Have a wonderful weekend.

What are your plans for this weekend? We're going to a holiday party tomorrow night. And there are only 12 days until Christmas! Crazy, right? Cannot wait. Hope you enjoyed the 2013 gift guide this week, and have a wonderful weekend. Sending you guys a big hug through the internet. Here are a few fun posts from around the web...

These infinity rooms at an art gallery look amazing. (We went a couple weekends ago, but the lines were 4+ hours long!)

M&Ms and Lifesavers turned Seinfeld down when he was looking for a candy to use in the Junior Mint episode.

This single girl had the perfect reaction to her friends' engagement photo. Made me laugh out loud.

What are your favorite interview questions? (The comments are great.)

A little girl surprises her deaf parents with a sign-language holiday song. So, so sweet.

Note to Santa: This is at the top of my wishlist.

Who goes to work to have fun? Interesting read.

13 things that mentally strong people avoid.

Beautiful nail polish for the winter.

Has anyone read The Rules of Civility? I'm searching for a book for our trip:)

Love these blue glasses.

Want to be healthy? Eat nuts, apparently.

And if you have any last-minute holiday shopping, get 15% off and free shipping at Terrain with the code CUPOFJO, good through Sunday.

(Photo by The Sartorialist)

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Holiday idea: Making a family album

My friend Kendra's parents have a huge family album that they display on the coffeetable from Thanksgiving to New Year. "We all flip through it every day," she says, "Our childhood photos inspire conversation and great memories." So sweet, right? As part of a three-part series sponsored by Canon, we wanted to share some tips if you'd like to make one for your own family...Read More >

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Gift Guide Part #7: Your Awesome Brother Who Can Handle Any Hot Sauce, No Problem, and Never Refuses Your Toddler's Requests for Shoulder Rides.

Simon memory game, $32, the cult classic from the 1980s. We loved this growing up!
Cozy wool socks, $32, made in Maine.
Flask for hikes, picnics and rooftop parties. $24.
Tattly subscription, $60, where he'll get 8 temporary tattoos in the mail every month for six months. (Needless to say: Kids would love this, too.)
3-D space cookie cutters, $12, since he would get a kick out of them.
The Best American Infographics, $13.66. They're always such fun to read.
T-shirt describing his ideal day, $28.
Habanero Extra Virgin Olive Oil, $24, for salads and cooking. Not for the faint of heart!
A straight-razor shave at Fellow Barber Shop, $40, or a face massage with hot towels and essential oils called The Hangover Treatment, $25.
Stinky cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery, $60, plus this funny card.
Awesome patches to show off his skills, for his backpack or jacket, $5.
Man Candle that smells like New York style pizza, to remind him of home. $15.

And, always and forever, the Icelandic Beard Cap, $79.

P.S. More gifts for brothers, and the complete 2013 gift guide...

(Barber shop photo by Robert Wright for The New York Times)

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French café charges extra for rudeness

A café in Nice, France, has a sign charging brusque customers five times more for a cup of coffee than customers who say hello and please. How funny is that? "Most of my customers are regulars and they just see the funny side and exaggerate their politeness,” says the manager. "They started calling me 'your greatness' when they saw the sign."

I worked at a coffee shop for four years in college, and this would have been awesome! My pet peeve is when people say, "Gimme a..." instead of "Please may I have"!

P.S. French waiters are trying to be more polite, too.

(Photo by @tokai06, via Kottke)

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Gift Guide Part #6: Your Best Friend Who Is Always Up for Adventures and Looks Gorgeous in Red Lipstick.

Stylists' pomade to give the greatest gift of all: a sleek ponytails without frizz, $22.
An encouraging pot for her trembling houseplants. 19 euro.
The Most of Nora Ephron, $22.47, a collection of essays, books and screenplays of the late, great writer. From the glowing NYTimes review: "The real Nora Ephron was the person every­body wanted to hang out with, in part because she was funny and charming but more critically because she made the people she was with feel funny and charming.....She was never the life of the party in the classic center-of-the-crowd sense. She was the one who listened and then finally tossed in the one fabulous line that brought every­thing together. Her best writing was exactly the same."
A $100 gift certificate to Kitchen Surfing, the awesome service that lets normal people hire private chefs. It's totally customizable, so you can choose to learn to make dumplings, have stiff cocktails or host an Italian dinner party. Available in New York, the Hamptons, Berlin, LA, Chicago and Boston. How cool is that?
Instagram marshmallows (!) with photos of your favorite times together. $20 for nine.
A perfectly fitting cashmere sweater, $120, to keep her warm all winter. (And you can get sweaters, pjs and bags monogrammed with her initials here, too. Would make a lovely gift.)
Glow-in-the-dark Ouija board, $20, to ask all your most pressing questions, along with a bottle of wine.
A cheeky tote to make her laugh, $12.
Plumberry lipstick because it's one of those rare and magical colors that makes everyone look amazing, $26.
Fancy candle, $60. The kind of thing you don't buy for yourself but you LOVE when someone gives to you. Sixty burning hours. (This one smells like a cozy warm fire.)
A yearlong membership to the Museum of Modern Art, $85, because it's inspiring, romantic and a little nuts.
Jeni's ice cream package, $29, with two flavors of ice cream and one bag of gravel (flavors include French Toast and Everything Bagel!)

P.S. More gifts for friends, and the 2013 gift guide so far...

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

This month, we're asking food bloggers to share their favorite desserts, and Monique from Ambitious Kitchen has created these cookies with crispy edges and gooey middles. But the craziest part is that they have only six ingredients—and no flour or butter! Here's how to whip some up...
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Terrain giveaway

Today's giveaway is from Terrain, the beautiful home and garden shop based in Pennsylvania. The store is all about life's simple pleasures, from entertaining and cooking to reading and gardening. Today, Terrain is offering one lucky reader a $250 gift certificate, plus one of these beautiful Forest Fir candles, which smell like freshly cut fir trees and fly off the shelves over the holidays. What would you pick? (I'd go for a gorgeous wreath and spoonable caramel.)

For a chance to win, please visit Terrain and leave a comment below with your favorite things from the store. A winner will be chosen at random tomorrow. Good luck! Update: A winner has been chosen. Thanks for playing. xo

Bonus for all readers: Get 15% off your order and free shipping at Terrain with the code CUPOFJO, good through Sunday.
(Photos by Alpha Smoot for Cup of Jo. Styling by Kendra Smoot)

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