Très Ashley Gift Guide 2011

 

The holidays are here and it's time to go shopping. I've got some ideas for everyone on your list that I think you'll like. To me a personalized gift is the most thoughtful... something with a hand-embroidered initial or a photo... When in doubt, make it personal. Consider handmade gifts from etsy.com or fab.com and always try to give something you know they would like. For the person who has everything, give the gift of an experience...tickets to a show, a destination or to try something they've always dreamed of. For men, cloud9living.com can satisfy their dream to drive a race car or fly an airplane. There's personally in personal shopping. I’m sure you feel the same way I do…I absolutely love finding the perfect gift!     

For the Kids

Pirate checker board to keep things interesting in the game room. $225.00

Picture puzzle for those family get togethers, a puzzle gets everyone involved. $13.99

Bearded Beanie for baby to keep him warm like a lumberjack. $39.00   

Dimdi art is work done by an Italian artist who creates lovely watercolors of your favorite animals and pets. $25.00 

Lego Star Wars Visual Dictionary  It even comes with a lego guy, need I say more? $13.40

Hot Wheel Wall Tracks Starter Set My son will love creating tons of stunts on this wall tracks set and I love that we don't have to lose floor space because the tracks can be hung on the wall or on a door using 3M command strips that won't leave a mark. Brilliant! $37.97

Princess Glitter Gown What little girl doesn't love to play dress up? Neiman Marcus has many beautiful princess gowns to choose from. I like the princess pointed hat that goes with this Rapunzel looking gown. $68.00

For the Kitchen

Kitchen Magic Twisty Whisk in mint from Anthropologie will make your recipient's kitchen cheerful $8.00

All-Clad Slow Cooker with Ceramic Insert from William Sonoma is sure to make everyone's tummy happy and kitchen inviting $179.95

Dark Chocolate Balsamic is perfect drizzling on vanilla ice cream or cheese plates.  $14.95

Dean and Deluca wine club each month your gift recipient will receive two amazing wines

For Mom and Dad

Helen Ficalora jewelry is as fun to say as it is to wear. A perfect way to celebrate life's milestones with style.

Stripe and Field stationary will make mailboxes more colorful. $48.00 for a box set

Cell Phone Lenses that work with any camera phone. If you like the instagram app, you'll love these three small yet powerful lenses: the Fisheye, Telephoto, and Macro/Wide Angle Cell Phone Lenses. $49.00 for all three

Shearling-lined boots by L.L. Bean will keep your man's feet toasty warm this season. $154.00

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier  is a book that looks at Gaultier’s fashion shows and examines his visionary reflection of society’s evolution over the past thirty-five years.

For Razzle Dazzle

Pinhole Press Wine Labels will help you bring in the new year with unique and personal style $8.99

The Homesick Texan cookbook is the book every cook wants this season. You don't have to be from Texas to appreciate the comfort of Texan home cooking. Think cheese enchiladas, coffee-chipotle oven brisket, chicken-fried steak, coconut tres leches cake...  $17.49

Kate Spade "Spike the Punch" sweater is sure to make you feel like the life of the party. $195.00

Partridge In A Pear Tree Ornament Michael Aram's six inch tall plated ornament is a treasure of a decoration $49.00  

For more ideas see last year's gift guide here and happy shopping!   

Ashley's Holiday Gift Guide

Holiday shopping is on my mind, how about you? I have a select few go to websites for gifts and I'm happy to share them with you. As a working mom I tend to shop online or at a one stop shop kind of place like Target. Seasonal shopping should be fun, not stressful! I hope to help inspire an enjoyable shopping season. As the song goes...These are a few of my favorite things!

We all want to see that excited look on the face of a loved one opening a gift. My daughter had it last year when she opened a pair of ruby red slippers! I remember one year when I had mentioned how much I wanted a pair of Timberland hiking boots. My Aunt Suzy and Uncle Sam had gone in on the gift together, but I didn't know that. I opened Uncle Sam's present first with the Timberland box and was in tears to find only one boot! I was crushed and assumed the store had made a mistake. Later, when I opened Aunt Suzy's present, I was so flabbergasted and ecstatic to find the other shoe that I jumped on the coffee table and started dancing!

Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping . ~Bo Derek

For the grandparents...Photos always make a happy gift! Everyone loves pictures!

At Chic Canvas you can easily upload a photo and get it printed on canvas. Sizes range from 8x10 to 40x60 with prices starting at $79. You can even have it personalized and stylized with captions and borders.

Another thing I love to do is make personalized ornaments, calendars, magnets, and photo books. Like my second graders say, "Easy peasy lemon squeezy!"

