What I Got For Christmas 2016 | Throwback

Hello lovely reader! Long time no activity, I know, but my next post will fully explain that! Anyway for today, I'm doing a throwback to some of my favorite things that I got for Christmas. I love having a post holiday scroll through blogs and youtube pages to see what people have received. I also always feel the need to say that this is not a showing off post or a sponsored post, just a sharing post, maybe give you a gift idea for a birthday coming up or something to treat yourself with!

I love organization so this Kate Spade makeup tote was the perfect gift and gave me a reason to reorganize my makeup. The removable pouch is perfect for makeup brushes or lipsticks and then the top has two zippers that I put my mascaras and blushes in. 

After reading #GirlBoss, I could not wait to get Nasty Galaxy and was so excited when I opened this! It's a really nice book, perfect for a fashionable coffee table. It is full of quotes, musical references, interior inspiration, life advice and of course fashion.

Milly zip pouch with an accurate description....

This was probably my most meaningful present that I received. The quote on this MantraBand is my motto for the year and I hope to continue use it in my life in general. I love simple jewelry and the rose gold is lovely.

I am somewhat behind the times with this one but I have been wanting to get a mobile charger for a while now especially for when I am traveling. I received this mophie charger and so far it seems to be working well. I have heard some horror stories about mobile chargers completely destroying people's phone batteries. I am happy to say I have not experienced!

I absolutely love musicals so when I heard NBC was doing Hairspray Live, which also happens to be one of my all time favorites, I was eager to see this version! Looking at the cast alone I had high expectations and I must say that for me those expectations were met! I absolutely loved it!! If anything, have a listen to the soundtrack, Jennifer Hudson is so unreal and "Come So Far" has been on repeat.

As someone who loves a good bit of organization in their life, a ban.do agenda was a gift that I was quite happy to receive. I first used one last year and loved the layout of them as well as all the cute graphics and stickers. It's nice to have a full month view as well as day to day, which has a lot of space, there's even a notes section at the beginning of each month, as well as random but necessary holidays to celebrate. 

The necessity of this item will make more sense in my next post! As a fan of monochrome and minimalism this passport holder pretty much fit me perfectly. I also love the detail that ban.do puts into all their pieces, even the little cards inside it, so cute.

Last but not least I was given this classy hat by the Goorin Bros. Again, perfect for my current situation! I was not familiar with this company but they have loads of different hats for men and women that are really not quality and not outrageously expensive!


What did you get for Christmas? Any guesses as to what my next post will be about? Xx

"Not the Gumdrop Buttons!" | Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

Hi lovely readers! Tomorrow is Christmas Eve! Are you ready? I know I am. I love all the personal traditions that these next few days will bring and look forward to them every year. One of those traditions is to bake gingerbread cookies! I started at about 10 and have been mixing, baking, and icing since then. 

The recipe is simple and the cookies delicious. They are great to set out for Santa, put at guest's places at the table at your holiday party or put them in a cute little tin and give them as a gift!

You will need:
2/3 cup shortening
1-1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 tablespoons molasses
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Icing (of your choice)
Candy to decorate (M&M's, chocolate chips)
(This recipe makes about 24 cookies)

In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Then add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Beat in the buttermilk and molasses.

Now in a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix them.

Gradually add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture.

Mix well. Then set the dough aside in the fridge to chill for several hours. I would suggest using wax paper and putting some flour on it before transferring your dough to chill, to prevent the dough from sticking. 

After the dough has chilled you are ready to start cutting out shapes and baking! Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. For rolling out the dough, I usually make mine about 1/8 of an inch. This again is really up to you, just be sure not to make them to thin because it make them harder to transfer to the pan. Another tip is to dip the cookie cutters in flour before cutting out the shapes, again, prevents sticking. Bake the cookies on cookies sheets for 8-10 minutes or until the edges start to brown.

Place the cookies on wire racks and allow them to cool completely before decorating. Then decorate!

Perfect little gift or keep them all for yourself! Do you have other favorite holiday cookie recipes? Xx

Cheeky Quote Tuesday

Christmastime Goals | Happy December

Hi lovely readers! The holiday season is officially here and I hope your first few days of December have been good. I have been quite busy lately as I'm sure many of you University students can relate to as well, with the semester wrapping up! Winter break cannot come soon enough as I am ready to relax and enjoy this lovely season. I am definitely one of those people who gets a great deal of satisfaction from making lists and then crossing things off, so when this time of year comes around and there are tons of things that I want to do, I sit down and write them all out. I love reading and hearing what other people are planning on doing to be festive and it usually inspires me to add to my own list. I thought it would be fun to share my "Christmastime Goals" with you all and I would love to hear what yours are too! I also plan to have some posts centered around these "events", so stay tuned!

Do we have any of the same goals? Any suggestions of other fun and festive things I should do?