City-Themed Stationary

This Thursday is my sister Amy’s birthday- she’s a St. Patrick’s baby! We’re not huge on presents in my family, but I wanted to get Amy something small to help celebrate her day.

In the age of texts, tweets and wall posts, I have been on a kick to bring back some elements of old-school communication. One of these is the hand-written note.

I love the personalization a note brings to a relationship. Plus you’re able to show off your personality with a design all your own or even your initials.

I went on Etsy and scrolled the thousands of handmade stationary they have available until I landed on these from Gooseberry Press shop. My sister lives in San Francisco and has friends all across the US, so I thought they were a great fit.

These cute cards are also available for Chicago, Washington DC, Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, Las Vegas and Napa. They cost $2.75 – $4.00 per card, so you can mix and match your favorite designs. You can browse all the stationary here.

Happy Birthday, Amy – Love you!

Handmade Surgical, Scrub or Chemo Hats

When it comes to gift-giving, I simply adore anything handmade. Especially when it’s done by someone who owns a small business they have a lot of passion for.

That’s exactly what I love so much about this gift idea today – it’s handmade by one of Luke’s mom’s dear friends who puts a ton of care behind her product.

Linda’s Lids are personalized hats perfect for anyone in your life that needs a cute, festive way to comfortably cover their head- whether that be a doctor, nurse or even a cancer-patient going through chemo.

Linda’s hats are made with the highest quality materials and since she makes them all herself, she’s able to customize orders, like choosing specific colors or adding softer fabric to the insides of hats made for those who have lost their hair.

The hats come in a lot of different fits and styles to suit women with long or short hair and even for men. You can choose from a lot of various fabrics – including sports teams and holiday-themes, like these “santa” hats she made for the the team at Henry Ford Hospital.

All of Linda’s Lids run under $15, and knowing Linda, I promise you’ll enjoy your experience ordering from her. She’s a big sweetheart!

Check out and “like” Linda’s fan page on Facebook and browse her website to see all the styles available.

Happy Wednesday!

Social Media and Gift-Giving

By now you  guys know that two of my loves are social media and finding the perfect gift, so I was excited to see that these two worlds came together on my favorite website- Etsy!

They have an application (not sure if it’s new or been around awhile) that helps you navigate the often perplexing world of choosing a great gift using Facebook!

When you click “gift ideas” on their homepage, it takes you to a screen that let’s you choose a friend on Facebook. Then based on the details of that friend’s profile (their likes, favorite activities) it pulls gift suggestions from Etsy.

Here’s what it looked like when I searched for gifts for my mom:

Etsy Gift Giving Tool

The tool works best if you’re adding a friend who has their profile filled in with a lot of their interests. Now, not everything they share is something my mom would want, but immediately I get some ideas for custom-made bird houses and a cute case for her reading glasses.

I love this product because when it comes to picking out a special gift for someone, it’s important to keep in mind what interests, activities and hobbies are special to them. If they’ve taken the time to put it into their Facebook profile, chances are it’s genuinely something they like.

Plus, navigating the endless treasures on Etsy can be a little daunting, so I appreciate the thought-starters they give you. Try it out and see if it captures your Facebook friend’s taste!

Choosing a Great Wedding Gift

When you get married, one of the perks is all the awesome presents you receive. Almost all of your household items get an upgrade, from your trash can (thanks mom!) to your bathroom towels. And of course, you get a lot of cash to help pay off the wedding and start your new life together.

When you’re a guest at a wedding, it can be hard to figure out what a good gift is. I was reflecting the other day on what my favorite presents were and noticed they all tended to fit a few criteria: unique, special, practical and thoughtful.

Here are a few of our favorite gifts:

Wedding Memories

My sister and her husband were a huge help during my last few weeks of wedding planning because they offered to handle our guest book as part of their wedding gift. You have no idea how much these little details can be a thorn in a bride’s side!

They came to Chicago with this gorgeous frame, printed photo from our engagement session and everything we needed to create a “guest book” that we can show off in our home forever. We have it hanging in our living room now and I love looking at all the notes we got from guests.

Unique Registry Items

I am all about buying someone something off their registry- they really need those things to build a new home together. Instead of buying the typical items listed though, I like to purchase one of the few odd items – like a neck massager or a set of bathrobes – you can find on a couple’s list.

These less common items are often times the gifts that the bride and groom are secretly most excited about. For us, it was our ice cream maker. This is the one kitchen item I am absolutely in love with. I use it literally once a week to make delicious, homemade ice cream like this:

Personalized Home Decor

My best friend Julia gave us this gorgeous, hand-painted vase that features the Chicago skyline.

It was made by a popular artist in our hometown and I know Julia put a lot of thought into matching the blue with our new dishes. I love this gift because every time I look at it, I think of my beloved Chicago and where we fell in love and eventually married.

Another personalized present I loved came from my friend Jaime. She had a bottle of wine branded with a picture from our wedding dance, and paired it with some gorgeous Tiffany’s wine glasses.

Trust me- anything that comes in that blue box will be adored by the bride!

Group Purchases

We had a few items on our registry that were significantly higher in price than others- like our bathroom towel set and pots and pans. We really needed them, but weren’t expecting to get them since they cost a lot for one person to buy.

So we were happily surprised when my parent’s friends coordinated together to get us some of these more expensive items. Buying gifts with other people definitely takes more time and effort, but the extra level of thoughtfulness doesn’t go unnoticed by the bride and groom.

A Honeymoon Surprise

Luke and I spent our honeymoon in Maui, HI and when we checked into the hotel, were greeted with a wonderful surprise: our friends Gary and Serena had arranged for us to have breakfast “in bed” on any morning we chose.

Enjoying a gourmet breakfast on the balcony of our room ended up being one of our favorite moments from our honeymoon and definitely a memorable gift.

$$$

Of course, you can never go wrong with money. Checks, gift cards, cash- these are ALWAYS appreciated by a newly married couple. Luke and I used some of the money we received to splurge on some big ticket items like a new bed, camera and computer.

We were lucky enough to receive many thoughtful, special presents for our wedding.

What do you typically give the bride and groom at weddings you attend? If you’re married, what is your favorite wedding gift?