Gift giving on a budget: The cat’s meow

My cat Fernando is still missing, but the good news is that he was spotted last night roaming our condo complex. I have also discovered that my neighbours are wonderful people as we're getting late night phone calls about Fernando's whereabouts and some are even joining the midnight man-hunt for my adventurous cat. At this point, my Eye Candy and I agree that Fernando is aware of where his litter box is, knows where we live and is simply chosing to continue his adventure in the great outdoors. My sister phoned in last night for an update and suggested we rename him Indiana Jones when he finally returns. I just hope it's soon!

Since I'm already coming across as a crazy cat lady, I figured it would be a good time for this post. My sister recently adopted the most adorable cat Phoebe and it is a win-win situation for them both. She has just moved to a new city and wanted the company of a furry friend (this is also how I ended up with my cat Fernando). And Miss Phoebe is an older cat who was seeking her way out of a home where she was living with aggressive dogs.

Fernando's new cousin, the magestic Phoebe.

Having been tossed from one house to another over the past several years, I am confident that Phoebe has finally shed her rescue cat status and will have a wonderful home with my sister.

To celebrate their new union, I put together a little care package for Miss Phoebe when we visited a few weeks ago. For a $8 shopping spree at my local IGA, I picked up a food storage container, Purina cat treats, Pledge hair swiffer and few toys.

A crazy cat-inspired shopping spree.

Expensive? No.

Crazy-cat lady inspired? Yes.

*Rosie*

Gift giving on a budget: Home sweet home

Wherever you go, summer tends to be the season of BBQs at friends houses. In Quebec, it’s also the season of housewarming parties as July 1^st is our provincial moving day. This is a phenomenon unique to this special region when everyone across the province who is seeking to move, packs up & heads out on the same day… which is timed perfectly with the national celebration of Canada Day. While every other province celebrates with parades of red and white maple leafs, Quebec’ers have no time as they are rushing between addresses. You are more likely to see a mattress being carried down a street than any floats.

This summer I attended 4 housewarming parties and while they are usually BYOW events, I cannot show up without a hostess present. In fact, from doing all these entries about “gift giving on a budget” I am now convinced that I’m a southern belle living in Montreal. Lemonade anyone?

Throughout my usual grocery and household shopping trips, I tend to stockpile on household items that I can use in gift baskets intended for new renters or home-owners. I do this by taking advantage of buy-one-get-one promotions or coupons on items that I tend to purchase for myself. My favourite items are Glad plug-ins, picture hooks, giant rolls of paper towels, and Scrubbing Bubbles cleaners.

In each basket, I always put in one fun item that suits the recipient’s personality: napkins printed with $100 bills on them, dishwashing gloves branded Domestic Goddess, a pot scrubber shaped like a long-stem flower, or a Style at Home magazine. These are frivolous purchases that I make with my weekly Fun Money. The actual baskets are always the cheapest, but most stylish part of the gift and these are sourced from Dollarama. I’m always impressed with the store’s amazing selection of photo boxes, garbage cans or weaved baskets… and all for just $1. The overall cost of each basket fluctuates, but $15 is a reasonable estimate.

Any other suggestions for hostess gifts? I’m always planning and fortunately, socializing too!

*Rosie*

Gift Giving on a Budget: The Mom edition

Come on Barbie, let’s go party! Yesterday was my Mum’s birthday, but we actually celebrated last weekend when the entire family was together in Oakville.

My Eye Candy & I took care of the BBQ’ing so she could just enjoy the evening with everyone. We put together our favourite summertime meal: ribs on the BBQ, chopped Moroccan salad, crispy sweet potato fries and finished it off with apple crumble from The Big Apple plus my new favourite recipe for 53 calorie brownies that are Rocco made & even Dr. Oz approved.

When it comes to the present that I gave her (other than just my presence), a girl has to have a budget for gift-giving and there are no exceptions to the rule… even when it comes to your mother! There is nothing in this world that my Mum doesn’t deserve so my plan to give a $70 came with extra pressure as it had to be thoughtful and priced just right.

On my last trip home, my Mum mentioned that the only drawback to my new love for the Montreal library is that I don’t pass along books for her to read. This made the choice of a gift simple as I logged onto chapters.indigo.ca and found 2 books that have her name written on them.

The first is Every Boy’s Got One by Meg Cabot as this light-hearted chick lit had me laughing aloud. The story is written in a series of journal entries and e-mail correspondence between a mother and daughter as the daughter is gallivanting across Italy for her friend’s wedding and searching for her own love. The content in the e-mails reminds me of the ones that my Mum would send during my own European travels (“got to go my Love, your handyman father is currently stuck in a tree”) and I’m sure she’ll have a good giggle from this book too.

The second novel is I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson. I’ve not read it, but I’ve seen great reviews for it and the plot is appealing. One of my favourite stories that my Mum would tell my sister and I growing up is about her trip as a 13-year old to L.A. with her family. She told us how she spent the entire vacation convinced she was going to meet Davey Jones from The Monkees. I Think I Love You is about a different Dave – as it’s about a woman’s fanatic teenage love for David Cassidy of the Partridge Family and her quest to meet him. I’m hoping this book brings back fond memories for my Mum (and not necessarily the urge to write fan mail to Davey Jones).

