M. got in first with her request (see post comments below) for gals so here it is, the 2009 enhance the everday gift guide pour elle. First comes this gorgeous recycled cotton tote bag you see above,  made to order from forest bound, US$50.00.Location: USA, ships internationally.  The whole collection is perfect, especially for stylish gals who love to travel (that’s most of us, right?!).

Clockwise from top image: acorn necklace from gur kimel, US$60.00 location: isreal, ships internationally; 1940’s damask umbrella US$48.00 location: new york (state), ships internationally;  “eco toes” in wool plaid US$45.00 by infusion; sexy boyfriend sheer button up shirt, US$58.00 location: california, ships internationally; small porcelain box from the orientalist US$50.00 location: singapore.

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Now, for the women in your life who love Paris…

You knew what was coming next, right?! Of course! But lets start clockwise, from top left: alicia bock’s paris: a love story calender US$29.00, location: Michigan; le book Paris: Made By Hand US$15.00. Photographed here by the beautiful Amanda, available through Little Bookroom location: USA (or your local bookstore, check the stores that are stocking the book around the world here); oui necklace just US$16.00 by Emilina Ballerina location: St Louis; and a collection  of little books about Paris from the Little Bookroom. There are some great new titles including a fabulous new one called Paris Quiz. I would get all of the above for your Paris loving friend/wife/mom/sister and then, I would top it off with this little beauty…

…paris hand cut map print by famille summerbelle. There are also maps of New York and London. They are printed in France and come in a range of colours €42.00. So pretty aren’t they? Your girl will love you long time for this loot of paris treats.

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Next up, beautiful things for the girly girl…

clockwise, top left: starburst bloom silk clutch purse made by red ruby rose for US$105.00 location: Bristol UK; aurora botanical perfume – created by hand utilizing pure, plant essences in a French glass flacon by illuminated perfume. US$150.00 location: LA; pink diamond flower in glass bottle necklace made by just me jewellery US$40.00 location: Hong Kong; fleur de nuit necklace by white owl US$35.00 location: Detroit; and la piece de résistance is this very pretty handmade miniature kite in wooden box, from jaesong US$89.00 location: US.

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Now, for the bookworm! Here are a few lovelies…

clockwise from top left image: wooden bookmark just US$8.00 from bliss in a tea cup location: Vancouver; literary quote pinback brooch by bookity US$7.50 location: UK; silk sleep eye mask US$16.00 by naomi lingerie location: Melbourne Australia; a bunch of vintage classic novels, including such tales as Gullivers Travels. This bunch was recently on auction on ebay, but I suggest you head down to your local second hand bookstore and find some great old classics – this year I read The Secret Garden, Robinson Crusoe, and Treasure Island for the first time since I was a wee lass and all of them were wonderful. A stash of vintage versions would make such a great gift for a bookwormy kinda-gal (comme moi).

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I know most of these gifts aren’t necessarily made with renewable materials etc, but they are handmade and/or vintage and this all helps. There should be lots of ideas in there for the lady in your life and if you are a bit of a handyperson, you could try making something inspired by what you see above, with materials you have on hand.

Now I must confess,  I completely forgot how  much work these gift guides are. I’m wondering if other bloggers have some fancy smancy ways of making the task a little easier, I have a feeling my version of doing these guides is a little archaic and completely time-consuming. I shall not pike out on you though, but I will need a little more encouragement to continue if you are enjoying these and would like to see more. A little shout out, a little “keep up the good work” or something, anything along these lines would give me the extra energy I need to keep this momentum… merci mes amis! px

I nearly left out this gorgeous little fella. It is a plant fibre & skeleton leaf lantern, made by pacha design in the UK (Welcombe), £15  each. Pacha design is also having their first xmas open studio this coming weekend. Among other things there will be chopping boards, leaf lanterns, clocks, and mirrors for sale and you can munch on snowflake biscuits & mince pies, and sip mulled wine while you buy handmade gifts. miam. Click here for more info.

xx

PS I can’t decide what to post next – gifts for gals, gifts for guys, or gifts for kids? you choose…

I could not resist including these little guys! How adorable are they? I love little houses. These are made by the oak leaves. They are called shelf cities, and they are $20 for a set of 12. Made in the US, ships internationally.

