Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Birthday and Christmas Loot

I wanted to post this before the holidays get away from me.  I was so incredibly blessed this year as I am every year by my thoughtful friends and family.  The absolute, hands down best gift, was having ALL of my family visiting us.  We live so far away and it's easy to overlook how special our get-togethers are, but it was great to have everyone here.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, my sister got to come up for a whole week! Aside from going to the Gaultier exhibit we mostly just hung out, but that was so wonderful for me.  I am giving a big shout out to Mr. Fantastic for flying her up here and giving me an overwhelming dose of love.

As for the gifts, I will do my birthday first.  I got all this!:

*Shopping Coffee Mug - my friends know me way too well.  Mr. Fantastic got himself an espresso machine for Christmas and this cup has already been put to use numerous times. The added bonus is that living in a house full of boys, this guarantees that I have at least one coffee mug that is all mine.
*Wine - I have to confess that I received THREE bottles of wine, but this was the only one that survived long enough for me to photograph.  It's all gone now!
*Chocolate - This gift is one of my faves because it came from one of my hubby's friends(and it's chocolate!).  I was so happy that he and his son brought me chocolate and that they remembered how I gushed about our visit to Ghirardelli Square last spring in San Francisco.
*Target sweater slipper boots - These are super comfy and since we don't have carpeted floors in our house, I never knew I always needed them!  I don't like to sleep with socks but I hate being cold on my morning walk to the bathroom.  Plus, it's not embarrassing to go get the mail in random house shoes anymore...it almost looks like I did it on purpose.
*Bodycology Scrub and Lotion - I used to be addicted to the Fresh Blossoms body scrub and I was devastated when they discontinued it.  I never found another scrub I liked as much, but I received this one and a homemade one at wine club that I can't wait to try!
*Vintage Richelieu Cluster Pearl Necklace (photo above) - I think I screamed when I opened this gift from my mother-in-law.  It's hard for me to explain why it means so much to me, but I am so touched that she asked one of her friends, who owned a vintage shop, to find me something a "fashionista who likes Sex and The City" would love.  Her friend found me this gorgeous necklace from the 1950's and it is in amazing condition! My sister, husband, and I spent the next morning on the internet researching this and other necklaces and my sister even found a couple of other pieces that she wanted.  I think the vintage bug may have gotten to us...I've recently found myself on crazy websites and found some other signed pieces in my jewelry box. I might have to do a separate post about that later!
*Blue Nile Sterling Silver Hoops - I love it when my husband surprises me by giving me exactly what I asked for.  I'd sent him a Blue Nile wishlist around the time I wrote this post and I was so delighted to open my birthday present and find these beauties inside! I've only taken them off twice since I got them!

Christmas was more subdued because the family agreed that we would only give Christmas presents to the kids in an effort to spare everyone's waning budgets.  However, I still managed to make out like a bandit with all of this:
*Target Scarf and Mittens - I love the fingerless gloves that have the mittens attached because it makes it easier to navigate the touchscreen on my phone.  Matching scarf? Yes, please! Purse sized Victoria's Secret perfume? Definitely!
*Guess Wallet - My mom broke the no gift rule and got me a wallet.  I love her because she can't help herself...just like me!
*The Atlas of Fashion Designers - I cannot begin to tell you how late my sister stayed up two nights in a row devouring this book before she had to go back home.  This is one of my favorite gifts I've ever gotten because a) I am a HUGE nerd and I love books 2) I've realized that I am woefully unprepared to be an actual fashion blogger as I know NOTHING about the designers at the fashion houses I love.  This manages to combine all of my loves and gives me an amazing addition to my small but growing collection of fashion/design books.  I grabbed two others that were in the study for this photo.  The tall one is Blahnik by Boman which Mr. Fantastic gave me for my first birthday we spent together.  The middle book is on the architecture and style of Prada and it comes with a great leather box.
*Tokina 11-16mm Wide Angle Lens and Trip to New Orleans - This was my gift from Mr. Fantastic and I loved both so very much! The trip was just wonderful because we got to spend some time alone and completely relaxed.  The camera lens was an added bonus. ;-)
I am so very blessed and humbled that my loved ones thought of me and I hope that everyone likes the gifts I picked out as well!

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