Thursday, January 1, 2015

December Favorites

I've had a lovely New Year's Eve. It snowed all morning and also into the early afternoon, so I spent the morning playing in the snow, building snowmen and the like. Then the evening was filled with eating peanut butter cookies and brownie pudding and drinking coffee and champagne and watching Downton Abbey and having many grand laughs. It's been very nice--now let me get on with my slightly late favorites list. Thanks to the presents and such that are on this list.

1) Sting Letter Opener - I happened to go to a certain Barnes & Noble around Phoenix that's closing--so many things that are never on sale were at half off. I'd been thinking I needed a nice letter opener, so even though I wouldn't really have considered this one otherwise, I figured it would do. It does make me feel fancy to use a letter opener, and Tolkien memorabilia is good, no?


2) Fresh Sugar Lip Balm in Coral - This is my first full-sized Sugar lip balm, and it's really perfect because I was in need of a lip color with a hint of orange instead of just pink and red. It's only a hint and like most of the Fresh colors, it's more of a tint than a full on color splash.


3) Leather Notebook - At the said Barnes & Noble, I also picked up this notebook. All the intricate flowers won me over, me with my weakness for notebooks. And the notebooks are never on sale.


4) Bite Beauty Matte Creme Lip Crayon in Sucre - This is also my first full-sized Bite Beauty product. I haven't had a chance to use it much, but it's a nice and pretty pink color and it has pretty good staying power. Bite products really are great (they're also made of food grade ingredients, so no worries about toxic makeup), even if I'm not too fond of the boring gray case.


5) The Art of Disney Postcards Set - I couldn't resist these, even though I'm pretty sure I'll never be able to bear sending any of them out as postcards. They have illustrations of Disney characters, stills from movies, that sort of thing. Some of them are traditional, and some are rarer. All are wonderful to look at.


6) Aveda Shower Gel - If you ever buy anything at Aveda, you'll know that if you let them sign you up for their birthday list, you get a free product during the month of your birthday. In the past, I had chosen the perfume spray, which I wasn't overly fond of. This year I tried the shower gel, which is in fact quite a big bottle for a free product; I was impressed. Like the other items you can choose from, you get to pick out your favorite scent and they mix it into the product for you. Besides the size, I'm also impressed with this product of itself; I'll probably want to buy more of it. It's silky smooth to the touch, like a very soft shampoo. That makes it pleasant to use, and what's more, I find that it makes for a nice shaving gel. I'd really recommend it.


7) A Novel Journal in Jane Eyre - When I find myself at Costco, I do like to take a look at the book and movie section: you never know what you might find, especially during the holiday time. This journal is an interesting concept: the lines on the pages are the text of Jane Eyre in tiny print. There were a few other novels also available, though of course Jane was my pick. It's a novelty--yet one you can use.


8) Tarte Tres Chic Park Avenue Princess Contour Palette - I have my one blush from Tarte, but I didn't have a bronzer. This little golden palette has two golden shades and one pale pink.


9) Vintage Copy of Jane Eyre - My latest copy of this book was found at an antique store, but it came from a school library around the area I live in. So it's kind of like a local bit of history.


10) Tarte Bon Voyage Collector's Set and Travel Bag - I had my eye on this year's holiday set from Tarte. It came in such a pretty travel bag, and the eyeshadow palette is a varied collection of usable, neutral shades. The two full-sized lip colors and the travel sized maracuja oil are also nice to have.



11) Wooden Pigeon - My two cast iron pigeons have gained a friend, who sits with them on top of my bookcase. He's in more traditional colors, blue and black. He is pretty.


12) Tarte Kiss and Belle Lipsurgence Lip Set - This year's lip set from Tarte has six lip tints (you know, the crayon kind) and two glosses, all mini. A couple of them are bright, and the rest are lighter, and I do believe I like all of them--except for the matte orangey shade, which I've already given away. The caps are very lovely.


13) The Lord of the Rings Leatherette Book Set - These really are travel-sized. I have a weakness for small things; I think they're cute. I just like to gaze upon these--and also to know that they're so easy to slip into a purse or suitcase when you want something to read on the go.


14) Seventh Muse Perfume Oil in Rose - A couple of years ago, I got the Violet version of this perfume oil. Now that I claim rose as my favorite scent, I'm happy to add this bottle to my perfume collection. As modern as mixed fragrances are, I do enjoy single, floral scents very much, as well--sometimes more.


15) Dinosaurs: The Grand Tour - This book is somewhat like an encyclopedia of different dinosaurs, going by which era they lived in. It's full of information and makes it easy to look up a particular dinosaur. There are also some fun (and adorable) pictures. It's quite a new book, too, published just this fall, so there's some pretty current information in here. I've been enjoying flipping through it.


16) Tignanello Classic Leather Purse - I had never heard of this brand and I still haven't looked it up: whatever the brand, this purse seemed exactly what I was looking for (I wasn't looking for a new purse, but I thought I would get a brown one if I saw the right one). It's exactly the right size for my height: not so big as to overpower me, but big enough that I can put things in it. The straps aren't over the shoulder, yet they're long enough that I can put them on one shoulder even when I'm wearing a thick jacket. The design is plain enough that nothing distracts me from the rich brown of the leather. I'm not overly fond of the lining, but when everything else is just right, I can hardly complain about that.


17) Disney Golden Age Comics - Here's another book I'll have to spend some time with. It has the comics versions of classic Disney films and accompanying stories. So besides all the images, there are also some scenes that the movies don't show.


18) Vintage Cameo - I'm not quite sure about the age on this cameo, but either way it is delicate and lovely in its crafting. It has three full-sized figures. Perfect addition to my collection.


19) Vintage Ink Wells - These are pretty things, grand and dainty all at once. The solid white bases have intricate golden tops with the last remnants of green and red paint.


20) Green Pearl Necklace - I was having trouble getting a decent picture of this pearl strand. They're not really an olive green; it's something neutral like that, but livelier. I like the combination of the classiness of pearls with the joyfulness of green.


21) Green Macaroon Case - I have one of these in light pink; I've been wanting the green one also, but the store I got it at has been out. Now I am content. 


22) Tocca Travel Fragrance Spray in Florence - Since Florence is my favorite Tocca scent and it was among the perfumes to come out in this enchanting travel spray bottle, well, here it is in my hands. The box it comes in is also beautiful; it opens like a little green book.



23) Snow - And in case you didn't believe me, here is the first (and smaller) snowman I built this morning. The snow does look rather light, but I assure you it came down steadily for hours and there were a few inches to its depth. That's the most I've seen in this area, and all I was expecting for today was rain. It really was quite exciting to wake up to. A lovely white New Year's Eve. Now I must finally get to bed: it's nearly three o'clock. 



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