Gilmore Girls Fans Gift Ideas

 I've loved the show Gilmore Girls for a long time. It used to air on the WB Network and then ended in 2007. It returned on Netflix in 2016, which thrilled me. You can watch all the episodes there if you're curious. It's about Lorelai Gilmore, who had a baby named Rory at 16. They live in a small town called Stars Hollow which is filled with eccentric people (Kirk! Miss Patty! Taylor!) 

The show has become extra popular thanks to Tik Tok videos. I'm happy that my own daughter enjoys the show. If you or someone in your life is a Gilmore Girls fan, I have gift ideas!

Loungefly makes Gilmore Girls bags! I found mine at the WB Studio Tours Store. It looks like most of them are sold out, but keep checking for restocks. I love my bag!

You can get the Gilmore Girls snow globe at the WB Studio Tours Store here. The shirt I found at the gottwofaces Etsy Store and the tote bag is from Amazon:

The Snow Globe is awesome. Here's how it looks in action. (Again, you can get it at the WB Studio Tours Store.)

Rory wears this shirt in an episode. I actually found a store that made these years ago and I can't remember where it was. However, people on Etsy make it, or you can find a similar version on Amazon:

If you want to make recipes from the food mentioned on the show, you'll find a bunch of them here. (Remember the Santa Burger that Luke made Lorelai? Or The Rory drink?) Amazon has this book! (If you want to learn more about the book, I wrote about it here.)

This Stars Hollow light up sign is cool. In the show there's a sign just like this in the town. You can get this from Amazon for under $12!

Finally, if you're a fan of Lauren Graham who plays Lorelai Gilmore, pick up her book. She's written several, but this is her latest. It's full of fabulous essays about her life. You can pick it up here! (I did a review on it in my blog as well.)

Happy Shopping!

Hey, It's Okay

I got this idea from Glamour magazine. You can link up any day of the week. All you have to do is make a list of what you're okay about. Simple! Please do not link up a post that has nothing to do with Hey, It's Okay. It's rude and I'll delete the link.

HEY, IT'S OKAY....

....to have had a lovely Thanksgiving. We went to my mom and dad's and ate a ton of delicious food. 

....to have gone to see the movie Spirited TWICE in theaters. Once with my kids and then we had to show my Mom because we knew she'd love it. And she did! Go watch it if you haven't already. It's on Apple TV+ as well but we don't have it. 

......to have shopped Black Friday sales online. I don't have the patience for a lot of people. 

.....to know Natalie will do fabulous in Hairspray this weekend. She plays Shelley and had to learn a bunch of dances. I am going with Tommy on Friday!

.....to have put up the Christmas tree over the weekend. So far Plops is behaving. I was worried he'd climb into the tree or attack ornaments. 

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Amusing & Unique Gift Ideas For Difficult People

There are just some people out there who are difficult to shop for. You never know what to get them. Either they have it all or they are extremely picky. You're in luck thought: I have some amusing and unique ideas that should impress them. (And if not, well, get them a gift card next year.) Here are some of my picks that actually HAVE been given as gifts before and were hits:

 

I have gifts for dog lovers! Have someone in your life who adores their dog?  You can take their pet photos into art and turn it into a magnificent print. And have no fear, you can get one of cats too! We had this made of Plops from Mr & MrsPaw and it was incredibly easy. I just uploaded a photo, picked the art I liked, and I was finished.  Plops is Boba Fett! Yes, there are other Star Wars prints as well. You can get a pet portrait here:

Know a Beetlejuice fan? This bag is perfect. Not only is it made well, but it looks cool too. This belongs to my teen daughter and she loves it. You can buy it from Amazon here:

Do you know someone who has a deployed family member this year? If you go to Armed Forces Gear you'll find all sorts of items that help support our troops. We have this shirt and hat from them and always think of my husband, who is currently deployed. Everything is made well! We own many things from Armed Forces Gear:

Stranger Things is a popular show on Netflix so I am sure you know someone who is a fan. Hot Topic has all sorts of neat Stranger Things merch. My daughter was a fan of Eddie (like half the country) and had to have this. It looks cool and yes, it's made well. Head over to Hot Topic and type in Stranger Things. All sorts of items will pop up:

If you know a jewelry fan, they would probably enjoy an item from Storyjewellery.com. They have so many gorgeous pieces from rings to necklaces. This Evil Eye ring is great to have in these crazy times. Check out all the beautiful items here and use code AMBER to save 15%! 

