Happy 2013!

Happy New Year! Hope you had a safe and fun New Year’s Eve! I got to thinking about the New Year and wanted to write down some resolutions or goals that I have for 2013. While I doubt I’ll stick to all of them, they are all things that I really am determined to change in my life, so this seems like the perfect time to focus on them!

  

What I Got For Christmas

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a holly jolly Christmas! I also hope that you got things that you are excited about and had a great time with your family.

I had a great Christmas Eve and Christmas, and I was thinking it would be fun to show you the things that I got for Christmas. I'm always curious to see what other people got. So this might be a tad of a long post, so bear with me. I'll start with some stocking stuffers that I recieved.

 On the left above I got some Ghiradhelli Peppermint Bark, which is so yummy. I also got some chocolate gold coins, which have been a favorite of mine since I was little.

 

 I recieved two cute key toppers. One is a ladybug and the other is a cupcake! They came from Target and I love them! I also got some bows for my hair (perfect for pulling my bangs out of my eyes), and some holiday Soft Lips (raspberry and sugar cookie!).

 

 Now are two monogrammed things I recieved. On the left is a really cute new phone case. It's an Otterbox that has been personalized with navy and white stripes, with a red circle monogram in the center. I love it so much! And it's much better quality than my other cases I've used. It was a total surprise because I was expecting a Kate Spade one.

The item on the right is the monogrammed necklace that I was drooling over in my Winterlicious post. I got it. It's perfect. It's 1.25 inch silver from this etsy shop. It's so affordable and seems great quality too!

Going into more beauty related products, I heard about It's a 10 Miracle Leave-in Product on Youtube. Since I've started curling my hair frequently, I thought my hair could use a leave-in product that protects it against heat and styling. So I'm hoping it works as good as things I've heard said.

I got the new Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara, which I have been dying to try. I've heard really good things about it, and I'm interested to see if it's better than my Maybelline Cat Eyes mascara.

 This is something that I've been really eyeing. It's one of the Starbucks Christmas tumblers with a fox on it. I love it. It's the tall size (the other two sizes were snatched up fast), so it's perfect for water beside my bed at night).

 

Here of course is the Naked 2 palette. I've been waiting to get it forever. I wasn't actually planning on getting it, but my mom surprised me! I've already been watching tutorials on looks from it.

 

Next up was a huge surprise. I had been wanting the Marc Jacobs Dot perfume since my birthday, but it was so expensive! Well, my mom surprised me with buying me the 1.7 oz., which is so much bigger than I expected it being! I love the packaging so much and the bottle is too cute for words.

 

Here are some Vera Bradley items I had been wanting really bad. The wallet is the clutch wallet in Island Blooms (this style is one they are discontinuing, and I love it! My old wallet is the same, just Happy Snails, so I wanted another too before it disappears!). I always got the Happy Snails hipster, which my mom scored for only $30 on Cyber Monday. I love Happy Snails, and being the hoarder I am, I'm trying to collect as much as I can afford in it before it too is officially retired.

And of course, what is Christmas without new jammies? These reindeer pajama pants on the right are from Old Navy and I love love love them!

 

 They are so cute and festive and warm! Next up are some bath items, both from Ulta. I love the packing of the Christmas Cookie 3-1 shower gel. Isn't it adorable? The smell is heavenly too. So sweet and yummy! And I also recieved this fuzzy dottie bathroom my mom got for free from Ulta. It will come in handy definitely up at college.

And of course, I was so delighted to see this Lilly Pulitzer wall calendar on Christmas morning! Every year I like to get a calendar for my room at home, and this will be perfect! The pages are just like the agenda, and they are too cute for words. I cannot wait for February, that's for sure, because that page makes me so darn happy!

 

Now getting into some of the clothes I got. Above I got this thick, warm navy blue sweater. It's sort of a cable knit and it will be really cute layered with a warm scarf.

 And on here I got this plaid flannel shirt from Target. It's really cute and soft!

I also reieved this red cable knit sweater, that is so warm! I love it! Plus it has little sparkly particles in it, which is super perfect for Christmas and New Years!

 Above I recieved this dottie henley that has a ruffle down the center. I absolutely love the polka dots!

 

I absolutely love this American Eagle cable knit sweater! The corol color is so pretty and I really love this button detail on the sleeves.

The last clothing item I recieved was this pretty lavender-colored cardigan from Target. What I love about it, is the lace all over the front. I love lace so much!

                                    

The last item I recieved were these cute monogram decals! They are from Etsy (if you're curious just let me know and I'll put a link to the exact shop), and I think they will look really cute on a couple of notebooks for my classes next semester!

 

Well, that's all! I love everything I got! All of it will be really useful and fun to have! But most of all, I really just enjoyed the holiday. Even without the gifts, it would have been amazing and fun.

 

What things did you recieve? Was there anything Santa left out that you are hoping to score in an after Christmas deal?  

Merry and Bright Holiday Favorites

I absolutely love the time before Christmas, with the anticipation, the festive activities, and the décor. I love it so much!

And to celebrate Christmas, I’ve been dotting my daily activities with Christmas themed details!

 

 

First, I've been loving this Holiday Eggnog candle from Target. I wouldn't say it's the strongest candle I've ever smelled, but the glow makes my room so cozy (I love to light it as I'm putting on my makeup) and it really is a sweet, cozy smell. It's only $10 for the large, so it's a great gift idea if you can't make it to Bath and Body Works or they aren't doing their 2 for $20.

 

The next item isn't necessarily decor, but it's a special Christmas edition that I love. It's the soft lips Jack Frosting chapstick. It smells just like baked good and feels amazing on my lips! I love holiday editions of normal items, and this was such a great buy! I'm a sucker for anything that is like baked goods.

