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By Aimee, December 20, 2011

Thanks to Walgreens for underwriting this post. I was paid as a member of the Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all mine. Visit http://www.walgreens.com/beauty.

Is it just me, or did the holiday season arrive really fast this year? I know I keep saying that, but I really have been shocked by the fact that we are already just days before Christmas. Even with the below freezing weather and the snow, I am still stuck thinking that it should be summer instead of just a few days away from Christmas.

Usually I have all kinds of great gift ideas lined up for my loved ones early in the year. In fact, I generally have all of my shopping done months before Christmas. Not this year! There has been so much going on this year (stressful events) that my mind hadn’t even started to consider Christmas presents until just this past week. As a newcomer to the frenzy and hustle and bustle of the season, on thing is for certain! We would all use a bit of pampering for the holidays.

Here is my idea for giving a gift that will pamper the recipient. In fact, give a few gifts like this to yourself too! Find the cutest basket that you can, any size or shape, just be sure that it is something that your recipient will love and want to use later when everything is all used up.

Little basket with beautiful soaps.

Fill the basket with pampering items; lotion, beautiful soap, perfume, chocolates, a candle, maybe even a gift card to their favorite restaurant. Another cute idea is to make a theme, for example a pedicure basket with nail polish, an adorable emery board, toe separators and foot cremes. Or a bath basket, filled with a luffa, bath salts, a luxurious lotion for after, a relaxing CD, and a candle. There are so many fun ways to fill a basket aimed at pampering those you love.

I don’t know about you, but I do know that I could sure use a little pampering after the business of the holiday season!

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By Aimee, December 20, 2011

Will someone please tell me where 2011 went? How can we already be this close to Christmas and the new year? We have been having so much fun with our Star Wars advent calendar, building a little something everyday! I can hardly believe that just a few doors are left to open though.

This year we visited some of Santa’s reindeer:

And of course, hot chocolate is a must drink to keep warm during these cold days. We were out shopping when we saw this funny sign! Sometimes I have to wonder if they do it on purpose.

Are you ready for the holidays?

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By Aimee, December 17, 2011

Geek confession time. We absolutely love Portal 2. The first Portal game was great as well, but being able to play the co-opt part of Portal 2 has really added to the fun. And yes, each of us played the first person game all the way through, together, while the other one watched. It was just that fun. From time to time, you might even hear us referencing quotes from the game, not that you would know what we were talking about unless of course you too played the game.

"Preparing to dispense product."

Finally, our own turret! Oh, so maybe it’s a turret flashlight that talks and says turrety things, but it’s about as close as we will ever get to having the real deal! And that is of course the only way we would want it (unless the turret was special of course, and didn’t actually want to kill us). There is a Wheatly LED flashlight as well. Also? The turret comes in packaging just like the one in the Aperture Investment Opportunity #3 video. Very cool, very cool indeed!

And while we all know that the cake was a lie, these cookies are totally real! Portal Cookie Cutters! Once again, our decorating skills need a bit more skill, but we had so much fun trying to create Companion Cubes, turrets, and even portals! Sadly, our cookies expanded a lot, and some things look a bit “puffy”, but you get the gist. By the way, awesome cookie bakers reading this… how do you get your cookies to look so perfectly shaped?

Cookies in progress!

Here is my attempt at decorating a turret cookie. It’s not the worst, but let’s be honest, it’s not exactly great for someone who used to work in a cookie shop!

And one more Portal item before you think me truly obsessed. An Aperture Laboratories scarf! Or rather, an Aperture Thermal Neck Wrap, you know, if you want to get scientific about it. See in the photo, that’s SNOW  behind me, a scarf is a must have, and this one is super cool. Warm.

Yes friends, now you know the truth. We love Portal. If you love the game too, and want fun Portal items be sure to visit the links. If you haven’t played the game yet, what are you waiting for?

Big thanks to ThinkGeek for encouraging my Portal obsession and providing the items for review in this post. As always, my opinions are my own.

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By Aimee, December 14, 2011

One of my favorite things about the holidays is the excuse to make and eat cookies. So I was really happy to share this great campaign that Allrecipes launched to help give back to the community! Cookies Across America is asking bakers to take the pledge to “bake a difference” in the month of December by baking and sharing cookies with those less fortunate.

Will you join in and take the pledge on the Cookies Across America Facebook page and show your support on your own blog?

If you want to have even more fun, host a Cookie Exchange with your friends! Ask everyone to bring a few dozen holiday cookies, add icing and festive touches. Then wrap them up for donation and give them to a local food pantry, emergency shelter, senior center, lunch program, or other community agency. Wouldn’t that be a fun way to share some love this holiday season?