A teeny, tiny gift guide
5 things to spark joy in your/your recipient's life!
Okay, I know I recently wrote about how overwhelming gift guides are and how everything is designed to get us to spend… BUT it is gifting season and I did come across these amazing finds… Most are from small businesses or don’t cost much money. Soooo, I thought I’d share.
Prints from this Etsy shop. I love her illustrations of classic New York City locations, and not in a touristy way. My personal favorite was the one of Bleeker Street Pizza place where I did a portion of my maternity shoot. I love the grungy details and it would absolutely delight any current or former New Yorkers.
from @ViewfromtheTreehouse on Etsy Fragrance samplers from Dries Van Noten. I’ll be totally frank and say I’m not sure I completely understand the Dries Van Noten obsession from the fashion Substackers… BUT this sampler kind of changed my mind. It’s small, it’s <$100 or <$50 depending on the size you get. I saw the rec from Lauren Pantin’s mom’s gift guide:
I immediately purchased one for myself and another one as a gift, which serendipitously happened to be during Bergdorf’s beauty event for some extra discount. It’s like a grown-up Sephora perfume sampler that everyone used to gift in the mid to late 2000s, except way more beautiful, luxe, and interesting.
Dries Van Noten Modepaleis Fragrance Discovery Set. The 10-piece set for $70; 5-piece set is $40. For a Christian in your life: this gorgeously bound Psalms. Alabaster also has other books within the Bible that are similarly bound, but Psalms felt like a good start. I got this for myself (why is it so hard not to buy the gifts for yourself?) and my parents. It’s beautiful as a coffee table book and it’s a joy to flip through.
Psalms from Alabaster. $29 for softcover and $60 for hardcover. A sourdough cookbook and a little bit of homemade starter. I neglected my starter for almost a year, but it survived in the back of my fridge. Those yeasts are resilient! Anybody else afraid that a fungal infection is what will eventually wipe out the human race (a la Severence, novel by Ling Ma)? Anyway… I digress. I’m heading to Austin, Texas to see my brother & his wife at the end of the month and we’re already planning what baked goods we can make with this little starter. After all, baking is extra fun when you have loved ones to share the goods with. We’re looking forward to sourdough bagels, brioche, and, of course, a classic sourdough bread. Since getting a starter to work can take some time, I’ll be bringing along a little bit of my home-grown starter. If you’ve ever baked sourdough before, it can feel like an all-day affair… it’s kind of perfect for holiday family get-togethers where you just hang around and chill at home. Plus, you get to eat a LOT of bread together! I like this book for referencing techniques and recipes. This YouTube channel was also super helpful as well.
Artisan Sourdough Made Simple; $15.99 on Amazon
Penguin Classics Clothbound books. It was my sister-in-law’s birthday recently and I was asking my brother if he thought she’d like clothbound classics. To which he replied: “I’m not sure if I understand— are these just classic books with vibey cover?” Why yes, these are classic books with the vibe-iest covers! Maybe it’s a niche interest… but I think these books are just so beautiful and I would love to have the whole collection one day. If your giftee is a reader or just a fan of moody library vibes, these sets are perfect. Most of the sets were pretty expensive at ~$100+, but for some reason, I was able to find the Brontë sister’s collection for under $50.
Brontë sisters collection at Amazon for $46.39
That’s it! A short and sweet list of joyful items! I hope you and your loved ones love them! Have a happy/warm/safe holidays, everyone!