I ordered these socks for Tim for his birthday but ended up giving them to him within five minutes of opening the package up. Pupsocks are super customizable, you upload a picture you want to feature and pick the sock color as well. Tim has given them great reviews which is saying a lot since he is a sock connoisseur. I think they are absolutely adorable and I love how sweet Sophie's little face looks on the socks. You can check out their website here.

Doodle Dad T-shirt- If you also have a doodle dad in your house, this shirt is super cute! I gave this to Tim for fathers day and he wears it all the time.

Doodle Dad Coffee Mug- Also a big hit in our house- so much so that the first one broke and another has been ordered as a Christmas gift (shhh!)

You can also find a ton of personalized dog items on Etsy. I've seen t-shirts, ornaments, paintings, mugs...definitely a great place to get something personalized for your family.

Books

So many great books have come out recently and I have quite a TBR (to be read) list. Here are some of the books I think would make a great gift this holiday season

A Promised Land- Barak Obama

Postscript- Cecila Ahern

House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City)- Sarah J. Maas

One Day in December- Josie Silver

The Home Edit- Clea Shearer

The Home Edit Life- Clea Shearer

Throne of Glass series- Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thrones and Roses series- Sarah J. Maas

The Rest of the Story- Sarah Dessen

Open Book- Jessica Simpson

Christmas Shopaholic- Sophie Kinsella

A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes- Suzanne Collins

Midnight Sun- Stephenie Meyer

The Return- Nicholas Sparks

Make Life Beautiful- Shea and Syd McGee

Obviously all these recommendations are for adults or young adults. Since I don't have kids I don't have any specific book recommendations for children however I know when I was a kid I loved to read and was so happy to get a gift certificate to the book store so I could go pick out a book I wanted to read! If you have any kids in your life who haven't been introduced to Harry Potter yet, it might be a good time to start!

House Stuff

This year we have purchased so many items for our home that we did not have previously in an apartment. If you know someone who has just purchased a home you can never go wrong with a Home Depot gift card. However, if you want to make sure the person you are gifting to has a physical present under the tree here are some things we love in our home or are looking to purchase someday.

Bamboo Sheets- These sheets are so soft! Everyone loves a good set of sheets, and these are so affordable.

Coffee Organizer- Great for anyone with a Keurig!

Power Washer- This was my birthday gift to myself and it works great. I highly recommend it.

Portable Carpet Cleaner- I clean my couch with this little machine and it picks up so much dirt. 

Dyson Cordless Vacuum- Need a big gift? You can never go wrong with a cordless Dyson vacuum!!

Home Painting- These home watercolors are beautiful! I know anyone who just purchased a home would love to have one of these.

For Your Puppy

Obsessed with your dog too? Here are a few items you can put in your pups stocking this year.

KONG Wobbler- We picked this up for Sophie in the spring and use it all the time! It's great for keeping her busy and also giving her some treats!

Dog Treat Molds- Interested in making homemade dog treats? I know your dog would enjoy them!

Biosilk- For anyone with a long haired dog...this is a lifesaver!!

Cheese Chews- These are a great treat for dogs because it takes them awhile to get through them. We pick these up at our local pet store Fetch RI (linked for you) and we always feel great about supporting this small, local, woman owned business!

Earth Animal No-Hide Chews- Sophie loves these in every flavor and we get them all the time. Great chews for a once in awhile treat.

Barkbox- We are obsessed with getting Barkbox each month. You would think the excitement level would go down after a year but it hasn't at all. Every month the toys are high quality and Sophie truly plays with all of them. We have lost very few over the last year so we just keep collecting them. 

Neighbors/ Co-Workers/ Secret Santa/ Yankee Swap

It's so hard to buy gifts for people when you don't really know them well or in a yankee swap situation where you don't even know who will get them! Here are some ideas that are simple but also are loved by (almost) everyone. 

Candles- I personally can't get enough candles! My favorites for this season are from Bath and Body Works and are Tis The Season and Marshmallow Fireside. Both are a great winter scent that aren't too strong so they make a great gift. Bath and Body Works candles have great scent throw and often are on sale so you can really get a bang for your buck.

