I first learned how to cook in our home economics class back in grade school. I remember going to the wet market with my mom to buy the meats and fish then watch her cook afterwards. I guess my mom appreciated me accompanying her in the market because more often than not, what we ate for the next meal was whatever I liked to eat. My mom is a great cook and I learned a lot from here. She would use sea salt to flavor her meals.
Even now, I prefer using sea salt instead of iodized salt. I can taste the difference. Iodized salt seems saltier with a hint of bitterness. I only use iodized salt when I make gravy or other condiments. Other than that, I use sea salt for all my cooking. I think it’s healthier also than ordinary table salt.
Many women love to bake. It’s a therapy for them, especially after a long week’s work in the office. Some mommies do bake for a hobby, while some homemakers bake cakes for career. For those who are professionally doing this, they get into real detail from what ingredients to use to make a delicious and beautiful cake, up to the cake topper that adds life and beauty to it. Cake toppers are available at cake decorating supplies stores and they come in various designs and theme.
Families love to collect cake toppers as their memorabilia. Most of the time, these are personally chosen to be atop a cake according to the celebrator’s taste, lifestyle and favorites. For children for all occasions, a cake topper is usually designed with a cartoon character. Debutantes normally have princesses for their cake topper. Daddies are treated with special decors on their cakes too! Usually, on special days like Father’s Day or their very own birthday, the household’s top man is gifted with cake topped with his favorite sports icon.
In our lifetime, these are just some of the things that are not pleasant to do but should be done anyway. I am referring to the act of expressing sympathy for something unfortunate that happened to a friend, a colleague or worse, a member of the family. Picking the right words is never easy. It can turn out overly expressive evoking the feeling of a theatrical sympathy. While the bereaved will welcome some words of sympathy, over expression can turn into something intolerable.
Sometimes a few words of compassion, a sincere hug or squeeze of the hand can be the most soothing thing for the aggrieved. Silence can be even more meaningful than a lot of hollow words. But something material to add to genuine compassion will be even more acceptable. Sympathy gift baskets are great gifts to give a grieving friend. They are a physical expression of what you are feeling at the moment.
Several years ago, I was into natural handmade soaps. I would make them in my backyard and use only vegetable oils and essential oils. I was just doing it on the side and it was more like a hobby than a business. One day, someone called me and asked if I could make soaps as wedding favors. It was much easier than I thought, all I needed to know was what her wedding color motif was. Since the bride had chosen a lavender theme, I presented samples of lavender colored soaps with lavender bags. I made 80 soaps for her 80 wedding guests.
When I got married several years later, I decided I could not make soaps for my own wedding as wedding favors because I would be too busy with the wedding preparations to do it. Besides, I had already given my friends soaps over and over again so I wanted something different this time. There were so many wedding favors to choose from so I decided to narrow it down to what I enjoyed the most. I decided to give chocolates as wedding favors. I had my chocolate truffles packed in special burgundy boxes. My guests loved the chocolates.
I usually stay up late at night to watch movies and surf the internet. I generally have no problem staying awake unless I’m very tired. Unlike most of my friends, caffeine does not keep me awake. I can drink coffee at night and fall asleep right after. I like staying up after dinner and enjoying good conversation with friends over a cup of coffee. My friends however do not like to drink coffee at night because they have trouble falling asleep after. Fortunately, there is gourmet decaf coffee, now they can join me in drinking coffee and not have to worry about the effects of caffeine.
There are now so many choices available for gourmet decaf coffee these days. A lot of coffee flavors are already available in decaf. For coffee aficionados, decaf may taste different. I notice a slight difference in taste but I have nothing against taking gourmet decaf coffee over regular gourmet coffee I now keep a stock of gourmet decaf coffee at home for when my friends come over for dinner. I am now looking forward to enjoyable dinners and after dinners.
When looking for take home gifts for your guests, choose something that is either pretty enough for them to put on display, something they can use or something that is consumable. Either way, make sure that you do not sink a big part of your budget on party favors. Inexpensive party favors can be appreciated just as much, if chosen with care. Go for the unique, something that you will not commonly find in the mall. Maybe it is worth your while to go to creative shops that will make one especially for you. But then again, make sure that it does not bust your budget.
Food is always a welcome take home gift. They can be packaged really prettily with coordinated tags and thank you cards. They will look nice stacked up on a table; and they are inexpensive. It will also solve the problem of guests who don’t really enjoy displaying a hodgepodge of knickknacks in their homes. Just make sure that your consumable party favor tastes really good and will keep for a couple of days.
Life is going to change big time for new parents. Thus, it is important for the couple’s friends and family members to choose functional baby shower gifts that mom and dad can really use for taking care of their coming baby.
Some good items that will be appreciated include:
~Personalized baby blanket, towel and bathrobe
~A set of baby booties, bibs, onesies and small face towels
~A set of baby hygiene products
~A gift basket filled with baby essentials plus something nice for the new mom
Weddings today are not as simple as they were a few years ago. A trend I have been noticing is the presence of the unity candle. When my brother and cousin got married, they both had unity candles in each of their weddings. I opted not to have one because I wanted a traditional wedding wherein, I did not have to get up and go light a candle; I wanted to sit comfortably in my wedding dress all throughout the wedding.
I understand however the concept and purpose behind the unity candle. The bride and the groom were supposed to jointly light the unity candle as a sign of their becoming one. The unity candle is often placed beside the altar. I am not so sure though when the bride and groom were supposed to light the candle. Some couples light them as soon as they reach the altar while others light them before saying their vows. It doesn’t really matter when they light the candle, as long as the gesture wholeheartedly.
In our office, holidays are a big deal. Christmas is the most exciting holiday of all. During this time, my colleagues and I all exchange gifts. This year however due to the recession, we have all decided to give personalized Christmas cards instead. I went online and started to look for sites where I can design my card. There were so many websites; it took me three days to find one which I liked.
I designed a Christmas card for each of my colleagues. I chose a humorous one for my friend, a serious one for my boss and other designs for the rest. The personalized Christmas cards were a hit. We laughed out loud at some of the cards and messages we received. We all decided that we would do it every year from now on.
With so many people loving coffee and so many different varieties of great coffee blends to choose from, wouldn’t it be great to give coffee as a gift? Bottles of wine have become a signature gift to the host. Why not give coffee gifts, instead? You don’t even have to pack it in a basket. Bags of coffee beans are packaged beautifully. The smell that comes with it is a preview of the aroma that you can expect when you prepare your first cup.
Gourmet coffee makes a great gift for almost anybody. It will make your dad happy on Father’s Day. It is great to give to business acquaintances as well. It is a perfect gift for the person who has everything. Choose a really good blend and pack a few bags. Isn’t it a good thing that one of life’s simplest pleasures is truly affordable and totally satisfying?