Try Handmade

Shopping blog featuring products made by people not factories.

Gift Guide For Love Seekers

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My sister recently reentered the dating world and I found myself vicariously reliving her first kiss, first love, first embrace moments. And then I remembered the other firsts. The first fight, first awkward moment and the first heartbreak and realized I’m quite content to be her armchair guide to love. Her backseat romance driver.

And so I’ve compiled the best dating and marriage advice I can find via a selection of handmade gifts to give. Perhaps you have a friend or family member poised on the diving board and ready to plunge into the sometimes icy, sometimes refreshing dating pool too?

The best advice I could possible give anyone heading into potential coupledom is “You Must Be Present To Win”. Be your best self and get out there and try! The man or woman you are going to pair socks with for life isn’t going to walk into your living room. (Cable television doesn’t count.) Lulubug Jewelry (featured here and here) has cast that sentiment into a fine silver necklace on a drawn cable chain.

Sometimes the best counsel has been around for years, as is the case with Kurt Vonnegut (one of my favorite authors) and his quote, “There’s only one rule that I know of babies – God damn it you’ve got to be kind.” Captured by Ragamuffin Press on scrumptiously thick paper. Be kind to those you meet, date, and most of all to yourself.

MetalandMud has captured essential advice on simple, upcycled, white plates. The one I would share with my single friends is “Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.” Let yourself flounder, grasp and stumble in the dark while you look for love. And when you find your mate you’ll see that you also found yourself a bit along the way.

And when you are ready to commit to your love, consider these wedding invitations created in the form of a vintage train ticket by LetterBoxInk. Because my dear, it’s going to be a ride. A beautiful, bumpy, roller coaster of a ride. Buy your ticket, climb aboard, hang on tight and enjoy.

Love,
Lotta

Coffee Talk – part two

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coffeecup

It is said that the stimulating effects of coffee were discovered by a 9th century goat-herder who observed his goats becoming livelier and more energetic after consuming the fruit of a certain bush. As the story goes, the shepherd gathered up some of the coffee “cherries”, brewed himself a drink and, as any coffee lover can well-imagine, became hooked.

Whether that’s a true tale or a tall-tale, historical records show that by the 15th century coffee consumption was wide-spread throughout Africa and the Middle East. It wasn’t until the mid-1600s, though, that coffee merchants began importing the beans on a large-scale basis to the Netherlands, home of Europe’s first coffeehouses. Today, coffee is enjoyed world-wide and has become a part of our cultural landscape. Cafes and coffee-shops are everywhere and “going for coffee” remains an affordable daily indulgence; even with today’s economic belt-tightening. For some of us, it is the one vice that we have allowed ourselves to hang on to.

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