Hello my lovelies and welcome to BLOGMAS day 29!
I hope everyone is well, apologies for not updating you guys on Christmas Day. Regardless, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas full of love and happiness in whatever way you spent the day.
We opened our presents in the morning, then had our dinner at about 1:00pm, and for the rest of the day just watched all the Christmas specials on the TV.
Before we start, I'd just like to say this is not me bragging about what I got at all, I just like to share with you guys what I was lucky enough to receive for Christmas this year and I love watching other peoples posts and videos like this. So I hope you guys enjoy.
This first section of gifts are what I received in my stocking (yes I do still have one) from my mum and dad and I love stocking gifts because they're usually completely unexpected and quite random.
So the first thing I opened in my stocking was this Happy Jackson travel mug. If you know me well, you'll know that I love coffee. I am always taking a latte/ a cappuccino to my early morning lectures with me to wake me up for the day which is why this is gonna be really handy for me. I absolutely love the colours and the font of the 'WAKEY, WAKEY!'. I absolutely love it and I'm so excited to use it.
I also got an adorable lunch box to match! I haven't used a lunch box since like, year 9/10 or something like that. I normally just wrap some foil around my roll and throw it in my bag and normally I don't do lunch boxes just because there weren't ever really any nice ones and they always seemed like a "school thing". But I think this one is so cute and I love that it matches the travel mug. When things match it makes me want to use them together; I'm so excited to use this to put my lunch in.
Continuing with the Happy Jackson theme, I got some notebooks! My mum and dad know me so well, there's nothing I love more than pretty notebooks. I could buy millions and millions of notebooks because of the designs on the front and never ever write in them.
I absolutely love these, I think they're so cute and I love the fact each one has a specific title on the cover. They are proper hardback notebooks with an elasticated string to keep them looking neat. The pages inside are just lined which means I can use them for anything I want. I'm not sure what I am going to do with these just yet as I want to use them for their actual purposes. Hopefully I will find uses for them in 2017 and I'm definitely gonna keep an eye our for more Happy Jackson notebooks.
Finally the last Happy Jackson item I got for Christmas was some pencils. These are probably some of the cutest pencils I've ever been given. There's 6 pencil in the set and they read, 'Be Happy', 'YAY!', 'Awesome!', 'WOOP WOOP!', 'Smile', and 'Big Love'. I most likely wont actually use them or if I do, it wont be very often. But I will have them in a pencil pot for show because they're just too cute.
Continuing the notebook-esk theme. I was also given this gorgeous book that reads, 'Things To Do' in rose gold with beautiful pink/lilac roses on the front. Inside it has 4 smaller notebook pads with little headers for each one.
These are all gonna be really useful for my filofax and just in general for reminders.
I got a little pot of Vaseline which is super handy as I'm always losing mine and I use it 24/7 in the colder months. I also got some festive nail files which I'm so in love with. I always carry one in my bag just in case.
I got a new phone case! It's just got different snowflakes on with that water/gel type stuff with glitter inside that runs up and down the phone if you know what I mean. The case is 100% me, I love winter and everything about it. I am always shaking it for the glitter to disperse like in the picture on the right. Gah, I'm obsessed.
I got a belt, I already knew about this one as I said I wanted a new one and I chose this one out. I haven't worn a belt in years as I don't wear actual jeans anymore, I wear jeggings. But recently I've been getting a lot of jeggings that have the zip, button, and belt hooks and some of them have been a bit big around my waist but have the right amount of comfort for my legs. As as they're big round my waist it means I have to keep pulling them up which is really annoying, so I'm hoping wearing a belt will help with that.
I also got these beautiful silver earrings with diamante's running inside the actual hoop. I don't own many dangly/ hoop earrings as I don't go to proper full on parties much anymore. But I'm so happy I have another pair I can wear when I wanna dress up a bit more. I'm gonna wear these on New Year's Eve which I cannot wait for.
I also received some sweets and chocolates in my stocking, including this Lindt bear. He's too adorable to eat. Let's be honest who doesn't get sweets and chocolates at Christmas.
This next section of presents are from my friends.
From Charlie...
He got me the Zoella Hungry Hands Hand Cream the gingerbread version for Christmas time. He's been banging on at me for ages about how good the hand creams are and that I should get one. But I never got round to purchasing one and now I don't need to. This smells amazing and makes my hands nice and smooth, so all in all. A really nice handcream.
I also got this from Soap & Glory, these two products are two of my favourites from S&G I can't live without them. Hand Food is my favourite hand cream so it's always good to be stocked up. Heel Genius keeps my feet beautifully soft and smooth.
Charlie received this when he went on a conference day things or something with his work and he got a lot of free perfumes in sizes of 30ml bottles and I saw he had Chloe and I asked if I could have it as part of my Christmas present and he didn't say yes or no, so when I opened the gift bag up to see this I was so excited. I adore the simplicity of the bottle and it smells amazing. It's super fresh and has the smell of roses and rose scents are one of my favourites. I love wearing it, but as it is only 30ml I don't want to waste it all. But I love it and I can't thank Charlie enough for gifting it to me.
