December 29, 2011

Holiday Sweet Treats

I hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas! Today I am linking up with Michelle at a little bit of this & that for her Rockin' Around the Christmas Dessert Table link-up and showing the sweets I made for my family and friends.

For my co-workers I made three different cookies. The cookies were a Chocolate M&M cookie, Candy Cane Blossoms, and a cookie called Holiday Moments that I found in a cookbook I bought (not pictured). I packaged them in these cute Erin Condren labels and bags I got using a plum district deal I bought.
 For some of my friends I made the Snowflake Mix that I had pinned on Pinterest and it was so yummy. You must make it!
I packed it in these cute Holiday themed Chinese take-out boxes I found at Michaels. 
 Lastly, I made some cake pops! I made them using the Babycakes Cake Pop Maker I bought on Black Friday. It was my first time using the cake pop maker and it was so easy to use! I made vanilla cake pops then dipped them in chocolate and sprinkle Chocolate Mint Crunch over them. So yummy!
I packed them individually and tied three together with ribbon to give to friends.
For fun I tried to make reindeer cake pops but it was a little harder than I expected especially at 10:30 at night. So I only made two.


If you baked any goodies this holiday I think you should link up with Michelle!
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December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas







Merry Christmas All! I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating! xo








  





  










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December 24, 2011

Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade

With the opening of Vineyard Vines on the West Coast at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, I remembered about the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade. I have never seen it in person but I think it would be so cool to see all the boats decorated. I read that some boats have over $50,000 in decorations on them!

Here are a few of pictures of boats in the parade as well as houses that are along the waterfront.






all images from google

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December 23, 2011

Friday's Fancies - White Christmas


I am linking up with the sweet {av} for Friday's Fancies today.




White Winter Wonderland


Truth: This is one of my favorite Friday's Fancies.

When I saw that this week's theme was for winter white I knew exactly what I wanted the outfit to look like and this pretty much matches exactly to what I was going for. This ALC cocktail party dress ($498) is perfect to wear to holiday party if you are looking to stand out. In keeping with the holiday theme, I wanted to add in some color and I think these Christian Louboutins ($895) are the perfect shade of red. I would love a pair of these in real life but I wouldn't have anywhere to wear them to.

For accessories, I tried to stay in the same color family as the shoes and found a Syndey Evan diamond cross bracelet ($1,760) and these Tarina Tarantino drop earrings ($55). I really thought the name of these earrings were appropriate for the occassion: Santa Claus "Visions Of Sugarplums" Drop Earrings. To finish the look I added this adorable Kate Spade Curling Ribbon Bow Headband ($75 - currently on sale for $45). 


I love linking up with {av} and dreaming up these fun, festive outfits. xoxo
  
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December 22, 2011

Bring It On

Last week, my sister and I ventured into the city and saw Bring It On: The Musical!


The night started with the two of us meeting up at Nordstrom to eat dinner at the Nordstrom Bistro. We each took BART in separately (since I was coming from work and she was coming from home) but I was not paying attention at all to my surroundings and got off at the completely wrong BART station. There is a station that leaves right at Nordstrom and the San Francisco Shopping Centre. I got off at the station before that. I was really confused on where I was for a moment because I had never gotten off at that station before but I walked the few blocks down to the next station and actually got there right when my sister did!

After dinner, we headed to the theater. The musical was at the Orpheum Theater. There are 3 theaters that Broadway productions come to in San Francisco and I think the Orpheum may be my favorite. I bought the tickets through the website Goldstar. The tickets were originally $80 for orchestra seats but on Goldstar I was able to get them for $40 each. I was a little worried about where the seats would be located but they were actually not bad. We were to the side but not too far over. The good thing about the seats at the Orpheum is that the seats are staggered enough that you can usually see between the people's heads that are in front of you.

We sat in our seats and had about 15 minutes to go before curtain so we read our Playbill and participated in this text trivia game. The first question was how many Bring It On movies have there been. I am partly ashamed to have known that the answer was 5. The other 2 question were easily found in the Playbill. It was almost time for the show when they started a countdown on screens on stage. It felt like you were at a basketball game or something.

So the main reason I wanted to see this was because one of my favorites is in it.
Neil Haskell from So You Think You Can Dance!

Love him! I saw him last year in West Side Story so I knew I wanted to see him again since I heard he would have a larger role in this musical.

I didn't have high expectations about the musical but I actually really enjoyed it. There were parts where I was hysterically laughing. There were some points in the plot that could have been improved but I think the cast did really well. The females in the show really stood out for me. Campbell is the main character and I loved her voice and she had some really cute outfits. Danielle the other female lead character had a really strong voice. The character Bridget was perfectly played and provided a lot of great comic relief; in some ways I think she stole the show. Eva, the antagonist in Campbell's world, had really great moments in the show. You loved to hate her. Another one of my favorite characters was Skylar. She was portraying a cheerleader in a way that I think most people identify cheerleaders as. But she played the role great. Neil was super cute as always. It was hard for me not to watch him whenever he was on stage. In fact I was watching him during a large routine and ended up missing a huge stunt performed by some of the ensemble.

At the theater they really were playing up the social media aspect and had a listing of the casts' twitter names. Of course I tweeted at Neil but he didn't tweet me back but Taylor Louderman, the girl who played Campbell, did!


The musical doesn't really follow the story of any of the movies (I have seen 4 out of the 5, again ashamed to admit that) but it has some elements from a few of the them. I was never a cheerleader but I do enjoy watching cheerleading because it always amazes me when the girls do crazy stunts and are just fearless about it. I would be so scared. Overall, the music was catchy and the cheer stunts were really good.  I would recommend this musical if you want to have a fun night out at the theater.

