Gift Guide: A Time for Sharing

A few years ago my father started a little tradition with my siblings...he supplied each of us an amount of money and a choice of charities to support with the gift.  It was such a nice pause to our regular morning of crazed unwrapping, to read about each of the charities my father researched for us.  When I have kids I'd like to continue this tradition.  For now, I'm sharing 2 amazing organizations that have gift certificate options for sharing:

Kiva.org's mission is to "connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty." Support an entrepreneur in another country with a small loan to build their business...it's really a fantastic organization doing a lot of good.

DonorsChoose.org - support a hard working teacher by funding supplies or project materials on their wish lists.  

Happy Holidays!  

Gift Guide: 2009 Calendars

I love little calendars for someone's office or home desk...as long as you keep them small. Here are some cute Etsy examples.


Sitting Pretty Printable Calendar
by Blue Tricycle


Cupcakes Make Me Happy Calendar
by Yee Haw


Typography Wall Calendar
by Oven Door Owl


Keep Calm and Carry On Inspired DIY Calendar
by Little Brown Pen

{This post is dedicated to my calendar loving friend, Drea!}

Gift Guide: Cool hand-detailed duds

Here are some cool clothing items from Etsy, the best place to find unique stuff:

This $20 tee by Xenotees lists the collective names of over 100 animals.

A prickle of porcupines? A romp of otters?

I think this is a fun tee for any animal lover or person who loves random trivia.

This tee with a chandelier screenprinted is unexpected and v. cool for $32.

By Pretty Raccoon...an Etsy store w/ tons of great designs.

And this ruffle jacket by Thai designer, Ananya, is only $40.

While you may not be able to get it by the holidays, I think it's a great find!

And last is a t-shirt detailed with three sweet fabrics giving this $52 shirt some sass.

Part of the Dear Collection of designs.

Gift Guide: Handmade handbags

I think any of these unique handmade bags (at three different price points) would make a person smile:


Showpony's Vintage Shopper, $20 and Graphic clutch by Oktak, $29


Recycled sail(!) tote by Reiter8, $65 and Tortilla Girl's Linen bag, $78.


Leather Truffle bag by Morelle, $185 and Weekend Bag by Paco & Lupe, $96

Tag, I'm It.

My lovely friend Jamie, tagged me recently. She says the goal of this tag is to identify 6 quirky items about myself and hope you find interesting. Here goes!

1) I always forget the ends of movies....within a couple days of seeing a movie, I cannot remember how it ends.

Photo via Flickr.

2) I've never owned a car. If I did, shouldn't it be this Porsche 356 Speedster?


3) I've worn glasses since I was 10. I wear them now because I think it makes me seem smarter. (This comes from a daughter of a man who still wears glasses even though he had corrective surgery that gave him perfect vision a year ago. Hey...at least I''m not THAT weird!)

4) I am very good a sports bar/pub trivia. If you need a team-member...call me.

5) I get asked what I am A LOT (as in...are you Indian? Hispanic? Indonesian?). My favorite thing to do is ask the person to guess. Like 5% of the time the person gets it right. For the record, I am 100% Mexican-American. For some reason I'm reminded of a Time Magazine cover that my mom showed me back in 1993 of a computer generated woman composed of images of people of many races. Sorry...random tangent.


6) This Rodin sculpture of one of the Burghers of Calais. Before a test I would shake his hand for good luck. It didn't always work, but he definitely brought me a sense of calm.


I'm supposed to pass this on . But I think the people I know who have blogs have already done this ...so stay tuned, need to do some digging!

WWMW?!

Question of the hour: What Will Michelle (Obama) Wear?

Some of the world's top designers have contributed 36 sartorial suggestions to Women's Wear Daily on how they would dress the next First Lady on Inauguration Day.

The woman is so graceful and stylish, I am sure she will look stunning in anything. My favorite designs are:


Ceremony looks by Lacroix and Diane Von Furstenberg



Gowns designed by Monique Lhullier, Elie Tahari,
Diane von Furstenberg and Issac Mizrahi.

Thank you Coquette, for the scoop!

Frugal Fashionista Gift Guide

Today's gift guide is focused on all things fashiony and under $25.

Build a fashion-lovers library:


Books by Project Runway designer, Daniel Vosovic and judge, Nina Garcia.
Lucky magazine editors style guide. Or a tome on design legend, Balenciaga.

Jcrew has some cute finds on sale:

Polka Dot socks for $7, and Tank w/ chiffon corsage detail for $19.

And Old Navy is a great place for functional basics w/ cute details:

Sherpa zipped jacket coziness for $25. Button trimmed leggings for under $15.

Bluefly is always a great place for outfit-making details:

Fashion Focus $25 double-belt or silver belt w/ studs are perfect for cinching in layered pieces!

Photography Monday: Gift Guide

I think photography makes a fantastic gift and you can find some very reasonable pieces of art on Etsy.com. Here is a sampling:
For a fashionista, these photos of vintage Barbie clothes are perfection:

Prints by Michelle Brusegaard run $15 each.

These would make a bold statement on an animal lover's wall:

Prints by Sharon Montrose run $25 each.

A customizable collage of architectural letters for your favorite familia:

For a mere $19 you can get a personalized designs by JavaJane.
She also offers framed versions for $55-79.

Art Inspiration: a Double Take

Don't you just love reading?


A Young Girl Reading, Jean-Honoré Fragonard c. 1776
and
Lesende (Reading), Gerhard Richter - 1994

One cool shop: Fringe

Loving these warm and wooly designs offered on an Etsy shop called Fringe.


The "Twist of Fate" Cowl and "Either-Or" Capelet are both great designs and love the versatility of these color choices.

One cool designer: Colleen Baran

I've been a fan (okay, Etsy stalker) of jewelry designer, Colleen Baran, for a while now. Her designs are so unique: graphic yet feminine, witty yet wearable, beautiful yet...beautiful.

Perfect gift ideas - especially in a size 5! Hint, hint.

Dress for the Job You Want: Surf-Inspired Artist

This week's installment of "Dressing for the (Dream) Job You Want" was inspired by my talented friend, Jaime, whose passions include art, surf culture, and style.

Dream Job: Surf-Inspired Artist
Wardrobe Situations:

Inspiration Gathering trip in Santa Cruz, CA:

Floaty frocks perfect for throwing on after a session at Cowell's.
Designs by ADAM and Marc by Marc Jacobs.

Interviewing Surf Legends:
(check out Jamie's fantastic interviews and artwork on her blog, PinappleLuv)

Professional looks with a twist by Lela Rose and Hanii Y.

Gallery Opening:

Unexpected details make all the difference.
Designs by Sophie Theallet and Sabyasachi.

All photos via Style.com