I've talked about them twice already on the blog, but honestly, I cannot get enough of my Christmas pillows from Target. Aren't they adorable? Here they are in my room here at home (yay for Christmas break!).

I'm also a sucker for cute mugs. And this one, stole my heart. It's a reindeer with jingle bells tied in his antlers and around his neck. Isn't he so cute? I've named him Jingle Bell. I picked him up from a local floral shop, and he has been so much fun to drink my hot chocolate out of.

Finally, if you haven't made hay of the 5 for $10 scentportable deal Bath and Body Works is having, you need to go now! They are great stock stuffers for and just great to stock up on for yourself. Usually they are buy 3, get 1 free. Which usually shakes out to be about $12. So basically, you are getting 2 more items for $2 less. And I couldn't help myself. I picked up Frosty (that's what I named him), plus two Twisted Peppermint refills and two Frosted Cupcake. So right now, my car is smelling beautifully like a candy cane. I also picked up a Wallflower bulb in Twisted Peppermint! It smells like what I imagine the North Pole smelling like!

Winterlicious Post

If you've watched Youtube, you've probably seen the Winterlicious tag! I wanted to participate, so I decided to answer them here! I hope you enjoy!

1)   Favorite Winter Nail Polish?

In the winter time I love wearing red nail polish and muted gray sort of colors. My favorite reds right now are Revlon’s Red Carpet and Essie’s She’s Pampered. My favorite grays are Essie’s Chinchilly and Don’t Sweater It (I absolutely love the name of that color).

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2)  Favorite Winter lip product?

I’m honestly not a lipstick or gloss wearer. But in Colorado, the cold dry weather makes my lips try out so fast! And I have to say that I’ve been loving my Baby Lips in Twinkle! It feels good and looks great on! (if you know of any holiday flavored chapstick, let me know!)

3)  Most worn Winter clothing piece?

This is probably a tie between my North Face Denali jacket and cardigans. Cardigans are a lot more fun, and I own at least ten (maybe a future cardigan collection post?). And I wear my North Face almost every day in the winter because it’s soft, and warm and just really nice to use when walking on campus.

4)  Most worn Winter accessory?

My most worn winter accessory is probably scarves! I love love love my scarves! I can’t possibly pick a favorite, but I’m loving this floral infinity scarf one of my littles gave me for big appreciation.

 
5)  Favorite winter scent/candle?

This is super tough! I’m such a fall person, that it’s hard to pick a winter scent. I’d say it’s probably between Vanilla Bean Noel and Twisted Peppermint from Bath and Body Works. They are so sweet and festive and awesome! But in the past I’ve really enjoyed Tis the Season and Frosted Cranberry.


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6) Favorite Winter beverage?

I love peppermint hot chocolate and peppermint white chocolate mochas! They are my favorites from Starbucks! I’ve also been loving spiced cider!

7)  All time favorite Christmas/Holiday movie?

Without a doubt, the first Home Alone is a holiday tradition in my family. But coming in close seconds is I’ll Be Home for Christmas (with Jonathan Taylor Thomas) and The Christmas Story (I love the TBS 24 hour marathon on Christmas Eve!).


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8) Favorite Christmas/Holiday song?

Christmas music has been a constant for me since Halloween (Grinches that say it has to wait until after Thanksgiving can get over it). It’s a tie for my favorite of all time. One is Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song.” When it comes on, I sing along, and sometimes even cry because it’s that touching to me. The other is “Christmas Time is Here,” from Charlie Brown. This song gets stuck in my head so easily! So when either of these songs come on the radio, I turn it up and just sing along and enjoy.

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9)  Favorite Holiday food/treat?

There’s three things for this. First, I love love love spiral ham. Like, I crave it. And we have it both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I love it. Second, English toffee. Oh my gosh, my uncle’s is the best. In fact, he something like a hundred pounds of butter last year to make it! It’s funny, because my mom still can’t really make it. We blame it on altitude and our stove, but maybe this year will be the year. The third treat I look forward to is my special Christmas cookies my mom makes for me every year. It’s called Black Forest cookies. So this is what they are: oatmeal chocolate chip, with candied cherries, almonds, and white chocolate chips. So sweet and so good!

10) What is your favorite Christmas Decoration this year?

Without a doubt, it’s my Christmas pillows from Target! I can’t get enough of them!

 

11)   What's at the top of your Christmas list?

Guys, my list is long. I’m kinda embarrassed about it’s length. But probably one thing I’m really looking forward to is a monogram necklace!

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12) What are your plans for the holidays this year?

Not too much! Before Christmas, my family and I always make sure to do fun, holiday things like Seven Falls and stuff. Hopefully this year I’ll get to do some of those fun things with my boyfriend. Other than that, Christmas Eve is always at my aunt and uncle’s house (the one that makes fantastic toffee!). Then we come home and bake pies for Christmas day and watch Christmas Story. On Christmas Day we open all of our presents, then have breakfast, and then we have Christmas dinner, followed by driving around and looking at lights.

What are you looking most forward to this holiday season? What’s at the top of your list?

A Very Vera Christmas!

Trying to finalize your Christmas list? Or decide what to get your Vera Bradley obsessed loved one? As one of many that loves Vera (and definitely has some items on her own list), I’m going to offer up some Vera Bradley gift ideas that I think will make your loved one (or you own) Christmas merry and bright!

Some of these gifts are definitely on my Christmas list, while others are ones that I already have and love! No matter what, Vera Bradley gifts are always some of my favorite gifts to recieve. 

Thankful

 

Happy Thanksgiving!