Maegan Mariee | Thoughts & Lifestyle

So Blogmas... remember that thing that I said I was going to do? I failed so hard at it. It's a lot harder than it looks to keep up with a post every day for twenty-four days. Oh well, next year is my next chance. I should have known that I would get caught up in all the Christmas madness. In fact, I was still Christmas shopping on the twenty-sixth! A day in the life of a procrastinator. Thankfully, I managed to get things for my family on time for the big day, so I didn't completely fail there.

Everyone around this time is setting up their New Years resolutions. And most of the time, it's people wanting to get in better shape or do better at their job. I don't have anything against resolutions and the ones who choose to make one. Personally, I don't set a certain one thing down for myself. I always have a small list of a couple of things that I'd like to do and if I at least get something done on it, I don't feel like such a failure at it. I think that's the problem with New Years resolutions. Most only set out to do this one, giant thing and feel bad when they don't get it accomplished. Baby resolutions, that's the trick! For me anyway, haha.

So this year, I have a couple of things I'd like to do. If you've been reading my blog, you'll know that I'm in a temporary living situation (a bad one) and I need a new car. You'll also know that my Macbook Pro is eating itself, so I need to get that fixed. The list is a little lengthy this year, as I'd like to get all of these accomplished and more.

1. New car
2. New apartment/house
3. Fix the Mac!
4. Get married
5. Write more

I'm also engaged, for those of you who are wondering about number four. I've been so behind on planning that it'll be a miracle if we can get everything laid out for the date that we want. That one will probably be the toughest out of all of them. I'm a terrible planner. Number five is something that I really want to focus on, personally. Not only do I want to write more here and on Glossyfinds, I want to do more of my RPG writing and book writing. I've never gone deep into my RPG writing, so some of you may not know what it is... basically, I write stories with friends online. That's the short explanation, anyway. Maybe one day I'll get more detailed. I also have a few ideas for a book or two that I'd like to get down on paper (or in Word, you know, whatever), so there's that mess.

Hopefully, I can sit myself down and crack all of these gems out!
What would you like to accomplish in the new year?
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So I've basically decided that I have completely failed at Blogmas. My excuse is that I've never attempted it before so something was bound to go wrong. However,  I think that's a lame excuse so I'm just going to have to deem this a fail. I'm still going to keep posting until Christmas Eve like I hadn't missed a bunch of days though, so there's that to look forward too. Haha. So for this post, I'm just going to post a couple pictures from this past weekend, when I had my company Christmas party in Boston. I also made chocolate candy cane pops, though I think I forgot those pictures today. Ugh.

What have you been doing the last few days to get ready for Christmas?

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So technically, today is supposed to be blogmas day 18, but I've just had so much going on at work and at home that I've had absolutely no idea what to write about. I'm super behind on my Christmas shopping and I haven't even begun wrapping ANYTHING yet. I'm such a terrible person when it comes to this. I'm one of those people that says they're going to get their shopping done early and then wait until the last minute. Most of it has to do with not having the money to do the shopping, but I suppose it's still the same thing, in retrospect. And not having a car is making everything so much harder on my end. And no phone. Gotta fix that pronto. Anyway, I'm not going to fill in too much information on what I've been doing the last couple of days, as I'm going to try and space that into two more posts to catch up proper.

But I can tell you that it's been really nuts at work. I was sent a long list of things I need to do before the end of the year and it's been taking up most of my time, as most of the things needed to be done by the end of this week. Yikes! Tomorrow (the 19th! Ugh.) I have my company Christmas party, which should be fun. I've never really had a proper work party and I'm actually really excited about this one. I don't get out much, because you know... money, and this is pretty much an all expenses paid night out. My fiance and I are going to be spending the night at a hotel in Boston as well, so it's going to be a nice weekend getaway from the hell that we're living in currently.

And to fill up the rest of the weekend, we're going to be going to my mum's for a night. So that's one thing to look forward too blog wise; Christmas cooking! We're going to be making cookies and I got some candy canes and chocolate to make Christmas pops with. I might actually be able to get some wrapping done as all of my mail goes there anyway! Actually, part of my black Friday shopping was for me, whoops, and I managed to snag a copy of The Sims 4 $30 cheaper than what it usually is. That might also have been taking up some of my time. Sorry guys, I'm such a nerd for the game, I can't help it!

