Simple Gifts for Mom

Mother's Day is Sunday! I'm in love with some of these DIY ideas - they offer not only a sweet sentiment, but the fact they are homemade makes them all the more charming to receive:

The Culinary Creator

We all know fresh herbs offer such depth of flavor in cooking. A small, indoor herb garden with Mom's favorite herbs will not only be beautiful, but will be a true treat when she's cooking (but, please ... take Mom out to eat on Sunday!) You can easily do this yourself with an organic potting soil, a few of her favorites (rosemary, English thyme, Italian parsley and mint are a great start!) and a lovely planter that suits her decor of choice:

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The Inner Aesthetician

If a spa gift certificate is not in your budget this year, treat Mom to some homemade treatments such as these deliciously smelling body scrubs courtesy of Martha Stewart Living:

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The Family Art Curator:

A perfect gift for any age to make! Purchase a simple black frame/white mat combo and you can quickly turn it into a child's masterpiece! Use the mat as a "canvas" and the little ones can decorate it (colored pencils or markers work GREAT!) and then simply sign the bottom right-hand corner "Happy Mother's Day 2012." Frame one of your favorite candids of the kids or grandkids and voila! It also is a great way to start a memory wall and you can make it an annual tradition!

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The Purposeful Poet

Whether she writes for leisure, for gratitude, for therapy ... a homemade journal is sure to be meaningful for Mom:

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No matter what you decide, honoring Mom this weekend will be most meaningful with your own touches and traditions. Remember, it's not about the most fancy or the most expensive ways to celebrate her - it's about the personal sentiment. That's what she'll remember (and love) most.

xx JN

Smitten for Handwritten

{ image via The Savvy Traveller }

As of late, I have kept my journal in my handbag so I can utilize the times I actually do get a seat on the subway to write.

This afternoon provided a great opportunity to spend my time from 4th Avenue to Broadway/Lafayette putting my thoughts on paper - and as I made my way into Manhattan, the gentleman sitting next to me said, "Do you mind my asking what your opinion is on the difference between a journal and a diary?"

I actually had to take a moment. That was not a question I had ever been asked before.

My first instinct was to think of my Hello Kitty diary that had a lock and key when I was in the first grade. I remember fondly tucking away my "deepest secrets" in that little book ... it had a very special pen that came with it, and I always found it interesting that at the top of each page was a place to jot down the status of the weather.

Writing in a journal seemed far more "grown up" than those days long ago.

What was interesting was the gentleman's take - a journal, to him, was more analytical; a diary, more private and personal.

More importantly, that sweet gentleman said, "I must tell you I am glad to see you putting your thoughts on paper; people just don't write things down anymore. We type. We e-mail. We blog. But no one actually writes by hand. I always loved writing long letters ... but now people just e-mail. There will come a point when people do not know how to actually write things down with a pen and paper. How sad is that? I've always felt that the ink is just an extension of who we are. There is nothing more personal than handwriting your thoughts."

When I got home, I asked Jim his opinion about this new quandry: diary vs. journal - and his reaction was the exact opposite. A journal was about the introspective process we go through on our personal journey; a diary, a written account of the day-to-day.

So it begs the question, do you write your thoughts down in a diary or journal? And if so, what is the difference between the two in your opinion?

xx JN