Original folk art may not be for everyone
Laura’s Favorite Cyber Things
Ack! It’s Cyber Monday, a day that–not so long ago–didn’t even exist. I love to shop locally, but we live near two small towns and there are unfortunate shopping gaps. (Plus, I spend so much time at home working that it’s hard to find time to go out and shop.) Here are some of my favorite online options for special gifts.
Wolf Creek Printery –Located in Alderson, WV, Wolf Creek does beautiful calendars and notecards featuring West Virginia flora, fauna, and occasionally a bit of historic WV architecture. We’ve had their cherry calendar frame since the 90s and put a new calendar in every year. They make gorgeous gifts. (Their website doesn’t do their work justice. The paper is textured and thick and the paintings are lovely)
White Flower Farm— From wreaths to amaryllis, I love everything there.
Nuts.com — Last year (or was it the year before?) we bought 50 pounds of their FABULOUS pistachios and sent them as 1-2 pound gifts. (I’ve bought nuts, candy, and dried fruit. Everything has been great with the exception of the sultana raisins. They’re never quite right and the company always makes it up with other merchandise. I’ve just started buying them elsewhere. Excellent customer service.)
American Stationery–Personalized prezzies that encourage letter-writing. All my personal and business stationery comes from here.
Etsy–Is there anything that Etsy doesn’t have?!
Leonidas Chocolate–My husband brought me Leonidas Belgian Chocolates from their Madison Avenue store when we were first married. They’ve gotten to be a big business, but the chocolates are still delicious.
Verena Sleepwear— Verena gowns and jammies are too pricey for me to buy for myself, but I frequently ask for them as prezzies. Their cotton is to die for. Because I never put them in the dryer they last forever and somehow never look worn or frumpy. Treasures. (Made in High Point, NC)
Do tell! What are your favorite online places to shop?
Dilemma
Like so many families, every year our family participates in some sort of community giving project. Our new church partners with a local charity, and our family bought gifts for a 58 year-old man. I picked him because the first thing on his list was a request for mystery audiobooks!
But he also requested cigarettes and lighters. I didn’t buy those. It seemed…awkward. A part of me wanted to because people should get the gifts they want. And the project instructions said to shop for the gifts as though they were for members of our own families. I don’t think I would buy anyone in my family cigarettes, even though I smoked on and off until I was 27. What would you have done?
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!
Last week I asked you to tell me your Thanksgiving menu traditions, and I loved your responses. The winner of the random drawing for a stack of mystery books is…Skye! Drop me an email and I’ll pop the box of books in the mail. Congratulations!
Ei-yi-yi, the lighters and cigarettes thing is tough. I keep changing my mind as I’m trying to type this. Maybe there’s no right answer to that one.
Exactly. There’s no right answer, I think, Priscilla. We just have to go with our hearts.
I did not do any Black Friday shopping, but if Nordstrom had mark downs on my eye pencil and skin care I adore on Cyber Monday, I might have purchased something. I am trying to be charitable, too, Laura. This is a time of plenty for some and time of famine for others. How lovely that you purchased the mystery audio books for the man on your list. I adore stationery, and I imagine American Stationery has wonderful paper ( porous); we have a store nearby called Papyrus, but I am afraid to go inside ( in case I go crazy and buy too much). I also LOVE Belgian Chocolates; my close friend is originally from Belgium and when she and her husband traveled there two years ago, she brought me back a box ( it was heavenly, too).
I WON the Thanksgiving Menu Traditions?! I will send you an e-mail. WOW!!!
Oh, you must go into Papyrus! It is so much fun–particularly when things are on sale. I bought a giant box of Christmas goodies online in early January. If you join their loyalty program, you get 4 cards for the price of 3. (I just gave them free advertising, lol)
Congratulations on the win–Will get them in the mail as soon as I get out this week!)
Ok, I will go into Papyrus—-I will let you know.
I know I would’ve also passed on buying the cigarettes and lighters. I have never bought them for my own siblings or for my children. Too late to start now. But I’m sure that a sympathetic fellow smoker will share some smoke. That’s how it works, you know.