Last Minute Gifts $25 and Under

If you've been too busy to work on your holiday shopping until now (thanks finals week), then you may feel a little overwhelmed shopping for everyone on your list. 

Here are some gifts $25 and under that would be great for your friend, sister, niece, cousin, mom, or yourself!

Links for all the products can be found below 

(and I added a few extra necklaces that are good options too!)

1. This ruffle sleeve top is so cute and I love the variety of colors that it comes in!

2. This foldover bag is affordable, but looks expensive and  chic. It would go with any outfit

3. I've heard that the lip colors from Jouer last an incredibly long time. I've seen swatches from this company too and the multiple shades of nudes they have are pretty! 

4. The Anastasia brow pencil is a favorite of many, you can't go wrong here.

5. This classic gingham shirt is a good staple for any closet. The layering possibilities are endless, but I think it looks great on its own too.

6. This grunge TopShop tee can be dressed up like the model, or casual with jeans. It looks extremely comfortable!

7. The BP scarfs are so soft, this one is a great value and the pattern is unique enough it would be a good addition to anyone's closet.

8. Marble phone case

(mine can be seen here)

9.  This beauty phone charger is on sale, I love the gold on it!

10. The Lip Cheat in PillowTalk is a favorite liner of mine and I'm convinced it would look good on almost any skin type! It's a nude pink and it makes lips look a lot more full. (example found here )

11. Nike Womens Hat

12. Make Up Eraser. This washcloth will remove even waterproof mascara, even without soap!

13. Travel Hairspray 

14. Leather Tassel Keychain

I have this keychain and the leather fringe feels and looks really nice, but also makes it super easy to find my keys in my purse. 

Check out my other gift guides:
For the Jet Setter
For the Athlete
For the Snuggler
For the Chef
For the Beauty Lover
For the Guys

november favorites

1. Time with family

Fortunately thanks to the no clinic hours on Saturdays and Sundays, Jake and I have been able to travel back and forth to see both our parents and grandparents this month. We had a great Thanksgiving day full of a large dinner and supper and we even had time to hit up some black friday shopping at Best Buy in Grand Island!

2. Indoor Plants

3. Black Friday and Cyber Monday

We finished Christmas shopping early this year and took advantage of online discounts! I experienced my first "Brown Thursday" and it was technically my first "black friday" experience of any kind. We waited outside of Best Buy for about 15 minutes and then went inside for a camera we'd both been wanting for our home and travels! I think we were the only people in Grand Island wanting this particular camera...but I was still paranoid it would be sold out. I also took advantage of 30% off at anthropologie and sephora gifts and an extra 30% off!  Hopefully I'll be able to take advantage of the 40% off at Blurb and make a new photobook.

4. Family Medicine Rotation Relationships

I'll post about a "day in the life" but it's been awesome to build relationships with family medicine clinic patients the past month and a half that I've been in the clinic. I didn't expect to enjoy these relationships as much as I have, and although I'm not for certain this is the specialty I'll choose, I have really enjoyed meeting and talking with everyone I've met. We see usually 40+ people a day!



PS ----- check back wednesday for a makeup tutorial

gift guide: for the athlete

1. Workout Mat

This mat is my favorite of the one's I've tested during my year of Piyo. It's big enough a tall person can use it, and it has enough cushion it absorbs a lot of shock and stress on your joints. It absorbs your sweat, and is non-slip! I have the blue one.

2. Waterbottle

I received this version of this waterbottle last year for my birthday, and I am still using it daily. It keeps drinks cold for 24 hrs and hot for 12 hrs. It's made from an environmentally friendly group and has beautiful paintings on the outside.

3. Dry Shampoo

For the days you don't have time to wash and blow dry your hair

4. Comfortable Sweatshirt

I bought this in shirt during a big sale at Urban Outfitters. It's perfect for any day.

5. Leggings

6. Running Shorts

7. Headphones 

that won't come out of your ears when you run.

gift guide: for the chef

(**all photos taken from the websites linked to the products)

1. Marble Tray

2. Christmas Tea Towel. Plenty of cute options here.

3. Marble + Gold Serveware

4. Ice Cream Machine (We love ours!) 

Stainless Steel Version Here

5. Stainless Steel Utensils

Love the feel of these, they are heavy! I don't have any but I bet they would be a nice luxury for someone who loves being in the kitchen.

