Great Cookbook For Those With Food Allergies

If you or your boss wants to get a gift for someone who likes to cook, but has food allergies, this book might be just the ticket.

Vinobrary

If your boss or someone close to you loves wine or wants to give a gift to someone who does, the New York Times just did a interesting article about a couple of fascinating wine books that would make great gifts.

Twas The Night Before You Recorded Christmas

Add this to the list of cool gifts to give to kids this holiday season -- Recordable storybooks from Hallmark. This is a great idea to tell your boss about if he/she has kids or you can give them as well if you have kids or a niece or nephew. It's the ultimate in customization and will make the story truly special and unique.

Labor Day Book Recommendations

I thought I'd share a few book gift ideas today, since I don't do that very often:

I'm really excited about Kathy Griffin's new book that sports the hilarious Official Book Club Selection as a title. If you like her humor at all or watch her show, you know that she truly is laugh out loud funny. This would be a great gift for anyone that likes comedy or is just having a hard time right now and needs a laugh.

The other book is one I just heard about today on a podcast and it sounded so great, I'm planning on getting for my stepdad. The book is called Are You Kidding Me? and it was written by golfer Rocco Mediate and John Feinstein, a well known sports writer, about the June 2008 US Open where journeyman golfer Rocco almost beat Tiger Woods. Any sports lover would probably be into this book and be inspired by the story of what happened during that fateful tournament, but for a golfer the gift would be a hole in one. Oy, even I cringed at that, but how could I resist.

Gifts For A Mini Foodie

If your boss wants you to help find a gift for his kid or you just need a gift for your niece or nephew, it can be hard to find something great when a child isn't into the same stuff most other kids are into. Impressing the kind of kid that comes out of the womb already pretty formed is a tough challenge. I was writing and telling stories when I was very little, Arlo Weiner, the son of Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner has already been featured in GQ magazine for his style and he isn't even 10 years old. These days many kids are very sophisticated about cooking and food at a young age and many parents who are foodies are cultivating highly developed mini palates instead of sacrificing the food they love for mac and cheese. One couple wrote a book about helping to broaden the eating horizons for the little ones called Gastrokid. You can even buy kitchen utensils that are specially built for kids, so that you can get them involved in cooking at an early age. Like all other people who are hard to buy for, all it takes is a bit of imagination to find a fun and exciting gift even for a picky kid.

Great Gift For Those Who Love To Double Down

I'm guessing that lots of assistants have bosses or clients they work with that love poker or some kind of card related gambling. Here are a few gift ideas it might be fun to give people who are into that sort of thing:

Chocolate Poker Chips - This is a fun snack for a poker party and the recipient of the gift might gain an advantage if they throw off the blood sugar of others. If they are more traditional, but you still want to do a slight twist, get custom poker chips made.

Custom Playing Cards Made With Photos Of Your Choice - If you have a picture of the gift recipient winning the World Series of Poker or some other tournament, by all means put it on playing cards for them and their friends to play with at their weekly game. That definitely has to give them a subtle mental advantage at the very least.

To round out the gift, why not add the always fun to watch DVD of the movie 21 that stars Kevin Spacey and Jim Sturgess or the truly engaging book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions by Ben Mezrich that the movie is based on.

As I have mentioned before, gifts aren't about what you spend on them. None of the gifts above are super pricey. It's more about truly knowing what the person is into and finding something that will surprise them and make them smile a little.

Finding The Impossible To Locate Book

I'm always saying that being a personal assistant in Hollywood is like being a magician. Whether the employer tells you or not, the job can often be about making the impossible - possible. This is one of my specialties and it isn't that I have superhero like powers (if I did I would have controlled the mind of an agent and exec and sold a script by now), but mostly it's because I'm extremely persistent. If I can't find one way to make something happen, I try to see how I can turn the task on it's head and find another way to get it done. I'm always happy to have resources at my disposal to help me with challenges. This morning I read about a site called Biblio where you can search for used, rare and out-of-print books from over 5500 independent bookstores around the globe. I will definitely put that into my files for future use. I've had bosses come to me a bunch of times asking for a book that they think should take no effort to get and then I find out it went out of print years ago. The more you can stockpile resources like this, the better shape you will be in when obstacles arise. Try to look at it as a puzzle to solve and it will make your work seem fun instead of boring.

