Christmas 2011 Recap

If I don't get this out now, I never will. Here is a brief recap of our Christmas holiday.

I finished my shopping on December 23. {Why, yes, I am a procrastinator!}

The Hero worked on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve morning was spent at the doctor's office. Both kids had ear infections.

I wrapped presents while they slept.

LM & LB got new Christmas jammies.

We made cookies for Santa.

We watched Elf.

Once they were asleep, I played Santa.

The Hero came home on Christmas morning.

The kids opened their presents.

The bikes from Santa were a huge hit!

We headed to The Hero's parent's house to exchange gifts with the fam.

My mom and her boyfriend came over Christmas Eve night.

We exchanged gifts again.



















It was a great Christmas for all.

My Fave Gifts: Kim Kardashian perfume, my Keurig coffee maker & my UK coffee cup

Our Elf on the Shelf, Buddy

Things have been crazy busy 'round these parts. I'm currently at work with hopes of leaving early to finish up my Christmas shopping. Yes, you read that right. I'm not finished. I have two stops to make. I'm armed with a small list and cash to burn. I should be in and out fairly quickly. Hopefully, I won't have to get redneck on anyone. Tonight, I'll be cleaning the house to make room for new crap, baking cookies for Santa and the family, wrapping presents, and eventually relaxing in bed watching The Family Stone. It's time to let my freak flag fly with Sarah Jessica Parker and Luke Wilson. {If you don't know what I'm talking about, you should be ashamed of yourself.}

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This year, I jumped on the Elf on the Shelf bandwagon. With Little Man and Little Bit being 6 and 3, I thought it was the perfect time to start this tradition. The kids are absolutely loving waking up every morning to see what Buddy has gotten into. {They named him after Will Ferrell's character in Elf. Duh.} What's most important is how much fun I'm having! Thanks to Pinterest, I've had some great inspiration for Buddy's mishcievious ways.



















Today, I'm linking up with Life Rearranged for Insta-Friday.



HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU & YOURS! ♥

Britney Spears is engaged, y'all.

Former manager, Jason Trawick, proposed before his 40th birthday bash.







I'm so happy for Brit Brit. They look so cute together.

PS - The new Blogger interface sucks. It took me forever to get this post lined up right.

Flying sleds are indeed scary.

On Sunday night, we took the kids to Starry Nights at Shelby Farms Park. Starry Nights is one of the largest holiday light exhibits in the United States. We drank Starbucks from red cups, ate cookies and pointed out the various light displays. The kids had a blast. The Hero and I had fun too. There's nothing quite like experiencing Christmas through the eyes of a child. Santa was also there, so we paid him a quick visit.



As you can see, Little Bit looks less than thrilled. It took a while, but I was finally able to get her to tell me why she was scared of Santa. She said, "I didn't want to fly away into space with him." I kid you not. She thought the sled was going to take off. The poor thing... Ha!

A Guest Post & Giveaway Winners

So, who won the recent giveaways? Let's find out!

The 3-piece luggage set from Wayfair goes to:
Inna at My Daily Fix

The Shabby Apple dress goes to:
Karen at A Peek at Karen's World

The Cascades Boutique Christmas Tree goes to:
Amy at Amy's Life

Congrats, ladies!

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If you need a good laugh, check out my guest post over at Christina's Pop Life.
Christina is one of my fave bloggers. She's recovering from surgery, so run over there and show her some love.

Current Obsession; Scentsy

The bestie recently had a Scentsy party. I went not knowing much about the product. Now, after having my warmers for a week, I'm officially in love. My house smells so good. I'm already planning a party of my own, so I can get more goodies.


my fave scent, black raspberry vanilla


my kitchen warmer


my bedroom warmer


click to learn more

Do you have Scentsy products in your home?

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway

I'm teaming up with Shabby Apple once again to give away a fabulous dress to one of my followers. If you haven't heard of Shabby Apple, they're an online dress boutique that carries women's dresses, skirts, swimwear, and accessories. If you're like me, what you most want to do in the winter is get away to a place that's sunny and warm. Shabby Apple has a great selection of dresses, skirts and swimsuits perfect for cruise season and holiday getaways. Here are a few of my favorites.


Pietra


Sacred Falls


Trade Winds

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One of you has the chance to win this gorgeous dress from Shabby Apple.



A simple shift takes on a new form with a lei of tucks, folds and petal-like ruffles along the rounded scoop neck of the Bali Ha'i dress. Princess seams and careful tailoring keep the shape classic, and the cap sleeves and deep orchid color make it the perfect stand-alone piece.

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All you have to do to enter to win is...
like Shabby Apple on Facebook. {mandatory entry}

Extra Entry:
Like Handbags & Handguns on Facebook.

*This giveaway is open to US residents only.
This giveaway will end at Midnight CST on December 15, 2011.

Cascades Recycled Christmas Tree Giveaway

Today's giveaway is hosted by Cascades Boutique. When I was contacted by them a few weeks ago, I'd never heard of a recycled and recyclable Christmas tree. Today, you have the chance to win one!

