One from Toms, one from Anns.

Nothingnewforayear comes with some rules. 

One of the big questions pertains to Gifts. 

Rule:

Gifts are acceptable, but if something comes in, something must go out...

Enter TOMS. 

Toms is a shoe company, with a twist. 

Per their website:

In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by TOMS customers.

Sounds like we're working off a similar philosophy... 

Well this weekend, I was privileged enough to be a part of a wonderful wedding. The bride is a very dear friend who not only is a beautiful lady, but also a very cognizant individual. She introduced me to the world of TOMS and their message. 

As you can imagine I was thrilled when she asked me to be a bridesmaid, but was even more overjoyed when one of my bridesmaid gifts included a sparkly, pink pair of TOMS!

It didn't stop there... She also wore a pair of TOMS - fit for a bride.

which means... not only were shoes donated to those in need on our behalf from TOMS, but since I'm also adhering to a similar process, now 2 pairs of shoes will be donated.

One time I worked on a show that highlighted all the "gifts" a person could buy that would somehow also benefit a charity. For example, if you buy RED products the proceeds benefit AIDS research, we all know about products that are pink... etc. 

Just a nice reminder that if you do buy things that are "new" you can still make that benefit more than just the manufacturing company... if you know where to look. 

Happy Shopping... no pressure :)

P.S. If you're worried that since I can't buy anything new for a year... the poor bride and groom suffered getting one of my DIY craft projects... think again. One of the other "rules" is that existing gift cards in my possession can be used to purchase "new" items - but only for other people. 

(This also helped cut back in the millions of dollars... MAKE THAT BILLIONS...$30 billion dollars companies profit from people forgetting to use those gift cards!)

And so those Pottery Barn gift cards I still hadn't used, came up big. For the happy couple moving to Japan in a few weeks - some Monogrammed, leather luggage tags, and a monogrammed Christmas ornament. I know it's no Kitchenaid Mixer but they'll be stuffing themselves with so much sushi they'd forget how to use it! ha