The outdoors type

Derek and I have been throwing around the idea lately of going on a camping trip. I love the idea of cooking s'mores by a campfire and sleeping under the stars, but I must confess that I'm a little frightened of the prospect of multiple insect invasions and port-a-potty disasters.

So if you're like me, here's a gift guide of outdoors gifts, for the indoors gal.

1. Bark Life Picture Frame, $14.99, ModCloth

2. Branch Bit Stopper, $14, Anthropologie

3. Tail for Two Mug, $15.99, ModCloth

4. Kissy Deer Salt & Pepper Shakers, $12.95, Patina

5. Pinecone Windchime, $11.95, Patina

6. Fawn in Forest Necklace, $89, The Afternoon P.S. Click here for an Afternoon giftcard giveaway and coupon code!

7. Bear Pillow, $95, Curiosity Shoppe

8. Antler Necklace, $30, Curiosity Shoppe

9. Driftwood Hurricane, $38, Anthropologie

10. Tree Bark of Love Jewelry, $62, BCYR Jewelry

11. Business/Pleasure Notebook, $12, Curiosity Shoppe

12. Tree Log Bolster Pillow, $75, Green Grass Design

13. Cardboard Taxidermy, $28, Urban Outfitters

14. Campfire Candle, $18, Terrain

State pride

Everyone has a friend who is constantly repping the glories of their home state. The guy or gal who always gives a loud "hooty hoo!" when someone mentions where their from. Well lucky for you, I've got the perfect gifts for that hometown pal. Check 'em out!

1. State Plyboo Cutting Boards, $40, A.Heirloom (a little heart can be place over the home city)
2. United Plates state food prints, starting at $24, by John Holcomb, purchase here
3. Key Hook States, $36, OldNewAgain  
4. I Heart state necklaces, $50, truche

Holiday giveaway -Closed

Two weeks ago I featured the awesome store, The Afternoon, as part of my 25 Days of Giving gift guide. Check it out here. And if you haven't already visited them online and scooped up a ton of their fun goodies, I have some great news! The generous folks at The Afternoon are teaming up with me to give away a $25 gift card for anything in their store!

And since only one of my readers can win, The Afternoon is offering 10% off everything in their shop now through December 24 with the coupon code, taylored, at check out.

So happy shopping and good luck!

Giveaway Details:
- Open now - December 17, 11:59 p.m.
- Winner to be chosen on Saturday, December 18
How to enter:
To enter, visit theafternoon.com and leave a comment below telling me at least one item you loved! Please include your contact information (blog link or email i.e. taylor engler at gmail dot com).

Additional entries:

1. Become a follower of my blog and leave a comment telling me about it!
2. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment with a link!

Happy weekend and stay tuned for a giveaway...

Happy weekend! Do you have any plans to kick off your December? Derek and I are going to get our Christmas tree and watch my favorite holiday movie, White Christmas. We're also going to a Creole restaurant to listen to some live music!

Whatever you do, have a lovely weekend and check in on Monday for an exciting giveaway from one of my secret weapon stores (posts starting here).

Come sail away with me

OK, so I know this whole week is supposed to be about holiday gifts you can make at home, but Derek and I just completed a little makeover of our tiny apartment bathroom and I had to share.

In my defense, there are two DIY projects in here that you could totally make as gifts, so here it goes...

Since we currently live in an apartment, there isn't too much we can/want to do as far as home upgrades until we actually own a place, so small touches are key to making our rental feel like a home.

We have a huge amount of counter space in the bathroom and wanted to take advantage of it by making it a little nautical and fun.

First up, we swapped out the metal apt-issued towel rack for this awesome wooden shelf I found at an antique store for $15! With the addition of a hand towel, a $1 sailboat from the thrift store, some beach-found shells, and some watery pictures of my Grandpa in the Navy and my Papa fishing, this little area is complete for under 20 bucks.



Below the shelf I put this over sized plastic shell I found at the thrift store for $2. We're going to fill it with matches from all of the cool restaurants we visit for easy candle lighting and a fun memento. I was totally inspired by the clam shell in this post on Young House Love.



Over in the other corner of the counter, we started with a $3 sailboat picture I also found at the thrift store. I then got crafty on two projects that would be super easy for you to create at home!

Since we live in San Diego, finding some shells was literally a day at the beach. I washed them clean in bleach water and picked up this pretty candle and hurricane at Michael's (for less than $10) and used the shell as a filler.



