Undersea creature Christmas ornaments (including a Seussian fish, and a sexy merman)
My Christmas decorations are all ocean-themed. The santa on our stocking isn’t on a sleigh, but paddling a canoe, our tree is covered in shells and ocean critters, and our color scheme is turquoise, green, and silver. So, I set out to find some of the best ocean-themed Christmas tree ornaments out there — and came away with a big haul, all sea creatures, some more fantastical than others.
Just in case you’re cruising for gifts today… check out this butterfly that’ll never die
I don’t know about you guys, but I plan to stay inside all day today. Luckily for me, ThinkGeek’s Black Friday Sale is handing out deals on all kinds of cool shit, including the ever-amazing Electronic Butterfly in a Jar.
The objects that make my house a home
I’m about to move with my husband and toddler son from a much loved house that we own, in a city we know well, to rented accommodation in a town we’ve visited once.
We are nervous, excited, and deeply nostalgic. These are the items that make our house a home — and will make our next house a home.
Sweet organic goodness your offbeatling can wear, play with, or sleep in
The first thing I do whenever I find a new place online filled to the brim with sweet baby-and-toddler clothing goodness is cruise over to the “sale” section. This is half because I have this thing about buying new clothes (why do it when there are so many gently used clothes just lying around) and partly because I can’t bring myself to justify spending a third of my rent on something for my two-and-a-half-year-old to wear. SO color me stoked when I discovered that Wild Dill’s sale section is the cutest thing this side of… wherever they’re from.
The generous materialist’s confession: I give stuff away so I can get more stuff
First confession: I am a materialist. I like stuff. I like acquiring it, I like having it, and I like organizing it.
Second confession: I am a preener. I need to interact with my possessions — I need to use my things, touch my things, smell my things, and wear my things, to fully appreciate the things. This love of interacting with my stuff combined with sharing a one-bedroom home with my family of three means that I am a hoarding materialist. I need my possessions close at hand — if it’s stored, I can’t touch it and I might as well not have it. My friends with overstuffed, intimidating storage units packed tight with crap will tell you this quirk is a blessing. As much as I love something, if I’m not actively engaging with it, then it’s time to get rid of it. And if I want to get something new to preen over, then I need to get rid of something old. One in, one out.
This means I give a lot of stuff away.
Funky monster-themed accessories for your kid… or for you
I actually met the brains behind Htavos Kooky Monster Art Shop at Geek Girl Con, and purchased one of their “La-La Monsters” (they’re designed by his five-year-old niece!) — which unfortunately don’t appear to be listed at the shop! But you can snag one of these Toaster and Pop Tart Twin Plushies, which are suuuper cute.
So you have $1000 to spend. WHERE DOES IT GO?
This doesn’t happen often, but sometimes we have some extra money to spend on the house. A few hundred bucks for new speakers, or a grand for a couch. Each time we have a windfall we can put into our home, we stall with anxiety. Scott and I have been living together a long time, and out of our parents’ homes for a decade, and just like most people in their late twenties, money like this needs to be used carefully. We can’t just whittle it away on hookers and beer — we’d like a sensible piece of furniture good for a lifetime.
But that anxiety! What if we choose a couch we hate or our car breaks down the week after we paint the living room and then we wish we hadn’t dropped $400 on the job?
For the gamers: five great Nintendo DS games for kids
As an avid gamer I often find myself wandering the video game section and observing the myriad of parents attempting to choose a video game for their child. More often than not the parents choose a totally age inappropriate game (Resident Evil for a six year old?) or a game that is just plain bad. I understand that not everyone enjoys video games and that the sheer number of available games can be overwhelming so here is a list of five amazing, fun and educational (!!!) Nintendo DS games for kids that their parents might enjoy as well.