What I Got For Christmas 2020!

Hey daydreamers! I know I said that I’d see y’all in 2021, and I was originally planning on taking a break after Blogmas. But I really like to read these types of posts, so I thought it would be fun to show what I got for Christmas! We still have another Christmas to go to at my dad’s side of the family, but here’s what I got so far.

Also, I know that everyone says this, but it’s true: Christmas is not about the gifts, it’s about the best Gift of all – the birth of our Savior! I’m not trying to brag about what I got in any way or try to make anyone feel bad. Like I said earlier, I personally enjoy reading these posts.

We opened presents on the morning of Christmas Eve (Santa came early 😉), and the next day we drove up to our cousin’s house and ate an amazing Christmas dinner and exchanged more gifts! We spent the night there and then went to our grandma’s house before heading home. I had a great Christmas eve/day, and I hope you guys did too!

First, I got some cute leopard-print Texas earrings from my cousins! These are so cute!

I also got two other pairs of earrings from them.

I was SO EXCITED when I opened this one from my mom, I’ve been wanting the Pura Vida wave ring forever and I’m obsessed! It goes with everything and is super cute and summer-y!

Also from Pura Vida, my mom got me this pretty white bracelet and the Type 1 Diabetes Awareness bracelet.

This one is maybe my favorite present! I was SO excited when I opened this, I was not expecting to get this haha and I’m so happy to finally have a Kendra Scott necklace! It’s gold with a pretty rose quartz jewel, and I’m wearing it right now as I type this! Thanks mom!

This TurnBoard is from my grandma, and it’s already helping my pirouettes! It’s really fun to use, and although it took a little bit to get the hang of it, I think it’ll help my technique a lot!

Of course, since it’s Christmas 2020, I got some cute Old Navy masks in my stocking 😉

Eee, I’m so excited about this one! I’m a huge fan of Maddie Ziegler, and I’ve wanted this palette ever since she came out with her makeup collab with Morphe. The shades are stunning, and I’ve had a ton of fun experimenting with different looks! My favorite shade is Butterfly Fantasy, since it goes with anyting, but Angel is pretty because it changes hues with the light. Overall, this palette is super high quality!

My mom got me my first foundation from BareMinerals.

I also got some more makeup from my mom, some brow tint and Elf concealer!

I also got some Burt’s Bees lip balm and body lotion in my stocking, which is perfect for my because my hands and lips are super chapped and Burt’s Bees is super high-quality.

I got a face mask in my stocking, which I’m so excited to use because I love spa stuff like this!

I forgot I asked for this, so I was super surprised when I opened these Converse haha! I’m so excited about these, I immediately put them on and walked around in them almost the whole day XD They got a little bit dirty since I wore them at my cousin’s house.

From my cousins, I got this book called Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs. I always need a book to read before I go to bed, and I already started this one and it’s super exciting, full of twists and turns and conspiracies! I would definitely reccomend this one.

I got this super fun long-sleeve Christmas shirt from my mom! I wore it on Christmas day, and my cousin also wore one that said Fa-La-La-Llama on it, so we were matching lol!

I got a rock salt lamp from my ballet company big sisters, and it’s SO pretty and relaxing!

For my early Christmas present, my grandma took me shopping at this amazing dance store in the city, and I got a bunch of dancewear from there! First I got this super comfy basic Bloch leo in black.

I also chose this fancy Gaynor Minden one with a zipper down the front and a high neck, and it’s really cute!

I found this teal lace skirt on sale, and I always get a lot of compliments on it. It’s super fun to wear!

This one is one of my favorites that I got. It’s a simple camisole leo with a V-neck and really pretty back straps!

This one is another favorite – I finally have a patterned leotard! It has this gorgeous black-and-white design on the front, and the back is mesh with velvet lining all along the straps.

I got this fun gift box from my aunt that has all this fancy spa stuff! It came with fuzzy socks, a really good scented candle, a relaxing lavender eye cover, some lip balm, and Himalayan bath salt. I can’t wait to use all of this!

