I keep meaning to mention some of the extremely nice presents I was lucky enough to receive at Christmastime! These are of the newly-bought variety, but I'm planning to post some of the treasures of the old-things variety over at my vintage blog.
It's a funny assemblage, but here are gifts from the holidays that I'm either
a.) using daily (or almost daily)
or
b.) just really adore!

1.) Postcards from Penguin: One Hundred Book Covers in One Box
. I get a big kick out of just dumping these out and sorting through them! The mix of famous titles and obscure ones is really nice. And you just can't beat the pleasing elegance of those covers.
2.) Bob's Sweet Stripes I wouldn't feel the need to mention these, as I have taken Bob's soft peppermint goodness for granted my whole life, but we realized this year (to our horror) that this particular confection seems to be regional. We couldn't find them anywhere locally, and so I was delighted when my mom sent a box in the mail! (Of course, you can buy them from dozens of places online.)
3.) Pac Man Joystick While Galaga is my personal arcade poison, it's been really fun playing classic Pac Man with Josiah on this cute little thing you plug into the TV. And don't worry for me, it has Galaga too!
4.) Ivory Slip While beautiful vintage silk slips might be the prettiest, these lace-trimmed microfiber slips are really worth their weight in gold. Really & truly - and they're not that easy to find, since weird "bodyshaper"type items have taken the place of all the slip-shaped slips at the stores. I should probably buy 3 more, because a similar one I bought about 4 years ago has been in constant rotation ever since.
5.) Pots n' Pans! Pots n' Pans! When all is said and done, the presents that are getting the most use (and are the most life-changing) are those we use for cooking every day. I feel so fancy! (The one shown isn't my exact set, but a Sur Le Table set that seems pretty nice!)
6.) Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep
For the nerdiest of them all, an addition to my cryptozoology/sea monster library. I read this thing cover-to-cover over the course of two nights and that is no lie.
7.) Peugeot Pepper Mill! I am a big pepper fan and so is the fella, and so why we went so long without a pepper mill is a sad mystery. I found this Peugeot one under the tree (in lacquer white - so pretty in the kitchen!) and I'm smitten.
So what do you get for an Emily?
We have the (sometimes funny, sometimes hilariously practical) evidence above.
Happy Tuesday to you!