With the holidays approaching, you may be getting ready to host an event at your home. Preparing for your guests to arrive doesn’t have to be a huge ordeal. You obviously want your guests to feel welcome and feel comfortable in your home, so these are my 7 tips to prepare for your guests and to ensure your guests’ stay is enjoyable:
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
Looking for gift-giving inspiration for the blogger in your life? I put together this Holiday Gift Guide with some of the things I would love to have in my home office and are perfect for the blogger that is getting settled into creating her ideal work space.
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
It’s almost time for the Sephora Holiday Sale for VIB’s and VIB Rouge. In the past, this annual 20% off sale runs for just one week for VIB members.
I’ll update the official dates and online coupon codes one it’s announced. ❤
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
I ordered my Polaroid Zip Instant Photo Printer from ErinCondren.com as a fun way to accessorize my new Life Planner which I am super excited about. I love photography and instant cameras — there’s something cool about having a picture you can hold rather than just swiping through on your phone. I love my Fujifilm Instax 210 Instant Camera and I already use those pictures to decorate my Life Planner, but this Polaroid Zip Instant Photo Printer is extra neat because you can print wirelessly (via bluetooth) any picture you want directly from your phone.
This digital printer is super small and compact — it reminds me of my portable battery charger at 2.9″ x 4.7″ x 0.9″ and only 6.6 oz. From the Erin Condren website, you can get $10 off your purchase by creating an account through my link. The printer comes in white and is $130. You can find the printer in a super pretty teal blue, red, or black on Amazon for the same price, but when you buy from Erin Condren, you get a cute sticker to customize your printer.
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
I am loving the Erin Condren Gift Wrap Book. Create an account through my link for $10 off your purchase at erincondren.com.
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
I don’t usually get excited about the seasonal items from Lush — I love the classics (the Comforter is my favorite). But this year, I wanted to try out some of the Lush Christmas products. I bought Northern Lights bath bomb when it came out a month or so ago and I loved it; the colors were super pretty and it smelled great.
So naturally, I wanted to grab another one when I ran out of my “Lush stash”. I’m super excited because I got to stock up on everything with this Lush Haul — classics and Christmas!
The Northern Lights bath bomb wasn’t out on its own — apparently they’re all breaking during the shipping process, so one of the Lush girls pointed out the Poptastic gift box which has Northern Lights and Sparkler. 
Unfortunately, my Northern Lights was broken when I opened the box. It’s fine though, I know the bath will still look and smell amazing!
The rest of my Lush Christmas looks equally amazing. I’m so excited because I’ve haven’t tried any of these products except the Snow Fairy shower gel.
The Snow Fairy shower gel is such a pretty pink color. I love all of the pink things at Lush! Actually, when I first used this gel, I didn’t like the smell at all. I’d gotten it in a gift box and I remember not liking it or the Rock Star soap. But I like it a lot now — it’s sort of like a cotton candy smell. 
When I saw the Holly Go Lightly bubble bar — with silver glitter all over — I knew I wanted to try it out. Mostly because it looks so pretty, but also because it smells warm and cinnamon-y. It’s a large sized bubble bar which is nice — you could definitely break this up for multiple uses.
The Wizard bubble bar looks super cute. There is a little yellow star at the top of his wizard’s hat. Mine is a little more pink looking than other’s I’ve seen. I think this might be part of the Halloween collection, but either way, I’m glad I got to buy one before they ran out.
The Luxury Lush Pud bath bomb looks like it has a little bit of everything. There are lots of fun colored polka dots within the mostly pink bomb. It smells like soothing lavender and doesn’t appear to gave any glitter or things that will make clean up difficult.
And then I picked up some of my favorites:
Dragon’s Egg, Creamy Candy bubble bar, Sex Bomb bath bomb, The Comforter, and Think Pink bath bomb.
Did you pick up any of Lush’s Christmas items? Which are your favorites?
If you use your registered Starbucks Rewards Card now through the 18th after 2pm, you’ll receive a bonus star for every purchase!
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
The top tier of Sephora’s Beauty Insider program is VIB Rouge. I recently became Rouge level with my haul from the VIB sale last month and have been excited for all the perks that come with Rouge status — invites to exclusive events, free shipping, free access to the beauty studio, and special surprise gifts.
I am very happy with the free shipping. I haven’t used the Beauty Studio at all (and don’t think I will) (have any of you used the Beauty Studio services?) but it’s nice that the option for a free makeover is available. I think it’d be fun to go to a VIB Rouge event, but I was really excited/curious about these “surprise gifts.”
I started researching online about what the gifts were & how frequently they were given, but no one seemed to have gotten anything. In fact, the VIB Rouge forum at sephora.com was full of girls who were upset about not yet receiving anything.