Finally, I got the Loopy rose gold marble phone case! It’s so pretty, and I like how the loop makes it really easy to hold while taking blog pics!

I hope that you guys all had an amazing Christmas! I would love to hear all about in the comments below! Once again, I’m super grateful for everything that I got! I might update this post after Christmas on my dad’s side, but if not, I’ll see ya next year! 😉

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Merry Christmas! + Blogmas Recap (Blogmas Day 12)

Day 1: Nutcracker Recap

Day 2: Playlist Swap

Day 3: Blog Spotlight

Day 4: Christmas Outfits

Day 5: Nail Inspo

Day 6: Evermore Reaction, Pt. 1

Day 7: Evermore Reaction, Pt. 2

Day 8: Joy Devotional

Day 9: Day In My Life

Day 10: What’s On My Phone

Day 11: Christmas Aesthetics

Merry Christmas, everybody! Today’s post is going to be short and sweet 🙂

I hope that you have an amazing holiday, full of gifts, laughter, family, fun, and snow (if you live somewhere that does)! I’m so grateful for all of y’all – I wish I could give you one giant, virtual group hug! Thank you so much for supporting my blog in the one and a half years I’ve had it, and I can’t believe how much this little blog has grown! I love you guys 🤗🤗🤗

I’m kind of amazed that I was actually able to complete Blogmas! This was my first time ever doing it, and it turned out to be really fun and rewarding! Although it was a little stressful, I managed to make 12 posts this month, plus my regular Saturday posts at the beginning of the month! I couldn’t have done it without all of y’alls encouragement and engagement on the posts! I’m so glad that you guys enjoyed Blogmas, and I hope that it was fun seeing a new post pop up in your reader everyday!

Most popular post: Nutcracker 2020 Recap (Blogmas Day 1) (With 57 views!!)

My favorite post: A Day in My Life: Winter Break Edition! (Blogmas Day 9) (I really liked the pictures on this one, and it was super fun to make!)

The easiest post: Probably Christmas Aesthetics, since it only took me an hour to make and I basically just downloaded my Pinterest board I had already made a month ago, and the post turned out pretty good for not having to spend a lot of time on it!

The hardest post: Maybe Christmas Playlist Swap Ft. Mary Elizabeth! (Blogmas Day 2), since I made it the day before finals so I was a little stressed out, and it took a long time to listen to all the songs. I really enjoyed the collab though, and the end result was super rewarding after all that hard work!

My favorite featured image: I experimented with a new app to make images for Blogmas, and I liked how it turned out! Maybe Day 1 or 2, because I love the picture on my Nutcracker Recap and I liked the idea on 2!

And that’s it for Blogmas 2020! I’m so glad I attempted it this year, and I had so much fun! I hope that everyone has an AMAZING Christmas!! See y’all in 2021 (!!!!)

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Christmas Aesthetics (Blogmas Day 11)

Day 1: Nutcracker Recap

Day 2: Playlist Swap

Day 3: Blog Spotlight

Day 4: Christmas Outfits

Day 5: Nail Inspo

Day 6: Evermore Reaction, Pt. 1

Day 7: Evermore Reaction, Pt. 2

Day 8: Joy Devotional

Day 9: Day In My Life

Day 10: What’s On My Phone

Hey daydreamers! IT’S CHRISTMAS EVE?!! I’m sorry, WHAT?! I’m so excited!

To get everyone in the holiday mood, I put together a few Christmas aesthetics from Pinterest! I hope y’all enjoy these, and if you like anything, feel free to Pin to your own boards!

the nutcracker

walkin’ in a winter wonderland

cozy christmas

o, christmas tree

away in a manger

This post was super fun to make, so I hope you guys had fun reading it and looking at the aesthetics! My favorites are either Away in a Manger or The Nutcracker, but I love all of them. Which one is yours?

I hope that everyone has a wonderful, amazing Christmas Eve full of family and love! See you guys tommorow on Christmas Day. I love you all! Merry Christmas!!

Which aesthetic is your favorite?