Here is a little preview of the show.


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December 20, 2011

Winter Wonderlands

There is no place like home for the holidays. As much as I would love to wake up to a white Christmas or to spend it on a Hawaiian beach, nothing beats being home with my family.

But luckily there's pinterest.



google


I'm linking up with Michelle for Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday and showing off some beautiful Winter Wonderlands that would be nice to experience during the holidays.
Source: photosfan.com via Nancy on Pinterest
Source: google.com via Cathleen on Pinterest



Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a Vineyard Vines Travel Mug!
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December 19, 2011

Giveaway Announcement!

I have been wanting to have a giveaway for a while now and it's finally the right time. It is the season of giving, right? So remember how I ordered some things from Vineyard Vines as a birthday present to myself? Well I also ordered a giveaway prize!

The giveaway is for this fun Vineyard Vines Thermos/Travel Mug! 


 Plus a $5 Starbucks gift card so you can enjoy a drink in your new mug (after Red Cup Season is over of course)!

How to Enter:
MANDATORY
1. Be a follower of this blog for one entry
OPTIONAL
2. Follow me on twitter (include your twitter name) for one entry
3. Follow me on pinterest for one entry.
4. Blog about the giveaway for three entries.

The giveaway will end Wednesday December 28th at 5:00 PM PST.

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December 14, 2011

Ornament Swap



I participated in the Blogger Ornament Swap hosted by Megan and and I couldn't wait to show you the ornament I received! It is so adorable. I LOVE it!

I was partnered with Lindsey at My Dolce Vita! I have been continuously receiving packages almost everyday from all the online holiday shopping I have been doing. Last week, I got home and saw a package for me from The Polka Dot Gift Shoppe. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what I had ordered from this store. That's because I hadn't ordered anything. Right before I opened it, I realized that it had to have been my ornament. I opened the package to find this cutie!


Isn't it adorable?! I'm sure you're all jealous that Lindsey wasn't your swap partner. The ornament is perfect! Thank you Lindsey! xoxo

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December 13, 2011

Christmas Survey

Doing a quick Christmas survey today!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper for sure. I love wrapping presents! I am kinda OCD about it and need the wrapping to be perfect.
2. Real tree or artificial?
Real tree. I used to love when we would go to the Christmas tree farm and cut our own but now we just go to a lot and pick one.
3.When do you put up the tree?
It varies year to year. I strive to get it up the weekend after Thanksgiving.
4. When do you take the tree down?
After New Year's Day.
5. Do you like eggnog?
I don't think I have ever had eggnog.
6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Nothing stands out to me as a favorite gift.
7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes, two actually; one is the Peanuts gang.
8. Hardest person to buy for?
Definitely my dad. None of us never know what to get him. He would rather have us save our money than buy him something.
9. Easiest person to buy for?
My sister
10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail Christmas cards. It's fun getting mail and seeing the different cards people select .
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I think I have liked everything I have ever received. I think the lamest gift was socks I got one year.
12. Favorite Christmas movie?
All I Want For Christmas (see yesterday's most)
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I usually start on Black Friday.
14. Ever recycled a present?
Yes but only if it was something I received and knew I wouldn't use. Mainly it's perfume or lotion that I get and I don't think the scent so I give it to my cousins who have never met a scent they didn't like.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Mexican Tamales that we make. And Christmas sugar cookies.
16. Clear lights or colored lights on the tree?
Colored.
17. Favorite Christmas song?
Tie between "All I Want for Christmas" by Mariah and "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" by N SYNC.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Stay home, the most travel I do is to my extended family and they live only 30 miles away.
19. Can you name all of santas reindeer?
Dasher, Dancer, Donner, Vixen, Prancer, Cupid, Comet, Blitzen. I think that's it.
20. Angel or star on top of the tree?
Angel
21. Open the presents on Christmas eve or morning?
Open on Christmas morning. When I was younger we would open them on Christmas Eve.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
Probably the traffic. I swear people drive crazier during this time of year.
23. Favorite ornament, theme, or color?
I have a bunch that I love to put up on the tree. Each have a special meaning.
24. What do you want for Christmas?
Nothing in particular. I would love a large Longchamp LePilage tote in Brown.

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December 12, 2011

Christmas Movies

I know we all have our favorite holiday movies and I wanted to share mine!

My favorite Christmas movie is not very well known but it is really good.
All I Want For Christmas stars a young Thora Birch who asks Santa for her mom and dad to get back together . Ethan Embry is her brother and the two plot an elaborate plan to get their parents to fall back in love. It was made in 1991 and I remember loving this movie and watching it over and over again when it was on cable. It would sometimes be on during Christmastime but not usually. Luckily a few years, I bought it on DVD so I don't have to worry about missing. I usually watching it on Christmas Eve.

Now with the more "traditional" favorites.


The next two are two great Disney Christmas movies.
They just re-released Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas! It is definitely one of my favorites and not a horrible sequel like other Disney movies have been. The majority of the cast voices this movie. There is a lovely song called "As Long As There's Christmas" featured in it. Belle is my favorite Disney princess so of course I have this movie! 

Mickey's Christmas Carol is a cute way of hearing Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" story. The ending is always such a warm and happy ending!
My last Christmas movie I love to watch is Just Friends.

It is such a funny movie. Anna Faris is hilarious in it. If you need a laugh this Christmas season, watch this movie!

Have any of you ever seen "All I Want For Christmas"? What's your favorite Christmas movie?
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