4 Weeks to Christmas: Fancy Pants gifts that are not actually pants

Here are two items that I instantly coveted as soon as I saw them. They provoked an unfamiliar feeling of profound regret and the thought, "I wish I'd waited to buy XYZ, this one is so much cooler. Wah!" Buyers remorse is a very rare experience for me which is why I'm highlighting these two fancy pants gift ideas that are just a little bit slicker and cooler, but entirely unnecessary.

Custom Jambox…ships in 2 days…wow!

I am a sucker for anything customizable, especially if the custom version costs the same as the standard version. Years ago, Wheezy and I wasted countless hours customizing messenger bags at Timbuk2 so I knew I was in trouble when I saw that you could customize your own Jambox. I already own a little red Jambox so I don't need another one, but I love little red Jambox so much, I'm considering replacing my Bose iPod sound dock with a second Jambox. It's small, portable, super easy to use and easy on the eyes.

Bose Noise Canceling Earbuds

I just bought myself Bose Noise Canceling Headphones this summer. In fact, Adam and plasticmom both have their own headphones so I can't even pawn my headphones off on them and buy new ones. I do love my headphones and I use them all the time. One of my favorite "activities" (and plasticmom's) is to wear the headphones while miming to those around you (namely Adam) that you can't "hear" them even though you sorta still can. The only downside to the headphones is that they are bulky and these new earbuds that Bose released are NOT bulky. I absolutely do not need a second pair of noise canceling thingies, but I kinda wished they'd been offered earlier this year when I was buying my bulky headphones.

Bulky Noise Canceling Headphones? Nah, just some old school 80s headphones on baby plasticann.

Almond Coconut Meringue Cookie Recipe

I ended up with three leftover egg whites because a cake I made last week called for three egg yolks so I was looking for a recipe that called for egg whites so I could score one leftover point. I have also been dreaming of the almond coconut meringue/macaroon cookies they offer at the Blue Room for Sunday brunch so I decided to experiment and create my own version. I adapted a meringue cookie recipe online and added my own extras.

Almond Coconut Meringue Cookies - yields about 36

4 egg whites
1 pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 and 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup almond flour/meal

1. Preheat over to 275 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. On high speed, whip egg whites, salt and cream of tartar until you have soft peaks
3. 1/3 cup at a time, add sugar to egg whites and whip on high until you have stiff peaks
4. Add almond and vanilla extract, whip
5. Gently fold in coconut and almond flour
6. Spoon mounds of meringue onto cookie sheet
7. Bake about 30 minutes until cookies are light brown and easily peel off the parchment paper

Crumbly crisp exterior with soft center. If you don't know your own strength, you just might squash the cookie like a little bug.

5 Weeks to Christmas: New Home Sweet Homes

This year, a number of my friends have bought new homes and moved. It's both exciting and a little bittersweet with everyone moving on to a new phase. I've leaned on these two gift ideas to celebrate this milestone recently and since they're require a little bit of lead time, order early and be done with your shopping.

Fancy Address Stamp: 

Your friends might not buy themselves a fancy personalized address stamp because they're waiting for their first batch of "free" address labels from the American Cancer Society, but you know they'll appreciate one of these fancy address stamps. I'd like to think it makes paying the mortgage more palatable. 

Save The Date on Etsy is a favorite vendor of mine. Here are some more cool looking shops like foryoo and and Greenhouse Studio. 

Personalized Word Map:

A little personalized something to remember their last home and all the memories. Adam and I personalized this map for Adam's dad who grew up in Seattle. Amanda from UrbanFootprintDesign on Etsy helped us personalized the map with important landmarks from growing up there. 

6 Weeks to Christmas: Local Candy Gift Ideas

This year, I'm not feeling super ambitious so I'm going to keep it at just one weekly post with a few gift ideas in the six weeks leading up to 12/25/13. I'm starting out with some local candy gifts which also work great as gifts for your Thanksgiving hosts.