On top of all of that mess, I've been writing for a website called Glossyfinds! They're really nice over there and have been so patient with my writing schedules. Which is actually non-existent at the moment, that's something I need to improve on, haha. Anyway, to pass the time while you wait for me to get my life together and catch up on posting here, you should take a peak at what I've been writing for them! It's all about beauty and your lifestyle. You can find me at this link here: CLICK

How far behind have you fallen this season?
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I've never been skilled at painting my nails and getting awesome designs on them. Unless I went to a nail salon, but that's something I don't really have the money to do right now. I'd rather use that cash on other things. But as it's Christmas, I wanted to do something that would seem a little cheery and in the festive spirit, though I've stuck to my main go-to of simple and really, really easy. So easy that you could recreate this in a second. A monkey could recreate this. So... anyway, here's what I've done.

I used the Mint Green polish from ELF and a shimmery gold from Bongo. Two coats each with a clear top. Pretty simple but that about does it for me when it comes to painting my nails. I just can't be bothered most of the time. However, I was just sent some lovely shades and I'm going to try and create something awesome for Christmas. Wish me luck! I'm definitely going to need it.

What do you do with your nails around Christmas time?

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Two days in one post! You might have thought I was slacking, however, Saturday I didn't have much going on and therefore really had nothing of interest to show you. I literally just caught up on sleep all day. Pretty sure I slept for 14 hours. haha.

Sunday my close friends and I went out to celebrate a birthday. Rather belated, but it was a birthday celebration nonetheless. We took her to go see Mockingjay which she loved, no surprise there. xD Then a quick lunch/dinner mixed with a little shopping and that was the whole day. Surprisingly, that took all day! I wasn't expecting the movie to be two hours long, though they did a good job on it. I really do wish these film companies would stop cutting the last book on whatever movie they're making into two parts. I know it's all about the money and junk, but... really? Is that necessary? I just find it super annoying. But, anyway.

I'm really excited for this weekend! We're having a Christmas party at work on Friday and my fiance and I are getting a hotel room to stay in for the night. Some time away from our crappy living situation should be just what we need to relax a little. And I'm hoping I may even get to spend some time with my mother this weekend as well. But we'll have to see how that goes. Having no car to get from one place to the other is difficult, though when my taxes come in I'm hoping that'll fix that problem. It would definitely be nice to be able to drive to wherever I need to go again. I kind of feel like a caged bird right now, not being able to go anywhere without asking for my grandmother's truck on the weekends. Ugh, it's rough. January can not come fast enough.

When we were out the other day I got some more Christmas shopping out of the way, though I still have a few more people to shop for. And of course I found the cutest tumbler with elephants on it, so I had to grab that for myself. Do not judge me. And don't worry, all my bills were paid for the month before this shopping endeavor. I'm hoping to get some extra shopping done in Boston this weekend since we're going to be in the area. I know Newbury street is going to be crazy, but the shops on that road are ridiculous and I need to go to some of them. I only hope some people know that their gifts might come after Christmas, though I know they won't mind. That's just how things go, right? And anyways, as long as it's before New Year's I don't think it's such a big deal.

What have you got going on this week?
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Santa, this year has had more than it's fair share of downs. Like, a lot of downs. There's been very few ups. Negative ups. So with this little wishlist, I'm going to hope that you give me one thing from it, as through all of these bad things happening, I've been very good and handling it well. Aside from the panic attack here and there. Please ignore those as I try to.

1. A car - So that thing happened and now I don't have a car anymore. This is the most important thing on my list. (See how it's number one?) I'd really break down in happy tears if you could dump this off at the front door, registered and everything. I'll be happy with whatever color you choose. (Just please, no red!)

2. An apartment/house - Okay, so I know it seems like I'm asking for pricier things, but I wouldn't ask if I wasn't totally in need of them! My living situation is temporary and it would relieve so much stress if I could get a new place ASAP. Maybe even before Christmas? (Sneaky.) I've always wanted a loft apartment, they just seem so cozy and they let in crazy amounts of light! But any place that's clean and is in a nice neighborhood will do. (They must allow cats!)

3. Hairdryer - I'm in love with rose gold, as you may know, Santa. And this little beaut is perfect for me. And it has Keratin technology! How fancy!

4. Camera - My current camera dates back to the days of Myspace. My blog deserves high quality photos! So please, a Canon EOS 600D please? Pretty please?

5. Adventure Time - All the seasons. Because I like to binge watch and Netflix doesn't have it's act together and only has ONE SEASON. wth?!

6. Instax Mini 8 - I would love to hang photos around my house without having to print them at home or through a store. These are cute and INSTANT. White only please!

