Almost everyone I know was taking a budgeted approach to gift-giving this year, our family included. Despite facing Fiscal Responsibility (unlike Congress these days - sheesh!), our families came up with some truly cool selections I just have to share...
Probably my favorite gift - this felted soap my Mom found at Anthropologie. The handmade soap is wrapped in soft, natural wool that can be reused after the soap is dissolved. The verbena scent I received is heavenly-fresh, and the hand-thrown dish is perfect!

Many of us have been re-introduced to the down-to-earth foodie genius that was Julia Child this year with the release of Julie and Julia. My in-laws, however, are old school devotees, and gifted us with a two-DVD set of her original series, The French Chef - I can't wait to watch and learn!

And, finally, a gift I imagine many people across the US received: Kindle, from Amazon. The wireless reading device is perfect for us ex-pats - with its wireless capability, we can download the latest must-reads, bypassing our usual two-week shipping delay for a paper version. I can't say I thought about owning one, as I'm still partial to "real" books, but I'm super-psyched about it!