Holiday Gift Guide...Part 1

There are only 8 days until Christmas (and 7 until Christmas Eve)! Time for some power-shopping. Here are a few of my favorite go-to gifts:

1. For the office-buddies: Godiva Chocolate Bars.

Delicious, decadent chocolate, what more can a girl want?

2. For the hard-to-please women in your life: Anything from Philosophy.

I'm partial to delicious scents like Red Velvet Cake and anything scented with cookies!

3. For first-time apartment renters / homeowners: Cookbooks.

Ina Garten, Giada DeLaurentiis and Martha Stewart are my go-to gals in the kitchen.

4. For the hard-to-shop-for men: Business Card Holders.

My favorite is this leather personalized one from Red Envelope.

5. For anyone: Champagne. Everyone celebrates New Year's, with a little bubbly, right?

Freixnet Cordon Negro Brut is my favorite in the affordable category, Vueve Cliquot is a delicious way to impress (for a bit more money!).

Hope I've helped! Next, I'll tackle some homemade gifts, gifts for kids and creative DIY wrapping ideas...stay tuned!

Holiday Inspiration...from me!

The holidays are here and I'm sure you're all busy planning, shopping, baking, cooking and crafting.Well, me too!

I wanted to share a few holiday projects that I worked on this past summer and fall that have just been published. Shameless self promotion? Ok, maybe a bit BUT I love to exchange ideas with all of you...here goes:

Country Living
Check out the December issue for my sweet little Cookie Tin Kits. I re-purposed old cookie tins into "kits" to give as gifts such as this sewing kit that they posted online (its #4 in the flipbook).

While you're there check out all of the holiday projects and recipes, they have such great ideas!

Holidash.com / AOL
Looking for great gift ideas for the ladies in your life? Check out my gift guide for women--everything is $100 and under!

Or maybe you need a really fun hostess gift? Check out my other gift guide...everything is around $40 and under.

Celebrations.com
Check out this fun little stocking stuffer round-up. And while you're there, pop on over to my desserts-only holiday open house party for some sweet entertaining ideas.

Finally, if you need a break from the holidays and need to switch gears for a little cozy winter decorating advice, check out my latest LI Pulse article here (or if you're on Long Island, pick up a copy at your local bookstore!)

Happy holidays!