Some Of My Favorite Christmas Gifts

I love reading/watching what people got for Christmas because I think it can be really interesting. For this reason I decided to post a few of the things I received from family and friends. I would like to point out that I am not trying to show off, and I am grateful for everything that I got! I had a really great Christmas, and I hope you did as well!

I love the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains. They are probably my current favorite lip product so I was really glad to receive those. I am also in love with the leather bracelet my mom picked out for me. I never told her I wanted anything like it, so she picked it out on her own, and she did well! I'm also proud to announce that I was given the perfume that I have been crazy about since this summer, so this will most likely be the last time you will have to hear about it on this blog! 

This Minnie Mouse mug is perfect for me! I love polka dots, and I love Minnie Mouse. Maybe I love Minnie Mouse because she wears polka dots... hmmm. Although this sort of reminds me of a mushroom. I know there was a Mickey Mouse mug as well, but Minnie is so much cuter. 

This must have been the Christmas for Purse-giving, because I received three. The dark green one is from my parents, the red from my aunt and uncle, and the black from one of my friends before I left England. 

My favorite animal is definitely giraffes, my parents gave me these giraffe measuring cups. They knew I probably won't use them for cooking since they aren't the most practical, but they are great for keeping little things in. 

Sticking with the giraffe theme, I also got this cute little giraffe that you can heat up in the microwave as a sort of heating pad to sleep with or to soothe sore muscles I suppose. I named him Filbert ;) I purchased these headphones from Target with a gift card that I was given. I'm definitely not one of those people that will wear them as a fashion statement. I probably won't wear them in public at all. I wanted a pair because the ones I have now are constantly falling out of my ears because they don't fit properly, and they make my ears hurt sometimes. Since I have a roommate, I wear headphones a lot when I watch movies and listen to music. 

Have a safe and happy new year everyone! 

Keep Smiling,

At The Moment || A Chilly Winter Day

Listening To: A mixture of Little Mix, One Direction, and Cher Lloyd. How very British of me...;)

Feeling: A little anxious to be honest, and sad that Christmas is over. 

Wearing: Comfy pajamas

Looking Forward To: My cousin's bachelorette party and wedding shower this coming week

Wishing: Christmas vacation was at least one week longer

Watching: Anything with Hugh Grant for some odd reason. I just remembered how funny he can be. I recently watched Two Weeks Notice and quite enjoyed it. 

Eating: What seems to be endless amounts of christmas cookies and other goodies

Thinking About: Packing to go back to school

Reading: Just finished Princess Elizabeth's Spy. It was ok, not exceptional. 

Keep Smiling, 

Merry Christmas!

This was a picture somebody snapped when I was unaware. I just wanted to show my Christmas Eve outfit. I hope everyone had/is having a great Christmas! 

Keep Smiling, 

Christmas Is Coming || My Christmas Plans

Ahhh tomorrow is my favorite day of the year! I'm so excited! I absolutely love Christmas Eve because it's all the festiveness, but with the anticipation of Christmas day still. For the past several years we started a tradition with my mom's sister's family. My aunt and uncle (who are also my Godparents), and their two sons (who are basically like my brothers) either come over to our house or we go to theirs. We switch off every year, and this year it's their turn to come here. I'm extra excited this year because I haven't seen them all in so long. So much has happened. I went abroad, and my cousin had his first semester at University. We have a lot of catching up to do. 

I love getting all dressed up for the day. We go to church as a family, and the church is always packed! I love it this time of year because it is always decorated with flowers and wreaths, and I love singing the Christmas carols. After that, we all eat until we can't eat anymore. We spend the rest of the evening listening to Christmas music, exchanging gifts, watching festive movies, playing games, and just generally enjoying each other's company. If we're lucky there will be a light sprinkling of snow. 

Christmas morning we open our gifts, and see what's in our stockings. My mom usually makes her homemade caramel rolls, but honestly I'm usually too stuffed from the night before to eat much. We head over to my Grandma's house in the afternoon, and spend the rest of the day catching up with all of my relatives, and eating even more. We always have Christmas with my Mom's side of the family after Christmas day. This involves even more eating (yikes!), card playing , cigar smoking for the men, lots of talking and laughing, oh and did I mention food? I just love Christmas! 