But I got an email today about getting $20 off your purchase of $50 or more that’s “exclusive” for VIB Rouge and VIB’s (thanks for the info sdbeautyjunkie and prettytrippy) whereas BI and VIB level will receive a $15 off $50 coupon. Check your email if you are a Beauty Insider — the coupon starts today and goes through December 16th.
I went to Sephora today and was pleasantly surprised to receive another special surprise gift!
Since I am VIB Rouge, they were giving out a cute mirrored compact and a holiday/thank you card. So cute!
The compact is black on the top with “SEPHORA VIB ROUGE” in red lettering. I opened the mirror and it had a cute note inside:
“DEAR VIB ROUGE, THANK YOU FOR BEING ONE OF OUR BEST CLIENTS. BEAUTY ADDICTION LOOKS GOOD ON YOU. HAPPY HOLIDAYS, SEPHORA BEAUTY INSIDER TEAM”
…and inside the card
You can get the compact online as well by using the code: ROUGELOVE.
What a cute little gift! I wasn’t expecting anything, so this was perfect. I actually really like the mirror and will carry it in my purse. It’s little things like this that make you feel extra special.
Have you gotten any VIB Rouge gifts? Let me know in the comments! 🙂
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
When I first heard about Landon Austin on Youtube, I thought he used auto-tune on his voice. He has a really unique sound, accompanied by an acoustic guitar and his songs are pretty mellow. I am really liking Once In A Lifetime. Even though it’s a slower song, I like to listen to this when I’m running.
This movie was much better than the first. The Capitol establishes new rules in order to surpress a rebellion encouraged by Katniss Everdeen’s breaking the rules in the last Hunger Games. Peacekeepers are enforcing more rules on the different Districts and Katniss and Peeta must fight again in the 75th Hunger Games. If you liked the first movie, you’ll really like the second. By the end, I was holding up my three fingers and whistling the Mockingjay tune!
I’ve been loving Chipotle so much in November. I get a burrito with: white rice, fajita vegetables, sofritas (only served in select states/locations), the green salsa, corn, sour cream, and guacamole. MMMmmm. So good. I’ll sometimes get the chips and guacamole on the side, but only if I’m super hungry.
I’m still training for a half marathon, and I’m using the Nike+ Running App to track my runs. Just the other day, I logged my farthest run – 7.25 miles! Yay. I’ve still got a ways to go and a lot more conditioning, but I really like how the Nike+ Running App lets you create goals how you can “race” with your friends. Add me (MuffinChanel) and we can race!
I love Lush baths; especially during the colder months. Relaxing underneath a blanket of bubbles is so perfect. My favorite combination at the moment is The Comforter bubble bar and Think Pink bath bomb & to make it extra amazing, I add a dropper of Josie Maran’s Argan Oil! With this bath ^, I used Sandstone soap to exfoliate and Sweetie Pie shower jelly. Amazing!
I’m so excited that I was selected to participate in the Starbucks Holiday Star Dash. As you can see, I earned my 16 stars and will get the $10 eGift! Yay for those Very Berry Hibiscus Refreshers!
I got this lens for my birthday and it’s awesome. If I have to choose from the three they offer, this is the one I choose. I love it because it is both Macro and a Wide angle lens — just unscrew it to get the Macro.
My little cousins shared their Rainbow Looms with me over Thanksgiving! They taught me how to make the Starburst and Fishtail bracelets! You can get the Rainbow Loom at Michael’s for $17 and each Rubber Band Pack of 600 bands is $4.
Grand Theft Auto 5
I recently bought GTA 5 and it’s so much fun. I have GTA 4 (but I never even finished the story mode), but GTA 5 is so much better. You play as three different characters in story mode & the online mode is so much fun; I’m already on level 16!
I bought this in my Sephora VIB Rouge haul to try it out and it’s awesome. My hair looks and feels softer and healthier. I’ll repurchase the larger sizes when I run out. I do like these small bottles though; perfect size for traveling.
What have you been loving this November? Let me know in the comments.
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
The Urban Decay Naked 3 palette is out sold out already on UrbanDecay.com and will be available at Ulta and Sephora in December (the manager at my local Sephora invited me to the “release party” for the Naked 3 on in-store December 11 & online by December 6), but I won’t be purchasing it. The internet is abuzz with excitement about the “rose gold” themed palette, and sure the colors are pretty, but the Naked 2 will always have my heart.
I have the original Naked palette and it’s nice, but I love all of the colors in the Naked 2. The Naked 2 is what the original palette should have been; the perfect blend of neutrals with some awesome shimmer colors. With a wider range of colors, from a light matte cream to a dark matte black, Naked 2 stays true to its taupe-y base.
You can never go wrong with a neutral look. Every one of the Naked 2 colors is amazing for every skin tone. The original palette had random blue and greys that didn’t look quite right on me, but the Naked 2 is perfect in every way. I use my Naked 2 every day and I will repurchase it when it’s gone.
