Uncommercial Gifting

The week after Thanksgiving always feels like a game-changer to me.  Suddenly it's Christmas season filled with cheesy holiday songs (my absolute fave), holiday parties, gift shopping, and decorating.  The cheesy songs I have down pat, but the rest are still a work in progress.  I've been having a bit more fun with holiday shopping this year as I'm trying to go less commercial and more personal. Holiday shopping back story: A few years ago, my family had a holiday discussion and came to agreement that none of us need tons of gifts or lots of money spent on us.  With Hubby and me and my sister and brother in law now all in our 30s (!) we generally will purchase something when we need it and don't want to accumulate additional useless clutter.  In a mutual family agreement, we all decided to stop going overboard and pare down the Christmas gifting.  One or two well thought out gifts seem to mean more than lots of money spent on things we'd buy ourselves anyway.  With that in mind I've also been trying to buy one of a kind, hand-made, vintage, and generally unique holiday gifts that won't be tossed aside and forgotten when the season is over.

*This is NOT a sponsored post, these brands don't know me from a hole in the wall.  I just wanted to share some of my favorite unique holiday sources with you!*

Local gift shops, thrift shops, & antique shops are always a great place to start, but if you're a bit short on time, an epidemic that seems to be more prevalent in December, there are some amazing online resources to score that perfectly special gift.

One of my absolute personal favorites that seems to be a well-kept secret is Shoppe by Scoutmob

necklace/mugs/print/embroidered art/canvas bin/t shirt/planter

Scoutmob sells small batch items by independent makers, guaranteeing that your loved one won't be receiving 3 of the same sweater.  They have everything from hand made furniture, to quirky T's, to amazing art for your wall.  They even have useful items that everyone needs like organic mustache wax and gourmet spicy ketchup... which just gave me another holiday gift idea....  I've honestly loved every single item that I've ever purchased from them (which includes clothes, jewelry, art, gifts....) and their customer service is beyond stellar.  "Oh, that personalized wedding gift came in damaged and the wedding is next week?  Sure, we'll get you a new one in time!" *actual experience*

This goes without saying but Etsy.  If you can't find it for sale hand-made on Etsy, maybe it doesn't exist.

necklace/garland/bunny/jars/paper dolls/print

From knitted amazingness to adorable stuffed animals to custom whatever-your-heart-desires, Etsy is a gift-buying wonderland.  Unlike Scoutmob where you purchase from them and then receive the goods from each maker, on Etsy, you're dealing directly with the creator.  This puts more power in your hands if you want to take your gifting to the next level.  Do you think your niece/daughter/friend would just LOVE that doll, but would be even more special if it had BLUE eyes? Message the maker and a special gift gets even better.

Or, for the crafty one in your life, what about a DIY kit or monthly subscription?

For the Makers: planters/necklace/embroidery/hoops/bowl/kit

I can't say I have any personal experience with For the Makers yet, it just seems like such a great gift idea!  At For the Makers, you buy the kit to create some wonderfully unique items.  Mostly centered around home decor and jewelry (with a few random things in the mix) this is pretty awesome for the person on your list that loves to make but may not have the time to come up with the ideas or shop for all the pieces.  The gift of fun stylish projects to DIY?  I loves me a good DIY!

So there you have it, a few great new sources to jump start your holiday shopping and ensure that you give the best gifts on the block!

Do you love these sources as much as I do?  What other unique shops would you add to this list?

Millie: Week 14

I hope you enjoy these weekly updates as I learn to navigate through the business of flipping houses.  This flip, Millie is the most challenging and most exciting yet! You can find more about this house and about my 3 previous flip houses here. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  (And if you're reading from outside the US, a wonderful week!)

I wish you could have seen the visual of me on Thanksgiving.  Millie's lock was stuck, so I stopped by to fix it on my way to my in-law's for dinner.  In my holiday best (skirt, tights, & kitten heels), I successfully broke into Millie to check on a few things, unstick the lock, and do a quick coat of spray paint on the kitchen radiator.  I think I should work in outfits like that every day.  Very practical.

Anyway, on to this week's progress......  This was a very strange week due to the holiday, so I don't have too much to physically show for it.  The biggest item off the to-do list is that the cabinets are ordered... twice.  I started with taking the trek to IKEA last Friday to order the kitchen (by trek, I mean it's about an hour from Millie, and a little over a half hour away from my house).  I ordered the kitchen, but there was a hitch- the gray that I had my heart set on has very limited availability.