Was that going overboard? Anything off of this list would be appreciated, but you know, the things that make life easier? Those are the important ones. I can always buy the other things for myself. Be good to me this year Santa, or the cookies will burn.

Sincerely, Maegan

Haha I saw a few other bloggers do this and thought it would be cute. I haven't made a Christmas wishlist in so long and it was kind of fun writing to Santa again. Long live the inner five year old!

What did you ask Santa for this year?
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In sixth grade, I turned to my friend Stephanie and said 'I hate Christmas shopping.' She promptly made me a Christmas card that I still have that says 'You only have to do it once a year!' But it didn't change my opinion on it and to this day, I absolutely hate Christmas shopping. I hate everything about it. Making the list of people that you need to buy for, saving up money while still paying your bills, and then there's actually going into the stores filled with people everywhere who are trying to get the same things you are. And then they stand in your way or walk too slow or some walk too fast. Don't get me wrong, I know that this is basically just like every other shopping trip. The people are the same. BUT THEY"RE NOT. They're a million times worse. Pair that up with claustrophobia and anxiety and you're in the worst place possible.

I like wrapping the gifts and giving them to my loved ones, of course. It's why I always go all out when wrapping gifts. But the action of going out to purchase the gifts really bothers me. Typically, I'll do all of my gift shopping online because you don't have to deal with any third person, aside from the people delivering it to your home. The down side is the shipping, but it just relieves so much stress for me. Hopefully I'm not alone here. Not to mention how exhausted you get just thinking about what you have to do. It all just becomes so overwhelming sometimes that I hate to even think about it. And with not having an actual permanent place to celebrate this year, it's been even worse. I've been trying to make the best of everything, but sometimes you need to sit down and have a little cry. It instantly makes me feel better, like I've recharged a bit. Anyway, I know this was a short post and rather off of the holiday spirit track, but I absolutely needed to get it off my chest, seeing as I've been feeling the Christmas pressure lately.

How do you feel about the holidays?
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Every time I go shopping, I have to stop in Bath and Body Works. I love their candles and the hand sanitizers... don't get me started. I got a lovely little arrangement of them for the holiday and I'm super excited to use every single one!

I picked up Snow Kissed Berry, Twisted Peppermint, Vanilla Bean Noel, Winter Cranberry, and Sugar Plum Dream. I'm currently using the sugar plum one and you can smell this thing for miles, I'm not lying. But it's such a lovely smell. The other thing I grabbed was a candle that I've been looking for for a while.

It's the Evergreen candle! I love loVE LOVE the smell of pine trees around Christmas time and since we don't have an actual tree, this kind of fills the void. Though I haven't lit it yet. I want to preserve it for as long as possible!

What do you love from Bath & Body Works?

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As some of you know, I'm in a temporary living situation right now. So that means that I can't exactly have a regular Christmas tree. Which is super sad because last year my fiance and I had a nice apartment and had our first Christmas tree together. We decorated the entire apartment. It was so nice just to have something that was completely ours. And now we're so far away from that. But I've been trying to make the best of things and this is what I have set up right now.

Like I mentioned in my last post Getting Stocked Up, I'm pretty much obsessed with stags and reindeers. I found this gem at Target. It's completely white but I took the liberty of painting it's antlers rose gold since I had some paint lying around. I thought it gave it a nice little sparkle for the holiday.

My little tree. It cost me all of five dollars but I suppose it's serving it's purpose for now. The angel clearly takes up most of the tree and I was able to hang a couple of my favorite baubles on it, though it's nothing like how I would want it. Better than nothing though!

And last but not least, my stocking. I've had it since I was a toddler, so yes, that's Snuffy from Sesame Street. :) I still love it. And yes, it's hanging on an Adventure Time calendar. And that's all I have! I can't really hang any lights or anything because the last thing I want is to blow a fuse, which is entirely possible at this place, so no pretty glows :(

How did you decorate for the holidays?

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Once I think I've caught up, I fall behind again. Sorry this one is late! I realized that I hadn't taken any pictures for you of my current wrappings and thought it would be rather silly to tell you about my Christmas gift supplies without any visuals to show you. Because let's be honest, I couldn't describe them properly. They look much better than how I could describe. Anyway!

