December was a good month but I’m happy it’s over. It’s always an exhausting month. I enjoy it but I’m always happy for it to end too. December is just *too much* – too much food, too much socializing, too much drinking, too much spending and too cold.
All in all, the holidays were good. It was nice to share the holidays with friends and cool people. David bought me a Chanel Coco parfum (which is awesome) and a couple of Les Exclusifs. You can read about “my stuff” in my December Empties. And then we’re going to Hong Kong in January so that was a great gift too.
What else did I do? I went to “A John Waters Christmas” in December. That was really entertaining. I laughed so hard. I laughed until I cried. I also went to Portland for a few days towards the end of the month. Portland is always a fun little place to visit. It’s just so, well, Portland. New Year’s Eve went well. A small gathering with friends and lots of champagne cocktails and perfume. Looking back, I laughed a lot in December and after the past few months, I really needed that.
And that was December. Bring it, 2015.
Here were my favorites from December ’14:
Wearing (fragrance) – Like clockwork, every December I want to wear chypre. I wanted decadence. I pulled out Acqua di Parma Profumo and I can’t believe that I forgot how wonderful it was. I’ve also been wearing Clinqiue Aromatics Elixir and Piguet Bandit.
Summary – December is the month that I love wearing chypres. And my rose phase is approaching which is always followed by my iris phase.
Wearing (cosmetics, etc.) – I was all over the place with cosmetics. I spent half the month in heavy black eyeliner and a pale lippie like Armani Rouge Ectasy in 100 Androginio. And the rest of my time was spent with minimal eye makeup and dark lips like MAC Lipstick in Cyber. And there were a few times when I wanted metallic taupe eyeshadow (L’Oreal Colour Riche Quad in Perpetual Nude) and really glossy red disco lips with Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Fire & Ice with OCC Lip Tar in Super NSFW. My favorite nail polish shade of the month was Deborah Lippmann in Glamorous Life, a rose gold. This shade was on my tips for most of the month.
Summary – It was the holidays. It was a great excuse to walk around with Satine/Moulin Rouge hooker makeup OR disgruntle “I HATE MY MOM” goth teenager makeup.
Wearing (clothes) – We’re not really even halfway through winter and I’m so sick of my winter clothes. All of my sweaters look really ratty and a lot of my boots look really, really “lived in”. And I keep losing buttons off of my coat. My clothes are rather dull and practical. I think I may hate them. My Hue Ponte Knit Leggings (they never “bag” out and aren’t transparent!) were in heavy rotation with black sweater tunics and white button up tunics paired with one of my many pairs of black boots. And sometimes I wear capes.
Summary – I’m a great candidate for coats with zippers. Please remind me of that when I go coat shopping in the future.
Using (skincare) – OK, I think I finally figured out my winter skincare routine. I’m using my usual cleansers and toners but I’ve added Paula’s Choice Resist Intensive Repair Cream over my usual acids and nighttime serums. This has helped a lot with the dryness, making this one of my favorite skincare items of 2014. I also used more cream masks this month more than sheet masks.
Summary – Well, now that I got that figured out what do I obsess over now? Don’t worry. I’ll find something.
Eating/Drinking – Ugh, I don’t even want to talk about food or beverages! I’m still stuffed. So much food. So much of everything! I can’t wait to get back to my normal life that featured less feasting. I think some of my favorite meals of December included lobster and champagne that the husband spoils me with. And when I was in Portland, i ate at Boxer Ramen, a fusion-y, cute ramen joint. That was really good too. Actually, everything in December was good and that’s the problem.
Summary – I love holiday foods but geez, I don’t want to see any of them again until next year.
Listening – It was a hip hop of my school days, stuff like Talib Kweli, Common and Jurassic 5.
Summary – I remember when I thought we could change the world. We still can, I guess.
Watching – I wish I could find a good series or something stupid to watch. But, I haven’t watched anything. There are a few movies playing in January that I want to go see: Selma, The Imitation Game and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.
Summary – Too busy for TV. But, I look forward to watching some films in January.
Reading – I’m such a bum. I haven’t been reading. I’m thinking about buying a Kindle even though I’m a bum.
Summary – I read blogs. Does that count as reading?
Wanting – A happy, healthy and prosperous new year.
Summary – 2014 wasn’t horrible but it was filled with some setbacks and lots of grief. It was typical life stuff which is expected when you’re an adult. I know it could have been worse but I’m still hoping 2015 will be better…for all of us.
Cheers to 2015!
What were your favorites for December? Did you do anything inspiring? Go anywhere inspiring? Eat anything inspiring? How were the holidays?
