The Nice List: Gifts for Keeping & Giving

The "I Want Bird" Edition

prelude:

I love stuff.

My dad used to call the four of us me* the I Want Bird when the term came out of my mouth >5 times in a subjectively too-short span of time. Fair. That seems annoying. I needed to learn to be grateful for what I already have. Blah blah, enter parenting trope here. Understandable. Ironically grateful for that. (I guess.)

I was 6 then. or maybe 10. and I’m not-so-shocked to report that the I Want Bird still lives within me. Wah. Its nest is cemented to my cerebrum. How has it not died or migrated to the Caribbean in these past 17 years? It’s actually hatched a colony in my person, I think. They chirp at everything nowadays ..though I do feed them often. Too often. Chirping crescendo has been known to include: sunsets (I Want [Bird] all of my family members to see this sight right here right now), flower shops & bed and breakfasts (I think I need to own my own? I Want [Bird] to own my own), Martha Stewart and Meredith Hayden (I Want [Bird] to give up my life and learn about parsnips and basting and wreath-making), everything on Reformation (I Want [Bird] to wear silk and cashmere 100% of the time. including the gym.), mini whisks (I Want [Bird] another set of little whisks because, what am I supposed to do when they’re all (4) dirty in the dishwasher; stir my coffee collagen in with a fork??) That freaking bird must be huge and have a megaphone. Am I the bird?

I will say, my full-time job includes expects* my stalking of new-in pieces that people will want to shop & buy. It’s irritatingly enticing (I Want Bird doesn't mind, my bank account minds) and has allowed for each and every virtual shopping cart to be perpetually full on any given day, the I Want Bird squawking at me to hit ‘purchase’ (though often I win and close the tab or Save For Later) each time I visit a site for work. Boo! (for me), Yay! (for our readers). The I Want Bird likes them and vice versa. I think they text.

So, whatever. I want a lot of stuff at any given moment. It’s a curse but kind of a blessing? I now know how to weed things down into categories like Buy Right Fucking Now, File That Away For If I Think Of It Again In [X] Amount Of Time, Not Special Enough To Get Not On Sale, Thought Was Good But At Second Thought Isn’t, and What Was I Thinking? No. They’re legit files and have their own entire storage cabinets in my brain. I Want Bird dusts them off & reorganizes every 2 hours. I let him.

What does this have to do with (literally) anything (at all)? Well, I consider my the I Want Bird’s* taste to be quite good these days. He’s been through a lot of wants, gets, and let-downs. It’s life. He’s learned to be harsh, critical, doubtful, while being fun and yolo-filled, yet loves a striped, nostalgic, and/or embroidered thing exactly always. What can I say? We all have faults. And quirks.

SO! The I Want Bird presents to you: X things on his my* Christmas list this year that needs to be bought twice - one for me, one for [enter friend or family member’s name here]. “Non-negotiable”, the bird peeps. So we listen.

Those things:

• A pretty, sparkle-detailed ceramic ornament evocative of some type of personality quality, memory, or inside joke, etc. (I’m hiding the one I’m gifting to Jake, but here are more options that stick out form the rest) one (because you and your BFF absolutely have a secret about a freaking elfonapear), two, three

• A Bonne Maman Advent calendar (yes, that means 24 jams)

• This cashmere beanie (in either color) that can be worn slouchy à la Disney Channel teen or cuffed à la apres chic.

• this stained glass garland for everyday parties

• any of these trinket boxes - but the Two Ducks specifically for me

• Barry M Gelly Hi Shine nail polish (thought you’ll have to pay for UK shipping + import fees… IT’S WORTH IT)

• an unnecessarily charming & expensive butter dish that is going onto my wedding registry

  

• Bird Buddy: I Want Bird’s top pick

• Florence and the Machine concert tickets

• Beauty Sleep Laundry Detergent

• this weatherproof vintage parka (tho you have to really choose between you or your friend.. unless you find another)

• an Airbnb gift card (nothing’s. better.)

• dilo’s elsewhere candle collection (philly local!) - great to separate into 4 gifts for 4 scent snobs <3

• legitimately anything in Negative’s Whipped collection.

• Wade Ceramics Extra Large Gluggle Jug Fish Pitcher. say that 5x fast

• a New Yorker puzzle. I’m lookin at this one

• medium sized cookie dough scoop + offset spatula

• this copper breadbox for the kitchen-obsessed

  

• Bodha’s smokeless incense collection (keep Ground, gift Calm, Refresh, Purify)

• the biggest bottle of Everyday Oil that you could afford

• a pair of fancy statement stud earrings that you can actually wear everyday - my pick / another

• a TRR pair of Gucci Horsebit Slingback Pumps (LOL at the thought of gifting these. one could dream)

• the sweater I’m wearing as I write this

• vintage wooden tic-tac-toe

• chocolate in the form of either 1. Miss Maude’s gourmet chocolate bar (restock + more flavors coming soon…!), 2. Lush’s Posh Chocolate body wash, or 3. dairy-free rose hot chocolate mix

• this restorative balm. I’ve heard astonishing things + it’s stunning.

• Loewe Tomato Leaves (SMALL ONLY. if you buy the large you’re crazy and I’m jealous)

• one of these frames holding a black & white photo of your choosing

• subscription to AD or NYT (games!)

• a ring: this one's my current fave, this one will never get old. both from such sweet small businesses!

• a body oil that feels + smells expensive but isn't : my #1 fave, #2 fave

• this holder that equates Prozac and magnesium to luxury

• a new pouch for anything + everything (customizable!)

• a Monty bag - I wore one in my engagement photos and it was perf.

• one of these mugs

  

• an unzipped glass zipper bag to hold your …jellybeans?

• a yoga mat spray if they often Vinyasa: this or this (I haven’t tried but they both have the most fab reviews. will report back when I do)

• A Jellycat. plsssss

• Walter Pine’s Picnic Pass (Philly locals only)

• some fun mocktail ingredients to play around with: Ginja Snap / Salted Honey ‘Shrub / Cheeky Lime Juice / bitters sampler set / sweet potato syrup

• the best hand sanitizer that there is

• a lotion dispenser to fancy-up your target brand favorite

• a new Apple Watch band - have Steel Blue, want Midnight

• $90 brushed cashmere socks because life is short.

• this adorable thing if it ever comes back

and that’s it! we (I Want Bird & I) want it all. because it’s great.

handmade gifts are up next to lower your dose of consumerism ~something the I Want Bird doesn’t acknowledge~ :-)

xxxx,

a