So... if you hadn't noticed I'm very into reindeer's and stags and deers. I've been obsessed with them for a little while now, so when I found these adorable bags at Target, I had to get them. And they were only a dollar, so there was no shame! I don't think you should pay more than two dollars for a gift bag, honestly. Also at Target, (pretty much everything in the picture) were matching gift tags, though they're kind of hidden behind the cards, which I obviously didn't notice until right this second. Ugh. (All of these items were in the dollar section, by the way. Complete bargains!) I got two packs of index greeting cards. One that says hello in pretty gold writing on top of a coral-y pink background and a white and gold striped one. They are both blank inside so you can write whatever you want. They'll be good for plenty of other things, not just Christmas. The wrapping paper there is just a tan color with some black square spots here and there in different sizes. The last thing in the photo here is a reindeer tree ornament made out of styrofoam. It's super light weight and it would be on my tree right now if it wasn't half the size of it. xD I got him for three dollars at Five Below.

I don't have many people to shop for this year, so I'm thinking that this might be enough for everyone on my list. Though I'm not excited about giving out those pretty bags. : (

Do you have everything ready for your gift wrapping?

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My second installment about books! So exciting. I could probably do these kinds of posts once a week, I go through books too fast. This month I'm giving you Palo Alto, a diamond in the rough that I found while browsing through Barnes and Noble. And, the highly talked about Girl Online, which I guess has been getting some flack or something on the internet. Figures.

Palo Alto is by James Franco, which I admit, is the number one reason I picked it up. It's a collection of short stories of teens living in Palo Alto, California and all the crazy things that they get up too. But this is definitely not a book for kids. I find it hard to believe that these are drawn from real life people that he had known, but I suppose crazier things have been done. Drugs, sex, alcohol, hit and runs, this book has just about every crime in there that you can think of. But I think it's incredibly raw and real and that's why I like it. James Franco didn't sugar coat anything with these stories and it made it so much more enjoyable. And apparently it's a movie too, with Emma Roberts and Nat Wolfe. Once I finish, I'm definitely going to watch it.

Girl Online is by Zoe Sugg, aka Zoella, for those of you that know her by her blogger/vlogger/youtuber name. I will be the first to admit... I've been watching Zoe for about three years. I was never friends with a lot of girls that were into make up and shopping like I was, so watching her and having something in common was nice. Like a friend on the internet. This book follows a girl blogger whose gone completely anonymous, allowing her to post whatever she wants without people judging her at her high school. Which I think it a totally cute idea. I won't go too into detail and ruin the story, but she goes to New York, falls in love, almost gets her entire life destroyed when her identity is revealed, only to realize that her life isn't completely over. You should read it for yourself because I think it came out really well.

What books have you been reading? Will you pick up these books for yourself?

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Continuing on the split end kick, I'm going to show you a very simple way of cutting your split ends at home. This way you don't have to spend a bunch of money at the hair dressers and have them take more off then you would have liked. That's happened to me plenty of times. I did this just the other day and it hasn't hurt my hair length, which is what I always worry about since I've been trying to grow it for the last year. It's been slow going so I've been looking for ways to speed that along. (If you have any suggestions, please comment below!)

Okay, so this isn't going to be a long tutorial type thing. Just a simple picture so you know what I'm talking about. Easy peasy. Just part your hair in the middle and gather hair on each side of your head. Twist your hair so it looks like the picture and then just take some hair scissors and cut the tips that stick out off. Only the split ends though, you don't want to get rid of the ends that are already good!

See the hairs that stick out? Cut those! What home hair remedies do you have? ♥

I feel like posting twice in one day on kind of the same subject is redundant, but since I missed Blogmas yesterday, I've had to compensate. Whoops! Anyway, I have a review here of the extra something I've been using for my split ends! My last post here talked about the TRESemme split end shampoo and conditioner and the leave in spray. This is something else that I read a review on, I don't remember where, but I thought I'd give it a whirl since I've been having such a hard time with my split ends lately. I think stress has also been helping them develop because it's been getting so much of my attention that my hair has been kind of put on the back burner. (Sigh.)

Along with the shampoo and conditioners, I have added this into my routine in the shower. I put it on last, as it suggests you leave it on for about five minutes. It smells good, not strong like I thought it would. Typically with balms like this, I've found that they kind of have a really chemical like smell to them, but was happy to find out that this one didn't. My hair always feels smooth and silky after using this, even more so than after my other conditioners. And whether it was just this or a combination of everything put together, it has helped my hair considerably. Bye bye split ends! :D

Do you have trouble with split ends? What have you been doing to get rid of them?
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Whoops! Fell a bit behind, didn't I? The curses of not feeling well. Following the non-traditional, non-Christmas posts for Blogmas, I have a hair product review for you! Whoo! So, short story - I've been having a hell of a time with split ends lately. I used to dye my hair A LOT and I use a lot of heat on my hair, which I know is not good, but the necessities, you know? Cutting all the dying out has helped, but I don't think I never really properly got rid of those ends. I stopped using my heat all the time, you know, blow drying, straightening, curling. And when I did have to use them, I bought a proper heat protection spray. That's all well and good but it didn't seem to be helping. Until I found these beauties!

