Did you hit up the sales on the 3rd most popular shopping day of the year? I heard some crazy stories about chaotic clothes shopping in the actual stores with things being picked over or deals not being all that great. I’m pretty set on clothes right now but I did check out the sales online. There wasn’t a damn thing I wanted! Stores were still hocking summer stuff as their super deals.

My big thing is to get wrapping supplies and decorations on clearance. I hit 2 Wal-Marts (really looking for elusive vacuum bags) and 1 Target. Women were cart blocking like crazy at 9am at Target but I manged to squeeze myself in.

I got all of this for $25! The platter is ceramic and there are even some cat toys for next year!

Love that polka dot wrapping paper. It’s fun to find things you can use year round but I wasn’t so lucky this year.

On Tuesday I also hit Sally Beauty Supply and scored on nail polish. 50% off already marked down stuff. That’s what I’m talking about! I got these 6 polishes for $6!!

The first is China Glaze Trendsetter. I’ve wanted this polish for a long time but it’s hard to find. Love the weird colors.

From L to R: China Glaze Trendsetter, CG Skyscraper, CG Haunting, Finger Paints Military Green, FP Catwalk Queen, Orly Monroe’s Red

So tell me tell me! What did you score?

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Christmas is over!

Isn’t it ridiculous, all the planning, thoughtfulness, errand running, generosity and  cheer… then the stress sets in… and you’re so happy it’s all over? I managed to survive with only one meltdown!

I hope everyone’s holiday was happy. Things were great around here.

Last Christmas was on a weekday and since I spend weekdays taking care of my mom, David and I opened presents at midnight. I was hoping to do a normal Christmas morning opening of gifts this year but at 9pm on Saturday, we both lost all control. We’re friggin adults and adults get to do what they want, right? Damn right!

So yeah! Presents! Then on Christmas morning I got up early while he was still in bed, got restless and went to my parents’ house earlier than planned. I spent about 4 hours there, picked up Chinese food (best idea ever!) and chowed down with them, brought more presents home & Chinese for the bf, took a long bath, watched tv and took it easy. Then we went for a walk.

a Christmas peacock!

alley cat

indoor cat

love!

Plans for Monday are hitting up Target and Wal-Mart for some after Christmas clearance shopping. I need more bows, tags & tissue paper.

So… onto the good stuff!

My fave gifts from mom were those brown leather boots and a train case for my make-up. (Finally! I had been putting it off but the cat keeps knocking my stuff over, in the middle of the night, of course.) The boots gave me a wicked blister on our walk but they need to be broken in eventually.

From David, I got the Emjoi Micro-pedi foot buffer thing (love love this!), an ice cream maker (plus a mini pie maker from his sis – they’re trying to kill me!)… and apparently, a few other things didn’t get here on time. Drats!

What did you do and what did you guys get for Christmas!!??

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This recipe has now been in my family for four generations and it’s THE BEST. Seriously. Not even trying to humble brag.

I can’t tell you how many it makes though because I eat so many as I go and I really don’t count. I’d say at least a few dozen. I usually double or triple this recipe though since I give a ton away.

Get a big bowl!

MIX TOGETHER:

2 sticks butter (when I bake, I usually do half margarine, half butter – keeps things moist and prevents dark bottoms)

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

ADD and MIX:

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teasp. baking soda

1/2 teasp. salt

1/2 teasp. cinnamon

FOLD IN:

3 cups Quaker quick oats

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 – 1 cup walnuts

PREHEAT OVEN to 350 and put the dough in the fridge until the oven is ready. I like to keep the bowl in the fridge to keep it firm while a batch is in the oven.

Parchment paper on cookie sheets is my favorite.

Drop dough the size of golf balls (or a bit bigger) onto a cookie sheet (about 8 for a standard pan to give enough room) and bake for 10 minutes.

The cookies may look a bit wet and raw in the center but if the edges are browning, take them out and cool on a rack anyhow. They’ll be chewy and perfect!

Here are my fave recipes for easy fudge, pound cake and apple pie!

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November was so warm. I’m actually looking forward to some snow!

And yes, I’m losing my mind…

That deer stamp just wouldn’t work. I bet I tried 20 times until I got it all on the stamper. Then I went to bed and realized I hadn’t put snow on my trees and got back up and added it. Losing it, I tell ya!

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Here are some quick ideas for last minute gifts when you’re in a pinch. Great for hostess gifts, or that coworker or neighbor you weren’t expecting to get a gift from, but did.

Everything can be purchased at the grocery store! They’ll also have gift bags and small packs of tissue so you can throw it together in your car on the way!

Grab some fancy pasta, a jar of organic sauce and a bottle of wine.

You could also toss in some nice aged Parmesan and a cheese grater!

A few packs of sugar cookie mix, some cookie cutters, tube icing and colored sugar.

If your grocery store sells housewares, grab 2 cute mugs, their best hot chocolate mix and a bag of marshmallows.

I hope this saves your butt!

Do you have any other quick ideas?

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I haven’t done my nails in a while, at least nothing worth showing. Finally having some time on Sunday night, I went holiday nuts!

White polish goes on so cruddy but a thin layer of pearl on top blended in all the imperfections. Then I stamped a candy cane stripe, did snowflakes and added some gems – and a top coat! I hope this one lasts for a while!

Hope you like it!

Do you plan on doing anything festive with your nails for the holiday season?

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Here’s a collection of gifts for those who love spending time in the kitchen. Everything is $30 or less (not including shipping).