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A Day in My Life: Winter Break Edition! (Blogmas Day 9)

Day 1: Nutcracker Recap

Day 2: Playlist Swap

Day 3: Blog Spotlight

Day 4: Christmas Outfits

Day 5: Nail Inspo

Day 6: Evermore Reaction, Pt. 1

Day 7: Evermore Reaction, Pt. 2

Day 8: Joy Devotional

Hey daydreamers! Christmas is literally SO CLOSE. We only have a few more days?? Like where did time even go?? Today I thought it would be fun to kind of “vlog” my day, but blog style – so I made a Day In The Life post to show you guys what a typical day looks like during winter break!

I got out of school last Wednesday after taking finals that morning, but I left for a retreat on Friday and got back on Sunday, so I’ve only had like 2 full days at home so far. So this is less a routine and more of what I do when I actually have free time. XD Let’s get into it!

9:20 – I woke up nice and late, which I’m so happy about not having to set an alarm. XD I sat in bed for a little bit, opened the window, etc. to let myself wake up a little bit. Then I went on the Bible app and did my devotion plans for that day. I’m super behind on all of mine, so I’m going to try and catch up before 2020 is over. 😉 At 9:36, I finally got out of bed.

9:45 I finished making my bed and headed into the kitchen to make breakfast.

9:55 – For breakfast, I put some waffles in the toaster and covered them in sugar-free maple syrup, lol. I also peeled a cutie to go with it. My mom made me an iced coffee with peppermint creamer, and it was super good! Thanks mom! During breakfast, I talked with my sister and mom. After breakfast, my sister and I did our Christmas tradition of finding little figures from a Nativity scene each day before Christmas (today we found the angel!) in our game room! We also challenged our parents to find it when we hid it, because they accused us of being bad at finding it haha 😂

Haha why am I staring directly into the mirror’s soul XD

10:37 – Next, I got dressed. Today I’m wearing the comfiest oversize sweatshirt ever that I got at that retreat I mentioned, my favorite black leggings, and some fuzzy buffalo plaid socks. I also put on this cute little angel necklace and some fake diamond earrings I got from Amazon for like $15 in a pack of 9. Here’s the link, I’m obsessed with it! (I think the price went up, though.)

10:40 – Next I watched On Pointe on Disney+, it’s so good! It’s a documentary following the dancers at SAB (School of American Ballet) as they prepare for NYC Ballet’s The Nutcracker. It always inspires me to stretch, so I stretched both splits and middle splits while I was watching it.

this photo turned out so cool!

11:22 – After I finished the episode, I went back into my room to work on this blog post, lol. Mainly what I’ve been doing during winter break so far is working on Blogmas, so I’ve been spending a lot time planning, writing, creating images, etc. for posts. I like to put on Christmas music while I work on these. 🙂 I got a bunch of this post done and scheduled tomorrow’s Blogmas, so I was pretty productive lol!

12:24 After that, I went and jumped on our new trampoline for a little bit! It was an early Christmas present, and I’ve been making up a cheer routine on it. I’ve got like 2 minutes of it, and I’m very proud of myself haha. It’s really fun to pretend to stunt on there, and also to do flips and jumps! My sister also joined and we did some 2-person stunts together.

1:00 – I watched the first part of the next episode of On Pointe and manicured my nails. Then my mom got back with Cane’s (yum!) so we all ate together.

1:30 – I attempted to recreate one of the photos from my nail inspo post, and it actually turned out okay! I need to clean up the edges, though. I finished up the episode while I painted them.

2:00 – This is probably the least productive part of my day, lol. I just kind of messed around on my phone and laptop, procrastinating finishing this post for about thirty minutes, which is not good for me but it’s a bad habit haha. I was feeling pretty unmotivated and tried to get some more Blogmas done, but I ended up taking a break and walking my dog instead.

3:20 – I wrapped all my Christmas gifts I’m giving to my family! Not all of them are pictured here. I used to be terrible at wrapping, but I’m getting better at it!

5:00 – After hanging out for a while, I played Minecraft with my little sister. I don’t play Minecraft regularly, but if I have a bunch of free time like on Christmas and Thanksgiving break, I always get back into it.

