Christmas Shopping Haul

I have to admit that pretty much any time I set out to shop for other people, I end up buying a few things for myself as well. Sometimes it's part of the plan and sometimes it's just what happens. Case in point, last Friday between shows and today on my day off, I did a bunch of Christmas shopping. I actually think I may be done with buying things (still have a few things to make) which is fantastic. The formerly empty toolbox next to my desk is stuffed full of things to be wrapped up and gifted. There's also a few things hiding under my bed.

While I can't show you all the fun things I got for other people, I can show you all the fun things I got for myself along the way. I actually did really good at buying things on clearance, on sale, or with a coupon (and sometimes a combination of those).

One thing I set out to buy for myself today was the components to put together a little Knitter's Tool Tin, inspired by the Sexy Knitter ones here. I picked up a cute tin from Christmas Tree Shops to put it all in, got some more darning needles, a stitch holder, some tiny folding scissors, and added in my stitch markers. I'll be getting a cable needle to put in it too. I'm excited to keep it in my WIP (work-in-progress) bag to tote around with my knitting.

My stop into Target resulted in some great beauty steals. I picked up some e.l.f. lashes on clearance (the Everyday ones), got another e.l.f. brush (the Concealer Brush), the e.l.f. Eyeliner Pen in coffee, some peppermint hand lotion (for only a dollar!), and Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Cream Gel Eyeshadow in 50 Edgy Emerald. I didn't know why it was on clearance, but I discovered when I got home that the lid is broken, but hey, it still works fine! I'm really excited about the brown eye liner pen and teal cream shadow as they fill holes I had in my beauty arsenal.

At Urban Outfitters, I got Yellow Glow in the Dark Nail Polish for just a dollar. I have yet to test it's luminosity, but it's a fun color even if it doesn't glow. It matches my neon yellow scarf and the bright yellow-green of my phone case. At Lush I splurged on some Snow Globe soap (the one I had is long gone and I've been missing it). I don't really need soap at the moment (I'm currently using some Godmother soap I got last Christmas) but it's a seasonal scent I love so I decided to stock up on it for when I do need soap and can't get that scent any more.
Maggie [she was with me during my shopping trip on Friday] convinced me to get the Cranberry Joy Body Butter from the Body Shop, once again using the justification that it's a seasonal scent, so it's best to stock up now even though I'm currently using my Pumpkin Body Butter from Trader Joe's. I actually really, really liked their Pink Grapefruit Body Butter, but since they have that all year round, I went with the Cranberry Joy on this trip. Also, the Cranberry Joy was on sale since it's a seasonal scent. $10 for a Body Shop body butter? Yes please! I think I'm really going to fall in love with their body butters. They're incredibly moisturizing, but don't leave my hands feeling greasy.

The last things in the beauty category that I bought myself were some goodies from Bath and Body Works. I like to keep more than one fragrance mist on hand so I can pick a scent to fit my mood. My main go to, which I actually have a full size spray of, is the Midnight Pomegranate. I am running out of Dark Kiss, but it isn't a scent they really have in stores much anymore (Midnight Pomegranate is actually technically being discontinued too). So I ended up picking up a travel size spray in Be Enchanted and Amber Blush. I had some Be Enchanted lotion ages ago that I really loved, so I decided it was worth giving the spray a shot. The Amber Blush I got since it seems to be in the same scent profile as most of the fragrance's I like. It has bergamot like the Dark Kiss, which I like. Looking at the scent profiles of all four fragrances, they're actually fairly similar, with either pomegranate or raspberry as one of the top notes, vanilla as one of the dry notes, and light florals/fruits for the mid notes. I'm excited to play with them. It was a buy three deal, so I also grabbed a Cashmere Glow lotion (which, surprise surprise, has notes of bergamot and vanilla).

Candie's Balconette T-shirt Bra

Finally, I had a $10 coupon for Kohl's, so I went and shopped their clearance section. I got an awesome sheer shirt and fun bra. The bra was on clearance so there's no link, but I did find a picture of it. No picture for the shirt, unfortunately, as they no longer have it online in this color anymore. I'll be sure to take a picture the first time I wear it, though!

There were a few other stores I went to too, but those only resulted in presents, so I won't mention them here. I also treated myself to a little holiday joy while I was out.

I tried the Gingerbread Latte- it was DELICIOUS.

I realize this is the first blog in quite some time. I'm going to blame it on work, but I was also somewhat just didn't have the motivation, despite having plenty of material (Hunger Games post soon to come!) I'll try and be better, but I'm not going to make any promises. :)