Has anyone else noticed this trend, or maybe it's just me...

Some of the most common examples for me are: when you invite someone over and somehow your invitation becomes interpreted (and I use this word loosely) to mean going out...often at your expense. Or when you hear someone saying that while they like your/someone else's sentiment, they would really prefer something more meaningful (read: expensive, high quality, etc. etc. - and half the time they name the brand, store, eatery, etc. that they would prefer). I don't know if this is simply a rash of bad manners, or if people really feel that entitled to your's or someone elses's money that this seems perfectly acceptable. I call this trend: Trading Up.

My first irritant: anniversary parties that morph into the couple renewing their vows, dressed as if it's their first wedding, and they expect gifts. Nothing sentimental there when I read that they were not registered anywhere, they prefer monetary gifts. While I planned to attend the event (for lack of a better word) and give a small token to the couple, when I read the part about monetary gifts only, I was not only shocked, but more than a bit put-off. I'm so embarrassed for the couple, to be so rude - am I the only one that thinks that? Am I old-fashioned for thinking that a gift is what someone chooses to give you, not what you tell someone to give?

My most common irritant: dinner, lunch, brunch, etc. invitation that people decide to set their own time frame for/change the venue entirely - sometimes on the day of. Yes, this has happened, more times that I care to remember. It's almost become the norm now - to invite over a couple or some friends and have them tell you what time they'll be coming - even though your invitation clearly stated when you had asked them over. I wouldn't mind someone asking if I could change the start time, but I am a little fed-up with people that tell me when the start time would be. Often, I'll invite a group/couple over for dinner and what happens is they somehow interpret this as us all going out to dinner at a (typically expensive) restaurant that they have chosen, occasionally with additional guests included (by the other group/couple) and the additional guests do not expect to pay.

Am I within my rights as a hostess to get fed-up with these behaviors? With Mother's Day looming large around the corner, I'm waiting for that to happen. While I love to hostess an event (and I'm eagerly anticipating hostessing a lovely Mother's Day Brunch) and have held many events successfully, I find that some guests are so accustomed to being catered to, that the invitation given gets re-interpreted to suit their lifestyle, rather than being accepted or politely declined at face-value.

Tell me, has this happened to you? Have you witnessed Trading Up? I'd love to hear your stories!

My sister's birthday is coming up on the 19th, and she is a cookbook collector, like many of the women I know (including myself). Now, unless you have amazing timing, great luck, or work for a publishing company and get remainder books - cookbooks are certainly not a cheap item. Unless, of course, you happen to have that great luck I mentioned. And one day, a scant week before Christmas, I did. I really, really did. But, there was a minor snafu.

Out Christmas browsing (since the stores were wickedly overpriced for that close to the holiday - otherwise it would have been considered actual shopping) with DaMaMa, we ventured from one shop to another within the plaza, our last stop being TJ Maxx. I've never professed to be any sort of fan of that store, or the others like it. I've been to Burling Coat Factory once, Marshall twice, and that was my second trip to any TJ Maxx. But after that, it won't be my last!

On a rack near the register, DaMaMa spied some books, as our family is full of avid readers, we decided to browse - and am I glad we did. We found a variety of new cookbooks from $2.99-$5.99, about baking, cooking, grilling - the baking ones really caught my attention, and we did not leave empty handed. We grabbed 10 cookbooks (for Christmas gifts, birthdays, etc.) and spent $35.xx. I can't even find them second hand that cheap - so after careful consideration - the pile of books was divided and 5 of those have been sent as gifts for my sister. It should have been 7, but....well, here's how the snafu goes:

DaMama (whose wrapping skills far exceed that of my own) was going to wrap the books and ship them to the frigid, I mean lovely, state of MN where my sister lives. To get the most out of our shipping, we also sent my sister's son's (Nephew #1) brithday gifts along with it (more books, naturally and their birthdays are less than 2 weeks apart - ship once, save a bundle). Maybe it was late or DaMaMa had gotten into the after CHristmas nog, but she accidentally labeled 2 of the cookbooks for Nephew #1. Oops....but then, not oops. Here's where it gets interesting.

I called my nephew to wish him a happy birthday (if I didn't, I'd get burned at the stake, or excommunicated - birthday calls are mandatory in my family), and got to hear how excited he was over the 1 recipe, 100 Cakes cookbook he received and how he wants to make the Honey Beehive Cake that he saw in it. Keep in mind, this kid also got an XBox 360. But, we spent more than 5 minutes just talking about his new cookbook (he didn't know that his Auntie got the same one for Christmas, he just thinks I've got a great memory....I'm gonna let him keep thinking that, too!) and telling me how excited he was to start cooking/baking. He just turned 12.

Imagine my surprise (and my sister's, too) that Nephew #1 not only was happy about the mix-up - and no, we're not telling him that's what actually happened, he has cookbooks, he's happy - we're happy, my sister though ....a little sad to see a few of her gifts going towards her son, but that's okay, more on that later, my nephew is genuinely excited about this gift. I'm still shocked.

Feeling a little bad for my sister, I called yesterday, remembering that I had some cokerewards built up, so I asked her what kinds of magazines she likes and for her birthday, she's getting a free subscription to Better Homes and Gardens! As a suprise bonus, I found out what her favorite magazine is (Taste of Home) and through a very savvy blogging buddy, I grabbed a subscription to that for her at the bargain price of......$3.99 for a year!

Imagine her surprise when I tell her (I'll try to wait for her birthday) what bonus gifts she's got coming! And today, that's the way the birthday cake crumbles.