My Christmas Day 2016

Hey peeps!

As it was Christmas last Sunday, I thought I would share with you my Christmas day.

On Christmas morning I woke up at about 6am (because of my 14 year old brother) to see a bag full of presents on my floor. I grabbed my bag and went out to the tree to find more presents with my name on them (one from Mum and Dad, the other from Santa). First, I opened up my bag and rummaged around, pulling out all manner of different things. The first being a lamp (and light bulb that mum had sneakily bought in my presence) with a rose gold lamp shade. This will go on my desk once I’ve tidied it up a bit more. Next, I pulled out a rose gold compact mirror with diamantes on it. Then I pulled out some cleanser and an exfoliator thing (both from The Body Shop). Finally, I tipped the bag upside down and a small avalanche of chocolate coins fell out (and surprisingly, I still haven’t finished them).

I then moved on to the wrapped presents, starting with Santa’s. It was a Bluetooth speaker (ironically, not blue) with an Extra Base feature. I have tried it out on multiple occasions and I really enjoy the sound quality that the speaker emits, fyi. The second present under the tree was in a shoe box, and because Mum often uses shoe boxes as mock boxes I assumed that there was something else in the shoe box other than shoes (last time there was an iPhone 6S). I was wrong. There was a pair of white lo cut Converses in the box and I love them so much that I have worn them almost every day this past week.

We then went to the dining room where Mum was finishing up cooking breakfast. After a little while, breakfast was served. It was waffles with strawberries caramelised in maple syrup, and extra maple syrup for good measure. It. Was. So. Good. Oh, and did I mention there was ice cream as well? Best. Breakfast. Ever! We did Christmas crackers and told our crappy jokes and put on our paper hats (mine was green) and we had a jolly old time until we had to get ready to go to dad’s family’s Christmas.

When we got to where we were having dad’s family’s Christmas, we did a lot of waiting (we had got there a bit early). Once everyone was there, we did some catching up with everyone. Then we moved on to doing presents. My first present was from my dad’s aunty and uncle and it was Illuminae by Amie Kaufman. I am so excited to read this, but it is a massive book so I better get onto it quickly so I finish it before I go to uni (I’m not good at reading books while I have more important things to do). From another of my dad’s aunties I got a pink bag and a silver purse (which comes with a chain so I can carry it like a bag). The purse also came with $20 in it as well (thanks Aunty!). From my dad’s cousin’s family I got Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. This wasn’t on my list, but I really want to read as I have heard many good things about it. From my granddad and grandma I got two bags of Maltesers (which I have already eaten so I don’t have any pictures of them) and On the Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher. Maltesers are always welcome as a present and I can’t wait to read Carrie’s book!

After presents, we did Christmas lunch, which was made up of many salads and a variety of meats. It was all so yummy and I had a great time. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay for dessert because had to leave early to go home and set up for Christmas dinner with Mum’s family.

Once we got back home, we had half an hour to set up for Christmas dinner, which we did quite well I think! Everyone started arriving bearing gifts and food at about 3 o’clock, which we helped set up and put away. Then we did some chatting and catching up for a little bit before doing presents. My first present was from grandma and grandpa and it was Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon and a lovely phone case (which is already on my phone). From one of my aunties I got a white jumpsuit and a pair of rose gold sunglasses. From my other aunty I got the Maybelline Blushed Nudes palette and the same phone case that grandma got me (so I gave it back to her and she’s going to get me something else later on).

In case you were wondering, I was ready to go Boxing Day shopping.

Then we did talking for a little while longer until it was time for dinner. We had a whole array of different salads and meats (different from lunch) that were delicious. We did Christmas crackers, told our awful jokes, and wore our paper hats. Some of us decided to go for a walk to let our dinner settle before pudding. One of my aunties made a delicious chocolate pudding with chocolate sauce and custard. This was the first time we had it, but now we’ll have every year from now on – that’s how good it was.

So, overall I think it was a pretty good day.

How was your Christmas?

Love, Nicky x

A Brisbane Christmas

Hey peeps!

Today I am doing a collaboration post with Alisha from Pink Daisies, so make sure you check her post out once you've read my post (tell her I sent you!). Our collaboration is all about what we do in our cities in the holiday season, so today I'm going to tell you about all the fun activities to do in Brisbane over the holidays. We may not have snow in Brisbane (in fact, we often have quite the opposite! It reaches temperatures in the mid to high thirties a lot of the time, or about 95 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit), but we do Christmas quite well in my opinion! There’s plenty to do (and most of it is free, which is ALWAYS a bonus!).

The first thing you can do in Brisbane at Christmas time is drive around looking for Christmas lights! I love seeing all the houses in my neighbourhood (and city) light up to celebrate the festive season. There are some particularly good ones that start setting them up in September! I think there is an app you can use to find all the Christmas light displays near you (I highly recommend checking out the lights in Bald Hills and Bridgeman Downs).

