12 Days of Christmas - Day 12

I always struggle toward the end of my list - with just one post left, it's hard to decide what's the BEST thing to ask for, you know?

Tonight I came across this amazing garden stool. While yard work will likely never be my favorite thing to do, I do like spending a pleasant afternoon now and then in the spring pulling the weeds by my front porch. Then spend the rest of the afternoon watching my hummingbirds and reading a book on the porch, while feeling a little less guilty about all the weeds ;). For $37.99, I think this stool (good for sitting close to the ground, or flipped over for a surface to kneel on) would be quite handy.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 11

I love this perfume. There. I've said it.

I got it years ago, and then didn't get it because it's expensive. And then I tried something else. It was $50, and it gave me an instant headache. Obviously because of something in it. But now I don't want to try anything else again.

I want Versace Bright Crystal. I don't wear perfume at all in the kitchen, and that's where I start most of my days, so I imagine I don't go through it as fast as some people would. But I've gone through the bottle I started with, and I'd like some more. Since we're here to talk about things I'd like to receive ;)

12 Days of Christmas - Day 10

I think this is a forever classic on my holiday wish lists. I always need new eyeliner. LOL I wear very little make-up, but for me that usually means powder, eyeliner, and mascara. I tried lipstick for a while, but I talk too much, and the 'long last' ones tended to feel or taste terrible. So the eyes have it ;)

My favorites are Make-Up Forever Aqua XL Waterproof Eyeliner, or Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil. They're usually a little more than $20 each. I prefer a black or dark grey first, but then I can always have a little fun with any other dark color. I linked to them at Sephora.com, but I'm sure they're available at other places as well.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 9

Along the same lines with my stadium chair from a few days ago, I could also totally use a comfy and very portable chair for setting up by our prep area (where we have our costumes hanging, and accessories, and changing tent...).

I found this chair on Amazon for $48.14. I like that it has a shoulder bag for carrying it, a cup-holder, and NO foot rest. We have one chair I'm trying to rip the foot rest off of - there's no room for it and it ends up tripping people.

I really don't care what color or anything like that. Armrests are nice, and a cloth seat is comfy. Luckily we got a little stool with the new garment bag/costume storage, but it's little, and hard.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 8

I got a few pairs of these from hubs a couple years ago and LOVE them. I promise I'm not an athlete by any means, but these wool compression socks by SmartWool feel so good on my feet! He used to get a discount from some ski supplier, but said that ended. The socks are $35.95/pair, but the ones I've had are now a few years old already. It's worth it to me to have more.

These are the sunflower pattern (there's also a cool hex pattern), but my socks really don't show much. I need a women's size medium, but I'm not picky about the pattern.

Edited to add: I just saw a Facebook pop-up (stalkers are always listening!!) for Bombas socks. They've got women's compression socks for just $18 for one pair. These might be worth a try! Anyone know?

12 Days of Christmas - Day 7

Besides reading, I enjoy working on my counted cross-stitch. I'd like to do it more, but mid-morning is kind of the prime light time for me to work on it. Perhaps if I had something like this lighted magnifier (on sale now for $19.59, but possibly available at Amazon or Jo-Anns as well), I'd do it a bit more. There are some cool floor models too, but they're pretty pricey. I used to have a magnifier (without a light) that hung around my neck like this one would, but magnifier and light sounds like a real game-changer.

Right now I'm working on a random project with three cute owls, but I've seen some cute free patterns online I'd like to try. I'm not much for multi-tasking something like these though, so anything else will wait til my owls are done.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 6

I hope you all know that making this list is harder than it looks!

Today I got to thinking about all the competitions I attend with the kids, and in a couple of years, it'll be a bunch of football games too! One of the gift-buying guides I saw recommended this as the top-rated stadium chairs. It's padded, compact to carry, and has different recline positions. At only $30.99 each, I think it looks like something I should try. I would prefer it in black. On the front of the right armrest is a cup holder - cool, right?

