Quasi Gift Guide 2011 Holiday Shopping.

Every year Christmas shopping freaks me out because David and I grew up with radically different holiday-styles. Also, it cost about $100 to ship one box of lightweight gifts to Texas. Next year, everyone's getting quills.

For now, however, I thought I'd just share a few of my favorite things. But please don't buy them for me because the last thing I need is another thing. There's too much moving and packing to

Calling cards
I had some adorable cards printed up from Moo. I admit it was the one and only Klout perk I've ever participated in, but it turns out I love them. They are wee and precious and simple. So now when I meet a new friend, I don't have to offer up my business card with all that musical saw nonsense. It's like I'm living in Victorian times, and I need fancy white gloves to drop off the card on a silver platter. "Brigid was here."

Ryanair Gift Vouchers
Everyone over here hates Ryanair with a passion, but I'm still in awe of any cheap airline. I don't care if it means I can't check a bag and am treated like cattle. If it means a £20 flight to Germany, then I'd sit in the toilet. For you Americans, Southwest Airlines has travel gift cards.

Carbon Offsets
If you're feeling guilty about gifting travel vouchers (or feeling guilty about flying to Rome for Christmas like we are), maybe you'd like to buy carbon offsets to assuage your guilt and improve the world. TerraPass is the website where you can do just that. Some brilliant friends surprised us with a getaway limo at our wedding, and they purchased carbon offsets to go along with it. Just take a deep breath and trust that it's actually efficacious.

A nice bottle of Scotch
Ever wanted to try that mysterious Johnnie Walker Blue that is only available at fancy hotel bars? I saw a bottle at Waitrose last week on sale for £189. I didn't buy it, but I did try to balance it on my head:

Typewriter LapTop Case
I saw these in a store on Cockburn Street last week. Adorable.

Bernie's Bourbon Book
I'm a big Bernie Lubbers fan, and now he's got a book out about bourbon, called Bourbon Whiskey. It couldn't get much more perfect than that. Bernie is a Jim Beam Whiskey Professor, which might be the best job title ever.

That's all the tips I've got for now because I've got to go pack for our holiday. If you want a real gift guide, check out Erin Keane's fun gift guide over at Salon.com. It makes me laugh. She also didn't mention that her own books might make good gifts, so I'll be the one to do that. I still have visions of Erin, Beth, and various other friends meeting up at a cafe in Paris to discuss our latest works of great American art. I'm not counting that daydream out just yet.

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