Monday, December 9, 2013

An Unnecessary Holiday Wishlist

Holiday wishlists can go one of two ways, from what I've seen in the past three plus years of blogging: either they're entirely superficial, or they're incredibly illuminating.  There's nothing wrong with the first kind and I like fun gifts as much as the next lifestyle blogger, but, honestly, I usually skim over those guides because I don't really have the patience for fluff.  But I love wishlists that tell me about the blogger by creating a narrative for the readers about where she is in her life and what she's planning for or dreaming of.  She wants a bar cart because they're all over Pinterest and they make her home feel grown-up and styled?  I'm not really interested.  She wants a bar cart because she took a trip to Scotland and went on a tour of distilleries and now has an impressive whisky collection that's begging to be displayed?  Tell me more!

The wishlist that I'm publishing here today, therefore, is... not personally illustrative.  It's the kind of wishlist that I'd generally glance at and click out of.  So it's totally okay if you do the same but, actually, I'm pretty proud that there's nothing I desperately want or need right now.

A few weeks ago, the Lady Okie did a post titled 5 Things I Like About Being On A Budget.  I've been careful about my spending since the summer and I nodded along with every point she made.  (Of course I could be more focused when sticking to my budget and saving money, but I'm improving every month!)  Most noticeably, making an effort to be smart about spending has redefined "want" and "need" for me.  As Amanda says, budgeting helps you buy only the things you need, keeping impulse purchases to a minimum and encouraging you to value the things you do buy.

That means that almost everything I've bought recently has been intentional.  That silly little butter dish and vase that I bought yesterday from the sale section at Anthropologie?  Jon likes keeping his butter on the counter, which I'd forgotten about, and being prepared for when he moves over is important to me; the vase is a size I don't have, though it's exactly what most of the bouquets I buy demand.  My new Black Friday clothes?  Check Instagram later today to see another one of the pieces in action paired with an old favorite.

So when it came time to make a holiday wishlist, I couldn't really think of anything I wanted that I hadn't already budgeted for and bought or planned to buy down the road.  All I could think of were fun things that I'd like to have but that aren't immediately necessary!

an unnecessary holiday wishlist


1. Umbra Bathtub Caddy - there's a slot for your wine glass on one side of the book rest and a spot for your phone on the other.  Made in handsome solid bamboo so that the water can't splash up to disturb you, what could be more luxurious?

2. Jax and Bones Lounge Bed - the bed that Charlie has is fine, and it's got a fleece blanket on top of it for added warmth and a quilt around it to act as a bolster.  But if money grew on trees, I'd get him this handsome bed with raised sides and fur-hiding pattern!

3. Mauviel M'cook Stainless-Steel .9-qt. Sauce Pan - Jon and I didn't register for cookwear in large part because I needed a set of pots and pans as soon as I moved into my new apartment, so we bought ourselves a set back in April.  I chose the Sur La Table Hard-Anodized Nonstick 10-Piece Set and I absolutely love it, but the smallest sauce pan is 1.5 qt and that's just silly when you're hardboiling a couple of eggs or making couscous for one.  Eventually, I'll add a smaller pot like this one to our kitchen collection!

4. Designers Guild Cotton Scented Candle - I might have to turn in my blogging card for this, but I really don't like most scented candles.  There's nothing more cloying to me than the artificial smell of baked goods or flowers.  That being said, I do like having lit candles in my apartment and, over the years, I've been given a few that are cotton- or linen-scented.  I love them!  They make my apartment smell fresh and clean and soft.  They're all reaching the end of their lives, though, so if I see one in the post-Christmas sales I might snap it up.

5. Push Pin World Travel Map - I'd love to have an interactive world map on the wall by the time Jon moves over so that we can track our travels.  Jon's wanderlust has always been a guiding force for him, and I want to show him I'm enthusiastic about planning adventures across the globe, too.  I really like the idea of all those scratch-off maps I see around the web, but I'm too OCD to not be bothered by scratching outside the lines so pushpins are much safer for us.  Plus, we can have one color of pins or places we've already been and another for places we want to go!

6. Garmin Forerunner 210 - actually, this sort of is an immediate need.  I'm not going to get better at running if I can't track my pace and I'm horrible at listening to my body without technological cues to guide me.  The 210 can show me my total time, total distance, and current (rather than average) pace all on the one screen.  I love my pink Forerunner 10, but I'm ready to take my running to the next level.

7. Crown Vintage Tabitha Bootie - I don't have any booties and I'd like a pair.  They should have a low heel, hit at the ankle, and be relatively unembellished.  It's as simple as that!

8. Coach Flat Card Case - I find business cards from every job I've ever had in the most unexpected places.  They find their way into the corners of my bags, they camp out in the pockets of dresses and skirts I've worn to meetings, they wiggle between the pages of my notebooks, and they're scattered throughout my desk drawers.  A pretty card case isn't a necessity, but it would sure make me more organized!

9. MICHAEL Michael Kors 'Kempton' Nylon Tote -  my beloved Longchamp Le Pliage is starting to die - pens have poked holes in the bottom corners and seams have begun to fray - and, though I don't need a new tote yet, I have my eye on this basic beauty for when the time comes!

10. Crate and Barrel Sloane Leaning Wine Bar - Since I made fun of bar carts above, it's only fair that I admit to having my eye on one!  Actually, a bar shelf or cabinet is something that Jon and I are looking for, so this will probably be an entire post in and of itself at some point in the new year.  Until then, you should feel free to mock me for including this on my holiday wishlist.