Chocolates-  I know everyone thinks their local chocolate shop is the best, but ours truly is! I absolutely adore Sweenor's Chocolates and you will too! They have many of their products online so you can order from anywhere but if you are local to RI you can stop in their shop in either Wakefield or Cranston to witness the best smelling shop you've ever been inside!

Simple Pleasures in Charlestown- One of the best shops in Charlestown Rhode Island! Unfortunately you do have to be local to purchase from here but they have the cutest items around! There are many "beachy" items but they also sell clothing and jewelry. It's a wonderful store to poke around and so many great gifts to be found.

Blankets- I don't have a link for this item but I think everyone appreciates a really nice blanket. I received one from Marshalls as a birthday gift this year and it's so soft and lovely. I don't think you can go wrong with anything that makes you cozy!

Soft Socks- Speaking of cozy...these are the best soft socks! The aloe really makes them so comfortable and once you use these you will never find any other socks as soft again.

Puzzles- During 2020 is anything more appropriate than puzzles? These Thomas Kinkade ones look like a great option for any Disney lover!

What great gifts are you buying this year? I would love to know! 

Last Minute Gift Guide!

Hey loves!

Have you finished up your Christmas shopping yet?

I just ordered one final item for a Yankee Swap with Tim's family and now my shopping is complete! I thought I would share some of the items I  picked up for friends and family this year as well as a couple of ideas that I know make great gifts!

Candles

I'm a huge candle fan, especially from Bath and Body Works! My favorite holiday candle to gift is 'Tis The Season and I often pick one or two up for myself as well! There a spiciness to this candle but it still has an aroma that makes you feel homey! Bath and Body Works has a ton of other scents as well so if this isn't your jam then check out the others. Bath and Body Works Online

Bath Products

Speaking of Bath and Body Works I also find that bath products are also a big hit! I love receiving a shower gel or bath bomb because I know I will use it. Any sort of products that can be used up are excellent gifts since you know they aren't hanging around collecting dust. (Hopefully)

Ornaments

I am a big fan of getting ornaments to give as Christmas gifts. It's so easy to check out local stores and online to find something that fits your loved ones personality. I have given ornaments from Hallmark to many people and since they have so much variety you can always find something they like! This Harry Potter keepsake ornament is such a cute gift for any Harry Potter lover in your life!

Massager

I have heard a lot of great reviews on this massager from Amazon and think it would make a great Yankee Swap gift! Everyone deserves a little bit of relaxation and this would be the perfect way to unwind once the holidays are over!


Cozy Wear

Another of my favorite places to shop is Old Navy where they have great deals all the time! They have a great selection of scarves, hats and mittens this year which would make great gifts. Another awesome gift idea from here is pajamas. With kid and adult sizes you can find a pair for anyone and who doesn't love getting some cozy jammies for the cold winter months?

 Gift Cards

Some people just want gift cards. I understand this completely because when I get a gift card it means  I have a free shopping trip which I absolutely love. You can get gift cards to nearly anywhere nowadays and it makes it super convenient to just order them right off Amazon. I also favor buying them at my local grocery store.

Books

I am a huge fan of buying kids books. I always want to encourage reading since I have always loved reading so much and buying kids new books is a great way to do that! There are so many children books out there to choose from but I highly recommend checking out Vasseur Beauty (and her new channel: Carters Corner) where she talks about all the books she reads with her son to encourage reading and learning to broaden your vocabulary.

What are some things you are gifting this holiday season?

Engagement Gifts To Buy Your Besties

Have you ever been completely stumped with what to buy for your besties as an engagement gift? Well I'm here to do a little round up of gifts that I've been given for our engagement as well as gifts that I have seen that would be super sweet. 

Getting engaged is an exciting time and it's so nice to show the ones you love that you are excited for them! This guide will focus on gifts for the ladies but I'm sure there are plenty of places to find gifts for your engaged guy friends as well. 

One of the first gifts I received was a tote bag that says Bride on it. This one that my MOH Rachel gifted me is absolutely perfect since it's super simple and fits my taste. With a quick google search I noticed there are hundreds of different bags you can pick up for your girls! There are sequined ones, colorful ones, simple ones like mine- anything your heart desires! I do recommend a tote bag since there is plenty of information to carry around this time- I have my wedding planning binder inside mine along with miscellaneous papers I need to hold onto.

