Give Me S'more Summer!

With the end of the summer quickly approaching I would like to share my final summer gift. One of my favorite things to do in the summer is enjoy a warm fire with friends along with some great snacks. For this Labor Day weekend a great gift to bring as a house guest is a s'mores gift basket. There is no need to get fancy when putting together this present - the classics work the best – Hershey’s chocolate in three varieties (classic, with almonds, and special dark) and Honey Maid graham crackers. At Whole Foods I have found these great square shaped marshmallows that easily stay on the cracker. Be sure to include marshmallow forks so your friends can avoid the disappointing marshmallow-in-the-fire scenario. Cascade Outfitters has great color-coded forks so there is no confusion about whose fork is whose. With the temperature beginning to decrease this inexpensive gift is fun for everyone to enjoy while also staying warm!

Marshmallow Forks
Cascade Outfitters
$7.95

Square Marshmallows
Whole Foods Market
or
DeBrand Fine Chocolates
$6.25 a bag

Grahmn Craker and Hershey's Chocolate
Found at any grocery store

The Gift of Convenience

With the large workload in schools, colleges and offices alike, it’s a wonder that anyone ever has time to themselves. With students going back to school I thought we should give some attention to this great digital reader.

Both Sony and Amazon make digital readers: the Digital Reader Book and the Kindle. You can fit over one hundred books on the reader at the same time – so instead of carrying around heavy books in your bag you can carry the digital reader and have access to your entire library!

A digital reader allows you to read wherever – on the bus, on the subway, in a waiting room – without worrying about which book you remembered to bring from home.

If you know a student or close friend who is always looking for time to get their work done, the digital reader is a great gift. They’ll appreciate the gift and the extra time for reading!

The Ultimate Gift

Every week I give gift ideas based on things I love, but this week I received something I could not have dreamed from my staff. At my birthday party, in front of 200 friends, they surprised me with a very special video. 

The best gifts are often just thoughtful items, a photograph with a personal note, or a homemade video speak volumes full of love.

Check out the video my team created for me:

Just In Time for 08-08-08!

As Friday dons the opening night of the 2008 Summer Olympics, you may be receiving invitations for Olympic parties of all sorts. This past month, as I was myself struggling to find an “Olympic” sized gift for my close friends, I came across an amazing party gift that is simple and perfect for this Friday’s worldwide event.

The Triple Eight Vodka can be a gift for your friends or a party favor for your own Olympic themed party. Matching the 08-08-08 date of the opening ceremonies, the 888 Vodka will create a festive atmosphere as you watch the athletes proudly display their countries flags as they arrive in China.

Sweet Summer

I recently discovered these great little cookies that perfectly capture the spirit of summer. Each cookie is shaped like a different summer item, including flip-flops, ice cream cones, hot dogs, and watermelon. They are a perfect simple gift for the host of an outdoor barbeque or pool party.

These little summer treats are made by Chris’s Cookies. The owner Chris started as a one man company and as he tinkered with recipes he created what is now a national chain. Ultimately what Chris has created is a great gift for any occasion.

To purchase these summer treats visit Chris's Cookies and be a hit at your next summer get-together.

Organize the Way You Organize!

These days it seems like everyone is running around with thousands of tasks on their to-do lists. With our constant use of cell phones, cameras and iPods, it is impossible to always have them well organized.

A great gift for the friend who is always in need of a few more minutes of battery on the cell phone is a Charging Valet from Brookstone. This recharge station is ready for cameras, phones...really any electronics that come with a messy cord. The station hides the cords, keeping everything neat and tidy. Instead of having phones and electronics lying about with tangled cords, everything can be tucked neatly away on the counter or a desktop.

Finding more ways to keep yourself and your friends organized is a more than helpful gift to give. Don't let the lack of convenient charging prevent your friend from calling you to schedule your next lunch date!

Bedford Smart Recharge Station
Pottery Barn for $39-$79

Please leave a comment with your oganizing tips!

Have Your Fun, and Eat it Too!

Chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, whatever the flavor, each one spells out my ultimate summer weakness: ICE CREAM! Recently I came across the perfect toy for kids that have a love for ice cream and an unlimited amount of energy. The Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker, by Industrial Revolution, will bring huge smiles to the faces of your friends' and families' young ones.

