dog love // gifts for your pooch

EVERY December my boys and I used to make a little holiday pilgrimage to the local pet shop to pick out holiday presents for our old guy, Murray. His birthday was on Christmas Day after all, so the pooch obvs got double-spoiled with toys and treats. Plus my boys absolutely loved picking them all out; it was kind of our little holiday tradition. We wrapped them all up in paper and set them out on Christmas morning. He somehow knew exactly which ones were for him and as soon as he got wind of them, he tore through the paper like a crazed woodchuck. It was one of my favorite parts of Christmas morning, it was just so stinking funny and adorable. Sadly, we lost our beloved pooch last December, just a few weeks before Christmas and his 13th birthday, but he’s still so in our hearts this time of year and so we’ll have to go on that pet shop mission anyway to spoil our other favorite dogs with toys and treats and love.

IN ALL of the crazy hustle and bustle of the holidays, it can be easy to forget about the furry members of your family. But your fur baby best friends deserve so much love. After all, who else do you know who gets THAT excited to see you?! There are heaps of really clever companies that have jumped into the spoil-your-dog-with-style industry and created really creative, funny and beautiful things that your dog will love AND you won’t mind having as part of your decor. Here’s a little round-up of some of my favorites, perfect for any dog you love or dog-lovers that you love, too! Woof. xo

Dog Toys

1. 100% natural rubber and organic cotton stunning dog toys from Wild One // 2. Cutie Floppy Llamas // 3. Everything on The Foggy Dog’s site is stunning, but these Squeaky Toys are so fun // 4. Woof Clicquot is so chic // 5. Have a box of fun sent to your favorite pooch every month with a Barkbox subscription // 6. This Consuela the Cactus 2-in-1 Puzzle Toy is SO cute // 7. Dog Ness Monster is for serious chewers // 8. Our Murray always loved gutting a good Hedgehog // xo

gifts i love : that cheese plate

I LOVE to entertain and am also a bonafide cheese lover. And since there’s no better way to get a party started than with a heaping plate of cheese, I am also now a lover of Marissa Mullen and her brilliant cheese-plate-building method. She has developed a sort of paint-by-numbers way to build incredible, overflowing boards of cheese, meat, fruit, veggies, spreads, dips, nuts, herbs… you hungry yet? They’re dreamy and so appealing, but also totally accessible and something you could actually make with her streamlined method.

'That Cheese Plate Will Change Your Life' is Marissa’s drool-worthy book and it’s just fun to look at her dreamy styling and photographs even if you only ever end up creating a mini plate for yourself (aka what I would *like* to eat for lunch EVERY darn day). So, if you love a cheese-lover or a host[ess] with the mostess, Marissa’s book would be a fantastic gift. Pair it with some gorgeous Runamok Honey and a beautiful Boos Board for serving and voila! It just might change their life.

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gifts i love : bubbles & joy

BATH TIME can be a bit of a struggle if your babes don’t totally love the water. Enter Bubbles & Joy, THE cutest little box of happiness full of splishy bath time fun to keep your tinies excited about swimming around. There will be no more begging and pleading for them to hit the showers. And in addition to being SUPER fun and exciting, they’ve partnered with top notch brands to deliver the best non-toxic and natural goodies so you don’t have to worry about what else is swimming around in the tub with your little fishies. Everything they send is non-toxic, cruelty-free and has no gross chemicals. Plus all the toys are hermetically sealed so you don’t get that super grody layer of mold that grows inside most squirty kinds of bath toys. Choose from one of their adorably themed Single Boxes or a Subscription to keep the fun surprises coming month after month. They even have a special edition Birthday Box that’s so stinking cute. Bubbles & Joy would be a super adorable gift for any little fishy [enthusiastic OR reluctant] that you love. Now go wash behind your ears. GIFT A LITTLE HAPPINESS. xo

Use code ALLAFLUTTER 10 for 10% off your whole order (that means if you prepay a subscription you’ll get 10% off the whole thing!)

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gifts i love : nopalera

NOPALERA a stunning artisan natural beauty brand designed to celebrate the richness of Latina culture and the beauty of Mexico. The child of immigrants, founder Sandra Lilia Velasquez, was inspired by the nopales that were abundant around her childhood home near the CA-MX border. The nopal cactus is a highly sustainable + resilient crop and super nourishing, making it the ideal foundation for each of Nopalera’s super natural products. The nopal they use is all wild-harvested and the company’s packaging is entirely reusable or recyclable, though I don’t know why you’d want to throw away any of the AMAZING packaging. I want to wallpaper my dining room with it. Yes, I am a bit biased given my lifelong passion for Mexican Folk Art, but I’m pretty sure it’s objectively stunning.

THE DREAMY Cactus Body Polishes have a super subtle Tangerine or Hibiscus scent. They’re so gentle and not greasy and feel amazing. I also love the Botanical Lotion Bar that leaves your skin feeling so smooth. The unique ingredients are designed for maximum hydration and literally melt into your skin as you rub the bar across all of your dry bits. And I love the Dulce de Cuerpo Cactus Shower Gel, it smells a bit smoky and sexy and totally divine. Any of Nopalera’s gorgeous products would make a lovely gift on their own, but combine a few and you have yourself a REALLY special gift for just about anyone. GIFT A LITTLE HAPPINESS. xo

Nopalera

~~ Nopalera Hibiscus Cactus Flower Exfoliant ~~

~~ Nopalera Dulce de Cuerpo Shower Gel ~~

~~ Nopalera Tangerine Cactus Body Exfoliant ~~

~~ Nopalera Botanical Lotion Bar ~~

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gifts i love : plus plus

OK, LOVELIES, I’m going to let you in on one of my greatest mom [and gift-giving] secrets. If you haven’t already met one of my best friends, Plus Plus, I’d like to introduce you. Plus Plus, this is my lovely friend. Lovely friend, this is Plus Plus, one of the greatest [travel] toys of all time and saver of so many restaurant meals I could never try to count. I have been dragging them with us wherever we go for about 7 years and I kid you not, I’ve never seen my boys make the same thing twice. Total strangers approach our table, initially drawn to the spectacular mix of brilliant color, but then they get sucked in to examining the boys’ magnificent creations. Even when we’re out with other kiddos, the whole lot of them get totally engrossed in building, looking up only to trade colors with the kid next to them.

MADE IN Denmark, Plus Plus’ tagline is “one shape, endless possibilities,” and I can totally attest to that truth. They are so simple in concept, but just brilliant in execution. They make sets of varying sizes and themes, but we just dump ours all together in a big, colorful mess and have at it. I put a heaping pile + a baseplate in a Stasher Bag for each of the boys and I ONLY bust them out at restaurants or traveling (that is part of the trick to keeping them exciting for 7 years). My boys have made epic battle scenes, robots, animals, machines, guys and a hundred other things. It’s just awesome to see the magical creations that come out of their expanding brains. They also have a biggie size for little hands. The colors are just so appealing and they’ve also introduced glittery and glow in the dark pieces, making it nearly impossible to resist buying *just one more* little tube even though we already have SO SO many. They’re a perfect gift, gift topper, party favor, stocking stuffer, Easter basket filler or travel surprise.

PLUS (can’t resist) the Plus Plus factory in Denmark uses 100% wind energy, has a zero-waste facility and both the toys + packaging are totally recyclable. So huge win there. They are also super easy to wash when they get dribbles of soy sauce or ketchup [or germs] on them. So, if you haven’t already met, I highly recommend getting to know my friend Plus Plus before your next adventure or when you just need a few solid minutes of quiet time. GIFT A LITTLE HAPPINESS. xo

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