Another thing you can do at Christmas time in Brisbane is doing your Christmas shopping in the Queen Street Mall. There are loads and loads of stores in which to buy the perfect gift for your friends and family. As I don’t have a job, I don’t really do Christmas shopping, but I do love shopping with my friends over the school break. There are plenty of sales going on, especially at this time of year. On the 26^th of December they have the Boxing Day sales which I go to with my mum and her sister. We have a lot of fun and get really great discounts on lots of things.

One of my favourite things to do in the city is go to Streets’ Beach. It isn’t an actual beach; it’s a man-made beach right next to the Brisbane River. It’s a great way to cool off without having to drive to the actual beach considering how hot in can get in Brisbane. Streets’ Beach is in South Bank, which has loads of shops, cafes, and restaurants nearby. My favourite one is Max Brenner’s Chocolate Bar, but it does get quite busy so get in there before the line gets too long!

Right next to the Queen Street Mall, there is King George Square. At King George Square, starting at 7pm up until Christmas, every 15 minutes there is a light show on the City Hall. This year there was a visual story projected up onto the City Hall which was an Australian take on a Christmas story. I went to the light show one year and it was really good. I think it is mostly for children so if you have any of those, I highly recommend the light show in King George Square.

Every year, starting at 7pm every night during December, there is a Christmas parade down the Queen Street Mall. It starts at the Edward Street end and finishes at the end of the Queen Street Mall. There are many Christmassy floats in the parade, including Santa (obviously), the three wise men, and reindeer. I have been to see the parade once as well. As I have gotten older and grown out of believing in Santa, the elves, et cetera, I haven’t really done many Christmassy things in the city. In saying that, I would highly recommend the Christmas parade for the younger folks.

That is my top five things to do in Brisbane city at Christmas time. Do check out Alisha’s post as well (linked up above). She lives in Oregon so she has a different experience of the holiday season.

What do you do in your city at Christmas time?

Love, Nicky x

PS: Merry Christmas (or whatever you celebrate)!

2016 Favourites!

Hey peeps!

As the year is coming to a close in two weeks (where did all that time go?!), I thought I would share with you what I have loved this year. This year has been a big one for me. I went through my last year of school and graduated at the end (woo!). There were lots of trials and tribulations throughout the year in the form of final assessments and formal (prom) and plenty of fun times. I just hope that my efforts were enough to get me into the uni course I want. I want to do a business degree or a creative writing course. They have been the things I have found fun in my last years of school, so I hope I get an OP that will get me into one of those. Anyway, here are my favourites from this year!

First up is a hand cream. It is from Crabtree & Evelyn London in Sugar & Spice. I have been using it sporadically throughout the year but I’ve started using it more frequently in recent weeks as it smells like Christmas in a hand cream. It is very cinnamon-y and sweet, which I like, especially around Christmas time, getting me into the Christmas spirit every time I moisturise my hands.

The next product I have loved in 2016 is from The Body Shop. It is their Shea Body Butter. I have mainly used this on my legs after getting out of the shower. I had very obvious stretch marks there for a while but after using this body butter, they have all but disappeared completely. You can still see them a bit, but overall it has increased my body confidence which is always a plus. I’m not particularly a fan of the scent, but I don’t mind it considering the confidence boost it gives me (and the fact that it comes in many other scents as well like Strawberry and Mango).

The next product is one that I got for my birthday. It is the Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid in Electric Pink. I have worn this whenever I’ve gone out to dinner or for a special occasion and it has never failed to make me feel so good about myself. I know that is a bit meh but it is the prettiest lip colour I have currently in my collection. Although it has a matte formula, it is quite moisturising and applies very well. In saying that, if you stuff up the application of it, it will be quite obvious due to the bright colour, but that can be easily fixed with a bit of concealer or makeup remover.

Last Christmas, I got a 3 year diary. I have used this every day (okay, so maybe I haven’t, but I’ve done my best), and I love it. I think it is a really great way of looking back on past years of filling in a diary. It asks questions like:

What did you have for lunch today? Was it good?
What three things would you take to a deserted island?
Who was the last person you called?

And I like that the questions are random and not something you would normally think about.

I read a book while I was at schoolies in late November that I really liked. It was The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (yes her first name is the same as mine, but that’s not why I like it). It is a love story about Natasha and Daniel. Natasha is an undocumented Jamaican girl who is trying to prevent her family from being deported. She sees things very logically and applies science to everything to make sense of things. Daniel is a Korean-American guy who has parents that are forcing him to be a doctor, despite his love for poetry. I can’t explain why I like this book but I really like it and if you like romances then you will probably like this book.

My final favourite is school. I’m really going to miss school, so it’s going to go in my favourites. I have loved every second of this school year. Yes, even the assessments. I am going to miss seeing my friends every day, I am going to miss going to the sports carnivals; I’m going to miss everything.

That is all of my favourites of this year. I hope you enjoyed it!

What were your favourites over the past year?

Love, Nicky x