PORT ARTHUR —

 Sometimes planning the wrapping, bows and presentation of a gift is easier for me than finding the actual present. If Mom or  you favorite graduate are getting gift certificates are goodies this season, I’ll make it easy on you and steer you to some trendy goodies:



Tag, this is it

If a gift has “your name on it,” literally, it’s sure to please. Token Tags is a beautiful, silvery gift that says just what you want it to say, in typewriter or some other font. Tiny tags spell out your family or friends names, your hobbies such as ballet, your mood, such as serenity, or maybe a secret love note. Other tiny charms with hearts, swirls, trees, and birthstones make them even more personal. Marcia Cross is one of many celebrities hooked on these tags that can even honor causes such as breast cancer research. I can’t imagine any one not falling for Token Tags.



It’s ‘the’ beach sandal

Did you realize there is a name synonymous with the active, California beach lifestyle? I have been educated that the name is Flojos, pronounced flo-hos, meaning “kick back” in Spanish. I am now a fan, finding support and style in the Colette II for women (see Cole II for men). The basic flip flop design looks thin, but feels cushy. As a child, my mother felt strongly about “dangerous” sandals, and I can now see the cautions she warned against. I feel confident navigating the streets in these shoes, but I’d love to try them on an actual California beach.

Visit www.flojos.com to check out more than 90 styles.



Soapy mamas

Soap making was a backbreaking woman’s chore in pioneer days. Now a big chunk of fragrant, natural soap puts one in the mind of luxurious spas. The Joy of Soap comes in a drawstring bag of promise. I’m feeling the clean with Ginger Snap!, one fragrance in the line of 100 percent green practice and ingredient  line based from Thistle Court in Hayward, Calif. The all-vegetable recipes begin with certified organic oils, sustainable and therapeutic grade essential oils and organic or wild crafted botanicals with choices such as: 

• Feeling Frisky- mixture of grapefruit and orange with calendula flower petals

• Elizabeth’s Wild Hair Shaving Soap- Peppermint essential oil, medium ground pumice, willow bark powder

• Manly Man Soap- made for a man but gentle enough for a women- Sweet Orange, and tea tree oils, and finely ground pumice

Feel the joy from thejoyofsoap.com.



Emotion candles

Candles are my secret pleasure. I burn them when I’m alone, but Thymes Offerings are designed to share with others. Give Happiness, “a cheery compote of plump raspberries, tart rhubarb and spicy sugarcane lovingly tempered with delicate sweet blossoms,” or Peace, with cyclamen, white lilies, blond woods and white musk. Women will love these candles that smell so intense, I plan to keep one in the lingerie drawer for a while before touching flame to wick. I can smell Happiness all around my desk without lighting it. What does Abundance smell like? ylang ylang, Bulgrian rose, earthy iris, tonka bean and clove. Offerings include Thankfulness, Good Health, Good Luck, Love and Friendship. Who wouldn’t want them all?

ddoiron@panews.com