I hope you were able to find something that will work for the picky person in your life. If not, there's always gift cards. 

Have I Told You This Already? by Lauren Graham Review

Reading is the absolute best and brings me so much joy. When I hear self-care most of the time I think about reading. (Or, you know, shopping..) I own many books to the point where I have to cut back a bit because I am running out of space. So now I only purchase books that I know I'll love. 

Enter Lauren Graham's new book full of stories called Have I Told You This Already? 

I knew I had to buy this because I have enjoyed all of her other books. (Talking As Fast As I Can is a must for Gilmore Girls fans!) Lauren seems like someone I could be friends with. She's witty, she's kind, and she's charming. You can also tell she's down to earth and not like one of those "I'm a celebrity, worship me" types. 

Plus she has chapters like this:

How can you not love a book with chapters like that? 

In the book she writes about working at Barney's, directing an episode of the show she's in called Mighty Ducks: Game Changers (airing on Disney+!), life in her early years living in NYC...plus other adventures. 

Lauren never fails to make me laugh. If you're searching for a book that will make you smile and perhaps even shed a tear, pick this up! It would make a perfect gift for the upcoming holidays if you know a Lauren Graham fan. (There are many of us out there. Naturally I adore her as Lorelai Gilmore in Gilmore Girls but she also amused me as Sarah Braverman in Parenthood.) 

You can get this book on Amazon here and most other bookstores. 

Was Disenchanted On Disney+ Any Good?

We absolutely LOVE the movie Enchanted. It came out in 2007 and it about Giselle, who is from the fairy tale land of Andalasia and gets shoved into a well by an evil witch and ends up in...New York City. Obviously NYC is an entirely different world to a Disney princess and chaos ensues. It's a sweet movie and is on Disney+ if you've never seen it. 

The sequel to Enchanted called Disenchanted premiered on Disney+ and we were excited to watch. This time Giselle and her family moves from NYC to a new neighborhood and again, chaos ensues. Giselle starts to turn..evil? 

There are some incredible actors in the movie: Amy Adams, Idina Menzel, James Marsden, and Patrick Dempsey to name a few. 

The movie had a fun plot and more musical numbers.  Natalie was completely obsessed with the costumes and is hoping someone on Etsy makes replicas. The dress she's wearing in the photos are from a person on Etsy who makes Disney dresses. It's a replica of the one Giselle wears in Enchanted. 

Oh and in Disenchanted there's some 2D animation going on like in Enchanted:

There's singing appliances. Why doesn't my toaster dance?

There was also a cranky cat who reminded me of my cranky cat Ruby:

In Enchanted Idina Menzel did not sing. But in Disenchanted she does several times. Amy Adams also has a glorious voice and we all loved that there were more song and dance numbers. We did like Disenchanted--the sets were beautiful, but none of the songs are as catchy as That's How You Know from Enchanted. However, I would say this is a wonderful family friendly movie. If you like musicals, you should like this movie. It has a sweet message as well. 

Have you seen Enchanted or Disenchanted yet? 

Awesome Things At SeaWorld's Christmas Celebration

The Christmas Celebration at SeaWorld is always something we look forward to. We know there will be tons of lights and beautiful areas to walk through. Here are some of our favorite things about the Christmas Celebration:

The giant Coke bears are always exciting to see. They're sprinkled around the front part of the park.

If you like hot cocoa, you're in luck. There is hot cocoa stands all over in various flavors. Natalie picked the peppermint. It actually was chilly when we went. In the past it's been in the 70s but this night it was in the 50s. 

Characters are walking around. We loved these toy soldiers. 

You can also see different scenes from beloved classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer!

Naturally you can visit Rudolph and Friends as well! There's even a dinner where you can dine with him and his buddies. We did this years ago and it was a great time.

Love s'mores? You can make some! They have fires going and everything.

The decor is fabulous! We were amused by Santa's expression. What shocked him? The price of eggs? 

