The Perfect Gift: Just in time for NEXT Christmas

So in the post present Christmas world, where shopping malls are full of people exchanging gifts in and out it made me think, "Are there fail proof presents?"  I think that is perhaps over ambitious but I thought I would start a list of my go-to presents for Christmas and other occasions:

For the cook: 
Le Creuset enamaled cast iron ware.  Le Creuset is the best in this category.  They make great enamled (translate easy to clean) cast iron (translate efficient heat, great for cooking) items in a variety of fun colors.  Just shoot for something they don't already have!

For the girlfriends and close office mates (female):  Nail polish or Lip Gloss. 
Cosmetics are a great gift because they seem so personal, but don't take a lot of work or planning.  As far as nail polish goes, American Apparel has a line of especially fun sparkly topcoats that are great for even conservative friends since they can go over a solid for a more understated shine, or stand alone as a bold metallic pop.  The gold flake especially has a cool look and is fun without being too teenager-y.  OPI is another great choice.  They have a wide array of colors, and at Target and ULTA have a smaller size bottle that is perfect for the friend who changes their mind or color often.

Lip gloss is great for much the same reason, it is both very functional and fun... it also read very personal, but does not require a lot of effort.  I am a huge proponent of Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush lip gloss, as the flavors are great and the gloss is not too sticky.  I also love the EOS lip balm ball that is super easy to find in a crowded bag (think unique shape when rifling without being able to see).  Lastly, a great go-to is the Smith's Rosebud Salve by the Rosebud Perfume Co.  While the smell is not quite as appealing as the Victoria's Secret glosses, this gloss is great for many reasons... top in my opinion: it is super easy to glide on, the small tin will last you forever, and the product is multi-purpose, it can double as a creamy blush or help with dry irritated skin on the hands.


For the "less close" office mates or other friends:
The go to here is food.  No one feels slighted by something delicious they can eat.  If you like to cook I think a homemade snack is great.  An easy one that I love is a Rolo Pretzel Turtle.  Simply melt rolos on top of normal twisted pretzels then smush (yes that is the technical cooking term) a pecan down on top.  Let cool, then package and serve.  I am not much of a baker but even I can make these and the prep time is negligible, in fact you can buy 90% of what you need at a gas station!  An example recipe can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pretzel-turtles/

If you do not want to cook however, there are still a lot of great options.  One of my favorites is the Nothing Bundt Cakes Bundtlettes which are a perfect individual size for gifting. 

For the in-laws:
I think for in-laws, when you have no ideas, go with something comfy.  An incredibly soft throw is never a bad thing.  Food is always a great idea here too. 


For the boyfriend or husband:
I think the safest way to go is to get gaming items they don't already have... a new game, PS3 Move if they have PS3 or the Wii Motion Plus if they have a Wii.  If they are absolutely not a gamer, as in no DS, Wii, Xbox, computer games or PS3, my next go to gift is tickets to a sports event.  Tickets are fun for you both and you don't have to get great seats to be really fun.


For the Techie:
There are a variety of fun tech cases out there that make great gifts.  Etsy sellers have tons of fun pouches, covers, bags and cases for everything from iPods to iPads, Kindles, Mac Books, Laptops and more.  The Apple store also carries a huge selection of cases.  This is a fun gift because even if you have a case it is fun to change them out. 

Another great option for the techie is unique headphones (both in look or sound type/ quality).  Skull Candy is a great starting place when looking for variety.  Lastly, an easy but always appreciated standby is an iTunes or Amazon giftcard.  These are great for buying apps or songs, as well as even more tech stuff!


For the person who has everything:
I am always jealous of people who have earned this title... I hope to be one of these someday.  I think for these folks a personal recommendation combined with a gift is the best way to go.  A book you like for example with a note telling them to give it a try.  A great recipe with the tools and ingredients to fix it.  A restaurant you like, with a gift card to try it or a TV show you like with the first season on DVD.  The recommendation helps it to seem personal and be something new.  It is also way easier then trying to figure out what they like, just share what you like and hopefully it becomes a shared interest.

So while I won't make any claims about these being fail proof, I do think these work pretty well across all my gift giving experience.  If anything hopefully it prevents you from having to make that post Christmas or birthday trip to the mall to process a pile of returns.

I love gifts, so today the idea of gifts is my Bright Side of Blue!

Sweet!

So I stopped by Sweet at City Centre in Houston yesterday. It is such a cute little cupcake and sweets shop. In the sitting area there were two adorable white side tables and these cute vintage looking jars with flowers. I want both for my house... I'm feeling a potential craft / shopping project to try and replicate the jars and tables... Maybe all the decor :)... Any ideas?

Stuffed!

So I have to say that hands down the stocking is my FAVORITE part of Christmas day.  So many fun surprises in one place!

So today the Bright Side of Blue is some of my hand picked favorite ideas for stocking stuffers... round 1. :)

Have a Bright Blue Day!

Christmas Time

So the Bright Side of Blue lately has been Christmas.  I love this time of the year and am so excited about the time with family, decorating, and fun.

I only wish I had more then 1 tree to decorate.  Picking one theme a year seems so limiting.  So today I created collections of ornaments that I love from all over the web...

Hope they inspire some Christmas fun for  more then just me!

 

This is one of my favorite collections because it most reminds me of the kind of cozy eclectic Christmas that most represents my childhood memories.  What I love about a lot of these too are that they look amazing but many are DIY... almost all of these came from Etsy.com sellers 

 

I love the idea of a gold tree.  Such a classic Christmas color and very stately looking.  So many of these gold balls have such a unique look to them especially the blown glass ones with the gold etching (bottom right).  I think a mixed silver and gold tree could be amazing too... ahh too many ideas for one day! 

