elf shenanigans and more...

Hello lovelies! Let's get down to brass tacks here shall we. This month has been super busy (isn't everyones December? Rhetorical question...) 

I've been mailing out Christmas cards, attending concerts, baking (yes me actually baking!) shopping, decorating, getting together with girlfriends...all the usual poosual stuff.  But it's that busyness in combo with my addiction love of my new iPhone that's made me dump my home computer completely- the computer I blog from. 

I guess thats my excuse for spotty blogging but allow me to share what we at Casa Del "D" have been up to...

Note, all pics in this post have been taken by my beloved iPhone. I always wondered why people would post janky phone pics to their blogs. Now I understand, it's so fast, easy and yes lazy. I'll go back to my Nikon DSLR, someday...

{Last weekend I drove Kid #1 to Medicine Hat to visit my bestie Dana from high school and her 2 adorable kidlets}

{Kid #1 and his brother from another mother, Carter- building the best gingerbread house around, so they say}

{Dana and Carly doing what we girls do best (after the kids are in bed), drinking plenty of vino}

{Behold! 2011s "real" Christmas tree. Yes its real, as in it once lived in the ground}

Unless you've been living under a rock, any parent around could tell you that this years hottest toy, 'The Elf on the Shelf' is an absolute God-send and Mama finally got her hands on one. As explained in the children's book its sold with, the elf has magical powers and is a representative of Santa. Each night he flies back to the North Pole to report back to Santa all he's observed while spending the day in your home. Were the kids naughty or nice, either way he'll let the big guy in red know...

{ok, so that's not his tag-line but it is according to me!}

He's a mischievous little elf and the kids wake up every morning to find him in a new spot in the house getting up to all sorts of shenanigans. His magic seems to be working, I love this elf!

Check out what he's been up to...

{Just hangin' in the plant...}

{Relaxing with a beverage...flying to the North Pole can make an elf thirsty}

My kids are in Christmas countdown mode to the baby Jesus' arrival and I'll admit I'm really looking forward to spending some downtime with family.

My shopping is finito and I'm feeling pretty good, not fried yet anyway...hope you're all feeling the same!

Mashed potatoes and iPhones....

Happy December dolls! Can you believe Christmas is only 24 days away? 

 Since I decided to be "on the ball" this year and start my Christmas shopping early (as in September) I really don't have many more things to buy. This has left me with time to enjoy all the stuff I'm diggin' right now...the little things that make my day a bit better. 

This time of year I am obsessed with Glade's scented candles. The apple cinnamon scent is heaven on earth. What could smell better than baked apple pie? -sweet, spicy, delicious. Hea-ven.

Well hallelujah, Mama has finally entered the modern age and got herself an iPhone 4S. Needless to say I'm completely addicted. I did love my good ol' Crackberry but it was time to upgrade...and Siri is just plain awesomeness.

3 words. Lobster Mashed Potatoes. Yeah they're that good. I thought nothing could top lobster mac n' cheese but this could be a contender. 

Butter? check.

Garlic? check.

Boursin cheese? check.

Lobster? check check check.

Roaaaar. I am completely in love with infinite leopard print scarves. A great scarf can elevate any outfit, even jeans and a t-shirt. Not a day goes by where I don't throw on a cozy scarf and head out the door. 

Dark(er) lips. Ok, so it's taken me forever to come around to this but I'm finally feeling comfortable moving away from nude lips.  A bolder red or mauve lip is perfect for this time of year and I'm not sure why I shied away from this so much in the past. I suppose I was afraid of an overdone look since I like a bolder (smokey) eye. Well not anymore, bring on the colour!

This list of faves could have gone on for days but I had to narrow it down...there are only so many hours in a day to read blogs, am I right?
What are your December loves? Share the good stuff with us! 

Learn to love liquid liner....

Two years ago I stumbled upon a fabulous pen-style liquid eyeliner and it was love at first use.  After years of using traditional pencil liners as well as the click-up "automatic" liner, I dumped them both for my new bestie, 'felt' pen-style liquid liner. 

Admittedly I was intimidated by classic liquid liner because you need such a steady hand to apply it properly and unfortunately my hands are really shaky.