He also kindly gave me this full Real Techniques set and again, sorry there's no picture as I've already started using it. All of the brushes are really good, they do the job that they claim to do and can be used for other parts of your makeup routine too. They're all super soft, I love the design of them, and I've really been enjoying using them.
From Chloe...
Firstly, I got this Butterbear set from Lush in an actual Butterbear. I was so surprised when I opened this, I never expected her to get me a Lush set. I adore the metal bear itself, I am definitely keeping him as a decoration because he's too adorable to throw away.
I decided to move the goodies into another Lush tin I have because it took myself and my mum about 10 minutes just to open the bear and see what was inside. So I felt it was best to move them into a different storage tin for when I just want to the grab the products and use them.
So if you shop at Lush often, you'll know exactly what all these are. But we have the Father Christmas bath bomb (which smells just like Snowfairy which is my favourite scent ever), Butterbear bath bomb, Reindeer and Robin FUN, and Honey I Washed The Kids soap (I love the smell of fresh scents as they wake me up. So I can't wait to use this)
She also kindly got me some hand creams from Loccitane and The Body Shop. Once again, completely unexpected. They all smell amazing and I can't wait to use them.
I was also gifted this gorgeous necklace and earrings set. It is gold plated with silver diamante around the edge and in the middle. Pretty simple design, but absolutely stunning and I'm really looking forward to wearing these.
I also got some nail varnishes and a little makeup set from Primark which I'm looking forward to use.
She got me some cosy reindeer slipper socks! Reindeer's are one of my favourite animals and my favourite Christmas character. They are super soft and I cannot wait to wear them.
Finally from the Chloe is this Just Pink perfume from Next. This perfume has been around for absolutely years now, it's always been in Next ever since I can remember and I've always thought it smelt nice but I've never actually bought one. I think it's a simple and gorgeous bottle and it's gonna sit beautifully on my mantle piece.
I can't thank Chloe enough for all of these lovely presents, I've been extremely spoilt and it's clear she knows me so well.
From Heather...
I got this adorable cat necklace with a light blue stone in the middle. I absolutely adore cats and I can't wait to wear this.
She also got me another piece of jewellery, for those of you who don't know. For every birthday and Christmas Heather has always bought me some kind of Vampire Diaries jewellery that the characters wear on the show. I already have Elena's vervain necklace, Katherine's daylight necklace, and Caroline's vervain necklace. So to add onto that nice little collection I know have Bonnie's necklace. I wear all of these necklaces and I'm really looking forward to wearing this one when I'm feeling an extra "Bonnie Bennet" vibe.
She also got me this and I was ecstatic when I opened this as I adore Winnie The Pooh and it was on my wishlist this year. Sorry there's not an actual picture of it, it's because I've already been using it. It's a massive mug, so perfect for me when I want a giant coffee in the morning to wake up and it's just adorable so how could I not already use it?
Thank you so much Heather! I love them all.
Also from my other girls, i.e. my housemates. From Poppy I got a framed photo of my favourite photo of us, From Em I got a £5 Costa voucher (that girl knows me well) and some Cadbury Milktray chocolate, From Meg I got the Polka perfume I asked for from Primark, and finally from Jen I got a Yankee Candle votive in the scent red berry or cranberry (something like that) with a little glass candle holder to keep it in, as well as some sponge soap. So it's a soap and a sponge all in one which I thought was so cool and practical. I don't remember what the scent was but the soap sponge was orange and had quite a refreshing and awakening scent. I'm super excited to try it out.
Thank you to all of the girls for my presents, I loved all of them. Apologies for no pictures for those ones as they're virtually all still at my house in Chester.
That's everything from my friends, I'm extremely lucky and grateful for all of the lovely presents. Christmas and birthday's every year show we how well they know me and it just makes me happy when you receive something that is well catered to your taste or is really you in every way.
This next lot are the remaining presents from my mum and dad (so the ones that were downstairs) along with presents from family members and family friends.
This was my "main" present this year if we're gonna put a title on them. I really wanted a new bag as I was so bored of all mine. So my dad and I went to River Island to pick one out a few days before Christmas and I fell in love with this one. I love it so much, I haven't been obsessed with a bag in quite a long while until now. It's a beautiful burgundy colour on the front and the back and as you can see, on the front there is a velvet burgundy square which I think is bloody gorgeous. Then the sides and the top inside rim of the bag are baby pink. I think baby pink and burgundy go beautifully together, plus they're two of my favourite colours.
The size of the bag is just compact which I actually prefer as it means I only carry what I 100% need to and surprisingly, it fits more in than you'd imagine. The top is just a popper, there isn't a zip, it's not too heavy because it's slightly smaller than my everyday shoulder bags, and it also comes with a shoulder strap that you can attached on the gold metal bits on the side of the bag if you do want it as a side bag. I mainly use it as an arm bag though. I absolutely love it and will continue to use it throughout winter.