To purchase the books, I used my iRewards card with Chapters for the last time (it’s about to expire & I have no plans to renew, and Chapter’s is now offering a new Plum reward system that’s free to join) and a coupon code for $5 off. My order came to $26.79 with only a $1.28 tax so I still qualified for the free shipping.

But that’s not all. I also arranged for flowers to be delivered to my Mum on her birthday so she could wake up to the morning newspaper and a vase of flowers on her porch. I wanted to buy the flowers through Acorn Flower Shoppe in Oakville as I like to support local small businesses and they’ve always done beautiful arrangements. I was a bit put-off by the prices, but with some expert Google’ing I found a great deal for the flowers through the website of the mall where the flower shop is located. For $42 including taxes, delivery and the flowers, my Mum will receive a birthday bouquet of sweet splendor.

The total spent for my Mum’s birthday present is $69 which sneaked in at just a dollar less than my budget. I’ll be putting that loonie towards her Christmas gift!

How much do you spend on birthday gifts for family and friends? How do you set a budget for the present?

*Rosie*

Gift Giving on a Budget: Toenails are for sissies



A runner has to keep whatever toe nails
she has left as pretty as possible.

One of my favourite friends celebrates her birthday this month and while it’s been a couple of years since we’ve seen each other face-to-face as we live in different cities, we’ve stayed close via e-mail, Facebook, snail mail and we’ve bonded over our shared love for running, the great outdoors, and our dogs. Plus, the 6 months that we spent together on exchange in Strasbourg will forever be fond memories when we were the dynamic duo known as L’Equipe Blonde. 

On my birthday, she treated me to a copy of Born to Run which I devoured and it’s given me new inspiration for why I want to run and how-to run. Along the same theme, I sent her a present that is for post-running.

Unfortunately, bruised toenails are a frequent occurrence for distance runners and while our nails may be short (or in some cases missing), it doesn’t mean that we can’t have pretty feet. We put our heels & toes through so much that they deserve to be pampered so I sent her a gift to do just that. Her gift bag included a new pair of flip-flops for the post-workout foot soak, bubble bath, a loofah and pretty nailpolish colours in the summer season’s bright seaside hues. I bought this gift while shopping at Loblaws as Joe Fresh’s collection had everything that I was looking for and her present was $14 plus $9 to mail it via Canada Post.

*Rosie*

PS: If you are looking for unique apparel for running or your post work-out, check out One More Mile. I love their cheeky sayings that every runner can relate to. I have the shirt that says “I know I run like a girl, try to keep up” but other fun items proudly declare “toenails are for sissies”, “some girls chase boys, I pass them”, “this IS my race pace”, and “21.1 km: Canadians do it metric”.  

Gift giving on a budget: Bacardi birthdays

My baby cousin turned 18 years old last month – all 6’2 of him. Here in Quebec, this is quite the momentous occasion as you have reached legal drinking age. As a result, many Canadian teenagers and those from the northeast USA flock to Montreal to celebrate their 18^th birthdays on the pubs of Crescent Street.

I picked up a shot glass adorned with the Quebec flag ($4) and a mini shooter ($3), and for $5, I sent the package via snail mail. While he wasn’t joining us in the la belle province to party, I hope I gave him a legitimate case to drink Bacardi on his birthday.

Gift giving on a budget - always fresh.

A few weeks ago I hinted about a mystery gift in my weekly spending report, but I didn't share any details as I was waiting for the recipient to first confirm reception.

My cousin is spending his final semester of highschool abroad and is studying in France (la chance!). With only a few weeks left to go on his exchange, I decided to send him a little care package via snail mail. I remember from my exchange days in Strasbourg that the last few weeks in a foreign city is a mix of emotions: on one hand, you want to savour every moment of your home-away-from-home as everything still seems so new; but on the other hand, it is not your home and going back to your own is incredibly exciting after being gone for so long.

Now, what do Canadians miss the most when abroad? Tim Hortons of course! While I couldn't send my cousin a double-double, I opted to send him a batch of Timbits. France may be home to the world's most delicious pastries, but it just cannot compete with the sweet goodness of Timmies.

The Timbits cost $3.69 and it was about $14 to mail the package. My cousin confirmed that they arrived one week after I posted and they were still fresh! This does make me question what preservatives are in the Timbits, but none the less, I'm glad that it gave him a taste of home.

Gift Giving on a budget: Mommy needs some sleep

This is a gift basket that I put together last week for our team’s logistic superstar who is heading off on maternity leave. I know that having a second baby doesn’t scream, “peace at last”, but when I saw it written on an eye mask, I could resist using it as the centre piece for my basket. After all, 1 year away from my team would be peace at last.

While I’m sure she’ll get lots of presents to spoil her baby, I decided that she deserved some TLC too. I used a brightly coloured pink & green polka dot patterned photo memory box and inside, I included Cake bubble bath in a soft citrus squeeze scent, a soft bath puff, chocolate champagne truffles, fuzzy socks, and of course, the fabulous eye mask. The total cost of this cute basket was $15.

