giving | how to

the other day i was chatting with my friend over email about gifts for the men in our lives. she asked me what i was planning to get my husband for christmas and so i emailed her the list.

throughout the year i keep lists - in my email, on my iphone, in my moleskine and most importantly - they all get filed into my evernote program (which is gloriously available for mac, as an app for my phone, and accessible online at work!)

the upside to this is that by the time late november arrives, all i have to do is make my way down the list. for someone like my husband, this often means purchasing almost all of the items. for others, like friends, it's about picking one special item from my various ideas.

needless to say that by the time months have passed there will undoubtedly be items that are no longer desirable, or affordable, or even available. but i can usually find some version of them elsewhere, or at a lower cost. some of my best ideas are not specific web page links (which you should really save if at all possible), but often the ramblings that i scramble to write when j hints something to me in june. i.e. print or painting by such and such artist that we noticed on our honeymoon.

i hope some of my habits help you...at least for next year! what are your best gift finding ideas?