Gift ideas for coquettish gourmands (like me!)

Know anyone like me? Here are some gifts I KNOW will be well-received!

Williams-Sonoma is having a pretty good sale through this coming Monday, December 12: between 10% and 30% off, with free shipping. If you spend $200, you would save at least $50. While not the best sale ever, W-S rarely has this kind of discount.

Donations to Ecova-Mali, which helps Malian farmers gain access to small loans, grants and other opportunities. The farmers have a  100% payback rate so far!

Peace Corps memoir-with recipes!!-from the comfort of your own home (not the discomfort of Gabon). I am lucky to count Bonnie, a fellow returned Peace Corps volunteer and fellow Taurean "foodonista," as a friend. Her memoir, How to Cook a Crocodile is so engrossing and well-written, I keep trying to read it in every spare moment. I will post a review on the blog when I'm done.

Carol's Daughter is on hsn.com and has a Limited Edition Vanilla Truffle and other gift sets that differ from Carol's Daughter's site. My staples are hair milk, mimosa hair honey and black vanilla leave-in conditioner. Balkissa now wants her hair washed so she can use Lisa's Princess and the Frog shampoo.

Fair-Trade handicrafts from around the world from National Geographic's Novica website. Thailand jewelry, especially earrings from Busarin, are so lovely.

A lip stain pen from Ulta. I love the deep colors that go beyond bright pink and purple. The deep, muted colors look really good on darker skin. Unlike Lorac's roller ball liquid, these pens are much neater and look natural on cheeks. Doe-eyed eye liner from Sephora is a great way to get precise, stay-put color. Great for oily skin! Black and green are the best, I think.

A wine aerator that attaches to the bottle spout. This gadget, along with the pricier pour-through aerator, enhance the flavors of wine. Also, try the Splendid Table's store (my favorite radio show) for ideas.

A gift for your little princess (or prince!) from Twinkling Tees, which features custom names "crystallized" or decal-ed onto a shirt. Alert: you may not want your little one around when your peruse this site for the first time. Dangerously cute!

Lane Bryant's Cacique brand often has great sales on their lingerie for curvy ladies.

Beautiful, relaxing, yet uplifting music--Anouar Brahem (Tunisian oud master) and Seraphic Fire (Claudio Monteverdi's vespers) can be found on iTunes. Reginald Cyntje's Freedom's Children is on CD Baby. Reginald combines jazz master artistry with sparkling rhythms from his island heritage.

Happy Holidays!