Music is something that everyone can relate too and I wanted to kind of sit down to write about this one artist that has become super special to me and hopefully you know of him. If not, I hope this makes you want to hear him out. His name, of course, is Matt Nathanson. Some of you may know him from one of his more popular songs Come On Get Higher. Which came out five years ago, what?! I feel so old just saying that, ugh.


Since then, he's come out with two more albums and a single. He has way more albums than I'd like to write about, but I have stalked them all and listened to them, in case you were wondering. It's not just the songs that really makes me fond of Matt Nathanson, because that is one of the reasons why I love him so much (not to mention some of them help me sleep at night. His voice is honey <3) But mainly because he's become a bonding experience between me and my mother. We definitely don't need the help but every time he's around Boston, we try to go and see him. I bought her tickets for his show at the House of blues last year and it was AH-MAY-ZING. He is so funny live and he sounds great too, which is really hard to find in some singer's live performances these days. If my phone wasn't being so difficult, I'd post the video I got of him performing Modern Love, but it's being a brat, so I'll leave you with a few photos from that show and his latest single Headphones. He helped over 1,000 people in Peru get hearing aids and raised a bunch of money for the Starkey Hearing Foundation. You need to watch this video <3

I know the last couple of posts haven't been very Christmas-y, but the Christmas spirit is pretty low in the household this year, but I'll get into that another time. I promise holiday posts are coming soon!

List some of the artists that mean a lot to you below!

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Day 2! So far so good. It's getting colder outside, which means more snow is on the way. I like it when it snows around Christmas, especially here in Boston. It makes everything look so pretty and clean (which is impressive in this city ha.) Though I have to admit, after the 26th I get kind of sick of looking at it. It gets all dirty and slushy and just a nuisance. But I suppose that's kind of getting off subject.. I have a review for you don't I!

Happy December! I know a lot of people typically start decorating for Christmas the day of Thanksgiving, but the first of December is when everything starts to really feel like the holidays for me. I love the lights and the decorations and the food and the way that people can set everything aside and just be with one another. It's really more than just another holiday, it's the time of year where you can be with the ones you love and who love you in return. As you get older, you really start to appreciate that time more. As a child, you don't really notice it going by. But anyway, I have a mini haul for you! It's nothing too special, though there will be more, since this is the shopping season! (So I've heard.)

So a few days ago I popped into Kmart to see what they had for shoes. I've been needing new boots and honestly I've been kind of picky about them. Whoops! I didn't find any winter boots I liked, though I did find some nifty slippers! Now I've never really ever worn slippers, aside from the thick sock here and there, but these were too cute to leave behind. (As usual, please ignore the crap quality of these photos. And the horrible carpet that I used as a backdrop, ha. Didn't have any other room that day.) I got these for $10 but it looks like they're on sale now! Lucky you! They also have them in a black and white option, but I stayed traditional.

Bongo Holland Holiday Red Bootie Slipper | $8.49 Since Kmart didn't have any boots that I wanted, I went next door to Bob's Stores, which is like a department store for those of you don't have it around. I've gotten shoes from them before, so I had a good feeling about them. I had a couple of coupons so the boots I found came to a really good price and I just couldn't say no! I couldn't find the link on the Bob's website, so I went to the brand site and found it. The price is about the same as it was in store, though like I said, I got mine a bit cheaper because I clip. Ha! Wanted Recruit Booties in Brown | $69.99 I only have one more thing to show you and unfortunately I have no link for this one. I got these from my local dollar store and you know how those things can be, sometimes something will be there and then the next day it'll be gone. These were such a cute find and I think they help bring in the holiday excitement! Since I got them in November, I did start wearing them right away. But no one needed to know since I hid them in my boots. Snowman socks! And that's my haul! I know it wasn't much but I thought this would be a rather quick post for my first day of Blogmas! It's my first time doing this, since this blog is not even three months old and thought it would be fun to help get into the Christmas spirit a bit! I've also been writing for Glossyfinds.com! I have about two posts up already and when I can, I will post the links. (My work computer just does not like the site hah.) If you venture there on your own though, you can find my posts under my name, Maegan Mariee. I'd love to see if you're doing Blogmas! Post your blog links in the comments below! ♥