25 Days of Christmas - Day 25: Feliz Navidad!!!!

Today was a day of eating lots of stuffing (boy, am I stuffed! tee hee), sleeping, sleeping, more sleeping, and the Downton Abbey Christmas Special. On the latter: I'm so pissed. I want to go find a certain actor and give them a good telling off for leaving the show at the height of its popularity when their character is so central to the plot. Dumb ass. I just want to scream. My reaction at the end of the special?

Also, is Lady Edith REALLY that damn desperate for a man that she's willing to ruin her reputation and become his mistress?! I understand that he can't divorce his mentally ill wife, but if he really loved Edith, he'd leave her be and not put her in such a terrible position. I foresee some hell coming down when Lord Grantham finds out about this in Season 4. I'm not going to spoil Downton Abbey anymore than I already have so I'll just leave it as is.

As for Christmas, I got other gifts from my mom. Didn't expect to get anything extra after she spent so much on my car, but I'm grateful either way. Food was awesome and I'm ready to go into a food coma once again. This blog series has been just as much a success as the Halloween one was. I thank everyone who supported it. Another holiday has passed us by so I'll bid you all good night and a very Merry Christmas!

25 Days of Christmas - Day 23: My Christmas Presents So Far

Christmas came early for me this year. Since my boyfriend and I won't be able to spend Christmas together, he gave me my presents earlier this weekend. As for my parents? Well, they gave me something I needed: car maintenance. Yep, one of my (many) Christmas presents from my parents is new tires and an a realignment. That might seem stupid to others, but I'm over the moon. Have you purchased new tires lately?! Those suckers are expensive! Considering the fact that my parents are willing to fork over a few hundred dollars to maintain their grown-up daughter's car counts me pretty lucky. I don't want material things. I have more than enough dvds, a closet packed with clothes that I never wear with the tags still on some of them, an iPhone, a back-up iPod, a laptop, a flat screen tv, a kick-ass DVD player, DVR, and a piano with a trunk full of sheet music. As far as material things that I don't need, I'm set. However, I DO need a car to get around for professional reasons. I'm afraid to drive too far from home or drive anywhere too late at night by myself due to the fact my tires could go on me at any time. When my stepfather asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I was honest and said I don't WANT anything because I have too many vital things that I NEED. Last year it was new brakes and rotars on my car. This year is tires. My parents (my stepdad especially) are more than happy to provide me with that because they're impressed I'm putting the important things in life over stupid little toys. Even though I've matured since I was younger, I'm still happy with the material things my boyfriend bought me:

My boyfriend totally understands my love of cooking and particularly, my love of collecting cookbooks I can learn something from. I've been coveting the hard copy of this cookbook for over a year now so my boyfriend came through and got it for me. It's a great reference book for cooking. I was shocked by discovering certain things I had been doing wrong all along (such as how to make a proper beurre blanc.) I suggest not buying this retail. It's cheaper if you order it new on Amazon or Barnes and Noble online -- Barnes & Noble $75 

My other love that my boyfriend is completely supportive of is my Downton Abbey obsession. I am absolutely head over heels for this show and I'm attempting to convert him to the series. Since I already have the first two seasons on DVD the third season hasn't been released in the U.S. yet, he was pretty confused what to get me that was Downton-themed. Somehow, he settled on this beautiful wall calendar because he saw me looking at it in a store. He's so sweet and he did good this Christmas! This calendar is easily available in stores or at Shop PBS. -- Shop PBS $14.99

25 Days of Christmas - Day 11: Buying the Perfect Gift

I'll be honest. I suck suck SUCK at buying gifts for people. I always try to be original and creative and the gift just ends up falling flat. Problem is, my friends or the people I date all seem to suffer from a debilitating disease known as frequent impulse buying. Which means, if they want something, they're going to buy it despite the cost or if someone else might be getting it for them. It's not that I don't know my friends' personalities enough to get them something cool, I just can't afford some of their more expensive tastes nor can I keep up with their constant shopping. So what's a girl to do? A few sure-fire solutions.

1)  Check to see if the person you're buying a gift for has a wishlist on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, etc. Yes, it's impersonal because the giftee is already minimally aware of what he or she is receiving from Christmas if they keep an eye on their wishlist. However, it's good to have when you encounter a picky person to buy gifts for.

2)  Character study. Think about what this person's hobbies are. If they are a huge fan of tea (like myself), get them a lovely set of tea mugs from Teavana or an electric kettle so they can make tea in the middle of the night without waking up half the neighborhood (or bursting their own eardrums.) Pay close attention to their likes and dislikes. The things they'll go out of their way to spend their money on or activities that will occupy most of their free time are usually the same kind of items they like receiving as gifts. This is also likely to be the hardest gift-giving solution as their interests could likely be so broad as to prove difficult to narrow down an acceptable gift they'd enjoy.

3)  Ask someone else close to the person like a friend, relative, etc. what the person is interested in. Now, this is just plain lazy. If you are friends with the person, then you should already know what they are interested in. If not, then you got stuck with the dull guy in your office for Secret Santa or you aren't as close as you thought to this person you consider a friend. 

4)  Gag gift. If, after all this, you are STILL completely stumped what your friend wants for Christmas then you could always just buy them something wildly inappropriate or nutty as a joke. If this person has a wacky sense of humor, they'll find this gift hilarious and will keep it to treasure for many years to come (even if it's something they'll never actually USE.) Best gag gift I've ever received? One year I told a friend I wanted the perfect boyfriend for Christmas. So she bought me a Ken doll and one of those pocket vibrators. lol. Best gag gift I've ever given someone? A sexy women's lingerie teddy. BTW, the receiver was a straight man. :-)

5)  Money, money, money, MONEY! The good old fallback will always be giftcards or straight up cash. Still stumped and it's Christmas Eve? No problem! Just pop out to a Walgreens or ANYWHERE that sells giftcards for a multitude of vendors, pick a couple, and TA-DA! You're done!