Now Give

My generous, thoughtful givers: I give to you my Gift Guide. I once said that Trump's America doesn't deserve my gift guide, followed by years of going dark... Thank goodness we're finally taking America back. 

Maybe you'll find something to give. Maybe you'll find the intro too political. Maybe you'll find peace on earth and good will towards men. 

Let's get to it, shall we. 

New York Times Custom Birthday Book

Bound front page of every birthday of your (their) life. It's obviously more valuable the older someone is. Comes across as "thoughtful" but you could give this to someone you don't know all that well at all. People love themselves.

 

NYT Custom Book//$100 for leatherette, $145 for linen

Crate and Barrel White Ruffle Earthenware

I can't take credit for the next one; my friends were getting married (Hi Peter + Shannon!), they registered for some of these pieces.  I really liked it and have bought it for a few others as housewarmings. The thing I've noticed is it is used: as a table decorative centerpiece in a few homes I have given it to, the platter for serving a variety of things. It is classic enough to integrate with a ton of differing styles, but interesting enough to be noticeable. Give one or the other, or a set...

16" Ruffle Platter ($30, center under bowl)//15" Large Ruffle Bowl ($30, top) //11" Small Ruffle Bowl ($25, center on top of platter)//5.5" Dip Ruffle Bowl ($8, bottom)

Movies/Whirly Pop
You all deserve better than microwave popcorn. There are a few ways to do this gift, but just do it. Sometimes you just need to spend a few dollars more for the prestige of having the gift arrive from a high end store, or wrapped in the high end store paper, or with the high end store gift receipt. If you don't need that, I will link you to the same product, just cheaper. You can also "bundle" this gift with say a Redbox gift card. This + movie rental card is an awesome family gift for your sibling with 25 children. (iTunes, Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc whatever platform they may use)

Whirly Pop from Bed, Bath, Beyond ($20)// WP from Williams Sonoma ($40 with popcorn kernels) // Amish Popcorn Gift Set ($30)

National Park T-Shirt

Who doesn't love Americas best idea? Get a little local with a T-shirt of their favorite.. or future favorite... place to be.

National Park Service Shirts ($10-18) - Zions, Rocky Mtn, Grand Canyon, Blue Ridge, and more! Also in long sleeve! 

Beyblades for the kids

Am I plugged into what the kids want? IDK, yeah. Well, these toys let them unplug (see what I did there?). You don't even need batteries! These are spinning tops with interchangeable features that are collectable. They battle in stadiums, which you don't need; just a smooth floor that is willing to get scuffed or a patio or driveway or sidewalk. Have fun out there. I'd say 1st-4th grade is the ideal market here. 

Beyblade Battle Bundle or this Battle Bundle ($50) // Beyblade ($10 ) // Stadium ($9)

Nail Polish Set

Good for a girly girl aged 2 to 92. We all have nails, keep them fresh ladies. My niece's favorite is Hello Kitty OPI in Let's Celebrate, included in this kit. 

Hello Kitty OPI Holiday 2019 Collection (under $20)

A Few Bath/Body Little Luxuries 

Tried out a few products from this goat milk based company and everything was nourishing. I have extremely sensitive skin, nothing bothered it at all. 

Beekman 1802 Gift Set ($21)

Hear me out, this isn't to digest. This won't get you high. It is a skin oil. It has cannabis seed extract, deal with it, and slather it. 

First Aid Beauty Oat & Cannabis Sativa Seed Dry Oil ($30)

A New Cookbook

I follow this blogger/home chef. Everything I've made from her recipes is top notch. She just came out with this cookbook. Real food for real homes. 

Hopes Table: Recipes from a Mennonite Kitchen ($20 hardcover, $11 ebook)

BONUS- I'm linking her blog for you to test out the recipes for yourself- here you are

Ice-chest/Cooler

Do you know anyone who likes to camp? road trip? tailgate? picnic? spends the day on the beach? soccer dad/mom? Diet Coke mama? Who doesn't like an ice cold beverage??? WHO?

