Humorous Housewarming Gift

I was in the card aisle at Target (my favorite place on Earth) the other day.  I had to buy 3 cards for 3 different friends hitting really exciting milestones.  I bought an engagement card, a wedding card and a new home card.  It got me to thinking about how genuinely excited I am for all my friends and the exciting things happening for them. 

So, of course, I had to get them gifts along with their cards.

I had the perfect gift for the "new home" in my back pocket from Pinterest.  I had seen it a while ago and it actually made me laugh out loud.  I've been waiting and waiting for someone to buy a house specifically so I could make this humorous housewarming gift. 

I became fast friends with our wedding photographer, Kiersten, during the wedding planning process.  She's one of those people who practically glows from the inside out.  She just has this incredibly warm disposition that made even my camera-shy husband feel instantly comfortable around her.  Kiersten has an exciting career as a wedding photographer, splitting her time between shooting destination weddings in Mexico in the fall and winter and shooting Jersey Shore weddings, her home-base, in the spring and summer. 

She is the definition of a "snow bird" and I told her repeatedly how jealous I was that she pretty much never had to be cold (my dream come true).  But Kiersten looked at it a bit differently.  While she recognized her sheer luck of location, she also longed to set down some roots and stop living out of suitcases.  What she really wanted was to have a place she could actually call HOME.  She and I share the same love affair with the Jersey Shore - we were both born and raised here.  In fact, she loves the Atlantic Ocean so much, I'm convinced she's part mermaid. 

I was over the moon when Kiersten told Brian and I that she not only purchased her first home, but she bought a condo in the same exact condo complex where Brian and I lived during the first 3 years we dated.  In a strange coincidence, we even figured out that she had looked at our actual condo when it was on the market.  I can't tell you how many fond memories I have from our first place.  We probably walked the two miles to the beach with our dog about a thousand times while we lived there.  I can't think of a better place for Kiersten, an avid surfer and beach bum, to finally call HOME.

Here is the super easy and affordable gift I gave Kiersten to congratulate on her new home:

• 4 wine glasses ($1 each at The Dollar Tree)
• I added chalkboard labels to each wine glass (left-over from our wedding favors)
• 1 bottle of white wine (I highly recommend Trader Joe's for cheap but tasty wine)
• 1 hammer ($9 at Lowe's)
• 1 piece of chalk (because people always forget to include chalk when a gift has a chalkboard!)

Onto the next gift....