This Moderno tree is made of cardboard and is 100% recycled and recyclable. It comes in green or white, and makes for an ideal activity with family or friends. Break out the scissors, paper, glitter, crayons, and paintbrush for a memorable do-it-yourself project. The tree easy to assemble. You don't need tools or glue. It's also easy to disassemble and reuse.

This video shows how you can turn your plain tree into a beautiful work of art.



I seriously want to get one of these next year. I think the kids would love it.

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Entering is easy peasy.
1. Tell me how you'd decorate this tree if you won.
2. Be a public follower of Handbags & Handguns.

Extra entries:
1. Like Handbags & Handguns on Facebook.
2. Follow me on Twitter.
3. Tweet the following:
Win a 100% recycled Christmas tree from Cascades Boutique at Handbags & Handguns
via @mistylovesvamps. http://tinyurl.com/d9dsmwr

*This giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada only.
*This giveaway starts now and ends at 3:00 CST tomorrow, December 13, 2011.
This way you can receive your tree before the holiday season is over.

This giveaway has now ended.

The Talk of Tinseltown; All Ladies Today

Men's Health magazine named Jennifer Aniston the hottest woman of all time. That's one hell of a compliment. Way to go, Rachel Green!



Kirsten Dunst received a protection order against her 51-year-old stalker. He's flown from France to L.A. more than five times, sent her letters, called her over a hundred times, and once, walked up to her doorstep and confronted her mom. That's so scary. I can't even imagine.



An alleged former assistant to Angelina Jolie claims the actress locks herself in the basement for hours and performs grueling exercises to stay thin. She doesn't eat because many children in the world can't eat. I'm betting this story is a big load of crap. What do you think?



Most of the time, Madame Tussauds wax figures don't exactly look like the real person. In this case, I'd say they nailed Gwen Stefani... down to the abs.



Lindsay Lohan's Chanel purse was stolen over the weekend. She left the bag in a car while attending a house party in Hawaii. The purse held her passport, probation documents and $10,000 in cash. Someone gave her the purse back minus the cash. That's what you get, you big dummy!



The Talk of Tinseltown was brought to you today by...


Beyonce

Wayfair.com Giveaway; 3-Piece Luggage Set

Change of plans... the week of giveaways starts today!

I was recently contacted by Wayfair.com, formerly CSN Stores. They have absolutely everything from pillows and accent rugs to outdoor lighting and patio furniture. I've been looking through their kids furniture since we're transitioning Little Bit's room to a big girl room. They seriously have everything all in one place.

Today, for you, Wayfair and Handbags & Handguns are giving away this 3-piece luggage set!



Go on. Say it. Totally awesomesauce!

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Entering is easy peasy.
1. Visit Wayfair.com and tell me what you love.
2. Be a public follower of Handbags & Handguns.

Extra entries:
1. Like Handbags & Handguns on Facebook.
2. Follow me on Twitter.
3. Tweet the following:
Win a 3-piece luggage set from @Wayfair at Handbags & Handguns
via @mistylovesvamps. http://tinyurl.com/75d8zef

*This giveaway is open to US residents only.
*This giveaway will end at Midnight CST on December 15, 2011.

My Pretty New Digs

My new blog design is complete. It's clean and simple... exactly like I wanted. It's feels very reminiscent of my first design. I even went back to my original color theme -- pink, grey and turquoise. I'm extremely happy. This place feels like home again. If you're looking to get a new design, I highly recommend Designer Blogs. I give them two snaps up. {If you caught that reference, click the link and watch the video. It's around the 2:05 mark.}

Don't forget... This Monday starts a week-long giveaway event here at H&H.

You won't want to miss it!

Celebrities Being Bad On Planes

Alec Baldwin got kicked off a plane yesterday because he was too involved in a game of Words With Friends to turn off his phone. This prompted me to look into other celebs who've been kicked off planes. Here's a sampling.



Jonathan Rhys Meyer - belligerent & disorderly behavior



Naomi Campbell - abused a stewardess & spit on a cop



John Rich - too drunk



Mo'Nique - verbally abused the staff



Billie Joe Armstrong - saggy pants violated dress code



Kevin Smith - too large for 1 seat



Gerard Depardieu - tried to urinate in a bottle & missed



Josh Duhamel - refused to turn off his Blackberry



images via zimbio

Breaking Dawn Part 1: A Review & Pictures!

I'm going to be honest with you. I put off this post for a bit because it pains me to say... I didn't love this movie. {Ok, I might be a little bit lazy too.} There were many scenes I loved. There were also I few I absolutely hated. I'm sorry, but the scene where the wolves talk to each other in their human voices is one of the dumbest ever. The wedding, honeymoon and Bella's transformation during childbirth were beautifully done. If they can put so much time and effort into those scenes, why not work just as hard on the rest? I'm not going to bash the movie because I'm obviously a Twi-Hard for life, but I did feel a huge pang of disappointment when it was over. I'm hoping the final film wraps the series up nicely.

Now, on to the fun stuff...
WHAT WE WORE TO THE MIDNIGHT SHOWING!







shirts from Olivia
skinny jeans from Target
wedge boots from Target

See what we wore previous years:
Eclipse
New Moon
Twilight

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