Pink Lady Gift Guide Holiday 2012

For the Kids

I loved my star making machine when I was little and while looking for one for a family I found that they have come a long way. I found this great Star Projector and think this would be fun for the whole family. It is a wonderful family gift and can be given to children of all ages and to Boys or Girls. Another shout out to Green Toys still the best toys around non-toxic and just fun. 

Gimmy Some Beekman This Year

I love the Beekman 1802 website and all the lovely food, skin care and Homegoods they offer. Standouts are the Creamed Honey, Goat Soaps, Stick of Butter Lotion Sticks, Tis the Season Bunbles and a few more products I will mention below.

For your Hippie or Nouveau-Yuppie Gardner Friends

I have some friends that have gotten into gardening in a huge way over the last couple of years and this is a wonderful Hobby that I might have to try this spring. I found some great things to give to my friends on the Beekman 1802 site this year that they will just love like their Heirloom Seeds packs, Seed Pot Maker, Bug Stick and Garden Cruuk.

Gift Basket Bonanza

Giving a gift to a family or someone that has everything maybe even a Home Sick East Coaster then Zabars is your place to shop for the season. Zabars is a very old wonderful Deli in New York that is Internationally known and loved for their Fish counter to their Cheese Selection. Check out their Gift Baskets, Crates and other wonderful gifts.

Onion Goggles

For the home chef in your life these are the best. I don't know how many times I have thought while chopping onions that if I was in a rush I know I would fumble and chop my finger off if I was not wearing these. The Goggles come in many different colors as well. 

The Fountain of Youth Machine

You have read my Secret Weapon Post so you know this it is in facial and age defying care. The Clairsonic Facial brush is worth every penny to get great ageless skin. They come in a couple of sizes for face and body or travel and lots of colors.

The best Electric Kettle on Earth

This kettle has different settings for different styles of tea. I want one sooooo bad. A great gift for a tea lover or a Kitchen Gadget Junky in you life.

Tea For All

Tea is a great gift to get friends and family started on the right foot for the new year. Coffee is great but tea is better for sure. Tea Forte has great selection of types of tea. organic, rare, green, white, black and fun seasonal blends. Other great brands Mighty Leaf and Taylor's of Harrogate and of course Peets.

Levis

Now this is a great gift for the men in your life. Jeans are a no brainer for Men. You just have to know there waist and in-seem measurement and have an idea of body type. Men never buy new jeans unless forced. This is a great gift and Levis has some great styles out this year. Fancy brands that are well made and made of nice thick denim like Diesl and Lucky are great to.

Socks

Boring socks no more for your guy. Stance brand are well made and so fun. Also for more colder climates Wigwam are the best choice. Get your guy out of his basic black or white tube socks and get him some fun yet masculine socks this year.

Photo from Shop-Eat-Surf.com

A box of Chocolate

I am a fan of giving locally made goodies for the Holidays. This year I think Woodhouse in St. Helena need to be show cased. Not only locally made but delicious and absolutely beautiful.

Jewelry

Want to give Jewelry and the "Blue Box" is not your style then James Avery and Sundance Catalog may be up your alley. I have been a customer of James Avery for as long as I can remember. All made in Texas with a wonderful selection of Jewelry for everyone on your list. Known for their charms and charm bracelets and excellent craftsmanship. Sundance is Robert Redford's catalog store with locally made Artisan made jewelry with a more natural design aesthetic have some wonderful options for that special person. Alex and Ani is a very hot jewelry line as well that offer many options at affordable prices. 

The "IT" Book

I am big fan of the Blog Young House Love and am so proud of everything they do for the DIY world and even more pleased that they put out there own book. The book is awesome. I gave it to my best friend right after I found out that they sold their condo and bought a new home. I knew she would get a lot out it and would make a lovely decorative coffee table book to.

