Gift Guide: #AsGoodAsGold.

Today’s gift guide has a special place in my heart (and no, that is not because per usual, I want everything in it, especially these.) I’ll try to make a long story short. You may remember that at BaubleBar (my day job), we did a guest bartender collaboration with Megan Runser. Megan is a longtime BaubleBar customer and is currently battling Hodgkins Lymphoma. “As Good As Gold” has been her mantra for staying positive and strong during the toughest of times. She blogs about her story here if you want to get to know her a little bit better. I was really inspired by her and so I did what anyone does when someone inspires you… I friended her on Facebook. Totally normal and not creepy at all. Of course, the second I hit “friend” I got a little bit nervous, but much to my relief, she accepted me right away. As it turns out, we’re both a little bit creepy, which is an excellent foundation for friendship.

Anyway. A few months later, Megan reached out, wanting a fun distraction and offering to help out with some things around the blog. We decided she’d create a fun, “As Good as Gold” gift guide for you. Clearly, Megan and I have a lot in common as I love everything she picked!

And! A little note from Megan about her collection:

“Never lacking in the wisdom department, my mom always says the best gifts are things people wouldn’t normally buy for themselves.  Preach on, Mama Runser – I used precisely that criterion when putting together this “as good as gold” themed gift guide; doesn’t it just feel more fun to approach holiday shopping without focusing on practical necessity for a hot second?

Among the countless reasons I adore gold is its ability to instantly elevate the luxury quotient.  My beloved metallic miracle (I should add trademarking that phrase to my Christmas wish list!) can take everything from a plain sweatshirt to a greeting card to a seemingly nerdy gadget cord organizer up 10 notches with a sprinkle of gilded glory.  Covering a broad audience ranging in age, gender, and interest, this gift guide can be used for anyone on your list who appreciates the finer things in life…and just needs you, oh-heroic-gift-giver you, to swoop in and delight them with some nonessential grandeur.”

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What inspires me most about Megan is how amazingly positive she’s been through everything that’s been thrown her way. We are around the same age (I’m a year older) and I can’t imagine dealing with what she’s gone through – and so gracefully at that. While we have yet to meet IRL, Megan is an incredible person… smart, funny, brave, and strong. (seriously. Read her blog!) I can’t for the day we get to meet in real life… (and toast kicking cancer’s butt using these?)

Lastly… one of the ways that I earn money from this blog is via affiliate links. The way that these links work is that if you make a purchase using an affiliate link on my site, I will earn a (small) commission from anything you purchase on that website. Affiliates do not receive preferential treatment on this blog so not all of the links on my site are affiliate links, but many of them are. The easiest way on my blog to tell is that if you hover a link, I use a bit.ly link for affiliate links. Or, you can click on one of the links in the widget above… those are all affiliate links. The reason I’m telling you this is because I will be tracking all of the sales from the affiliate links used within this post. At the end of the month will be making a donation to help out with Megan’s medical expenses for all sales coming from these links. I plan to donate all of the money generated via the blog post – and then match that amount generated with my own money. So… shop! And if you don’t shop, donate! (I’ll keep you posted at the end of the month on how we do.)