My Christmas Wishlist

I think one of the reasons why I love Christmas so much is because not only do I love giving gifts, I love to receive them, too! In fact, receiving gifts is my primary love language. So naturally, I’ve come up with my very own Christmas wishlist– some things that I would love to find under my Christmas tree in 9 days. If not, I just might have to buy them for myself…

1) Cutout Handle Clutch – I recently realized that I don’t own a black clutch, which kinda makes me feel like less of woman. A black clutch should be a staple in any purse collection, yet I don’t own one! I really love this one from The Limited because it’s a good size and even has a little handle in case I get tired of carrying it under my arm.

2) Fluidline Eye Pencil – In my opinion, a good eyeliner pencil is hard to find. Every time I buy one from the cheap make-up section at Target, I end up hating it and throwing it away. So I’ve decided that next time I invest in some eyeliner, I’m going to MAC where they carry good quality make-up.

3) Rose Gold Pave Spear Earrings – Stella & Dot is hands down my favorite jewelry line because their jewelry is classy, elegant, and most importantly, good quality. I love these rose gold, dangly earrings. I can see myself wearing them during a fancy night out!

4) Active Half-Zip Pullover – I refuse to spend a lot of money on clothes I’m just going to sweat in, so when it comes to workout clothes, Old Navy is my one-stop shop. I go there for running shorts, tank tops, sports bras, you name it. I love their pullovers for when I want to go for a run during these cold winter months.

5) Yes Please by Amy Poehler – I’ve heard nothing but good things about Amy Poehler’s new book and I’m dying to read it. I would also love Lena Dunham’s new book, Not That Kind of Girl. I’m all about reading books written by smart, funny, empowered women.

6) Sebec Black Pumps – My current pair of basic, black pumps are falling apart, so I think it’s about time for an upgrade. Aldo is my favorite shoe store, so I was stoked to see they have these basic black pumps on sale for only $30!

What’s on your Christmas wishlist?

*THIS POST DOES NOT CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS.

Thanksgiving Weekend 2014

I had such a lovely Thanksgiving weekend! I feel like I was in such a good, happy mood at work today just because I felt so rested and relaxed from the past few days. Here’s a little recap:

Thursday/Thanksgiving

I started Thanksgiving Day out by running in the Run to Feed the Hungry race held in East Sacramento. This was my third year participating in the race with my little sisters, so you could say it’s become a Thanksgiving tradition of ours. This year, we all decided to do the 10K instead of the 5K which turned out to be a good choice because the 10K was WAY less crowded than the 5K. There are about 20,000 participants in this race every year and most of them walk the 5K, so participating in the 10K gave us the opportunity to avoid the crowds and have more space to actually run. I ended up PR-ing and finishing the race in 01:01:23; I finished my first 10K in an hour and 7 minutes, so I was pretty satisfied with my time!

After the race, I went home, showered, and prepared an appetizer to take to my in-laws’ Thanksgiving get-together. I made this Apple, Brie, and Honey Bruchetta appetizer and it turned out great! I thought it would be a great appetizer to share because the ingredients are seasonal and it’s not a heavy appetizer that will fill you up before dinner.

I only got to hang out at my in-laws’ for a couple hours before I had to go work at my restaurant job. Yes, that’s right, I had to work on Thanksgiving! It was OK, though, because I got to make good money while spending time with my work family. After a busy and tiring 8-hour-shift, Chris and I headed to Best Buy to take advantage of their Black Friday sales. I had been wanting a digital SLR camera for a while (to use for my blog, when we travel, and have kids), and Best Buy was offering an awesome sale on Canon Rebels, sooooo I decided to finally buy one. I got the camera, an extra lens, a memory card, and a camera bag all for $450; my original budget was $500 for the camera alone, so I’d say I got myself a steal. Merry Christmas to me!

Friday

Thanksgiving was actually quite hectic for me with the race, seeing family, and working an 8-hour shift, so Friday was all about relaxing for me. I slept in, walked to the mall with Chris to check out more Black Friday sales (didn’t end up buying anything), cleaned our apartment, shopped online for Christmas cards, and put up our Christmas decorations.

Saturday

I started Saturday out with a yoga workout because I knew I’d be eating a lot later in the day at my dad’s. We planned a belated Thanksgiving dinner for Saturday since I, and some other family members, had to work on Thanksgiving. It ended up being a huge success! There were about 30 people who showed up, and we spent the evening eating, socializing, and playing drinking games. It was a blast, and the perfect way to end the holiday weekend.

How was your Thanksgiving? Did you do any Black Friday shopping or Christmas decorating over the weekend?