Another thoughtful gift Rachel gave me was the two tiny vials pictured above where sand will be held from my wedding day and from my honeymoon. Mine came from Painted By The Shore and I think they would make a fabulous gift for any brides who are getting married on the beach or honeymooning on the beach!

At the time of this post this mug is only $11 and how cute is it?! You can purchase it on Amazon and I think it would make such a sweet gift for any engaged girl in your life.

My friend Danielle sent me The Bride Box and it was such a sweet gift! There are many variations of it on their site so you can really customize it to your bestie. The one I received, The Bridal Beauty Box is a fun one for any girl who loves testing new beauty products. I have been testing out lip products and nail polish from this box and if you've been reading for any length of time you know that's one of my favorite activities!

Another really cute idea is a passport holder with your friends new name on it! Or simply "Mrs"

Many people plan to leave the country on their honeymoon and having a new passport holder is a simple way for them to have their new name or title on display! This one is from Zazzle and I love the fake marble look!

This adorable sun hat is from Kohl's  and every time I go into the store I want to buy it for myself....I might buy it soon... how nice would this be for a beach honeymoon?! We are going on a beach honeymoon next year and I will definitely be displaying my new title for all to see!

Have you seen these feyonce shirts?! I think they are so funny. If you do a quick google search you will find an abundance of shirts like this and ones spelled the traditional way as well. Either are adorable and nice way to encourage your bestie to show off her new ring!

Speaking of shirts I also think this one is great for any girl who is trying to get in her best shape before her wedding! You can find it at Bridal Party Tees along with hundreds of other shirts if working out isn't the brides thing!

I hope these ideas helped and remember that a gift is a sweet idea for a bride-to-be but not entirely necessary. Most brides just need besties around them who will listen to everything they are stressing about and going through during the wedding planning process and are thrilled to have you by their side!

Some Favorite Gifts of Christmas 2017

Happy Friday friends!

We had a snow day yesterday which meant a whole day off from work! It was so nice to lounge around the apartment :)

Today we're chatting about gifts from Christmas. I'm going to share some favorites that I gave and received. I always like to start thinking about Christmas super early and love making sure that everyone on my list gets something that they love.

Here were a few wins this year...

The big winner this year was my Canon Rebel! Tim bought me this and I have been loving taking pictures with it! I've noticed all the pictures I've taken with it are super crisp and look amazing. I would highly recommend this camera and while I don't know everything about it yet I'm excited to learn how to use it!

My big gift for Tim was the Apple Watch Series 3  so far he's been wearing it every day so I would say he likes it. I did get myself the pink version in the smaller size and have been loving how easy it is to use. It's definitely an electronic I didn't realize I wanted until I had it on my wrist! I would highly recommend it if you have an iPhone and love that as well.

I asked my mom for the small spaces set of Makers Cleaning Cloths from my mom and although she thought I was crazy I love these cloths for cleaning. They are sold out right now but you can sign up to get an e-mail when they're back in stock. Melissa Maker has a Youtube channel and other then having an awesome first name she is an amazing cleaner and has some great tips! She makes a great product too :)

If you are a Harry Potter fan or have one in your life the Harry Potter Illustrated Books  are a great gift idea! These are beautiful versions of the stories we come to know and love and I own all three that have been released so far.

I love to support other bloggers and knew I wanted to get this Color At Home coloring book  from John and Sherry over at Young House Love. They have released two great home decor/diy books and this coloring book was a fun new take on home decorating. I have loved coloring through the pages and seeing what I like as far as decor colors go. (As if I didn't already know blue, gray and white are my jam)

Some all-time favorite hits for presents? Gift cards. I gift a ton of gift cards and also received a ton this year which is great! I love shopping for myself, I love going out to dinner and I love knowing that the person I am gifting to will actually be able to enjoy their gift.

I received so many other little things I love- slippers, bath and body products, scarves, etc that I just don't have room to list here and I gave so many gifts I was proud to hand over. (Like this Beard Hair Catcher I gave Tim- how cool is this?!) This is just a small glimpse into Christmas and I hope you enjoyed these gift ideas!

