It's funny, how we can think back and divide the past year into super-distinct phases. There was the "spraying my vegetables with Clorox" phase. The banana bread phase. The puzzle phase. The Zoom learning-curve phase. Something involving fluffy coffee that I never quite got into. That moment when all parents made carefully color-coded wall calendars for their kids, only to abandon them within the week.
I made ramen.
Give me all the sweaters and twinkle lights and in-bed dining trays and give them to me eight months ago
As I said in this post, I've personally really leaned in to the whole "never leaving the house again, ever" aspect of the past year. Because really: If you ask me to choose between Sugarfish in bed, as pictured above, and Sugarfish in a crowded restaurant filled with strangers wearing things like high heels and makeup...ummmmmm...
Bed.
Because sometimes it's fun to dream big.
All together, now: Shopping for guy gifts is the worst. Whiskey cubes! Cuff links! Tiny "Zen" boxes of dirt that one must theoretically groom, for calmness or something. It's just the same stuff, over and over and over, and if the men in your life are anything like the men in mine, they are zero help ("What do you want for Christmas?" "Oh, you know...whatever.").
This stuff? Is not the same stuff.
When I first started blogging - during the Wild West years - it was a time when bloggers were virtually showered with swag. Everything from champagne to deodorant arrived on my doorstep - unsolicited - on the regular, and every time my fellow blogger friends and I attended an "event", we were sent off with bags overflowing with moisturizers and chocolates and sunglasses and what have you. See, brands were still trying to figure out how to harness this newfangled thing called "social media," and the initial plan was apparently to throw their stuff at the wall and see what stuck. In other words, for the relatively low cost of wholesale product, they hoped that they'd get what amounted to free coverage (at least relative to what they'd pay for traditional media).
This was obviously REALLY fun in the beginning. Overwhelming, even. But honestly? Over time, another lip gloss in your mailbox just stops being exciting, and starts being just another thing you don't need. What this meant: I became the actual best gift-giver on Planet Earth, sifting through my stash for the just-right gifts for everyone in my life - gifts, suffice it to say, that I would never, ever have been able to afford all on my lonesome.
Now, the industry shifted several years ago towards a more traditional pay-for-play approach - as did my personal business model, wherein I only accept product from clients I'm contracted to work with or otherwise intend to review for the site - but the fact that I love giving my friends gifts: That stayed. There's just nothing like it.
I can be very Grinchy when it comes to my kids' toys. It's one of those "Well, when I was a kid..." things - because when I was a kid, you know what I had? A cabinet for my toys, and exactly the number of toys that could fit into that cabinet. Maybe it was the fact that we lived in a small apartment or maybe my parents were just Grinchy, too, but I'm totally of the school of thought that when it comes to toys, less is more. You spend more time with each one; you get more creative with how you play; you create actual relationships between yourself and your possessions, a la the Velveteen Rabbit (sob).
Which means that the overflow of stuff that my kids get every Christmas, what with the multiple Christmases celebrated at multiple locations throughout the country with multiple pockets of relatives makes me, like I said...
Grinchy.
Hi all, RG Editorial Director Olivia here! I've been running my own business from my kitchen table for the better part of a decade now, so I've grown quite accustomed to the work-from-home lifestyle. I love working from home, but often find myself wearing the same black leggings and Old Navy sweatshirts day in and out, so I've rounded up some of my personal fave work at home outfits, plus a few accessories that make working from the kitchen table a little more...elevated? Sure.
Little caveat: These products also make great gifts for any mom in your life - because for real, is there anything better than rocking some cute slug-life clothing to school pick up? There is not. (Jordan can attest to this.)
CBD: That thing that everyone kiiiiinda thought was a mild form of pot for awhile, and now has become a wellness staple even your grandmother can get on board with.
A quick primer: CBD stands for cannabidiol, a compound found naturally in hemp plants and distinct from THC (which is what creates the psychoactive effect). Cannabinoids work with a series of receptors in your body that perform jobs like regulating your anti-inflammatory response, immune system, appetite, mood, anxiety levels, sleep schedule, and so on. Unlike THC, CBD won't get you "high" in the sense of being intoxicated - but countless studies have shown that it promotes a sense of peace and well-being akin to what you experience when, say, you're singing along to your favorite song on the radio.
A natural high. Doesn't that sound lovely?
There has never been a better time to be a devotee of the esoteric arts...who also happens to have great taste. Here are a few impeccable suggestions for the stylish witch in your life.
What pregnant people need are wipes, and diapers. Oh, and this book. But if they don't have children yet, they don't understand that really all they need are wipes and diapers. And if they do have children already, they might want a moment in their life that doesn't involve wipes and diapers.
So. Maybe consider giving them one of these things.
