My Gift Guide Took a Turn for the Weird

I'd wanted to do a gift guide where everything was "zero dollars or less!" But as that turned out to be (basically) impossible, and as I recently re-watched (re-enjoyed) Sleepless in Seattle, I decided to shift gears. See, as we were watching, I paused the computer screen on the moment above. Remember this scene? Annie (Meg Ryan) has taken the bold step to travel from Baltimore to Seattle in order to meet, errr, confront her radio-crush, Sam (Tom Hanks). At this point, she is in her Seattle hotel, has ordered room service, eaten it in bed, and is now talking to her best bud on the phone.

With the computer screen paused, I said to Matt, "I could do an entire gift guide based on this frame." (It represents everything I want right now: coziness, travel, a hotel room, good hair, confiding in a best friend over the phone!) And so the next day, I started to pull it together, only to quickly realize that apart from finding a comparable sweatpants and sweatshirt combo and linking to a hotel in Seattle, I couldn't really create an entire gift guide based on this insanely inviting image.

But, I'd also recently re-watched the 1995 documentary Unzipped, which is possibly the best documentary of all time. So then I began to think that maybe I could do a gift guide based on early-to-mid- 90s movies. I mean, there is something very charming about a big fat fur pant, right? (You must watch the below clip in order to understand this question.)

Isaac's mention of beast fur immediately made me think of another favorite film from the early-to-mid 90s: Legends of the Fall.

This led me to another one of my favorite early 90s movies, Reality Bites.

Which leads us to some actual gift ideas: coffee, lipstick, and a good t-shirt. (Why is it so hard to find a good, made-in-the-USA t-shirt?)

Which finally led me to (reluctantly) ask myself: but what about some non-90s-movies-inspired gift ideas? You got any of those, Amelia? And the answer is yes. Yes, I do.

1. If you're still thinking of my original idea (the zero dollar or less gift guide), what about offering a friend or family member one night of babysitting?

2. Another low-cost idea? Make a batch of peppermint marshmallows. Or maybe some crazy delicious ginger cookies.

3. There are so many books I want to read right now.
       a. The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld: A Memoir (because of what Kara wrote about it) 
       b. The House of Mirth (because of what Edan wrote about it)
       c. Yes Please
       d. Friendship

4. Here are also a few books I recently read (or re-read in the case of the first one) and can whole-heartedly recommend as gifts.
       a. Legends of the Fall
       b. Americanah
       c. Delancey: A Man, a Woman, a Restaurant, a Marriage
       d. The Best American Essays 2014

OK, I'm off to go dream of hotel rooms and wide open spaces. See you next week!