6. Recipe Box 

We have a different version, but it's a nice decor for the countertop or a kitchen shelf.

7.  Aluminum Rolling Pin

We received this last year for Christmas and it's amazing! Perfect thin crust pizzas and cookies and it sticks to nothing!

one tray, six ways

I love trays. We've always had one on our entry way table, but I've always been on the search for more trays that won't cost an arm or a leg. When I saw Cupcakes and Cashmere had an adorable lucite tray a few years ago I wondered if I could pull it off as well. Trays are such an easy way to dress up any table and keep your things organized. Here's the same tray six ways at our place (I may have >1 of these but I tested them out a few spots before I decided where to keep them. Find them on amazon with this link, this brand goes on sale sometimes, mine were $9.

october favorites

1. Coconut Oil

I've already posted about my new love of coconut oil for my facial moisturizer   here. This makes the best base for makeup, I will keep this a part of my routine likely forever. It's easy and it works. Go test it out! Shop this oil here. 

2. Henry Doorly Zoo

(**This is us at Animal Kingdom, not as cool as the Omaha zoo but the best picture I had**)

We visited the zoo once this month, we hadn't been since high school, and we had a great time! It felt like we were back in Orlando at a fancy park because there was just so much to see. We spent the entire day open to close exploring. The zoo opened the African grasslands exhibit this year, and although it wasn't all finished, it was very cool to see what they have finished and the plans for the near future. The best part by a landslide was the three tiger cubs. We watched them for almost a half hour. There was also an adorable baby orangutan. Go check out those babies before they grow up, they were so cute! 

3. Dove Dry Shampoo

There are better dry shampoos on the market I'm sure, but you can't beat a nice product at a good price. I wash my hair every three days and this holds me over well to prevent greasy spots. As long as I don't forget to spray any spots where grease may build up, I'm good to go for a quick way to extend my hair styling another day.

4. Nicola's 

This is our favorite Italian restaurant in Omaha. Actually, this is my favorite restaurant of all. I love their food, their outdoor patio, the wine, the bruschetta (I never liked bruschetta before!), and their customer service. We always have a great time. If you want to go on a weekend, make a reservation a few days ahead or you likely won't get in. The days we call on the day of we aren't seated until after 9:00. Website here.

5. Vacation Planning

I've had so much fun planning our summer vacation, and I've only just started. I've been spending a lot of my free time reading reviews on tripadvisor.com and oyster.com. I've been searching deals for flights on skyscanner.com and kayak.com, and I've been browsing way to many blogs for travel advice. I'm so excited! 

Our Favorites at Trader Joes

People have always told me that Trader Joe's as some great priced, tasty products. I never really thought much of it but I started to see some other people's favorites on snapchat (whatsgabycooking) and Jake and I wanted to give some of these things a try. We been a few times now, here are the things we things we've repurchased and recommend checking out. Most of these are snacks or frozen foods for when you are lazy, but I wanted to point out products you can't get at normal stores (so I didn't list chicken breast, rice, fruits, and vegetables - which we did buy for the record haha)

I put servings in parenthesis (not what the Nutrition Facts calls servings, what I call servings).

1. Mandarin Orange Chicken $4.99 (3 adult servings)

If you go to TJ's you have to get this. It's their number one selling product for a reason. It taste just like Chinese takeout. Since I can't eat at Chinese restaurants safely because of a nut and sesame allergy, this bag of food is all that I have. I was very skeptical that "frozen chicken" would be good, but it's not the processed style chicken you first think of, it's exactly like the dark chicken they give you in Chinese restaurants. I can't say it enough, it tastes exactly the same as a restaurant's takeout. 

\

 2. TJ's Kettle Corn $1.95

When I open this bag, Jake and I eat an entire bag at one time usually. It's extremely addicting and has the perfect amount of sweet and salty. I picked up three bags the last time I was there.

3. Spinach Tortellini $1.99 (2-3 adult servings)
This is just a good quality at a good price. That's all I have to say.

4. Burrata, prosciutto, and Arugula flatbread (Also the Margherita flatbread!!!)

Ignore the burritos in the photo above, we didn't like those very much. But behind the burritos is the flatbread and it was very tasty and full of flavor. The Margherita flatbread (not pictured) has really great quality of cheeses and the tomato sauce tasted so fresh, I was shocked. With both of the flatbreads I felt like I was in Italy. It's nice to have restaurant quality food in your freezer. Pull out the Chandon and it's a date night!