5:30 – I did an Anna McNulty stretching routine to help get my middle splits. I’m only an inch away from the ground! Since my New Year’s resolution was to get my middle and right splits, I’ve already gotten my right, so I figured I could try and get my middle splits before 2020 is over.

7:00 – After we looked outside at the Bethlehem Star conjoined planets thingy through a telescope (it was pretty cool!), we made these hot chocolate bombs a friend gave us. They were sooo good, super sweet! We watched Home Alone, which is one of our traditions.

9:30 – After taking a relaxing shower, brushing my teeth, and changing into PJ’s, I did my quiet time. I read a Christmas-themed devotional on the Bible app and took notes while I did it.

10:00 – I read some of my book. I finished the first few books of The Mother-Daughter Book Club series, so now I’m reading So This Is Love by Elizabeth Lim and it’s really good so far. Also, I took this picture today, so that’s why it’s light outside lol.

10:50 – Goodnight!

And that’s it for today’s Blogmas! I hope that y’all enjoyed seeing what a day in my life looks like, Christmas break-style. See ya tommorow!

What’s your favorite breakfast? Aren’t toaster waffles amazing? Do you watch Home Alone every year?Do you like Minecraft? Are you watching On Pointe? What book are you reading right now?

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Joy: A Christmas Devotional (Blogmas Day 8)

Day 1: Nutcracker Recap

Day 2: Playlist Swap

Day 3: Blog Spotlight

Day 4: Christmas Outfits

Day 5: Nail Inspo

Day 6: Evermore Reaction, Pt. 1

Day 7: Evermore Reaction, Pt. 2

Hey daydreamers! For the 8th day of Blogmas, I have bit of a different post for you guys! I just got back from a winter retreat, and it was amazing! It was so fun to get some fresh air and hang out with my friends. I also grew my faith a lot and felt really close to God. Applying some of the things I learned there, I thought it would be really cool to share this Christmas-themed devotion that I wrote for you guys!

At Christmas, I feel like a word I see constantly is joy. Just look in Hobby Lobby, and you’ll find that word just about everywhere. You know that decoration every other person seems to have, the cutout that says JOY with Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus inside the O? My family and friends and I came up with this game while we’re looking at Christmas lights to count how many JOY signs we see. Seriously, we always get over 20.

Joy has kind of become an overused word at Christmastime. It’s lost it’s meaning, and become a holiday buzzword. But what does joy even mean, anyway?

Let’s look at two different ways to define joy: How the world defines it, versus how the Bible defines it. Dictionary.com says that joy is “the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; elation: a state of happiness or felicity.”

On the surface, joy could be described as happiness, an emotion, caused by something, like it says in the dictionary. Defined this way, joy is conditional. It’s caused by something. The feeling of winning a sports game, opening a present that’s just what you wanted, or seeing a family member you don’t see often.

However, in the Bible, joy is deeper than that. Joy is unconditional. It doesn’t have a cause. It’s not defined by circumstance. In fact, Jesus calls us to be joyful in all circumstances.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.

-James 1:2 NIV

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

-Philippians 4:4 NIV

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Did you know that Philippians, the most joyful book in the Bible – it mentions joy explicitly 15 times and has a theme of it – was written when Paul was in prison? Joy isn’t just a feeling or an emotion. It’s looking to God, even when you’ve hit rock bottom, and praising Him anyways. Despite your circumstances, you can always rejoice in the Lord.

But what does this have to do with Christmastime? Why do we see this word pop up so much during December? This is because Jesus is THE reason for joy. That’s why, even in the darkest places, we can always find joy in Jesus. So that’s why at Christmas, when we celebrate the birth of our Savior who brings us so much joy, we talk about this word. Because it’s more than an emotion or feeling: Jesus is joy.

…but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.”

Luke 2:10

I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 

John 15:!1

Posts like holiday fashion and music are always super fun, but I loved this reminder of why we celebrate Christmas! I hope that this devotion helped you take a step back and regain the meaning of joy at Christmas. If you have any questions, PLEASE reach out to me either in the comments section or the contact page! I’ll try my best to answer them, and I’m happy to pray for you or anything else you need!