Most people love books! Even with the tech savvy kindle and ipad users, there is something wonderful about the smell, feel, and glossy pictures of a new book. Here are some of my favorites:


• Star Wars: A Scanimation Book by Rufus Butler Seder
Scenes from the movie comes to life when the book is turned from side to side. This is a book that is just as popular with big kids as it is toddlers.
• I can't wait to read Cleopatra because like Euripides said, Clever women are dangerous women, and no woman has gone down in history as more clever or dangerous than Cleopatra.
• For my mom, an expert in finding beautiful things, The Encyclopedia of the Exquisite was made for her! This book is an educational read on how beauty can be found in the most unlikely places.
• The World of Gloria Vanderbilt: I've always had a fascination with her because she was a renaissance heiress: a painter, a designer, a model, a writer, an entrepreneur, an actor, a socialite, a survivor, an icon...

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

Ashley's Favorite Gifts:

• Chocolates, Wine, Tea, Coffee, Pasta, Spices, Olive Oil- Can all be found in one of my favorite stores Dean and Deluca
• Stationary- Needle in a Haystack Thank you notes are so much easier to write if you have beautiful stationary. Dallas' own, Needle in a Haystack is the perfect place to find your writing inspiration.
• Tickets- One of my favorite gifts are tickets to a show! See what's playing at the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House
• Cocktail Napkins- Sur la Table has an unbelievable selection and are guaranteed to make you laugh.
• Cookbooks- My favorite of the moment is Barefoot Contessa's How Easy is That?
• Knit Hat- Stitches of Faith The perfect baby gift!
• Socks- everybody needs them, everybody loves them!
• Candy- Dylan's Candy Bar
• Umbrellas- MoMa has my favorite color spectrum umbrella


• Diptyque candle- The best scented candles ever!

• Makeup- Sephora (my kind of candy store) I remember when my Great Aunt Dee had given me some Estee Lauder lipstick for Christmas. I was so excited to open that shiny gold tube! Makeup is always a fun gift!

• Slippers- JCrew
• Magazine Subscriptions- There's a new magazine called Anthology about home décor, travel, design, entertaining, and culture.

Kitchen gadgets make excellent stocking stuffers or just a little ditty:
• Red Envelope- heart measuring spoons


• Microplane Grater-Zester- a popular chef favorite
• Pop Strainer- my favorite kitchen utensil


• Kitchen Cuicine Soap


Three really cool websites for those hard to buy for people on your list:

• Mxyplyzyk pronounced mix-ee-pliz-ik, MoMaStore and American Museum of Natural History

There is no doubt that you will find something unique and impressive here. The holiday cards at the MoMA are without a doubt the coolest cards ever! The dinosaur toob at AMNH is every little boy's favorite thing!

For the men in your life...Cabelas covers it all! For your athlete Sports Authority is the way to go. For your Mr. Fix it you can't beat Lowe's or HomeDepot!

Happy shopping!

Please share your favorite holiday gift ideas, too!

It's the thought that counts when it comes to teachers' gifts

We are approaching the end of the school year. With teacher appreciation week coming up I found it suitable to write about gifts of thanks!

Parents are the most important teachers a child has and if your child sees you modeling appreciation they are likely to follow suit. It's always nice to have words of thanks. Sometimes those are the very best and memorable gifts. How nice when you have double the thanks from the parents and the child. It all goes back to what each and every teacher has said to you, "Follow the Golden Rule!" (Treat others as you want to be treated). Everyone needs a pat on the back. Teachers fall in love with the kids in their class every year and think of each student as their own child (if only for a short time). A teacher's heart is huge and simple words of thanks can mean so much. A token of appreciation coming from a student and the parents can make a teacher beam.

Photo: Second grade teachers celebrate a successful conference with doughnuts!

Gifts to Give

• Make it personal: what do you know about your child's teacher? Last week a teacher celebrated her birthday and was so thrilled to receive tickets to see Jimmy Buffet in a bucket because it was on her bucket list! It's nice that her class knew her well enough to know she would love this gift! Another teacher once got a "summer of fun" all rolled up! Every time she unrolled more paper she found tickets to summer musicals and gift cards for ice cream, all for her family to enjoy over the summer break.

• Homemade gifts, such as small plants in pots decorated by students. (Last year I received a pot decorated with each child's fingerprint to look like ladybugs. The inside was full of gift cards that suited me! It was personal and memorable).

• Notes of appreciation from students (for example, a class photo with the children's sweet words all around it)

• Time! Offer to do her recess duty or pick up the kids from lunch so she might enjoy some extra time. (Last year our Principal gave us the gift of time and showed the kids a movie while teachers got to work in their rooms to complete permanent records and catch up. That was the best)!

Gifts to Avoid

• Teachers are fully stocked in candles, body lotions, and coffee mugs! Unless you know her favorite scent, smells can be too personal a gift.

• A fellow teacher says this, "I always like to compare gift giving for a teacher to any other professional gift. Would you give your lawyer, accountant, or doctor a stack of post-it notes or ball point pens?" Unless they ask for it, it's just not very personal or thoughtful!

