Row 1:

1. A bottle of wine and/or tumblers. I loved the typography on this With Love bottle of red wine, but certainly you can find a much cheaper (and equally good) wine at the grocery store. And Gilt is selling these lovely tumblers in a set of 4 for $12, and Target has some nice ones for around the same price!

2. Madewell Foxtrot earrings, $18. Adorable and whimsical – perfect for Christmas, and stylish year-round.

3. A Faux Fur Collar with ribbon, $18 on Etsy.

Row 2:

1. Burt’s Bees. Friends don’t let friends have chapped lips. Perfect for stocking stuffers or small gift bags, everyone loves Burt’s bees – guys included (not to mention they’re a very affordable gift)!

2. A good book. 1Q84, the latest Haruki Murakami book, is available now at Barnes & Noble for $15. A perfect gift for a friend who loves to read, this is a book everyone is talking about right now.

3. Thick, warm, cheerful socks. Socks are one of my favorite things to get for Christmas, in part because they’ve usually disappeared by the same time the following year. (What is it with dryers eating things that come in pairs?) I love these fairisle crew socks from Sock Dreams, $12. Also, Sock Dreams offers free shipping all the time!

Row 3:

1. Tuberose scented balm pocket watch from Modern Alchemy, $35. Okay, maybe this one is on MY wish list. Still, it’s a beautifully-packaged personal scent “watch” that I think any woman would love to have.

2. Fuzzy boudoir slippers from Faire Frou Frou, $46. One of my philosophies about gift-giving is to buy things for people that they wouldn’t normally buy for themselves. And while I know many ladies who would love a pair of these slippers, I don’t know many who would treat themselves to a pair.

3. Sleep mask by Hopeless Lingerie, $20. These beautiful sleep masks by Hopeless Lingerie (one of my favorite independent brands) can be ordered in custom colors. And for crafty gift givers who don’t want to shell out $20, this could be a great DIY present idea!

My friend lent me this book by Tillich, and it’s proving to be a great start to my resolution of reading more this year. Oh yes, this is basically what I do all day when I’m not at work! I lounge around and read. :)

I also bought some new angora socks from Target in cream & black! Buying foot and legwear, such as socks and tights, is one of the nicest feelings ever (next to a brand-new set of American Eagle boybriefs)!

I also bought myself a paid Flickr account, which freed up a lot of photos that were hidden from view (since I far surpassed my 200 free images). The following were taken with film! I simply love the quality of it, which cannot be replicated with digital no matter how much photoshop is applied.

たれぱんだ~

Back when I had red hair

My boyfriend in Santa Monica, California