Many families, in order to bring some fun to their ice cream eating, have created homemade ice cream makers with coffee cans and ice. Industrial Revolution has come up with a soccer ball shaped maker that is great for the whole family to participate in the creamy creation. The hard plastic shell of the Play and Freeze poses no boundaries when it comes to throwing, kicking, and shaking to mix the ice cream.

If you are in need of a great party idea, buy a number of the Play and Freeze makers and invite a group of friends and their children for an ice cream party. Every family can have their own maker, and after the sundae party is over, each family takes their maker home as a gift. This party will bring a chill, and a thrill, to the sultry summer heat!

Available at the General Home Store: $32
100 Park Place
East Hampton, NY 11937
631-324-9400

Also Found at icecreamrevolution.com

Beach in a Bag

While I was at the beach this past weekend, I couldn’t help but admire the resourcefulness of many women who were able to tote around the entirety of their beach gear with one simple bag. These beach goers with children in tow had towel, mat, lunch, sunscreen and books in a variety of fashionable bags. Thanks to these women, today's gift idea incorporates style, personality, and practicality.

The General Home Store carries a perfect bag for travels to and from the beach, where Conventional Totes also carries great sized, eco-friendly totes for creating a great gift package for this summer. T and T (truth and trash) books are also necessary additions for your friends. Any Philipa Gregory books are amazing reads along with the always intriguing Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos.

Take a moment to think of objects that you always love to have with you while lounging in the hot sand and add them to your personalized beach bag. Your friends will love you for keeping their life simple…and for urging them to take a trip to the beach!

General Home Store
100 Park Place
East Hampton, NY 11937
631 324 9400

More Great Books Found at Amazon.com

Let me know what you put in your beach gift bag!

Sparkle Celebration

Over the next week, there will surely not be a shortage of fireworks and friendly picnic gatherings celebrating the Fourth of July. One of the best things about this explosive weekend is that there are fiery objects for all ages. An exciting gift to bring family and friends this weekend are red, white and blue sparklers to shine in the holiday weekend.

Available at Prism Fireworks and Washington Fireworks these sparklers enable us to come together as a nation to celebrate our Independence. Everyone from children to adults enjoy the sparkle and color of the Fourth of July sparklers, why not light up the week early by ordering your friends their own collection of red, white and blues!

The Dog Days of Summer

Now that it is almost consistently warm and sunny outside, it is a great time to enjoy the outdoors – especially with pets! But if you have a dog or a cat (or other animal), the hot weather and boiling sun can raise some concerns. Pets can be very susceptible to the heat, and can suffer from heat stress and sunburn just like us. I often run out of time, or forget the fact that my dog Sammy may also be uncomfortable in the heat as I often am, so receiving gifts from friends for him is a wonderful and very considerate gift.

It is very important that your pet always stays hydrated. Carrying a hard plastic bowl with you everywhere could become a nuisance, but luckily, Backcountry K-9 sells collapsible water bowls that are perfect for on-the-go pets and owners! Check out backcountryk9.com to choose the water bowl that’s perfect for you and your pet.

And a special bonus for your dog in the hot, humid weather: Frosty Paws makes frozen treats for dogs that can be an extra special snack for them during the summer heat. They can be found in most grocery stores – just check on their website for locations near you – www.frostypawstreats.com.

Help your friends remember the health and comfort of their pets by finding the perfect pet gifts for this beautiful weather! If you’re unsure of how the weather will affect your pet, and want tips on what precautions to take for them, check weather.com and look at “pets” under “Home & Family” for a personal pet forecast and all kinds of pet-related resources.

Pictured above is my dog Sammy enjoying the beach; he and I would love to hear your ideas for keeping your pet cool this summer. Please leave a comment!

Holy, Moley Guacamole!

Think one of your friends needs help spicing up their dinner parties? Well here is a perfect gift that can influence them to kick it to the next level!

Guacamole is one dip that varies with each ingredient that you add. Presenting your host with a great recipe and friendly hints on picking the perfect avocado is great for helping them tackle one of the most widely enjoyed summer dips.

Crate and Barrel is selling beautiful and affordable mortar and pestle sets that help create the perfect mixture of ingredients. Once you have your tools, the best guacamole depends upon the ripeness of the avocados. Ripe avocados yield slightly to a gentle squeeze but are still somewhat firm. If you buy a firm avocado, placing it in a paper bag with an apple in room temperature will speed the ripening process.