I'm a lotion-o-holic and I like to keep my moisturizer handy but didn't like the look of the bottle on the counter. So with a .50 cent mason jar and a $2.50 roll of jute twine, I crafted a lotion holder that sticks with the nautical look! See below the pictures for the how-to.




Jute Lotion Holder

Materials:
Mason jar
Jute Twine
Super glue and/or spray glue
Drill
Lotion bottle

Directions:
1. Drill a hole in the lid of the jar large enough to fit the entire lotion pump through. Add some super glue to the rim of the pump, push it through the hole and let it set to attach.

2. Starting at the top of the mason jar, put a little dab of super glue and attach the end of the roll of twine. Begin wrapping the twine around the jar, pausing occasional to add some spray or super glue to keep it in place.

3. When you reach the end of the jar, attaching the last bit with super glue and cut off the excess.

4. Fill the jar with lotion and reattach the lid.

5. Voila! Nautical moisturization.

Jute jubilee

I recently completed a project with a roll of jute twine and at just $2.50 for almost a half a pound of jute, I was anxious to see what other projects I could create with my leftovers! Check out some of these ideas for jute projects and check back a bit later today to see what I made!


I love this pretty vase from A Soft Place to Land. What a nice present this would make for your mom or grandma!



This lamp shade project uses a similar idea as the vase. It would be gorgeous in someone's beach cottage!



And I adore this charger from Project Pretty! I could imagine making a few of these and bundling them up as a gift of placemats.



Check out this gorgeous coat rack from Susie Harris! It uses jute ribbon and looks store bought!

Baby it's cold outside...

So why not DIY some adorable winter gear for the folks on your Christmas list this year!

The folks over at Craftzine give a tutorial here on how to turn a sweater into an awesome winter wear handband with just some simple sewing skills! Pick up a few bright cast-off sweaters at your local thrift store and this project is cheap and chic!



And I love this Glamour Girl Glove tutorial from Little Miss Momma. This project is simple, infinitely customizable, and fun for glamour girls of all ages.

Sugar and spice

I know that Martha Stewart has probably told you one too many times what great gifts homemade foods can be, but there are a couple of inventive ideas out there that may have yet to cross your mind.

First up, homemade vanilla extract. Any baker on your list will appreciate such a luxury and may even repay you with some cookies made with it. Check out My Baking Addiction for a recipe and more photos. Bonus points if you make your own bottle label!



For another sweet treat, try whipping up some flavored sugar for the coffee lover you know. Check out the lavender vanilla sugar Joy The Baker whipped up here. As she says, it's the perfect gift along with a bag of yummy coffee beans.



If your recipient is more into salty than sweet, try this recipe for Sweet-and-Spicy Pecans from Derek's mom, Chris! You can also try packaging these in a mason jar or get crafty with some ribbon and stamps on a simple brown lunch bag.

Sweet-and-Spicy Pecans
Makes 1 cup

1/4 cup plus 2 TB sugar
1 cup warm water
1 cup pecan halves
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Stir together the 1/4 cup sugar and water until sugar dissolves. Add the pecans and soak for 10 minutes. Drain and discard the liquid. Combine the remaining sugar, chili powder and red pepper in a bowl. Add the pecans and toss to coat. Place the pecans in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring once. Enjoy!

P.S. I LOVE how these s'mores were wrapped here

Deeply felt

I love the look of felt ... and I love it even more on these awesome DIY projects that are perfect for a handmade and heartFELT gift!

Here are four Christmas-themed projects and four for anytime! Note that the first three don't come with instructions but I think they'd be relatively easy to recreate. Let me know if you pull of the tree skirt! It's $198 in stores! Eeek!

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Click on the number for the source!

Heartfelt handmade

For many of us, when we think of a homemade gift, flashbacks of macaroni necklaces for mom and hand-painted "#1 Father" mugs for dad may come to mind. While one of those gifts might not be as graciously accepted now that you're an adult, a handmade gift still has the heartfelt feeling that your macaroni projects did years ago. And now that you're all grown up, a handmade gift can also be a beautiful one-of-a-kind piece that your parents, or any other recipient, will be happy to display.

So this week in my 25 Days of Giving, I'll be sharing my best ideas for homemade gifts that will wow. Break out your macaroni, and stay tuned ...

