What I Got For Christmas 2015

Today I am going to share with you all the lovely things I received for Christmas this year. I love reading these posts, I'm so nosy so I thought it would be a nice post for me to write. I know there is a lot of controversy about these types of posts as bloggers are said to be 'showing off' or 'bragging' which I think we all know is not the case for 99% of bloggers. I am not going to link to the gifts that I received as I have no desire to snoop around for the prices of things as that is really not important. I loved everything I got this year and was so happy to open my presents. This is going to be quite a photo heavy post so you have been warned. I have tried to split the gifts up into categories to make it slightly easier. There is beauty/hair, fragrance, Lush, books and other. I will start with beauty and hair.

So the first gifts I am showing you are beauty/hair themed. My mum completely surprised me by buying me the Arctic Gold GHD's and the GHD Curl Hold Spray. I literally had no idea that I would be getting this at all and since I had my old GHDs for 8 years I really do think it was time for an upgrade. My mum now owns my old ones which I was really happy to give her as there was nothing at all wrong with them but it is so nice to have new ones. When I unwrapped the Curl Spray I was really confused as I thought it was for my sister and had just ended up in the wrong pile as I have straight hair and my sisters is curly. I have not had chance to use this yet but when I do I may post a review. 

Like last year I again received a lot of Soap and Glory products which is never a bad thing, let's be honest. My best friend bought me The Wheel Deal set which contains 5 small body butters and one large body scrub and my mum bought me another set containing Clean on me, Heel Genius, Fluffy socks, Shower puff (not pictured), The Righteous Butter, and Scrub of your life. Scrub of your life is actually one of my favourite products from Soap and Glory so I was happy to receive another bottle! These did come in a lovely box but as I was travelling the box wouldn't fit in my suitcase and had to be left at my parents house.

I received the little Simple Kind to Skin gift set from my manager at work which was a lovely surprise. Believe it or not I have never actually used any Simple products so I am looking forward to trying these out. Skin care is something I often forget about so I am going to try harder with that this year.

  

Next up we have all the fragrance/perfume that I received. I was so lucky this year as my boyfriend surprised me with the Daisy Eau So Fresh gift set which I am in love with. I love everything Marc Jacobs and I have not tried this perfume before but once I had sprayed it I knew I would love it. It also came with a shower gel and body lotion in the scent. I also received Daisy Dream from my mum which is a favourite from when I first used it last year so I am super happy to have another bottle. 

My sister bought me the Primark Room Spray in the scent Blackcurrant and Forest Plum which I adore. It is such a lovely scent although it doesn't last very long once sprayed. I also have candles in this scent too which smell so nice. I bought myself little tea lights (not pictured) and my older brother bought me a pillar candle in the same scent, again not pictured. Finally in this section is the Next perfume I received from one of the children at work. I really love Next perfumes so I was really grateful to be given this.

Next up is Lush. I was really spoilt this year in terms of everything I received but especially with bath stuff. Anyone who knows me will know how much I love Lush. I have a drawer in my bathroom filled with their products and I am always on the hunt for more. My boyfriend bought me the Snow Fairy Castle which I was so so happy with as I have never bought Snow Fairy for myself before and also the set contains my all time favourite bath bomb So White. I am really excited to try the Magic Wand bubble bar as well as I have heard nothing but good things. My boyfriend also bought me two additional So White bath bombs which I was really surprised by as he tricked me and told me there were none left when he had gone to buy them. 

My mum bought me the other Lush products which are Candy Mountain bubble bar, Luxury Lush Pud, So White and Star Dust. I knew I was getting some Lush things off my mum as I picked them myself but I had completely forgotten what I had chosen so I was so happy when I opened it. I'm so pleased I now have a little stock pile of So White as I tried to order more on Christmas Day but they were gone from the website!

Next up is books. I always get books for Christmas as I am such a book worm. Seriously, its the third day of the year today and I have already read two books and started on a third. My boyfriend bought me The Story of a Nutcracker and I am in love. Just look at the cover, it is so beautiful. I could have received only this and I would have been so happy. It is such a beautiful book that I want to have it on display all the time and just look at it. I have yet to read it but I already know I will love it. My boyfriends mum bought me The Night Before Christmas and again I am so in love. The cover is absolutely gorgeous and surprisingly I have never actually read the story before. I know I am rambling but I can't get over how beautiful both of these books are. I will treasure them forever, I just know it. 

My sister bought me the second books as she read in one of my blog posts that I wanted to read all my Christmas themed books so naturally she bought me more. I have read both of these books already and they were both so good. They are easy reading chick lit which are my favourite. I recommend both of these, especially Conditional Love.

Last of all we have the gifts I grouped into 'others'. I got two blu rays from my boyfriend which I am really excited to watch. We actually went to see Into The Woods at the cinema and he has previously bought me the soundtrack. I love musicals and this one was no exception so I am looking forward to re-watching it again and again. The second film, Stoker, is not one I have heard of but it sounds so good. I'm rubbish at explaining things so if you want to know more about it you'll have to Google it I'm afraid. I am looking forward to snuggling on the sofa and watching it though!

My mum bought me the Yankee Candle Wax Melts without really knowing what they were. She thought they were little candles so I don't currently have a wax melt holder (?) so I have no way of burning them although I am on the look out for a nice one! All the melts are Christmas Scented which I love and means my house can smell like Christmas all year round which I am not going to complain about!

Last of all I received this cute little Pandora charm to go on my charm bracelet. I actually own a Truth charm bracelet from H Samuel but I'm not sure if those particular bracelets exist any more. I am going to add this little charm to my collection anyway though as it is just so cute!