Merry Christmas and I’m praying for all of y’all! See you tommorow!

Have you ever gone on a retreat before? What does joy mean to you? Which out of these verses spoke to you the most? Do you have any questions?

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Reacting to the Evermore Album: Part 1 (Blogmas Day 6)

Day 1: Nutcracker Recap

Day 2: Playlist Swap

Day 3: Blog Spotlight

Day 4: Christmas Outfits

Day 5: Nail Inspo

Hey daydreamers! Ahhh, how is it possible that we’re already halfway through Blogmas?! I can’t believe we’re so close to Christmas! This post isn’t very Christmas-y, but I hope you enjoy it anyway 🙂

I’ve been a Taylor Swift fan since, like, forever, and like everyone else, I was so surprised when she dropped Evermore last week! I thought it would be fun to listen to each song and share my thoughts on every one. This isn’t my first time listening to it (haha, I’ve listened to it a ton!) but this will be interesting! I’m also listening to the clean version, and I’m going to do the first few songs today and the rest tomorrow. Let’s get into it!

willow

“life was a willow and it bent right to your wind…”

This one is definitely a standout on the album, and I really like this one! It’s sleepy and mysterious, just like a willow tree. I didn’t really like the music video, but I loved this song and it keeps getting stuck in my head haha. It does get a bit repetitive at the end, but the melody is so beautiful it definitely makes up for it! This one might be my favorite.

champagne problems

“because i dropped your hand while dancing / left you out there standing / crestfallen on the landing / champagne problems”

I thought I wouldn’t like this one (mainly because the title included champagne), but this one’s giving me this is me trying vibes. The piano melody is really simple but pretty, and I like how the lyrics tell a vivid story. I really like the bridge: “but you’ll find the real thing instead / she’ll patch up your tapestry that i shred.” At first I was confused what it meant, but I read something that it was about a relationship where one is planning to end it and one brought a ring. This one isn’t my favorite, but it’s a really cool song that I liked a lot.

gold rush

“i don’t like that falling feels like flying ’till the bone crush / everybody wants you / but i don’t like a gold rush.”

This one kind of sounds the same as the other ones, but it’s; a little more upbeat. I really like the lyrics to this one, and it’s pretty catchy! I like the nod to her other album: “my mind turns your life into folklore”. This one was my favorite for a little bit, but it keeps changing haha.

’tis the [darn] season

and wonder about the only soul who can tell which smiles I’m faking / and the heart i know i’m breaking is my own.

Okay, this one is one of my least favorites just because it has a word I don’t like in the title, and it’s a little bit mature. Most of the time I skip this one, but it’s actually really catchy haha. It’s about the same girl from a later song, dorothea, which I didn’t make that connection before and now it all makes sense, lol!

tolerate it

“tell me I’ve got it wrong somehow / i know my love should be celebrated / but you tolerate it.”

As all Taylor Swift fans know, track 5 is always the most vulnerable song on the album, and this one is no exception. This song is really beautiful, yet sad and melancholy, about giving someone unconditional love but all they do in return is tolerate it. The last part is my favorite, when she starts wondering about what would happen if she left the relationship, but it’s really sad when she ultimately doesn’t. This one’s kind of a downer to listen to, but it tells one of the best stories for sure!

no body, no crime

i think he did it, but i just can’t prove it…

Okay, when I first listened to this song, I did NOT like it. I thought it was really weird, and was super confused about what it was. I still don’t like this one that much, but it’s kind of growing on me. My mom likes it because it tells a story like an old country song, and I kind of agree. Still not my favorite, but I like it a little better than before as I”m listening to it before.

happiness

“there’ll be happiness after you / but there was happiness because of you / both of these things can be true.”

This is another one that I’m not the biggest fan of. Although the lyrics are pretty cool, the melody is kind of boring, and the background music is really sleepy. It’s the kind of song that you turn on and walk away from and do something else. The line “when a good man hurts you / and you know you hurt him too” is really good. This one is also pretty long.

dorothea

“hey dorothea, do you ever stop and think about me?”

