It may seem a little bit early to be thinking about getting gifts for your friends for the holiday season, but there are occasions all year-round for gift-giving and fall is as good a time as any to start that warm fuzzy feeling! (Also, I fully believe you should occasionally get yourself gifts. #treatyoself)

I had the opportunity to shop at Pike & Rose, which I used to visit all the time for the food but was a bit intimidated to shop at. There were just a handful of stores when they first opened up, and it seemed like special occasion shopping with special occasion staff.

As it turns out, I actually wasn’t too far from the truth! Let me break down what kinds of gifts you can get at the stores I visited during Pike & Rose’s inaugural blogger event, where I  and many other area bloggers were treated to such a gift through the experience alone! (And then the things we bought for ourselves and our loved ones.)

FOR YOUR FANCY FOODIE FRIEND…

You know that friend who takes the amazing photos of beautiful food – cooked at home, of course – plated beautiful, with beautifully sourced ingredients? And you wonder how the heck you are going to find something up to his/her standards for foodie gifts? Enter Seasons Olive Oil & Vinegar Taproom. The Balshi family imports freshly pressed olive oils, many from regions with protected designation of origin, straight to the stores. They also infuse and bottle the vinegars right out of Seasons, which means you will not be able to find that exact product anywhere else.

We had the warmest welcome at Seasons and were able to sample just a taste of the many amazing products that their store offers. The possibilities are endless, and the quality of the product is truly amazing.

In addition to the delicious varieties of infused olive oils and vinegars, you could find different flavored honeys, pastas, mustards, salts and peppers, spices, and containers for containing all of the above and more.

If you have a friend who loves to prepare food at home, even if it’s just dipping bread into oil with some salt in it, come here, I mean it. If you come in to pick up oil and salt with that extra, it will transform what would have been a sad night eating an entire loaf of bread with a cup of fake olive oil and table salt into a luxurious refined night in. (With an entire loaf of bread and carefully sourced, perhaps infused, olive oil and flavored salt!) No matter how snobbish your foodie friend may or may not be, they will be impressed, no doubt.

FOR CHEERING UP YOUR FRIEND WITH CUTE THINGS…

How many times have I been lured into a Francesca’s? Too many to count. They catch my eye with cute dresses and clothes and keep me in the store with the tables of kitsch that would make great gifts. If we’re being honest, the gifts tend to be very feminine, but you don’t have to be feminine to appreciate an entire table covered in cat-themed products.

Francesca’s is definitely a great place to go if you’re looking for gifts to mark special occasions and milestones for your friends, like bridal showers, birthdays, pregnancies, cats. The gift table has all kinds of heartfelt and hilarious gifts on it that are all very Pinterest/Instagram-able.

In addition to clothing, you can come in and pick up home decor, jewelry, fun notebooks and book-books, novelty drinkware, and all manner of cute things. The store associate could probably guide you if you tell them what kinds of things your friend likes – like emojis, mason jars, or cats – or what occasion you’re shopping for.

I also really have to give a shout-out to Carrie, who was amazingly helpful and friendly to me and Annie during our visit. Annie was here on a mission and Carrie got her hooked up with a fitting room and so many clothing options. She also helped me find things when I specified what I did not want to wear. (For the record, I do not currently like chunky chunk sweaters, no matter how cozy they look on other folks.)

FOR YOUR CLASSIC AMERICANA FRIEND…

I took the rest of my gift card allocation to Gap, which is and has been a very iconic brand for a long time. Within the Gap Inc. family of stores, I mostly stick to Old Navy because those commercials get me every time and also it is the most affordable. So for the blogger event, I decided to see what kind of offerings Gap had for basic pieces that I could wear long after forgetting this fun day ever happened.

It was that awkward period between summer and fall, inventory-wise, but Gap is still a classic option for sweaters, shirts, and pants for anyone. Annie scored some pants on crazy sale, so even though she didn’t ask for a gift card to Gap, she still walked away with something. (This worked out in her favor as she wound up sleeping over at a friend’s house that was closer to Pike & Rose and was able to wear her brand new pants to work the next day!)

If you’re unsure about your friend’s sense of style, Gap is a pretty safe bet for pieces that everyone can fit into their wardrobe, man, woman, baby. (There is a Gap Kids next door!)

And while I wasn’t able to visit these stores, I can’t leave out some key gift-receiving demographics like…

THE ATHLETE / SPORTS FAN  // The Nike Factory Store is new to Pike & Rose and, of course, has that great smell that all Nike stores have – mostly new sneakers with a dash of sweat-wicking material and a hint of determination to work out. (And when I walk in, the knowledge that workout clothes don’t make me more likely to work out…) The store is big and the collection is good, so definitely check it out for workout stuff and gear for your favorite Nike-sponsored teams.

THE STYLISH DENIM LOVER // The Lucky Brand store at Pike & Rose, while I was unable to visit during my visit, has a reputation for having an amazing customer experience. What do you imagine when you think about a personal shopper experience at a high end store? Well you get something really close to that at this Lucky in addition to all of their great styles, so feel free to bring a friend for a treat and then keep an eye on what catches their eye to come back for later!

THE COOL & TRENDY PARENT // I am a long way from having children but Yogaso has some of THE cutest inventory I have ever seen anywhere. From the adorable hats that we knew wouldn’t fit over our heads to the cute little lamps that we are trying to convince ourselves we can have in our bedrooms, any parent would be happy to have a gift from among these curated goods. This would definitely be your stop if the mom/dad in your life is very into the #aesthetic, as we spotted many cute items that were familiar to us thanks to the influential moms and dads of Instagram.

Thank you to Pike & Rose for working with me on this post! I managed to get myself a few gifts and had an incredible experience spending time with the retailers. I’ll definitely be back.

Hashtag haul

Seasons gifted us with this fantastic extra virgin olive oil and garlic bread spread

A gift to the world in the form of my body being clothed; you’re welcome

This post is in partnership with Pike & Rose.

In light of me doing my Cool Down for Fall, I am going to be consciously planning fewer nights out and spending a bit less, but would you like to see more gift guides like this? Or would a different format of gift guide be more helpful?