• I have had gifts that cracked me up! As it turns out they are the most memorable: a used gift card, a dusty broken angel with one arm from grandma's attic, a child once said, "Here Mrs. Cooley, my mom got this in the mail for free and doesn't want it, it's your present now!" Yeah, it may have made me feel underappreciated! But, I have to step back and look at the big picture to see it's the child who is appreciating me! And that's what counts!

It's the thought! You have heard it all your life, and it's true, it really is the thought THAT COUNTS. No gift (in the traditional sense) is necessary. The thought, however, should be sincere and heartfelt. That's what counts. A "thank you", expressed in a sincere and meaningful way can fuel inspiration for a teacher to find new ways to reach and help more children in the future.

Be sensitive to your child! When all the students come in with a designated gift and if they don't have one, they will feel just awful! Many children will come back in from recess with freshly picked weeds or bring back an apple from their lunch because they want to contribute too. Another fellow teacher said when most of her students were showering her with candy, flowers, and gift cards a little girl came up with tears and said: "I didn't have anything to bring you from home.....but I do have a very special gift for you." With that being said...she threw her arms around my neck....and gave me a huge hug ...and said ...."Mrs. Beaver....I love you so much!" With all of the wonderful gifts sitting on my desk....that was the best!! Giving of one's self, no matter how small, means the most to teachers.

Teachers give so much of their time, heart, and self to their students and their community, what could be more wonderful than taking the trouble to say thank you, in a wholehearted way.


Just like in Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree, teachers give and give to their students. What's nice is that some of those students come back years later when the teacher thinks she has nothing left to give, all the child wants is to share something they've accomplished and for you to say, "Good job, I'm proud of you!" The teacher obliges and the child is happy!




Our wonderful PTA gives the sweetest suggestions I'm sure you will find helpful for Teacher Appreciation Week (ours is a movie theme):

• Lights: Brighten up your teacher's day by bringing her favorite flower or a flower from your garden.
• Camera: draw a picture; give a picture of you and your teacher, frame, disposable camera, scrapbook supplies.
• Action: make a card, poem, or handmade coupons for classroom chores.
• Roll out the Red Carpet: wear red to show spirit and/or bring your teacher something red.
• Premiere: pamper your teacher to make her feel like a "star"...a note, sweet treats, manicure/pedicure, gift card to the movies, restaurant, or her favorite place to shop).

I'm sure you noticed that these are things you can do with little to no money! After all, it's the thought that counts.


Photo: Mrs. Cooley's sweet second grade class

A hand-written thank you note is a little treasure that won't be forgotten

A letter in the mail is a gift! Thank you notes can be an art form. Consider the stationary, the penmanship (you can see personality in someone's handwriting), the formulation of thoughtful words, even the choice of stamp is a special detail. A hand-written card is a little treasure and it is not forgotten.

Writing a thank you note lets the recipients know that you took the time to sit down and think of them; it's sincere and thoughtful. It's about thanking people for thinking about you and your family even if the gift is not your cup of tea!

In this time of texting, facebooking, twittering, and e-mailing, it seems so simple to just take the easy way out and say thanks electronically. Anything not in your own hand has an emotional distance and can seem impersonal. This makes hand-written notes rare and much appreciated. A thank you note shows the giver how much you value him or her. Older generations definitely expect them. I always write one to my grandmother first! It's respectful and considerate to put forth the effort. Can you imagine the disappointment when the person who hand knitted your child a sweater is thanked by an e-mail with smiley faces?

Photo: Vermeer's Mistress and Maid from my favorite museum in the world, the incredible Frick Collection in New York . Notice the writing set and quill, this truly was an art form.

After Christmas, you don't feel like doing much of anything. You've had the in-laws, survived the Christmas mess, made and cleaned up many meals, and slowly want to go into hibernation after too many egg nogs and entertaining. But, I find if I don't do it right away my balance is off and I can't sleep. I like to have my all my ducks in a row. My mantra for most things is very "Nike"! "Just do it!"

A late note is better than no note at all, but it's probably best to write them as soon as possible. I can whip a thank you note out best if I don't contemplate too much about what I'm going to say. I have a little formula that's similar to what I teach my second graders: Greeting, express gratitude, share how you will use the gift, add something personal, thank again, and regards. Giving thanks doesn't have to be a chore if you make the effort to keep it interesting.

It seems we are raising a generation of technical wizards! Those wizards need to know how to use a pen and attempt nice handwriting in this information age. After the holiday break, my second grade class will begin learning cursive. This is a good time to get them to write thank you notes because they're just dying to try out their new cursive handwriting. Think back to the times of quills! I have a copy of the Declaration of Independence in my classroom. The children are always in awe of the tiny and very beautiful handwriting.