I like this one! It’s got a fun, playful tune that reminds me a lot of Betty. Like I said above, it’s about the same girl in ’tis the [darn] season, and it’s not my favorite but not my least favorite. 😀 My favorite part is “It’s never too late to come back to my side / the stars in your eyes / shined brighter in Tupelo / and if you’re ever tired of being known for who you know / you know, you’ll always know me.”

That’s all I’m going to be reacting to today! I hope that this was fun to read, and maybe if you haven’t listened to evermore yet, this inspired you to. I can’t wait for Part 2, I’ll see you tomorrow!

Have you listened to evermore? Which one do you like better, evermore or folklore? What’s your favorite Taylor Swift album? Do you listen to her?

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Christmas Nail Inspo (Blogmas Day 5)

Day 1: Nutcracker Recap

Day 2: Playlist Swap

Day 3: Blog Spotlight

Day 4: Christmas Outfits

Hey daydreamers! Welcome back to another Blogmas post! Today, I thought I’d share some fun nail art ideas that I found on Pinterest to give y’all some inspiration for Christmas! Some of these I’d never be able to accomplish lol, but they’re still really pretty to look at and give me some fun ideas. I hope this post does the same for you!

All of the original pins can be found here: pinterest.com/girlonpointe10/nails/

I hope y’all enjoyed this little nail collage! Hopefully it gave you some ideas. If you liked any of these, make sure to pin them! See you tommorow! 😉

Do you paint your nails often? What’s your favorite color to paint them? Have you ever gotten fake nails before (I haven’t, but I’ve done stick-ons)? Which idea is your favorite?

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Christmas Playlist Swap Ft. Mary Elizabeth! (Blogmas Day 2)

Day 1: Nutcracker Recap

Hey daydreamers! For today’s Blogmas, I have a super fun post planned for y’all! The amazing Mary Elizabeth from Middle Mary emailed me about a collab for each other’s Blogmas, and I was SO EXCITED about the opportunity! We came up with a Christmas-themed playlist swap featuring our favorite Christmas songs. Basically, we sent each other our top 15 holiday tunes for the other to react to and rate out of 10! Don’t forget to check out her post, where she reacted to and rated my Christmas playlist!

Let’s get right to it!

Carol of the Bells – Pentatonix

I LOVE this song! The artists are insanely talented, the tune is amazing, and it’s such a Christmas classic. It’s mesmerizing to listen to and I love Pentatonix!

Rating: 10/10

I’ll Be Home For Christmas – Bing Crosby

This one is an oldie but a goodie! 😉 It’s a beautiful song and a classic for sure, but it’s a little slow and also really sad when you listen to the lyrics (in a good way). I don’t listen to a lot of songs like this, so this was really cool! Although it was a melancholy type of song, I definitely enjoyed listening to it!

Rating: 7/10

Run Rudolph Run – Chuck Berry

I haven’t heard this one in forever!! This one is a super fun and upbeat song. I’m not the biggest fan of rock-and-roll, but this one was pretty good!

Rating: 6/10

It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas – Bing Crosby

This song is so amazing, and I’m constantly humming it around the house at the beginning of the year! I always love this one!

Rating: 9/10

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year – Andy Williams

As soon as this song comes on, I immediately think of my favorite Christmas tradition, which is driving around sipping hot chocolate while looking at Christmas lights with my family! New York also comes to mind for some reason. Love this song and the instant feeling you get from listening to it!

Rating: 10/10

Rocking Around The Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee

Everything about this song immediately makes me think of Christmas, and the singer is so talented! (Fun fact: I just discovered that she was only 13 years old when she recorded this. That’s crazy!)

Rating: 9/10

You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch

Haha, this song definitely brings back memories of Christmas recitals! Another Christmas tradition for us is that we always watch The Grinch (the original version). I definitely don’t listen to this one regularly, though.

Rating: 4/10

(There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays – The Carpenters

I’ve actually never heard this song before! It was a good song, but kind of repetitive. It definitely got me in a Christmas-y mood!

