Gift Ideas 2011

It's that time of the year, the time to put up decorations, spend time with family, and shop for everyone on your list. Yesterday when I woke up to snow flurries falling outside, it felt official to me, it's beginning to feel and look a lot like Christmas! Our house has been decorated for a couple of weeks now and all of my shopping is near complete, but I have a lot of wrapping to do and not much time to do it! Even though this time of the year is so so busy and hectic at times, I adore Christmas and this year happens to be really special to me. If you still have a shopping list so long it makes your eyes cross, maybe I can help you out with some gift ideas (hopefully there's at least one to suit someone on your list)!...

For Her...

 Either one of these stunning necklaces is sure to make any girl on your list one happy lady!

Hello super cute tote bag :)

Such a lovely notepad for any list-making girl you have to shop for

Personalized gifts are extra thoughtful, such as one of these fun iPhone cases

 Cute gift idea for any bakers on your list

A really cute hat so she can stay warm

Or some fun slippers, I mean what girl does not like to be comfortable?!

Another notepad that will surely make her smile

Pretty wrist candy

For Him...

Last year I gave my husband a really nice bottle of whiskey along with these Whiskey Rocks and he really enjoys them because they don't dilute his drink.

Great for the iPad lover

Perfect for the golfer, he can bring it to his office or have it to practice at home.

For Them or The Hostess...

Gorgeous gold triangles glasses

A great set of cheese knives

A pretty picture frame is always a good option

Happy Holiday shopping!

oxox,

lauren

*Pretty gold necklace, gorgeous turquoise necklace, chevron striped tote bag, floral notepad, personalized phone cases, wood handled whisk, Small Sweet Treats cookbook, polka-dot hat, moccasin slippers, cute whale notepad, sparkly bracelet, Whiskey Rocks, iPad DODOcase, automatic-return portable putting cup, sparkling gold glasses, set of cheese knives, round picture frame

Missoni for Target Mayhem

Yesterday, like many others, I braved Target first thing in the morning for the debut of the Missoni for Target line. I have been an admirer of Missoni for years, eyeing their gorgeous prints in magazines and on television when some celebrity is sporting their garb. When I first heard of their line for Target months and months ago I was already anticipating it's arrival. I have been gawking over all of the mags throughout the past few months with photos of pieces of the line and I went through the whole lookbook online a while ago. I had been building up a mental wish list of the goods I wanted. Now, clearly Target did an amazing job with the marketing for this line which only made it more and more sought out. I think many people who normally may have not have been interested almost felt a need to get their hands on pieces of the Missoni for Target line due to all of the insane hype. I mean, the site had crashed first thing in the morning and was having serious issues all day yesterday. I got on the site last night just to see if anything was left and it was still having issues.

Back to my crazy adventure. So, I got there at 8:05am due to some unexpected insane traffic. The parking lot was already crowded for 8am. I hit up the clothes first and grabbed the four items I had my eye on. Score! Directly across from the clothes were the adorable accessories. I was able to get the scarf I wanted as well as the tote bag. The accessories were already looking picked over and it must have been 8:10. Next I marched over to the highly anticipated home items. I headed over to the pillows and throws shelf first which was completely empty. Completely. Dang it, I really wanted one of those gorgeous throws. Then I wandered over to the tableware and picked up some adorable tumblers, mugs, and trays. The nesting prep bowls I wanted so bad were gone, only to be seen in the few carts of the girls who were able to get their hands on them first. After tableware I decided to walk back over to the pillows and throws shelf and a super sweet worker let me know that they were currently grabbing some more of the inventory from the back, so I decided to stand there and wait for a few minutes. Several other girls took notice and gathered around, all anticipating this extra inventory. Within minutes two men walked up dragging one of those large flat beds on wheels with several stacked boxes on it. I swear the men looked scared as they approached this large crowd of girls gathered around hovering over their full carts crazily anticipating what was going to come out of those boxes. One of the men then opened the first box and kindly handed me one of the most-wanted throws I had been waiting on. Yay! Then, I kid you not, the men just started to rip open the boxes and toss the pillows and throws into the crazy crowd of screaming girls with their hands in the air. Pure hysteria and when you think about it, freaking hilarious. Sheesh. Needless to say the rest of the inventory was gone just as soon as those men got those boxes open! I then finished meandering throughout the rest of the store since all of the Missoni merchandise was on the end caps of the aisles. I scored some of the flats, beauty items, and stationery. My sister, Katie and I texted and talked throughout our local Missoni for Target trips about our finds and experiences which was comical! I have failed to mention that throughout the more than two hours I was in Target (that's right more than two hours! Absurd, i know!) I filtered through my cart at least ten times trying to leave only the things i really loved. I mean, how many freakin' note books do I need (no matter how cute they were!) and I don't even really use pencils! After one last edit of my cart I was finally leaving Target - still with too much Missoni. Here are some of the items I was lucky enough to get my hands on...