Babies Shouldn't Be So Hard To Shop For Part Deux

I'm not sure why, but one gift category I get asked about constantly is baby gifts. I'm not sure if it's the age I'm at or that there's a big baby boom in Hollywood and probably all over, but I swear I get asked for ideas for that all the time. Like with all other gifts I give, I try to be a bit inventive and give something that has a bit of a twist, but is still useful for the new addition. Back in January when I started this blog I did this post with a bunch of ideas for baby gifts, so if you missed it, check it out. Here are a few more ideas that I also like:

Feathering the Nest By Tracy Hutson -This is really more of a gift for a pregnant mom. It's a book all about decorating the room in a way that's attractive, eco-friendly and stimulating for the little one, so I suppose they benefit and it's sort of a gift for the baby as well.

Babyhawk Baby Carrier - There are tons of carriers on the market, but I like that this can be worn front and back and that you can design your own or buy one of the in stock carriers. Also the name is kind of hipster mom punk rockesque and that makes me like it even more.

If you want to do a more classic item like a onesie, but add in a little bit of whimsy, Kitsel always has really fun & unique clothes for babies. They have tons of onesies with funny sayings on them, so if it interests you check out this hilarious one for a girl and this cool one for a boy.

Summer Reading

If you're interested in utilizing the web to help with your career in entertainment (and really - who isn't?) you should check out this piece on Anne Thompson's Variety Blog (Thompson on Hollywood) about a book called Fans Friends and Followers: Building an Audience and a Creative Career in the Digital Age by Scott Kirsner that explores what building an online audience and learning to leverage social networking tools can do to help your career. I had always planned to write about this and post it today, but in a strange coincidence, Anne also wrote about my little blog yesterday! Check it out if you feel so inclined.

A Few Gifts For the Vinophile Who Has Everything

Most of the wine lovers I know are pretty passionate people who buy everything wine related they can get their hands on, so it's hard to buy them a present that has to do with wine. Here are a few gift ideas for the Vinophile in your life that they might not know about:

I just heard about this recent book by A.J. Rathbun that's all about wine cocktails. This would be a great hostess gift or just a fun thing to give a friend who loves wine. I love that he took the whole hipster mixologist vibe and wrote about wine drinks. As I have said before, gift recipients tend to really get enthused about something that's surprising and unpredictable and this definitely falls into that category.

How about Wine Salami?. No that's not a misprint, I said WINE SALAMI. I think this is the perfect gift for the foodie in your life that also loves wine.

Winerd is also a great option. It's a board game all about wine. This would also make a great hostess gift for the right party.

If you make a tiny bit of extra effort when trying to find gifts for people who have everything and are obsessed about a particular topic, it can really make a big difference. As I have said before, the quality of the gift often doesn't have to do with money. None of the gifts above are pricey, but they are all unique.

Gary Vaynerchuk Is Crushing It Big Time

I've written about Gary Vaynerchuk on this blog before, so check it out if your not familiar with him. He's basically an entrepreneur and passionate social media guru who is about to break way into the mainstream, if he hasn't already. He has a book oming out in October all about harnessing your passion and the power of social media, in order to succeed. He was recently speaking to indie booksellers and publishers and there is video of it online. The video is worth watching no matter what field you are in. Harnessing your passion and the power of social media, video and the Internet is useful even if you are a writer or creative type and not selling a retail item like Gary's family does (wine). Gary started off selling wine and now some of the best known brands in the world are consulting with him. The video is a bit long, but take the time to see at least some of it. I swear you will feel motivated and inspired and it will have been worth your time.

DIY Artisinal Cookbook - A Gift For The Martha Stewart Type In Your Life

If your boss needs you to find a gift for that special client that is really into cooking or you need to buy it for a friend, it's hard to find something interesting that just isn't the same old cookbook or serving dish. Yesterday I heard about the book Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It: And Other Cooking Projects by Karen Solomon and I think it's a more fun and surprising thing to give to someone who really loves making food. The book has many recipes for making artisan food and drinks at home. It includes recipes for things like homemade popsicles, jams, cheeses and much more.

The book by itself wold be a great gift, but if you have a bit more to spend, you could add these cute but inexpensive canning type jars from Target and/or this pretty dish from Michael Aram to serve some of the items in.

Choosing To Be An Optimist

It's always tough to stay positive, but especially right now I think people are finding it extremely difficult and I'm no exception. I've been trying to do all I can to believe that I'll get a new job soon and someday my whole paycheck will come from writing, but it's good to have examples of people that have succeeded at it, to look to for inspiration. One great mind that's useful to look to on this topic is Michael J Fox.

