just what i wanted.

Giving gifts is an art form. Some people are just really terrible at it, and unfortunately, some of those people give me presents. But that's okay. Presents are presents (and some can be exchanged for store credit)!

Since this is my blog and I don't have to be objective, I want to say that I'm good at giving presents. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I don't really buy presents for people unless I know them really well. But part of it is the fact that I'm able to pick up unusual things because I don't spend a lot of time in traditional retail stores. You know what? You might even get a used gift from me, but I guarantee that if I've bought you a pre-owned present, it's going to be awesome.

That being said, I received a perfectly marvelous present for my birthday a couple weeks back. Josh called me the week after my birthday to tell me that he had bought my present. I was confused, because my birthday was over. He also was too excited to keep it a secret from me. That is some sort of excitement. I am frequently so excited about a present that I can only barely keep it a secret, but I've never spilled the beans outright. Josh is apparently a big bean-spiller, a new fact which might come in handy someday.

"Okay, so what is it?" I asked.

"A vintage gumball machine," he answered proudly.

"A...vintage...nu-uh!"

"Yeah. I found it and it looked like something that you would really want but would say was too expensive to buy for yourself." I thought back and realize that on more than one occasion, I'd seen a vintage gumball machine at a thrift store or yard sale and wanted it oh, so badly. But always, it was too expensive for me to justify dropping the dough on what was a limited-use toy. The boy knows me pretty well. Adding to my amusement was him telling me how he negotiated the price down $20. I could practically feel his own pride at his find, because he's just not the kind of guy who goes around telling people how much their gifts cost.

"Well, is it the stand-up kind? Does it have a base and everything?"

"It's exactly like what you would picture."

I didn't see it until the following weekend, but man, he was right. As lovely as any gumball machine I've ever seen, this was something I was going to be proud to have in my living room. Josh helped me carefully pack it into my car for the long drive home, all the while giving me safe driving tips so as not to damage the machine. It was so funny and cute to see his gift-givers' pride, a feeling I've experienced more than once. Sometimes you find gifts so serendipitously that you start thinking some supernatural force is involved in your shopping.

So this week's picture is of my newest addition, a thing that I've always wanted but never bothered to buy for myself, fully stocked. And while I would love Josh even if he repeatedly bought me rotten presents, I am relieved that I have only marvelous gifts to look forward to.