Sigh...

Thanks to ikhaya I have found notonthehighstreet.com and having family in the UK and with the necessity of sending Christmas presents, this site is a treasure trove. I'm so excited about the hours of online shopping I am going to do. Just looking at their home page makes me sigh and go weak at the knees with excitement. Everything I see is a sample book of the kind of things I am in love with right now. My other favourite place to shop for presents for my family in the UK is Etsy.com

There was a time in my life when Christmas was a difficult time of year but some time ago I met someone who enjoyed the Christmas season with such vivacity that my attitude was changed. Now again, I experience joy in the time spent with family, the giving of gifts and the spirit of rejoicing that is synonymous with Christmas.

Guess what it is...

This does...

...this!

This strange looking little item is my eco stapler from the Natural History Museum in London (also seen them at the Science Museum). It's eco friendly because it uses no staples but just cuts, folds and tucks in a tiny section of the sheets of paper. Goodbye dangerous bits of metal in the carpet.

Sadly, it can only staple a maximum of three pages but it's unbelievably useful for receipts, printed reservations, emails (on the rare occasions that I print any) and stuff like that. Another nifty plus is that when the pages go into the recycling bin (or the shredder - avoid identity theft!) there's no need to remove the pesky staple. 

Woolworths being awesome

My thanks to Ask Ashe for showing what Woolies is doing for schools and the environment. Go to http://askashe.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/woolies-encourages-green-fingers/ or link directly to the Woolworths site at: http://www.woolworthslivingwall.co.za/

Just select an empty bottle, choose a seedling (pick a Basil, Spinach, Strawberry or Tomato plant), give them your name and email address to register and they will donate a real plant to a South African school with a permaculture food garden. You can see your virtual plant on the wall with your name on the bottle. And you can plant as many seedlings as you like! Woolworths is definitely leading the pack in developing an environmentally friendly company policy.

Good design

These Simply Lavender products were given to me by a friend and just LOOK at the barcode of the bottle on the left. I totally adore that kind of quirkiness in design - so subtle and so imaginative - perfect. They are made by a Durban-based company called the Good Stuff Co and they can be bought at Pick n Pay stores. You can tweet them at: www.twitter.com/goodstuffco or go to www.goodstuffandco.com

Yay, hooray!

Hooray hooray hooray! I've received my ring made by Karin Rae! 

I saw a ring like this on http://askashe.wordpress.com and fell in love. I looked on Dear Rae's site (http://www.dearrae.co.za) and couldn't find the same ring so I wrote and begged. I've waited three weeks because a new ring had to be made specially for me but it is every bit worth the wait. It was so beautifully packaged and fitted perfectly.

Every year since I turned 30 I've been buying a birthday present for myself (justifying an expense that would be unjustified any other way). This year the ring above was my present to myself and I couldn't have chosen anything better. 

I've always thought that birthdays are such a personal time so I always spend more time deciding on a birthday present for friends and family than I do on a Christmas present. And what better way to add joy to your birthday than to also include a present from yourself! After all, we often hear that we should "be your own best friend" and this is one of the truest little clichés because if we don't take care of ourselves, how will be in a position to take care of others.