Even Roxanne is feeling festive

I hope everyone has an amazing Christmas, and is enjoying the Holidays :) 

Keep Smiling, 

Christmas Is Coming || We Built a Gingerbread House

Yesterday my sister and I spent the night at my other sister's house. We dressed festively, made cookies, watched Christmas movies, and of course ended the night in our santa hats and Christmas flannel pajama sets. We bought one of those gingerbread house kits from Target to build and decorate. It only fell apart once, so I consider that a success!

Keep Smiling,

Christmas Is Coming || Oh There's No Place Like Home For The Holidays!

I'm home! It feels so good to be back in my native land. My mom and sister picked me up from the airport yesterday, but we didn't want to get stuck in traffic since it was rush hour, so we made a stop at the Mall of America to do some holiday shopping. It was so weird to see all of the prices in dollars again! I love the mall this time of year since it looks so festive with it's giant Christmas trees and oversized ornaments hanging from the ceiling. In most ways it feels like I never left home, but there are some things that have thrown me off. I actually asked my dad if he painted a wall, and he said it's been that color for the last five years...oops. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the smell. It smelled like Christmastime, and all of the memories from past winters came flooding back. It was dark out when I arrived, and the house was all lit up with Christmas lights on both the inside and the outside.

Is it too weird to include a picture of my bathroom?? It's one of the most festive rooms of the house! 

I just got back from Target, and boy did I miss that place! I thought I was having withdrawals while I was away :P While I was there, I saw one of my best friends that I haven't seen since before I left. It was so good to see her again! All in all it was a successful shopping trip and I'll probably spend the rest of my evening wrapping gifts, which is something love to do. I hope everyone is having a splendid holiday season!

Haha I just heard my mom say that I could come and eat. Music to my ears after three and a half months of living off of frozen food. 

Keep Smiling, 

I'll Be Home For Christmas, Things I'm Looking Forward To

Tomorrow is the day that I'm going home after three and a half months in England. It's very bittersweet, and I just said my last goodbye. It wasn't fun at all. I miss everyone already! That being said, I am excited to be home for the holidays, and back in my native land. 

I'm looking forward to...

• Christmas with the fam
• Going to Target
• Not having to worry about the exchange rate
• Seeing all of my family and friends
• Putting the Christmas decorations up
• My room
• Snow
• Driving
• Having all of my clothes/shoes/accessories in one place to choose from
• Home-cooked meals
• Not having to go grocery shopping all the time
• Making Christmas cookies
• American food
• Lounging around by the fire in the middle of all the christmas decorations
• Being able to call/text people instead of having to use Facebook or Skype
• Being able to lounge around in my pj's all day

Keep Smiling,

Christmas Is Coming || The Winterlicious Tag

My Dad took this photo last week of the view from our dining room. Apparently it snowed a lot which isn't unusual where I'm from. I hope it snows again once I'm home! 

I was tagged by the lovely Melissa of Melissa Knows Best to do this tag, and since I am a huge lover of the holiday season, of course I had to participate! 

1. Favorite Winter Nail Polish

Recently I have been wearing these two colors together, and I think they add a little bit of Christmas cheer to my outfits! The red one is N.Y.C. Nail Glossies in the color 227, and the other one is Sally Hansen's Golden-I.

2. Favorite Winter Lip Product

Lately I have really gotten into darker lipsticks, and I absolutely love the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains. I only have one color so far (Crush), but I am dying to get more. I also really like this Rimmel lipstick it's in the shade 01. I'm still not quite sure if it's the right red for me since I've only really worn it once, but the formula is really nice. 

3. Most Worn Winter Clothing Piece

I got this jacket a couple of Christmases ago, and still receive loads of compliments on it. I wear it all the time, and it is still going strong. It's warm, but also really comfortable, and it has a great hood. The only thing wrong with it is that I accidentally let chocolate melt in one of the pockets, and still haven't been able to completely get it out. What a waste of perfectly good chocolate ;P I know this photo is pretty awkward, but it was the best I could do at the moment. 

