I can’t believe this is my second Mother’s Day! I get so emotional just thinking about how much of an impact being a mother has made on my life. Milly is such a gift from God. Mr. A and I say all the time that if we knew how wonderful being parents was going to be we’d find each other sooner and have all the babies! Last year’s Mother’s Day was just perfect. Mr. A took me to brunch at 189 by Dominique Ansel where they serve food dim sum style so servers walk around with food on boards and you choose what you want. It was SO much fun! Not sure what his plans are this year but all I know is mothers should be celebrated everyday and especially on Mother’s Day! And while gifts are never the goal here-we all cherish those hand written notes 100X more than any monetary thing, those thoughtful gifts are special as well. I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite things I think any Mama would appreciate. Head to my instagram IGTV Channel to watch my gift guide or scroll down to read about each of them.
THE MILLY PENDANT BY EDWARD AVEDIS
I designed this necklace with my good friend, Avo of Edward Avedis with my daughter, Milly in mind. I love having her initial around my neck and it’s a piece of jewelry I never take off. You can choose any initial you like in this beautiful delicate font. The Milly Pendant is available in 14 KT yellow, white or rose gold and sterling silver, too it’s something Mom will cherish forever. Use code BRANDI for 20% OFF
PHOTO ALBUM
Mom would love it if you just put all of her pictures into an album. There are so many apps available that make it super easy to choose the photos from your phone and have it printed into a book. I decided to start doing this every quarter so that Milly has photos she can look through and we can start documenting our lives better. We don’t do screen time in our home or let Milly play on our phones but I realized she really enjoys looking at photos on my phone! So after my parents and sister and nephews visited us from AZ I decided to compile all of the photos we took into a book for her and it’s now one of our favorite things to look through!
GIRL WASH YOUR FACE by Rachel Hollis
This book is such a powerful read you won’t be able to stop turning the pages. Rachel Hollis has such an authentic, relatable, inspiring sense of energy you’ll feel like the badass Mama you are when you’re done reading it. It’s one of my go to gifts and one any woman would appreciate!
IBI at MEETIBI.COM
If your Mom takes a ton of photos or has boxes of old photos, hard drives and laptops this is the gift for her. Ibi is a smart photo manager that comes with a companion app so you can sync all of your social media accounts, , cloud accounts etc with this device and have all of your photos in one place organized by date and location. It collects, organizes and saves all of your photos in one place! We take so many photos but never know where any of them are! This has been a lifesaver for me! The device holds 2TB (that’s about 500,000 images) so she could even share the space on the Ibi with you!
SAJE ESSENTIAL OIL DIFFUSER BLENDS
I swear by essential oils and have been using them for a few decades. We diffuse them in Milly’s room at night or when she is resting/napping to create a calm relaxing environment. I love the natural blends Saje carries and enjoy so many of their products including their diffusers and essential oil rollers. You can choose the individual oils for Mom or get her a collection of them. I especially love their Peaceful and Blend Collection.
MARA UNIVERSAL FACE OIL
I have been using this oil for almost a year and I can’t live without it! So many of my friends started using it too and swear by it! It’s really the only face oil you need for bouncy, glowing skin. MARA Universal Face Oil is for all skin types and is loaded with age-defying algae, plankton extract and four superfood plant oils to replenish and hydrate tired, dry skin. It feels SO good on the skin. You can use it day and night but I definitely I don’t go to sleep without putting my MARA on!
GIFT CARDS
Gift cards should never be considered impersonal or unemotional because I think it’s so thoughtful when someone finds out your favorite restaurant/spa/nail salon etc and gives you a gift card to that place! A handwritten card with a gift card inside is absolutely a wonderful gift. The best way for Mama to feel pampered is for her to be treated!
MARBLE & WOOD BOARD
This board is not only functional but beautiful! Just leaning against the backsplash in her kitchen is sure to make Mom smile. This is the gift for the mom that loves entertaining and having people over. It doesn’t matter what she puts on the board (cheese & meats, desserts, fruit, crackers) it will make her the hostess with the mostest!
MY HOMEMADE BLUEBERRY LAYERED CAKE
Making something for Mom homemade is so sweet and a much appreciated gift! My blueberry layered cake is one of those desserts that looks impressive but isn’t difficult to make! Layers of butter cake, juicy blueberry filling and creamy buttercream frosting make up this showstopper that will have Mom gasping, smiling and crying all at once. It’s that good! The full recipe can be found here.
Be sure to tag me on instagram letting me know what you did for your Mom on Mother’s Day! And if you gave here one of these gifts, I’d love to know her reaction! Hope everyone has a beautiful day celebrating our everyday superheros, Mothers!