flower traditions

8th year anniversary gift ideas

13:59

Hello once again for the next installment of anniversary gift ideas. These last couple of weeks the traditional and modern themes have been interesting and this week’s themes are just as interesting!

The 8th year anniversary traditional theme is bronze or pottery and at first glance I have found some beautiful bronze fountains from South Australia. One of these beauties would make a fantastic talking point for your garden and I think I might be putting an order in for my anniversary!

Australian Bronze is another company who creates pieces of art in their foundry in NSW. Each piece is custom made for their clients, so if you have something in mind it might be worth checking them out.

Bendigo Pottery has an online store that offers an interesting range of pottery items if you prefer the alternative traditional theme. This would especially suit a household that has a country theme or for something a little more modern, check out Cool Pottery.

Speaking of modern themes, the 8th anniversary modern theme is linen or lace. Josie Baker is an Australian designer who uses hand woven textiles to create some wonderful linen collections for the bedroom.

Linen (and cotton) is a wonderful material to use in bed linen because they are natural and breathe better than their polyester counterparts. These gorgeous fabrics tend to be longer lasting an wearing too!

Lace was a little more of a challenge this week. I could find numerous online stores offering what I would call “erotic” lace clothing, which may be a style you were after, but certainly wasn’t the one I was looking for!

In all honesty some of the sites were offering all but nothing with a hefty pricetag! Anyway, what I had in mind was a little more meek and mild. Conservative maybe, but you can wear this little beauty outside of the bedroom...

Now you might think that no man is ever going to wear lace… and you would probably be pretty right. But why not think a little laterally here and get him a pair of “lace up” shoes?

Now as far as this year’s flower is concerned – good luck! I don’t know of any florist that stocks the Cat’s Tail flower, but you might do better at a nursery to buy the actual plant.

I remember my aunty used to have one of these plants in her garden and we used to steal the flowers to brush against our cheeks, they were that soft.

To know what you are looking for check out this image.

Good luck!

Aroma Beauty

Soap give away from Aroma Beauty!

16:28

Hi there! My lovely friend Jan from Aroma Beauty is doing another soap giveaway, so I thought I would let you all know.

Check out her blog here to find out how to win some of her divine new soap "Memories".

Even if you don't win her great giveaway, I do recommend trying some of her lovely products. They smell sooo good and do wonders for your skin.

Kirsty

7th anniversary gift ideas

7th year anniversary gift ideas

17:30

Hi there! I am back online after an unexpected holiday and raring to get back into all things relating to gifts!

So, this week we take a look at the 7th anniversary with the traditional theme being wool or copper. The obvious first thought regarding wool to come into my mind was wool clothing.

Quality Soft Wools Australia have a very different selection of wool clothing for men and women. I love the Toorallie Women’s selection - beautiful modern knits in real wool, no synthetics here!

So, maybe you are like me and live in the Southern Hemisphere where we are currently in Spring and have packed away our winter woolies. Maybe it is worth considering the other traditional theme which is copper.

I came across a lovely site called Elegantly Unique which has both copper jewelry and tableware. The man in your life need not miss out either with their lovely selection of cuff links and rings. Or maybe he is the chef in the family and would love a beautifully crafted carving knife with copper detail. Worth a look!

The modern equivalent is a desk set, which possibly isn’t as popular as it once would have been.

You know the type I mean, the leather blocker, pen and ink well. For this anniversary gift, you could take the idea of stationary and focus on it.

For example, in one of my previous posts I talked about a fantastic pen shop that has a huge range of beautiful pens. Does your husband or wife use a pen in their daily work? The Pen Shoppe has pens to suit all budgets and a pen from them would suit any number of professional people.

Alternatively you could get with technology and upgrade from the humble desk set to something like a Blackberry (similar to a personal organiser) which will be invaluable for the professional.

These little gadgets are fantastic, but you need to think carefully about how your partner might perceive receiving such a gift. Are you telling them that they are disorganised?

So maybe this time you think you should stick to flowers. This year’s flower is the Camellia which is native to Asia. Did you know that the leaves of the Camellia (Camellia sinensis) are used to make tea?

Is your partner a tea lover? There are some gorgeous tea houses online that ship interstate and have a huge selection of tea on offer. Check out Teas.com.au who have stunning Bouquet Teas. Team a selection of teas with a cute tea pot and voila – you have yourself a gift!

Good luck!

Taking a break...

20:48

Hi everyone! This is a quick note to let you know that I am taking a bit of time off this next week, so the next couple of posts may or may not be on time - it depends on how organised I can get over the next day or two!

Have a fantastic weekend and I will resume posting soon!

Best wishes,
Kirsty

anniversary gift

6th anniversary gift ideas

09:53

Hi there! Thanks for joining us on the journey through anniversaries. Today’s post is about the 6th year anniversary and some gift ideas for the special occasion.