What's a new bag without a new purse to go with it? Unfortunately there wasn't a purse that actually properly matched but I found this one which still fits well with the bag as it's a neutral colour with gorgeous silver multicoloured glitter on the main body of the front and back of the purse. It's also gold to match the detailing on the bag which I love.
We have a flip over popper section that beautifully shows off the golden balls that twist to unveil the coin purse inside the actual purse. I love the gold detailing around the popper, I think it looks really luxurious and a lot more expensive than it was.
The coin purse also matches the outer glitter which again I just love, there is enough space for all of my cards to fit comfortably in this purse, with an extra section underneath the card slot on the left to fit more cards, receipts, and money.
I got some new slippers! I feel like slippers are a classic gift at Christmas. I haven't had a good pair of boot slippers for a while, so I am so happy to have some new ones. These ones are absolutely adorable and are the selection of colours I love wearing in the winter, so to have all of them in one footwear items is fabulous. I can't wait to get wearing these in the new year as I'm currently still wearing my Rudolph slippers while I still can.
Here's another perfume to add to the never ending collection is Eau Nude from Next. I smelt this in the shop and fell in love so I'm super happy to finally have it.
I got some DVDS! Finding Dory, Spy, and Absolutely Fabulous from mum and dad. The Pitch Perfect 2 and Miranda: The Finale from my auntie and uncle.
I got The Vampire Diaries season 7 from my auntie, uncle, and cousins. I get the previous season on DVD every year as we all know I'm an avid fan of this show. It also means I can finally finish watching it as I only got to like episode 12 or something. Which means I'll be rewatching this whole season before I go back to uni.
I also from mum and dad, Now 95. We always get these as we love to play them in the car which is where this one will eventually go and stay for ages probably.
You can't not get some kind of socks for Christmas. There's two frilly lace ones and one frilly pom-pom one. I adore frilly socks, they're so cute and make shoes, especially lace ups look a lot prettier. I prefer wearing frilly socks with lace ups than normal socks.
Also from my auntie, uncle, and cousins I got this massive Jack Wills box with lots of goodies inside. I've never had anything from Jack Wills before, so this is a scarf/blanket box set which I feel like is just me in a box.
Inside we got some English Velvet body wash, which actually doesn't really smell of anything.
Dark red and grey nail polishes.
Two face masks. I'm thinking of trying one of these tonight and seeing what they're like.
Two body sprays, Wills which smells really nice, light, and fresh. And English Velvelt, and I'm undecided on if I like the smell at the moment. I don't hate it but I don't love it either.
English Velvet body butter.
And a massive plaid blanket scarf. People who know me well will know I love massive scarfs that I can multi-purpose as a scarf, a blanket, a shawl. They're one of Katie J's winter style staple pieces that I can't be without. I love the colours and the style, I can't wait to wear it out tomorrow as it's gotten freezing cold outside over the past few days.
In the box underneath all of the goodies was a truth or dare wheel, which I thought was really random to have at the bottom but will come in handy for parties, haha.
Another boxed gift is this rose gold pouch with white and rose gold phone case. When I was shopping with mum and dad absolutely ages ago I saw this and fell in love with it. So I asked if I could have it for Christmas and they said yeah. I'm gonna use the pouch for a makeup bag to slot into my now smaller bag, otherwise my makeup bag takes up half a section. So in this pouch I will carry the ultimate essentials that I need everyday, e.g. powder, lipstick, keys, tissues, sanitary towels etc. So they're kept in a safe place and wont get lost in the bag and they're all in one place if I need them. The phone case I will use once winter is over and I don't want my snowflake one on anymore.
From a family friend, I got this beautiful filigree heart necklace with matching earrings. It is simply gorgeous and it's a really bright silver which I really like. The only downside is the necklace chain is a bit too small for my liking, so I'm gonna try and get another chain that is slightly longer and a similar shade to this. Apart from that, I love it.
I received this beautiful pink elephant ornament, which is meant to be a paper weight I think. I also have bunny rabbit one and I think they're absolutely stunning. Really precious presents that I can keep and pass down through the generations of my family. They're beautiful ornaments that sit on my mantle piece.
A couple of other bits and bobs I got was some new headphones, a bit of money, some vouchers, some clothes, and lots and lots of chocolate.
I hope you guys enjoyed seeing what I got for Christmas this year, I hope all of you got lots of lovely presents. I am so grateful for all of the wonderful presents from my family and friends. I am a very lucky girly to have everything that I do and I never forget that. The end leg of the year is always the time when I am more than thankful for the people who mean so much to me in my life and I cherish every second I get with them.
With the end of the year approaching, it does mean that my last couple of posts are coming up. I'm hoping to do a NYE makeup tutorial, don't quote me on it as it may not happen. But if not, it mean's my final post of the year will be the one I do every year at the end of each year which is my countdown to next year. Going through my favourites from this year, the top moments of my year, and what my plans are for next year.
Until then, it's bye for now.
Love,
Katie
