I know I can't keep up on comments, but here's a quickie as I've been on the Christmas Present hunt: The following are all things I have bookmarked for special someones (or maybe a special post-Christmas here's-some-money-I-have-left-me (does that make sense?))
Oh! Also, we went to Cooperstown, NY for a weekend/ Thanksgiving trip and the BF kept calling it (accurately) Stars Hollow. Yes, that's a Gilmore Girls reference. This is the second year we've been--he's a baseball fiend and this time around I really wanted to check out the non-baseball stuff in town. Anyhow, if you are looking for a weekend trip (and live in NY), I highly recommend Cooperstown! They have an awesome Farmer's Museum (home of the Cardiff Giant: "one of the most famous hoaxes in American history!" and the incredible Empire State Carousel--they had an NYC rat to ride on!). The excellent James Fenimore Cooper Art Museum is across the street and had two surpisingly insightful exhibits: one about past presidential elections (ie homemade support items like a milk jug with the word "Hoover" painted on) and one about the stereotypical depiction of African Americans through history. Obvs, they also have the Baseball Hall of Fame which I was happy to drop BF off at ("I'll meet you in an hour!") and go wandering around the town.
And my favorite part (besides, of course, the romantic dinners and such)? All the museums had Black friday sales that continue until Christmas! People, I love my museum gift shops.
I forgot the camera and tried to take some nice shots with the phone... ah, the novelty of farmland to a city dweller!
If you end up going, or liked going, or just need a book to read, I'd recommend the book Monsters of Templeton. The author was/ is from Cooperstown and modeled "Templeton" on her hometown.
