LOC Stocking Stuffers 2014!

Not sure what to fill stockings with this year? Here are some of my favorite finds that are practical, fun and pretty...

1. If you have someone that is wanting to redo a dresser or cabinets, a stocking a fun place to put the knobs they've been dreaming about, but can't afford. Zara Home - Knobs

2. Diane Von Furstenburg is one of my fashion icons and I really hope someone puts The Woman I Wanted to be in my stocking this year! She has led quite the life and is truly an inspiration.

3. Everyone loves a fun wine stopper and I look how pretty these Safari Bottle Stoppers from C Wonder are!

4.|5. Surprise, surprise, I have Rifle Paper Co. options in here. Their pocket notebooks and floral coasters are gorgeous pops of color for any stocking.

6. Gloves that are texting friendly are the best! When they are as cute as these Kate Spade Bow Gloves, they are perfect for a stocking!

7. Marc Jacobs is a favorite designer of mine and when I saw these Kiss Pop Lip Color Sticks, I decided this would be my stocking lip choice for the year.

8. I know it's a personal plug, but I really do think the Love of Character Hair Ties would make a great item to throw in a stocking! You can do the fun Christmas edition or one of the other great packs. Details below.

9. I love the Kate Spade Planners and this year I'm craving this small green one! I need to get my schedule more organized and I love that she has smaller sizes that are more purse friendly this year.

Don't forget that a lot of these websites are having sales - check out  my post from yesterday to see the list.

Also, it's Small Business Saturday, so make sure you are getting out and supporting the small businesses in your area this season - here are a few of my favorites that come to mind:

The Plaid Giraffe

Social Manor

Dandurand Drugs

Watermark Books & Cafe

The Pink Saloon
The Little House - Kansas City
Bloom - Lawrence

I also love any support you have for my small (ok, tiny!) business. If you are interested in any hair ties for stockings, here are my current selections:

E-mail me at fortheloveofcharacter@gmail.com or Facebook message me!

I am also going to work on fun Little Boxes of Christmas Character today and will post about them next week!

Lots of Love,

LOC Christmas List 2014!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I put together my Christmas List for this year to help give you some ideas (for yourself and for others!) and it is kind of across the board. I put all of my favorite current finds, some that I have, some that I desire!

1. I really want some elegant frames for my house this year. I have some mixed in, but would like to upgrade the rest of mine from the college days: Gold Frame - Zara Home | White Floral - Zara Home | Green Enamel - Kate Spade

2. I love getting makeup for Christmas because it is something I need, but hate to buy myself. This Too Faced set at Sephora is a perfect set because it has all makeup needs in one adorable carousel.

3. Who doesn't love a fun place to put their trinkets! This little Trinkets Tray from C Wonder is perfect for a dresser or bathroom counter.

4. Tree by Lafco is not only a gorgeous candle, it smells amazing. The Plaid Giraffe is a good place to go and smell the different candles.

5. This Baggu Pouch is featured in this month's Martha Stewart Living and is hand painted by Anna Bond (my favorite!) - I want it, so I can try out painting it with her leaf pattern.

6. I honestly can't believe I don't already have one of these adorable acrylic tape dispensers from Social Manor because I have gifted them to others.

7. Last summer I purchased the "B" Jewelry Box from C Wonder for our bedroom and I love how elegant it looks. Great gift for someone who has everything.

8. You all know how much I love my Rifle Paper Co. In Bloom Books! What a pretty present!

9. My mother recently told me that The Plaid Giraffe got in these fabulous MacKenzie Child's Storage Boxes - they would make leftovers much more appetizing!

10. For the finale, I put my biggest want this season - a Cuyana Leather Tote in Caramel monogrammed. I love the simplicity and elegance of this leather tote, plus you can have it personalized!

If any of these items caught your eye, you should be aware of the amazing sales going on for some of them:
C Wonder - 40% every little thing! 
Kate Spade - 25% off site wide!
Zara Home - 30% off site wide!
Social Manor - Monday they are having a Cyber Monday Sale 25% off online!
Rifle Paper Co. - 30% off almost everything! Trust me I did my damage this morning and everyone is having a very Rifle Paper Christmas.

Happy Shopping!

Lots of Love,

Basket Full of Goodies!

My Aunt Mary is at it again! She makes the best holiday baskets and she definitely out did herself this Christmas! She is so crafty and seriously finds the best little knick knacks that are fun and bring a smile to your face. While I was in college, she would send me Christmas countdown presents to help me get through finals - my roommates hated me during the month of December because I got a little present everyday. Her and my cousin Emily even put countdown presents together for my wedding! So creative and seriously so thoughtful - love you Aunt Mary!

I decided to share the goodies with you all, no not to brag (even though you should be jealous!), but to help you if you are needing any last minute ideas for people. I should have seriously considered asking her to put together a Christmas wishlist because she managed to find the cutest pieces from my favorite places: Kate Spade, Anthropologie & Rifle Paper Co. - she's good!

To start, look at her amazing wrapping:

My mom and I didn't even want to open them because they were so cute! At the same time, we were so excited to tear them apart because we could see the treasures within. They were beyond our expectations:

Rifle Paper Co. was all over my Christmas Wishlist post and Aunt Mary knows they are a favorite of mine (they were my wedding inspiration). I'm obsessed with these cute coasters and the adorable box they came it - it would be a perfect hostess or last minute gift! The notebooks are always a good classic to have around and she even used Rifle Paper Co. wrapping paper (this is an after opening the box picture).