Camp Zero 10L Cooler, comes in white, blue, or tan from Costco ($70) *hot tip, or shall I say "cool tip"; you don't have to have a Costco card to shop most items online AND most have low to no shipping charges. You're welcome. 

Sees Chocolates

They taste good. 

Box of See's Chocolate (Around $26 a pound, but lots of sizes/options)

And, as always, if you are going to make a home made gift this year, I offer to you this lovely recipe from another blogger: Peppermint Whoopie Pies. Feel free to adjust to your whims; swap the peppermint out for some candied ginger, or a blood orange squeeze & zest, whatever you're feeling my friends.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Have a New Year worth having! 

I love you all (in varying degrees). 

P.S. I love that this blog looks like it was designed in the early 2000's. Thank you for noticing, it was. 

Oscars 2019: Academy Awards Best Picture Nominations

In alphabetical order... my opinions. 

Black Panther- Have not seen. 

Blackkklansman- This was the best movie (not my favorite one nominated, though my 2nd). It was just better than the others. It was creative, well written, entertaining, and had a solid message that was relevant when it happened and now. It was over the top Spike-style, but the story itself is over the top so the style worked for it. The acting was good, and not distracting. It explores racism, which is always polarizing and somehow it makes heroes out of the police, which is a complex juxtaposition to what is currently going on with our current racial tensions... I applaud Spike Lee for his master directing and writing. I also decry criticism that this movie takes too many liberties on writing history... it was based off a true events (not a true story), no one is claiming it is a documentary. It was well paced, drew me in, made me think, made me laugh, it did it's job. 

Bohemian Rhapsody- An overly generous homage to the band Queen, and a bit of a weird (read: inaccurate) take on Freddy Mercury, overacted by Rami Malek. He was begging for the Best Actor win the entire time, and it might have worked... because he isn't a bad actor, he was just like "DO YOU SEE ME?!". In addition to that, the entire costume shop & make up artist teams should be ashamed of their work. Overall, this movie was actually poorly made, but people seemed to like it. Even I didn't dislike it... maybe it was the music that tricked everyone into liking it?  

The Favourite- Not my favorite or my favourite. It had so much potential, could have been something, but wasn't nearly witty enough for itself.  Well acted by all. Olivia Coleman should win for best actress. She was capable to do what the movie failed to do: be believably wickedly fun. Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz were also both nominated for Best Supporting Actress, they were just so unpleasant to the point of being unpalatable. There should have been far more winks from this movie, there were none. There should have been more charisma, there was none. 

Green Book- Don't do a movie about rejecting stereotypes by having a stereotype side-kick. Let me tell you: I was never surprised, let alone delighted, by a black man doing the right thing. I was however disappointed, rolling my eyes, at the side-kick character being a New York Italian-American thug who has mafia friends and eats like a beast and has pasta dinners with his loud family. 

Roma-  Confession: I didn't finish watching this beautifully boring movie. It just isn't the best picture of the year. They spent 10+ minutes showing us the undercarriage of a car parking in a tight space. There was a twist; there was a little doggie doo-do that may or may not be ran over by the car. Also, making a movie in black and white is such a cheap novelty; don't try to distract my attention with this eye-catching ploy... it was set in the 70's, when they literally had color film. Next.

A Star is Born- My favorite to watch of the bunch, I wouldn't mind this winning. What carried the movie was beautiful & talented people telling a time-tested story. Lady Gaga did a good job for being not-an-actress, but she wasn't worthy of any nomination herself.  Cooper proved himself as a solid director. He should probably always direct himself as an actor, because it worked. He is nominated for the performance, deserved. The soundtrack also blurred out many flaws. This movie plays like a first album; Bradly's directing and screenwriting debut, Gaga's acting debut. These people might just have a shot in Hollywood, lol. 

Vice- I guess they didn't think a movie called "Lynne" was going to sell... so instead of titling it "Vice Wife" (which totally would have sold, because it's an almost rhyme)… anyway, they made a movie about Lynne Cheney and they sprinkled in scenes of Dick rising to power and making bad choices. It is like if The Big Short was about politics and instead of teaching us about how it all works, they just "teach us" about what a dick Dick Cheney was.



P.S. AMC A-list is the best