Stupid Ladders! & Other Christmas Loot

A few of my favorite things from my Christmas gifts that I wanted to brag about:

• Oversize farmer's market/grocery bag
• Plaid PJ pants (Santa stops by early to bring all of us PJ's on Christmas eve every year)
  
• Burt's Bees gift set with seed packet (won at the family Dirty Santa gift exchange)
• Fender guitar picks in assorted thicknesses
• Ulta makeup - eye liner, shadows, lip gloss.  I love Ulta.
  
• Pink iphone case to replace my gaudy electric blue one
• Bare Minerals powder/foundation.  I'll have to test this out and report back.
• Vegetarian Times subscription - this will be especially helpful when I sign up for the CSA!
• Sparkly nail files
• Button picture frames (my dad actually got these in the gift exchange, and he let me have them)
• Stila smudge pots - I have a big one in green and love it, so now I have all the colors!
• Julie & Julia DVD - I haven't read Julie Powell's book, but I did read Julia Child's book My Life in France and loved it.  I especially love that neither of them found their creative calling until their 30's/40's, and this is reassuring on days when I feel as though I missed some sort of life's calling boat by not getting on board by 20.
• Cranium (Lennon's gift, which I get to play with)
• Joy of Home Brewing book (Lennon's from me).  A home brew store just opened in Copperas Cove by the Walgreens, and Lennon and I went in and spent almost an hour talking with the owner about how to brew beer and wine at home, and the vineyard that he owns.  As soon as I clear out some under-stairs closet space, we are SO brewing our own beer.
• I also got new floor mats for my car... much needed, since I skimped on them when purchasing my car from the dealership.  Now there's a hole under the gas pedal where my heels have dug out the fabric.

What did you get that you love?? 

My niece, Shelby, squeezed herself into a gift box, and her daddy promptly put the lid on top.  Then she popped out to surprise Aunt Courtney.  Shelby was very excited about her own present - Stupid Ladders.  I don't think I will ever call that game by its proper name again.

Butterfly Necklaces + Urban Decay Love Affairs

The butterfly necklaces I ordered finally came!  A few weeks ago I purchased this orange pendant along with a black and blue butterfly pendant from Butterfly Senses on Etsy.  They had taken a while to arrive, so I'd gotten nervous they were lost in the mail until I re-checked the seller's web site and noted that these pendants are made in Malaysia, so I should be probably be a little more patient.  The patience was worth it, because they got here yesterday and they are lovely - my new favorites. 

I've been trying very hard lately to not shop, but I have indulged a few purchases.  I'm finished with clothes buying, seeing as my Austin closet, compared to my wall-o-closet and then my walk-in-closet from my two Little Rock apartments, is paltry in comparison, so nothing new will fit inside.  But, there's always room for jewelry and makeup.

While in Killeen last week, I stopped by the new(ish) shopping center in Harker Heights to go by Ulta, a makeup store that is like Sephora, but with more drug store brands.  Can I also note, that when I lived in Harker Heights in 3rd grade, there was a Wal-Mart, a Win-Dixie, a local rodeo... and that's about it.  Now the Win-Dixie is gone, but it has Club Rodeo in the parking lot, so that sort of makes up for my loss, and with the cigarette burn scar I have on my elbow from the creepy guy who hit on my step-sister, that place is eternally "burned" in my memory... (ha, sorry).

Moving right along... I usually skip the drug store makeup since I can buy it at Walgreens, and head straight for the Urban Decay display.  I've lusted after the mica powder and glitter pressed into Urban Decay cosmetics since the only place I could find it was at Nordstroms in the Galleria when I was in Jr. High, (my love of sparkles is a long-standing affair).  Today, I love Urban Decay even more because it's vegan-friendly and cruelty free, which is to my detriment, because it further justifies my decisions to buy products with money I should be saving. 

This trip, I picked up the Ammo Shadow Box, because I couldn't decide on one color, and truth be told, the box itself was so damn cute that it influenced my indulgent decision.  Even though I rarely wear more than mascara to go about my day, I will take any excuse to wear rock-star glitter... even a trip to a cowboy bar like Club Rodeo.

My favorite item by Urban Decay is their Heavy Metal glitter eyeliner... a discovery made after I tragically used up my entire stick of glittery purple eyeliner pencil from Hot Topic after owning it and using it sparingly for three years.  If you see me wearing this stuff, rest assured I feel on my A-game.  And just so we're clear, I've never been paid by Urban Decay or given free samples - they have more of my money than I care to admit - so if they ever feel like sending me something in reward for being a loyal customer, I'll be camped out by the mailbox. 

Now, about being a saver not a spender...