What I got For Christmas 2015

Hello Readers. After promising in one of my last posts that we were back, and were not going to fall off of the blogging wagon, we fell right off. So sorry everyone for letting you down. Things have been a bit hectic over here, and honestly we just haven’t had time to write much. But here we are, and for our loyal subscribers, we’ve got some special stuff headed your way…

I’d like to start off with a big Happy New Year to everyone. I hope that 2016 brings everyone happiness and joy and all your wishes come true.

I have to say that 2015 ended on a great note. We had a lovely new years eve get-together with close friends and family, and Christmas this year was absolutely magical. Despite the fact that Christmas didn’t feel much like Christmas because the entire planet was a bit late on the cold front. It was genuinely splendid.

Therefore, on todays post, I would like to back-track a bit and share with you all a “What I Got for Christmas”. I know there is a lot of controversy on this topic. Mainly because some people feel that these blog / vlogg posts are made for people to brag about there gifts and for other people to feel sad about what they received (or didn’t receive) for Christmas. I have to say that I somewhat see why the controversy. I can see why it would be portrayed in that neggative light. However, I enjoy watching other peoples videos, and reading other bloggers articles, and I don’t feel that they are necessarily “braggy”— not a real word. And furthermore, I feel that if anyone doesn’t like these types of videos or articles, then they should simply not watch or read them… It’s really not that hard of a topic to come up with a simple solution. So… lets get on with it, shall we.

Every year I set up a Christmas wish-list. This is a tradition more so than anything else. It’s also become somewhat of a joke in my family, because I put some rather extravagant things on there, which I know I will not get, but really would someday like to have. This year my “Sista Sista” (Annette) found this wonderful site, “Giftster.com”, on which you can set up your list and it gives a full description with pricing and pictures that you can email to your family (and friends if you're that comfortable). So, I opted out of my crafty paper with glued on cut-out pictures, and decided to go with this more eco-friendly option. Once I sent it, I immediately got texts and phone calls from my family in regards to this years list. They are still talking about it to this day. I think mainly because the first three items were real estate properties in Old Town Edinburgh, Scotland… **smirking**

No. Unfortunately for me, no one was generous enough to purchase my flat in Edinburgh. However, I did get some other list items which were wonderful surprises. Lets start in Chronological order of the gift giving.

My first gift was from my dear friend Alex. She got me a beautiful J.Crew statement necklace, with a J.Crew barrette, J.Crew jewelry dish, and Bath & Body Works "Welcome" White Barn Candle. This girl knows what I like. She knows I love J.Crew and Bath & Body Works, so she did very well, and I absolutely love and appreciate my gifts.

My boss, who's name just happens to be Ivette as well (spelled with an “I” instead of a “Y”) gave each member of our entire impulse team a really nice set from Benefit Cosmetics called the “Real Cheeky Party” Holiday Kit. I LOVE it, it comes with every cheek product a girl could ever need… and then some…

My co-workers, who have turned into some of my favorite people, were also very generous with their gift giving. My friend Milly, who has just started her own beauty/lifestyle youtube channel (Link: Milly Gomez Check it out!!) Gave me a beautiful soft nude/pink NYX matte liquid lip stick, a Lauren Conrad for Kohls grey Bambi jumper, and the Fleur De Force “The Glam Guide” book. She knows I adore Fleur De Force and obsess over her youtube videos.

My other partner in crime, Kadie, gave me a Lush set with a Rose Jam shower gel and Ro's Argan body conditioner (I cannot even express how amazing these smell), a beautiful nude/pink Heartful heart-shaped lipstick, a hand mask packet, a Moonlight bath bag infuser set, and some British Union Jack heart print socks. She knows I aspire to live in the UK some day (in the, hopefully, very near future)

Then my sisters boyfriend Chris, who knows I love to bake, got me this Brookstone Perfect Bake App Controlled Smart Baking set. I opened it for the first time yesterday and it’s amazing. I cannot wait to use it. Him and I bond over our love for sweets and bacon, especially bacon covered donuts (which are the best of both worlds), so I think I will have to share whatever I bake with him. His family also gave my husband and I a Belgian Dark Chocolate Boardwalk Fudge box… Delicious!!! I feel a sugar coma coming on!

Now, onto my familia. My Aunt and Uncle gave me a customized Teapot with a warming vest on it, which my Aunt craftily did herself. So cute! My cousin gave me a Yankee Candle Chocolate Layer Cake scented candle! Yummy… great for the kitchen!

