Let's gift...A Membership or Subscription

The holiday shopping season is in full swing! Are you done with your shopping yet? Still wrestling with what to gift to friends and family members or not sure what to ask for yourself? Then let's talk about membership and subscription gifts!

A great idea for a family gift - especially if the family has children - is a membership to your local zoo. We have been members of the Nashville Zoo for many years and membership offers access to members-only events or just being able to skip the ticket line when we do visit - which can be as many times as we want during the year. Even during the winter you'll get that one random warm day where the sun is shining and a walk around the zoo is perfect for getting some exercise and fresh air. This is also a great gift idea for older friends and family members!

Image Frist Center for the Visual Arts

Another membership idea that you can tailor to the interest of your recipient is to a museum or outdoor garden. Here in Nashville, we have many museums but probably the most recognizable ones are the Frist Center, the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum and Cheekwood Gardens. An annual membership allows the recipient to visit as many times during the year as they wish and again, offers access to members-only events. It truly is a gift that keeps on giving throughout the year.

Image Cheekwood Art and Gardens

Other fun membership gifts could be to a gym, yoga or other fitness class, the local YMCA or even AAA or some other roadside assistance membership for those who make frequent road trips. Have a craft beer fan in your life? How about a local Mug Club membership to their favorite local brewery? This is an especially great guy gift!

Lastly, there are subscription gifts - and I'm talking about more than just a magazine subscription (which I feel is still relevant for some recipients). What about hopping on the trend wagon and gifting one of the many "box subscriptions" out there such as Nature Box or Birchbox? A quick Google search of "subscriptions gifts" indicated there's something out there for pretty much every interest. These monthly or quarterly subscriptions can offer a fun surprise of new products to try throughout the year.

Image Nature Box

Have other great subscription or membership ideas? Let us know in the comments below...

Happy Gifting!

Let's shop...High Note Gifts

I understand - life gets busy and shopping for gifts can become a burden or chore. Next thing you know, you're stressing out about that gift for "insert occasion here" that you need to find but time to do so is what you really need. Wouldn't it be great if there was an online shop where you could find unique, local gifts to send for any occasion? Well there is! Today, I'd like to introduce you to Nashville-based High Note Gifts.

The Bourbon Bundle. Image High Note Gifts.

This online shop offers the best in locally-made goods from the Nashville area. They create their own gift combinations but will also work with you to customize gifts to meet your gifting needs. Want your gift to include certain local products? They can do that! Best of all, they work within any budget to make sure your gift is perfect for your recipient and for your wallet. Additionally, they offer corporate and special event gift services - just contact them with details of your occasion and budget and they'll work on creating a gift to fit your needs.

Just For Her gift. Image High Note Gifts.

For the holiday season - Halloween through New Years - they're offering special holiday-themed gifts. I follow them on social media and love seeing their creative ideas!

Trick or Treat basket. Image High Note Gifts.

So what are some occasions where you might find High Note Gifts to be your go-to source? Pretty much any gifting occasion! Get well, housewarming, birthday, welcome-to-Nashville, farewell-Nashville or simply a thinking-of-you gift. 

Welcome Home gift - I think this would make a fantastic housewarming gift! Image High Note Gifts.

So next time you find yourself struggling to find a gift for that upcoming occasion, consider letting High Note Gifts take the stress from you and put together a custom, local gift that's perfect for your recipient.

Happy gifting!

Off the beaten path...Belle Chèvre in Elkmont, AL

My day job requires semi-regular travel between Nashville and Birmingham and several months ago I noticed an "attraction sign" for Belle Chèvre Creamery just over the Alabama state line. This past week, I decided to venture off the beaten path of I-65 and travel 5 miles to the center of Elkmont, AL to visit the tasting room and shop at Belle Chèvre - and I was so glad that I did!

The cheese board. Image southern giftologist.

I managed to arrive shortly after they opened at 10:00 a.m. and was greeted by Julie who promptly offered me a cup of freshly-made French press coffee and samplings of their locally-made goat cheeses and ice creams. The space was bright and relaxing - a great little out-of-the-way stop. Not only do they offer their products for sale, but they also serve breakfast and lunch items if you need a bite to eat. The shop also offers other items such as hats, soaps, t-shirts and various other goods.

The tasting station at Belle Chèvre. Image southern giftologist.

Image southern giftologist

So what does any of this have to do with gift giving? I’m so glad you asked! Their goat cheeses were delicious and I’ve seen a few of them available at Whole Foods here in Nashville. It would make a great item to bring to a dinner party, get-together with friends or to serve guests at your next party or girl’s night in…just add some crackers and wine! Or, as a gift to yourself, stop in at Belle Chèvre next time you find yourself traveling around the Alabama/Tennessee state line and take a moment to savor some delicious, locally-made products!

