Birthday Gift Idea

If someone close to you has an important birthday coming up, you know what you should do? This.

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My friend Marla started sending me notes in the mail a month before my actual birthday (30 notes for my 30th birthday). What kind of notes, you ask? SWEET-ASS THINGS THAT SHE THINKS ABOUT ME! Compliment notes, if you will.

Is this the nicest thing in the world to receive? Why yes, yes it was. And some of them included gift-gifts too (like Urban Outfitters clothes & face masks!). Am I bragging? Fuck yeah! 'Cause this is one of the nicest things that anyone has ever done for me and I'm almost mad that I hadn't thought of it myself to do for someone else! You know what a fan I am of correspondence. 

Anyway, definitely keep this in mind as a gift idea for a special birthday. Marla, you're the kindest person in the world and I'm lucky as FUCK to know you.

LiquiGlide

“LiquiGlide is the first and only company to create permanently wet slippery surfaces. There is no other durable solution that makes viscous liquids slide easily.”

Ummm, THIS IS AMAZING. If you're like me and have a billion questions, it's best for you to just go on over here for some answers. 

Do you understand how cool an idea this is? You'll never waste a drop of anything again IN YOUR LIFE. Is it just me or is that ketchup video fucking mesmerizing to watch? It's so silky, damnit. You can watch other things slide out of glasses and tubes over here, ya know, if you're into it.

THE FUTURE!

Cord Idea

If this isn’t a beautiful idea, then I don’t know what is.

This Urn Will Turn You Into A Tree After You Die

"The Bios Urn is 100% biodegradable, made of coconut shell, compacted peat, and cellulose. It has two parts — a top capsule for the seed, and a bottom part for the ashes. This structure allows the seed to germinate separated from the ashes and their high acidity. Once the urn starts to biodegrade, the seed roots are already strong enough to contact them and the entire set becomes part of the sub-soil.

The urn is manufactured both for people and for pets; it can be used with ash saved from another urn, and it doesn’t expire. So far, the studio has distributed the urn to more than 7,000 people worldwide. When ordering, the customers can pick the type of seed they would like — oak, maple, pine, gingko, beech, ash, or choose to get an urn without a seed in order to use their own. Either way, the cost is $145 plus shipping."

Whoa.

“Bios Urn changes the way people see death, converting the ‘end of life’ into a transformation and a return to life through nature. [It is] a smart, sustainable, and ecologically friendly way to approach what’s, probably, one of the most important moments in human life.”

My favourite part? You can choose what kind of tree! Imagine seeing forests instead of graveyards? Isn't that a crazy better idea? Also, is it just me or is it way more comforting (and the opposite of sad) to visit someone in the woods than in a cemetery? THIS IS THE BEST IDEA EVER.

Holiday Decorations Box

Other than teachers, I never knew who bought holiday decorations. Little did I know that it would be ADULT ME!

I'm currently in the process of obtaining the contents for my first year-round holiday box, since this is technically the first year I've lived without roommates (I don't consider Nathan a roommate since I love him) and once you no longer have roommates - you can decorate the hell out of your home with no concern for others.

Just incase this somehow isn't clear, a holiday box is a box full of holiday decorations for all the holidays of the year. AND WE ALL SHOULD HAVE ONE IN OUR HOMES! I don't think we need to go nuts with excessive decorations, but there are such simple things you can do to make your home look more festive and warm. And the Dollaramas these days have stuff that don't necessarily look like they came from Dollarama!

The decorations don't always have to be lame signs (like the one I have above). Subtly allude to the oncoming holiday with colours or accoutrements! Look at this Easter piece I just got for $2 that I intend to put in a vase in mid-March. 

You're telling me that's not gorgeous? Get out of here.

Get on this, everyone!

Spare Guest Slippers

If I ever get to meet Martha Stewart, the first thing that I'm going to ask her is if she really has a basket full of clean, unused slippers for guests to use upon arrival into her probably-beautifully warm home BECAUSE THIS IS THE KINDEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD OF.

Sidenote: I'm always annoyed when I see people wearing outdoor shoes in their own home. I used to think it was just a thing that actors did on television shows, but apparently it's RAMPANT behaviour if you live in the States. Why the hell would anyone be comfortable doing this? You're in a home that you own (or rent) and you want to walk around like you're an unwelcome stranger? How does that make any sense? Relax! Take your damn shoes off! Bask in home comfort! 

Anyway, this is the nicest idea in the world. I have a pair of (dollar store) slippers in my closet that I just bought for the next person who stays at our house, but I literally DREAM of the day when I can buy numerous pairs (in varying sizes!) of some kind of money-brand like Bed, Bath & Beyond slippers or something and display them in a beautiful basket by the front door. And chances are - you make a lot more money than me, so you should probably get on this NOW. So f-ing nice. 

(Are Bed, Bath & Beyond slippers even high quality? Probably not. How the hell would I know that, though? I'm not in the income bracket that allows you to know where to purchase lofty slips! I will be one day, though. And that's gonna be sweet as hell.)

Idea of the Day

Maybe I have too much scarf advice, maybe not - but this idea's a great one. Put shower rings on a hanger to hold all of your scarves!

(Maybe that didn't need an exclamation mark, maybe it did, it's hard to say.)

Tip of the Day - Getting Rid of Grease

"Put aluminum foil in a bowl, pour the grease/fat/excess-grossness in. When it hardens, roll up the foil and throw it out."

I'm fairly certain that the internet exists solely for passing along GENIUS SECRETS LIKE THIS ONE. Am I overreacting? Think of all the clean bowls you'll save.

Coin Purse Photos

If you're a sentimental and/or loving human being, you likely have photos of your loved ones in your wallet. Wait, maybe you don't. I just realized that maybe people only keep photos of their loved ones on their phones these days - and if that is the case, I guess that's fine, too. But if you are amongst the few who prefer a hard copy to carry around, you know that there's a limited amount of space for those coveted plastic cover spots. 

Tip of the day? Use your coin slots for extra photo storage like I do!

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Nieces being pretty.

Also, since you don't see the photo all the time, it's an added little treat to see every time you need change.

Holiday Nails

My rule about nail art? It can be great, as long as it's not aggressive. And by that I mean that only one nail on each hand should have said art. Otherwise it's way too distracting. So this week, I decided to give this pin (below) a try.

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Pinterest nails

And here's how mine turned out.

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My nails

Pretty good, yeah? One tip: if you do give this a try, put that white coat on and then let it dry for at least eight hours before you add the overtop coat with tape. 

It's pretty shocking how easy this was to do considering how many bad pins there are to try on Pinterest.