We always say hi to this Elvis snowman. There are different ones but he is our favorite:

Oh, and there's snow! We lucked out and it started snowing when we were in the Snowman Jam area:

There's a tunnel of lights complete with music and it was magical:

The elves were fabulous. They were excited to see Natalie dressed like them. You can see elves at Dinner With Santa which we also did a couple of years ago. 

There are so many different photo opps! This candy village area was beautiful:

There are always tons of memories made whenever we go:

You have until January 2nd to check out the Christmas Celebration. It's going on in San Antonio San Diego, and Orlando. Have you ever been?

Hey It's Okay

I got this idea from Glamour magazine. You can link up any day of the week. All you have to do is make a list of what you're okay about. Simple! Please do not link up a post that has nothing to do with Hey, It's Okay. It's rude and I'll delete the link.

HEY, IT'S OKAY....

......to not be a fan of the cold snap that came through. Evenings have been dropping to the high 30s and 40s and some highs are in the 50s. This is considered warm in some parts of the country. When I lived in Wyoming, the 50s was glorious. But when your body is used to the 70s and 80s and it suddenly drops, it's a bit of a shock. 

.....to be looking forward to Fall Break next week. Natalie is off all week. Tommy has college classes Monday and Tuesday and then he's off the rest of the week. 

.....to be going to see the new Will Ferrel/Ryan Reynolds holiday movie Spirited. It's a twist on A Christmas Carol and looks hilarious. It also streams on Apple TV but we don't have that. Luckily it's showing in select theaters as well. 

.....to have gone to SeaWorld to check out all the holiday lights for their Christmas Celebration. They were beautiful and there was snow! I mean, yes, obviously fake, but still exciting since we don't get much snow in San Antonio. 

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Checking Out New Holiday Treats

The holidays are approaching and with that it means treats! I have managed to find some tasty things to try. 

For example, I always am excited to taste the new Oreo flavors. For the holidays Nabisco has released a Snickerdoodle cookie and they are delicious and festive with the sugar crystals. I found mine at Target but you can get them in most grocery stores. 

Okay, the name of these cookies cracked me up. We all know what character they mean. But they can't say it because it's the Walmart brand. But we all know. I haven't tried these yet but I will soon! I mainly picked this up because of the name.

I adore Christmas Tree Cakes so it was a no brainer that I wanted to try the ice cream. And yes, it's fantastic. If you like Christmas Tree Cakes, you'll be a fan of this. It's at Walmart! 

These technically aren't holiday cookies, but the flavor intrigued me. Plus they are Cinnabun, which I know is an incredible company. They had a great flavor and I'd purchase these again. These were at Walmart and they had other varieties too.

These are holiday cookies if you need easy ones to prepare. If you like peppermint, you'll enjoy these! Also at Walmart. 

Finally, and again these aren't quite holiday treats, I was thrilled when I spotted the package at Walmart. I'm all about Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and add Reese's Puffs? Yes please. If you love peanut butter and chocolate, this is for you. You'll get an added crunch. This would be a perfect stocking stuffer for Reese's fans!

So have you tasted any of these yet? 

Elton John Merch Purchased From The Yellow Brick Road Concert

It's always fun to look at the merchandise sold at concerts. Do I wish they were cheaper? Yes. 

The Elton John Yellow Brick Road concert had a ton of fabulous things. The line was pretty long, but we got to the venue early so we had time to wait.

Now, before we got to the concert we got some VIP items. When my Mom had purchased the tickets, she opted to get a VIP Crocodile Rock package and it came with the following:

A neat bag. My daughter has already brought hers to school when she's not in the mood to use a backpack. It's made well! 

We also got a box full of items. It came with a luggage tag & passport holder, a VIP lanyard and card, and a keychain:

Underneath those cool things was a notebook, a pencil, and a pen:

I picked out this t-shirt at the store:

This the back. Were you at any of these concerts?

Natalie fell in love with this Elton jacket. I let her get it but I'm putting it away until Christmas. I did let her wear it for the show:

There were other awesome pieces but my order was already pretty pricey due to the jacket and shirt, so I had to pass. 

Do you usually buy merch at concerts?