**Some affiliate links are used in this post**

An A-Team Christmas Party

Tonight was the second annual A-Team Christmas party!

(Almost) Every Wednesday I play trivia at a local bar, Wood River Inn with friends and we go by the name the A-Team. We actually do pretty well and win quite a bit which is fun. There are six of us on the team and last year we all exchanged gifts, but of course that gets pretty pricey. This year we decided to do secret santa and it was a ton of fun!

We watched some football and ate before exchanging gifts. Funny enough, it was all back and forth.

I had Brittni, Brittni had me.

Blythe had Jenna. Jenna had Blythe.

Stephen had Amy. Amy had Stephen.

Weird how it ended up like that!

Anyways, my present to Brit hasn't exactly arrived yet, so she will get it handed to her at work this week.

Thanks to Julie over at Peanut Butter Fingers, I discovered this awesome shirt! Brit is giving birth to her first daughter Emma at the beginning of February and I thought this was a hilarious shirt from ThugLifeShirts.com. I also gave her the cutest, fluffiest ornament from Pier 1. 

How cute is he?!

I absolutely loved my gifts from Brittni. She knows me so well and got me things that I will use and love!

This Patriots ugly sweater t-shirt is awesome! I have been talking about wanting a Patriots ugly sweater for some time but they are super expensive so this t-shirt is perfect! She purchased it on chowdaheadz.com which I've been browsing around seems like an awesome website to buy gifts on for any Boston sports fans!

Brit also got me a candle from Bath and Body Works called Dashing Through The Snow.  I have to say that although it is not a scent I would've picked out at the store for myself- I'm absolutely loving it. I'm burning it right now in sync with my Diamond Candle in gingerbread and the scents are so complimentary to each other! The scent description is green balsam, wintry musk, and the jingle of sparkling citrus. It definitely gives off that Christmas pine tree scent that I miss when we have an artificial tree!

After exchanging gifts we played a few rounds of Heads Up which is the super awesome Ellen Degeneres game. Amy pulled it up on her phone and we had fun seeing how good everyones acting skills were as we attempted to act out each word that popped up!

I hope you had an amazing weekend and if you attended any Christmas parties you had a great time. Have a great week and get excited...we are almost to Christmas!

Christmas Gift Ideas!

Every year I like to put together a little gift guide for Christmas so I thought I would share all my previous gift guides in one post as well as show you a few things that are on my Christmas list/ Wish list this year!

My 2014 Gift Guide

My 2013 Gift Guide

My 2012 Gift Guide

One of the main gifts I always recommend (as you can see at the links above) is candles! I absolutely adore a good smelling candle. I can highly recommend Bath and Body Works candles because I have used them for years.

Tis the Season is an amazing scent! It's great for a Christmas gift for anyone!

Other favorites I would recommend are:

Leaves (not a winter scent I know!)
Vanilla Snowflake
Vanilla Bean Noel


Other candle companies that are awesome:

Diamond Candles
Yankee Candle




This year a gift I may give myself is a Dyson vacuum!




Isn't she beautiful?!


I'm sure you already know based on my blog that I enjoy a clean and organized home and I've been dreaming of owning a Dyson for years. There is no vacuum on the market that performs like a Dyson and after using my moms for years- I think it may be time to splurge on one for myself. I got a new job and a raise so I think I might have earned it right???










The nutribullet is something I have asked my parents to gift me this year. I will be using this to make my Shakeology each day which I'm super excited about. I am not a huge fan of the blender here so I can't wait to have my own to use each day.

This would be a great gift for anyone who does Beachbody or a similar program!









I have been crushing on these boots ever since I saw them on Sam's instagram. Sam from SimplyOrganized showed these off on her things I love post and I am a huge fan! I can't justify the splurge on these right now but I might have to before they disappear because they are adorable! You can find them over at Nordstrom (they are called Leandra) and would look adorable with any outfit!






Other items I love gifting?

I am a sucker for gift cards. I know, super lame, however I think that gift cards allow the gift recipient to pick up something they will actually use and love. I know that I'm particularly picky when it comes to decor for my house, clothes that I wear, and pretty much everything so I would prefer someone just give me a gift card so I can pick out something I actually like.

