Gift Guide for New Homeowners

Shopping for someone who purchased a new home this year, or just moved into a new place? This gift guide is full of options to personalize and elevate their new home!

1) Envelope Mailbox – A nice, new mailbox will add instant style to the outside of their house.

2) Self-Inking Return Label Stamp – We have this self-inking stamp and love the convenience of always having a return address label to stamp on our snail mail.

3) Door Knocker – Help their front door make a statement with an upgraded door knocker. This doctor’s style is a simple and classic option that works on many houses.

4) Sydney Hale Candles – These candles smell amazing and are handmade in Richmond. The company donates a portion of their profits to animal rescue organizations throughout the US. They’re available online but also sold through many local boutiques. Click on “stockists” to see where you can buy one locally.

5) Windowpane Throw Blanket – You can’t go wrong with a luxurious throw. I love these window pane throws from Mark & Graham. Adding a monogram makes it extra personal.

6) Welcome Mat – A nice welcome mat is another item to help elevate the front of the home. No time to get a personalized mat? These welcome mats from Target are affordable and classic.

7) Canvas and Leather Log Holder – This quality, class log holder is great for a friend looking to enjoy their new wood-burning fireplace.

8) Personalized Christmas Ornament – Give them a Christmas ornament to commemorate their new home. I especially love these skeleton key ornaments found on Etsy.

9) Luxe Starter Sheet Set – Help them build a luxurious bed with these soft and stylish sheets from Brooklinen.

10) AmazonBasics Tool Set – Every homeowner needs a well-stocked tool box. This set from AmazonBasics is a great starter set for someone looking to build their collection of tools to take care of their new home.

11) Fire Pit – Give the gift of gathering with friends around the fire. Throw in materials to make s’mores to upgrade your presentation.

12) Adirondack Chairs – A set of classic adirondack chairs is something they can enjoy for many years to come.

13) Echo Dot – Give them the gift of a smart home with the affordable Echo Dot. We have two in our home and love that they help us control lights in our bedroom and living room. We also use them to stream our favorite radio stations and music throughout the house, and now to control our Amazon Fire TV.

14) Ring Doorbell – The Ring Doorbell provides an extra layer of security for new homeowners, allowing them to see who is at their front door and monitor activity while they’re away from home. It’s also a great option for someone who doesn’t already have a hard-wired doorbell.

15) Smart Plug – To go along with their Echo Dot, give them a smart plug that can be voice controlled by Alexa.

16) Smart Switch – A smart switch can also be controlled by Alexa, but we like them because we can set our outdoor lights to come on and off with the sunset and sunrise.

 

Gift Guide for Dog Lovers

There may only be a week left until Christmas, but if you’re anything like me, you still have some shopping to do! This year I’ve rounded up some gifts based on the things we’ve needed and wanted over the past few years. My first in that series is a gift guide for dog lovers. I have stopped giving other people dog treats since many dog owners I know are specific about what kind of food they feed their dogs, and different dogs digest certain things better than others . Here are some non-food gifts that the dog lover in your life is sure to enjoy! 1) Merlin Mat – These soft mats are stylish and easy to pick up and move around the house. They’re great for teaching “go to your spot” and also make great crate beds. 2) Buffalo Check Dog Pad – The Foggy Dog has so many […]

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Gift Guide 2013: Gifts for Him

With Christmas a week away, we’re really down to the wire for Christmas shopping. Struggling to find a present for that special boyfriend, husband, brother, or dad? Here’s a quick list I’ve compiled. As far as I can tell, they’re all still available, and ship from places that can overnight stuff before Christmas. 1. Cardboard Safari Buck Cardboard Animal Trophy – I especially like the Micro Buck. At $13, he would look great on a gallery wall accompanied by another micro animal trophy friend like Micro Fred the Moose or Micro Tex the Longhorn. Just make sure the gift receiver doesn’t mind a puzzle because these guys can be a little challenging to put together. Although if you’re like me and you love puzzles, you can absolutely put it together for him. I got one for the boy a while ago, and he had his friends convinced for a bit […]

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Georgetown Jingle 2013

Since 2006, local designers have worked together to produce the Georgetown Jingle, an event which auctions off Christmas trees created by local designers to raise money for the Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program at Georgetown University Hospital. The 2013 Georgetown Jingle trees have been on display at the Four Seasons in Georgetown since November 27, and last night they were sold at an auction during the 2013 Georgetown Jingle Gala event. Another amazing tree by Corcoran Students Whitney Osterhout + Ramzah Khan I learned of the Georgetown Jingle through the student ASID chapter at the Corcoran last year. Corcoran students participate in the Jingle by building a tree, and in the past the student tree has been extremely popular. I follow the Jingle on facebook and saw last week that they needed volunteers to help out with some last minute stuff over the weekend. Now that classes are over […]

