Gift Ideas Archives - Cupcakes and Cutlery

Cool Stuff in Life and Style – June

June 30, 2014 by Sharon Garofalow 1 Comment

How can it be July tomorrow? This is the first full week that my kids are out of school and we started swim lessons this morning. So why does it feel like summer is moving SO fast! I’m praying it slows down a little so we can really enjoy it before we start school again. So here is the cool stuff I am loving this month. I already shared this on Instagram, but my parents bought me the BEST TEA POT EVER!! You may remember that I had originally seen this Ronald Reagan wonder on my trip to New York but when it was over $100, I had to walk away. My mom started to do some research and found it online for a much more reasonable price!

So one day, she and my dad showed up with my new tea-pot as a surprise. They are pretty great parents, aren’t they? And this tea-pot!? I mean, my kids are a little freaked out by it but it now has a place on our mantle above the fireplace…

Kristin gave me this awesome little porcelain You Rock tray! I love it. The colors are super fun and the sides are a little bit wavy making it whimsical. It sites right next to my bed on my nightstand and I keep my chapstick and stray hair bands in it. I love that it is practical but super cute at the same time!! Such a cute gift idea!

I heart wine, you guys! I’m starting to branch out a little bit and try some new whites. I’m partial to my Sauvignon Blanc but I know that I enjoy Pinot Grigio so I’m trying to go out of my comfort zone and try some new ones. And of course I had to pick up this bottle with the heart on it. Find it here. SO cute!

We had a great Father’s Day barbecue at my sister and brother-in-law’s house. The kids swam, we ate great food and then the kids orchestrated a dance off. It was the best. They even threw down a challenge: kid’s against my husband and brother-in-law. A freaking riot! It was so funny, the kids had a blast and it was the perfect way to wind down a great day!

I’ve complained about how hard my husband is to shop for before but this year I found some pretty fun gifts for Father’s Day. I commissioned a custom poem for him from The Poem Store. I found out about Jacqueline Suskin via Xenia when she instagrammed about her a while back. I bookmarked it and knew that Father’s Day would be the perfect time to try it out. I love how this turned out. And you name your own price so you pay what you can. My husband keeps this in his wallet which is awesome.

Whenever I have a quick minute I like to pop in to Urban Outfitters and see what the cool kid’s are in to. I found this awesome 6 pack cooler in the clearance section for $1.99. Of course I had to have it. I really need to go back and see if they have more. I could fill this with fun summer items and give it as an end of the year teacher gift (my son’s teacher is pretty cool). And this picture doesn’t do it justice. It’s bright! Just how I like it.

Filed Under: Things I Love Tagged With: Gift Ideas, style

Best Caramel Corn Ever

June 12, 2014 by Sharon Garofalow 2 Comments

You know you have good friends when they gift you the world’s best caramel corn ever. Well I mean, I think my recipe is the best caramel corn recipe ever, but prepackaged this is the stuff. Kristin picked this Pinkleton’s caramel corn up on her recent vacation to Portland and knowing my love of snacks, caramel corn and cardamom, she knew I needed to try it too. The flavor is outrageous. It is at once bitter and sweet with subtle and bold flavors. It’s the perfect crunchy texture. And I didn’t want to share it. I also knew that if I wasn’t careful, I would end up eating the whole bag in one sitting. I ate some on the beach during a family picnic. I packed this in my suitcase for my New York trip (I never like to be snacky in a hotel with only a mini bar available) and brought the rest home with me. This would make a great gift for the foodies and snack lovers in your life. I’m dying to try the other flavors too! I mean – salted vanilla, salted molasses and spicy mexican cocoa?! Order some for you summer vacations. You’re welcome. And thank you, Kristin, for knowing me so well!

Filed Under: Food, Gift Guides, Lifestyle, Recipes, Things I Love Tagged With: caramel corn, cardamom, Gift Ideas, orange, Recipes, snacks

Gift Ideas for Sports Fans

June 5, 2014 by Sharon Garofalow 4 Comments

How cool are these Fielder’s Choice wallets?! They are made from old baseball gloves. Here is the super dumb thing. This was given to my husband already, by someone else, so it is no longer on the gift giving table for me. Boo. But I wanted to share them with you as Father’s Day is right around the corner. Fielder’s Choice makes great gift ideas for sports fans in your life.