5. Cheeses

We like to snack on cheese, and TJ's has flavorful cheeses at a way cheaper price than Hy-Vee. So for your next cheese tray, head there. We've tried more then just the two shown in the picture below and we've been satisfied.

6.  Joe's Diner Mac 'n Cheese $2.99
Speaking of cheese, their frozen Mac n' Cheese is a BIG win. I only bought it because it was one of their top sellers and I wondered why. I was not disappointed. I will rebuy this every time I go into the store. The gouda, swiss, sharp cheddar, and Havarti make it taste so cheesy and rich. If you buy anything go get this. It's nothing like any other packaged or even homemade mac 'n cheese.

7. Apriums

Apricots + Plums = apriums. Jake likes apricots okay, but he loves apriums. We've repurchased these a couple times. I haven't tried them.

8. Salsa and Guacamole

The guac is not as good as our homemade kind in our opinion (recipe here) but if you are in a hurry this isn't bad at all. The salsa taste very tomato-y but very much like the kind served at Mexican restaurants. For the price, and the time you saved not making them both homemade, these are good buys because they taste homemade! 

9. Nut Free snacks

These are perfect snacks for my lunch box! The Chocolate chip cookies actually taste good and not like weird gluten free bland cookies. The soft-baked snicker doodles taste very dough-y and the fruit bars are also full of flavor. (Although I'm not sure if every box of those is nut-free 100%, I don't eat them)

10. Chile Lime Seasoning
Last but not least, is this seasoning. I heard about this from multiple bloggers and it's perfect on chicken or vegetables or anything. It's pretty simple, but makes a big impact.

TJ's also has great priced Filet Mignon's, 2 for under $8-9 and they are pretty good. They have good priced olive oil too.

I've also read their Spinach artichoke frozen dip is to die for but I can't eat it because of the chance of nuts being in it, check those out too! Friends have told me their pizza crust is delicious too, I haven't tried that yet.

august favorites

August went by so fast this year! My pediatric rotation is over and I've been on my surgery rotation for a week now. Here are some of my favorites from last month.

1.  What She Left Behind

This book was our August book club read, and unfortunately because I had to study the night before my pediatric shelf exam the next day, I missed the meeting where we actually discussed the book. I was not sure about this book at first, but wow this is the one of my favorite stories I've read in a long while. I couldn't stop reading and had to set a timer every night so I would go to bed and stop reading. The characters were well-developed and the story was very deep. Here's what the "back of the book description" is:

Ten years ago, Izzy Stone's mother fatally shot her father while he slept. Devastated by her mother's apparent insanity, Izzy, now seventeen, refuses to visit her in prison. But her new foster parents, employees at the local museum, have enlisted Izzy's help in cataloging items at a long-shuttered state asylum. There, amid piles of abandoned belongings, Izzy discovers a stack of unopened letters, a decades-old journal, and a window into her own past. 

Clara Cartwright, eighteen years old in 1929, is caught between her overbearing parents and her love for an Italian immigrant. Furious when she rejects an arranged marriage, Clara's father sends her to a genteel home for nervous invalids. But when his fortune is lost in the stock market crash, he can no longer afford her care--and Clara is committed to the public asylum. 

Even as Izzy deals with the challenges of yet another new beginning, Clara's story keeps drawing her into the past. If Clara was never really mentally ill, could something else explain her own mother's violent act? Piecing together Clara's fate compels Izzy to re-examine her own choices--with shocking and unexpected results. 

2.  Candle Burning

Burning candles with relaxing scents have always been nice to come home and study to after a long day at work. Unfortunately ($$) I've been venturing into more complex scents as this love grows. That being said, I also know many tricks and which ingredients (thanks internet)  get the most scent per dollar from each candle to make one seemingly small candle last months. (new post idea!)

3. Moleskine Notebooks 

Now that I'm kind of getting the hang of clerkship rotations for school I've found that having a little notebook in the front pocket of my white coat is necessary. I write down suggestions and/or critiques that attendings give me, drug facts I can't remember, information that I use for presenting plans for patients that I don't have time to look up, vital signs for premature infants, etc. I also write down questions I have that I want to look up or ask my attending about later. 

