{gift guide: ladies & gents}

 Last week, Lauren from A Fabulous Fete asked me if I wanted to put together a holiday gift guide in collaboration with some other bloggers.  This is the first gift guide I have ever put together and I had a ton of fun perusing my wishlist on pinterest and asking Chris for input.  I definitiely plan on doing some additional gift guides leading up to the holidays this year. For my first try, I decided to keep it simple and create one for the ladies and one for guys....

1. J. Crew Studded bow pin

2. Voluspa Orangerie D'Azahar Candle

3. J. Crew Overnight Bag (monogramming available)

4. Juicy Couture "preppy" bracelets

5. ASOS Horse charm clutch

6. Concrete Planters from Etsy

7. Chervon Print Tissue Box

1. Filson Suit bag

2. Black Maple Hill Bourbon

3. John Varvatos "Vintage" Cologne

4. Scrappy's Bitters Gift Set

5. Leather Iphone Holder from Etsy

Also head over to these blogs to check out their holiday gift guides:

Cupcakes And Cutlery

A Fabulous Fete

Green 4 U

I Go You Go



{gift idea for the guys}

The other day I was reading an article in Esquire, which is actually Chris' magazine subscription but I enjoy it as well, and it mentioned some old school cocktail books that Esquire had published back in the 1950s and 60s.  A quick search on Amazon and I was able to find both Esquire's Drink Book (available here) and Esquire's Guide to Modern Etiquette (available here).  I ordered both of these books which were listed in "vintage" condition as a little surprise for Chris.

 {the cocktail book which didn't come with a dust jacket}

By far the best part about vintage books is when you find ones that have personal notes written inside the cover. Both of the books I purchased had been given as gifts in their past lives and had cute little notes written inside. The Drink Guide even has notes throughout the pages near some of the recipes:

 {the original gift giver's note inside the cover}

 {original owner's recipe notes written throughout the cocktail book}

While the drink book was clearly something Chris would be interested in, the etiquette book was given more as a joke and it is absolutely hilarious let me tell you.  Here are some choice 1950s etiquette quotes from the book regarding different types of social affairs:


"The Luncheon: Even a guy who doesn't know what time it is can tell the different between Luncheon and Dinner.  The menu is lighter.  There are no candles on the table. Placemats or colored cloths are used in the place of the conventional dinner damask."

"The Ball: Only the very, very rich -and the old rich at that- have ballrooms at their homes these days, so if you are invited to a ball it will probably be held at a club or hotel. The invitation will read "At Home" regardless."


If you are looking for a gift for a guy in your life, I highly recommend a vintage cocktail book since most of the recipes are still relevant today. The Esquire one is great, but if you need more ideas check out this extremely extensive list.