not a white christmas

its boxing day here in canada! the day after christmas - here we call it boxing day - is usually day three of christmas festivities. i hope everyone had a wonderful christmas (or anything you and your family celebrate at this time of the year). although this christmas was a little less hectic and eventful than other christmas's (and there was no real SNOW) i had a great christmas and santa (and my family) was way too good to me. in the past we had something going on on christmas eve, christmas day and on boxing day. this year there was nothing planned for christmas eve (and i actually didn't make it to the boxing day event my uncle had planned). for me it was just christmas day - entirely fine by me!..

christmas morning - i woke up around 8:30 (shortly after my mom and my sister). when we wake up on christmas morning, we are allowed to empty our stockings. when we were younger and used to wake up way before our parents the rules were - we could go down to the living room and open anything in our stockings but were not allowed to touch anything under the tree. traditions stick, we still are allowed to open only our stockings until everyone in the house is awake. more often then not (recently) - our parents are up before all three of us (my sisters and i) are up.

 the presents are packed all under (and beside) the tree

 even the little fluff ball got spoiled this year

 guinness goes for the squirrel

most of guinness' presents were just placed in a bag under the tree. thats normal id assume - why would you wrap gifts for a dog?! well my sister decided to be different - she decided to wrap the present she got guinness. guinness was a pro at unwrapping the present. he dug his teeth in and ripped the paper right off that gift.

he's content with the gift .. he worked hard to get it. it kept him distracted why we opened our gifts

after we opened our gifts we had our usual christmas breakfast - eggs benedict for my family and an english muffin toasted with butter for me! (i dont like eggs). around noon terry came over and we exchanged gifts. he spoiled me too - i absolutely had no idea what he had for me.. complete surprise! i think he liked his gift too! :) terry and i took guinness for a christmas day walk and we watched a movie with my sisters. we prepped for my dads side's family christmas dinner we were hosting - small gathering this year, only my grandma and my aunt, uncle and my three cousins. all the other aunts/uncles and cousins couldn't make it this year!

then came the turkey, mashed potatoes, squash, broccoli casserole, carrots, STUFFING, gravy and dinner rolls (with lots of wine). followed by pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie and home made christmas cake (rum cake?). oh and tea and coffee! lots of food! way too much! but all delicious.
after dinner we played our usual gift game (in which everyone ends up with a small gift) - tradition. although it a much smaller gathering this year (considering we were missing 9 family members who are usually there on christmas day) and despite the fact i am bitter about the lack of snow.. christmas was fun and filled with great conversation and everything good and special!

i hope santa was good to you and your tummy is full with lots and lots of great food!

instagram diary..

christmas is in two days! i cant wait for way for turkey dinner and apple pie, family and merry christmas hugs!.. heres a little christmas-y picture post in honour of the up coming celebrations.

 my aunt came over and brought guinness a bag full of christmas gifts for the little fur ball. raw hide, cookies, toys and more cookies (and a gift card for me - i usually use petsmart gift cards for when i take him to the groomers)

our christmas tree all decorated and lit up                              home made egg nog (with baileys/rum)

i went to a work christmas party with a blind gift exchange. basically each person was to bring a gift worth approximately $15.00. everyone picked a number and beginning at number 1, each person was allowed to pick a gift from under the tree and open it or they were allowed to steal a present from someone else who had already opened one (there were 36 of us). the only rule was that each gift was only allowed to be stolen 3 times. once the 4th person has it, that gift is theres and no one can steal it. i was number 36! i got to have last choice and i ended up choosing the book and the coffee (absolutely perfect for me!).

 guinness got into our dads christmas present from my aunt. my mom caught him down stairs eating this chocolate bar. not good guinness, not good!

November Glossybox

the november glossybox was christmas themed and even better than i expected. since the price went up from $15 to $21 (which is a huge % increase) i definitely had higher expectations for the november box than i had for the others. i promise you it did not disappoint! i'd say this box is probably my favourite glossybox yet. 

november's box even came with christmas-y tissue paper and mini candy cane!

the perfectly selected products that made up the november glossybox:
1. Nicole by OPI Kardashian Kolar Holiday Shades: i love getting nail polish and i loved the shade i got, all is glam, all is bright. it has a bit of a purple tint - its not something i would wear all the time but its perfect for around new years and it goes on nicely! i found i needed to layer it with a clear coat over to make it smooth (otherwise it is rough to the touch).. but i often layer nail polish with a clear coat to make it last longer anyways. FULL SIZE and valued at $10.99
2. Kryolan for Glossybox Blusher in glossy pink: this is absolutely adorable! i love the slightly rose cheeks in the winter while im so pale. you don't need a lot of this, the colour is fairly intense..a small amount is perfectly noticeable. FULL SIZE and valued at approximately $16.
3. Nexxus Salon Hair Care - Hydrate Kit: the hydrate kit comes with amazing smelling shampoo and conditioner. i used the products on my hair for the past week - they left my hair soft and smelling nice. these came in sample sizes but they were huge samples!
4. Vitabath: this is an exfoliating sugar scrub. it doesn't indicate anywhere whether it is a body, hand or face scrub (i just assumed it was a body scrub by the name vitabath) but i used it on my hands and arms and my skin felt so soft! i'm not too fond of the smell but i like the product very much. i'm not sure if this is a full size (full size usually runs between $15-18)
5. Maybelline MNY MY Gloss: the gloss goes on nice and doesn't have much colour. i normally dont buy maybelline but i was very impressed by this product. FULL SIZE valued at $7.49.

6. CUREL HAND & CUTICLE THERAPY CREAM: this is a bonus product! this cream is lovely. it goes on smoothly and it is not greasy at all. i wash my hands excessively and my hands get so dry (especially in the winter) so i always need to use cream. the problem with many creams is that they leave my hands oily/greasy and that really sucks when you are working on a computer and with paper work all day at work. the curel hand & cuticle cream is also nice and light, which i also like. some creams are so thick. FULL SIZE and valued at $3.99

thank you glossybox so very much! i can't wait until the december box!

christmas is on its way

its december again! the month where stores can play christmas music without complaints and christmas baking becomes my hobby. december 1st started my preparation for this holiday season with the chocolate advent calendar, christmas shopping and christmas tree cutting. my sisters and i have been getting chocolate advent calendar every december 1st since i can remember! one chocolate for everyday in a count down to christmas. i truthfully believe my parents will be buying us a chocolate calendar every december until we have children of our own - its a simple and common tradition.. then came the christmas shopping - christmas shopping excites me! i love shopping for the perfect gifts for family and friends - i like when there is room for creativity and thoughtfulness in the gift, some people are easy to shop for while others want whats on their list and no other. i've so far managed to get two partial presents for two different people.. id say its a good start!
another tradition of my family for the past few years has been to pick out and saw down a christmas tree for our house! all 5 of us put on our winter boots and warm jackets (guinness also got his sweater on) and we drove out to the christmas tree place we've gone for the past few years to scout out the perfect tree.
we now have our christmas tree decorated in our living room and christmas lights strung out outside our house.. im definitely in the christmas spirit!

we selected our tree and each took turns sawing it down.

 **proof i helped with the dirty work :)**

guinness observed.