The larger notebooks I use for summarizing all the info I can't remember from my exam review textbooks. I'll write in them towards the end of the rotation and only write down things I can't remember and need to learn for my exam. Using fine tip pens on the bleed-proof paper works really well. I throw the larger ones in my larger pocket every day and it's a good way to always have something to study on down time. 

4. Breakfast for Lunch

I got sick of deli meat sandwiches for lunches real fast. So I bought the Jimmy Dean sandwiches and have been eating them for lunch every day the past month (well, when we have time for a lunch). I won't say it's healthy to eat sausage every day, but for now that's what I'm doing. It's a nice pick-me-up after standing without food for 5-6 hours in a morning surgery. I've also been having Eggos at 5:00 a.m. before I leave in the mornings, those are a nice motivation to get up and out of bed.

5. Adidas Superstars

I bought these in July during the Nordstrom sale, after seeing them on a blogger's instagram. I just think they are the coolest and they are always my shoe pick as long as I'm not in the operating room or whatever. When I was in grades 4-6th I had an orange pair (Go Griffins!), a red pair (Go Jeffs!), and a navy pair.  You do have to size down one to two sizes to get them to fit though. I'm a size 7.5 and I have a size 6.5. 

6. TapHouse

(photo from Matt M on yelp)

Last month Jake and I visited TapHouse at least three times . We can't resist the giant cheese curds (holy cow amazing, worth going for just those) and their burgers are loaded with a variety of ingredients and really hit the spot. My favorite is the brown sugar cheddar burger (full menu here). We started splitting one burger, an order or sweet potato fries and an order of cheese curds. 

June/July Favorites

1. Sound Machine

We bought this machine when we moved downtown and it's been a life saver. We were used to no noise from neighbors and then we had a quiet park in the background and we were only woken up by the occasional hawk or owl. Our current hallway is not "loud" but the old building's air conditioner makes random clicks and noises that wasn't easy to fall asleep too and we would also wake up in the middle of the night to it. 

I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and saw this model labeled as the #1 selling white noise machine in the United States and it had a huge sign that said "the official noise machine of the National Sleep Foundation". It was also the only one that had a little miniature fan in it instead of a speaker that played "white noise." 

Since we were unsure if we'd like the noise machine anyway I thought this one would be a good pick to try. We love it. We fell asleep immediately. The volume is adjustable, and it's the perfect fan/air sound. Whenever we flip the switch on we BOTH start to get dizzy and trance-like. We have been conditioned and since it's easily portable I'm a huge fan. My future home will have one of these in every bedroom. This model claims to drown out multiple specific noises, check out their website here for more info. 

2. How I Met Your Mother

I waited to watch this show for so long because I knew it wouldn't live up to Friends. It doesn't live up to Friends, but once you get over that, it's a funny show. This has been our go-to comedy sitcom the past month and we've really liked it!

3. 100.7 The Fish Radio Station

I listened to this radio station every day on my one hour commutes to Lincoln last month for school. I loved talking to God each day and feeling relaxed, happy, and motivated to live in the moment and trust His plan. I made this my permanent car radio station and my stress level has gone way, way down. 

4. USMLE Step 1 Finished

Scores are back, everything went great! It's such a relief to be done with this exam! I still don't know what kind of doctor I want to be, but I'm finding out more of what I like and don't care as much for as time goes by during these rotations. I love learning at each location but, I've also found I enjoy critical care situations and hospital encounters more than clinic encounters. (this wasn't what I expected before I took Step 1...so I don't really know what I want to be yet, need to explore more) Who knows, all of this could change again too haha.

6. Dr. Scholl's Flats

Mom and Dad gave me these shoes for my birthday this year to have a comfortable shoe to stand in all day while I'm in the hospitals and clinics. I'm not used to standing all day, but with these shoes I haven't even noticed a "break in period" or had any discomfort in my feet from standing for long periods of time. I love them, I don't know how long it will take me to wear them out but so far so good!! I have this pair in black and this pair in nude (bonus: they are on sale right now I see). 

may favorites

1. Wilde Bandit Shorts by One Teaspoon

I have worn these shorts at least three times a week this month. I saw them on just about everyone's blogs and on Kourtney Kardashian, and when Shopbop had them on sale for 40 or 50% off I ordered them immediately. I was worried about the length being too short (like in some photos of their super skinny models) but I figured I could take them back if I hated them. I also ordered a size up for extra length and so that they would fit in a "baggy" or "boyfriend" or "relaxed" way. They unroll if you want them longer.

They are shorter on the sides, but they completely cover the butt cheeks. I thought I was so risque walking around Florida (I wore them here or here) and then I realized that most people's shorts showed more skin and were super tight around them. I was dressed modest in comparison. They were perfect. 

2. Mashed Potatoes

I could never get a good picture of my mashed potatoes, so here's a link to a good recipe.

I had my wisdom teeth out 11 days ago, and instead of listing hydrocodone as a favorite (it definitely was a favorite), I went with mashed potatoes. I went through two bags of potatoes in 1.5 weeks. A good carb meal for me when I wasn't eating much at all. 

3. YSL Rouge Volupte in Nude Beige

I have been on the search for a good nude ever since I had to throw out my Bite High Pigment Pencil in Honeyberry-Toasted Almond (allergies), I highly recommend those pencils though (full range here). Anyway, Nordstrom was price matching and I saw a good price so I tried it. 

The YSL Nude Beige is a cult favorite. It settles well immediately on most lips, mine are wrinkly so it sinks into the crevices at first but if you give it a few minutes it evens itself out. It goes on "pink" but then after a few minutes it turns nude. This is the most buttery lip formula (I mean it feels like you are putting room-temp butter on your lips), it's very moisturizing and smells like mango. 

This blows all other lipsticks I've tried away in terms of moisture factor and high pigment. The lasting power is there as well (not 8hr high power, but still good for a few hours even after eating/drinking). The packaging is also amazing - it's really heavy and large. 

4. Granola Bars

I feel guilty listing this as a favorite for the month since I devoted a whole post to it on Monday. I won't lie though, we've made bars this month so much we are getting better with each batch. They are certainly a favorite of the month.

 (Jake even made some last night, I thought they were for himself but he wanted to take them to work!)

5. Study Materials

I loved using this giant Post-It paper that I was given to me by a teacher to study for my final exam, and First Aid and Pathoma are my favorites this month too as I prepare for the first boards exam. 

Have a great weekend, hopefully I'll get started on some art projects for our new apartment! If you want more favorites you can check out my April or March favorites.

april favorites

1. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

I'm pretty sure this hilarious Netflix show by Tina Fey has already been written about as one of my favorites but season 2 came out in April and Jake and I watched them all in two days. I had been waiting what seemed like forever for this and it did not disappoint! I watched season 1 twice, and I may rewatch season 2! There's so many subtle jokes that go on in almost every line, you don't realize how much you miss until you watch it again - I'm serious! 

2. Vacation Planning

I'm listing this as a favorite because it's been the main motivation to work hard this month and finish my second year of med school strong. My free time this month has been spent daydreaming and planning and I just can't wait to spend a few days not thinking about all of the things I have to memorize. 

Follow Jake and I on snapchat and we will take you along with us - 

we will be leaving here real soon!

 It's always my favorite to see when other people snapchat when they visit new places! 

@ajskid @bakejell33

(for once we'll have something interesting instead of the inside of my messy office or what Jake's food and drink of the day is ;) )

3. Citrus Scents (Lofco "Cabana")

I've finally transitioned out of our winter scents, and I picked this scent up at Spruce near 50th and Leavenworth. Jake lights this candle all of the time. It's a nice citrus scent. 

(tbh - I wouldn't repurchase this brand over the NEST candles which are at the same price point because Lofco candles are just not as strongly scented)

4. Sephora's Birthday Gift

Sign up to be in the Sephora club (or whatever it's called) and get your birthday gift! I loved last year's urban decay gift and I love this year's Marc Jacob's gift. The eyeliner is so soft it melts on your skin and the lipstick is a pretty pink! It may just be me but the sample lipsticks are always my favorite because they are just so much easier to apply on my tiny lips! My lips with out anything on them are basically invisible so it's nice to have some pretty options for lip color. (I had to throw out all my old favorite "Bite" lip pens because they had nut oils in them)

(yeah....post self tan on the left - link for that post here)

5. Friends

Last weekend was my birthday and over the four days around that weekend I was able to catch up with many different friends for dinners and coffee and it just made my month! 

Bonus Jake's April Favorite :

New season of Game of Thrones