*Profumo pic from Sephora, Boxer Ramen pic from Yelp. Talib Kweli quote from NPR interview, my pics are from my Instagram. Kindle Paperwhite from Cnet.com. Esther Williams from www.fanpix.net.
Hear hear; Cheers to a better 2015 all around 🙂
I just bought the Resist Intensive Repair Cream, as it has only just arrived in Europe, and am very much looking forward to seeing it work its magic on my dry tired winter skin (over the acids and oils). And Armani make-up is an obsession of mine, oh those lipsticks, all of them, the sheers, the lasting, the mattes…Just added lip maestro 504, because sometimes more is more.
And BTW very much looking forward to your iris phase.
Happy New Year
I hope that it works for you too. I do like it (layered all over my other stuff too). My skin felt much better immediately after using it.
I love Armani makeup. I try to talk myself out of buying all the lip colors. All the formulas are so good and the colors are great too. I want to see the new cream eyeshadows too. A few of the colors look pretty, no clue what they look like swatched. But, I’ve been pleased with Armani’s quality so I want to check those out.
Cheers to 2015!
Imitation Game was a good movie. My makeup and winter clothes need an overall. I
Oh, you got cut off!
Skip the kindle and just go Audible on your phone. I enjoy listening to books more than reading them.
By the way, reading blogs does count as reading. At least to me it does.
I’ll check out Audible too. It would be good for all my bus commuting, etc. I do get “car sick”.
I think it should count 🙂
I fell for the Dior Addict Fluid Stick for lips. I’ve never tried the Armani lipsticks. I also ate too much in December and haven’t quite stopped the chocolate intake. I have also been enjoying having a hot toddy every now and then in the evening. I haven’t felt all that inspired yet. I’m just glad to have the holidays and 2014 over with. I’d like to read more and write more this year. I need to try some of those masks you’re always raving about. I haven’t tried any Korean skin care stuff and I feel like I’m missing out on something. I’m on a “no buy” right now which I know you can relate to. Mine even extends into the pantry and I’m trying to use up all those random ingredients that have been sitting in the cupboard. The more I use up the less I have to pack up when the kitchen gets remodeled.
Happy New Year!
I haven’t bought any of the Diors but I love their glosses and that fluid stick packaging is so cool.
Really I think I like the masks so much because they force me to “slow down”. Which in itself is therapeutic.
Oh, we’re doing the pantry no-buy too. I ended up “hoarding” stuff without knowing and would like to just eat that stuff before our trip. So, I can only bring in fresh veggies/fruits and dairy. I didn’t realize I had accumulated so much stuff like that. And good luck with the remodel. Hopefully it will go by quickly 🙂
Here’s to 2015! Hope you have a great year!
Wearing
-My last Nordstrom haul in December included a really cute peacoat that has a waist. What a bummer that I now live in CA and it’s not cold enough to wear it! I also spent a mini fortune on Chie Mahara shoes when shoescribe.com had a good sale. They are soooo cute, I love them so much! But I’m on a no-shoe-buy for 2015 as a result. It was worth it.
-I bought a bazillion Luckyscent samples. Why when I already have a bazillion mLs of perfume?
Reading
I got on goodreads and created a plan for 2015. Started reading The Book Thief and ordered a classic sci-fi, Rocannon’s World.
Watching
Not much either except Jimmy Fallon. And The Mindy Project (gawd I love her)!! The Golden Globes have given me some good ideas though.
Misc
-Acquiesse candles – really well made, great scents and not overpriced. Essenza carries them and I just found a few at Nordstrom Rack.
-The best part of Dec was my staycation days. We played several long board games like 7 Wonders and Terra Mystica while drinking wine.
-Speaking of wine… West Seattle Wine Cellars has a killer wine club – they select 6 bottles per month (2 white, 4 red) from all over the world, all varietals. You pay the same per month and the selection range from $10-30 per bottle. Highly recommend them for anyone in Seattle.
Wow so many coincidences here. – I just had the other tab open setting up a Goodreads account! And I was just looking into wine clubs this morning. That West Seattle one is a great deal.
Onto the rest…
Chie Mihara shoes are awesome and they will last a long time. They’re comfortable and you’ll get compliments on them for years and years. I approve of this purchase 🙂
Mindy is awesome.
I’m on a candle no-buy but I’m already making a list of stuff I’m going to buy. Isn’t that terrible?
If I moved to CA, I’d have to get rid of 99% of my clothes as they’re all such Seattle clothes that they would make no sense there. This is how I talk myself out of moving to CA.