{Gifts} Italian Themed

Last week my friend and co-teacher asked me to help him with a Christmas gift for his wife. He wanted me to put together a little basket with some goodies and all he told me was that his wife likes to cook and his budget was $25. Hmmmm....challenge.

My intent was to put together a really cute basket of cupcake/cookie baking supplies, but I shortly realized I would not be able to do it the way I wanted to with a $25 budget. On to Plan B -- enter in TJ Maxx and a soon to be Italian themed basket.


I snagged a bag of tri-colored pasta noodles, a fancy bottle of sauce, a nice peppercorn grinder and a cute little pitcher. It doesn't look like much, but let me tell you, $25 goes quickly.


Then I threw in two packs of recipe cards designed by Studio LIME Design. There was no money left for a basket, so I used an old shoebox -- wrapped it up with pretty paper, threw in some white tissue, arranged everything, and done -- mission accomplished.

If I had more money to spend, I would have thrown in a few other items. Maybe a nice spoon or ladle, a cookbook, a bottle of wine, and if I were my friend {and I suggested this to him}, I would go the extra mile and buy a giftcard to an Italian restaurant and throw it there with a note for a date night with his wife. He better do it! He lives in Collingswood and Il Fiore would be PERFECT!

{Gift Idea} 31

Looking for a cute and practical gift idea? Check out my new insulated zipper tote from 31, a bag/tote company whose name comes from the verses of Proverbs 31 in the bible.

I recently attended a home show to support my friend from work, Mary, who is an independent consultant for the company. They offer a wide range of fun fabrics and patterns to choose from and most of their products can be monogrammed.

Bo and I have already gotten a ton of use out of this bag. In addition to throwing snacks and drinks inside for road trips or beach days, we most recently threw a couple bottles of wine inside for a dinner date to a BYOB restaurant. Tons of uses!

Check out 31's products here. Along with a little pencil case for myself, I just ordered my mom a monogrammed lunch tote and will probably also order one for myself very soon! **These make great teacher gifts too...wink!**

{Gift Idea} momAgenda

This handy dandy little planner called a momAgenda is one of the items on MY Christmas wish list this year! I haven't been able to live without a daily planner since high school. And now that my current 2010 daily planner is only good for about another week, I'm in dire need of a new one.

Oh how I hope Santa brings me one of these! I think I will subtly hint for "Santa" to hop on my blog tonight...ha! Just a gentle reminder ;-}

There are special areas for appointments and all of the things that moms with young children need. It is made especially with the busy schedule of moms in mind.

I know this is very last minute, but what a great gift for a busy mom. AND...all of their agendas are 25-30% off right now! Check them out at www.momagenda.com.

***The Paper Trail in Haddonfield also sells momAgendas if you'd like to check them out in person before purchasing!!!***

{Gift Idea} Sweet & Simple

Dean and I will be delivering these "sweet" & simple gifts to my neighbors tomorrow afternoon. They are just a very small token to say Merry Christmas. These would also make great gifts for co-workers, friends you don't exchange big gifts with, mail carriers, recycle men, etc.

I ordered small red polka dot gable boxes from Polka Dot Market {link on my sidebar}. PDM has adorable products, and I also got the idea to make and add the peppermint bark to the boxes from Sally, the owner. I used Paula Deen's recipe, which is so easy and very yummy!


Once I lined the boxes with wax paper and filled them with the bark, I attached these little recipe cards I made. {I spelled boiler incorrectly...it says b"r"oiler if you read the recipe. Good going, English teacher. That's what I get for proofing it for the first time while posting it on my blog....oooops}!


YUM!

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY LATEST GIVEAWAY TO WIN A 2011 MINI DESK CALENDAR!

{Gift Idea} I See Me Books

With the holidays quickly approaching, I thought it would be fun to bring you some of my favorite gift ideas. Let me start with this personalized book from I See Me {www.iseeme.com}. These books are GREAT for a few different reasons. First, they are completely personalized with the child's first, middle, and last name. And I love anything personalized. Second, they are filled with fun, colorful pictures that tell a sweet little story with your child as the main character. Lastly, your child sees their name in print allowing them to practice learning how to recognize the letters in their name and its spelling. They even have a book fitting for a boy and one for a girl.

I first ordered one of these books for my nephew Jack before he even made his appearance in this world. And since then, I've ordered a few for first birthday gifts. Dean doesn't have one yet...I'm slacking on my own child. Maybe Christmas? Or his first birthday, which is in February....AHHH!


Have a productive Monday friends!