So there we have it, possibly the longest post I have ever written with the most photo's ever included. Well done if you made it this far! I just want to point out again that I am not bragging when I write this post, it is mostly for me to remember all the lovely gifts I received and who bought them for me as I truly do love everything!

Have you shared what you got for Christmas this year? I would love to read!

Christmas Eve Yankee Candle // BLOGMAS DAY TWENTY

  

I wanted to talk to you today about this candle I received from my best friend as a Christmas present. We did Christmas early as I will be at my parents house in Leeds for Christmas and she will still be here in Staffordshire. This is the Christmas Eve candle by Yankee Candles which you can purchase here. 

I first saw this candle when I was in Boots looking at the Christmas gift sets when I was picking up the last few Christmas bits I needed. I knew my Cranberry Ice candle was running low and I wanted a new Christmas scent. I fell in love at first sniff however they only one they had available in Boots at the time was a huge jar that was around £22 and I just could not justify spending that much on myself when I still had things to buy for other people. Lucky for me though I received it anyway and when I sniffed it again after unwrapping it I was happy to see that I still love it! It's actually burning on my mantle piece as I write this.

Yankee Candle describes it as a 'traditional Christmas scent of warm hearths, sugared plums and candied fruits'. I think it smells fruity with a tiny hint of spice. I love fruity scents over really spicy ones but I think this one is the perfect mix of the two. I just really love it! Burning this has reminded me how much I love candles so I can see myself putting in a huge order on payday!

Do you have any Christmas scented candles? Do you prefer Christmas Eve or Cranberry Ice? Let me know in the comments section below!

100 Things That Make Me Happy // BLOGMAS DAY FIFTEEN

As part of my 101 in 1001 list I wanted to publish a list of 100 things that make me happy so here goes!

1. French films
2. Receiving packages
3. Christmas shopping
4. Freshly painted toe nails
5. New lipstick
6. Wearing too much mascara
7. Opening presents
8. Day trips
9. Visiting castles
10. Long car rides
11. Being at the beach
12. Making new friends
13. Bath bombs
14. Spending time with my best friend
15. Oversized jumpers
16. Candles burning
17. Fairy lights
18. Having a clean and tidy flat
19. Hot vimto on a cold day
20. Going out for breakfast
21. Crepes with white chocolate
22. Spending the whole day reading a good book
23. Roast dinner, especially Toby Carvery
24. New Converse.
25. Grey, anything grey
26. Doing my sisters hair or make up
27. Christmas decorations
28. When eye liner goes right!
29. Writing lists and ticking things off
30. New mugs
31. Fluffy socks
32. Hearing the children at work giggling
33. Becky Bedbug's blog. seriously
34. Sunny days
35. Pretty dresses
36. Theme parks
37. Payday
38. Completing my paperwork at work as I have recently been given my own key group! (I work in a nursery).
39. The blanket my mum made me
40. Anything nautical
41. Photo's of lighthouses
42. My boyfriend's voice when he's just woken up
43. Buying pretty notebooks (but never writing in them)
44. Playing Scrabble
45. Buying new books
46. Winning at Trivial Pursuit
47. Vodka and orange
48. Doing nose pore strips (I know, it's gross)
49. Fresh flowers in my flat
50. Counting all the coins from money boxes and sorting them into piles
51. cuddles
52. Going shopping for crafty bits
53. Making wishlists
54. The colour blue
55. Watching people paint on Youtube, especially water colour pictures! I could watch those all day.
56. Going to the theatre
57. Watching dance. I NEED to go to the ballet!
58. Feeding the ducks in the park
59. Flying on aeroplanes. I have literally only done this twice in my life, on the way to and on the way back from Thassos, Greece but it literally blew my mind!
60. Watching a really good documentary
61. Wrapping presents.
62. All of Kevin Hart's stand up
63. When someone new follows me on Bloglovin
64. Finding a really good blog and binge reading all the posts.
65. Things that are really funny they make me cry but nobody else gets the joke.
66. Reading really bad chat up lines
67. Really good nights out.
68. Planning adventures.
69. The build up to my birthday
70. Bubbles
71. Learning new facts about films I love
72. Everything Wes Anderson.
73. When people tell me about things that made them think of me
74. Really good roast potatoes
75. The word 'adventure'.
76. When we get to do fun things at work like put really big pieces of paper down on the floor and pouring paint on it to let the children walk through it and make footprints, or taking the children for a walk on the field or to the park.
77. Hand written letters
78. When my camera battery is fully charged and I can take photo's straight away.
79. Buying a new onesie, I have quite the collection.
80. Children in fancy dress, especially reindeer costumes at Christmas. Seriously is there anything cuter?
81. Staying in hotels.
82. Looking at holidays online
83. Listening to the rain on a conservatory roof.
84.  Remembering I got 100% on an essay I wrote in two days when I had absolutely no confidence in it. First year really was the best.
85. People who make me laugh
86. Making people laugh as well actually.
87. Going to the football with Jordan. This is something I have only just started doing and I really don't understand the game but it's nice to be there for something he really enjoys.
88. Finding a new song that I just love and playing it all the time.
89. Being reminded of songs I loved that I had forgotten about.
90. The number 27.
91. Wearing a really nice outfit.
92. When my dad makes a meat and potato pie.
93. Blogs that have really nice designs.
94. When people spell my last name correctly.
95. When people tell me they are proud of me.
96. When things I've been looking forward to for ages go as I planned them in my head.
97. Taking my make up off and it coming off well.
98. My nose piercing.
99. Sharing a bag of sweets with Jordan.
100. Going on speedboat rides.

This was actually so hard to complete! I got to around 50 and then really struggled to think of the rest. Well done for reaching the end as this is such a long post. Let me know if you have completed a similar list and feel free to link it below in the comments so that I can have a nosy!