Gift Guide: Warm & Cozy For Her

I'm going to precede the following post with the fact that today is the LAST DAY to order Made to Order bags in time for Christmas arrival.  After today, I can't guarantee that Made to Order purchases will arrive in time for Christmas.  Even if you beg.  I shan't accept it.  

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog post...

I have a lot of outerwear. But like my thoughts on handbags, shoes, kitchen gadgets and knives... you can never really have too many [insert object of desire here] outerwear pieces.

Unfortunately, that argument doesn't work with Boy since he has prohibited me from purchasing outerwear until I donate some of my winter coats...

So I'm secretly buying sweaters and hats and gloves and stashing them in my moving boxes, then they'll be stored in my super secret spots in my new studio and he'll never know.  He'll likely notice some really cute new things I'm wearing and ask "Hey cute stuff! When did you get that?" and I'll likely respond, "Oh...this old thing?" and bat my eyelashes. *

Jenny is sneaky sneaky.  Yes, she is.

A.  Wool winter coat, $118, FM908 on Etsy

B.  Faux fur trapper hat, $34.50, AE (I have this in cream, and I love it!)

C.  Bowtied leather gloves, $78, Anthropologie

D.  Knit wool socks, $20, Tatiana Orlova on Etsy

E.  Big ol' Bow ear warmers, $44, YesJess on Etsy

F.  Leopard scarf, $59.50, J.Crew

* What actually happens is that I fess up my guilty purchases at the end of the day when Boy comes home from work... JUST as I'm presenting him with a wonderfully prepared dinner of one of his favorites.  He'll let out a deep sigh and come to terms with the fact that nobody puts Baby in a corner.

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Gift Guide: For the Coffee Lover

It would be an understatement to say that I come from a family of coffee lovers.  Coffee addicts.  There was an intervention.  And caffeine withdrawals.  Then relapse. 

I'm not really in the coffee addict category (yet). I am more of a creamy-icy-blended-drink-with-a-bit-of-coffee-in-it type.

My brother is a "drink it black or die!" type.

My parents sprinkle in a little cream and sugar.

I'm sure the uber-love will come with age. (Just as it did for my brother at a very young age. Much younger than I am now. But who knows. It'll happen. I'm sure.)

If you know a coffee lover (or a liker, doesn't have to be too extreme), they might find these gifts quite delightful!

A. Facebook Mug, Like It, $16, LennyMud

B. Vintage Drop-O-Lator coffee maker, $68, Phat Heads

C. Vintage wooden coffee grinder, $30, Bridgewood Place

D. Coffee coaster set, $16, girls can tell

E. Coffee fridge magnets (6), $7.50, Piping Hot Papers

F. Mint Mocha holiday soap, $5.50, Roots Soap Co.

You can see more coffee lover gifts in my Etsy treasury.

Happy weekend!
Love,
Jenny

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Gift Guide: For the Designer

We finished renovating the basement for my studio last weekend.  Now, I'm gathering all my things to move in this weekend!  I'm really excited to move into a larger space.  Sure, it's a basement.  It has two teeny tiny windows that receive little to no sunlight.  I may become a vampire working down there.  But it's a larger space and I desperately need space more than sunlight.

I will miss my current studio (our living room) that has two 10ft windows (Our apartment has 14 ft ceilings. I will miss this, too.) and gets lots to sunlight.  It's a trade off.

30 sqft of work space + dining table for my work bench + hallway for storage?
Or 470 sqft of space that's all mine?

Yeah.  You got it.

Since it's really dark down there, we brightened it up with some paint.  We didn't really think any colors through (I am an equal opportunity color lover) before heading to Home Depot.  The only requirement was that it needed to be bright and in the warm color spectrum.  We just kinda browsed the swatches and chose one on a whim...without testing it on the wall....  Good idea?  We'll see.  :)

All I can think about are all the cute things I want to get for my new office.

These would make perfect gifts for a designer.  Or me.  Just sayin'.

A. Wallclock, $49, Art is Everything

B. Candlestrip Candle Holder, $30 (on sale!), A+R Store

C. Iwako Zoo Panda Eraser, $0.99, JetPens

D. Desk Organizer, $59, lessandmore

E. Anything Tape Dispenser, $39, Unica Home

F. Orange First Aid Pillow Cover, $20, pillowhappy

G. Retro Wall Shelf, $69, PIGandFISH

Yes, I'll post pictures of the new studio when I'm all moved in.

And they'll be before and afters! :)

Love,

Jenny

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Gift Guide: All That Glitters

I have this obsession with gold (the color, not necessarily the metal).  The glitzy glittery kind.  Around this time of year, all my glittery stuff comes out of the closet!  It only seems appropriate. 

