Tag: gifts

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A full Saturday

Finally I have time to sit down and relax. It feels good to put my feet up. A day filled with grocery shopping and then running errands is not something I was looking forward to today. I got some great photo frames that I needed and also a new clock for the kitchen that were on sale, so that was a plus.

When I got home, I had a visit this evening from a dear friend, Brenda. She and I are gardening buddies and we are always swapping plants and surprising one another with little garden gifts. It was a welcome visit. We sat talking about more home improvement we wanted to start on our houses, and had the same idea about various tile in the kitchen.

All in all it was a productive but long day. Tomorrow I’m going to dig up some more iris’s to give to my friend, and she is bringing me some of her tile samples that she got so I can look them over.

 

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Chaining rain with rain chains

Never having heard of rain chains except for in something I had read while leafing through a garden magazine a while ago, I decided I’d research them and find out what they were and what they were used for. This was a few years ago, and now I love the ones I have and I indeed want to get more of them, and also more accessories that go with them.

A rain chain is a unique way of catching rain water and sort of recycling it. That is the best way I can describe them. There are really pretty designs and add a great deal of flair and also an old world sort of decoration in the gardens and on porches, decks and sitting areas. Anywhere actually, one would like to catch rain water.

These items chain rain and then the water goes down into a basin or even into a plant to save the water or to water a plant that needs it. I have quite a few now, and so many people have commented on them, that every now and then I will buy a nice rain chain and basin to give as a gift to someone who has come over and was genuinely interested in them. They do make great and also handy gifts. I love to shop for them.

 

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Great cloth diapers and diaper covers for gifts

It seems that all of my oldest daughter’s friends, have decided this summer is the time to have their second and third child, which means my gift of  cloth diapers and even diapers services are now to be thought about. At last count, there are four of the girls who have been best friends for years, that are expecting little ones in the next five months. They, I noticed spaced their children out in age, so they didn’t have two little babies in the home at the same time. In this period of time, things have change a lot for all of them.

When my daughter first got pregnant, I asked her to consider using cloth diapers and saving some money while doing so. She wasn’t too keen on the subject, since she was 13 when I had her first little brother. She saw me washing diapers and at that point in her life, she wasn’t into doing her own laundry, though she would help fold the diapers and diaper covers for me.

While my daughter and I were together last week, planning on big baby shower for all four girls together, such as tradition I showed my daughter the site I had found online shopping, that carries every type of diaper one could possibly imagine. The little covers are so awesome and cute now. It’s changed so much since I had to diaper my baby in plain white. Now it’s might be fun to change a baby’s diapers!

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Spice racks and spice collections

Adding to my summer spice collection, requires me to buy more spice racks. It seems I am now collecting them, like I do my various spices. From the domestic every day spices, to the more exotic spices I buy from specialty stores. I have plenty of room on my kitchen walls by the stove to have as many spices displayed and ready to use and visitors often ask if I am a collector. I must admit, I use these racks as also home decor.

Wall spice racks for me, are essential since I have limited cupboard space in my kitchen. My pantry is full of canned and dry goods, so except the wall, there really is no place for me to keep my spices, except the walls. I would love to have racks on the pantry door, but unfortunately the doors are sliders, and not the kind that open up the regular way. Hence making use of my wall space makes sense to me.

Over the years, folks have given me some really great kitchen spice racks as gifts, and I love to display them. That is when I got into the various exotic spices, and also learning how to cook various dishes that calls for them.

 

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Mother’s Day flower boxes

The kids made me shut my eyes as they led me outside to reveal my Mother’s Day present, which were a set of flower boxes. I loved them right away! I’ve been wanting regular flower boxes for a long time, as I have a sort of project in mind,, using them and some other garden items, in the front yard, and now I can at least start on this project. The lovely flowers of all sort that apparently my kids bought and transplanted into the box, were the finishing touch on my present.

I love window boxes also. When we bought the house, there were some on the house, but they were in sad state of repair. I finally got them down and they literally were falling apart in places because of wood rot, and the fact that they were super old.

A window box in each of the front windows, as there are two of them, would look really pretty. It’s on my list of things I get while saving up my pennies. OR, I could save money and try to make my own.

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Barstools for gifts

One of the home furnishings that my aunt needs is to find a bar stool like the other three she already has. I love going to her house, since it almost looks like it could be a place that was built for the tropics. She has loads of hanging and potted ferns and plants in all of her ceiling to floor windows. What she calls the breakfast room, has a great bar type island and there are supposed to be two rattan and wicker bar stools on each side of it.

I’ve wanted to replace the stool for her for about three years now, and she also has wanted to replace it, but we haven’t found anything that looks like her other three. I know that the set was expensive, and looking for one bar stool to match has been so unsuccessful that she’s decided to spend the money and get the four of them that look similar, but also have more of a soft seat and a higher back to them.

