December In Review

Not Your Average Favorites

I began this month in full Christmas mode. I spent December first wrapping gifts, boxing them up, and addressing them to be sent off. Sitting in front of the fire I had Spotify Christmas playing, fresh balsam wax melts burning, peppermint bark tea, and my tree to keep me company. I finished my cards by the end of the day as well and had everything all ready to be mailed!

I had a LOT of projects to work on this month but first I thought I'd share a couple of presents I made in November that I wasn't able to share until after they were opened on Christmas. The first are two letters for my twin nieces. I hand painted both of them and attached decorative flowers to match their middle names, a rose and hydrangeas for Rose and sunflowers and leaves for Autumn. The final touch was a bit of ribbon for them to hang from. And for their parents was a beautiful gold and white Christmas wreath for their door, complete with the first letter of their last name for a more personal touch.

Non-gift projects this month included two new wreaths, a floral painting, and a personalized Circular Gallifreyan Doctor Who painting that was custom ordered from my shop. 


December's Birchbox was a big hit this month with the most amount of products used and a really adorable box design. My full review can be read here.

We received a lot of really great gifts this month the first of which was 3 (yes 3!) packages from my Mother-In-Law. She gifted us with snacks, booze, candy, and more cheese than a mouse could ever dream of! She also included some candles, tea, and kcups and lets just say we've eaten VERY WELL this month! I just want to add a quick Thanks to my amazing Mother-In-Law for these wonderful gifts and for always thinking of us!

In other news I have added another excited endeavor to my already busy schedule and took the plunge to become a Buskins Affiliate! I love these leggings so much and I think you will too. They have patterns and sizes to fit every style and they even have fur lined, kids, babies, and matching mommy and me options! They've also recently just added free shipping for all of US and Canada and a great new monthly subscription service. If you love leggings and want to check them out head on over to their site and be sure to add my name, Amanda Zimmerman, as your referral id at checkout. Or you can like my facebook page for more Buskins related updates.

Now that I'm done with my sales pitch I thought I'd talk about something a little more serious but I think is always good to talk about. My anxiety level this month has been a little higher than it has in awhile. I don't know if it's the stress of the holidays, things coming in the new year, or if it's nothing and I'm just going through another high strung cycle. I had my first panic attack in almost two months towards the end of this month and I do not miss those things. On a high note my panic attacks are not only far fewer but they aren't as long or intense, so small miracles I guess!

I've been spending all of December trying to keep my Christmas spirits high but that hasn't been the easiest with the super warm weather. My husband had the holiday off this year for only the 3rd time in our 9+ years together. This was also our first Christmas, in which he was off, that we didn't travel and just spent the holiday at home. We had friends over, unwrapped gifts, had a lovely turkey dinner with roasted red potatoes, and green beans, and just spent the day with each other. We both received many great gifts and if anyone would like a Christmas haul post please let me know!


The last week in December was spent cleaning and organizing the house, taking down Christmas decorations, and getting back into our routine. Starting in January Eric will be home a little more so we are trying to prepare for that and as always I am working hard on my many projects. Other than that it was mostly playing with all our new toys!


Last but not least a few December favorites:

Book: My True Love Gave To Me by Various Authors
TV Show: Jessica Jones
Movie: A Muppet Christmas Carol
Drink: Bigelow Peppermint Bark Tea and Celestial Seasonings Tummy Mint which is an old favorite I had to bulk order when I discovered it was discontinued!
Food: Cheese! We had, fondue, Brie with jam, and various other kinds of cheeses on crackers.
Clothing: I have been wearing my over sized Iron Fist Skull Cardigan all month because it's the perfect weight for this crazy weather.
Beauty: Benefit They're Real! Mascara Primer. I don't actually like this as a primer but I love it for days when I don't actually feel like doing my makeup.
Song: All I Want For Christmas ft. Chase Holfelder. I recently discovered this and a few other major to minor Christmas songs by him that I just love! I really enjoy the different takes on traditional songs.
Scent: Better Homes and Gardens A Wonderful Winter wax melts and JR Watkins Aloe & Green Tea hand cream.
Purchase: All of my purchases this month have been for other people but my favorite was probably the customized Bioshock leather Wallet I got my husband for Christmas.
Project: I had a customer order a Personalized Doctor Who painting from my Etsy for a Christmas present this month. They are done in Circular Gallifreyan and are always super fun to make.
Gift: I got so many great gifts for Christmas this year it's difficult to choose just one!
Video Game: One gift I received was my favorite Final Fantasy game (XII) and it's guide for PS2. I've been playing it nonstop since Christmas day and I think Falllout is getting jealous of all the attention.



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