Christmas Wishlist

Sorry about last week, it was a little crazy and I wasn't able to get a third blog post up. On Friday I worked a double shift at work and ended up staying until 8:00 pm, by the time I got home blogging was the last thing on my mind so this week you will get an extra post! Today I am posting my Christmas wishlist, on this list I have items that are $5.00 up to $170.00, so if you are looking to get me a gift, or anyone else a gift within this price range this is for you.

1. Maurices Sweater Dress found HERE $54.00: I would love to get a great holiday sweater dress, pair this with leggings, a red scarf, and boots and you are good to go for any party. This would be a perfect all around gift.

2. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette found HERE $58.00: A total luxury item that I would absolutely adore. I have other hourglass powders and I love them. I know I would wear these colors all the time and any beauty lover would enjoy these.

3 & 4. Where Beauty Lies and Beneath the Glitter found Here $14.54 & $7.50: I would need the hardcover versions because I am a book collector. I love books and I love reading. These books are probably full of fluff and nonsensical jargon which will totally melt my brain but I think they would be a fun read. The authors have YouTube channels which I have watched on occasion. Again a great gift for beauty lovers.

5. A nice pair of black tights from Target found HERE $5.00 - $6.00. Tights are a great addition to any outfit in the winter time and I know that I would get a lot of use out of these during the colder months. Especially on Sundays for church.

6. Urban Decay Naked On The Run Palette found HERE $54.00: This is a great purchase. It includes mascara, eye liner, lip gloss, 6 eye shadows, a blush and a bronzer. This is great value for your money and perfect for traveling, you can get an entire look with this one palette. It's very versatile and makes a great gift for beauty lovers.

7. Harry Potter hardcover box set found HERE  $117.00:  A total splurge item but I would love to own the entire set. I will forever love Harry Potter, the first book was published in 1998 when I was 10 and the last book was published in 2007 when I was 19.  The books are an iconic part of my childhood and I would love to get a set.

8 & 9. This blouse and sequin shirt can be found HERE for $78.00: The cutest outfit ever and Maurices is one of my favorite stores. I feel that I could wear this all winter long, that sequin skirt is to die for, I'm in love.

10. Girl Online. This book can be found HERE for $11.12. Another book written by a You Tuber but I heard that it's really good. It seems like a cute plot line and a light fun read. I would love to get this.

11. Slippers. These are ugg slippers and I don't necessarily need these ones I just need slippers. I would love cute ones that are also functional, cozy and warm.

12. Hot Cocoa Mug. Found HERE at Target for $24.99. I love Hot Cocoa. I have an entire pin board on Pinterest dedicated to hot cocoa. These mugs are so cute and would just make me smile.

13. Malm bed frame from Ikea found HERE for $179.99. I am going to start to update my master bedroom little by little and this would be the first start. I really like this bed frame and I could work a lot of great designs into the room with a piece like this.

There you have it, my wishlist for this year. Hopefully you got some great ideas for other people in your life. This post was just for fun and if I don't get anything from this list I wont be disappointed at all, besides Christmas isn't about just the gifts.
XO
Caitlin

Merry & Bright > Christmas with the Holladay's

This year was so much fun. It all starts Christmas eve for Zack & I, and I feel like it will continue on into the new year. The partying and family time just keeps getting better.

My mom has claimed Christmas Eve will always be a celebration at my parents house. We went over there around 4:00 Christmas Eve and had a great time chatting with my parents and my 3 sisters. I have one sister who is in El Salvador this year (who we got to talk to-- more on that later) so it was just us four girls and my husband. The evening started out with some potatoes, peas, and white sauce (we have this meal EVERY Christmas eve, since I was little and it is so special because my mom only makes it once a year). We also had rolls, and party punch (a drink my family made up with cranberry sauce and sprite, really good). After dinner we moved onto the next event which was the talent show. Jenna and Rachel (my two youngest sisters) played a piano duet, then Cassidy showed off her self timer skills with the iphone camera for her talent My husband represented our family and juggled some apples he found in the kitchen. Cassidy took this picture of everyone during her "talent"

Next we put on the Natvitiy, there are a lot of boy roles in the Nativity story from the New Testament so we had to improvise:

Jenna played Mary. 

Rachel played the angels.

Cassidy played Joseph

I played the shepard and the sheep

Zack played the wise man

After the nativity my sisters unwrapped their Christmas pajamas and my dad read us the Polar Express (also a tradition we have done every Christmas Eve). 

Zack and I went home around 9:00 pm and opened our own Christmas pajamas up, then we went to bed. 

Christmas day we spent a few hours unwrapping gifts and enjoying our presents. I found this little beauty in my stocking:

It's a Green Amethyst stone accented with diamonds! I feel in love with it. My husband said he had a connection with Santa and knew that I would love it. He was right. 

After presents we went to my in-laws house for Omelets and to spend Christmas morning with them. 

John, Rose and Zack doing the "Sasquatch pose"... I have no idea what brought this on. 

My lovely husband, making me laugh right before the photo is taken. He always knows how to put a smile on my face. 

After breakfast with my in-laws we went to my aunts house to spend Christmas day with my family. 

My Grandma decided she wanted to have a dance party so they showed us all up with their amazing dancing skills. It was so cute to watch, my Grandpa was really a pretty good dancer. 

We played some white elephant bingo! My cousin Blake is wearing her present on her head. 

We talked to Tori on Skype. She is the one in El Salvador on her mission. It was so great, she looked even more beautiful then the day she left and she was so happy. She was just beaming from ear to ear and she couldn't remember how to say some words in English. It was fun to watch and see how much Spanish she knew after only living there for 4 months. 

Overall it was such a fun Christmas day and we were so blessed by everyone who gave us wonderful gifts. 

We are going to St. George tomorrow for a little family vacation with my in-laws, it should be a lot of fun. 

I am excited to get some warm weather and hopefully sunshine as well. Utah December's are not very good, not a lot of sun so the trip will be welcoming. 

Well I hope everyone's Christmas was wonderful. 

XO

Caitlin

Christmas Games

Zack and I have some fun news (no we aren't pregnant). We just got an assignment in our church to teach the 9 turning 10 year olds. We are really excited for this opportunity and think that it will be a lot of fun. Of course teaching 9 year olds for 60 minutes is a lot to take on. Their attention spans don't last that long so I am coming up with some creative outlets to use during class. Keep in mind it is church so I want to keep it focused on the Savior. For a fun Christmas activity we thought this game would be great to get their minds rolling. 

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Can you guess some of the answers? 

Or I thought that LDS Christmas bingo might be fun:

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And I could never forget some good LDS Christmas coloring work sheets. 

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These are just a few of the ideas I saw on Pinterest that I thought I could use with the kids in our class, maybe as an activity before the spiritual lesson, etc. 

Hopefully they will like it and if you have a few Christmas parties coming up you can use these ideas for your families and friends. 

Now its back to studying for finals. I have one paper, and two tests to go and then I am done for the year. Very exciting stuff. 

XO

Caitlin