A few of my favorite things...

Every episode of Dexter (season six [6]) has pulled me to the edge of my seat.  I love all the religious inferences made through out this season. Yes, I understand the former seasons (one [1] – five [5]) all brought in the concept of morals via Harry’s code; but this is different, Dexter is considering that every person has a dark passenger, but they also have the light that Brother Sam talks about. This season has seriously blown my mind on a few occasions; I cannot wait to see how this twist with Travis pans out.

This show! This show is like Kingdom Hospital meets The Shining. It’s weird, deranged, and creepy; the plot line keeps you wondering; and it’s well written. It is a little coarse; so, I wouldn’t advise watching this with your grandmother.

Thanksgiving my nephew had this on the television; I had already seen Super8 in theaters over the summer, but even then I knew it was worth a re-watch. This is undeniably a mash up of S. Spielberg’s greatest movies. The kids are all part of a film group (The Goonies), and while shooting a new scene, they witness a horrific train crash. Later, it is found out that the military was using this train to move alien technology (E.T.). There are even some vague references to Jaws, Close Encounters, and Arachnophobia. I found the ending to be a bit lack luster and abrupt. This movie takes the position of showing a mystery through the eyes of children. I highly recommend it!

During the holidays I get into crafting mode. This year I even made my own advent calendar. I’m also trying to get all list of home project checked off before the New Year. Here’s a pick at what I’ve been doing around the apt:

·        I have legitimately become a home barista:

Pumpkin Spiced Latte.

After I found the recipe for the mocha below I started adding about one (1) tbsp. white chocolate chips, and it seriously is better than Starbucks.

White Peppermint Mocha.

I replaced the truffles with two (2) – three (3) tbsp. white chocolate chips; because the chips are half the price of a small bag of truffles.

·        After researching thousands of cute inexpensive gifts to give colleagues (i.e. co-workers, professors, classmates, ect…) I stumbled across these cute little guys.   

via this blog 

·         “Decking the halls” hasn’t popped out of our advent calendar yet, but that hasn’t stopped me from finding a multitude of inspiration, namely these two.

 DIY found here.

DIY found HERE.

·        I start listening to Christmas music in the early November (award yourself 5 awesome-ness points if you caught that reference). Here are the two (2) I’ve been listening to on repeat.  

A Very She & Him Christmas. 

 Sufjan Stevens - Songs for Christmas

·        Favorite memory from November was our day trip to St. Louis. Thanksgiving was fun, and I enjoy spending time with family, but this trip was seamlessly perfect.

Christmas Gifts for the Beauty Conscious :

 

$15 E co Tool Limited Edition Beautiful Expressions Kabuki Set.

This can be a multipurpose gift, when split into two (2) or four (4) different homemade beauty kits. One idea would be to give a mineral powered and attach one (1) of these brushes along with it. Another would be to pair it with a must have beauty item (i.e. blush or bronzer). Need a stocking stuffer? Wrap one (1) or two (2) of these with cellophane and topped with a pretty ribbon: toss into stocking. Standing alone, these brushes would be a beautiful gift. Eco Tools are a steal for the price.

Benefit Crescent Row Limited Edition Gift Set $36.

Benefit is basically inviting people to commit a robbery by selling this product so cheap! These bottles are such beauties that you could easily break these into individual gifts. These would be a lovely addition to a beauty set for a lucky lady. At this price you might be tempted to purchase a set for yourself.

 Lump of Kohl Beekman $15.

With all the festivities going on this time a year a girls skin can start to look lackluster from little sleep and lots of celebrating. This little lump does wonders to restore skin’s grandeur. This could be a little gag gift for a secret Santa; just place inside a mini stocking.

Antropologie DIY charms $15 - $20.

I had wanted to give my girls something similar to this, but couldn’t find charms that would mean anything special or that didn’t cost three (3) times my budget. These little guys are super reasonable in price, and mega cute. This is a fun little gift that can be personalized to mean something dear to the most close of friends.

Beauty Boxes

This is great for a true beauty guru. It gives an opportunity for exploration by letting the subscriber sample a variety of products; some they may have never even heard of. These types of services provide a choice on how many months you want to provide as a gift. Below is a link showing the various websites and the regions they ship to; there are also a few clothing, shoes, and food sites listed as well.

http://www.makeuptalk.com/a/subscriptions-and-sampling-programs

last two (2) weeks via instagram.

01. Pepper trying to distract me from homework, by enticing me to play. 02. Work station fully stocked with sweet tea and snacks. I have seen this spot of the apt. a great deal lately. There was a homework pile almost reaching the ceiling, but I have got it to a much more manageable height now.

We celebrated friendsgiving the Thursday before Thanksgiving; it was a big hit; lots of yummy food, fun people, and brilliant times. 01. JP made some scratch mac & cheese (can you spy the secret ingredient?).  02. I tried my hand at baking, and made miniature pineapple upside down cakes.

01. Theses sweet little miniature Dunkin Doughnut items made my Monday night. Does anyone else thing they would be even cuter as key rings?  02. Festive nail polish. True story, this color, Get in the Espresso lane by OPI, is meant to be a very chocolate-ly  brown. For some reason, it decided to be a very muddy black on my finger nails.

01. Thanksgiving day outfit 2011. I was on the schedule to work Thanksgiving day, but since my unit was close I got the holiday off. J I love Thanksgiving because I can wear a simple outfit with jeans, and not feel underdressed or outta place.  02. While driving, in the car, to JP’s family function I came across this little beauty. What is even better, I saw a hawk take off from in front of the shed. It was quite magical.

01. Walmart’s Black Friday lines at 12:30 AM. This is when we decided to go back to bed till 6:00am.  02. Pepper with a belly full of turkey. She is telling me how thankful she is to have a lap to nap in.