Every year my friend has a party which is normally held on Boxing Day IE the day after Christmas. This year he had to hold it the day before Christmas Eve due to his work schedule which made for a very tired Miss Ash come the 25th as I had another gathering on the 24th. It's been one get together after another and there are still a few more coming up this week, I'm absolutely knackered just thinking about them. I'm also not 19 anymore and after that first party I was a complete lump of uselessness all day long. I wasn't hungover at all, just sooooo tired! Apparently getting in at 4am after some cocktails is not what adults should do if they want to accomplish anything the following day; Especially when that day is Christmas Eve eek!

I've been eating like an absolute pig ... literally, all week! I went to PP's to visit some friends and it was all I could do to keep my pants done up and on! There were cookies and cupcakes and cake and pavlova (yummmmm).....she even gave me a plate to take home (cause that's what I need) and a yummy spicy shrimp dish! Sooooo good but I'm soooo full!!

So it's been a busy holiday and will continue to be so for the remainder of the week it seems. It's funny like I want to complain about it and whinge about how tired I am but if I really think about it....how lucky am I to have such great friends.....to have lots of wonderful people to visit and have laughs with and share good times and fatty foods with it makes it all worthwhile! For some people this is a terribly sad time of year and it's all they can do to get through the holidays, so I really am a very lucky girl! I know a family who suddenly lost a loved one a few days before Christmas which is really awful and I can guarantee they are far more tired than any one of us. Tomorrow we say goodbye and I can't even imagine the depth of pain they are going to feel, but they will be surrounded by loved ones and great friends and maybe even some fatty foods, though I'm not sure any of those things will help.....

......I am a very lucky girl!

Me and the gals went to see the Tim Burton exhibit which showcases 700 pieces of his work last weekend! Some decades old some more recent but man what a trip!! I was like a child in the room "Oh my God look at that" pointing, smiling, laughing.....wanting to take everything home with me!

I don't want to spoil the exhibit for those who are going to go but I will say that there were soooo many wonderful things to look at! I totally forgot that Burton directed Beetlejuice when low and behold I came upon a sandworm from the movie....loved it!!! The "hands" from Edward Scissorhands sit nicely in a case as do the razors from Sweeny Todd! I'm in LOVE with the Nightmare Before Christmas and was excited to see many heads of Jack and of course the figure of santa made me laugh with his skinny legs and huge body! It was such a treat to see all of my favorite things from the big screen in one room and the exhibit also showcased Tim's sense of humour perfectly! In a room off to the back are old drawings and sketches from when he was younger and not only my pals and I but a few older women were laughing and laughing and laughing at the sketches and titles! There's one called "girl listening to man with bad breath" that made me howl cause the woman's face is fucking hilarious! There was also a letter Burton wrote to Johnny Depp regarding a line from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory "what if he says something along the lines of...." and goes into the quote about cannibalism which again made me laugh out loud!

I adore Tim Burton and his quirkiness, uniqueness and morbidness! He's an absolute genius and it was such an honour to be able to get up close and personal with his work and to get a tiny glimpse into that wonderful head of his! Now if I could only sneak Jack past the security guards, I'd be all set!!!

A few of my favorite things:

I just bought this makeup set from Sephora during the Black Friday extravaganza. I thought it was about time I stepped out of my routine with the usual eyeshadow I wear and step it up a notch. These colours are all super shimmery and sparkly and fun! I also love the packaging with the pop up fairies, can you say cute!!

Mmmmm I bought these soy candles at a show I went to recently with LD and damn do they smell good! I bought Creamcycle, Peppermint and Sugarbush Maple yummmmm! The cool thing about them is that not only are they candles but the melted wax doubles as massage oil.

Okay okay I've somehow become obsessed with Sephora! I've always wanted to try smokey eyes and thought I would fail miserably so what better way to try it than a step by step kit; foolproof hopefully! I also wanted to branch out as far as my nail polish is concerned, seriously if you look in my drawer you'll see pink, another shade of pink, hmmmm light pink, bright pink, maybe a red one.....I need more variety so I bought this goldish coloured one and this blueish coloured one. It's funny cause I thought the bluey one was ugly in the bottle and told LD to try it on as a joke only I loved it! Oh man and that hand cream that's sideways is by a company called Cake.......it actually smells like icing. I seriously want to eat my hands every time that I put it on! It's also thick, I like thick hand cream not that watery crap so I'm totally in love with this new lotion!