So limited that I had to take 2 doors with me since they were available in the store, but no longer in the warehouse and one was already damaged with no replacement available.....  It turns out that as of Feb 1, they are introducing an entirely NEW kitchen system and their entire kitchen line is getting discontinued.  After a second trip to IKEA Saturday morning and a nagging feeling all weekend that something wasn't right, I decided to cancel my order.  If during installation I found that I had a damaged piece or was short, I wouldn't be able to get pieces to fix/finish.  Not cool.

NEW PLAN!  Home Depot also has gray cabinets available to order.  Better quality for just a few more dollars is definitely preferable.  SO, I ordered the kitchen again, this time from Home Depot and I'm even more excited with the way it's going to look.

A nice simple shaker-style door in the exact color that I want (in the square at the bottom).  I actually like this one a WHOLE LOT more than the IKEA ones.  The IKEA ones were super shiny and plastic looking.  These are classic and look painted.  Done and done.

Now I just have to wait 4-6 weeks for them to come in.  At least I can pretty much do everything else in the kitchen before they arrive.

In addition to kitchen ordering and planning, lots of very little things happened.  Little things like: freeing the leaded glass windows from their frames successfully without breaking any glass,

using upholstery staples to create a wider circle around the wiring on the canvas ceilings to allow for a legal electrical box (don't worry, I'll be hiding the staples behind a medallion),

discovering that the coolest key in the box of dozens of keys left for me actually works the lock on the super cool hope chest that was also left,

and moving lots more plaster from the basement.  Sadly, even though I've already moved tons, I still have more to go.

More exciting than all my little accomplishments, however is that all my contractors are freeing up and can finally go full steam ahead.  My contractor and my hard wood flooring guy are there today and I'm confident there will be a lot to show for you next week.  I need to make it happen!!!  I need leaps of progress to keep me sane ish!

Happy weekend!

Cursed Cabinet

Ah, the post-time change slump.  I've said it before and I will say it again... every single year.  I am solar powered.  Once I start running out of daylight at 4:30, my energy and motivation go with it.  Lately I can find motivation in the flip, but non-flip DIYs seem to be on hold and my pretty new sofa and this sweater have been acting like magnets.  My apologies if I'm getting a little one note here.  You can tell me.  I can take it.  Anyway.... Do you ever get an idea stuck in your head?

Yeah, me neither.  Have a great week!

Ha!  Yeah right.  We all know by now that stuck idea syndrome is an affliction I often have and this time it's about finding the perfect small glass cabinet to use for staging over at Millie.  While the house is nowhere near the staging stage, I've been trying to keep my eyes open for vintage pieces that could be a great fit.

This cabinet has been haunting me.  Literally.

This specific craigslist cabinet is missed opportunity #2.  The first was pretty much exactly the same cabinet on sale for $50.  I fell in love with the waterfall edges on the top and can just see it in the new master bath holding fancy towels and toiletries much like this dreamy bathroom by H2 Design + Build that I came across on Pinterest.

While I e-mailed the seller promptly and asked for dimensions, my follow-up response saying that I wanted it was a mere 1/2 hour too late.  Whomp whomp.

Minutes after that one escaped my grasp, instagram taunted me with it's twin styled up with linens that were on sale.  I can't for the life of me remember who's instagram it was and it was about a month ago, swallowed into the instagram abyss, so I'll just live with the taunting memory.

Returning to missed opportunity #2- the wound is still fresh.

I noticed this exact elusive cabinet (image from the listing) listed for FREE on the curb.  I didn't see the listing until about 10pm last night, but I e-mailed to see if it was still there, assumed it wasn't, forgot about it, and went to bed.  This morning I woke up to 2 things.  Driving rain and an e-mail from last night stating that the cabinet was still hanging out on the curb.  Wet.  Ruined. (presumably) I will mourn it's loss.

At this point, I figure it's one of 2 things.  A. either I'm not meant to own this cabinet or B. when I do find the right one it'll be all the more sweet.

I'm thinking more A at this point.  I mean, how many of these cabinets living in Eastern Mass are bound to get listed on craigslist in the exact timeframe when I'm hunting for one?  Maybe I will find that unicorn.  And maybe I'll win the lottery.

And maybe I should just avoid dreary, rainy Monday mornings following a night of sleep disturbed by nagging feelings that something is off with the flip kitchen.  On the bright side, Thanksgiving is this week and I welcome the family, food, and forced day off.  Bring on the turkey leg!