Rating: 5/10

A Charlie Brown Christmas “Linus and Lucy” – Peanuts Gang

It’s kind of impossible to listen to this song without smiling! I love A Charlie Brown Christmas, and this song totally brings back memories and makes me feel really happy!

Rating: 10/10

The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late) – Alvin & The Chipmunks

Haha, I also did a dance to this one! Not one I’d listen to regularly, but definitely made me smile.

Rating: 4/10

Winter Wonderland – Bing Crosby

I love this song! I like the Amy Grant version a lot, but this one is really good too! Definitely another classic and one that I always love hearing and hum around the house all the time.

Rating: 8/10

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town – The Jackson 5

This version is so fun, and makes me really happy to listen to!

Rating: 10/10

Silent Night – Hillsong

I know I keep saying this over and over again, but I love Hillson and this version! I’ve never heard this version before, but it’s so peaceful and relaxing.

Rating: 9/10

We Three Kings – Kirk Franklin

Ooh I saw this movie a few years ago when it came out and really liked it! This song is super cool and catchy!

Rating 9/10

Alll I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey

Yessss, this song is my favorite! Like, is it even Christmas without Mariah Carey?

Rating: 11/10 😛

This was so fun! A huge thank-you to Mary for collaborating with me! I loved listening to your playlist and rediscovering some music that I love but haven’t listened to in a while. Once again, don’t forget to check out her post! See y’all tomorrow and Merry Christmas!!

What are your favorite Christmas songs? Do you like any of these songs?

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Nutcracker 2020 Recap (Blogmas Day 1)

On the first day of Blogmas, my true love gave to me…

Hey daydreamers! It’s finally the start of 12 days of Blogmas, and I’m so excited! I’m feeling a little bit overwhelmed, since today when this post goes up I’ll actually be taking finals, but hopefully after that I’ll be able to get the rest of the posts scheduled! I’ve never done this before, and I think it’s going to be really fun! I have a ton of post ideas lined up, with a few special guests too!

To kick off Blogmas, I was originally planning on doing a Christmas-themed giveway…but then finals and Nutcracker happened and I never got around to it. I’m really sorry, but hopefully y’all will enjoy it anyway! 😉 Today, I thought I’d do a recap of this year’s Nutcracker!

I’m a ballet dancer (obviously, based on my blog design XD), and my studio/company’s annual Nutcracker is a huge part of my Christmas and is really special to me. I look forward to it every year, and this year would’ve been my first year performing as a member of the company! Of course, COVID messed it up, and in order to safely put on the production we had to do a virtual version of our show. It was still really fun even though I missed performing!

It took a ton of rehearsals and we ended up having to push filming back, but we were finally able to film the weekend before last weekend! I was super nervous the night before. Here’s what was in my performance backpack:

  • hairspray
  • hair bag with bobby pins, pins, hairnets, hairties
  • Wet Brush
  • extra pair of company tights and an extra leotard
  • my company jacket and warm-up pants
  • company earrings
  • huge bag of stage makeup with eyeliner, mascara, eyeshadow, foundation, concealer, brow product, etc.
  • light-up mirror
  • some homework to do backstage

Both days I had to wake up super early to do my hair and makeup and get there by my call time. We filmed at a fancy ballroom where people have weddings, and it was so cool: spiral marble staircases, elegant double doors, intricate tile flooring, tons of glittering chandeliers, and there were even peacocks walking around in the parking lot!

We didn’t have a normal dressing room, so we hung out in this huge bathroom that was maybe the nicest bathroom I’ve ever been in. XD There was even a chandelier in there! While we waited for our time to film, we touched up hair and makeup and hung out backstage. That part was kind of boring and made me miss the actual show a lot, since filming got really delayed and we were there from 7:00 to 4:00 and 5:00 on each day.

The actual filming part went pretty well! It was kind of stressful, because there’s so many moving parts and we couldn’t always start over since we got really behind. My feet were also dying – they were stuffed in pointe shoes for 5 hours and we danced on concrete, ouch!