 

Just love this these classic looks.  The bold basic colors are beautiful, but not too conventional!

So I had to do a blue collection.  I could not help myself!  There are so many beautiful blue tones that look amazing combined.  I would LOVE to do a tree with blue mixed with gold or and other metallic tones. 

 So this is my fun collection.  Love the bright colors and the fun, whimsical ornaments.  I am especially in love with the idea of more yellow on a tree!  My favorite ornament in this collection, though, is the white dachshund ornament.  My sister has the cutest miniature dachshund and this would be a fun ornament for
our tree.

 

 The intricacy of these decorations are breathtaking.  These would go well with wide wire ribbon on a tree.

So this last collection I find to be so beautifully ethereal!  I think especially with all the Christmas lights these will be especially luminescent!

Have a Bright Blue Day!

A Few of my BLUE Favorite Things

So yesterday was my first ever blog post (which is probably pretty evident, but that's okay).  I have always wanted to blog and things in the corporate grind have been really down right now... so that first post was exhilarating! It was something new that I was passionate about... sometimes it feels like I left that side of me somewhere when I graduated started working and it feels like a long time since I have felt this excited and engaged in something!
 ... and because of that BLUE has been on my mind A LOT today... so while the blog will not always be blue-centric (I promise), today I thought I would share some of my favorite BLUE things.

I took a couple of shots with my iPhone to show you my collection of blue items I gathered from around my room.  (I am close to being eligible for the upgrade, but until that time, I still the 3GS and the less than optimal camera!)
Starting at the top left and working clockwise:

1. My Blue Stone Necklace
My sister and I designed this together and she made it.  I love the unique shape of each of the stones and the peaceful color blue.  It is a fun three strand piece that goes AMAZINGLY with a white shirt and camel colored cardigan!

2. Aveda Light Elements Smoothing Fluid
This little blue bottle is the LBD (little black dress) of hair products-- it's useful for a million different scenarios and is my go to product in every hair situation! As a girl with curly hair living in Houston, TX where the humidity has as much to do with the big hair as the culture, this product is my lifesaver.  It keeps my hair from getting frizzy or overworked whether I am going curly or strait.  This awesome little bottle has lasted me forever.  And as a sneaky little hint, it works great on wet hair, BUT also great on dry, especially on the ends!

3. H&M Bronzing Powder
So this is not the reason I bought it, but I do LOVE the Royal Blue of the casing!  I got this due to being out when on a trip to San Fransico, but it has since replaced my old bronzer.  It works really well and goes on smooth without being too dark.  I love that it is matte and has no shine, because most bronzers have too much for me.  Also, like all things H&M it's an AMAZING value, this big case of it was only like 3 or 4 bucks!

This is probably as good as time as any to admit that I love H&M and will probably mention it entirely too much in this blog.

4. Blue Stone Necklace
I love the raw look of the stone mixed with the upscale gold of the necklace.  The blue really is a pop and is a fun surprise element with both neutral and bright bold outfits. 

5. Victoria Secret's Island Escape Sheer Fragrance Mist
This light body spray has a very sweet, coconut scent that always reminds me of summer.  I like to wear it especially as it gets dreary in the winter.  I am also really big into mixing scents and LOVE to pair this one with the very bright and very citrus-y notes of the Dove Energizing GoFresh Body Mist (i.e. the yellow one)!

6. The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
This is Book 2 in the Heroes of Olympus series.  I am a huge Riordan fan starting with his Percy Jackson series.  If you haven't read it, it is a really fun read and tells the story of the Percy Jackson a hero for the Olympian Gods of Ancient Greek as they exist in the world today.  I am re-reading the two books of this new series right now and am dying for the next!

7. My Blue and Gold Drop Earrings
These earrings are so perfectly classic without being overdone!  I got these from an Art Market when my husband and I were in Hawaii on our honeymoon.  The blue is a very aquamarine color and are very subtle in their tone when the light comes through them.  I will find the designers name and post when I next get a chance!

8. See You Soon Nail Polish by Sinful Colors
This is a VERY deep blue color that I love and looks great for an understated punk rock look (which is always what I am going for at my conservative office :) ).  It has a pearl glaze and plenty of sparkle that keep it from skewing too black.  The best part is that this brand, Sinful Colors, is at Walgreens for 2 bucks. Since I get too bored with nail polish too quickly to buy the expensive stuff I am a huge fan!  

(By the way 8 is my lucky number and I didn't actually plan to have 8 things it just magically worked out that way!)

So the Bright Side of Blue today was in fact BLUE!  A perfect set of 8 things I love!

Hey! Day! My Wed Night Pick Me Up

So the bright blue of my day today is the band The Heyday.  I drive a fairly lame car, but the sound system is great, and so today when I left work at 6:42, and turned their music on, it totally changed my mood.  I left the office feeling like someone had literally flattened me like pizza onto a side walk, but the music made me smile and do that lame shimmy dance thing that you do when you want to exuberantly dance but are in a very small space! The tracks have this upbeat sound and amazing lyrics. 

If you haven't heard of The Heyday you should, I promise it will brighten your day!
http://theheydaymusic.com/

Their song "Lost with You" was my husband and my first dance song at our recent wedding, there is a line it that goes "you wrote your name in the fog on the windshield, so when I'm driving through the cold I think of you..." This week is the first time it has been cold here in Houston this winter (well in the 40s), and as a truly Texas girl, still wearing flip flops in November I have not been excited about it.  But that line came on and the air outside had that cold smell (which I know sounds weird but totally exists) and I was suddenly grateful for winter and excited for red noses, ruddy checks, soft sweaters, and cute jackets.

So the bright side of my blue today was the perfect music at the end of the day ... almost like my life was a movie-- assuredly less glamorous, but wonderful to me!