Add some flare

My last secret weapon store is FredFlare.com. I love this shop for their unique gifts and cute clothes, that are in such variety they can really appeal to anyone on your list. Here are a few of my favorites:



1. For your Christmas-crazy friend: Holiday Scented Pencil Set,$10
2. For the diva with a sense of humor: Puffy the Eye-bag Slayer, $6
3. For your sewing sister: Button-up Earrings, $10
4. For your silly boyfriend: Toddland Moustache Wallet (love this because it includes a mini moustache sticker for your driver's licence).
5. For your organized-chic chick: Kate Spade 2011 Desk Organizer, $22
6. For your artistic kid-sister: Play with your Food Dinner Plate, $18
7. For the life of the party: Wine Monkey, $14
8. For the zombie movie buff: How To Speak Zombie $15.95
9. For the snow bunny: Cozy Creme XL Scarf, $29.99 (love how big this scarf is since it can be a shawl or great travel-blanket all-in-one).
10. For your geeky kid-brother: Build Your Own Kaleidoscope, $14

In the afternoon

Like Patina, I found The Afternoon while visiting my parents in Minnesota. I love them for their fun gifts and variety of merchandise. Here are a few of my favorite picks for gifts this year:




1. For the jokester, Back At 'Cha Wall Hanger, $69
2. For a little princess, Fairest Wall Mirrors, $22.49
3. For the soon-to-be graduate, Go Confidently Tote Bag, $25
4. For the fashionista, Zad Silver Metal Octopus Hinged Cuff, $18
5. For the bartender wannabe, Mojito Glass Set with Muddler, $35
6. For the fairytale fan, Alice in Wonderland Clock, $29.95
7. For your grandma in Florida, Crab Electric Fan, $89
8. For your friend Matt, Hi. I'm Mat. Doormat, $17.95
9. For the picnicer, Steady Sticks Wine Glass Holder, $9.95
10. For a friend going through a tough time, Boxing Gloves Necklace, $75

Uncommonly great

Uncommon Goods is an awesome website for finding everything ... uncommon! I love this site for it's huge variety of gifts and guides for everyone on your list. Here's some of my top items from this secret weapon store:




1. For your friend who loves to scrapbook, Memory Quilt Kit, $68
2. For the tea-lover, Mona Teapot, $90
3. For some hot chocolate, Cups with Ribbed Knit Cozy
4. For the stylish new mom, Teething Bracelet, $20
5. For cold, chic feet Mum Felt Slippers, $48
6. For the clever home decorator, Jar Tiles, $28
7. For the world traveler, Scratch-off Where You've Been Map,$24
8. For the kid in your life, Lil' Drum Set, $55
9. For the green thumb, Apple Tree to Be Kit, $22
10. For a runny nose, Paper Pots, $38

A holiday secret

Welcome to week one of my 25 Days of Giving! Each week I'll be sharing my favorite gift-shopping tips and posting guides for your own holiday shopping!

This week I'm going to pull together guides from some of my favorite secret weapon stores.

No matter how spread across the country your friends and family are, most of them will have, and are familiar with, all the generic "mall" stores you can find in any city in the country. Sure, these stores can be great for gift shopping if you know your recipient has a particular favorite, but you also want to keep in mind that when you buy a gift from a more common store, your recipient may have already seen, or even have, what you purchase.

This is why I love having secret weapon stores - shops that are either only in my city, or online stores that are less well-known. At these places you can purchase a more unique gift that your recipient may have never seen before! These gifts always surprise, delight, and make for conversation for years to come!

25 days

One of my favorite holiday traditions is the advent calendar. Every year, my dad fills a little cupboard style advent with little treats for each day in December for my sister and I - candy, cleverly folder dollar bills, and even bits of jewelry from Forever 21 (yes! all sourced out by Dad himself)!

It's always so much fun to see what surprise is in store, so to share that joy with my readers, I'm announcing my own 25 Days of Giving! Over the next 25 week days until Christmas I'll be doling out my best gift-giving advice, pulling together all kinds of gift guides, and giving tips on wrapping and presentation.

Please check in starting Monday to get in on the giving and gift me with links to your own advice and favorite presents!

P.S. I think I'm going to make one of these fun paper cone advents! They look super easy and I can fill them with suprise treats for my cute roomie.





First image from here, Second from here, Last image from here.