Winter Vacation

Winter vacation is flying by, as it always does.

I had an amazing Christmas at my bf's family's place in Hamilton, Canada (about an hour outside of Toronto). It was rainy on Christmas day but it snowed on and off during my stay, so it was nice to see the white snow covering everything for winter break (although it wasn't as nice to walk around in the freezing cold!) Here are some pics from my stay there:

the tree:

Gifts to be opened!

the Xmas dinner table setting:

gingerbread peoples we painted (I painted the top 2!):

I got soooo spoiled for Christmas - I received some spending cash, and a great haul:

Some DVDs, books, adorable pink stripy Ralph Lauren pajamas, various accessories, and even a Tiffany's box! My bf got me an Elsa Peretti diamonds by the yard bracelet to match the necklace he got me earlier last year. <3

I've been shopping my butt off all vacation. My only purchases in Canada were the:

Lush tea tree spray toner

L'Oreal Hydrafresh gel-creme for normal-oily skin (d/c in the states)

I really liked this when it used to be out here, so I was super excited to find it again. It's really light and creates a great base for makeup too.

and I also got some SUPER cheap DVDs at Wal Mart in Canada. Did we have this deal in the states this year? Boxing Day in Canada is like Black Friday here so I got these two dvds for only $5 CAD each:

I'm so excited to watch these; I've heard great reviews for both.

And with that, I had to leave Canada. :( I had such an amazing time, I was pretty sad to leave but I did manage to get some Tim Hortons coffee to soften the blow. (It's like their Starbucks or Dunkin... it's a coffeeshop on every corner and it's so good!)

Now I'm back in southern California, and I've been shopping like crazy! I got a bunch of clothes from all the post-holiday sales, and we even hit up the outlets, where I got a skirt suit from Anne Klein and a big haul from J Crew. I was too lazy to take pics of everything but here is the sweater and tank I got from Abercrombie

lol, you can see my toes. It was only $50 for both!

I also picked up some gorgeous lingerie at VS, and this shimmer powder.

Unfortunately, though, this product completely sucks. It's hard to get any product out, and when you get it out, the shimmer just goes everywhere but where you want it to go. It does smell really pretty but the product itself is terrible, so I returned it.

I also managed to score this amazing pair of Michael Kors heels from the Kitson outlet store in Santa Monica. Doesn't it kind of look like the golden pair of Christian Louboutins that I posted about earlier?

They're originally $248 but I got them for only $74!

I also had a little d/s haul at Sally's and Target:

This shampoo and conditioner is a knockoff of Redken, but I don't love it. It's supposed to be their moisturizing line, but it leaves my hair feeling kind of dry. I would not recommend or repurchase this product. It may be because the Redken line itself doesn't work for me either, though, so I'm not ruling out other Sally's generic products yet. The Redken All Soft line actually completely dried my hair out too, so I ended up throwing it out when I had it.

I also had to get the Boots cuticle oil just bc it's sooooo adorable.

Isn't it so cute? It works well but it doesn't smell very good (kind of like nail polish remover). Thankfully, it fades fairly quickly though, so it's not too bad. I wanted to get some Soap and Glory stuff because of the raves from the gorgeous UK bloggers but the Target I went to didn't have any. :(

I'm so excited for 2010! 2009 was fun but I'm ready for another fresh start! I hope you guys are all having a wonderful holiday season!

Current obsessions and loves:

* Earl Grey Tea (I was not normally a big tea drinker, but I'm currently obsessed with having tea with some milk and sugar. LOVE it)

* bobby pins (OMG - WHERE have you been all my life.)

* Chanel Coco Mademoiselle (my longstanding fav but I always fall in love with it all over again over the winter)