Wedding Season: Off-Registry Gifts

*I'm not a wedding blogger by any means (just a seasoned wedding guest), but with wedding season upon us I thought I'd share a few posts for brides and wedding guests alike. Today: off-registry gifts!*

Do you feel comfortable going off-registry when buying wedding gifts? I think for me it depends on how well I know the couple and their taste. I still cringe at the first off-registry wedding gift I ever bought (and maybe the first wedding gift I ever bought!). When my childhood best friend got married right after college, I wanted to get them something they could use for fun date nights. So I got them a brightly colored tiffin box, a Twister towel, and maybe a gift certificate for local take-out. I envisioned a fun, flirty picnic with a game of Twister (we were 22!). Looking back, I wish I had gotten them something a bit more timeless than a Twister towel--eek!

When looking for something a little more classy than my Twister towel gift, I like to think about something the couple would really use & enjoy, or something they wouldn't think to ask for from their wedding guests. So, here are a few ideas if you're in need of an off-registry wedding gift.





A Subscription Service. If your friends are really into wine, beer, or something edible, get them a subscription to receive something new every month. Wine of the month clubs are tried and true, but there are also craft beer clubs, and even ice cream subscription services like Milk Made in NYC.



A Fun Tool Kit. This would be especially great for new homeowners. Throw in a gift card to Lowe's or Home Depot.





Mason Jar Blender. If you've been to a wedding over the past few years, you've certainly seen mason jars in use--as decor, as drinking glasses, as vases...the list goes on. So, very likely, the newlyweds will have a lot of jars leftover. Help them put them to use with this awesome mason jar blender.



Pinhole Press Gift Certificate. I've mentioned Pinhole Press before (I gave them to my roommates before they both got married), and their gift cards are a great way to let your friends customize their own gift. They offer photo books, framed photos, and even wine bottle labels.

What about you? Do you cling to the registry, or do you prefer to get something a little more unexpected?

Top photo via, ice cream photo via Milk Made, beer photo by Suzi Marshall, tool photos via Alice Supply Co., mason jar photo by Our Labor of Love, wedding book photo via The Soho.

Then & Now

Did you see this home featured on Apartment Therapy? The author's aunt bought a home and found photos & a ledger of expenses from 1939! I love glimpses into the past like this, and it's so interesting to see what changes and what stays the same.







What a neat thing to find. Do you live in an older home? My building is around 100 years old and I'd love to know more about who lived here in all that time.

Photos by Sarah Dobbins

(A Day Trip) Weekend in Pictures

{celebrating a friend's new job with chili margaritas}

{headed to grand central}

{classic meeting spot}

{10 minute rainstorm}

{the old croton aqueduct trail}

{the hudson river from dobbs ferry, ny}

{salty paws sailboat}

With no plans and an entire summer Saturday ahead of us, my friend Nicolle and I hopped on the train and headed north. There's tons of little towns to visit within an easy train ride of NYC, but it's not always easy to get from the train station to the town. Last summer we walked a mile of sketchy roads in New Haven, CT before getting to anything worth seeing.

This time, we chose the Rivertowns (we started in Irvington) which are all an easy walk from the train. They're all connected by the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, which winds through lightly wooded areas and past big beautiful homes. We had a lovely day getting lost (like, actually lost), rained on for a bit, and imagining who might live in the houses. How was your weekend?

On Summer

"Summertime, oh summertime, pattern of life indelible, the fade proof lake, the woods unshatterable, the pasture with the sweet fern and the juniper forever and ever, summer without end; this was the background, and the life along the shore was the design..."

Do you, too, feel like summer is just beginning? Usually, for me, August is summer tinged with a hint of fall. But this year, summer feels like it's just starting (blaming it on wedding season). Instead of secretly gearing up for fall, I'm reminding myself that September is still warm, s'mores will still taste like childhood, I'll still have time to steal away to Fire Island for the day.

While convincing myself that there's much more summer left to enjoy, I ran across this E.B. White essay that's soaked in summer memories, beautifully written.



"I took along my son, who had never had any fresh water up his nose and who had seen lily pads only from train windows. On the journey over to the lake I began to wonder what it would be like. I wondered how time would have marred this unique, this holy spot--the coves and streams, the hills that the sun set behind, the camps and the paths behind the camps. I was sure that the tarred road would have found it out and I wondered in what other ways it would be desolated. It is strange how much you can remember about places like that once you allow your mind to return into the grooves which lead back. You remember one thing, and that suddenly reminds you of another thing. I guess I remembered clearest of all the early mornings, when the lake was cool and motionless, remembered how the bedroom smelled of the lumber it was made of and of the wet woods whose scent entered through the screen. The partitions in the camp were thin and did not extend clear to the top of the rooms, and as I was always the first up I would dress softly so as not to wake the others, and sneak out into the sweet outdoors and start out in the canoe, keeping close along the shore in the long shadows of the pines. I remembered being very careful never to rub my paddle against the gunwale for fear of disturbing the stillness of the cathedral."

If you have a moment, read the whole essay here.

Top photo by Sarah Montour, second photo by William Abranowicz via Martha Stewart.

Noteworthy

Well this is genius. Nicely Noted is a stationary subscription that sends you three beautiful cards (along with three stamps) every month. Like these:



Such a terrific idea! I have a small addiction to thank you notes, so this could be dangerous for me...

Via Camille Styles. Photos by Kate Lesueur.

Lennon and Maisy

Here's a pretty song for your Friday afternoon, by sisters Lennon and Maisy. Oh, and did I mention Lennon is 12 and Maisy is 8? Crazy talented. I think their cover is better than the original :)

Happy Friday!

Pretty Flowers

While looking for a florist in Atlanta recently, I stumbled across Amy Osaba's beautiful work. It was quite a happy accident, since browsing through her photo galleries was much prettier than scrolling through Yelp. I love all the color and texture in her arrangements, and especially love the installations she does in unexpected places.











So pretty! Atlanta readers, file her away for future use :)