Mandatory Waiting Period

The final gift of this gift guide is PIZZA, but meaningful pizza. Buying a sweatshirt from Rosa’s Fresh Pizza in Philadelphia helps them feed people who can’t afford a hot meal for free, and each sweatshirt purchase sends a twin sweatshirt out into the homeless population, which gives someone both warmth and information on services that can help, sewn into the inside of the sweatshirt. (Hence the directive to “ask me to take my shirt off” on the sweatshirt pictured above.) Rosa’s sells all kinds of merch, but they also let you just pay directly for slices for the homeless, in case you’d rather do that than come away with a physical gift. 

I’ve wanted to get into watercolor for a while and really wanted a good technique book for beginners that would let me progress quickly. Watercolours in a Weekend is that book. Each lesson is broken into two parts: a Saturday technique session, and a Sunday landscape painting. It is just the right amount of safety net for me, someone with no experience who likes a lot of instruction but also to work at my own pace. 

For those of us who love our book collections and are driven mad by that one book that doesn’t match, a set of book jackets from Juniper Books. These jackets are beautiful, and they have them for all kinds of hardbacks, from Harry Potter to American authors collections to personalized sets with your name. May your loved ones’ book shelves be beautiful.

A label maker is just the most useful tool, for so much. Label everything! Label anything! Label each individual charging cord so your parents never have to ask you which is which again, or your mug at work so no one steals it, or the cat. I’ve linked the one I have, but they are all pretty great. 

A tshirt from the Stay Home Club, of which I am a proud member. I have a totebag with this logo and I get longing glances from other introverts all the time, but none of us are gregarious enough to engage each other in conversation. 

Nike of Samothrace - I just love this statue, and the last time they cleaned and restored it they 3D-scanned it, of course, and these desk-size statues are fabricated from that scan. They are a little pricey for me, but I would definitely feel like a badass if I got to see one on my desk every day.

A 1000 Dot-to-Dot book by Thomas Pavitte brought me the closest I’ve ever gotten to a meditative flow state while doing this specific connect the dots. Personally, I like to do them in different colors so you can tell which lines came first, or at least take progress pictures, as you can see above. Pavitte does a color by numbers series as well, and as someone who likes the idea of coloring books but doesn’t find it that enjoyable to make color decisions on my own, I love them, too.

These L.L. Bean slippers are one of my favorite purchases I’ve ever made for myself. They were an impulse purchase at the time, but I’ve had them for years and they are wonderful every winter. I especially like that they have hard rubber soles, so you can wear them out in the world as well. Mine are almost exactly 4 years old, and still cushy and warm.

The Cabin Zero 44 liter carry-on. I have carried this to New York, North Carolina, northern Indiana, and Spain this year, and I love it. It holds a surprising amount without getting too heavy, and on some planes it fits comfortably under the seat in front of you. It’s an open compartment inside, which is sometimes great and sometimes not, but I asked for Cabin Zero’s packing cubes, made to fit this backpack specifically, for Christmas, so I expect to feel more organized in the future. 

I can’t get over this cat dish’s expression. I’m someone who has a lot of small dishes and bowls like this to set jewelry and other trinkets in, and I think I would laugh at this cat’s face every day if it were on my vanity. 

A wall calendar from NeuYear.net! I recommend Jesse’s large, beautiful calendars to everyone. They come in a few different colors, in Monday or Sunday first, and in dry erase or plain paper form, and they are vertical on one side and horizontal on the other, to suit your space. I have used them for years and I love them. The standard size is slightly larger than 2ft x 3ft, but he’s recently rolled out a HUGE 3ft x 6ft version, if you need more space. Also, he’s lovely to deal with and sometimes sends uplifting and encouraging emails!

day twelve

A Bartleby shirt. I think this all the time, though I’ve never read Bartleby the Scrivener.

I love the design on this tshirt but I’m not sure how it would look on my body.

Some beautiful classy envelopes. They seem kind of see through and my only pen pal’s lost that lovin’ feeling, but I think they’re beautiful. 

A “Partners in Crime” bff heart necklace pair. Love it, but have no one to take the other half. 

Some lovely tweedy socks. I like the confetti tweed.