Everyone likes to be appreciated. When friends and family see you took the time to thank them with a nice note, they're more likely to give an encore performance. A tip I would give to my second grade classroom (but I think it works for everyone) is to write honestly. The truth is always more interesting, even if it's obvious it was a regift! We can all find our inner "Pollyanna" and discover something about a gift to be glad about!

A thank you note is one of the loveliest ways to share our love and appreciation for someone. A warm and heartfelt thanks is like a hug in the mail. It is gracious and the right thing to do, but also makes the writer feel good.


Here are some ideas to make your thank you cards more interesting, some of which I have learned from others. Take what you like! I'm all ears for your ideas too, especially since I haven't written to my grandmother yet!

1. Personalized M&M's are sweet in addition to a hand-written card!
2. If you have left over Christmas cards, insert a photo of your children playing with what that person got them.
3. Have your child draw a picture to go with the note, it's personal and your child will feel good about participating in on the thanks.
4. Design your own thank you card on Kodak gallery and fill it with pictures of Christmas morning.

Knitting cookies, baking sweaters

The happiest people are those who do things for others. Just put a bit of yourself in a homemade gift. Making something, anything, is one of the very best ways to show your love for family and friends. Children love to do for others if given the opportunity.

I don't knit, but I appreciate the love that goes into the creation just like baking. I think knitting and baking are similar in the way that both take concentration in putting it all together, but there's also something very therapeutic and meditative about each process.

I've always heard people who practice yoga are some of the happiest people on earth. I think it's that quiet meditation found in yoga, but it can be found in other activities like baking and knitting, too. It's that pure creative process that gives off an inner peace. I find that same peace when my hand touches the ballet bar for plies, practicing Pilates and hearing just the sound of my breath, and again when I'm baking and making the house smell good. What makes knitting and baking different from other activities is that it's a gift. You are creating for someone else, something made from love.

Photos: Ashley's children in sweater's knitted by loving grannies!

Baking is a great way to get the kids involved in the kitchen and they get to help with a gift for someone they care about. Children can be taught to knit, too. I remember my grandmother teaching me something simple; I made headbands in all different colors for my family. I see knitting and baking as a great activity for children because it can help with fine motor skills.

My grandmother knitted sweaters, Christmas stockings, and blankets for all the grandchildren. They are all little treasures to our family. What better time to think of knitting than with new babies and holiday gifts. I was very lucky to have my friend from ballet knit a baby blanket for my daughter and my friend's mother from Austria knit a baby sweater for my son. The feel of the blanket and sweater is plush and soft. You can see and sense the work that goes into knitting.

It seems like knitting was becoming a lost art for a while. A knitted gift has such a long lifespan that continued appreciation for them far exceeds feelings for anything "store-bought." I think of my little red and green stop and go mittens my grandmother made for me that my children now wear. It's like they are wearing hugs on each hand.

Don't have a granny or friend who can knit you something? There are websites that let you pick out your own granny to knit a hat or scarf. When you look at the grannies' faces you can tell the result will make you smile. How could you not love something someone made for you? You may not just see grannies knitting anymore now that Kate Hudson has made knitting hip and young people have taken it up again. There are many books and magazines that have made knitting chic and not just for babies. There was a gorgeous hat Carrie Bradshaw wore in Sex and the City when she was in Paris. I would love to make something like that someday.

Where I am in my life, working with small children, I can't bring myself to add a "new" activity like knitting right now. If there were only eight days a week, ah the things I would do. I have to pick what to do with my windows and what makes me a happy person is doing ballet and baking. That's what I have time for now. One day I'll make room for learning how to knit, until then I will appreciate what others can do.

Click on these links for more knitting information:
http://www.goldenhook.fr/
http://www.stitches-of-faith.com/

Please enjoy a family favorite that my mother, daughter, and I love to bake during the holidays.

Spiced Cardamom Cookies
5 ¾ C flour
1t baking soda
1T salt
1T ground cardamom
1t ground allspice
¼ t ground pepper
¼ ground cloves
8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 C dark brown sugar
½ C sugar
½ C dark corn syrup
¼ C water
¼ C heavy cream
1 large egg
2 t vanilla

Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cardamom, allspice, pepper, and cloves in a large bowl. Place butter in a mixer bowl. Bring sugars, corn syrup, and water to a boil in a large saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour hot sugar mixture over butter, and then beat on low speed until combined. Beat cream egg, and vanilla in a bowl, then add to butter mixture, Beat on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Divide dough into thirds, and flatten each into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic, and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350. Roll out 1 disk between lightly floured parchment to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out shapes with holiday cookie cutters. Spacing them1 inch apart on cookie sheet. Bake cookies until edges are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. If small start checking after 8 minutes.

Photo: Ashley in a sweater her grandmother made. Zooey is in the same sweater above.