photograph by PJB from Paris: Made By Hand

French Touche is a gorgeous little boutique in Paris that I featured in Paris: Made By Hand. They have a terrific online website + boutique, with tonnes of goodies, all handmade. Here are some of my favourite items…

Clockwise from top left: little raiku sel et poivre by François Echappé, 24€ for the two; Barquette Piaf  by De Beaux Souvenirs, and other little wire cages, from 30 €; porcelain dishes like the Coupelle Bambi  by Elise Lefebvre starting at 50 € – all from French Touche. Not all the items are for sale online though, so check the little icon under items which say ‘select for cart’ or ‘call the store’.

French baskets from Sadie Olive! Love. US$136.00, from Tustin, CA. Cotton Crochet Coverlet US$265.00 from Topsy Design, location: Los Angeles.

Vintage typewriters are not only a hot decorating item these days, they also make an awesome gift for stationery & type enthusiasts. Like me! I would love a vintage typewriter. It would be a fun, slower pace way of writing – like having an anolague camera alongside a digital one. Anyway, I digress, I know. Here is a groovy Hermes 3000 from shaving kit supplies. It’s US$220.00, location: pennsylvania.

You know what else is hot for gift giving right now?

Yep, terrariums. Here are a few I like:

1. littly mossy terrariums from the oak leaves,  US$30.00

2. mini terrariums from tortoise loves donkey, starting at just US$5.00 location: california.

3.  terrarium glass vessels from terrain, ranging in price, location: USA (international shipping not available)

You can also try your hand at making one yourself. Sprout home made a great how-to video for design*sponge this past summer, click here to watch.

Now, for those of us who love spending a bit of time in the kitchen. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been rather fond of creating hampers. Here are a few treasures that I think would be great for adding to a hamper, or as stocking fillers…

top row: jenna rose bike tea towels US$28.00 location: ontario; skinny and bernies mini casserole dishes US$28.00 location: Pennsylvania

second row: ‘tingle tangle’ spoons and little nesting bowls starting at US$4.00 by Atelier Oker location: Belgium

third row: I think these cotton canvas lunch bags are such a great idea! They are made by solo handmade and US$15.00 each location: Utrecht, The Netherlands; printed vintage white damask linen napkins screen printed with an old recipe for irish soda bread, sold in sets of four from pilosale, US$38.00 location: toronto

fourth row: diy cheese kits from urban cheese craft – brilliant! You can make paneer, goats cheese, mozzarella, you name it. Kits start at US $21.00 location: portland, oregon (of course); wheel thrown porcelain milk jug from ceramic pics US$22.00 location: California

last row: bird e towels – these are unbleached cotton towels to replace paper towels. Love it! They come in a bakers dozen, $12.00  from athena creates location: US; block print kitchen towel from home sweet US$15.00 location: delaware.

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well! that was a marathon start. Hope you find some neat gift ideas in there for friends and family who love their home. I’m off to bed, I need to rest these weary fingers to get ready for tomorrow’s guide. Until then, sweet dreams.

xx

Okay just one more…

a samantha robinson teapot. Isn’t it lovely? I have a few of her little vessels that I’ve collected over the years but this is too divine. Samantha has a stall at the paddington markets, in sydney on Saturdays, and at the bondi markets on sunday. You can also call or email her direct for international inquiries.

It’s that time of year again my friends! Whatever “that time of year” may mean for you. For me, it’s about holidays  – taking the time out to rejuvenate and reflect on the year passed. It’s a time for sharing, and giving – spending time with my family and friends. For those of you who are new to the (blog)house, my enhance the everyday holiday gift & decorating guides are a week-long series of posts, where I’ve put together ideas for your holiday gift giving, and holiday decorating. But it’s also a little more than that… perhaps you’d like to know what makes the enhance the everyday gift guide  different to other gift guides out there?

It’s simple: everything you will see in the next coming days are not only la classe, which means they are totally hip and stylish and chosen at the hand of a professional stylist BUT… and here comes to best bit… everything you see will fit all my necessary requirements for consumer items: that being vintage or handmade with recycled/renewable/biodregradable material and therefore sustainable.

