Holiday Magic!

This post is just a big mish mash of things that I've been wanting to write about but just haven't yet!  I thought about doing a "gift guide" but decided to share some of the things that I recently got that I think would make for great gifts!

I think you all know how obsessed I am with nail polish.  One of these days I'll show you my stash of polishes!  :)  Nicole by OPI sent me their Holiday Magic collection and I got it just in time for Christmas and had to share with those of you that are into festive nails as well.  I'm not the kind to do red and green nails but this collection was subtle enough for me to really love it and have been wearing it all week.

The colors from the collection are Kiss Me at Midnight, Bring on the Tinsel, Stuck in the Chimney and Spark My Misteltoe

Just a quick swatch of how the colors look on the nails.  The reds are very much up my alley.  They are both great for work, even the dark one!  It's not too "goth" dark and in the light it has some nice shine to it.  The glitters I'd definitely use as topcoats rather than on their own but I do like the subtlety of them that they are not too chunky of glitters and not too IN YOUR FACE kind of glitter either.

 

from left: Stuck in the Chimney, Kiss Me at Midnight, Bring on the Tinsel and Spark My Mistletoe.  Bottle: Stuck in the Chimney

I've been wearing this combo all week.  I love how these two look together!

 

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{Nail polishes were provided by Nicole by OPI PR for my consideration but do not affect my opinions or review}

On another note, it really has felt like "holiday magic" at my place lately.  Every day I've been getting such awesome presents and I recently received a little (actually big!) surprise from the Microsoft Windows Phone PR team (thank you Nadine!).  They sent me the HTC HD7 - Windows Phone 7 along with a bunch of goodies!!  I'm such a lucky girl!  I <3 my iPhone but after playing with this phone, I am in love!

As you can see the screen is bigger than my iPhone 4 which is a great bonus when reading websites and blogs.  I've been having fun downloading apps and playing around with all the features.  It was SO easy setting up my emails which is essential for me because I hate things that take a long time to set up.  One of the neatest features is you can set up your home screen with "tiles" and it can even include "live tiles" of your family and friends and when you click on it, it will bring you to their contact info (SO easy to find than an address book) as well as any of their latest facebook updates and photos that they've uploaded.  The social part of this phone is probably the best and most unique thing that I've come across with phones.  I've never had an easier time staying in touch with my family and friends.

Oh and I'm sure you know I'm an avid picture taker on my phone like a lot of us these days.  I LOVE that this phone has a dedicated camera button so I never have to unlock the phone and click on the camera button and wait for the camera to start to take a picture.  I mean a lot of times you just want to take a quick snap and this phone is perfect for that.  I <3 it and plan on switching phones every once in awhile (actually I might carry both in my purse!)  I'm now one of those geeks with 2 phones :)  Thank you so much to the Microsoft Windows team!!

{Windows Phone 7 was provided by Microsoft Windows PR.  They did not ask me to review or write about it on my blog but I love the phone and my opinions expressed are of my own.}

And lastly, I've always loved coffee table books and photography books and when National Geographic sent me their Simply Beautiful Photographs for review, I knew that I would love it even before I got it!  I'm a huge fan of National Geographic and have had a subscription forever.  Admist my hundreds of fashion magazine subscriptions, I get so excited when National Geographic comes in the mail.  The photographs are so inspiring as are the articles.   I learn so much every time I read my Nat Geo!  For coffee table books I don't read them cover to cover but I like to thumb through them and I love that I can find a beautiful image each time I thumb through this book.  Most photobooks like this cost so much money and I don't like to spend that much on something that's just going to sit on my coffee table but at $35, this one is super affordable and definitely would make for a great gift for someone that loves photography!

{Simply Beautiful Photographs was provided by PR for my consideration but do not affect my opinions or review}

A book that I recently bought that I LOVE is The Ellements of Personal Style.  I love looking at and reading about celebrities style and home decor so this book is absolutely perfect for me.  I actually bought it to give to my sister for her birthday and then when I started looking through it, I wanted one for myself so I bought 2.  The pictures are gorgeous and love the write ups for all the celebs that they feature. 

I definitely recommend checking out this book!  I always like finding new photo books, do any of you have recommendations?  I'd love to know!

*Please see my disclosure on product reviews/gifts from companies*