The Naked 3 palette seems a little too pink for my liking. How many pink looks can you create before it’s too much pink? (Can there be too much pink?) I’m just not a pink eyeshadow person. I wear a lot of earth tones — browns and greens — and the Naked 2 compliments every look.
The reason I won’t be buying the Naked 3 palette? The Naked 2 palette already has me covered; I don’t need anything else. 🙂
If you are more interested the Naked 3 palette, check out these swatches by Musings Of A Muse, or this review by Phyrra, or this review by Temptilia. Whatever Naked palette you are interested in, it’s sure to deliver Urban Decay’s highly pigmented shadows that are soft and easy to blend.
Is the Naked 3 palette on your holiday wish list? Let me know what your favorite Naked palette is in the comments! ❤
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
Many of you may be traveling for the upcoming holidays. It’s always fun to go somewhere new or see friends & family, but it can be difficult deciding what to pack or just carrying everything you want.
I always try to pack just the “essentials” so my bags aren’t loaded down and I’ll have room in case I get a few souvenirs. You really need to ask yourself what you want; try to only bring products that have multiple uses. For example: with makeup, see if you can find a blush you like that can double as an eyeshadow. Or a dark eyeshadow that you can also use to fill in your brows. With beauty items, it can be a little more tricky. You don’t want to neglect your skin while you are on holiday, but you don’t want to carry your full sized bottles either.
This is where those sample sizes from Sephora or little mini bottles of products come in handy. I always save the samples for traveling because they hardly take up any room and you can just discard them when you are done. If you don’t have the sample sizes of the product you want to bring with you, there are always those mini travel bottles you can buy at the drugstore.
Here’s my travel makeup bag:
This bag is actually a clutch from the Marc Jacobs collaboration with Target last year; it’s a shiny metallic pouch that’s fairly large and fits all you see here ^ very nicely.
Here’s my skincare and toiletries bag:
This bag was a gift with purchase at Victoria’s Secret a few years ago. It’s metallic gold, but has vertical pink stripes inside and it’s pretty large.
What’s inside?
Let me know if you have any holiday travel plans coming up and what your must-have beauty travel essentials are! ❤
If you have a Starbucks Rewards account, you may have been invited to participate in the Holiday Star Dash! Check by logging in to your My Starbucks Rewards and clicking “Join”
From now until December 3rd, you’ll accumulate stars (separate from the stars you already earn through My Starbucks Rewards) for every purchase. Earn 10 stars, you’ll receive a $5 eGift card; earn 16 Stars, earn a $10 eGift card! You’ll get an email with redemption instructions by December 11!
What a nice extra holiday treat, especially when you can earn that $10 eGift for just 16 stars instead of the 20 stars it was during the Fall Dash.
What’s your favorite Starbucks drink?
[polldaddy poll=7582717]
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
With the holidays right around the corner, many people will be traveling to visit friends and family, or just going on a vacation. Whatever your reason, air travel may be in your near future.
Whenever I fly anywhere, I purpose to pack as lightly as possible. No one wants to lug three suitcases and two totes through the airport; trust me. So, unless you’re going to be away for more than two weeks, try to fit everything into one duffle/suitcase and one larger “carry-on”/purse. Winter time can be more difficult, since many of our sweaters and jackets are bulky, but if you wear or carry some of the larger items, you’ll be fine.
I actually carry on all of my luggage, rather than checking a bag. No one wants to stand around the luggage carrousel after a long flight, waiting to find her bag with the pink ribbon (Tip: always give your bag some kind of distinguishing characteristic if you are checking luggage to help you identify your bag quickly and easily!)
Once you’re on the plane, you’re ready to sit back and enjoy the flight! Here are my travel essentials for your trip:
Large Tote — Think “Weekender Bag”
This will be your go-to bag for all things travel. Big enough to hold all of your essentials, but small enough to slide underneath the seat. I like this handbag by Michael Kors.
Water
Fill your own water bottle once you are through airport security, or just buy a bottle from one of the many stores past the security gates.
It’s important to stay hydrated on the plane since the air can be very dry. Yes, the flight attendants will bring you a beverage and maybe a snack, but those cups are small and the attendants aren’t there to keep refilling your glass. So come prepared with your own water…
Snacks
…and your own snacks. Plane food isn’t the best especially if you are on a short flight. You won’t be served a meal and if you get a snack, it’ll be a little packet of trail mix or something of the like. That’s fine in a pinch, but I’m all about being prepared and eating more than 5 mini pretzels, so I like to bring fruit bars. The “this strawberry walks into a bar” kind from trader joes are my favorite.
Hand Sanitizer
Don’t want to eat with dirty hands, of course. But you also want to protect yourself from all the germs on the plane. Anytime you touch your face, eyes or mouth, you want your hands to be clean.
Neosporin
This may sound gross, but it’s a travel pro tip — put a little neosporin on your pinky finger and line the inside of your nose with it. It’s your own personal barrier against breathing in those germs!