Love this throw! It's really soft.

Super cute dress, great with a long sleeve top underneath for the upcoming cooler weather

Comfy flats

Long cardi - cute with jeans + boots

Pretty tote bag

I adore this candle and clearly this is my favorite print! :)

Here are the super adorable prep bowls I wanted, but was not lucky enough to leave with (Katie scored the last set at her Target, lucky girl!)...

Aren't they fab?!

Oh, and I have to say that even though it felt like black Friday on steroids all of the workers were so nice and all of the way too excited girls were really sweet to one another...we were all talking and laughing at ourselves! :)

oxox,
lauren

*All images courtesy of Target and Google

Friends, Fun, & Football

Last weekend one of my college bff's, Catie, came up for a visit! We had a fabulous time! We had not seen each other since last October so we were excited to see one another and we had a lot of catching up to do. We went shopping, antiquing, and had a few great meals out around Nashville. Catie is such a great friend and we always have a wonderful time together. Lots of laughing was involved, which is always a great thing.

Friday night we had dinner at Virago

We dined on the rooftop and the sushi was really good.

Saturday we had lunch at Marche and then we headed to Franklin to walk around the adorable little downtown area as well as go through a few of the antique stores.

Saturday night we had a great dinner at Park Cafe. Mmmmm.

I had a really great time Catie! Come back and visit soon dear!

Well, I cannot believe Labor Day weekend is upon us. This summer flew by, but my hubby and I are ecstatic about college football starting up! Matt's team, Georgia Tech kicks off their season tonight and it feels like a national holiday around here! Needless to say, I heard "It's Gameday" more than once this morning.

Here are a few cute entertaining products great for the upcoming football season (I'll have a post with more next week)...

Cute Georgia Tech chip and dip dish

Adorable Alabama football sign

Fun football dip bowl

oxox,
lauren

*Georgia Tech chip and dip, Alabama football hanging sign, football bowl

Fit to be tied...with a pretty bow!

Alright, so I am just going to say it...i am in love with (or maybe obsessed with!) Christmas. Some would say I am over-the-top or even a bit obnoxious about how much i like Christmas, but I am okay with that because it makes me happy. Christmas is my favorite holiday and my favorite time of the year. I think I love Christmas so much because I know it is something I can always count on to be there, year after year. I know that lights and decorations will be everywhere every December and things just look so pretty. I know a lot of people are currently thinking of gift ideas and going out shopping every weekend. Why are some people so hard to shop for? I have already finished most of my shopping, but here are some of my favorite gift ideas. Now, these are girly gifts (i have two sisters, two sister in-laws, my mother and mother in-law to shop for) because the girls out-rule the boys in my family and i have been shopping for lots of girly gifts...

Love this necklace + it would look great for New Year's!

I think these colorful ikat bowls are just as great for decorating as they are for eating

Love and Toast is a super cute line of hand creams and other fun products and the adorable packaging makes it the perfect gift

I think I need this pretty sequined tank

Great clutch for a fun night out

Love the faux-fur trim on these little gloves

This precious little ring bowl is so unexpected

Any girl could use a notepad with some fun & pretty color to jot down her to-do list

This sunglasses case is not only cute, but probably helpful when trying to find your glasses in your bag!

Soft and pretty cable knit slippers

Who doesn't like chocolate? And please, the gorgeous Mast Brothers packaging is insane!

Sephora is one of my go-to gift stores, they have a ton of options, like this great Fresh gift set

Our wedding Shutterfly book

This is a wonderful gift idea for anyone special in your life! So, I am in love with Shutterfly, not just for storing my pictures, but for making personalized photo books and lots of other cool stuff. I completely surprised Matt with a formal photo book of all of our favorite wedding photos and then a fun photo book of our honeymoon pictures last year for Christmas. I was so excited about giving them to him and he was so happy and surprised when he opened them! I also made two more wedding books, one for my mom and one for his parents and they were a huge hit. They make really thoughtful and special personalized gifts that will be kept forever.

Our honeymoon Shutterfly book

Happy shopping!

oxox,
lauren

*Pretty sparkly gold necklace, little colorful ikat bowls, Love & Toast, fun sequin tank, zipper clutch, cute faux-fur trimmed gloves, dainty ring bowl, colorful note cube, pretty pink sunglasses case, comfy cable knit slippers, Mast Brothers Chocolate, Fresh gift set, Shutterfly