Great place for fun gifts that people love, but don't want to buy for themselves: http://riflepaperco.com/

Kate Spade is a favorite designer of mine because she is classic with a touch of fun! Aunt Mary nailed me on the head with these scores. Loving the little wallet because it fits perfect in clutches and love LOVE this bangle - it will go perfect with my gold Kate Spade bride bangle!
For the women in your life: http://www.katespade.com/

It goes without saying, Anthropologie is the perfect place for fun, unique gifts and it is my all time favorite store! How cute is everything she got there? I'm dying over this "M" clutch and that candle smells so good. And yes that is an apron and I'm contemplating wearing it as my Christmas outfit haha!
Online, the initial clutches are sadly out of stock, unless you are a Y. They do, however, have other aMAZing clutches and bags that would be a great gift for your mom, sister or any other favorite lady: Anthropologie Clutches.
Their aprons are always a major hit: Anthropologie Aprons
The mini blue mercury candle is the perfect "small" gift for stockings & friends: Anthropologie Candle
And they have some of the best hair ties around - perfect pick me up for yourself and also a great "small" gift: Anthropologie Hair Accessories

One of the best parts about Aunt Mary's gifts is all the character filled details! She made me felt ribbon candy, used vintage gift tags, and that cute blue package with the big bow is a Starbucks card! Why give it in the regular envelopes, when you can wrap it and put a big bow on it. I'm also very excited about the hot chocolate on a stick....has to taste amazing because that is one big piece of chocolate!

Another exciting piece of mail I received today was my Kate Spade Literary Glasses Planner! It was the color inspiration for our office and I'm so excited to start filling out important dates and blog notes in it.

I chose the Literary Glasses print because I wear awesome nerd glasses and I love the colors. These apparently became a hot item this holiday season because they are hard to find (trust me, I was so mad at myself for not just ordering right away!). If you are quick though, I have a couple places I found that are still carrying them:
Bloomingdales has the Kate Spade Rose Print Agenda.
Carlton University Bookstore (and they have 20% off!): Kate Spade Literary Glasses & Rose Agenda
You can also try checking out your local stores that carry Kate Spade products.

If you are still needing to shop, then I hope this gave you some ideas and inspiration for fun gifts! As much as people like to get practical things, they also love to get fun things that they don't want to buy for themselves. I love giving gifts that bring a smile to the person's face, and trust me when I say this gift basket brought a huge smile to my face!

Lots of Love,

Character Filled Christmas List!

Like I said last night, I am working on my Christmas lists and I am loving the items below. I tried to pick out snazzy pieces that would help add some character to any home:

1. Citrus Floral Tin Recipe Box 2. Parima Lipstick Print 3. Poppy Kyoto Pillow Cover 4. 2014 Secret Garden Calendar 5. Courtly Check Enamel Vase - Green Bow 6. Gold Monogram Mugs 7. Scroll Picture Frames 8. Three Tier Jewelry Box

I was on a mission to find items that 1. I really want and 2. that are under a $100, so they are affordable gifts for the people you need to buy for (or for your list!). The recipe box from Rifle Paper Co. has been on my list for a while and they are finally selling them online (the recipe cards from my Stuff that Stocking post are a great addition to this). The lipstick print has also been on my wish list because I think it would be so cute above my dresser or in a bathroom. There are three different ones and I think just one or all three would be pretty. The pink Serena & Lily pillow is just fun and comes in 3 different colors. Rifle Paper Co. is on my list again with their 2014 calendar - how pretty would this be in my office! MacKenzie Childs vases are so fun and I am loving the green bow on this one. If you are local, go into The Plaid Giraffe to check out all of their wonderful MacKenzie Childs pieces! The monogram mug is just an easy little gift. I actually bought the "B" mug while I was at Williams Sonoma a couple weeks ago because I thought it would be great for holding pens on my desk. I really want the gold frames from C Wonder - how perfect would they be for wedding pictures! And lastly, a great jewelry box from Mark and Graham. My jewelry gets all mixed up on my dresser and I would love to have a great box to organize it all in. Plus, you can add your monogram to the top!

Hope this gives you some ideas! I tried to look at fun brands that have lots of great items for these wish lists, so even if none of these pieces fill your desires, check out the websites to see what else you might find!

Lots of Love,

Stuff that Stocking!

Update on Wedding Photo Book: We received our Artifact Uprising wedding book in the mail and it turned out amazing! We love it and ordered more of the hard cover, plus made a fun softcover for my grandma.

Sorry I have been M.I.A. the past few days! Work has been crazy and I lost track of time this week. My mother has been bugging me for Christmas gift ideas, so I thought I would share with you fun Christmas gift ideas - mostly house related, with a few fun needs (ok, maybe they are more wants than needs...).
To start, we are going to look at stocking stuffers that will put a smile on any girl's face come Christmas morning!

1. Women's Touch Screen Cashmere Gloves 2. Modern Family Bluray 3. Chanel Lipgloss - 131 MICA 4. Washi Tape 5. Kitchen Towels - WS Holiday 6. Lemon Recipe Cards 7. Pinwheel Push Pins

I am loving the idea of the touch screen gloves because in the world of smart phones, nothing is worse than freezing hands trying to call someone. Modern Family is the story of Dustin and my future as a married couple because it is creepy how much we reflect Claire and Phil sometimes. Really creepy that watching it we realized we are painting our living room the same color as theirs...
Chanel lip gloss is a usual stocking favorite because it is a wonderful little luxury that I don't want to buy on a regular basis. I want the washi tape to use on fun home projects and it would be a great stocking filler, plus it adds some color! Williams Sonoma kitchen towels are simply the best. Rifle Paper and Co. has the cutest recipe cards - makes me want to try out new recipes just so I can write them down! And last, but certainly not least are something I already have, but if you don't, you definitely need some fun push pins in your stocking!

Hope this added some fun items to your wish list!
Lots of Love,