A Batty Life » Party Ideas

Unexpected Gifts For a Guy

Liz — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:34:31 +0000

This Valentine’s Day, I actually had my act together to get Luke some presents ahead of time. I decided this year instead of getting him something he NEEDS, I would get him a bunch of small things he probably never thought of, but would think were cool.

Just some fun things he could open and be surprised by. Here’s what he got:

Batman & Robin t-shirt, because he’s my favorite side kick. :)

Handmade Bird Feeder: Perfect Porch Entertainment

Liz — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:46:39 +0000

One of my favorite parts of our new apartment rental is that it has a front porch. I don’t what it is, but I’ve always liked front porches more than back decks, patios or other outdoor living spaces.

Soon after moving in, I noticed that we have a lot of lively, pretty birds around our apartment and got an idea. Hmm…front porch + birdies = birdhouse!!

Etsy had quite a few adorable birdhouses to choose from. Click on any of the photos below to go to the listing on Etsy.

The Vintage Pearl: Hand-Stamped Jewelry

Liz — Tue, 10 May 2011 18:18:18 +0000

Did you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day? We were in Scottsdale, AZ relaxing by the pool for a belated one year anniversary trip. I was missing my mom though. Days like Sunday are when it’s hard to live so far from home!

I sent her a little something to let her know I was missing her from a lovely website called The Vintage Pearl. Have you heard of it? It’s handmade jewelry with a very personal touch perfect for moms. I got my mom these “mother of pearl” earrings that she loved.

Only I Would Get Hurt at Yoga / Handmade Heating Packs

Liz — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:57:35 +0000

Soooo, yeah. Remember last week when I blogged that I took my first yoga class and loved it!? Well, that love has quickly turned into hate. I hurt my back during my second class!

I know, I know….who gets injured doing yoga???

I took a class last Tuesday that involved a lot of twisting and stretching of my back. Appartenly the athlete in me didn’t realize that yoga is about bringing balance to your body and NOT pushing each stretch to the absolute limit until you’re hurt.

The odd thing was that during and after the class I felt fine. The next morning I felt fine. Then around 11 am things started to go downhill quickly.

My whole back tightened all the way up my neck, so I could hardly look left or right. The next morning was even worse- I Read More

City-Themed Stationary

Liz — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:35:01 +0000

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 Read More

Handmade Surgical, Scrub or Chemo Hats

Liz — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:32:09 +0000

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.
Read More

Social Media and Gift-Giving

Liz — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 18:07:31 +0000

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 Read More

Choosing a Great Wedding Gift

Liz — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:43:05 +0000

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 Read More

Creepy Halloween Foods

Liz — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 20:44:49 +0000

Yay! My favorite holiday is just 1.5 weeks away!

I am a HUGE Halloween fan. Everything from the costumes to the parties makes me smile.

Rebuilding Haiti, One Gift At A Time

Liz — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:25:00 +0000

My favorite gifts to give and get are those that have a story behind them. Something that makes the present thoughtful and special beyond “I picked this up at a department store.” That’s why I love Etsy, where everything is handmade, so much.

This weekend while in Miami for the Blogalicious Conference I learned about a wonderful campaign Macy’s is doing called Heart of Haiti, which is bringing beautiful, hand-made Haitian art to the US.

Despite the horrific earthquake that devastated Haiti this year, many of the countries most Read More