My Top Ten Uncommon Gifts for Mom

Now that Easter is behind us (wow, was it late this year or what?) Mother's Day is quickly approaching and it is time to start thinking about ways to honor the mothers in our lives. Whether it is your own mother, your daughter, a friend that nurtures you or even yourself, it is always nice to shower those we love with a special gift. 

It can be a simple gift ... a photograph, a coupon for hugs, or a handpicked bouquet of flowers, but it is always the thought behind the gift that matters the most. 

My mom makes these handmade potholders ... they are the sweetest gifts from the heart.

I like to purchase gifts that help a cause, or give back in some way. A couple of Christmases ago, I gave these bird soaps out as gifts. They benefit the environmental clean up and care of the affected birds and animals of the BP oil spill in the gulf of Mexico. You can purchase them and read more about their story here.

Bowl with felt - handcrafted by Melissa Schooley at her barn studio in Ontario, Canada

Today, I am partnering with a long time favorite online store of mine, UncommonGoods, a company that puts a lot of thought behind their products. 

If you are not familiar with UncommonGoods, they are an online marketplace that sells unique and fun products. They carry a lot of  handmade, up-cycled and recycled products which I always gravitate to.  Not only do they sell unique products but they provide a platform for the artists and designers that create the products and they feature their stories in their catalogue, on their website and on their blog. I also value that they are concerned with environmental and social sustainability; their catalogues are printed on recycled paper (30% post consumer waste) and they donate a portion of each purchase to your choice of non-profit organizations like American Forests, Women for Women International, City Harvest and RAINN. In fact, they are one of just a few catalogues that I did not cancel last year when I was eliminating the dozens of mail catalogues I used to receive every week. 

Retired Wine Barrel Lazy Susan 

You can see more of their recycled products here.

They also carry fun and quirky products like one of my first purchases with them - this walking alarm clock which was an attempt to help my teenage daughter at the time wake up in the mornings. I also bought this shower squid for her a couple of years ago for to help her organize her small college apartment shower. 

So in honor of Mother's Day, I have put together my top ten "uncommon" gifts for mom under $150. If I am going to be completely honest here, I think I have to admit that the mom that I had the most in mind was "me".  I couldn't help but pick the things that I love the most. You can go onto the UncommonGoods' website and see even more wonderful gifts that they have curated for Mother's Day here. Did I mention that they also have a lot of personalized products? Check out some of their personalized items just for moms here). 

(Because being a mother is a huge responsibility and it can feel overwhelming.) 

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

I would love every one of those gifts (hint hint)! You can see even more uncommon gifts for mom here. Happy shopping everyone!

This post was sponsored by Uncommon Goods. I was compensated for my opinions but all the opinions are 100% mine.

Mother's Day and no regrets

"A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary."

-Dorothy Canfield Fisher

Sarah & Bendrix

Non. Je ne regrette rien.

It means "I have no regrets" and it is the new poster I just bought. It was inspired by the Edith Piaf song and is a simple statement that means life is to be lived without regrets and in full. I may not frame it for a while (no time) but it will someday hang in my home to be a reminder.

Sarah & Bendrix

This year I decided to work differently. I wanted to make time to live. I thought about my children and my new grand-daughter and how I was missing out on so many things because I was always working. And I thought about my mom. She is 83 years young, but I did not want to look back someday and say that I had missed some amazing moments with her because I was just too busy. So I started to "X" out some days each month on my calendar and take some personal days off. 

When a good friend of mine was battling terminal cancer in her (and my) 40's, her brother told her to live with no regrets. It was great advice. Make peace where you need to, don't look back someday wishing you had done something differently, or missed an opportunity. No regrets. Live now. 

 Roger's Gardens

So last week, with a full schedule and a party to style the next day (and all the preparations that go along with that), I decided to take my mom along with me on my errands. I knew she would enjoy going along the the rental store (they have so many pretty things) and I knew she would love walking around Roger's Gardens. I just had to pick up a couple of things and could have been in and out in 20 minutes but instead we spent a couple of hours walking around slowly, looking at all the plants and flowers and patio furniture. We took time to have a lovely lunch and do a little shopping at her favorite gourmet grocery store.  I was overcome with gratitude; so incredibly happy that I had my mom to spend the day with. 

Roger's Gardens

I am out of town right now, writing this from my daughter's house. I am here with both of my girls and my sweet granddaughter (and hoping that my mom will decide to make the trek up here as well). Again, I am filled with gratitude. 

Our Mother's Day Menu - found here   

Happy Mother's Day to all of us. To those of us who have birthed a child and to those who have not. To our friends who have filled in where our mothers could not and to our daughters who helped us be better women. To our sisters who hold our hands love us unconditionally, and to those of us who are left only with the memories of the moms we wish we still had with us. To those who "mother us" whether they gave birth to us or not; for being our soft place to fall and the place where we get our strength. This is for all of you ... my friends, my sisters, my daughters and my mom ... I hope you all have a wonderful day and know how loved and important you are. xxoo

via

"God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers."-Jewish proverb