Ultimate Gift Guide!

If it's not soft, cute, or smells good I don't want it!  Here are some of my top picks for excellent holiday presents this season.   Look out for some local vendors!

I can't speak to being soft or smelling good, but we'll definitely take cute pictures at any shoot!  Get in touch to snag a gorgeous gift certificate, wrapped and ready to place under the tree.  That special teen or tween in your life will have a big surprise in opening this goodie and then get to spend the rest of the holidays planning what to wear on their big day.  What a special treat!  

I want to know more about gift certificates!

I want this sweater blanket SO BADLY.  But I can't have it.  For one reason, and one reason only.  That reason?  

Cats.  😼

They would tear this to shreds the moment I got up to get myself another cup of tea.  But if you don't have that problem, go make someone in your life feel incredible with this.  It comes in a bunch of colors.

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Boba Soaps.  Need I say more? This hits two of my three categories: super cute and they smell good.  The perfect surprise for the boba lover in your life. 

And as some icing on your boba soap cake?  These are made by a local high school student named Isabella in San Ramon.  I found her through TikTok.

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I discovered this Lavender Citrus body butter when I was up at the cabin in Tahoe.  This is the best smelling personal product I have ever encountered in my entire life.  If they made it in shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, hand soap, laundry detergent, car air freshener... I would buy it.  All of it. 

The Farmer's Wife is based in Yuba City but the Raley's on Sunol sometimes carries their products. If you buy one as a present, you'll have to get another one for yourself.  It's not a big tub, but a little goes a long way.

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I started following Dan's IG account because of a promo he ran: a free super jumbo chocolate chip cookie to the 2020 high school grads last May.  What a sweet guy! (ha ha.)

But in following his account I just fell in love with his enthusiasm for cookies.  I finally met him at the Pleasanton farmer's market and snagged a bag of his mint chocolate chip as a special treat.

What I impressed me was how MINTY the chocolate mint cookies were.  It wasn't subtle.  And I really liked it.

My husband took one look at the greenish cookies and said, "I bet those are packed with food coloring" and you know what?  They aren't!  The green color comes from SPINACH.  Never would have guessed.

Go support Dan at his storefront in Livermore or at the farmer's market.  Comfort food at it's finest.

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With these fuzzy socks, you're covered with cuteness Monday-Friday.  Like the sweater blanket, I probably can't buy these because of the cats also.  I bet you anything they would start gnawing at my ankles.  Which is kind of cute, but kind of defeats the aim of being cozy.  

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Local favorite, Jam Jar Posies makes floral displays that have that effortless airy look.  She mixes fussy with wild; her bouquets are delightful.

Again, something I can't have because the cats attack flowers in vases as if they were silent burglars, hanging out patiently in the middle of the table.  

​Not that I wouldn't love one of these.  But I'd need to put a cage over it, or something.  

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Ok, ok, this corona virus piñata breaks all my gift rules: it's not soft, especially cute, and I doubt it smells nice. 

But.

I can't think of a better way to end 2020 than to give this sucker a serious whack.  

It says it holds 5lbs of candy.  It could probably hold a heck of a lot of surgical masks mixed with cute little hand sanitizers.  Crazy what we scramble for these days...

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​Handmade cards!  What you can't see in this shot is that the little handle on the toaster is *actually functional*!  It raises the toast up!  So cute, I'm dead.  Local artist. 

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​Because your hydro can use some fresh new bling: check out this cute sticker shop from another local artist!

I love the Positivitea.  

Oh my stars!  You could use some new bling too, amiright? How about some handmade jewelry? 

Another on point local artist.

​Crushing hard on California vibes right about now?  Check out the clothes & sticker at this cute shop!  Tees, sweats, bucket hats.  All. The. Things!