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Barn Sale This Weekend

Hi friends! If you haven’t seen already on my facebook page, the Sweet Clover Vintage Market is open today – Sunday, 10am – 5pm! I really love all the pieces in my space right now, even though I know that they don’t necessarily all quite fit together. That’s OK…they’re all representative of my personal style, which I’ll tell you a bit more about next week. I styled this really cool navy blue campaign chest as a sexy mid-century bar, complete with vintage whiskey bottles, champagne glasses with gold trim, brass swans and a shiny trophy-style champagne bucket.  This Duck Egg blue dresser is actually quite old. You can tell because it has pin and crescent drawer joinery, a style that was used as an alternative to hand-cut dovetails before dovetailed joinery was mechanized. It likely dates to the late 1800s, and I bought it from someone who pulled it out […]

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Decorating for Christmas a Week before Halloween

This weekend, November 1 -3 is the Holiday Market at the Sweet Clover Barn. It coincides with the Holiday Market at Chartreuse & Co. (another awesome barn a few miles down the road), and I know a bunch of places are having holiday open houses this weekend too. It seems early, but for a place that will only be open a handful of times before Christmas, we want to give you as much time as possible to prepare for the holiday season! The Christmas season starting early is no foreign concept for me. Even though I enjoyed Halloween candy as a kid, I was never super into a holiday that centered around scary stuff–to this day I’m not a fan of scary movies and you definitely won’t catch me at a haunted house. I was known to play a Christmas song or two on a rainy day in September when […]

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Valentine’s Day Decor

Valentine’s Day is less than a week away! Looking to add a little love to your space? paper lantern | picture frame | ikat cloth napkins | heart round tray | red foo dogs | for like ever poster | love bookends | neon heart pillow cover | gold love print | floral heart print | pink origami pillow | palm springs blocks pillow The paper lantern from Cost Plus World Market would be a fun addition to your dining space if you plan to host some friends for a Galentine’s Day event, and the red ikat cloth napkins from C.Wonder would add some fun to your table setting. The pink frame from Target would look really cute with some simple DIY heart art in it (gold glitter paper perhaps?), especially on a bookshelf paired with the Love bookends from PB Teen or the foo dogs from C.Wonder (I need some […]

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Gift Exchange 2012

I meant to write a gift-giving roundup shortly after Christmas, but never got around to it. Since I’m a little strapped for time these days, I decided I could still feature just my gift exchange with the boy. If you hate coupley posts, then skip your read today and please forgive me. If you are a girl/boy who has a lot of conversations with friends and colleagues along the lines of, “I have no idea what to get my girlfriend/boyfriend for Christmas/a birthday/Valentine’s Day/Our anniversary”, or you want to see some cool stuff that is now on sale, then you may want to keep reading. The boy and I don’t spend a whole ton of money on each other for Christmas—about $100 each—but it’s our style not to go over the top when it comes to spending. I know people who spend a ton more and people who limit their […]

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Last Minute Gift Idea: Framed Holiday Prints

Picture frames are always a nice gift, but they seem a little lame without a photo in them. For Christmas, treat your party host or friend to a picture frame, complete with some affordable holiday artwork that they can easily switch out when the season is over. Given that Christmas is 5 days away, you’ll want something you can pick up and put together quickly. Target’s Threshold line has some really great frames right now, and Rifle Paper Co.’s holiday post cards fit perfectly into a 4″ x 6″ frame. Their beautiful folding cards also work with a little snip here and there. You can find Rifle Paper Co.’s products at many small businesses nationwide (buy local!), and others places like Paper Source. Here are some of my favorite combinations: Brass + Festive Flora Via Target + Via Rifle Paper Co. Mirror + Peaceful Blue Via Target + Via Rifle Paper Co. […]

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Creating Your Own Christmas Traditions

Yesterday I posted about why your 20s are a great time to experiment with non-traditional Christmas decor. While I love the idea of playing with different types of Christmas decorations, I do still like the idea of establishing Christmas traditions while you’re young. Establishing your own traditions can be just as comforting as participating in the ones you remember growing up. This year the boy and I participated in a Christmas tradition together for the third Christmas in a row. And I’m not gonna lie, it’s probably one of the most mature things we do together all year. A couple years ago I was volunteering with the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing‘s (APAH) annual Secret Santa Christmas gift drive. APAH is a great organization that owns 12 affordable housing properties throughout Arlington County, Virginia. I really like them because they build mixed use, mixed income properties, they preserve a lot […]

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