summer-inspired housewarming gift idea

we had an amazing three-day weekend celebrating luke's birthday & celebrating our good friends' first home! 

our dear friends have had a series of unfortunate events these past couple of months. when they arrived home from vacationing in oregon, they were met with a flooded home along with all of their belongings soaked & damaged. this sweet family of four lived in a hotel for several weeks until finding a home just down the street from us (woo!). they finally moved in over the weekend so a housewarming gift was definitely in order!

if you've read this blog, you know that we budget gifts. our budget is a very small amount each month so creativity is always key. for our dear friends, i wanted to make their housewarming gift very practical but also cute. i added my favorite scent of hand soap with a handmade tag. i purchased a small bouquet of flowers from the farmers' market & added some cuttings of basil for scent. pretty scraps of fabric as ribbon & in a little mason jar it went. 

when i heard the news that they were buying their home, i made them a dish mat. everyone needs a dish mat. it's perfect for drying fragile dishes next to the sink without having to change the towel as frequently.

 finally, i added some blueberry muffins. i wanted to purchase a large jar to add the items, but i was running out of budget money & i wasn't crazy about mixing muffins & hand soap. so, i used berry baskets we already had & placed the muffins inside with a bit of parchment paper. i gathered all of the goodies & placed them in the cute strawberry tray i found in luke's farm truck. i was so happy to gift this little labor of love to them... they sure need it! 

love,

natalie