{affordable gift ideas}

Show me a person who doesn't like an affordable gift idea and I'll show you... well... someone rich. But, for the rest of us who want a little bargain in our holiday shopping here are a few wallet friendly gift ideas i found.

Etsy $12

ESTY $21

Westelm $10

West elm $30

Etsy $34

areaware $19

areaware $20

L’Occitane $15

ENJOY!

{Healthy Spinach Dip}

We had some of our wonderful friends over for dinner the other night; including the infamous Daniel Kioyi, Maddie Spidatter Jacks, our next door life partners- Anna and Kiah Jordan, and a late arrival from our favorite tall people- Grant and Ahnika Johnson. I made Chicken Curry. It was freakishly spicy because of my gross INability to regulate my curry powder usage.

Dang it.

BUT

I did make a delicious and healthy dip courtesy of Sunset mag. only my favorite.

• INGREDIENTS
• 10 ounce baby spinach leaves
• 1 1/4 cups fat-free cottage cheese
• 1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese or Trader Joe's Asiago/ Parm. mix (pre-shaved)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

PREPARATION

1. Put spinach in a large microwave-safe bowl and drape bowl with microwave-safe plastic wrap. Microwave until spinach is tender, stirring a couple of times, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain spinach and let stand until cool enough to handle. Squeeze out liquid, then finely chop.

2. Whirl cottage cheese, Parmesan, salt, and pepper in a food processor until very smooth, about 1 minute, scraping inside of bowl as needed. Scrape into a bowl and stir in spinach. Serve dip at room temperature or chilled, with baguette toasts or crackers.

Only 41 calories for 3 tablespoons

Here are more healthy dipping options for the holiday season

Miso Sesame and Sweet Potato

Black Bean Tomatillo Dip

Sweet Onion and Thyme Dip

Drift Wood Wreath

Want to Make a super stylish holiday wreath? All you need is $3 for a straw wreath from Micheal's, a hot glue gun, a bag of drift wood, and some decorative accents- and BOOM you got yourself a natural ring of holiday cheer. Where do you get a bag-o-drift wood, you ask? Try Summerland beach! It's chalk-full of these decorative little gems from mother nature. If you don't live by the beach... considering moving OR try using fallen sticks/twigs from a wooded area. Happy wreath-ing!

{Tis the season}

OK, so maybe tis NOT the season yet. I mean, I realize that the thanksgiving turkey has not even had its time to shine in all its gravy glory. However, I am being bombarded by Christmas cheer at every angle in the retail world, so it's hard not to think about sleigh bells and pine sented candles, am I right? Lately I've been pa-rousing the online Christmas retail world and here is what I'm liking right now. Christmas is getting natural this year... well, at least for me. I'm a big fan of more natural muted Christmas tones and accents.

All of the above can be found at Terrain- and it's just the coolest site. See for yourself.

These babies are PB classics.

{Summerland Perks}

So, we live in Summerland (whose name actually changed to foggyland during Summer 2010, but has since been renamed to Summerland again)and we hear a lot of complaints from our "cool downtown" friends about how Summerland is... well..."So far away" (not to name names- Ahnika Beth Johnson). And Ok, YES it can feel far away when you have to fight extra rush hour traffic through the bottleneck in order to get home, and NO they do not actually deliver the mail to your house- you have to walk for it, and YES our neighbors are polygamists (speculation, but pretty sure), and YES it may be a little bit haunted. BUT, on any given day we can WALK to an empty beach after a long day of work with a bottle of vino, a few veggies, and a tub of humus to unwind. For this reason... I think Summerland is well worth the far-away-ness.

{Hungry Cat}

Hungry cat is (hands-down) one of my favorite spots to have happy hour in Santa Barbara. And HELLO- they have happy hour on Saturday, major plus! With $5 artisan drinks, $1.50 oysters, and melt in your mouth fresh cut fries, this place is a perfect way to spent an early saturday evening with some cute/awesome friends.

If you're lucky, you may even have a celebrity sighting from the 1980's classic "back to the future" like we did. Score.

Yep, that's a grilled orange in there you guessed right.

G Can't hold in his excitement

{A new spin on shelving}

Chris and I have a SERIOUS storage problem at our house. Like... we don't have....ANY. We have one measly little closet that we share for our clothes. Which would be fine in a world where men have less clothes then women, but when your husband is a trendy fashionisto who loves shoes and finely woven garments it doesn't leave a girl much room for all her goods. I'm mostly kidding, we actually do share our small space pretty well. Needless to say, there is not much room for storage in the dull house. So, this weekend we went out looking for some organizational fixes. We set out to find:

1. A file box

2. A shelving unit for above the toilet

3. office shelving

After aimlessly wandering the aisles of target, looking at particle-board product after particle board product, we ended up leaving in huff while simultaneously professing our hatred for Big-box stores, corporate America, and the fact that nothing is well made anymore. Dramatic, I know.

We decided to head down to our neighborhood junk-store-that-sells-slightly-sometimes- majorly-overpriced- junk to look for some more unique organizational options. We found the answer to our storage woes lying in a heap of old apple crates, canada dry boxes, and planks of weathered wood. We spent less money, achieved a unique look, and supported a local quirky environmentalist and his funky little shop.

Here's what we came up with:

{Dream Job}

If you know Chris and I well, or if you've ever had a cup a coffee with us, you probably know that it's our big time dream to start a Eco-chic-supahipsta-deliciously awesome coffee shop right here is Santa Barbara. Think French Press... only with better design, friendlier staff members, and the ability to plug your computer in if it dies.... oh and we wouldn't kick you out if you bring in a cliff bar in to snack on.

Someday- when we win the lottery we're really going to make this happen. And we'll live happily ever after serving up delicious beverages and conversing with the interesting people of Santa Barbara. If this doesn't sound ideal to you, then check you pulse. Kidding. But do check out the pictures of Market Lane, a coffee shop in Australia. This is our exact inspiration! Perfect, Prefect, Perfect. Oh, and don't steal our idea, we called it first.

{I love Felt}

So, lately I've had this thing for felt. Don't worry we're not getting too serious, I'm just really crushing on felt. Sometimes you gotta confess your love for such a versatile and usable material. Ya with me? No? hmm makes sense that you would not feel that strongly for a mere textile... but let me try to convince you. Here are some awesome projects/ideas/uses for felt....

1. Felt bag

Want to make this bag? Martha can teach you.


2. Felt iPod case Buy this felt iPod case on Etsy OR make your own like me. Easy peezy lemon squeezy.


3. Felt computer Case Buy this on Esty here Yes please. Find this computer tote here.


4. Felt Baby booties People with babies take note. These are the cutest. Sidenote: made my own felt baby booties. soon to come.


5. Felt tree stump trivet
Another Martha original. Make it here.


6. Felt Packaging
This is a little premature. But, Christmas is coming sooner then you think. Make your presents cuter with felt.