it's finally december! the happiest and jolliest time of the year!
so, i figured i'd list some of my december favs. some of these are more holiday oriented. but who cares, it's practically christmas!
1. DEFROST WINDOWS: this is technically my most favorite winter tip i have ever received in all my life. i don't know about you but i live in ohio where my windows will frost in the night and are a bear to deal with in the morning. literally. just last week my windows had TWO layers of ice on them! i scraped off the top layer and saw there was another layer. i ain't got time for that! so, i had a panic attack on my front porch because i was so cold and couldn't get back in the house fast enough! what is this dreadful winter? so, matt and i did some research and found a cool idea that actually works. no more leaving the car running for 20 minutes or scraping windows until my hands bleed. in this youtube video, is the secret to a happy winter. in a spray bottle, combine 2/3 rubbing alcohol and 1/3 water. then in the morning when you're car windows are frosty, just spray and watch the ice instantly melt. seriously. it works. try it.
2. RED LIPS: when i think of december or christmas, i always think of red. red everything. nails, lips, plaid, berries, decorations.. one of my staples of december is the red lip. my favorite of this season is by nyx. i like that it is matte so i can wear it and not have to worry about getting red lips all over matt. and it tends to stay on the lips so i don't have to keep reapplying. it's also versatile. for our engagement photos, i layered it over a darker lip liner which made the red deeper. make sure to put on a couple layers so that it's even.
3. TOP KNOT: i'm typing this on the day i'm going to get probably 7-8 inches chopped off my hair. but usually in the winter i tend to keep my hair up. currently it's a little bit below my mid back - maybe an inch or two from my waistline. and it's a bear to deal with. i hate trying to pull all that hair out of scarves and coats and stuff it under hats. (so i cut it off almost every winter) but before that, i do a lot of top knots. i have done the sock bun, i've used the hot buns and just a normal bun. but my favorite way to do it now is to make a skank bun and then pin pieces down to my head. i'm not sure if anyone calls them skank buns - maybe messy bun is a nicer way to say it. but that's what i've always called them. anyways, i typically start by pulling all of my hair towards my crown and start off like i'm going to do a normal pony tail. prior to bringing all of the hair through my hair tie, i will leave it as a loop and go to make the next wrap around with the hair tie. i do this about 3 times and then i'll have a messy bun on top of my head with little hair twigs all over. i'll take those twigs and pin them down or hide them to make them look more polished and then just grabs various sections of the bun and pin it down to my head so it's not sticking too high off of my head. sometimes it'll look like a bun made with a sock or sometimes it just looks more polished of a messy bun. it's always different. but i like it because it's fast, it's messy and it's always different. this youtube video probably shows it the best. however, i do no teasing and i only use one ponytail and a couple bobby pins.
4. CHRISTMAS MOVIES: i have two favorite christmas movies. one is how the grinch stole christmas. mostly because i can make my nose look like cindy lou who's just by pushing a lot of air in my upper lip. the tip of my nose somehow points straight up. and my second favorite movie is christmas vacation. mostly because my family is just like the griswolds. if anything could go wrong, it does. and we always make the best of it. matt and i have the moose mugs from christmas vacation and we intend to create a tradition where we drink out of them while we watch the movie. we haven't yet. but it's only december 1. and i'm not sure if we should save it for christmas eve or just whatever evening we have available. but it's going to be a tradition for sure!
5. LIGHTS: every year we go look at lights. sometimes we just go to a local park and see the lights that the town puts up. sometimes it's a leisure drive around a neighborhood or two. and on the rare occasion i have gone out of town to see the lights at the columbus zoo or at the grand ole opry hotel in nashville or a tour bus in nyc. it's always fun to see the lights twinkle or watch an awesome display blink on and off to music. what's christmas/december without lights?!
6. SWEATERS & STATEMENT NECKLACES: one of my favorite winter combinations is sweaters and statement necklaces. i only have a few statement necklaces and a couple sweaters i pair them with. but when i do, i feel expensive. am i the only one that feels expensive when her outfit is on point? yes? ok.. i have found the best way to pair when you're not super adventurous with necklaces is to find a crew neck sweater in a solid color or if it's patterned, make sure it's neutral and only has 1-2 colors. my favorite combination is a grey sweater with white leopard spots and my all silver statement necklace. i have purchased two statement necklaces that are in the same family such as gold with white diamonds and pearls. they vary in pattern but have the same jewels and color tones. i always wear these two together layered on top of each other and i get a lot of compliments on that pairing. because that pairing is so dramatic, i tend to pair it with plain black sweaters or other solid colored sweaters. but mostly black. because that's all i own.
7. BOOTS AND LEGGINGS: at work, i dress casual professional. it's mostly slacks with sweaters or cardigans. but at home, i live in cuddl duds fleece leggings and sweatshirts. i love the leggings because they are thicker so i can wear them outside in the winter. and i am that girl that believes leggings are indeed pants. so, it's an easy lounge around the house outfit but i can easily throw on a pair of boots and run some errands if i need to. i love that. my current favorite winter boots are from american eagle. i bought them when they were on sale and i bought a size larger than i normally wear. i wanted them to be roomy for thicker socks but the fur inside them allows me to wear either dress socks or thick socks and the boots fit fine. no sliding around inside them or anything. the fur also helps keep my tootsies warm.
8. ONESIE JAMMIES: every christmas morning my brothers and i (and our families) go to my parents and open christmas presents. we have always done this in our pjs. for the last few years i have been doing this tradition in onesie jammies. they're becoming popular now and you can find them at a lot of stores like target, walmart, aeropostale.. but they're so much fun and always make me think of christmas morning. i do get really warm in them so i always make sure to have a tshirt under them in case i need to cool down. and i'm not a huge fan of going to the bathroom practically naked. but it's worth any minor hassle. i swear.
9. HOLIDAY GIFT SETS: i am obsessed with cute little packaging. spending less than what i'm getting in my value pack. believing the value of my gift is really true when i'm getting it for 70% less than what it's worth. did i mention packaging??? i love everything about makeup. i love everything about shrinking it down to sample size, putting it in a cute box and saying i'm getting a great bargain! hello holidays! everywhere you go during this time of year there are gift sets for about anything. my all time favorite ones are makeup gift sets from sephora or ulta. no brand in particular. i just look for packages that truly give me a great value.
10. CANDLE: anything cinnamon wins my heart. my current candle obsession at bath and body works is their wish candle. it smells sooooooooooooo good. i highly recommend it if you love cinnamon flavored candles. matt hates when i say scents are a flavor and not a scent or a smell. i don't know why i do this. but i have done it all my life. so my candles have flavors instead of scents. sue me.
that completes my december favs. hope you guys have a merry christmas and wonderful new year!
i'll be back next week. xox
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