Jake's Christmas Wishlist

Like I said last week, I'm a little behind on Christmas shopping, but I've been catching up all week. I showed you my wishlist earlier this week, and I thought I'd share some of Jake's wishlist too. Unfortunately Jake is one of those Christmas babies whose birthday falls on December 29, right when I'm fresh out of money and expected to pay rent again. To top it off, my sisters birthday is January 2, and if there were two people in this world that I would want to splurge on for their birthdays it would be these two. Kristi and I have agreed to push our Christmas and her birthday back until January 25, after another pay period has cycled around again, which is a relief because now I can focus on Jake.

He didn't ask for everything on this list (he'd never ask for clothes or shoes), and I didn't buy all this stuff for him (c'mon now, what if he looks at my blog), but for the most part, this is the stuff I've been looking at.

1) Band/movie tees. When Jake's not in his work clothes, he's usually in a t-shirt, and since he loves T-Rex and the Electric Warrior design, I thought this was a good choice. I also sneakily got his approval on this A Clockwork Orange shirt, too.

2) I don't drink coffee, but Jake does and he hasn't had a good coffee pot in years. Plus, the one he's got doesn't allow for brewing only one cup, which is usually all he drinks anyway. This Hamilton Beach coffee maker had great reviews at Amazon.

3) Jake is a Lego fanatic. When he got the graphic design job at Dillard's the first thing on his desk was a Lego Winnebago! This guy is a little pricey, but it's a great way to sort and store Lego's as it separates the different sizes and keeps them very organized.

4) A man can always use an extra pair of Levi's. Enough said.

5) He's not typically one for wrestling games, but he won't quit talking about this one. He almost bought it for himself the other day, but I insisted that he should refrain from buying self-gifts during the holidays, especially when he has the item on his wishlist!

6) My favorite gift of all. A 2012 subscription to Numero Group. Numero Group is an archival record label out of Chicago that releases several great recordings, films, and photographs each year. They work hard to research and re-master forgotten gems, and every year they offer a package of their releases. Jake and I are madly in love with this label, and the yearly subscription is awesome because Christmas presents keep showing up on our doorstep all year long.

7) Jake needs new work shoes, and this stylish pair of Clark's will be great for work and for play.

2011 Christmas Wishlist

I'm really awesome at making wishlists, but really awful at getting them in an organized post. Every Christmas I make a wishlist on Kaboodle for my mom and my sister to reference, but I always forget to share them on the blog. Not this year, my friends.

My wishlist starts with the letters I used to create the words "wish". They're made of cardboard, cotton, and old maps and are available at Urban Outfitters for $12 per letter. I was trying to come up with something to spell out on my wall (something short so I could get away with buying fewer letters), but Jake convinced me that I could make them just as well. So, I guess that has moved to my DIY wishlist. 

For my real wishlist. . .

1) You bloggers are killing me with all your cute Instax photos. I've already made up my mind; if I don't get an Instax Mini for Christmas, I'm buying my own. Merry Christmas to me.

2) This rug isn't for sale, but I sure wish it were. It was made by a Navajo weaver sometime in the 20s, and I found it and fell in love with it while writing my paper last month. I've shown Jake some Pendleton blankets that I might be interested in, but none have my heart like this one.

3) I'd take a million things from Madewell, but I've been loving this pair of boots for more than a year and would seriously love to cross them off my wishlist.

4) PASSPORT! This is one thing that I know for certain I'm getting. Because I have so many brothers and sisters we all get a spending limit with our parents, and this is what I chose this year. I've never traveled outside of the country, but this summer I plan to attend a study abroad trip with the art history department. We'll be going to the Yucatán to study ancient Maya art and architecture, and I'm verrry excited.

5) It's my goal to learn how to play the guitar this year. I'm bummed I don't know how already! I don't want to be a rockstar or even play any live shows, I just want to be able to sit by myself and write a song if I choose to.

6) I saw this book at my friends house a few weeks ago and wasted no time flipping through the entire thing. Things are so different in Little Rock now. I would love to do a photo series where I recreate each photo just to show how drastic the changes have been.

7) A good set of watercolors is another thing that's been high on my wishlist for awhile now. I have a vision of a little sketchbook I'd like to start in 2012, and a set of Winsor & Newton watercolors would be the perfect way to kick it off.

Christmas 2010: The Gifts

I accidentally came across last years Christmas post in my archives recently. It was neat to go back and see all the gifts that I got, and I figure it'll be even neater in ten years when some of those gifts are novelty items! For that reason, here's a little recap of *some* of my favorite gifts from Christmas 2010.

