Kinda Everything: Daily Life + Design

It’s Thursday, late Thursday—just two days before Mother’s Day—and, naturally, I’ve waited until the very last second to figure out a gift for my mom. Honestly, after 42 years, my mom knows me well enough to assume her present might roll in fashionably late. Little does she know that this year I’m actually slightly ahead of schedule!

I had a bunch of ideas for what to get my mom for Mother’s Day, but I honestly wasn’t sure what she’d actually be into now that she’s retired. I thought about something gardening-related, but so far her entire garden is just impatients, so there’s not exactly a lot of gardening going on there. Cookware? I’ve pretty much covered every cooking/baking/frying gadget known to mankind over the years. A massage gift card or nail spa day is a no-go because she does not like strangers touching her. And I’m so over giving her QVC gift cards, even though I know she’ll happily use them. Somehow, the older she gets, the trickier she is to shop for!

I ended up getting her some super comfy lounge sandals to walk around the house in, plus a really unique candle setup. I know, it sounds kind of lame, but hear me out: the candle holder is this travertine carved bowl, and the candle brand is Foton. Foton includes this scented white sand—I chose Vanilla—and you just pour it into any container you want. It comes with 30 little wicks. You just stick as many as you want into the sand, with a tiny bit peeking out so you can light them. They even threw in a sample aroma sand so she can switch it up later if she wants. I figured she would love this, especially since she can swap out the sand and scents with the seasons and it matches her decor.

Hopefully you’ve already snagged your Mother’s Day gift and aren’t stress-ordering it at the last minute. Don’t be that procrastinator she knows you are!