A good bath and body set is always appropriate for any women in your life. I have an abundance of lotion and shower gel and am actually going on a product no-buy in the new year but I know it's something women always appreciate getting!

I love experience type gifts as well. Anything that you can do together such as a sporting event, a vacation, etc is great because it will be a super memorable gift. I'm super excited to be giving a gift to Tim this year that we will get to enjoy in March! (He already knows what it is- if he reads this then it won't ruin a surprise)

The last thing I love to gift is ornaments. I think it's an awesome gift to give to anyone in your life. There's always something memorable about the year- whether it's a movie that you loved or a trip you took- there's always something you can add to your tree. I love picking out ornaments for friends and family and seeing them on their tree year after year!

What are you gifting for Christmas? What's on your wish list?

Cinnamon Holiday Ornaments

This past weekend Brittni and I spent some time making ornaments for our co-workers. This was a easy gift to hand out to our co-workers since neither of us were sure if people at work exchanged gifts or not. We thought that this would be a cute idea and ended up being relatively easy so I thought I would share what we did in case you are interested in making some ornaments this holiday season!

This is our finished product- don't they look cute?

Brittni had received adorable cookie cutters for her wedding shower- the shapes were perfect for winter. We used the following shapes: reindeer, penguin, fox, bear, owl, rabbit and bird. They were all so cute but the bears and penguins ended up turning out best since they are solid shapes and were easier to remove from the cookie cutters.

We had a little helper with Brittni's three year old niece. She was great at using the rolling pin!

We used one cup of applesauce with a little over a cup of cinnamon. We learned to be very generous with the cinnamon since it helped to keep the dough not as sticky. I dug my hands into the bowl with cinnamon and applesauce and mixed it by hand until is was doughy, Then we made small balls of dough and rolled them out on the table (adding cinnamon as needed) and used cookie cutters to create ornament shapes.

After we had all our ornaments cut out we placed them on parchment paper (which we draped on the cookie trays). We made sure to use a straw to make a hole in each ornaments so we would be able to loop ribbon through it.  Then we baked them in the oven for two hours on 200 degrees.

After two hours we simply pulled them out, looped ribbons through and voila!

Ornaments for everyone!

Have you ever made ornaments? There are so many fun ornament craft projects out there- I would love to make something different next year! =)

Have a great day!

Christmas Shopping and a Free Printable!

How are you doing on your Christmas shopping this year?

I've been way behind my normal schedule of getting everything done before Thanksgiving..but I tried to recover by ordering a ton of items online this weekend. I have quite a few good ideas for Christmas gifts this year, but I don't want to give anything away because I know a few people I've bought for are regular readers- but let's just say I've gotten a lot of great ideas this year and I'm excited to give out my presents!

However I do want to give you a few ideas of gifts to give this year...

~Candles


   

I am a huge fan of candles and I think they make a great gift for everybody from family members, to acquaintances. There are so many different scents and types of candles to choose from. Bath and Body Works candles are one of my favorites- they are inexpensive and come in some great scents!

~Gift Cards

 
Even though they are boring- gift cards are the way to go! I love giving gift cards that my friends and family will actually use. My favorites to give and received are ones to Amazon, coffee shops and restaurants that are local.

Isn't it better to give a gift card that your friends and family will use rather then another knickknack they won't?!

~Beauty Products

As a big-time beauty product lover there are a few items I think would make great gifts if you know someone who loves beauty items.

 

Urbay Decay released their Naked 3 palette and for anyone who is a fan of the brand- I would definitely check this out.

I also can't recommend Taylor Swift's perfume enough! This is my all-time favorite perfume lately and I think it would make an amazing gift for someone who needs a new perfume!

~Books

You can probably tell if you've been reading for awhile that I'm an avid reader. Check out the tab above to see some books I've read and recommend.

Some books I've read that would be perfect gifts this season...

          

There are so many gifts you can give this holiday season...

Lucky for you I have done a few gift guides throughout the past years...

Gift Guide 2012

Gift Guide 2013


I also created a quick printable to help you keep track of all the gifts you buy this year. You can download your copy of this festive printable right here.

I like to keep track of who I'm buying for, what I've bought them, how much money I've spent, and where I've hidden the gifts I've bought.

How are you doing on your Christmas shopping this year?