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28 comments:

  1. You'll love that forerunner! I have the exact same one but in pink and it helps running tremendously.

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  2. This remind me that I really miss having a bathtub. I would love that bathtub caddy, especially on cold days like this. And I would love a new Garmin - mine has definitely been through the ringer.

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  3. I think we've talked before about our love hate relationships with gift guides. They make me so anxious... how is there so much STUFF in the world?!

    However, I'm glad that in the giant realm of STUFF, that bathtub caddy exists. I've had my eye on a cheaper Target version of that Umbra one for awhile... but now I don't think they carry it anymore.

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  4. I think an "unnecessary" holiday wish list has stories to tell, too - but unless I'm a regular reader of the blog in question, I usually click past them. Heck, I usually click past them anyway, but the title kind of drew me in. And I'm glad it did, because I totally want that bathtub caddy!

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  5. you're right - I'm being uncharitable. and nosy, too, probably! haha

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  6. "Target" and "cheaper" are two of my favorite words in the whole world.


    and yes, we have, and yes, ALL THE THINGS ARE OVERWHELMING. truth.

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  7. I love what you've done here as I feel exactly the same, but it's inspired you into a post which is awesome :).

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  8. I have the leaning wine bar from C&B. I love it!

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  9. Beau found a gigantic world map in the trash pile at his office. He immediately snatched it up and brought it home. When we move in together, it will go on the wall and keep track of where we've been! Pink pins for where I've been, yellow pins for where he's been, green pins for where we've been together, and purple(?) pins for where we want to go! We're pretty excited about it. :)

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  10. My sister and brother-in-law have a push-pin map (actually it's a giant map that they just stick pins in the wall… but they've owned and lived in their house for 15 years, which is something my brain can't wrap around anymore) and they have:
    one color for where she's been
    one color for where he's been
    one color for where the two of them have been
    & one color for where they've been with their kids.
    I think that's a fun idea. Paul and i have laminated maps (one of the entire US, one of Europe, one of Scotland, and one of England & Wales) and we just use markers on them, but for our US one we each have our own color and then we have a color together. The places we've both been but not together are kind of fun to see. He has been a couple more places in Europe than me, but he hasn't marked those on our Europe map.


    Also, YES to the candles. I get headaches from a lot of scented candles plus I'm quite picky about what smells I want blended with the other smells in our house… it's why I can't with Febreze- I'd rather no specific smell than dog+vanilla bean. But I am also really picky about what kind of candles are burnt in our house, since paraffin and soy both have health risks that affect pets as well or even more than humans, since they spend more time in the house (at least mine do). So I will only use natural beeswax now, and luckily, it's a natural odor-neutralizer. So I have a couple of limited-burn ones (you raise the candle so high for however long you want it to burn and it puts itself out… good because I forget about candles) that I light when things smell a little… smelly.


    Also I am now eagerly anticipating the "CHARLIE ATE THE BUTTER" tweet someday… ;)

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  11. oh, and the dogs have a color on the US one as well, because they've peed in a freakish number of states!

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  12. um, Matt bought me that bathtub caddy a couple of years ago and I LOVE IT. seriously the best. and completely necessary.

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  13. I'm totally with you on the candle thing!! In all honesty, fire kind of scares me.... oops. I love your explanations for each item. That wine bar is gorgeous!

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  14. Whoever invented that bathtub caddy thing is an effing genius! I would love, love, love to have that for bathtime. Of course, I also need a tub (damn you France!).
    And I'm pretty sure Fifty wouldn't be too put out if that bed found it's way under our tree :)

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  15. That bathtub caddy is amazing! Who doesn't love an unnecessary wishlist?! I agree with the slightly superficial wishlists, I see them far too often and they all blend into one.

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  16. OOH IT COMES IN PINK? I hadn't seen that! thank you :)

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  17. oh man I love bathtubs - you don't realize how much you miss them until you don't have one! my bathroom in London only had a shower :(

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  18. haha thank you! I decided to turn my hypocrisy into an essay :P

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  19. oh perfect! that will encourage me to catch up with Jon - he's much better traveled than I am!

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  20. OH THIS IS GOOD I CAN ASK YOU ABOUT IT! is it sturdy? it says it can be anchored to the wall...

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  21. oh MAN now it's going to happen because you said it. Charlie thanks you in advance for the butter excuse :P

    I like the laminated idea, but again... I will SKDJHFGFKJDS if Jon doesn't color in the lines, and we don't want that. haha!

    wait, tell me about how normal candles are bad for dogs? are they okay in small doses?

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  22. haha thank you! this was the WORDIEST post ever. sorry :/

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  23. that company - Jax and Bones - uses really pretty patterns! I'm just tired of all of these brown/taupe faux-suede/plush/whatever dog beds, you know? CHARLIE AND FIFTY DESERVE BETTER.

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  24. that being said, you sometimes doooooo see something silly and fluffy that you decide you must have!

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  25. Until you decide to pull the trigger on the garmin, I definitely recommend checking out the runkeeper, map my run or nike running apps - they tell you total time, average and current pace and runkeeper will even show you the route you've run on a map! It's definitely helped me be mindful of my pace and it's cool to look back at runs I've done while on vacation-or even just find new places around home when I get in a rut. Definitely not as convenient as a garmin but a good stop-gap if you don't mind running with your phone! I know they work for iPhone but am not sure about other phones...

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