Maggie and I attended exactly one high school football game this year. All right - all we stayed for was the marching band pre-game show. But that was long enough to know that bleachers are HARD and COLD. Ugh. A comfy seat is surely a necessity if I plan to keep cheering my kids on through their baton twirling careers.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 5

Every year I put a new hoodie sweatshirt or two on my list. I like being a little surprised with gifts, of course, even if I like giving specific ideas. Here are three different hoodie designs from SnorgTees that I thought looked fun. I think I'd wear a size L in any of these, and I like the colors they did their samples on. The prices seem to be changing pretty frequently, but they're usually $32 - $40 each.

Hoodies are seriously a mainstay of my fall/winter/early spring wardrobe. If you've read more than a couple posts on my blog - especially this time of year - you'll know I'm usually cold. Hoodies are one of my favorite snuggle accessories. 

12 Days of Christmas - Day 4

This is a classic that has been on my list for YEARS. These fantastic cooling racks are about the same size as my baking sheets, but I only have one. My cookies and such are never cool enough to put away before the next sheet is done baking. Help!

The Pampered Chef designed these to actually be stackable, and I'd love to have a couple more (on sale now for $32 each) so I can stack them with the one I've already got.

A lot of things are on my list for a few years, then I finally buy them for myself. Somehow the cooling racks are something I crave most leading up to the holidays (prime baking time), and then never end up getting anyway. But I still want them!

So far this year I've only made some chocolate chip cookies, but oatmeal scotchies are the usual favorite around here. I also love the spritz cookies with the fancy lil cookie press. I got extra flour, sugar, brown sugar and butter at the grocery store this week - I'm just about ready to bake again!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 3

So if you read yesterday's post, you may have seen where I mentioned that I have only brown boots (and even those are a little rough for the wear). My black ones? The sole fell off at my first Halloween event this year. So sad! I really, really need new black boots. I've been filling in with tall pair of Doc Martens that I've had for like 30 years, but they're heavy, and take me a long time to lace up.

Something like these from Zappo's look perfect. My new boots should be black, leather, size 8.5, zip-up, and no measurable heel. I'd actually like a little texture to help me walk on ice/snow, but my old ones were smooth, so obviously I'd live ;)

My old ones were a holiday gift from hubs and Maggie wayyy back before Jack was born. I loved those old boots, and they lasted a good, long time. Now it's time for a new pair for the next 10 years or so, right?

12 Days of Christmas - Day 2

This is something I NEED periodically. I have two dresses that would go well with either dark brown leggings, or dark brown tights. These fleece-lined tights from Berkshire on Amazon for $14 look super perfect! There's even a 'tall' on the size chart. I have long legs. So while I don't need these specific ones, they sure do sound right.

I used to have lots of leggings from LuLaRoe. A pair of their one-size dark brown leggings would be fine, but I don't (ever) feel like paging through a consultant's page to see what they have. Shopping isn't usually a hobby for me, as much as a necessity from time to time.

The dresses are both blue-ish, with some brown in their prints. I don't like wearing black tights with them, but usually do anyway. I also don't have black boots, so I'd like to have tights/leggings that will match the boots I currently have for now. So dark brown it is.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 1

Welcome to my amusing little version of the 12 Days of Christmas. I use the first 12 days of December to actually focus and think about what I would like to receive as a gift, since a few people soon will ask me, "What do you want for Christmas?" I'm here to make it easy for you ;)

In looking back at old blog posts, it looks like this is actually my TENTH year listing out my own 12 Days of Christmas. I usually get a few things off the list, but I do like to think they make gift buying for me a little less of a guessing game.

On to the fun items I've found and decided I'd like to have:

I saw this little gem by the magazines at our local Meijer department store. I tried to search it up online, but only found similar ones - I've already looked at this one and know it looks so fun! Seriously - take this picture with you to Meijer. This is the 2020 version, and it has a mindfulness activity for each week, and some journaling-prompt style questions. I would love to try and take some time to myself each week to focus on stuff like this.

I would be delighted to see this in my holiday stocking, or under the tree on Christmas morning. It looks like the price label says $13.99. This is actually one of those things I might go back and find if I haven't received it by the end of the year. I do love to give myself a little treat, if someone else doesn't beat me to it ;)