Gifts for Her

Here’s what we are crushing on and hoping to see under the tree!

From Nathalie

I’m all about books and one of a kind crafts.  And anything with images of houses.  Especially these.  Made by Stoneware Studio.  Again, all I did was enter “houses” into the search box at Etsy.  It’s a playground out there, I tell you.

If there is a woman on your list who loves her nails done right and likes a little sass with her spa, check out this new line of nail polishes from Trust Fund Beauty.  With shades like What’s a Budget?, this package has humour and good looks.  This is Kiss Kiss Darling.  Perfect for the holidays.

I think manicured nails look wonderful wrapped around a tumbler of scotch, and I don’t think that the guys should get all the booze.  I’ve grown to love a really peaty scotch.  (Check out this website that tells you how to pronounce the names of various types of scotch.  So funny.)

I also don’t think that the guys and the kids should get all the gadgets.

Beth-Anne and I had a tour of the new Blacks store at Yonge and Eglinton today, and we got a demonstration of this super-fun printer.  The Fuji Instax Printer ($199) allows up to eight people to wirelessly send photos to print, and out pops a little photo that develops in front of your eyes.  So much fun for a party, shower, or family gathering.

After meeting Avery Swartz from Camp Tech, who helped us with some issues with our blog, I’m feeling a lot more empowered to experiment, play and learn with and about my devices.  The folks at Staples very kindly sent us this Samsung Galaxy Tab.  I am very excited to have gadget of my own!  I have big plans for this baby.  I do all of my blog posts at my desk and from my computer, because my phone is way, way, way too small for my aging eyes the vast scope of my creativity.  This should help a lot!

From Beth-Anne:

I never seem to have enough totes and this sequin and linen maple leaf design from Indigo appeals to my Canadian spirit.  Indigo, $49.50.

I love this mug so, so, so much because reading is sexy! Maybe someone ought to pass the message along to some of today’s pop-starlets that booties are out and bookmarks are in! Indigo, $10.00.

I have been following Carrie Synder’s blog for years and loved her critically acclaimed book The Juliet Stories so when Girl Runner came out, I was anxious to get my hands on a copy.   Nominated for awards and praised by her fans this book is the perfect read on a snow-stormy day.  Need more convincing?  Read Nathalie’s review here.  Indigo, $19.76.

Not everyone is a fluffy slipper kinda gal, so if you prefer a more glam look, these Ruby & Ed velvet bow ballerina slippers in dusty plum do the trick.  Town Shoes, Ron White and Shop Vincent, $70.

Coffee table books can add an element of decor to your home, but if they are not absolutely enchanting, what’s the point?  Vogue and The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute: Parties, Exhibitions, People is full of glamorous celebrities, trendy fashionistas, stylemakers and icons.  Eye candy and inspiration! Indigo, $37.95.

Personalized stamps appeal to anyone who loves stationery and/or organizing.  For the baker, the book collector and the monogrammed obsessed these personalized stamps go far beyond the standard return address stamp.  Available in a variety of styles, colours and fonts.  Pretty In Ink, pricing varies.

Canadian jewelry designer Jenny Bird has caught my eye.  Her designs are reminiscent of ancient times and reference powerful goddesses and rulers, and a departure from the dainty pieces and glittery statement necklaces that dominate the boutiques.  Wear a Jenny Bird and feel bold, feminine and graceful. Jenny Bird, a variety of styles and prices.

Bill Baker, the creator of Consonant , truly cares about what we’re putting on our skin.  His passion and commitment to creating safe and effective skin care is evident in his un-ending desire to learn more and improve upon his award winning formulas.  Start the new year off right and remember Consonant’s philosophy: what goes on your body, goes in your body.  Consonant’s Healthy Skin Detox For Face, $99.00. 

The Mophie, a mobile battery pack to extend the daily life of your smart phone is the ideal gift for the social media junkie.  Available in a variety of colours but it’s this champagne colour that has made my wish list.  Mophie, Prices vary.

A great gift for the cottager or the city dweller.  These hand-made vintage style map prints on pillows with 100% down-filled inserts are available with maps of Muskoka, Prince Edward County, Georgian Bay, Toronto and more.  County Cupboard $69.99.

Don’t forget to stuff her stocking with all sorts of baubles and treasures.  Be sure to add Make Up Forever Artist liner.  The colour palate covers the range from basic black to deep plum.  Sephora, $24

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Work for It, Kid

I had an eye-opening conversation with a mother at the end of the school year last year.  Report cards came home on the last day of school, and she said she paid her kids for the As they earn on their report cards.  My jaw hit the floor.  “I thought we weren’t supposed to do that,” I said.  “I thought that sent the wrong message about the value of learning.  Or something.”

Her reply was really quite simple: right now, they are school children and their job is to work at school.  If they work hard, she will reward them for it.  She was careful to point out that the money does not go to them directly.  It goes into their RESPs.  The life lesson here is, work hard now, and it will not only make getting into university easier, it will help to ease the work of paying for (or paying off) a post-secondary education.  The money stays in the education circuit, so to speak.

The more I think about it, the more I love this idea.  One of my most pressing concerns as a parent is to avoid fostering a sense of entitlement.  That whole special snowflake thing.  If the kids can begin to understand from an early age that income is tied to excellent performance, perhaps they will give 100% from the get-go.

I have begun to wonder how I can apply the whole “their job is to work at school” thing in our house.  My sixth-grader has been asking for a phone…

“Good luck with that,” has been our response for the last six months, but my husband and I are now saying, “Why delay the inevitable?”  I’d like him to have a phone for middle school, which is a year away, so why not make it available sooner rather than later, and make him work for it.

As part of the process of making the decision about middle schools, he has to write the SSAT test.  I used to work for one of the companies that does preparation courses for these standardized tests, so I know that a concentrated dose of preparation can go a long way to improving the scores.  That and studying thousands of vocabulary words.  Which is what he has been doing.   For an hour a day.   At the end of the road: established work habits, a better score and a phone.  He gets it on the day he writes the test.

image credit

I think it’s a plan that works in everyone’s favour, and he is certainly more eager to sit down with flashcards now that he knows it’s getting him closer to the phone.  The whole atmosphere around the test preparation has lightened enormously.  And I will continue to live in the hope that the vocabulary he learns in the next few weeks stays with him for life and does not vanish into the ether once the test is done!