Why? Because all ‘things’ should be. It’s as simple as that.

Last year’s gift guide says it all, you can click here to read more about it.

Before we get started though, I would like to share some simple gift shopping tips for you. Follow these tips and you will not only find the best gifts you have ever given, but you will also be helping our economy and environment:

1. shop locally: Support your local boutiques and artists + craftspeople. Most homewares boutiques these days stock vintage or locally handmade items so ask for these items when searching for gifts. Use my upcoming holiday gift guide as inspiration, and for the past one click here.

2. two words: Kris Kringle. If your family and friends don’t already do so, suggest ‘kris kringle’ from this year on – host a bbq or small get together now (thanksgiving is usually perfect for this) and have each person pull out a name from a hat. Each person then purchases a christmas gift for the person they selected from the hat, and only spend the amount allocated. The gifts are much more thoughtful and valued.

3. Create a wish list.To save on buying (and unfortunately receiving) gifts that are unwanted and therefore end up in the trash, make a wish list and pass it to those who you know will be buying you a gift this year. That way you receive what you want and your gift-giver is content to know that you will love it. You can also then be selective on your wish list and pick items that are sustainable.

4. Vintage or handmade with love. Last but not least, source out vintage (ie second hand) or items made with renewable/recycled/biodegradable materials. This might seem restrictive but there is so much scope in this that you may not be aware of including food (hampers!) and wine. Etsy and Dawanda are just two fabulous online sources for finding such goodies, and I have picked out some of my favourites from these great web boutiques, as well as from a few of my favourite boutiques around the world. And since I have readers in both the Northern and (sunny) Southern Hemisphere, I have tried to give you a selection that incorporates both warm and cold holiday climates, and local shops.

Happy gift giving, mes amis!

Next up: gifts ‘for the home’ (click here and here to go to last year’s ‘for the home’ gift guide!)…

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All photographs and styling by Pia Jane Bijkerk. Props include: a crap crab! apple branch, baker’s twine, vintage French lace ribbons, turkey feathers, vintage wallpaper for gift wrapping, and baby silver baubles.

Over the weekend I went to a few new places with friends that I thought you might like to know about:

1. Le Pain Quotidien in de pijp. This is a Belgian bakery/café/patisserie that is all over the world, and now Amsterdam. I used to go to the Saint Honoré one all the time when I was living in Paris, especially for Sunday brunch. It’s awesome. The ingredients are always fresh and organic wherever possible, and the bread is delicious. Although I’d already been to this new one in de Pijp the other week, I took French boy there on Saturday. He had a tartine, I had an omlette. We bought a baguette and were pleasantly surprised that it was just like a real French baguette. This one in Amsterdam is at Cornelis Troostplein 4, click the link to be taken to a map of the location.

2. Chet’s. This is an Italian-style wine bar on the Hazenstraat, in the Jordaan. We met some friends there on Saturday night not expecting there would be live music (since we heard it was only on Friday nights) but we were delighted to find out there was a bossa jazz band booked for the night. It’s a wonderful little oasis as these type of places are hard to find in Amsterdam.

3. the lovefood pop up sunday brunch. Brilliant idea founded by englishman-amsterdammer Jason Hartley. A lovely friend introduced me to it yesterday (thank you Leslie!). Basically it’s a pop up brunch, hosted in various restaurants or cafes in the city. Their new location is in the Cafe Bax on the Ten Katestraat. Yesterday was the last one for the year unfortunately, but the next one starts on January 10. The brunch is great – a full breakfast menu that all us expats miss so so much  – e.g.  The Full Mikey which is the American classic breakfast with bacon,  homemade  sausage, hash browns, scrambled eggs;  eggs florentine, benedict etc – every which way you like’em;  a full veggie breakfast;  pancakes, even a mexican style choice – tortillas filled with scrambled organic eggs, spinach, fried potatoes and chorizo sausage topped with grated chedder cheese and baked. Click here to read more about it.

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It’s Monday morning! can you believe I’ve blogged before midday? Well that’s just the start of it. Hold on to your hats, because this week is going to be full steam ahead! I have lots to share this week. Lots. Next up will be the enhance the everyday holiday decorating & gift guide. wehoooooooooo!