Last Minute Gifts for Kids

Last Minute Gift for Kids

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Are you looking for last minute gifts for kids? Easy peasy stocking stuffers? We gave our older grandkids, nieces and nephew a $25 Kiva Card. Kiva is a nonprofit organization that is works  to match up people from around the world through lending and borrowing. “Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world,” according to the Kiva website.

Each child will get to look through profiles of hundred of people from around the world who need a loan to grow a business, or go to school, switch to clean energy or more. The child will use the Kiva Card to make the loan, and after the loan is repaid, he or she can select another borrower to support.

Research shows that kids often get greater satisfaction from giving or sharing than receiving. We’re hoping that’s true with our kids, and we hope that they will enjoy their Kiva Cards.

What are you giving your kids for Christmas?

A few links I hope you enjoy:

Gift ideas for older kids.

Good books.

Unique, personalized, handmade stockings.

Easy Weeknight Recipes.

My very favorite Christmas movie.

I am binging on this podcast about old Hollywood.

 

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Bryan-Cranston-as-Dalton-Trumbo-in-his-Oscar-nominated-role. Oscars, Academy-Awards, Bryan-Cranston, Trumbo, Trueheartgal

Happy Weekend

Trumbo. Happy Weekend. Trueheartgal.

Bryan Cranston in his Golden Globe nominated performance as Dalton Trumbo.

What do you have planned for this holiday season weekend? Mister Trueheart and I went to see the brilliant, must-see Trumbo movie tonight. This weekend, we’re going to a big six-oh birthday party and I’m going to dress up a bit. We are going to decorate our Christmas trees (His: white lights, no tinsel. Hers: colored lights, lots of tinsel.) , and we still have lots of shopping to do. Oh, and we have to clean the chicken coop.

Have a wonderful weekend, and here are some links I hope you enjoy.

Are you watching Season 2 of Amazon’s award-winning program Transparent? It starts today.

A beautiful ballerina on Instagram.

A wealth of Christmas cookie recipes.

50 Best Music documentaries. 

A lovely children’s book about friendship and loneliness.

Recipe for a wonderful dip.

15 things to learn in your 50’s.

Hotties for a cause.

Films with today’s superstars, before they were big. I want to see them all.

Little stuffed mice with their own matchbox beds. Toddler perfect.

Love yourself and teach your girls to do the same.

Why Not Me?, Mindy Kaling’s new book looks great.

XO

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Lunch overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Rocky Point Restaurant

Visit Carmel for the Holidays

Lunch overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Rocky Point Restaurant, south of Carmel-by-the-Sea

Amalfi Coast? No. Lunch on the patio of Rocky Point Restaurant, just a few minutes south of Carmel-by-the-Sea.

We love visiting Carmel for the holidays. It is a seaside town that got a taste of stardom when Clint “Dirty Harry” Eastwood became mayor for a short time in the mid-80’s. We stay at Doris Day’s Cypress Inn, and bring our dog. Bring holiday guests or come on your own, the natural beauty will blow everyone away.

Visit Carmel for the Holidays

Cypress Inn with Holiday lights.

Visit Carmel for the Holidays

The Cypress Inn’s lounge is complete with a fireplace, a Christmas tree and cozy (dog-friendly) couches.

We’ve been going to Carmel for many years, and more recently, it has become “our little spot” for Thanksgiving. We love the beach, the peace and quiet, the art galleries, and the dog-friendly attitude that pervades the town. This year, amidst the kick-off of our Christmas shopping, we explored beyond the little Carmel hamlet and found a few new spots that we loved.

Rocky Point Restaurant is located on a cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean. The day after Thanksgiving, we headed south on Hwy 1 and made the brief ten mile drive to this spot that opened as a roadside lunch spot in 1947. The weather could not have been better, so we sat outside on the patio.

The view from Rocky Point Restaurant, minutes south of Carmel-by-the-Sea

After our lunch, we hiked out to the rocky cliffs below the restaurant along an easy path. Hikers report that dolphins and whales are often spotted from the path, but we they didn’t appear on the day we were there. Another reason to return!

