Kitty Deschanel | Food, Wine, and Travel Adventures Across the USA

I'm told Sexy Nerd and I (okay, maybe it's just me) are impossible to shop for. If there's something we want, we buy it. Didn't buy it? Don't want it! For all you frustrated Christmas shoppers out there, brainstorming about the perfect gifts for hard-to-shop-for bosses, far away relatives, and friends who already have it all, there's a solution. You have to choose a gift your recipient doesn't know exists! (And therefore has not been able to already buy for themselves.) With that in mind, this year's annual holiday gift guide features presents from companies you may not have heard of. I've shopped with them all and highly recommend any of them. There's also a few stores you definitely have heard of, like Cost Plus, whose gift ideas were simply too splendid to leave out. It's my best holiday gift guide ever! Holiday Gift Guide (With Coupons! And Free Giveaways!!) Nordic Tea Light Trough UncommonGoods $40 *Enter below...

This is a wonderful cold weather drink, especially in our house, which I keep at a brisk 60F during the winter (Sexy Nerd loves 60 degrees - our agreement used to be 50!) I make this every time Sexy Nerd puts up our Christmas lights. He's starting early this year. It seems a bit unfair to Thanksgiving, but here we are. Our $5 Crock Pot is working hard! LambAround's Best Hot Apple Cider (approximately 8 servings) Make a simple syrup by bringing 1/8 C water and a 1/4 C sugar to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and add 1/8 tsp each of allspice, cinnamon, and ginger . Whisk well and let simmer for 5 minutes before removing from heat. In a separate pan, bring the following to a boil: 2 C water , 1 can frozen apple juice , 1 cinnamon stick , 9 allspice berries , 9 whole cloves , 1 sliced apple , and the zest of 1 small orange . Add 1/2 of your simple syrup and whisk well. Transfer your mixture from step #2 to a 2.5 quart slow cooker set to low heat. Fill to the top...

This was our favorite stop in Mexico. It's funny how different things can seem when you get home and look at your vacation photos. When we were in Loreto, I could have sworn that the L was there! Loreto is the way Santa Fe thinks they are.   I would love to paint our house just like this. It's probably a good thing we have a homeowner's association!   There was a cage with 2 birds at one of the shops. I insisted to Sexy Nerd that 1 of the birds was out to get me. He thought I was being ridiculous, but I have the photo to prove it! On a side note, I thought the flash was turned off. It wasn't.  Of all the beaches we saw on our Holland America Veendam cruise, this one was the ugliest. It was also the only one we stopped at. Oooh, artsy!  Here is one of the nicer beaches. Forget the sun and sand - we loved the trash cans! Una mas cerveza, por favor? Oh, and thank you Google Translator!

Holland America tried to get everyone to sign up for their Copper Canyon excursion. It was described as a 16-18 hour train ride that left at 5am. The cost? $400 per person. Our entire 2 week cruise was only about $600 per person and we rode on a train at the beginning of our vacation. Needless to say, the Copper Canyon tour didn't appeal to us at all. But there was nothing to do in the industrial town of Topolobampo. Luckily, the city of Los Mochis provided a free shuttle to take cruise ship passengers to their city. When traveling, I like to try to blend in with the locals as much as possible. To me, this seems like a safe move against theives who target tourists. It also makes for a more authentic way to experience a different culture. As for Sexy Nerd, he insisted on bringing the CamelBak backpack instead of water bottles. And, of course, his safari hat. Since blending in with the locals had gone out the window, Starbucks seemed like an appropriate dining option in Lo...

We found these at Nordstrom (or was it Bloomingdales?) when we were in San Diego and I've been kicking myself for not buying them ever since. I figured that they would go on sale and I'd simply order them online - neither store lists these on their website! Now, I've located these super cute little napkins here, but the shipping charge is $8.00 (to ship 4 feather-light napkins that could easily be mailed in a standard yellow envelope with 2 stamps like I use at work every day!) That price sucks the cuteness right out of these. If any store in Albuquerque is selling these, lemme know! 6/10/18 Update: My awesome boss gifted TWO packs of these napkins to me. Isn't she the greatest? In the decade I've had them, I've used them...twice. Ah, the joys of entertaining in your mind!