Boxing Day Bargains!

Hey Everyone!

As you all know (well I'm guessing you all do), it's the day after Christmas which - apart from meaning it's only 364 days until next Christmas - THE BOXING DAY SALES HAVE STARTED! woohoo!

Normally, my mum, gran and I get up about nine or ten to get along to the shops but this year, we got up at 6am to head out shopping and to get to boots in time for it opening at 7! Whilst we were all knackered, this was honestly the best idea! The car park was so busy but that was for the masses of people queuing outside NEXT for the 6am open so Boots was relatively quiet.

I wouldn't say I bought a ridiculous amount of stuff, but in comparison to my normal purchase amount and my bank statements, I definitely got a lot:

 

See? no? ok.

Boots wasn't as amazing as I'd hoped, but I believe that is down to my lack of enthusiasm for any of the gift sets this year. I did however get a pair of amazingly soft and comfortable PJ's (Jimmi Jams) which I am wearing now and utterly adore! Along with a Simple minis set and some Toni&Guy hair products

 

 

We then stopped off at New Look where my bag obsession was no longer dormant! I have been looking for a backpack for a while now and kept going to one in New Look which was £20; admittedly, this is not expensive, but I'm used to a £10 bag from Primark so when I walked in to New Look and found said £20 backpack for £10 I HAD to buy it! It is such a perfect size for me and the straps go to exactly the length I like. It is extremely good quality and I feel it will last for a long while!

 

I also got another bag for £10 which I feel is great for a shopping trip uptown or if you're aiming for a 'smart casual' look. It's black (fake) leather with a sort of wicker-ish patterned material in the middle. There is so much room on the inside for everything I need and the neutral colours mean it will go with everything!

 

I also bought a pair of fluffy socks because they are irresistible and sooooooooo soft & cosy!

 

I received a £20 giftcard for Next but their sale this year wasn't impressive to me. I did find an adorable little cushion that goes perfectly with my room, which is Parisian themed (lamp and duvet) so for £6 I figured it was a bargain!

 

Also, I purchased a cute little necklace in Claires and a pair of fake pearl earrings. The necklace was just a silver chain with a teeny tiny Eiffel Tower and I thought, for £1, it was a must!

 

Finally, I was in the Card Factory (mi madre wanted a new years card) and all their Christmas stock was half price. This little festive box caught my eye and I impulse bought it because it was so bloody cute! (I have used 'cute' and 'adorable' faaaaaarrrrr too much in this post. SORRY!)

 

I wanted to share this with you as I had so much fun shopping today and I in no way wish to brag about this. I didn't receive any extravagant gifts this year and mostly received money and giftcards which is why I bought most of these items :)

 

I sincerely hope you all had a wonderful Christmas full of happiness and laughter with your family, friends and loved ones.

See ya!

 

~ Emma xx

 

P.S: New Video going up soon! Haul of all the above products http://youtu.be/AB42A0VYVMM     

Christmas Traditions!

Hey everyone!

I hope you're all having a wonderful festive season and are all prepared for Wednesday! I just finished my Christmas shopping yesterday - oops! They are all wrapped and under the tree; including three of my friends' presents which I reeeaaaly need to deliver to them soon!

Whilst laying in my bed tonight, going through in my mind if there was anything needing to be done before the "big day" I started doing what I normally do when I'm either nervous or excited (obviously, I must be talking about the latter in these circumstances!) and that is plan out the day. (Do any of you do that, going through what needs to be done and going through the day in your mind?)

It got me thinking about what Christmas Traditions my family and I have. The one that sticks in my mind the most is definitely the Christmas Eve present. Every year without fail, I get to open one present - which is typically one my mum has bought specifically for this purpose - just before I head off to bed. Nine times out of ten this is usually a pair of [Christmassy] Pyjamas for me to wear that night. I say nine times out of ten because last year I got toothpaste and a Justin Bieber singing toothbrush hahah!

For the first eight or nine years or so of my life, I would (beg my parents to) get up early and open my presents from my parents and, of course, Santa. I can't quite remember when/if I saw my grandparents from my mums side during the day or not but I definitely remember the Christmas afternoon/evenings being spent at my dads parents with all of his side of the family: all my aunties, uncles, cousins and for a time, second-cousins, all being their for Christmas dinner. There were literally fifteen - twenty of us packed into one room and my gran and my aunties trying to cook the dinner in a kitchen that could barely handle one person! My gran had the inside and the outside of the house COMPLETELY covered with decorations. There was not one bit of clear wall - or ceiling! - space. I think the Grinch would have a heart attack if he saw it. She's like all of the Who's in Whoville rolled into one!
My fondest memory of Christmases there is actually the only one I really remember: we were all sitting at the table, Christmas hats on everyone's heads and party popper streamers hanging from the ceiling light and drowning in the gravy boat, the noise was unbelievable! I must've been about six years old and I just sat there watching everyone having about ten different conversations at once. My dad's dad was sitting at the head of the table and clearly had had enough of everyone's lack of table manners (talking whilst eating!) so he screamed "STOP TALKING WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL!" to which everyone stopped, looked over at him and burst out laughing for he had just forced a huge forkful of roast potato into his mouth and subsequently was not "practicing what he preached"

However, around eight years ago my parents split and I believe for the first year or two, I continued to go to my dad's parents house for Christmas dinner, but for certain reasons I stopped this and since then I visit him for a few hours on the day, see the family and then come home for Christmas dinner (with my mum and her parents) which is cooked by my mums new husband.

I'm not going to go into my plans for this Christmas as 1. I will possibly do a post on my Christmas day and what I got/gave for Christmas and 2. I actually don't really know! It will be a strange Christmas this year as we will be missing a very special member of our family.
Benji, our 17/18 year old cat had to be put to sleep at 9:38am on December 21st 2013 as he had taken what we believe was a seizure the previous night and there was nothing we could do for him. It's definitely a relief as we didn't think we'd get him to last until last Christmas and he's definitely not been himself.
Whilst we will miss his, wonderful, constant meowing and his never ending scrounging for food, the money saved on buying his cat food will be wonderful (the skinny little thing never stopped eating!)

Sorry to end on a slightly sad note but anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! love ya!

~Emma xx