My mom got my husband and I a set of three pillows which are a “D”, “&”, and a “Y”. The “&” is all embellished with gold beads and crystals, and the “D” and “Y” are black velvet. The background on the three pillows is a soft muslin / canvas fabric. I love these and placed them as the new accent touches to our bed.

Then my grandma got us a box of English Tea & Cookies which come in this adorable Union Jack tin box and reads “Keep Calm and Carry On”.

My Sista Sista (Annette) got me several things. First, when Annette and I were shopping for other people’s gifts, I saw these brown Vince Camuto booties, and fell in love. So, she bought them for me. She also got me the Unofficial Downton Abbey cookbook, a Tom Ford Eyebrow sculpting pencil, a set of Sonia Kashuk makeup brushes with gold confetti star filled handles, and the Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt perfume, which came with a GWP (gift with purchase) clutch purse that is filled with a bunch of samples of different hair, skin, and fragrance products. No need to say, that I love it all!

My Brother decided to go Christmas shopping last minute (literally on Christmas Eve) for everyones gifts. He was literally calling me from the mall and I was his advisor on what to get everyone. However, I could obviously not advise him on what to get me, hence the Christmas wish-list fore mentioned. He ended up getting me from my list the Nikon black leather band watch with gold face. I loved this watch. I had been wanting a Nikon black leather banded watch for quite sometime and was so happy my brother was gracious enough to get it for me. However, I ended up taking it back… I will explain why in a minute… keep reading…

Then my husband… He blew it out of the water this year. My main gift from him was what I am currently writing this blog post on. He got me a Mac Book Pro. He was actually quite sneaky about it because he wasn’t sure if I’d prefer this or something else. Apparently tickets to the Adele concert were an option as well… So, he decided to question me in a non-secretive way, which led me to knowing he was getting me a Mac book. Then, when he realized it would no longer be a surprise, he had to retract his gift selection by lying to me and telling me that he was getting me something else that I could use more (which was believable at the time, but now I realize this was a very practical gift for me, and is probably the thing I’d use most) Other than the Mac Book, which I am utterly obsessed with, he also got me the Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt Perfume in a set with the shower gel, body cream, and the candle. I decided to keep both my sister’s and his because I can never have too much of this perfume. I absolutely love it. He also got me another fragrance I had been wanting which is the Miller Harris London “L’air de Rein”. It is actually a perfume created for/by Jane Birkin. He also got me a kitchen towel from Anthropologie which has a picture of a globe on it and reads “Coffee Makes the World Go Round”, because him and I are coffee addicts. A beautiful dress from Anthropologie, which unfortunately I have to take back because it was rather large on me. A DVD of the Great Estates of Scotland (I think you may see a pattern here of UK relatable things) and finally, he also got me the Nikon Black leather band watch, which is the same as the one my brother got me, accept that my husbands has the black face and my brothers had the gold. I decided to exchange my brothers for something else, since I didn't need two of the same watch and really love the black face.

All-in-all I would say that my family and friends are insanely generous. I am grateful to them all for their gifts, but I am mostly grateful for the love they show me. I don’t know where I would be without them all, nor do I ever want to know.

Well that concludes my “What I Got for Christmas 2015”. I hope you all enjoyed reading, and hope everyone had a wonderful magical Christmas. Here’s to an even better 2016!!

#christmas #WhatIGotForChristmas #Christmas2015 #Wishlist #Gifts #ChristmasTree #JCrew #BathandBodyWorks #Candles #Jewelry #Barette #BenefitCosmetics #RealCheekyParty #Kohls #Bambi #LaurenConrad #LCForKohls #FleurDeForce #Book #NYX #NYXLiquidLipsticks #LUSH #LushCosmetics #RoseJam #HeartfulLipstick #Hearts #Lipstick #HandMask #BathBag #UnionJack #Socks #Forever21 #Brookstone #PerfectBake #BoardwalkFudge #Teabot #YankeeCandle #Chocolate #Pillows #Embroidered #Design #TeaandCookies #British #UK #VinceCamuto #Boots #BrownBoots #DowntonAbbey #Cookbooks #TomFord #TomFordEyebrows #SoniaKashuk #SoniaKashukMakeupBrushes #MakeupBrushes #JoMalone #JoMaloneWoodSageSeaSalt #Nordstrom #Nikon #NikonWatches #MACBookPro #MacBook #Laptop #JoMaloneSet #JoMaloneCandle #MillerHarris #Anthropologie #GreatEstatesScotland #PBS #Pitbullmom #Beauty #Lifestyle #Blogger #BeautyBlogger #Makeup #Fashion #Decor #InteriorDesigner