MADE South Market Follow-Up

I went to the MADE South Market last weekend and WOW...what an amazing event! Purveyors from all over the South were in attendance and I enjoyed discovering some new artisans that I wasn't familiar with. Today I'll share with you my purchases and some of those vendors I'm now following and keeping in mind for the upcoming gift-giving season!

Here's a peek inside my shopping bag. Image southern giftologist

I blame it on the fact we visited right before lunch that I bought so many food-related items, but it was all in the name of research! Here's what I went home with - some for gifts, some for me:

1. Guitar notecards from Oak + Ink
2. Candies from the new Seersucker Candy Co. 
3. Old Fashioned mix from Eli Mason
4. Nokes Granola
5. Molly & Me pecans
6. Gents ginger ale & cocktail mixer
7. Great Bear Wax Co. Autumn candle - can't wait to start burning this just as soon as the weather cools off a bit more!

Here are some other vendors that caught my eye that I'm keeping in mind for future gift-giving occasions:

McQueen Pottery: I fell in love with several of their pieces and can see their pottery making a wonderful house-warming or wedding gift.

Image McQueen Pottery Instagram account

Cotton & Pine Creative: It's no secret I'm a sucker for cool stationery, prints or other paper products and these guys have a fun selection of all of those.

I foresee gifting several of these coaster sets this year. Image Cotton & Pine

Mitchell Bat Co.: I will admit at first glance I thought "oh, baseball stuff" and yes, they have some really cool baseball bats and related products. However, what caught my eye were the neat Tennessee products - hats, t-shirts and pennants. I see their products making great guy gifts!

How great is this pennant for a kid's room, man cave or college dorm room? Image Mitchell Bat Co.

There were so many other great artisans representing at MADE South Market that will likely appear in future blog posts as we get closer to the holidays. I hope the folks at MADE South will host this event again next year and if they do, be sure to check it out!

Happy gifting!

Let's gift...cocktail mixers

It's no secret that gifting a bottle of wine or six-pack of beer is an easy, timeless hostess or housewarming gift. Stock-the-bar parties are a no brainer - gifting alcohol is typically one of the easiest, go-to gift ideas. But how can you set your gift apart from all the other bottles of "insert liquor here" gifts? By pairing that bottle of alcohol with an awesome, local cocktail mixer. 

Let's start with Bang Candy simple syrup. I have tried at least four of their flavors by now and love how versatile these mixers are - you can find a flavor to pair with most any liquor. What I love about these, too, are that they mix well with iced tea or soda water to make a delicious non-alcoholic beverage. One of my favorites this summer was mixing the Lavender Mint syrup with iced tea. For the alcoholic variety, my go-to is the Spiced Smoked Orange with bourbon. With Fall knocking (hopefully) at the door, try the Pumpkin Spice in your coffee or latte - delicious! More recipes can be found on here on Bang Candy's website.

Gift it: 1 Spiced Smoked Orange Bang Candy syrup + 1 bottle good bourbon + Bang Candy boozy caramels OR

1 Pumpkin Spice Bang Candy syrup + 1 bag of local coffee + Bang Candy marshmallows

I typically buy my Bang Candy syrups at Hester & Cook. Image southern giftologist

I consider the next two true cocktail mixers - sorry, I don't think these mix well with anything other than alcohol, but if you know of any non-alcoholic recipes, please post them in the comments below! I recently picked up a bottle of Walker Feed Co.'s Blackberry Margarita Mix from the Batch store - yum! Just mix it with tequila and you have yourself a delicious drink! I believe their Southern Bloody Mary mix is their most popular but they also have Honeysuckle Sour and Strawberry Rhubarb flavors which I have not yet tried. 

Gift it: 1 bottle Walker's mix + 1 bottle appropriate liquor + some fun cocktail glasses or napkins

Image Walker Feed Co.

Lastly, I'd like to introduce you to Eli Mason cocktail mixers. I love being able to mix up a delicious cocktail at home without a bunch of fuss or a lot of ingredients and with Eli Mason's Old Fashioned cocktail mixer I can do just that. Find their other mixer flavors here, where to buy here and drink recipes here. 

Gift it: 1 bottle Eli Mason Old Fashioned mix + 1 bottle good bourbon + 1 box of Willas shortbread cheese biscuits

A warm summer evening calls for a cool cocktail. Image southern giftologist

Cheers...and happy gifting!