Jewelry. All of these pieces are from my sister – we went all out for each other this year! Most of the things we bought were animal themed. There was an owl hat, a fox bag, a kitten shirt, a deer ring and notebook, a horse necklace, and a snake scarf. It's ridiculous how much we love animal prints and designs! 

Mad Men. Jake got me the first season for Christmas last year, and that's the only bit of Mad Men I've seen. I loved it so much, but unfortunately, we don't have cable so I haven't been able to see the rest. My parents were sweet and bought me seasons two, three, and four for Christmas! I'll have to wait until the summer to see season four. It's still on preorder!

Bunting. But not just any bunting. Bunting made of old maps! My sister and I exchanged wishlists via Kaboodle (I highly recommend the site for wishlist-makin'), and this was one of the items I had on my list. So happy she got it for me! It looks nice above my t.v.

Ladylike things to wear. My sister bought the collar from my Kaboodle wishlist, too. I'm so excited to pair it with my dresses. Most of the detachable collars I have sit tightly around my neck, so it's nice to have one to wear with some of my lower cut pieces, too.

The purse and hat were a gift from my Delightful Dozen Secret Santa, Jen of Jen Loves Kev. I was absolutely blown away by how well she did with my gift. How on earth did she find such lovely items that matched my taste so well? Bravo, Jen! I can't wait to style them for some photos. Thank you!

Ladylike things to read. The Encyclopedia of the Exquisite was a gift from Jake. We set a pretty low spending limit for each other this year, and I'm so pleased with what he got me. He said he spent three hours on Amazon searching for a gift before this 'similar item' popped up. I'm absolutely *in love* with it. I can't put it down! Let's hope for a mini review soon.

Family photos. One of the most heartfelt gifts I received came from my Mimi in Mobile. She knows how much I love hearing about my family history, so instead of getting me a gift, she took the time to scan in tons of old family photos. She sent the scans along with handwritten captions telling me who each person was. My favorite photo is the one of all the girls on the beach. According to my Mimi, three of the women are my grandfathers sisters.

What did you get for Christmas this year?

P.S. Congratulations to Samantha of A Glimpse of Glamour. You're the winner of the Paloma Vintage giveaway.

Christmas 2010

This Christmas was one of the best I can remember in recent years. I'm coming to terms with the fact that it will never be as magical as it was when I was a kid – Santa and elves, Barbie's and bikes – but that doesn't mean that it can't be any good. I plan to show you some of my favorite gifts later, but for now, here are some of the people that made my Christmas extra special.

Meet Rylee! She was born on Christmas Eve Eve (two days before the big day!) to my little sister Jessica and her husband, Sean. It's their first baby, my first niece (I've already got a handful of nephews!), and she couldn't have arrived at a better time. It was so special to have her out of Jessica's tummy for Christmas! Look at those chubby cheeks.

My dad made a pretty convincing Santa, too! He was in his costume for a while, and when he finally changed and came back as 'Pop', my nephew Ethan said "Pop, you just missed Santa!". It was so adorable.

Christmas parties! There's nothing like being around a ton of friends during the holidays. We sat around trying to remember all the lyrics to our favorite Christmas songs as Phillip strummed along on his guitar – we only had to use google once!

Jake doesn't care much about Christmas, but he knows how much I love it and how much it reminds me of my childhood. A week before Christmas he surprised me by taking me to Home Depot to pick out a Christmas tree! It was incomparable to picking out and cutting down your own tree, but it was convenient and sooo last minute. I'm just glad we got one before it was too late!

 I had to work Christmas Eve, but a bunch of friends came over when I got off. We watched Home Alone (my favorite) and baked sugar cookies! My sister and I exchanged all of our gifts, and we all rung in the holiday together. It was special, especially since Jake had already left for his parents house in Hot Springs.

How was your Christmas? Tell me all about it!

Christmas Card Giveaway

I know I have a bad habit of saying that every single giveaway is my favorite – and I genuinely like everything that I agree to giveaway – but this giveaway more than any other takes the cake! It's not just because they're adorable Christmas cards that any girl would love to receive, but it's because they were created by my super amazing, beautiful, and talented sister, Kristi.

I'm so thrilled to see that she's using her artistic talents again. She just opened a new etsy store for her greeting cards called The Flight of Thought and she's decided to keep making cards for all kinds of occasions throughout the year!

To win this set of cards, all you have to do is add Kristi's shop to your favorites on Etsy! Be sure to leave a comment with your email address. I'll draw a winner at the end of the week. Keep in mind that the more cards you buy, the more Christmas presents I'll get. ;) Just kidding. xo!

Congratulations to Talluah! You're the winner of the Five and Two giveaway.