The website Hatch My House lets you create a wedding registry to save up for your dream home. Your guests give you parts of the house--two bedroom windows or a front door, for example. Thoughts? Kind of brilliant, but would you do it? Now we've seen everything!
After Alex and I got hitched almost three years ago, we went on a two-week honeymoon to Italy and Greece. To help afford our splurgy trip, we skipped the regular household registry and instead created a honeymoon registry. We signed up with buy-our-honeymoon.com (don't worry, guests never see the tacky name!). Then Alex and I spent a fun evening listing our trip plans, restaurants, hotels, even sun hats. Happily, our guests seemed to be into it, and it made our honeymoon possible.
Fancy soaps sit on the bathroom shelf, and potpourri sachets get lost in a drawer. So, instead of bringing traditional hostess gifts when you visit a friend, bust out one of these slam-dunk gifts that people will love (and want to use!) right away.
"Most men's gift guides are written by women, which can be great, but then again sometimes guys just want a football. So, Joanna asked me to reveal the 10 things I'd secretly love for Father's Day. Hope this helps!" -- Alex
Filson backpack. There's nothing dorkier than a backpack, except when it's Filson. I swear by these. I use mine for biking, picnics and weekend trips.
Gitman Bros Vintage, $165. Made in U.S.A. REALLY nicely cut. A perfect blend of downtown cool and Mad-Men classic. They'll become his go-to shirts. They're the first shirts I reach for in the morning.
Beer sausage, $28.99 for three pounds. The two best flavors combined.
Football, $32. No one thinks to own a football after college, but a football is a really fun thing to have. Break one out at a picnic and guys turn into teenagers. The youth-size football is important because every guy secretly believes that a real football is a little too big. This is slightly smaller than a regular football -- you can't tell by looking at it -- but you can really huck it around. Made in Ohio, like a football should be.
Beer bottle labels with his photo. Would be even better on a Belgian Trappist ale, made by monks. (Sidenote: This photo is of Joanna and her dad.)
Giant ice-cube tray for impressive-looking cocktails, $16. They're also practical: Big cubes melt more slowly than small cubes, and there's nothing worse than a watery cocktail.
30 awesome card tricks to perform for your kid, $22. As a dad, it's important to be impressive.
Mancala, the best old-school game to play on a porch on lazy summer evenings, $10.
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, $24. Despite what you might think, man is becoming less violent. It actually gives you faith in the human race. The best book I've read in 10,000 years. (Also, weirdly hilarious.)
An evening spent putting your baby to bed and then hanging out together. Since that's all he really wants anyway.
Last week, I featured a Mother's Day gift guide with gift ideas for our own mothers. But I've gotten emails from husbands asking for gift ideas for their wives, since they want to honor the mothers of their own children. How sweet is that sentiment? So, here are four Mother's Day ideas for new mothers...
Mother's Day is Sunday, May 13th--about two weeks away! Here are 10 gifts she'll love...
A mug to make her laugh, $14.
Brunch cooking class in Brooklyn, celebrated on Mother's Day. $125/person.
Plant topper, to fill her bedroom with light and rainbows, $140.
Morse code bracelet that spells out "mom," $40.
Fondue pot filled with chocolate, $20, plus a basket of strawberries. Made in Paris, naturellement.
Your favorite childhood photo sent to her in a silver frame, $28, to remind her that you'll always be her baby. (Get 10% off any Pinhole Press order with the code CUPOFJO.) P.S. That's my mom, my twin sister and me above:)
Friendship earrings--one for you and one for her. $55.
Field of Grass soy candle, to transport her to freshly cut grass in the countryside, among daisies, beneath the sun. $20.
An astrology reading, because how fun is that?! And lunch afterward to talk about it all.
Our apartment has a plain old white fridge. So, to jazz it up a bit, I made some Pinhole Press photo magnets. I used snapshots of Toby, as well as some photos I found online of my favorite old-school celebs (including Mick Jagger, obviously). Our gallery display makes our whole kitchen feel so much cozier, and Toby loves pointing himself out. For Mother's Day, I'm going to send my mom a package of Toby magnets:)
Our babysitter noticed how much I like wine (busted) and gave me three lady bottle stoppers for my last birthday. They make me smile every time I walk through our kitchen. Bottle stoppers make great gifts when going to a dinner party or wedding, and are also just sweet to have on your kitchen counter, chilling in a half-bottle of red.
(Layout by Jennifer Hagler for Cup of Jo. Thanks to Emily Hsieh for scouting help. Comic by Christopher Weyant)
The Sisters Brothers. All my guy friends are obsessed with this page-turning thriller, which is described as a Coen Brothers film in novel form. Spooky. $16.
A John Derian tray for his desk, for keys, change and reminding him how lucky he is, $66.
In this 9-minute film, Rendezvous, a man gets into a sports car and drives at terrifying speeds around Paris. He actually runs red lights, dodges pedestrians and screeches around corners, then finally stops the car and meets a beautiful woman. The 1970s film is taken from the driver's viewpoint and was shot illegally early one morning; the director Claude Lelouch was rumored to have been arrested when it first aired. Trust me, you will be the coolest girlfriend ever if you give him this gift. $29.95.
If he's a foodie, get him something crazy obscure and awesome from Gilt Taste, like beer sausages, basil-fed snails or scotch and stout truffles.
A stinky cheese class for you to take together. New York or San Francisco, $75/person.
Artwork for your bedroom, to make him laugh, or smile. $20 to $60.
I Could Eat a Horse pasta measuring tool, plus a homemade pasta feast. $15.
Silver frame with a photo of when you first started dating, so you'll both remember falling in love and getting butterflies. (You can upload a photo and get the frame here.)
Temporary tattoos to wear on your shoulder when you go out to dinner that evening. $5/each.
A sweet love note and a kiss.
The Miraculous Push-Up Bra, for obvious reasons. $58. (This is sexy, too.)
Cool heart hoops by Marc Jacobs, $48.
A gift certificate for a foot massage. Have you ever gotten one? Pressure points on your feet correspond to other parts of your body (your head, your arms, your back) so you leave feeling relaxed and floppy all over. Amazing and such a treat. $115 for an hour.
Flowers, and here's the kicker: Send them to her office. It's so much fun to get flowers at work! Her heart will secretly skip a beat when the delivery guy walks in and calls her name, and they'll look gorgeous on her desk for a week. (P.S. Skip the traditional dozen red roses and mix it up a little or a lot; and be sure the bouquet includes a vase. Call up a local florist, or Teleflora and Proflowers are great, too. xoxo)
Ampersand necklace to show your sweet connection. (The font was inspired by the alphabet magnets on everyone's fridges growing up!) $124.
Etta James CD, with classic songs to make her starry-eyed. $4.99.
Giant heart balloons to have waiting in the bathroom, bedroom, hallway and living room when she wakes up.
A notepad with your favorite schmoopy photo, $12.99.
A brownie of the month club. (This exists!!!) $65 for three months.
A good old-fashioned love letter, since that's all she really wants anyway.