Gift Guide: Sisters, Biddies and Friends

I have the greatest of women in my life.  Three sisters and a core group of fantastic women friends.  They are loud and sassy and hilarious and they are my favourite people to spend time with and shop for.  This year I'm loving: 

1.  Going Clear and Pilgrims Wilderness - I read both of these this fall and devoured them.  They are about the darker side of American life but my girls are a hardy lot and I think my friend the teacher, always down for a bit of creepy Americana, would love them both.

2.  I love these little Minimergency® Kits.  I saw them recently and at $13 each I'd love to get them for all of my sisters, shoved down in the toe of stockings, right next to the orange.

3.  This Badger Jumper, $35.58, from Asos is one of my favourite things for sale anywhere this winter.  Perfect for my sister, the teacher, who dresses to amuse her students and herself and who's always cold.

4. The Black Geode Druzy Necklace, $95.00, is so edgy and cool.  Perfect for my sister the costume designer (I've got a lot of sisters) to wear in Dallas, perfect with the pink measuring tape she wears around her neck.

5.  My littlest sister is a senior in high school and has just started getting interested in real jewelry.  This Bumble Bee Bracelet, $15.95, would be lovely piled up with a bunch of other bangles on her wee wrist.

6.  The best friend from high school just got engaged and is planning a gorgeous spring wedding (I'm hat shopping, more on the hats later) and I'd love to get her these gorgeous agate coasters for her new married house.  At $18.95 they are loads cheaper than all the other agate coasters around.

7.  Ever since I saw these Whale Best Friends necklaces, $40, in the spring I've been looking forward to giving one to my main biddy, maid of honor, college roommate and all around favourite.  She needs to know she is my whale best, and I am her whale friend.

8. For my friend and her enormous, very loved, black, shaggy dog, I'd love to get one of these amazing Billy Wolf Porter Wool Coats, $60.  They are made in the US of vintage and discontinued fabric and they are so beautiful and soft.  She's super stylish and her dog deserves some good accessories.

Gift Guide: Littles

This week I'm doing gift guides.  Everyone does them but I love reading them and putting them together so I'm throwing my two cents out there.  We're starting out today with Littles:  children, nieces, nephews and godchildren.   I am generally the mean aunt/friend/godmother who gives books but I also love things that kids can do, read and make. Little and big things and one shameless plug.

1. Little Train, $4.25 - I love this little train in a stocking with some simple paints and brushes. 

2. Like I said, mostly I give books. Some of my favourites when I was small and now to give are the Katie Morag books (about a sassy Scottish girl in the Highlands) and the always wonderful In the Night Kitchen  (it's amazing how many kids I know have never read it and everyone should be able to shout "I'm in the milk and the milk's in me!" randomly).

3. To go with your book I LOVE a Custom Bookplate, $16.50 and my nieces, both ten and both voracious readers, might need some of these gorgeous ones. Fabulous for all ages.

4. Another thing for the slightly bigger Littles is this lovely Monticello Children's Garden Kit, $18.  The book covers how to grow your seeds and care for them as well as a bit about the gardens at Monticello and includes Love-in-the-Mist, Nasturtiums, Johnny-jump-ups, Calendulas, Scarlet Runner Beans, Bachelor's Buttons, Sweet Basil, and Globe Artichokes seeds.  

5. I love this vintage children's Tool Kit, $20, with actual tools for slightly older children. Lowe's also has one the same price with a saw (which might be a good or bad thing).

6. These Wooden Deer Family Figures, $24, are so beautiful and wintery.  I think they would be beautiful on a mantelpiece but are sturdy and wooden and good for little hands to play.

7. When I was a little girl I loved to have grown up things. This Hard Bound Sketch Book, $3.09 would have been just the thing, as good for children's drawings as it is for  adults.  For the very little on my list I'll add these Crayon Rocks, from $4.75 and for the bigger kids some coloured pencils.

8. And a shameless plug for Ellen Rabbit, $40.  It's my blog so I can.  She's lovely and soft and squishy and her arms are bendy and she wears a smart red coat and was named after my baby sister.  

Jumping the Gun

I'm a big fan of Christmas lists.  It's so lovely to get people what they actually want. When we were kids, our mum instituted a rule that Christmas lists were due December 1st to prevent the endless last minute additions that would invariably happen as December toy advertising ramped up.  Even as an adult I still start putting together my list at the end of November.  I like to tell myself it's so my very motivated siblings can complete their Christmas shopping early (HA!).  What's on your Christmas list in 2013? Here's mine:

Lulie Wallace Print, $45 - Lulie Wallace is one my favourite painters ever.  Her flowers are so unbelievably bright and happy and gorgeous.  One day when I'm older and richer I'll buy a painting, for now I'd be so happy with just a print.

CB2 Candelabra, $25 - This line of glass candlesticks is just one of my favourite things.  They are so stylish and light.

Very Fond of Food By Sophie Dahl, $20 -  We got Sophie Dahl's first cook book, Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights, as a wedding present and we eat out of it constantly.  Really simple lovely recipes.  I've got high hopes for her latest.

Cutting Boards from Canvas, $44 - I love these handmade-looking cutting boards.  The ancient ones that are worn to bits are so amazing.  I'd love one of these or any of the amazing ones on Etsy.

Cowlneck Sweater from LL Bean, $129 - This winter has felt extra especially chilly, maybe it's just my office but by mid-October it got chilly in DC and it hasn't really let up since.  This gorgeous cowlneck from LL Bean Signature is just the most lovely colour and looks so thick and warm and luxurious.

Hare Tote, $18 - I've had this pinned for ages and I just love it.  I'm forever abandoning my real purse for a totebag with library books and knitting and this one is so much nicer than the Planet Money tote I carry around too often now.

Badgers for Babies

Emerson Badger is winging his way to our friends' baby, also called Emerson, in North Carolina with a stack of books and a fancy bow-tie.  Welcome to the world, Emerson.  Have a badger!