The gift of giving (or the giving of gifts)

Now that Christmas is over and most of the presents are unwrapped (I'll admit I still have one sitting in my room for a very special bff), it's time to see what people got. Since my first disastrous birthday (his, not mine) with Matt where I had to literally force him to tell me exactly what to get him (I didn't know him very well yet), I have worked really hard to always keep him on his present-receiving toes. I think this year I did well and wanted to share his spoils.

Presents! And a box of cookies. And a Keurig pod that my brother didn't want from his new coffee maker. It would be a shame to just waste it, right?

I didn't take pictures of everything unwrapped, but he got a calendar and restaurant gift certificates from my mom, Dunkin and Amazon gift certificates, the Drive soundtrack, Stephen King's Salem's Lot in hardcover, a flat screen tv (my Black Friday shopping is revealed) and then what I think was his favorite gift in the brown bag:

A beard kit! (complete with its own card and a copyrighted by me poem)

(these came from Swan Mountain Soaps on Etsy who were totally wonderful to work with if you're ever in the market for such things as man soap...)

So tell me about something you got for someone else. It doesn't have to be a significant other, I just like to hear what kind of clever things people find (gotta get the ideas flowing for next year!) Speaking of next year, Happy New Year everyone! I know it's early, but you know how inconsistent I am at posting.

It's just another manic Tuesday

Happy post-Christmas reboot! Hope everyone is de-stressing from the meltdown that can be Christmas (and not planning a relapse for New Year's!) Yesterday was pretty nice, took my mom to breakfast and then Matt and I did some errand-y type shopping for a bit. Had to be back to work today, so nothing too fancy. I did want to try out my Sugarpill "Dollipop" pressed shadow, though, so I dabbled in something besides just mascara for a second. Here is what I came up with:

The lid color is MAC's "Aqua" shadow and highlight is MAC's "Pink Opal" pigment. Underneath is more "Dollipop" blended out with a pink NYX jumbo pencil ("Strawberry Milk" I think? I lost the stupid thing again)

My mom got me this shirt for Christmas. I'm not usually a t-shirt wearer, but how could I resist? Ralph and I have a lot in common... like dressing ourselves.

It's a wonderful feeling, feel the love in the room from the floor to the ceiling

Happy Christmas Eve everyone! Hope you've all been doing something special or fun or at least nothing terribly painful. My family just got done watching the Muppet Christmas Carol and eating dinner. Now I'm watching a marathon of Invader Zim and waiting on my nails to dry (they totally came out terrible, but no way I'm re-doing them now)

To put a nicer spin on holiday nails, here were a couple I did that I didn't hate. I was hoping the second ones would last through the holiday, but 3 of them popped right off. Like you know when your polish just comes off in one nice sheet? They did that. Totally bummed, but oh well.


A couple of coats of Sephora by OPI in Charge It! and then 3 or 4 of Wet n Wild in 24 Carats:

A couple of coats of China Glaze in Go Crazy Red and then a couple of coats of Wet n Wild Rockin Rubies (just one the tips obviously)

I leave you with a terrible photo of our tree this year. I cropped out most of our cluttered house and blurred the family pictures. You get the idea, though, right?

Aspirations of becoming Rapunzel

Yay weekend! I don't know why I care, all I'm doing is cleaning and wrapping presents since Matt's going off to MA for a friend's birthday party. I am officially done shopping, though, got the last of my gift cards today. I'm pretty sure this is going to be the first year that I don't have to pick up one last thing on Christmas Eve. If you could see me now, I'm patting myself on the back.

I don't have an awful lot to share lately, I've been spending a lot of time just hanging at the house with my dog. She's still hanging in there, but we don't know for how much longer. Mostly I just feed her. A lot. Like she could take your dog in an eating contest any day.

Anyway, hair. My hair has been a pain in the tushie since it got colder, it just frizzes everywhere. I had a rare good day a week or two ago, though, and figured I would show off. The henna I am using is a new formula (yet again, they keep discontinuing the ones I use) and I really like the color this time around.

And for funsies - Last week Jewel went to the groomer and came home with this awesomely ridiculous fairy-like collar. Angel seemed to feel a little left out that she didn't get anything, too, so I let her wear it around for the night (I don't think Jewel minded being rid of it)

Hope everyone else is ready for their holiday of choice. I haven't been in the most festive mood this year, but I am trying my best to get into it. I have been playing my Xmas playlist on my ipod wherever I go (including at work so long as my co-worker who doesn't like Christmas music isn't there)

Pink Friday sans Nicki Minaj

This year, a lot of e-tailers jumped on the Black Friday bandwagon rather than (or in addition to) having Cyber Monday. On top of that, a lot of Cyber Monday sales were actually valid for the entire week. That means that this year there were lots of great deals to be had without having to get my tushie up off my couch. One of said e-tailers was a makeup favorite of mine, Sugarpill Cosmetics who called their sale "Pink Friday."

I'm not a stranger to the brand, already owning a good half + of their loose shadows (called Chromalusts) This time, though, I decided to foray into the world of pressed shadows. My total purchase consisted of Tiara Chromalust (silver), Weekender Chromalust (slightly blackened blue-purple) and Dollipop pressed shadow (pink, just PINK)

(I also got a sample of Magentric which is one of the few I don't have a full size of!)

(Top down - Dollipop, Tiara, Weekender. I swatched dry to show how awesome they are with no help at all)

(no flash, look at those sparkles!)

While I was swatching, I thought Weekender kind of looked familiar like Tattoo Shop from Kiss My Sass. I pulled it out to check and luckily I was totally wrong, nothing alike. Well I mean they're alike in the sense that they're purplish and sparkly, but nothing alike. 

As always, I'm very pleased with my purchase and now just need to actually use them and not just swatch them on my arm (story of my life) Speaking of, I'm on the lookout for the perfect base to use the Chromalusts over to make them pop. Any suggestions? When I use Pixie Epoxy, they just get clumpy and nasty. It's not the shadows, Pixie Epoxy does that to me for most things. I tried to jump on the PE bandwagon, but it's more like I leaped into the side of a moving car and bounced back off.

Creating something from something

I learned a lesson today, I learned that knitting is not an acceptable way to pass the time while getting your tires changed. There would have been less people staring if I'd given birth to a narwhal in the middle of the waiting area.

My mom taught me to knit years ago and though I am still what would be classified as a beginner, I enjoy doing the little I can do. I wanted to share the couple things I've made/am making lately.

Don't mind the needles in the first couple of pictures. I wasn't quiiiiiite finished with it, but I don't think people would understand what it was if I didn't "model":

This is going to be a scarf. I had some leftover yarn and I just love this color. The pattern is pretty much what you would give to someone who just learned the basics, but I like how it looks and it's something I can bring anywhere (except, as I now know, the tire change place):

I know some of you craft (looking at you Laura! I'm keeping my eyeball on that seapup scarf...) What do you like to make? Besides knitting, I've tried making some jewelry and Halloween 2010 I made this little guy out of felt: