Possibly the best hostess gift ever given...

We have a friend who is one of the most thoughtful, helpful people I've ever met.  She's the kind of friend that comes over - unasked - before the party to help you set up, jumps in to help with the kids when she sees that they are getting unruly, and stays late to help clean-up and actually helps (instead of standing around chatting) - and you know that she doesn't mind one second of it.  In other words - she's one-in-a-million.

She is a crafty gal as well and the last time she came over, she gave me what is possibly the best, most-thoughtful hostess gift evah...  a bottle of homemade vanilla extract.

Why is this the best hostess gift evah, you may ask?  I'll tell you...  because it's something that I need that I will actually use.  I don't know about you, but I go through a ton of vanilla and other extracts because we do a lot of baking and eat a lot of pancakes (my pancake recipe calls for vanilla).  Also, unlike a something like a bottle of wine, which may not be the kind that I like (riesling or petite noir, in case you were wondering), vanilla extract only comes in vanilla.  And unlike flowers, which are lovely but will eventually die and make me sad AND create a mess that I need to clean up, I will have this little bottle for at least a few weeks and will think of her kindness every time I reach for it. 

Thanks, S.!  You rock!