This is not an intricate wallet with slots to hold 15 cards, etc. This is a simple pouch design with a flap closure. It’s pretty straight forward and simple and would totally appeal to the unfussy guy in your life. And the story is cool. These are hand cut and sewn and made in the USA. To my family, nothing is more American than baseball. And while I am not a fan of the sport itself (I like to call it, The Devil’s Game), I totally get the nostalgia, the history and the spirit of it.

Repurposing the old gloves not only makes use of vintage materials but also adds a new chapter to the story of where that glove has been. How cool to be using something that held many memories for someone else at one time. And Fielder’s Choice doesn’t only sell wallets. They sell really great hats, keychains and simple tees with their freaking awesome logo. I love supporting cool companies like this who are passionate about what they do AND put out a cool product. So go do some Father’s Day shopping and remember them come birthday and Christmas time.

Buy from Fielder’s Choice Goods here. And follow them on Facebook, twitter, and instagram (well, have your husband follow them on instagram – our girly eyes probably won’t love their pictures. There aren’t any peonies or other pretty flowers, but their aesthetic is really cool).

Filed Under: Family Life, Gift Guides, Lifestyle Tagged With: accessories, baseball, Cool Gifts, Gift Ideas, gifts for men

Great Gift for Men and Foodies : Mantry

June 3, 2014 by Sharon Garofalow 4 Comments

*I was sent a Mantry box to review. Well, I kind of let my husband review this one because he’s a man. But I am telling you my thoughts on the Mantry box as a gift idea. I am always on the look out for great gift ideas. I love to give gifts that are unique or super personal to the person I am buying for. My husband is super hard to shop for. So when I came across Mantry I was REALLY hoping it would be something I could get for my husband. And it totally was. Mantry is the “Modern Man’s Pantry” and is an artisinal, food-focused gift subscription aimed at men. And I think this idea is amazing. Each month is themed and the hand picked, American made items go together in some way. The box we received was Thai themed. This is totally something my husband would be in to. He likes spice, he likes snacks and it’s always cool to try new things. Sometimes it is hard to tell if a gift box subscription is going to be worth it. I think this one totally is. The amount and type of products received was great and I would happily gift this to our men friends.

I was going to hold this for his Father’s Day gift but decided that wasn’t really fair since he saw me shooting these photos. And was asking a lot of questions. I couldn’t really hide the part of the box that said “Mantry” so I guess his questioning was justified. I had to do some traveling a few weeks ago and while away my husband made sure to tell me how delicious this jerky was. I was hoping there was some left for me when I got home. There was not. We have not tried all the products yet but we are super excited to. There are some really unique things in there. Things we probably wouldn’t have picked out on a grocery store shelf but since they were sent to us, we are totally excited to try.

What I love about this idea is that it is a great way to feature small companies that people might now know about. And some of the product design was fantastic like this hot sauce right here. And the site also features recipes of how to use the products included. For example, they show you how to use the sauce above for Thai Chili Chicken Wings. And I think I might like to test out the Thai Basil Margarita this weekend.

Even better, each box contains a guide that tells you all about the products included and also a map showing where they came from. This is a really well thought out gift box and I think Mantry is a great gift for men and foodies.

*Thank you for supporting the companies and brands that allow me to do what I do. While some posts are paid and some are not, I strive to bring you the things that truly stand out to me that I think you will love too. If there is a product you think I would love, shoot me and email! cupcakesandcutlery at gmail dot com.

Filed Under: Family Life, Food, Gift Guides, Lifestyle, Things I Love Tagged With: food, Gift Ideas, Recipes, snacks

Draw Your Own Story Gift Book

May 8, 2014 by Sharon Garofalow Leave a Comment

A few months ago I was browsing a super cute local boutique, Oh Hello Friend in Fullerton, when I came across this adorable book! I was shopping for my mother-in-law’s birthday and thought this would be the perfect gift for my boys to give her. These books come with the story already and then you illustrate it. This draw your own story gift book is so cool.

Not only is the story really cute but they were great prompts for the boys to draw from. I had both boys work on the book which was great because you can see the different skill level from each boy. This book is great for kids who love to draw and have a good attention span. My five year old was pretty good, but my 8 year old was over it pretty quick. So keep that in mind if you are trying to decide if this is something your kids would be down for.

Grandma LOVED this gift. We all passed it around and looked at all the drawings. The draw your own story gift books come in a few different titles but I think this “Grandma is a Superhero” book would make a great mother’s day gift. If you are local, you can pick one up at Oh Hello Friend. Online find Grandma is a Superhero here.