The Wine People
Yep, how could I make a gift guide without a wine gift option. Everyone that knows me well knows I am Rose' Sparking Wine Slut! Yep, I said it Slut. I LOVE Rose' Sparkling Wine. My very good friend Laurence had bottles and bottles of MUMM's Rose' at her 40th Birthday and we where both in pure heaven. This year I have a new favorite and one that should be bought for any Wine-Snob on your list. Pommery Brut Rose is my number one pick! I just love it! Wish I could afford to buy it enough to have it all the time.

Pink Lady Holiday Gift Guide

Now I have wanted to get one of these for myself for a long time, but they where always too expensive.  Breville has now made a great compact juicer that is under $100.00 and makes for easy clean up as well. It has over 700 five star reviews on Amazon.com. Now that is proof that this is a great deal and product. I would gift this to anyone that is wanting to have a healthy start to 2012. This would be a great gift to give to a family as well.

Royal Apothic Home and Body Fragrance Products. I love these products. I heard about them around the Royal Wedding. Kate used Jo Malone candles at the wedding ceremony to scent her day. From what people said the church smelled wonderful. Jo Malone candles run about $65.00 each. Kinda pricey for sure. I do have some of Jo Malone perfumes but could not bring myself to buy the candles. So I was doing some research and found out that the queen uses these candles and stocks all her bathrooms with the lotions and soaps. I went to the website and saw they carry them at Anthropologie and went down to my local store to take a sniff or two. These are the best fragrances I have ever smelled. I love the Toca  and the Fresh lines but these where incredible. I think these would be great gifts for hostess or scent junkies as well.*Don't forget to never spray perfume on your skin only on your clothes and hair.

Peas and Thank You Cook Book. I love this cook book. I think it would be a great gift really for anyone. This cook book makes eating Vegan fun and easy to do. A great book for a family or friend that would like to to do a Meatless Monday or a Animal Free day. If everyone at least did a Meatless Monday we could make a huge difference in our environment also you can save sooooo much money as well. No joke going meatless and dairy free one or two days a week can decrease your grocery spending by 30% to 40% depending on the quality of meat and dairy you buy. In this economy that is a big savings.

Garden of Life Primal Defence. I tell people this and they look at me like I am nuts. I have not had a cold, flu or any type of bacterial infection in FIVE years. Ben has not been sick in TWO years. We both take Probiotics. I have tried different brands but this is the best by far. Probiotics help your immune system fight off bad germs and bacteria that you ingest from being out with the public. I would give this to everyone of my friends and family if I could afford it and if I knew they would actually use it. The bottle runs about $24.99 and worth every penny.

Bob Harper Total Body Transformation Dvd. O my god! I did this work out for the first time not too long ago. I felt like I was back at RB High doing my sprint works outs. The ones where I would loose my lunch during. This work out is no joke. If you have a super athletic friend or someone that is looking to burn off the Holiday calories for the New Year then this is it. I will warn you this is NOT for beginners. Bobs' other Dvds would be better for a more moderate exercise routine.

J Brut Rose Sparkling Wine. This is my FAVORITE!!! I think this is a great gift for a wine lover. Something a little different as a Rose' Sparkler is perfect for your wine loving friends and family. J is a great wine maker in Napa. This would make a very special hostess gift or something to impress a boss for sure. The price is right to just under $30.00!

The Stieg Larsson's Millienuim Trilogy box set is another well priced gift. I don't know if you have heard of this trilogy of books written by the late Steig Larsson, but if you are a reader or know a reader I would at least buy the first book in the set The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and give it a read. I actually watched the first couple of movies that where made in Denmark and they where great even with the sub titles. Now I am starting to read the English translations. I think the books could be gifted to anyone that likes to read at all from the age 13 and up. If you have a mystery or sci-fi junkie friend these books and especially this box set would make a great gift.

Custom Converse and Jack Purcell Sneakers. I bought these for my Teenage niece. These are just too cool for school. You can customize the whole shoe down to the rubber and have their name, initials or whatever embroidered on them to. These would be great for a Boyfriend, Husband, Male or Female Teenagers. I know you are thinking it may be hard to pick everything out but you can either give a gift card to let them do it them selves or go with using their favorite colors and design them your self. Just  a great gift for under $80.00!!!