 I mean I'm super shaky...as bad a Lindsay Lohan on day 2 of 30 day rehab stint.  

And since liquid liner sets so quickly and the color is so dark, any mistakes you make (janky zig-zag lines) can quickly ruin your whole eye look and you have to start over...

{just say no to this mess in a bottle} 

This is where a pen-liner comes to the rescue. It offers the smooth, controlled application of a pencil liner without the goopy, unforgiving nature of the dip-in-liquid/cream with a tiny brush type of liner.

{some of my fave liners: Wet n' Wild Mega eyes, Smashbox Limitless Liquid Liner, NYX Liquid Liner in Dark Brown}

The line is clean, bold, and you can easily control the thickness of it from inner eye to outer eye. 

Want cat eyes or maybe a more subtle slightly winged look? A pen-liner makes it easy peasy and anyone can create a gorgeous look, it just takes a little practice.

Of course for the lower lash line I still rely on my traditional kohl pencil liners, but for the upper lash line you can't beat the finished look you achieve with a pen-liner. Perfection!

Check out mama-to-be Beyonce's look, her makeup is totally simple and clean- just a nude lip and some bold liner on the top. How easy is that? Very.

Just about every major drug-store brand of makeup has a pen-style liner so it's definitely worth a try. 

You'll never bother with messy liquid liner again...you can thank me later.   :)

images via google

End of an era...goodbye gel nails?

So after 12 long years Mama has decided to give up on gel nails. 

In 1999 at my first big-girl job straight out of university, all the women in the office had gel nails...they caught my eye instantly. They looked clean, professional and dare I say a bit glamorous?  I was hooked and have had a love-affair with nails for years now.  

I've always kept them short, square-oval shaped and simple (no Lady Gaga dagger shaped nails here).

However after 12 years of consecutive wear - as in I've never had them off, I've finally decided to take a break.

via

Will I go back to them? I'm not sure, they're hard to let go of. My own nails have always been pitiful. They're ridiculously soft and paper thin. As in the kind of nail that you can bend back and forth, peels and never really grows worth a darn. And no amount of strengthening top-coat would ever help, thanks for NOTHING Sally Hansen...

So last Saturday when I took them off (I was in desperate need of a fill anyway) I decided to let my own nails "breath."  It's a myth that gel or acrylic nails will wreck your own nails, if they're properly applied the nail underneath may grow a bit thinner but they won't be damaged. So now my natural naked little nails look fine. But it's not fine.

{Srsly Gaga, how do u get through the day with those...}

The problem is that I cannot function. I feel like I'm all thumbs! I miss the strength my gel nails had. They were like little tools to help open containers, scrape food residue off dishes that didn't come clean from the dishwasher (gross, I know) and I always felt my hands were strong and capable.

Not anymore.

Now my fingertips hurt, I can't open my eyeshadow palettes, can't get the lid off the coffee tin without it hurting. I could go on and on.  I suppose I'll adjust and my hands will "toughen up" with time but for now I'm dying! (First World Problem, I know...)

So what to do? Should I go back to dropping $35.00 for a fill every 4 weeks or should I put my gel nails behind me?  When you paint gel nails the color lasts forever, they always look polished and they make my fingers look longer and even thinner.

(maybe I'm delusional here?)

Gel nails, yay or nay? Speak!

Halloween hangover...

Halloween was fun fun fun this year! I swear I'll never outgrow it. Never. Here's some pics from last weekend. We went out Saturday nite for a drink or 6 and then on Monday night I took my little monsters out trick or treating. My sugar binge is finally over. I think my skinny jeans are crying right now.

{Avast ye matey! This pirate likes a party...argggg.}

{my God-daughter is the cutest cupcake, AND bunny around}

{super fun Halloween party at "Craft", love the John Cusack's character from Say Anything holding up the stereo over his head-with fake arms of course.  The Madhatter made her own costume including the hat, she won best costume of the night!}

______________________________________________________________________________

Onto the kiddos, I took them trick or treating in my parents neighborhood first...let's just say they made off with toys, full-size candy bars and left feeling like Halloween kings! (There's almost no kids in my parents neighborhood so our kids were treated extra special!)

