the exchange




Every year Gen and I have an unspoken competition as to who can out-package each other's birthday gift. Our birthdays are a week apart, so we usually exchange gifts sometime in late April. It's not so much about what is in the package, but how the package is wrapped. While I'm desperate to see what treasures are inside, I try to linger on the wrapping for as long as I can stand. She always, always out does me! Though to my credit this year- I was preparing for a dinner party while also trying to wrap- it didn't get the attention it deserved. Next year, I will try again...

handmade gifts


Do you have friends that you are in awe of? My friend, Miller, is one of those people. She's a mother of 3 girls under the age of four, and yet somehow managed to make Christmas gifts for friends. This year she delivered a belated birthday gift for my son, Gram...a freestyle hand-embroidered American Apparel tee (we love it!). She also decoupaged a picture of her girls atop a simple red box, filled with holiday m&m's. It's a simple, but really lovely, idea. Of course...I have no willpower, so the candy is already gone!