Salma Hayek Beauty Products. I just started using Salma's line and I love it. Paraben free and quality for not much money. You could buy any of the range for your girlfriends, Teenage girls, Mothers and Grandmothers even the Man in you life could benefit from the skin and hair care line. I would think the best things to pick up  for gifts is the spf

LLBean Emergency Radio-Cell Phone Charger-Flash Light no batteries needed!!!I bought these for my parents last year. My Dad just loved the whole idea that they use a crank to make the power and no batteries. I have seen the both use them a lot this year. These would be wonderful practical gifts for anyone. I got one for each of my parents to put in their cars. They make a larger one with more features to keep in the house for big emergencies.

Happy Balls! Kentucky Bourbon Balls. I LOVE these. I dream about these balls. When I go visit my Grandmother I have to get these. They are so good. These are another local made gift that people would love to get. These instantly bring a little Southern charm and sweetness into any ones life.

Jams-Jellies-Dried Fruits from Twin Peaks Farms. This is a local farm that Ben and I discovered this year. They make the best jams and jelly form there harvest and dried fruit mixes as well. I think these would make a great office gifts or even gifts for Teachers maybe a neighbor that helped you out this year and you want to get them a little something. They also ship seasonal fruit year around as well. The fruit delivers are great to people living in places that cannot get quality fresh fruit in the winter months.

A membership to a CSA near you. This would be another gift for a whole family or maybe friends that are having a hard time financially this year. You can pick different options of what kind of locally grown and produced items from what ever CSA farm is near the family or friend. Some farms offer seasonal deliveries or half year or year around share of their crops. It is a great way to get more healthy produce in your diet and support local farmers doing it right.

Zoya Nail Polishes and Nail Products. I love the ESSIE nail polish color range, but hate the toxic chemicals that comes with it. People do not realize your nails do absorb the toxic chemical you paint them with. Your skin and nails are no different then your mouth. When you put make up, lotion and anything on you skin you pretty much should be able to eat it to a point. Yep, that is right, your skin absorbs everything you put on it and it goes through your blood stream. That is why I started to use as chemical free nail polishes, lotions, makeup and skin care products as I can years ago. The ZOYA line is great and has great staying power and color range with out the harmful chemicals that most polishes have. These polishes would make great stocking stuffers, Hanukkah gifts for any Women, Teenager or Little Girl you know.

Life factory Water Bottles-Baby Bottles-Sippy Cups. Do you have a couple that just had a baby? Do you have a guy friend that is hard to shop for? Do you have a whole family to buy for? Maybe a girl friend that buys cases of water bottles from Costco and you want to guide down the path of not filling a land fill with her waist? The Life Factory bottles are the way to go. They are glass bottles covered in a impact resistant cover that is non-toxic and BPA free. Ben has a couple and has dropped them several times on cement ware house floor and has never broken one yet.

Wilton's Donut Baking Tray. Now this is a great gift for a Gluten Free or Wheat free friend even a friend that is trying to watch calories as well. This donut tray creates the best donuts without frying. You could pair this with a a Donut recipe cook book and you have a great gift for a individual or a family. They will love it.

Global Girl Friends Jewelry-Clothing-Accessories. I am in love with this line. The non-for-profit company goes into villages and helps women create there own businesses form crafts and products they create. The products are un-believably affordable and well made. I love to pick up earrings, scarfs and bracelets for my girlfriends. These are gifts that give back and what else could be better then that.

Recycled Plastics and BPA Free Toys by Green Toys. I buy these toys for all my friends kids. I like to buy the nice non-toxic wood toys as well but these are little more budget friendly. The babies and kids LOVE them and the parents love that I cared so much to buy non-toxic toys for there little ones.

PetNaturals of Vermont Treats. These treats have changed my cats quality of life for sure. The hairball formula has helped Cashmere so much when he starts to shed his winter coat. The vitamin treats keep him healthy and happy as well. They make a full range of Dog and Cat treats and I have been told the dog treats are great. So if you have a pet lover in your life I would think these would be a great gift.