The hiking path below Rocky Point Restaurant, south of Carmel-by-the-Sea.

The trail below Rocky Point Restaurant is easy and beyond picturesque. Can you see all the folks fishing?

Big Sur, California, just a few minutes south of Carmel-by-the-Sea

On our way back from Rocky Point, we stopped to tour Carmel’s Mission. Founded in 1770 by Father Junipero Serra, the mission was the headquarters of the Alta California missions. As all California 4th graders can tell you, there are 21 Spanish missions, or religious outposts dotting the state from San Diego to Sonoma. The Missions were established by Spanish Catholic priests between 1769 and 1833, to expand Christianity among the Native Americans northwards into what we now know as California. Simple, peaceful and full of interesting exhibits in five small museums, the Carmel Mission boasts a beautiful stone church, as well as the surprisingly bare room in which Father Serra lived and died. It was well worth the visit.

The edifice of the Carmel Mission in Carmel-by-the-Sea

The edifice of the Carmel Mission.

Interior of the Carmel Mission's Basilica, in Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Interior of the Carmel Mission’s Basilica.

Our Lady of Bethlehem statue in the Carmel Mission, in Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Our Lady of Bethlehem statue , which was given to the Spanish explorers by the Archbishop of Mexico City in 1770. She has resided in Carmel since then.

Are you on Instagram? (Follow me: https://www.instagram.com/trueheartgal/) I started using because I love keeping up with what interests my 14-year-old nieces, but now I do it because it is fun and inspiring. I follow Kim of northerncalstyle, and she recommended a stop at Tancredi & Morgen, which we did on our way out of town on Sunday. It’s adorable and full of holiday decorations and gifts!

Tancredi & Morgen, just south of Carmel-by-the-Sea.

The front of Tancredi & Morgen, located just off Carmel Valley Road.

This little shop is located in one of the sole remaining buildings from a ranch that was once located on the spot. We met Roger Alldis, who, along with his wife, established the business. Roger hails from South Africa and loves traveling to France and Turkey among other spots to find the treasures that fill the store. We found an array of Christmas decorations, old hotel silver, handmade pillows, copper pots, textiles, antiques, furniture and clothing to name just a few items.

Tancredi & Morgen, located just south of Carmel-by-the-Sea

I didn’t wind up buying anything, as I’d already purchased several items from downtown Carmel shops.

A lovely holiday decoration from Tancredi & Morgen, located just south of Carmel-by-the-Sea

Next time, I’ll be sure I visit Tancredi Morgen early in my visit!

Tancredi & Morgen, located just south of Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Of course, my favorite moments were those I spent on Ocean Beach, the doggiest beach in the world, with my darling husband and our rescue dog, Mia. She is ten now, and slowing down a bit, but few things make her eyes sparkle as much as chasing tennis balls at full speed.

Our dog Mia on dog-friendly Ocean Beach in Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Seeing her so happy makes my heart soar.

Our dog Mia on Ocean Beach in Carmel.

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Selfie with me and my girl.

Watching the sunsets on the beach is a spiritual experience.

Ocean Beach in Carmel-by-the-Sea

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A few links I hope you will enjoy:

Last year’s post from Carmel, and a trip to Carmel with a friend.

The Myth of Quality Time.

The anatomy of a scene: Amy. I hope you’ll see the movie.

A photographer imagines herself as her mother’s childhood friend.

I’m loving  “I’ll Have What Phil’s Having.” Check it out!

Meet: the kitten nanny.

Oscar winner Julianne Moore acts for tips.

“Beautiful, gross, strong, thin, fat, pretty, ugly, sexy, disgusting, flawless, woman.” How do you respond to Amy Schumer in the new Pirelli calendar.

Finally, I write as I listen to the news about the mass shooting in San Bernadino. This just after the attack on a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs. Which was just after an attack at Umpqua Community College. Which was just after eight people killed in a home outside Houston. Which was just after the shooting during a prayer meeting in Charleston. Which was just after a shootout in Waco.

This was the 355th mass shooting this year. We must come together to change our gun laws. Enough. Enough. Enough.

 

 

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