Gift Giving....and yesterday's OOTD

Today is a day off of school for my oldest because of parent-teacher conferences. I always welcome a day off! I loved sleeping in this morning! #1 got up and started watching a movie on his own, #2 somehow found his way into my bed in the middle of the night last night (he's still scared of ghosts--poor thing) but slept in past 8am and #3 didn't wake-up till 8:30am. Happy day! Perhaps it was the dark, dreary sky and the pouring rain that kept (most of us) cozy in our beds this morning...guess the rain is good for something! We've been lounging around the house all morning...this afternoon we did actually leave the house and attended my son's parent-teacher conference, but we promptly returned home to get back into pj's and slippers. I'm not in the mood to venture out with three kids in the rain too far today. It'll be a movie/video game/ board game kinda day. It should also be a getting my laundry done kinda day too...well see how that works out. =)

I've been browsing online a little this week looking for a few gifts for a few friends/family members who have birthdays coming up...there are so many pretty things out there right now! Are you a gift-giver? I kind of am. I'm not always great at it, but in my perfect world I would always have a fun little gift to give to special people in my life on special occasions. Sometimes it's fun to surprise someone with something special out of the blue for no good reason at all other than to let them know you were thinking about them. Again, I'm not great at this, but would like to be better.

I don't have any sisters or daughters so I jump at the chance to buy things for my sis-in-law's birthdays (most) every year. Its so fun to pick cute things out for each of them but it can be a challenge sometimes. I tend to like to give things that I like...is that bad? =) Of course if I know something I like isn't quite the style of one of them I wouldn't get it for them, but most of the time all of our styles cross-paths somehow.

It's also fun to get gifts for friends. One time I read on my good friend from college's blog that she really wanted one of those necklaces that has your kids names on it (www.thevintagepearl.com or www.lisaleonardonine.com has great pieces) so I decided to surprise her and had one made and sent to her. The out of the blue reactions are always the most fun...I know she was super surprised and excited. It makes you feel good when you can brighten someone else's day with a little something special.

Sometimes I end up not giving a gift simply because I could not find the "perfect gift" to give. Silly, right?! I mean, any gift is going to mean something (as long as a little thought went into it). But I do stress about it a little. Mom gifts are the hardest for me (on the female side, at least...dad gifts are even worse, but I'm just chatting about girls today). My mom and mother-in-law are so hard to shop for because I feel like they both already have everything they need or want. There has got to be something they would like though, right?! That's probably like when my husband says he doesn't know what to give me for special occasions because I already have 9,876,4567 pieces of jewelry and 3,265,789 pairs of shoes (his words). There are always another 5,387,211 pieces of jewelry or pairs of shoes I would love! Same goes for the moms.

So what do you give? How much do you spend? For me it seems I tend to give jewelry and bags a lot. It's what I like and one size usually fits all so it's easier to match up to a person (maybe this Christmas I'll have to go stealth and look at all my sis-in-law's shoes to see what size they all wear so next year could be a shoe gift-giving year...hmmmm). If I give jewelry I like to give pieces that are more statement pieces than not...something that will stand out in an outfit. Sometimes though I will find a more delicate piece that is too cute to pass up. I typically spend $20-$30 on a birthday gift...sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. Then there's always shipping to deal with and whatnot. I used to buy and ship everything myself but lately I much prefer ordering online and having things shipped directly to the person. If I'm giving a gift to a friend/family member I live by I like to wrap it all cute, but sometimes I fail miserably at that too and end up shoving it in a plain colored bag with whatever color tissue paper came from the last kid's birthday party.

Here are a few cute gift ideas I came across when I was searching, just in case you're looking for an idea for an upcoming gift-giving event:

Rock Candy Bracelet-Anthropologie ($28)



Celestial Orbit Necklace-Anthropologie ($32)



Dew Drop Rings Necklace-Ruche ($13.99)



Etsy is one of my favorite places to find gifts:

Multi-Colored Stone Beaded Necklace-ETSY-store name: silverliningdecor ($32)



Chrysanthemum Earrings in Lime Green-ETSY-store name: lushboutique ($7)
(I believe these came in several colors)



Yellow Rose Necklace-ETSY-store name: MDsparks ($20)
--I've ordered gifts from this store before and the products have been great!



Now to decide! =) If you have any go-to gift ideas I'd love to hear them...I'm always on the look out for great ideas.

No OOTD from today since I'm being super lazy in sweats but here's what I did wear yesterday:



Details:
-Winter Beauty Pullover-Anthropologie (scored on 2nd cuts!)
-Wonder Tee-DownEast Basics
-Ultimate Skinny Jeans-Banana Republic
-Dollhouse Boots-Endless
-Necklace-Lisa Leonard Designs
-Earrings-Express
-Ring-Forever 21

I am so glad I held out for this sweater to go on sale again. When it went on first cuts it was still $70...I just couldn't pull the trigger. I waited it out and finally it hit second cuts...$39.99...much easier to swallow. It's a fun piece and a really comfy cold weather top to have on hand.

Enjoy the rest of your day everyone!