I played two parts this year: a Petit Fluer (Aka little flower) in the Waltz of the Flowers, and a party girl in the party scene. It was my first time performing en pointe! We had to wear masks while we danced, which we were all super used to from filming, so that was good!

This was my party girl costume! (Taken in the fancy bathroom, lol) Both of my “big sisters” had also worn this costume when they were party girls, so that was cool! I liked the pink/peach color and it was so fun to dance in. We also had to wear these hairpieces to look like 1800s ringlets.

We had to film the party scene twice, since there were two Claras. I’ve watched the first one and it turned out pretty well, even though we had to retake it a few times! I haven’t seen the second one, though, and I randomly started doing the wrong steps and we didn’t have a chance to refilm it. That was probably the most stressful part: we didn’t have a dress rehearsal or a lot of time to prepare!

This was my costume for Waltz! The bodice/corset thing was super tight and kind of hard to breathe in, but the costume was so elegant and professional.

Filming Waltz took a lot of takes, and we had to film it three times for each Dewdrop Fairy. It was difficult to dance on the slippery/textured floor, but we figured it out and the end result was really good!

Overall, Nutcracker 2020 was definitely a different experience than normal and I really missed performing, but I had a ton of fun and the end result was really cool. Doing a virtual Nutcracker was definitely better than having no Nutcracker at all, and I’m really greateful for the experience!

I kind of liked making this type of post! It is Diary of a Daydreamer, after all, so do you think I should do more journal-entry type of posts? Or should I stick with more informative ones?

What kinds of posts do you like to see? Have you ever seen the Nutcracker? Or have you ever been in the Nutcracker? If so, what roles have you played? Are you excited for Blogmas?

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Clean & Decorate My Room With Me For Christmas!

Hey daydreamers! Ahh, I’m SO EXCITED and happy that it’s finally that time of year to decorate for Christmas! I actually took the pictures for this post the day after Thanksgiving, which is when we always decorate in our family. I don’t go crazy with the decorations in my room, but I like to add a bunch of fun little touches here and there! So without further adieu, (I’ve never quite understood that expression, what is adieu anyway?) let’s get to it!

Before I can decorate, I decided to do a quick tidy up and clean of my room. First I took everything that wasn’t really in the right place or on top of a surface I was going to wipe and dumped it all on my bed.

Next, I went through and wiped down everything with a Clorox wipe and sprayed the mirrors down with Windex. I also dusted earlier that day. Everything was super fresh and clean afterwards! I had also dusted everything earlier.

Once all the surfaces were clean, I put all the clutter that was on my bed back where it goes and threw away any trash.

Next, I lit a candle, put on some Christmas music, and turned on some fairy lights to set the Christmas mood!

First: my mini tree!! My sister and I both have white mini trees that we always decorate with our own special ornaments each year. It’s one of my favorite traditions, and makes my room feel cozy and Christmasy when the lights are on!

First, I fluffed the tree and then began to decorate with the ornaments!

I also added the tree skirt and the star on top.

Eeee, isn’t it so pretty??

Next, I put a Christmasy bow over my old pointe shoes hanging on my door.

After that, I hung up some snowflakes on my bookshelf.

Almost done! I wrote some fun holiday phrases and my favorite Bible verses from the story of Jesus’s birth on my mirror with a red dry erase marker. (If you didn’t already know this, mirrors are just like dry erase boards and you can write and erase on them! Just be careful, because sometimes it might leave marks if you leave it up for a long time.)

For the *finishing touch* (lol), I added a cozy throw blanket onto my bed!

And that’s it! AHH I’M SO EXCITED THAT IT’S CHRISTMAS. I’m actually filming the Nutcracker the day this post will go up, so I’ll get around to y’alls comments as soon as I can. 😉 I hope you enjoyed seeing how I decorated my room, and hopefully it inspired you to be productive or clean and decorate, too! Merry Christmas & have a great day, daydreamers!

Do you decorate your room for Christmas, or do you want to? Have you ever had a mini tree? How do you like to “set the mood” for Christmas?

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