I just hope the baby gives her some time to get some well-deserved R&R before safely making his way into the world.

*Rosie*

Gift giving on a budget: You get a whale

A few weeks ago, I gave one of my favourite friends a humpback whale for his birthday. Seriously.

This idea stemmed from an encounter we had a work the month before when I came in one morning to find him jumping up & down exceptionally excited as if Oprah had just given him one of her favourite things. His reaction was just like Dane Cook describes when Oprah not only has Harrison Ford in her studio, but they are giving everyone humpback whales! (If you’ve not seen the clip and you are a fan of the O, I recommend taking 5 minutes to enjoy the spoof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX7dwVD3DPo&feature=related)

It turns out that our international team had just released his new advertising creatives, and while they were beautiful, I would have preferred a humpback whale. It became our running joke in the office that none of our products are successful until Oprah names them as one of her favourite things.

So when his birthday rolled around, I logged onto the World Wildlife Foundation site and made a $25 donation towards the symbolic adoption of a humpback whale. I’ve been a fan of the WWF since I completed a business analysis case for them in my not-for-profit management class in university and I love that $0.82 of every dollar donated goes towards conservation efforts.

In exchange for my donation, I received in the mail an animal fact sheet, picture of the whale, and adoption certificate which I framed as a present. My friend told me it’s the biggest gift he’s ever received. For me, it was the chance to bounce around exclaiming “You get a whale! You get a whale!”

*Rosie*

The last bit of icing

As I have been celebrating my birthday for over a week now, this will be my last post on the subject. But I've saved the best for last! I really do have the best family, friends and piece of Eye Candy ever as I was spoiled this birthday with amazing & thoughtful presents.

What girl can resist sparkling snail mail?

The greatest thingg about my Mum & my Sister? They know how to pick out the perfect dresses! This is the LBD + shimmering bib necklace that I wore to my soiree.

Office chic

This just screams evening in Las Vegas walking along the Strip. Complete with the best faux crystal necklace ever.

Mad Men inspired

Fun & just because

Sparkly bling! (Ok - the tiara was mine to begin with)

Because I'm the real Sporty Spice!

Financially fabulous inspired and so much appreciated! (PS: The corks are for a contribution to an upcoming art project... stay tuned)

And by now, you must be wondering what is that behind the beautiful dozen long stemmed red roses from my Eye Candy? Well... ladies & gents, I present Zazzles! All gorgeous 8 feet of Zebra given to me by my Eye Candy. In addition to being a beauty (she seems to be wearing eye illuminating mascara), she made this birthday down right zazzy.

And now if you'll excuse me, I have some thank you cards to write!
*Rosie*

Gift giving on a budget: For a hostess, a soldier and a mommy

My Eye Candy is finally home from his business trip and we spent this afternoon running errands. While most of it was quite dull (pet store, Loblaws, cobblers), I did have a few fun little gifts to pick up. I love giving gifts. I like the thrill of the hunt to find the perfect token for someone who is special to me and I genuinely don't expect anything in return. I have fun spoiling my favourite family and friends.

I've read in some budget-minded books that generousity can lead to over-spending, but I believe that you can be thoughtful without breaking the bank. It just requires some creativity and bargain hunting! Each month, I put away $50 towards my Gift Fund. This is what I tap into for larger expenses (e.g. birthdays & Christmas) and it gives me the flexibility to pick-up the perfect present for someone even if their special day is months away.

Here's what I bought today using a mix of Fun Money & Gift Fund:

For the hostess with the mostess: I am attending a girls-night-in Oscar Party tonight, so I was looking for an unexpected but practical gift when I stumbled upon a beautiful diamond wine stopper from Kitchen Stuff Plus for $8. What girl can resist bling? A bottle of wine would just last one night, but a diamond wine stopper is forever.

For my homesick cousin who is serving in Afghanistan: He is sending us amazingly detailed letters weekly about his time on the base and in return, family & friends are sending him snail mail full of all sorts of goodies. But I'm becoming increasingly concerned about the quantity of homemade cookies and cakes he's receiving. Since I know staying in shape is a priority to him, I picked him up some Oh Yeah protein power bars ($40 GNC)... and a Biggest Loser 'Boot Camp' work-out DVD as a joke ($5 on clearance at Chapters Indigo). I plan to wrap it in Star Wars paper that I found at Dollarama... because you know, may the force be with him. (That is a quote from Star Wars right!?!)

For the new second-time Mommy: a colleague who is more than just a co-worker to me gave birth to a beautiful boy last Wednesday. While I already went in on the office pool towards a Baby's R Us gift-certificate, I put together a TLC bag of surprises that are just for her: Kings & Queens bubble bath & body milk (Queen Isabella's cinnamon orange is divine) with a loofah and a 'leave me alone' face mask. I used my Shoppers Drug Mart Optimum Points towards this purchase so it only cost me $2.89! Hey... it's the thought that counts! And I really do hope she is able to enjoy some mommy-needs-to-relax-time soon.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have the Oscars to get ready for!

* Rosie*