More Gift Ideas

It has been a whirlwind of a week. We have had two weddings since we have gotten back from Europe! That combined with working, is my excuse for not posting. My hope is that after Austin City Limits, I will be back to my normal routine.

My sister-in-law got married this past weekend and she gave me two wonderful gifts. Since wedding season is upon us, I figured this post could be useful.

Pictured below is a monogrammed silver cup filled with flowers. Unfortunately you cannot see my monogram but it is there! You can drink out of this cup, use it as a vase or even as a place to hold makeup brushes! This versatile cup comes from The Menagerie in Austin, Texas.

I also love this travel jewelry case. It comes in a bunch of different prints so you can get everyone their favorite color. It is also personalized which I think makes everything more special. You can find these on Etsy.

All my other gift ideas can be found here if you missed my post last year!

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More Gifting

Hopefully everyone is done with their Christmas shopping by now! I wanted to share with you an engagement gift I recently bought for one of my best friends! You may be wondering what this is. It is actually two different Christmas ornaments. One has the date of their engagement and the other has the first initial of her and her fiance's names.

Besides using it as a Christmas ornament, my friend told me she plans on hanging them on the wall year-round.
Oh how I love dual purpose gifts! I found these on my favorite website, Etsy!
So if you are in need of a gift, this is pretty clever and personable too. Pin It

More Bridal Shower Ideas...

For those of you who do not know, my best friend got married this past weekend! At the bridal luncheon, we played these cute games! What a brilliant idea and I loved the set up of each of these games. Sorry for the blurry pictures but hopefully you get the idea of these games!

The first game was "He Says, She Says" and you circle who you think said each statement. For example, one of the statements was "I want to watch Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation as a family every December."  This definitely came from the bride if you are wondering. Anyways, at the very end, the person who circled the most right won!

The second game was "Shower Libs". Remember Mad Libs books from your childhood? It is the same concept where you fill in the blanks with an adjective, noun, etc. These "Shower Libs" were specifically designed for the bride and groom! These turned out hilarious and will be some great reading material on their honeymoon!

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Genius Bib

I am in baby mode because my sister-in-law just had a baby girl! I found this bib in Thailand and bought it in anticipation for my little niece. There are other "knockoff" versions of this bib made here in the United States. You can also order this bib online from amazon.com. Based on the reviews I read about this bib, everyone loves it. Here is why:
It is BPA-free.
It lasts for years because it can easily be washed.
It can hold a fork and spoon in the storage case and the storage case also functions as a holder to catch the food of a messy toddler.
I mean seriously, who wouldn't want this bib??? As you can tell, I think this bib is brilliant so now all I need is a kid. NO WORRIES, that will not be for a long time but at least I have a niece to buy cute stuff for!

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Crafty Gift Idea

Exactly two years ago I presented my husband with a collage of our favorite restaurants in New York. He still claims it is his favorite birthday gift ever! I sit here a year after moving from New York with tons of business cards and match boxes but no time to make another a collage. Going through these cards makes me want to finish this collage sooner than later. We did a lot of wining and dining during our last year in New York hence why these cards did not make the first collage.

 My collection of cards waiting for me to use....

 Completed first collage (closeup).

 Take 2.

So if you are looking to save money but want to do something special for your significant other, this is a great gift. Just make sure you collect the cards in secrecy. I laid out all of the cards before I glued them on a cardboard which fit perfectly into the frame. TIP-the matchboxes give the collage a 3-D look so collect both business cards and matchboxes. 

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Gift Ideas!

Most of my blogs center around cooking and cooking tips however my ultimate goal is to give you tips about everything! I am still getting my creative juices going for this blog but here is a fun post about some awesome gifts that I recently received. Both of these gifts would be perfect hostess, bridesmaids or birthday gifts. 

My best friend gave me the first gift which is a monogrammed fishing shirt. This is something I never would have bought for myself but I find myself wearing all the time. 

The brand is Columbia so you can buy this shirt at most sporting goods stores like Academy or Cabela's. I really like this shirt because it looks nicer than a t-shirt and does not make you look like a frump!!!

The next gift is a bracelet that was made just for me! I got this gift for hosting my sister in law's baby shower.

NOTE: There is a little charm that is monogrammed with my initials and a little pink stone which is the baby's birth stone! Both of these things really gave the bracelet a personal touch.

You can find this bracelet and all sorts of jewelry at this new store in Houston called Hila.

Hila

2609 Greenbriar Drive

Houston, Texas 77098

http://www.hiladesigns.com/

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Bachelorette Ideas

I just got back from an amazing weekend for my best friend's bachelorette party! It took months of planning and lots of  coordination with the other matron of honor to organize this entire weekend. The weekend went off without a hitch. Here are some fun ideas of things to do to make any party special.....

Order a galvanized ice bucket with the couple's last name on it. Assign everyone in the bridal party a type of alcohol to bring with a "first" tag. "First" tags may include: "First Anniversary," "First Time Your Dog Eats Your Wedding Gift," "First Time You Misplace Your Wedding Ring," "First Dinner with Your In-Laws" and the list goes on. 

The next idea that was a huge hit was the photofetti. You choose 10 photos and upload them to the Photofetti site and they create this masterpiece that is perfect for decorating tables!

We found these awesome cans of Sofia Champagne. Each can of champagne came with a pink straw and each girl got a can during the lingerie shower! 

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Greatest Pepper Shaker Ever

I gave my husband an electric pepper mill 3 years ago. To date, this has been the best gift I have given him.   He loves freshly ground pepper and swears it makes everything taste better. When you go to a restaurant, my husband is the guy who never passes up freshly ground pepper. Usually the waiter is grinding pepper for at least five minutes at our table because my husband likes it that much. Anyways, I recommend you INVEST in an ELECTRIC SALT AND PEPPER MILL STAT. It will change your life. Seasoning steaks, salmon, etc. will never be the same! We bought our electric pepper mill at Sharper Image and it has held up very well. I am sure there are tons of brands out there that are equally as good.

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Unique Wedding Gifts

I thought I would change it up and post something totally unrelated to food! We got a wedding gift the other day and it reminded me to share some of my favorite wedding gifts! Of course it is great to receive things from your registry but I love the creativity and thoughtfulness that went into these gifts. A lot of my friends are getting married this fall including my best friend and I feel like I spend hours trying to find the perfect gift! If this is you, then hopefully this post will be helpful!

Monogrammed linen napkins (set of 12)-so classic

Beautiful glass platter with our invitation engraved, you can get this done at Tiffany & Co.

Set of Spices-this gift inspired me to start cooking! This is such a clever gift and perfect for a newlywed couple.  You can find all different gift sets at Penzey's Spices.

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