Deanna's Favorite Things - Holiday 2016 Edition

It's that time of year again! Time to make your list and check it twice. And since it has become a bit of a tradition for the past few years, I wanted to share a few of my very own favorite things with you. So let's get the ball rolling with number one:

1.  Garth and Trisha Christmas Together CD

I bought this CD a couple weeks ago, and have had it on constant rotation ever since.  It's a winner! Lots of traditional Christmas favorites mixed with several original Christmas songs, and all by Garth and Trisha themselves.  

2.  Orly nail polish, specifically in the color "Rage"

I just discovered this nail color, and I LOVE IT!  It's the perfect blend of sparkle, shine, metallic, and neutral.  And it looks great with my skin tone- pretty pale.  Most neutrals tend to completely wash me out, but this one is just perfect.  And the champagne colored shine just screams holidays to me!

3.  Lush bath bombs

These are just plain AWESOME!  These bath bombs made by Lush are basically a huge ball of bath salts that dissolve in your bath water, but they are so unlike regular bath salts. 

First off, when I say they are huge, I mean HUGE!

But, here's what they do to your bath water.  They fizz and bubble, and color and scent your bath water like a little light show.  It is so so so pretty, I can hardly describe it, and when they are finished with the "show", your bath remains a gorgeous color (depending on which bomb you are using- they are all different).  But they don't stain you or your tub.  Everything goes right down the drain when you are done.  But the lasting scent remains.  This may be my favorite on my whole list!

4.  Trader Joe's gingerbread houses

Last year, when we were looking for gingerbread houses, I ran across several people saying that Trader Joe's had really good ones that were cute and different from the norm.  I called our local store and they were already sold out for the season.  But I didn't forget that little gem of information, and sure enough we scored one this year!  They are like little Swiss chalets.  

Just take a look!  Aren't they adorable?!?

5.  Pioneer Woman kitchenware, Christmas 2016 line

I have blogged before about the Pioneer Woman kitchenware line that is available at Walmart.  I am still a big fan of her and this line.  And what's more- she put out a new collection just in time for Christmas!  Here's a look at some of the pieces.  They are all so sweet and mix so well with the other pieces you may already have from her regular line.  And they are super reasonably priced.  

6.  Rimmel Lipstick, Notting Hill Nude

I have never really worn nude lipstick very well.  I love it on other people, but I could never seem to find a shade that didn't totally wash me out.  (the curse of fair skin and fair hair).  Until now... Rimmel's Notting Hill Nude is saturated with color, and provides just enough to offer a really pretty shade of nudy pink.  It actually reminds me a lot of Cindy Crawford's signature look.  And the price is right.  You can easily find this lip color for $5 or less. 

7.  Bath and Body Works 3 wick candles

I adore the three wick candles from Bath and Body Works.  They are so pretty and smell devine. They burn for a long time, and come in all sorts of seasonal and original scents.  But take it from me, never pay the full price for these.  They come and go on sale so wait for a sale to snatch them up.  They recently went on sale for $8.50 each and I grabbed up a bunch then.  I've never gotten them that cheap before.  Usually a sale will price them somewhere between $10-$12 each, which is still a great deal for what you are getting.  

8.  Brighton notepads

Here's another winner at a great price.  These notepads are only $4 each, and are the perfect size to toss into your handbag.  They have a little velcro closure so they don't accidentally open and bend the pages.  And they come in all sorts of designs and colors.  

9.  Gap striped sweaters for the family

This year Gap has done it again.  They have created a whole line of striped sweaters in sizes and shapes for your entire family!  I snapped up the ladies version for myself and the matching sweater dress for Lexi.  I did not commit to one for hubby, though I think the men's version is really cool too. Check them out.  They have lots of versions of all of these!

10. Brighton Reindeer Rock Collection

I actually went out and bought the necklace in this set as soon as it was available this year.  It was calling my name, and I've worn it a lot already this Christmas season.  In truth, I think the bracelet is my favorite of the three pieces (I love that double strand), but I need another bracelet like I need a hole in my head.  So I pass it along to you.  Maybe you need the bracelet, or the earrings, or the necklace.  Or all three!  Have at it!

And don't forget about these other favorites I have also blogged about this year:

Silk Pillowcases

E.l.f. Makeup primer

Photo ornaments

Wunderbrow Eyebrow Gel

And here are my "Favorite Things" from the past few years, in case you need to catch up, or just like to take a stroll down memory lane.

2015 Favorite Things

2014 Favorite Things

Oh how I hope you are enjoying this holiday season!  Merry Christmas, my friends!

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Photo Ornaments

Every year, I always buy a handful of photo frame ornaments and then fill them with images from that year to add to our Christmas tree.  By now, I have quite a few of these special photo ornaments on the tree.

They are some of the most special ornaments in the whole box of Christmas decorations. I carefully place them on the tree and remember each of those special moments marked by its own ornament. It's become bit of a tradition, and one that I always look forward to adding to each year. 

Here is a look at the ornaments I created this year.  

It only takes a few minutes to put one together, but the sentiment lasts on and on.  Many photo frame ornaments already have the year marked on the frame itself.  But if I use one that doesn't I make sure to write the year on the back of the photo inside.

In the pic above, you can see that the bottom two ornaments have "2016" on the frame.  On the center ornament, there is actually a little tab hanging from the ribbon that reads "2016". 

Here's a look at some of the other special photos gracing our tree from years past.   This one says "Merry Everything" so I chose a photo that we were all laughing in.  And because the frame was red, I selected a black and white to put in it.  This pic was from last year. 

This is my absolute favorite of all my photo ornaments.  It was a gift from my niece Charlotte and sister Misty last year.

It is a handmade ornament with a picture of my Mama when she was a little girl.  Though you can't see it in this picture, I added my favorite angel ornament right beside this special photo. 

Here's one from 2014.  Lexi was still a tiny baby and this was one of her 3 month pictures.  

From 2015, this was one of our family pics.  The frame reads "Birds of a Feather" so I couldn't help choosing another silly pic.  In this one, Lexi is covering half of John's face while he is laughing and I'm oblivious to all of it.  Another favorite. 

And this was one of Lexi's first pics on the tree from 2014.  Someone actually gifted us this pretty frame.  It reads "Tis the Season for Family", with the year 2014 in the upper left corner.  Since that was the year Lexi was born, I added her newborn hospital photo to this pretty frame.  

So there you have it.  This is a just a sample of the many photos on our tree, and I cherish them all. There's just something about tradition and this time of year.  And this is a good one, if I do say so myself.  We would love to hear about your family Christmas traditions too!  Comment below or on our Facebook page!

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How Do You Wrap?

A few years ago, I found this fabulous Christmas wrapping paper.  Red and white wrapping paper in various patterns - I loaded up on it.  Then, when I started wrapping Christmas presents, each person got their own pattern. 

And those presents with coordinating gift wrap even made their way front and center onto our Christmas pic that year, stacked together and tied rather neatly with twine.  This particular bundle was for my nephews.  

I just loved how something so simple worked out so nicely.....and then I promptly, forgot. all. about. my glorious color coordinated, handsomely wrapped presents....

until

this year. I happened to be plowing through the front of my grocery store and was pleasantly surprised by another glorious array of red and white:

The hubs always says I am OCD, but if assigning everyone a specific wrapping paper and coordinating them is wrong, I don't want to be right!