Christmas Goodies, Christmas Blues

So, the Christmas recap.

It wasn't a super-exciting year to be me - I mostly received clothes and a few jewelry items as gifts.

First up, my dad purchased several of the Forever21 items I blogged about last week. I ordered them, but he wrapped them and put them under the tree. Sad, but true.

Next up: a few shirts. I got the open cardi on the left from LOFT - it was on final clearance so it must have been a fall item, but I've been wearing it a ton since Christmas. The purple shirt is from Target and this was the one clothing gift that my dad went to the store and picked out in person. I'm so proud. The last item is a shrit from J.Crew that my cousin picked out for me. I don't think anyone outside my immediate family has purchased clothing for me since I was a kid... so I was surprised by this one! It's very pretty (and sheer! holla at my bra - in this pic and the purple one too!), but I am a bit leery of the color... I don't do nudes well! However, I'm wearing it tomorrow because it is pretty and I love the necklace detail. Go cousin go!

I also picked up these shoes for myself (from my dad) at TJ Maxx. I love wedges but I'm not so sure how I feel about the purple color. I love purple, but this one is a wee bit brighter than I'm used to... but I'll probably always wear them with neutrals so it's probably fine.

Next up, a couple jewelry picks. My aunt bought me the necklace below from LOFT. I wouldn't have picked it for myself but it's definitely my style and I can't wait to wear it!


My dad's side of the family picked out these earrings for me. I love the gold and I love the pretty filigree shape (is it a filigree shape? It sounds right to me but I have no idea.). They're from Banana Republic and I'm kinda obsessed with them. I have one teeny-tiny issue with them though... they're really kinda heavy. And I am kind of afraid of having my earlobes stretch and rip (it happened to a friend of a friend in college!). So I'm considering seeing if Banana will let them exchange them. (See, I'm HORRIBLE at receiving gifts!)

My brother bought me 2 books from Amazon.... obviously I gave him a list because I have been wanting these two for a while now. Reviews to come!


And that was pretty much my Christmas. I also got cash from a few family members, but to be honest I'll probably stick it in the bank and not spend it on anything fun. Although now that I think about it I should buy myself something special. Though I am still unemployed.... *sigh*.

The day after Christmas my dad, brother and I drove by the outlet mall.... obviously we stopped. Banana Republic Outlet was having a fabulous sale - 50% off EVERYTHING, including sale. I almost bought a few dressy, work-type tops.. but seeing as I'm unemployed, I refrained. I picked up a plain, black 3/4 sleeve sweater that I'll be wearing all the time to my mall job.

And then I picked up this cute short-sleeve teal sweater on the clearance rack. You can't tell from this pic but it has a fabulous little bow right at the bottom of the V-neck. I couldn't resist.

And then I made a mistake at the Gap Outlet. I passed up on a cute little cardigan I fell in love with. It's a elbow-length sleeve v-neck cardigan sweater in a t-shirt material. It's long and would cover my bootay if I was wearing leggings - and it's a cute gray color. It was full price for about $23 and so I thought I shouldn't buy it... but I've been lusting for it since the moment I left the outlets. (Anybody live near a GAP Outlet and wanna do me a favor???)

Anyway, I'm feeling a wee bit let down by Christmas this year. It was my first year as a single girl in, oh, 6 years... and knowing that there were no sparkly surprises awaiting me under another tree was sad.

And for some reason this year I was feeling very bratty and deprived. There were no electronic gadgets or fun toys to play with. I know that my dad tends to be much more conservative with his money (read: he's cheap) than my mom would have been.... and I dunno. I'm not really going anywhere with this other than I'm just kinda sad. It would have definitely meant a lot to me to get something unexpected and a little special this year. Maybe healed my broken heart a tiny bit.

Then again, probably not. Toys do not equal happiness, right? Duh.

Either way, Christmas lost some of its magic this year.

I know that I'm lucky and blessed - I had time with family and friends and plenty of cute clothes and jewelry under the tree.

Maybe I've just got a case of the Post-Christmas Blues this year.

Did you all have a fun Christmas? Lots of good gifts? I need some excitement - tell me about your goodies!!