4. Most Worn Winter Accessory

This would definitely have to be my slippers. I got these at Target last winter, and have never regretted it. They are so fuzzy and warm. My feet tend to get really, really cold, but these keep them nice and toasty warm. They're perfect for lounging around the house, and I never want to take them off when I have to put real shoes on. I'm always so tempted to just wear them outside! 

5. Favorite Winter Scent/Candle

I don't have any particular favorite winter scent or candle, but during the autumn and wintertime I like anything that smells like Christmas, except things that smell pine-y. I really like apple cinnamon scents.

6. Favorite Winter Beverage

I am a huge lover of hot chocolate. I wouldn't really consider this to be a winter beverage for me since I drink it all year round. Yes, even in the summer. I recently tried the peppermint hot chocolate from Starbucks for the first time, and wowza was it good! During the Christmas season I like to put a candy cane in my hot chocolate to make it pepperminty. 

7. All Time Favorite Christmas/Holiday Movie

I had such a hard time choosing just one, but if there was one I could watch anytime, it would have to be Borrowed Hearts. I talk more about this in this post. 

8. Favorite Christmas/Holiday Song

Ugh this was even more difficult to choose than the movies, because anyone who knows me would be able to tell you that during the Christmas season I never stop singing Christmas tunes. Some of my friends are even convinced that I know the words to every Christmas song even though I highly doubt that. I have an entire post dedicated to my favorite Christmas songs that you can have a little looksie here if you missed it. If I absolutely had to choose just two, I would probably have to go with Do They Know It's Christmas by Band Aid, and any version of Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). I could listen to these two songs any day, sny time, ans still love them just as much. 

9. Favorite Holiday Food/Treat

Christmastime is definitely the season for eating, and if there's one thing the people in my family know how to do it's cooking. I eat so much good food during the holidays I should probably be banned from the food table. However, there is one thing during the holidays that everyone dies for. It's my Grandma's chex mix. She makes a tub of it for every family on my Dad's side (which is a lot of people), and people seriously fight over it. Not even kidding. Sadly, I don't have a picture of it, but I'm sure you can imagine what it looks like. 

10. Favorite Christmas Decoration This Year

This was a toughie to decide, and I'm still not 100% satisfied with my answer since I love all of our Christmas decorations. I chose this ornament because I love Bubmle the abominable snowman from the Rudolph movie. I have several Bumble decorations, and there are many ornaments that I really like, but I had to choose this one.

11. What's At The Top Of Your Christmas List?

First of all, I'm just really excited to be home for Christmas, and have all of my family with me. It sounds really cliche when I say that, but it really wouldn't be Christmas without them. If I had to choose a material item that I really want I would have to choose the Coach summertime eau de toilet. I know it was limited edition, but it is still available at certain places online. I wrote a post about this particular scent what seems like absolute ages ago, and said I would just have to forget about it because I didn't need it, but I haven't had any luck with that so far.

12. Plans For the Holidays This Year

Every year I pretty much do the same thing for Christmas. It involves a lot of family (both my parents have 11 brothers and sisters each, so you can imagine how big my family is), food, and laughter. Some of the best things in my opinion. There are certain traditions we have like baking Christmas cookies, watching certain Christmas films, and exchanging gifts, but I think I may write a more in depth post on what I do for Christmas Eve and Christmas day later.

I'm not going to tag anyone in particular. If you want to do this tag, by all means do it! 

Keep Smiling,

England, The Things I'm Going to Miss

Today has just been one of those days where I just feel gross, and I'll be honest, a little bit depressed. I'm usually a fairly happy positive person, but we all have those days where we just want to wallow in self pity. Am I right?? I think it's finally hit me that I will be going home in a week. During the past few months I have gone from dreading the day I leave, to anticipating it and being home for the holidays, to dreading it once again. I'm definitely one of those people that dread goodbyes. I know nobody likes them, but I just can't really handle them. I hate it when things end. I've already written this post on my thoughts and feelings about this entire experience, but I've compiled a list of the things I really am going to be sad to leave behind.