Mix up your summer parties by gifting the perfect guacamole! Here is a great recipe for your own summer dip:

Great Guacamole Recipe:

2 ripe avocados
½ red onion, minced (about ½ cup)
1-2 serrano chiles, stems and seeds removed, minced
2 T. cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 T. of fresh lime or lemon juice
½ tsp. coarse salt
A dash of freshly grated black pepper
Garnish with red radishes or jicama

1. Cut avocadoes in half and remove the seed. Scoop the avocado from peel and place in mixing bowl.
2. Mash with fork. Add chopped onion, cilantro, lime or lemon, salt and pepper and mash together. Start with adding half of one chili pepper and continue adding according to taste. Take care when handling the peppers!
3. Cover mix with plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent oxidation from the air. Refrigerate until ready.

If you have a recipe that is a personal favorite, please leave me a comment!

Mortar and Pestle Sold at Crate and Barrel
650 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022
212-308-0011

25¢ a Cup

Nothing is more exciting than coming across a group of children sitting behind a lemonade stand. No matter the quality of lemonade, seeing their faces when you place a quarter in their money jar is worth the moment spent stopping for a drink.

When you are struggling with ideas for a friendly housewarming gift, why not reinvent the joys of the childhood lemonade stand? Stores like Crate and Barrel and Williams-Sonoma carry various different styles of the lemon press which can then be combined with a decorative basket or pitcher filled with lemons and sugar to complete your adult lemonade kit. For a recipient who enjoys to garden, you can also add a mint plant that can be grown to add flavor to the lemonade.

Simple, creative and fun, this gift will excite both adults and children that are searching for a refreshing drink for the summer. Who says lemons can’t sweeten up your summer?

Ona Pitcher found at Crate & Barrel: $16.95 - $26.95
www.crateandbarrel.com

Gift-opoly

One of the best qualities of this time of year is the additional hours of daylight that we experience. The late afternoon sun seems to bring out the youthful energy hidden within everyone. The next gift idea allows us to take advantage of the summer spirit and the time available to have fun with our families.

Family game night is an idea that involves taking time out of our hectic schedules and applying our attention to our family and friends. Barnes and Noble sells games for every age level that are both fun and educational. Cranium takes the best aspects of charades, Pictionary and Trivial Pursuit to create an interactive board game for everyone in your party.

Whether you gift traditional games like Monopoly and Scrabble or excite your host with newer games like Apples to Apples, You’ve Been Sentenced, Catch Phrase and Cranium you are spreading the idea of game night with every gift that you give. So clear off the table and roll the dice and start spending time with your family!

The Gift of Fondue

Along with the approach of summer’s warm weather brings pool openings, and trips to the beach and the ability to spend more time with our family and friends. One of the perfect gifts that you can buy for someone this busy season is a cast iron fondue set.

Originating in Switzerland in order to make use of hardened cheese, the fondue pot has also been used for cooking meat and, my personal favorite, for melting chocolate! Fresh strawberries, bananas, delicious chocolates and five of your closest friends creates the perfect scene for a fondue party.

Even Williams-Sonoma is joining in on the summer fun by creating 1lb. tins of chipped bittersweet chocolate for ideal chocolate melting. Today, when fondue is made so simple, why not take a trip to the store and check out the endless options available?

Before the heat of the summer arrives, go out and purchase your friends (and yourself) their very own fondue set!

Found at:

Crate and Barrel
650 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022
212-308-0011

Williams-Sonoma
110 7th Avenue
New York, NY 10011

Bug Off!

Now that summer is almost here, I am introducing my Summer Weekend Gift Tips. Every Monday from now until Labor Day I will post some gift ideas that will hopefully provide an answer to the common challenge of what to bring when you are a guest at someone’s home.



With Memorial Day coming up this weekend, I thought I would share a great little secret I wrote about in my Departures column last summer. These incense sticks—smaller than the ones I originally wrote about—ward off insects without giving off that terrible chemical odor. They are available in 3 scents: citronella, lavender and geranium, and they also easily camouflage into any backyard’s landscape.

Last year when I wrote about these they sold out in merely days, so beat the rush (and the bugs) this summer and buy yours today.

Encens Geant: 7 sticks in a tube for $28.00

Found at General Home Store
100 Park Place
East Hampton, New York 11937
631-324-9400