Michael J. Fox is a tremendous example of what one can do if you choose to be positive. He is struggling with Parkinson's Disease, but instead of feeling sorry for himself he has actively decided to be an optimist and appreciate the parts of his life that are going well. He has made it clear that it didn't happen overnight and that when first diagnosed he didn't immediately find his way to being positive about it, but he eventually got to that place. His recent book -- Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist is fantastic and a must read for anyone whether they are struggling or not. In the book and on tv he manages to use humor to cope and lighten the mood and that's always a good idea. His earlier book, Lucky Man, is also worth checking out.

Last night he was on Jimmy Kimmel (click here if you want to see it) and was completely hilarious and charming. He really hit home the message about choosing to focus on the things that are within your control and not spending time fretting over those things you can't change. He also did a special that is going to air on ABC in early May all about optimism that looks really good. There's a clip of the show here. By the way, if you have missed him on Rescue Me recently, try to check out the next episode. Here's a great clip of him and Denis Leary in a scene. He might not act as much anymore, but he certainly hasn't lost his chops.

So try today to focus on the positive, control what you can and let go of the rest. It's a lesson I'm going to try and put into practice today as well.

Curiosity Might Have Killed the Cat, But It Will Help You - Part Deux

I often talk about being curious and how it's important to watch and read things that will inform you in different ways because you just never know when you might utilize it. I recently discovered Samantha Ettus who does a cool web show called Obsessed TV (which features my favorite Wine Library TV guy Gary Vaynerchuk in the last few minutes of each episode). On the show Samantha interviews people in every conceivable field you can imagine and it makes for pretty interesting viewing. She does her research, but she also manages to keep the interview relaxed, so that her guests really feel comfortable and open up. Samantha also wrote the book Experts Guide To Doing Things Faster and we all know how excited I get about making things more efficient.

Check them both out. It's always a good idea to expand your knowledge and become more informed. You never know how it might help you and along the way you learn some interesting stuff.

A Few Creative Gifts To Get You Inspired

This post is a hodgepodge of sorts. Just to get you inspired to think of a few out of the box gift ideas of your own, I'm going to share a few recent ones I have given or intend to give soon. Check them out and let them get your mind brainstorming ideas for yourself or your boss that will be more dynamic and fun for the recipient.

Food Chain Friends - This gift for kids recently won an award, but I'm picking it because it's fun, kind of crazy and for the right kid it will be a total home run.

Platine Cookie of the Month Club - If you read this blog at all, you know I love to give food gifts, but I rarely like to do the same old thing. I love gift of the month clubs (if your budget is a bit bigger) and this cookie of the month looks pretty good.

Fashionology - If your boss wants you to come up with a great idea for his/her little girl or you have a niece you adore with picky taste that only wants the new, fun thing - this is for you! This is a local store where you can go and essentially design your own clothing items with the available options they have to pick from. It now looks like you can also do it online.

Items for your Vinobrary

Obviously Vinobrary is not a real word, but it's my blog and I'll make up words if I want to. If you want to add to your wine knowledge or need to buy a client or your boss some interesting wine books, here are a few ideas:

1) Love by the Glass by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher. This couple writes the popular Tastings column for the Wall St. Journal. This book is a bit more interesting than your typical book about wine because you are learning about their marriage and life together and how wine has been involved along the way.

2) Gary Vaynerchuk's 101 Wines: Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World. Gary is the Director of Operations of the Wine Library, a wine retail shop in New Jersey, who gained fame as the host of Wine Library TV, a daily Internet webcast on the subject of wine. Gary and one of my favorite writers, Joel Stein (who is hilarious), did a piece for Time where they tasted wines from all 50 states. The article is interesting, but the video of them blind testing some of the wines is informative and really funny.

3) The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine by Benjamin Wallace. This book is about a scandal that ensued after an auctioned cache of wine bottles purported to have been owned by Thomas Jefferson are called fakes.

The Gift I'd Most Like To Receive

One gift that I would love to receive is Amazon.com's e-book reader, Kindle. It's a really fantastic gift to give to someone who loves to read and travels often - especially if cost isn't an option. At over 350 bucks it isn't exactly a bargain, but for what it's capable of, it really isn't that bad. The second generation Kindle, aptly called Kindle 2 will be released later this month. The CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, spoke about it today in New York. The New York Times blogged live about it, so if you want to check that out, click here.