• The people. I cannot express how much I'm going to miss my flatmates. They've become real friends to me that have put up with my "Americanness"and helped me through things like cleaning my first toilet, navigating the London underground, and serving me my first legal drink. They've picked up on my little habits quicker than most of my other friends have, such as how I am always waving my hands around while singing and talking, and how I say "just kidding" after everything.
• Having Thursdays and Fridays off. Because who doesn't love four day weekends?
• Living so close to everything.
• The impromptu singing sessions. There are three of us that really get into this. One person will spontaneously start singing, and sure enough the other two will join in without really even thinking about it. Usually there is dancing involved as well. We really are a crazy bunch ;) 
• Being able to go places without sitting in the car and actually having to drive.
• Having a laugh over the impersonations we do of each other. Never gets old.
• Laying in the hallway with all of our blankets and pillows because we're too tired to actually get up and go to sleep. 
• Building robots out of sheer boredom
• Playing tennis and bowling in the corridor
• Late night scrabble in the Kitchen
• Only having my lectures for each class once a week.
• The English accents.
• Getting my exercise in by walking everywhere.
• Having so many beautiful things to photograph
• The crazy times we have with the flat below us
• Europe in general.
• Being the American one. It sounds weird, and maybe a tad bit conceited, but I have enjoyed having something different about me, and I have loved answering questions about my life back at home. 
• Learning something new about a different culture everyday.

Keep Smiling, 

Yesterday, This Happened...

Whew! I just went to my last class of the semester and took the test. Now all I have to do it turn in all of my essays and I'm good to go! Yesterday when I should have been studying, I saw something on twitter that was perfect. Now, I've mentioned several times before how much I love McFly, and I know it may be getting old, but oh well. Tom and Dougie recently wrote a children's book, and have been doing book signings. I saw the posts on twitter before about the upcoming signings, but ignored them because I wasn't planning on going. However, yesterday was different. I saw where it was at, and thought I was imagining things. It was literally at the mall in the place that I'm living right now. Just a short walk away really. I saw this like ten minutes before it started but decided to go check it out anyway. Long story short, I met them, and now my life is complete! :D 

Keep Smiling, 

Christmas Is Coming || My Favorite Christmas Movies

I think I can speak for everyone when I say that there are those holiday movies that you absolutely must watch before Christmas rolls around. I personally, have a fair few of them so I though I would share them with you. 

1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas

This is one of my favorites of the holiday season. It is so festive and full of cheer. I just love it! I know about every line, and it never seems to get old. 

2. Borrowed Hearts

This is one of those movies that I grew up watching, and it became such a classic for the holiday season. It's the perfect mix of christmas spirit and romance. We owned it on VHS but it must have been edited because I watched in on Netflix last year, and was surprised that there were new scenes in it. 

3. Eloise at Christmastime

This is another one of those movies that quickly became a classic for my sister and I. We first watched it when it aired on the Wonderful World of Disney (who remembers how awesome that was?), and luckily we recorded it because we've watched it every year since. We both had major crushes on Bill ;) 

4. Elf

Of course, you can't go wrong with elf. It was inevitable that it would show up on this list. It's still hilarious, no matter how often you watch it. It seems to be one of those films that I end up watching more than once every Christmas because everyone always seems to be watching it. 

5. The Muppet Christmas Carol

I watch this every year with my family, and we probably spend the majority of the time talking/singing along with it. The songs are so catchy! 

6. I'll Be Home For Christmas

I loved this movie so much when I first saw it on T.V. They used to show it every year, but then decided to stop. I watched it again a couple of Christmases ago, and sill liked it no matter how cheesy it is. In fact, I may even go watch it! 

7. The Holiday

As I mentioned in this post, I saw this movie for the first time last year, and fell in love with it. I can't believe I didn't see it sooner! I'm sure I'll continue watching this every year. 

 

8. While You Were Sleeping

While the title always strikes me as slightly creepy, the movie is great! You could watch this movie any time of year as it's not all about Christmas, but I like to save it for this time of year. 

Keep Smiling,