I'm a bit of a nerd, I saw this product on Dr. Oz and thought, meh why not give it a try. It's an antioxidant booster and one drop is supposed to be the equivalent of 15 cups of green tea. Guess where I bought it......that's right Sephora!!!! My points must be racking up like crazy at that place!

Oh man, now I'm obsessed with this Cake brand! I just found a nice big bottle for super cheap at Winners! Mmmm it's hand lotion in "baked citrus" this one smells like lemon cookies! I can't take it, I'm going to have to eat something sweet or start licking my arm!

Speaking of sweet, we went to Eat N Park (what an odd name) in PA for breaky before we ventured home. What better drink to have with your eggs than a Pumpkin Pie Milkshake! Look how much it actually resembles the photo! It was soooooooooo good!!!!

I'm not sure when I became 90 but I'm currently obsessed with Swarovski's Crystaline Collection! I went onto their website looking for a pair of shiny black earrings and came out with a wish list for fancy tea light holders and bowls.

The small version of this bowl is a mere $400! I actually went to the store to take a peek and it is quite tiny compared to the large bowl. I mean really, if you're going to spend that much on a tiny bowl why not go all out and get the $800 one!
These gems are quite pricey as well as far as tea light holders are concerned. Let's just say they start out with 3 digits right off the bat! Eek!

I remember my friend H had asked for a grill for his birthday at age 25, we're getting old he said and this is how he could tell! He no longer wanted fun or frivolous things he wanted something practical. I'm well aware that $800 bowls are not practical but they sure are pretty!

And if it's a toss up between a hot stone massage and a tea light holder........I'm going for the massage, it's cold and snowy out there! I somehow managed to get my arse out of bed early and made it to the 9:30am spin class and took this lovely photo on my way there. That's dedication my friends as it's the perfect day to stay in bed and drink tea especially when you're on holidays and don't have to go out! There's an 8:30pm yoga class that I wanted to try, they have earlier ones but I would be a total beginner and would prefer to try the beginner class. It's just sooo late and I'd imagine by that time I'll have my flannels and fluffy socks on with a nice big cup of hot chocolate in my cute little hands! Winter is officially here and I still hate it!

Sorry I've been MIA for a bit, it's just been super busy around here. I decided to step out of my comfort zone and that seemed to take up every ounce of energy that I had. It's over now *phew* so we'll see what happens. I'm not writing about it in full right now, maybe later!

I also went on my annual shopping extravaganza to the States for Black Friday shopping! Last year I bought everything under the sun, this year I cooled it down a bit and didn't spend too much. I bought some cute earrings, a necklace, super comfy slippers, a make up set that I love, a book, a sweater that's kinda different and of course running shoes at 8am as my feet were on fire. Hilarious, buying an item to facilitate more shopping! We started early this year 3am, and went until about 1:30pm, had lunch and continued on till 5:30pm. We went to see Burlesque that evening *yawn*! I know I know most of you are going to say "why the fuck would you go and see that anyway".....I like singing and dancing and musicals....but not this one, it was sooooo predictable and some of the songs they sang were like filler. And some douche in the theatre kept texting, literally every 5 mins I would see his bright screen! If he had been closer to me I would have yelled at him or thrown LD's popcorn at his head. I'm all for technology but honestly it's turned some people into rude little monsters, talking on the phone while the cashier is checking them out, texting in the theatre, talking loudly in public so everyone can hear...ugh!

I'm officially on vacation for a few weeks and am doing absolutely nothing today! I woke up to snow, yes snow *sniff* so it's the perfect day to stay in bed, drink hot chocolate and clear out my Tivo. It is also World AIDS Day and Starbucks is giving 5 cents of every drink purchased to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS. So who am I kidding, I'll definitely be heading to starbucks (perhaps in my jammies) to support this cause and I think you should too!!!