Ellie and I are celebrating another birthday together in just a couple of days. She was born on my birthday three years ago! I shared her birth story here. Thank you Jesus for another year of life! We are so grateful. I started putting a little gift list together for her on my phone (you can find her gift guide here!) and then started my own because I tend to get a bunch of eye rolls when I say “I don’t know” when asked what I want for my birthday. This might be pretty different than the typical “gift guide for her” but hey, if you want to buy a 30 something year old homemaker that loves to get her hands dirty, get in a good sweat, is not afraid to try out a new hobby, and make (hopefully) delicious food for her family, maybe you’ll find this helpful.

• Magnolia 3 cookbook – I bought this book for two of my friends as gifts and actually made multiple recipes out of it before giving it to them. 🙈 I love that it is similar to the first Magnolia cookbook in which Joanna shared a lot of stories behind the recipes. I felt like I missed that in the second volume. By the way, those recipes turned out absolutely delicious. Which is why this is on my birthday list.
• Dumbbells – I’ve shared quite a bit about my love for Street Parking. In my years since starting SP I’ve done all of the workouts with a set of 20# dumbbells or a barbell with whatever weight. I love using a barbell but I’ve found myself doing a lot of DB workouts recently just for space sake in the garage while the kids run around. I’ve recently been feeling like I could go heavier on most of the workouts (woo!) so that’s why these are on the list.
• No Bull sneakers – I’ve worn the same three pairs of shoes to workout in for the last 7 years and they show it. They still do the job! But I can’t deny I’ve been eying these for quite literally years now.
• Pasta maker – For 2023 I set the goal of not buying any bread at all! I wanted to try to make it all from scratch. I’ve so far been able to do it and it’s really not bad with a bit of planning. Next up on my list… Pasta! I somewhat annoyingly refuse to do it without a pasta roller like this though. I can’t say I want to spend my *entire day* rolling dough and cutting etc.
• Apron – Not only do I need a new apron but I’d love to have this one to match all of the kids! It’s so pretty (and functional) with so many pretty color options.
• Shower scrubber – My brother got this for me for my birthday because I loathe cleaning the showers but I also loathe when the shower is dirty whatsoever. It feels like the entire house is a mess if that’s the case. So he got this for me to help me with my loathing and MY GRACIOUS. I LOVE IT. It’s pathetic how much joy a shower scrubber brings me. But seriously, it makes it so easy and much more efficient than me getting on my hands and knees to clean the tub, shower pan, and tile. Highly highly recommend.
• Watch – I have been eying a “nice” watch to wear instead of my Apple watch to church and such but don’t need anything super fancy. I love that this will match both my silver and gold jewelry and it’s currently less than $30. Win.
• Heatless curl set – Big fan of heatless curls except for using a sock can get pretty wonky by the time I wake up in the morning so I think this set would be much more reliable and sturdy.
• Embroidery kit – One of my best friends told me I need to try this hobby out and I agree! She started with this exact kit and has started producing the most beautiful embroidery work! I’m so proud of her! And excited to try myself.
• Prayer journal – Another one of my best friends loves this prayer journal and recommended it to me. She said it has been such a benefit to her prayer life! I think it would be really helpful for me to have it all in one place because I tend to just write prayer requests wherever I can find a pen and paper. 🤪 I also love the idea of writing all of them down and getting to look back on the year and seeing how the Lord has provided (because He ALWAYS does!). They’re currently having a sale.
• Kindle – I got myself a Kindle during the Prime Day sale but I’d pay full price for it if I hadn’t. It has only been a few weeks and I think I’ve already read 5 books on it. All using my Libby account from the library for free. It’s so nice that I don’t have to keep the light on to read at night while Stephen is trying to sleep or fuss with my reading light.
• Bogg bag – This has been on our ‘budget for’ list for a bit now. Even though I’ll be the one carrying it the most, it’s really for the family! It’s so spacious to throw all of the kids swim stuff and towels into and it’s not a big deal when they throw them back in the bag wet. I also love that it stands up on its own so it’s great to put in the car with books/toys/games so that you don’t have to battle the bag while reaching for something to hand to the kids. I know I’m not the only one that has struggled with this…
• Overalls – I remember last winter while working outside I really had wished I had overalls. They’re just so convenient and handy. I did some research and narrowed it down between this pair and a pair from Duluth. I think I prefer these because they don’t have the huge pockets on the sides (although that’s very practical).
• Shredder – My mom got me this and I already had to test it out. I was getting frustrated spending so much time shredding stuff by hand because we tend to shred a lot. Cheese that I buy in bulk and shred, carrots, zucchini, etc. I’m shredding something at least once a day. So she got me this and it was so efficient and did a beautiful job. I preferred this one over the others available because it’s stainless steel and doesn’t contain any plastic so in theory it should be more durable. It’s also dishwasher safe. Just don’t mind the poor grammar and spelling on the box….

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