Local candy if local means Somerville, MA

Taza Chocolate: This is not a new discovery by any means and it's a massive local favorite, but I've rediscovered them recently when searching out for gluten free and dairy free gifts. It's been challenging to find food gifts that are GF and DF that I actually really enjoy myself so I'm pretty excited about Taza Chocolates this year for its dietary versatility

• Gluten Free and Dairy Free
• Fun limited edition holiday flavors like Gingerbread and Eggnog
• Chocolate samplers are a great way to try a bunch of their flavors, I love the Salt & Pepper
• They even offer tours at their company store in Somerville which is super fun. You do have to wear a hair net and a beard net if you've got a winter beard like Adam

Adam's hair net and beard net at the Taza factory tour

Spindler Chocolates: I discovered these guys at the Davis Square Flea Market this fall where I bought their Almond Clusters and their Pate de Fruit jelly candies. Both were delicious and they're made right outside of Porter Square.

• Full of dairy
• Local dude making a living making candy
• Product looks more expensive than it actually is, always a plus

"Chipotle" Chicken Rice Soup - Recipe Shortcut

Adam's feeling a little under the weather recently and I wanted to make him some chicken soup for dinner, but I didn't really have a lot of time and I also didn't have much food so I took some pretty extreme recipe shortcuts that I think are pretty genius.

plasticann: I'm going to make some chicken rice soup for dinner, but I'm taking a "shortcut."
Adam: That sounds good, did you buy rotisserie chicken as the shortcut?
plasticann: Actually, I bought a Chipotle chicken burrito bowl
Adam: [eyebrows raised]

Here it is...Chipotle Chicken Rice Soup with a major shortcut

1 Chicken burrito bowl (I got it with white lime rice, extra corn salsa, cheese, peppers and onions. I skipped the sour cream.)
1 box of chicken stock
2 cups water
1 lime (Chipotle kindly gave me some complimentary lime wedges)
1/4 cup leftover salsa
2 chopped tomatoes
3 ears of corn
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

• Bring chicken stock and water to a boil
• Cook corn and burrito bowl on low for a little while to meld the flavors
• Add all the other ingredients
• Serve alone or with chips especially Chipotle Lime Chips

So this Chipotle Chicken Rice Soup has been on my mind since it was so easy and super delicious. I've been telling everyone about how they too can turn a burrito bowl into a pot of soup. I got super excited yesterday when I got an email from Cook's Country with a recipe for easy chipotle chicken soup. I thought, "wow, Cook's Country is doing the same thing I did, buy Chipotle and make soup." Once I read the recipe, I realized they mean "chipotle" as in the pepper chicken soup not "Chipotle" the restaurant chicken soup. Wah wah!

Homemade Cookie Gifts - Freeze Ahead

A friend's mom was super duper disappointed to find out recently that it was her daughter-in-law, not her son, who'd been selecting, buying and sending all her thoughtful gifts over the last decade. I certainly wasn't surprised because the same deal holds in my household. Adam and I made this deal early on that I would take on all the gift giving, cards and social niceties while Adam tackled most of the cooking. It was a clear example of comparative advantage and the benefits of trade because we have both been delighted with the arrangement. While we never announced the division of labor to Adam's parents, I think they caught on since they're pretty smart. Adam jokingly confessed to his parents that "he had nothing to do" with their gifts to which they graciously responded, "yeah we figured, it's ok."

Within the scope of my gift giving responsibilities is making sure we have stuff to bring for social occasions. To prepare for a weekend of fun social events, I baked up a bunch of home baked cookies. I made some extra packs of cookies which I'll freeze in freezer bags so I'll be ready for whatever comes from housewarming parties to impromptu birthday lunches. This week's selections include:

• Apricot Jam Coconut Thumbprint Cookies
• Shortbread Cookies
• Ginger Molasses Cookies
• and Sprinkledoodles

All these cookies freezer super well. They usually thaw out in about an hour so I just grab them out of the freezer the morning of or the night before. To joyfully efficient holiday celebrations! I'm ready!!!