She looked online and found a great set that she can also pick the type of fabric for the seat that will match her breakfast room. I love the ones she showed me, since they are even named Hospitality Key West. I think they will look very tropical in her beautiful room. Bless my Aunt, as she said to save my money for more plants, since she wants these and they are way over my budget, but not hers.

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For stainless steel lovers

Since I love fireplaces, I’ve decided I want one. I’m not sure what kind of fireplace I want yet though, since this is just at the whim stage. I went online and came across a place that sells blomus stainless steel. While looking for a fireplace, I never thought such beautiful items could be made of this material.

I decided that I’d look at the fire places anyway, not knowing what I’d find. The Blomus fireplace search gave me photos of some really unique fireplace accessories but there was a lack of fireplaces, at least that I could find. I did see one little stainless steel item that had an oval opening and there was a small blaze in it,so it must be a fireplace. I didn’t see any others, but the one I did see, looked more for ambiance than function. I might be wrong.

After trying to find the fireplaces, I decided to just browse, as my sister loves stainless steel items, and shes been remodeling her house.  She want to go stainless all over the house. I’ll have to tell her about blomus stainless. The prices are good, and she’ll love the selections. Maybe I can get her a gift card if they have them. If not, they should think about it.

 

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Considering personalized address plaques

My friend Amy is about to buy a very nice home, for the first time, and I’ve looked at a whole lot of personalized address plaques to consider as a housewarming gift. I really believe she would like that, considering after a really rough divorce, in which she changed back to her maiden name. Buying the house wasn’t from any proceeds from the divorce because there wasn’t any. Amy bought this house with all of her own money that she really worked hard and for a long time, to buy it out right. I’m proud of her.

While looking at all the plaques, I also saw some really nice bronze address plaques. I’m thinking that the bronze would match the bronze numbers on her mail box, since it is out by the road and where she lives, one must have address numbers on their mailbox and even the paper box. To me, this is a bit of over kill, but it is a must do, so perhaps I’ll go with the bronze.

I’ve decide to perhaps go with the whitehall products. I was checking out the whitehall address plaques, and I really like them. I believe the ones I was looking at were made of nickle, but I could be wrong. Still, no matter, I love the class of them and how the look. It’ll all come together, but in the mean time, I have a feeling Amy would love this kind of house warming and congratulations gift.

 

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Address plaques as a gift

My oldest daughter and her family are planning on buying a house, that is totally awesome and fits their needs perfectly. I went to see the home, and decided right away to look at residential address plaques as a house warming gift. Since the house is way out on a country road, and set back from the road quite a way, it is rather hidden, or will be, once the corn and wheat fields start to grow, which is what the house is surrounded by. Also there is a dirt road before the house that literally just leads into a small woods. It’s easy to mistake that for a drive way.

I know that they are going to put in a new mail box, and that will have the house number on it, but sometimes since the road doesn’t have any street lights, it is hard to read the numbers in the dark, despite of head lights shining on them. I thought about browsing through the custom address plaques, that areilluminated for the house front its self. My daughter will keep the porch light on at night, if her husband isn’t home, but when he is home, she shuts it off, and if they had company at night, it would be hard to read the house number. Besides, if I find the right plaque, it’s a gift that my daughter wouldn’t buy for her self. It’s also a home improvement item…at least I think it makes an improvement on a home.

The personalized address plaques are what I am definitely looking to buy. The give a touch of class to a home, and I know my daughter would love that. She likes nice little touches that make a house more of a home. I did find a few that are in my budget range, so that is a financial help. I think it’s a good and unique gift to give.

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Traditions and Easter Baskets

No matter how old my kids are, they still expect the Easter Bunnie do come and give them fully decked out Easter Baskets. I will admit right now, that I do indeed believe in the Easter Bunnie, Santa, Elves, the Tooth Fairy, and what ever so called “imagined” persona there is for the holidays. I really enjoyed my childhood and growing up, and my Mom went all out “playing” these special “people” and “animals” with great imagination. She put the magic and wonder into out lives and I have made sure to carry that on to my family when my first child was born. persona’s

We have traditions in our family that even my daughter who is married, and has my two grand kids who are 9 and 13, carry on and has added her own spin on our old traditions. To me, it doesn’t matter how old my kids are or the fact they are nearly ready to go out on their own, I still celebrate holidays with the traditions that  has been in the family all these years. Once of which areEaster Gifts. I love buying special gifts that no one has noticed in the store or online, yet I know each person would love. I want to out do myself this year and make Easter the best we’ve had. Some of the kids will be leaving for collage or their own places soon, and well…it sort of is bittersweet.

This year, I want to give each of them their life long Easter Baskets that are tradition, but I also want to surprise them with specialEaster Basket Gifts, and have a note that is attached that says, their names and also, something like…”Happy Easter, from The Easter Bunnie.” Then I might put some paw finger prints on it to make like the Bunnie wrote and handled the note. Yes, this year will be loaded with tradition, but also with something new added, thanks to online shopping!