The traditional theme for this year is candy or iron. The two theme ideas are very different, but certainly give you more options for gifts!

Candy, sweets or lollies are all pretty common, but check out the lolly bouquets from “Candy Bouquet” or Lolly Potz who deliver Australia wide.

If you happen to be in the Mackay or surrounding areas Hamperific also creates chocolate bouquets which start from $40 delivered.

So perhaps you would like to spend a little more on your partner and a chocolate or lolly bouquet just won’t cut it. Why not take advantage of the great Aussie dollar and take a trip to California staying at the one and only Candy Cane Inn, located just outside of Disneyland!

How ‘sweet’ would that be? You certainly would win some ‘brownie points’ there!

Ok, enough with the bad jokes and moving on to iron. I am pretty sure that are not meaning the iron that you plug in and press your clothes either, so let’s not even consider that as an option.

Bliss Garden and Giftware offer some lovely wrought iron decorations and there are some truly special ideas from Overwrought (great name!).

Woodenware features as the modern alternative for this wedding anniversary, so check out my gift ideas from last week’s post.

Add to that range of ideas a woodfired pizza oven! Ok, so it’s technically not woodenware, but the idea of a pizza from your own pizza oven cannot be overlooked.

Delivery is POA, but prices start at approximately $1000 for a DIY kit.

The flower for the 6th anniversary is the gorgeous Tulip. Of course many great florists stock Tulips and their range of colours is very impressive, but if you want to see a stunning display of Tulips outside of Holland then plan your anniversary around the Tulip Festival in Silvan, Victoria (approx 1 hour from Melbourne).

Check out this year’s event which will wrap up on Tuesday next week to see what you will be in for next time. And remember to book your accommodation early to avoid disappointment!

flower traditions

5th year anniversary gift ideas

09:13


Welcome to the Gift Assistant where each Friday we are exploring ideas for anniversary gifts!

This week we are focusing on the 5th year anniversary and traditionally this means woodenware.

When I was thinking wood, I was thinking the 70’s turned wooden salad bowl my Mother used to have and while retro is back in fashion this might come across a bit boring.

If you spend a little time online there are some beautiful wooden products, including elegant cutting boards for the aspiring chef, even refillable pens, but this week I would like to feature a beautiful and unique idea that two sisters created called “Frame the [date]”. See image above for an idea of what these wonderful ladies can create...

Julie Henderson and Ashley Jensen describe their new business as “an eco-friendly designer of custom gifts” where they used environmentally friendly wood to make frames for your cherished and special date.

Clients can receive their special gift (uniquely wrapped and packaged) by ordering on their easy, convenient online web store where they select their date, frame and mounting board (also made from eco-friendly cotton) and send through a photo if desired.

The final product is very original and would make a perfect anniversary gift (not to mention baby’s birthday or christening or any other momentous occasion!).

And international clients need not miss out either with Julie Ashley now expanding to offer international shipping!If you are seeking something original and special then I urge you to take a look at “Frame the [date]”.

Is the man in your life is truly hard to buy for? Have you considered a lateral approach to woodenware and thought bamboo? Ok, technically bamboo is a grass [if you want to be technical :)], but did you know that it is the “fastest growing woody plant in the world”? There, see, it is woody!!

So how does bamboo and a gift for your man come together? How about bamboo clothing!

This would be a perfect gift for an eco-friendly husband who likes something a little different and there are a number of online stores around the world, some even offering free postage!

Silverware is the modern alternative theme for the 5th anniversary gift. I am not a big fan of silver jewelry. I do own some and wear it, but prefer gold… But!! If you partner loves silver then you could do worse than if you bought Pandora for your partner. And there happens to be a new wooden Pandora bead featured at My Pandora’s online shop too!

Men’s silver jewllery is also popular and Mens Jewellery even have an anniversary section just for him! If he likes to wear necklaces then try a popular dog tag with the date engraved on the back.

If none of these suggestions take your fancy then think laterally again and look for something that is either silver in colour (a BMW convertible would do it for me) or silver in the name.

For example, in the southern parts of Australia there is a circus touring called the Silver Circus which feature some incredible human acts. Tickets to the show and dinner afterwards at a restaurant that also incorporates silver in the name would be a novel idea.

Perhaps your budget doesn’t stretch to the BMW or even a night out on the town. If you are feeling creative and can follow a recipe then make your own special dinner and dessert using edible silver leaf (available from Indian food shops). Here is a recipe to get you started!

Finally, the flower to represent the 5th year anniversary is the Pansy. Probably not found commonly as a cut flower (that is a flower that can be put in a vase to admire) but they are widely available in small pots from nurseries.

Similar to the Violets of last week’s post, these love to be in a pretty pot and in a position where they get morning sun. Decorate a plain pot, or buy one from a pot shop to compliment the wide variety of colours available for Pansies!

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