Do you know someone who loves glittery gold?

a. Aidan Mattox Cold Shoulder Sequin Top, $195, Neiman Marcus

b. MCINTYDE Platform Pumps, $100, ALDO

c. Deborah Lippmann Boom Pow Nail Laquer, $20, Neiman Marcus

d. Revamped Gold Star Burst Sweater, $48, Wear the Canvas

e. Gold Sequins Dress, $115, Th3rd Palac3

Hint: you're reading her blog right now!

These are great gifts for the gold glitter obsessed.  Like me.  These are great gifts for me.

My shoe size is 7.  And I wear an xsmall or small.

Thanks!

Love,
Jenny

p.s. These are great glittery DIYs to try this season:

Glitter nails, LoveMaegen

Glitter eyeshadow, beautylish

DIY Sparkly boots, LeFanciulle

p.p.s. A cool gold glitter tutorial for Photoshop from Pugly Pixel.

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Gift Guide: For the Man Cave

I'm pretty sure it was a bad idea to introduce Boy to HGTV, but he's excited to claim his man cave in the new home.   He has requested a "Hubert-and-Jenny-Free Zone" where he can shut the door to read, listen to music and drum without interruption.

a. Lion Silhouette Paintings, $240 (set of 4), Ricky Colson
b. Vintage Poker Chip Carousel with Chips, $178, ReFindery
c. Vintage Travel Bar,  $75, 5th Street Bazaar

Considering how annoying Hubert and I can be when we want his attention, it's a fair request, I guess.

I shall grant it.

d. Vintage School Clock, $46, GoreeLane
e. Vintage Leather Briefcase, $78, SmallEarthVintage
f. Vintage Porcelain Bulldog, $14, KissaVintageDesign

But what's a man cave without some manly essentials like a boss lion painting, travel bar and some man-cessories?

It's not a man cave at all, my friends.

Not at all.

You can see more manly additions here.

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Gift Guide: For the Holiday Hostess

We never made a wedding registry because I (impulsively) buy everything I want need for the kitchen and home.  I'm a little obsessed with kitchen gadgets and kitchen decor.  By little I mean a lot.  Now that the wedding is over and we have a little cash to spend, I'm we're compiling my our post-wedding registry to gift myself ourselves after our move to the 'burbs.

We're moving? Why, yes. I forgot to tell you. 

a.  Organic Batik Table Runner, $50, Margot Bianca

b.  Vintage Crystal Ice Bucket, $38, Rhapsody Attic

c.  Glittered Pinecone with Custom Sash, $9.75, Potter + Butler

d.  Farmhouse Cutting Board, $65, Red Onion Woodworks

e.  Vintage Mid Century Modern Bowls, $24, Solstice Home

f.  Winter White Handprinted Linen Napkins, $40, Giardino

If you saw my recent post on my Facebook page, you'll know that we've been preparing for our move into a house!  We didn't buy it, sadly.  We're renting it.  It's actually Boy's family home in the suburbs near Pittsburgh.  His parents moved to Chicago (for work) shortly after we moved to Pittsburgh. While it was really sad news, I kind of really extremely love their cottagey home and was overjoyed to move in.

For practical purposes, it was a good decision because our one-bedroom apartment in the city kind of turned into Jenny N. Design studio rather than a home.  Boy and Hubert don't have any space to themselves.  We moved Boy's drumset to the house because I needed the space for my leather and equipment.  We moved Hubert into a small nook under one of my sewing tables because I needed his space for another drawer set for tools.

Poor boys?  Fine.  Pity the boys...

But what about my growing business? ;)

Well, there's a large unfinished basement in the house (about the size of our apartment), which means I get to renovate it and make it my studio! You know how much I love renovating.  And claiming space.  :)

Are you wondering about this gift guide, by the way?

I am wondering why I wrote a novel before even mentioning it.

Well, moving, in my mind, means "time to make a list of things to buy for the new home!".  So I put some items on the list to get for our new home.  My if-I-had-made-a-registry-for-the-wedding-this-is-what-I-would-have-put-on-it kind of list.

This is the first of many lists -- this one is for the kitchen and entertaining.

You can see more things on my list for the kitchen/entertaining here.

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TEAMT Weekend Sale!

Pssssttt! TeamT is having a team-wide SALE this weekend only! These make great gifts!

Save 10% off my entire Jenny N. Design shop including my Eightfold line! I can combine shipping across both stores. Indicate in "Message to Seller" upon purchase and the shipping overages will be refunded via PayPal ASAP. Shipping not included in savings. Savings will be refunded via PayPal.

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For Him

The holidays are just around the corner and we've gotta start thinking about him. What do you get for the man in your life? Here are some of my favorites!

a. Men's White Long Sleeve Button-down Shirt w/ Epaulets, NonnieThreads
b. Guitar Lessons, SlowShirts
c. Nomad Black and Brown Leather Cuff, BatwingsBattleaxes
d. Transformer Screenprinted Necktie, Toybreaker
e. Mustache Pint Glasses, BreadandBadger

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