Babycakes Pie Maker $30 + shipping

A friend on Twitter was raving about this little gadget. How cute is this? You can do sweet and savory pies, topped or not, with store bought crust. They also make a mini cupcake maker, a whoopie pie maker, mini donut maker and a pie pop maker! (I found the best prices online.)

Great for families – Popsicle mold $13 and recipe book $6 (don’t forget sticks!)

For a baker -marble rolling pin $14

pie bird $5 – crust shield $5 – crust weights $7

For a couple – Insulated picnic basket $30 – in a bunch of colors

ceramic elephant creamer $9

herb scissors $9 & herb saver $8

reusable up to 300 times – pop up poultry timer $12

stainless steel pasta maker $29

Add a bag of nuts – Squirrel Nutcracker $15

kitchen timer $10

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• Thanksgiving is OVER! We all made it out alive and now it’s time for Christmas!

• The after Christmas clearance sales are where I get ALL my wrapping paper, bows, bags, decorations for the tree and house, dinnerware (lots of stuff you can use year round), and any other random thing that’s marked down to 90% off. I love getting my boxes out to decorate and finding all the things I got last year that I had forgotten about. It’s like an early Christmas! Check out this awesome ceramic platter I got for $1 last year!

• Kelly from Let’s Die Friends made it to Design Sponge!! So stoked! Her dining area looks awesome!
• Design Sponge also updated my town’s guide! Pretty nifty! The 1st pic – that church is right behind my apartment!
• Did you go out for Black Friday? I usually have no intention to but I needed to pick up a few things and popped into Bath and Body Works since I had a coupon. I cleaned up on random gifts for lady folk. It was a madhouse but everyone was cheerful. There really don’t seem to be many amazing deals out there. 15% off is NOT a Black Friday sale people!
• I did my minimal decorating for Christmas on Friday night. I slapped the same big bow on our front door, did up the mantle in the bedroom with my bf’s 12 Days of Christmas presents….

and we had to put the tree on the radiator in the hallway where Ulti can’t get to it (and anchor it to the wall with fishing line and a Command strip hook just in case). I can’t even plug it in this year!

 I’ve been slowly working on a woodland creature ornament collection.

• not gonna complain! I’m in a super fantastic mood!

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I started my Christmas shopping weeks ago. You wanna slap me? Hear me out! The stores aren’t swamped and picked over. Lines aren’t long. I don’t feel pressured. I won’t be broke when Christmas arrives. It really is to preserve my sanity.

If you need to grab some little but thoughtful gifts here are some easy and inexpensive holiday shopping ideas:

EcoTools bamboo brush sets. The travel sets come with little raw cotton cases and are great for every day use. The bristles are synthetic but super soft. Each of these sets is about $7 at most drug stores. I love them.

eos organic lip balm set $11 – It took me a while to jump on the bandwagon but these lip balms are great!

Like/Dislike stamp set – $13 – for a laid back office pal

The Little Prince pop-up book $23 – for the young & young at heart, or someone you love deeply

There will be a ton of holiday nail polish collections out there. This one is $17 but ULTA has sets of their own polish (which I really like) for less than $10.

Set of 8 cork toast coasters for $10

Loving this pop beauty Bare Texture kit for eyes, including primer for $28.

Animal House kitchen set $17

Slow Loris Chairlift Tee $16

Fab.com is a flash sale site for lovers of design. Each day you get an email of all the sales that day. Some are pricey but I’ve seen some amazing deals on there.

apron  $23

bunny love salt and pepper shakers $21

Plasticland has so much fun stuff!

This is probably the first installment of many for the holiday season! Hope you like my picks!

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• So many things going on! I’ve been keeping myself busy and checking things off my to-do list. Maybe I’m crazy but I’ve already started Christmas shopping – mainly little things for the 12 Days of Christmas I’m doing for my mom and bf. I even made the little numbers for the bags!

got a few sheets of scrap booking paper (some had great patterns on both sides) and 2 things of 99-cent ribbon – cut them freehand – they’ll be stapled to brown lunch bags

• I spray painted a Breyer horse! He hangs out on the radiator in the hallway. (I found a lil 1/2 size can of gloss white Rustoleum for $3 at Ben Franklin and used the whole thing.)

• I made that crispy potato roast everyone pinned. Of course I added bacon and topped with cheese later. It was delicious but took almost 2 hours to bake! This is 4 baking potatoes and 4 shallots sliced with their bits stuck between each slice.

• I met up with some bitchin broads in Colonial Williamsburg for brunch!

It was hard not to shove that adorable cup and saucer in my purse!

cheese and more cheese…

and even MORE cheese…

I had a great time with these ladies! Laura, Jen, (me) and Victoria

• My new favorite weekend running around outfit – got the top at Marshalls for $5 over my fave tank from Target, Old Navy Rock Star jeggings and some old as hell coppery woven flats from when Isaac Mizrahi was still at Target.

• So I told you guys I was sewing that dog costume for a “friend”. Well the more I thought about it, the more pissed I got. Thing is, I hadn’t heard from the chick in almost 3 years. I had even deleted her from my Facebook in one of those fits of getting rid of people I never talk to. I had been getting an itch to sew and the bf kinda pressured me to be “nice” when she asked me so I agreed. She never offered to pay me either. Then the feelings of anxiety and anger began to rise in me – imagining all the work and ALL the grey fur that would’ve covered my apartment for days. I also have a ton of stuff I need to do. Then, I saw one of those things on Pinterest that said “A real friend doesn’t only call you when they need something.” That was it. I was done. I told her I couldn’t do it and OMG I feel so much better.   (And she never wrote me back.) So yeah, saying NO is good thing.

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