Then of course we headed back home to raid our own neighborhood and then dove into the sugar stash they collected...

{Halloween extravaganza in my parents neighborhood...}

Hope you all had a fabulous Halloween, I'm looking forward to next year already!

Dancing Greeks and a Halloween Birthday...

Well hello there! It's been a few days since I've posted but in my defence it's because things have been busy-busy lately. LET me reiterate my love for this time of year...so many parties, events and things to get all involved in! We were invited to possibly the cutest ever birthday/Halloween party for a 2 year old. Her mama went all out to create a fun, kid friendly party with a Harry Potter wizard and witches theme. 

{there's a spider in the house...}

{these wizards and witches came to party...}

{ I die! This birthday girl was rocking her pearls, tutu and a sassy hat}

{Cheesecake "shots", mini-donut witch booms and custom cookies. Her mama has skillz!}

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Last Saturday night Husband and I joined up with 300 of our closest Greek friends to dance the night away in  honour of St. Demetrios. (A great saint if there ever was one!)  As always the wine brought on the dancing and the band played till 4:00 am- no big deal.

{self portrait time...why does drinking always make it seem like a great idea?}

{These Greeks got down to business,,,dancing, drinking, singing, drinking. Repeat.}

Alright all you witches and wizards, Halloween is only 3 days away. The count down is on and tomorrow night Mama is going out for drinks with the girls in full costume. Are you gonna get your BOO-on and go out this year? Don't tell me you're too old...you're never too old! 

Oktoberfest....

I'm really loving October and we've actually been having a fantastic fall this year (meaning the snow hasn't started, yet) and the colours and decent temperatures have me all into the season!

Thought I'd share some of my October faves with you...the stuff I've been using a lot and am currently diggin'...

{Finally I got my hands on the Wet n Wild 8 pan palette in Comfort Zone. It's the perfect combo of warm neutrals and olive tones. The pigmentation and quality is a-mazing. Srsly worth every inexpensive penny!}

{1. Maybelline Eye Studio Color Explosion in Amethyst Ablaze and Caffine Rush. I've never really been a fan of Maybelline eye shadows but like so many drug-store brands lately, they've really improved their quality. The application of this shadow is smooth and creamy and the color pay-off is fantastic. I'm beginning to think that my days of buying $15 MAC eyeshadows have come to an end...

2. Just in time for Halloween, orange Sally Hansen polish with a black crackle top-coat.

3. Lancome's newest mascara, Hypnose Doll Lash mascara. Like all of the Hypnose mascara's the application is impressive but the Doll Lash offers a more "wide-eye look with volumized, extended and lifted lashes."  I'm sold, who doesn't want to look like "a doll?!"

 {Ok, so since Captain Jack Sparrow arrived on the movie scene about 10 years ago, pirate costumes have had a serious renaissance and I'm ok with that. Now it's my turn to swashbuckle and plunder my way through Halloween this year.}

{Guten Tag! We survived yet another Oktoberfest at our pub. Older brother decided that on the last few weekends of October, our staff should suit up in lederhosen (the bartenders) and as beer maids (waitresses.) Kitschy? Yes. A huge success with our customers? YES!}

So how has your October been so far? What are your must have products or styles for your perfect fall looks?  

Are you a serious nerd keener like me and already have your Halloween costumes figured out (since September?) 

Thanksgiving indeed!

This weekend was Thanskgiving (here in Canada) and we took time to give thanks for all the good stuff by eating, relaxing, eating, spending time with family and eating some more. Three guesses as to who has a diet and cleanse in her immediate future...

But it's all good because a weekend filled with turkey, wine and good times is always worth it.

{Fall decor...wherever possible!} 

{Brother and dad -dinner at the parents}

{younger brother was a "turkey assassin" with all the wrong moves}

{older brother's best "Blue Steel" for the camera}

{Mom trying to get us to "eat more!"...as always}

{relaxing post dinner with the football game and more drinks}

Happy Thanksgiving long weekend to all my fellow Canadians...we have so much to be greatful for!