December 22, 2017

A Christmas Story and a Wish for a Happy Holiday

Today they said we might get a snow storm for the weekend and I felt like a child for a little while in the hopes I could experience the joy and magic of a White Christmas. You’d think being bred, born, raised and living in New York for most of my life that I experienced quite a few of those already but actually I haven’t! The only time it snowed on Christmas day was when I was 8 years old and it wasn’t a heavy snow just a dusting but it’s something that still sticks out in mind. I remember watching it from the windows in the living room while my sister set the table as my mom put the finishing touches on dinner and my dad snored softly in his chair by the TV. It was one of the few years there weren’t a slew of family and friends running around our house. I can’t recall why it was so quiet but I do remember it being quite lovely that it was just us four. I also remember staying up really late and running downstairs by myself to pick toys from under the tree to play with them in my room as my sister and parents were asleep. If I close my eyes I can picture the lights on the tree reflecting off the piles and piles of Sweet Secrets my sister got me that year (my sister is older than me and she’s always spoiled me rotten to this very day).

I miss those days sometimes.

Christmas feels rushed lately and busy, busy, busy. When its over I look back and I can’t even remember if I had a good time because there were so many things to do, so many people to see, so many parties to go to, tons of events, concerts, etc…. Typically I spend Christmas Eve with friends and Christmas Day with family and it’s always such a rush of activity.

I know I don’t always tell you because of that crazy busy schedule but I wanted to say thank you for being such a good friend. Thanks for sharing your joy of beauty with me! Thanks for allowing me to share mine with you. And most importantly thank you for making memories with me. Because I may not exactly remember what I had for dinner last night but I can think back to earlier this week when some of you made me laugh at some rant you had about a palette you hated or some joy you experienced because you discovered some new skincare product or a brush that applies your eyeshadow flawlessly. These are small, little joys in life but sharing them with you is always a truly beautiful and fun experience.

I wish for you what I wish for my own family, friends, and myself, happiness and health. Remember that all you need is a warm bed to lay your body down at night, some food in your stomach, and someone to love to feel the joy of the Holiday season. Anything and everything other than that is frosting on the cake of life.

I hope you have a little snow too to make it extra special and if you don’t? Close your eyes and imagine it in your dreams.

I love you all and will see you next week!

34 Comments

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Sarah L

    Just wanted to drop you a note to tell you I LOVE your blog. How can I not love the girl that introduced me to Poldark? You do such a great job. We are definitely having a white Christmas in Utah this year! Happy Holidays!

  • Mary Brenner

    Merry Christmas to you thank you for your post above your words took me back to my childhood days. They are forecasting snow here in Seattle for Christmas this year as well I hope we both get some!

    I hope your Christmas and New Years are magical and filled with love. It will be my first Christmas without my dad this year we lost him unexpectedly back in May. My father however lived for the Christmas season and loved every second of it. I am refusing to be sad and acting like an overgrown toddler in his memory but I love the holiday season deeply anyway!

    See you in the new year lady! Sending much love !!!

  • Kristen

    Merry Christmas to you and your family! Hope you all have a wonderful time together and that Santa treats you extra special! Keeping my fingers crossed for a little snow here in Baltimore!

  • Z

    Beautifully written as always! Here in Seattle everything is covered in frost, we might get a flurry of snow this weekend but it’s never enough to make a white xmas! Thank you for sharing all the beauty reviews with us, can’t imaging my day without visiting this blog! Merry xmas and happy new year! xo

  • Lenora

    Wishing you the best of holidays! I really enjoy your blog & read it daily. Thank you for all you do!

  • Rachael

    Thank you for all you do, Muse! Merry Christmas! Hope you get your white Christmas. That is a dream for me!

  • wendy

    Isabella, you are so sweet. Thank YOU for always being there to give me my beauty fix LOL Merry Christmas!

  • Amber

    Thank you for the lovely memory. I don’t remember very many white Christmases either and I live in Ohio. Have almost all of my life. We tend to get blizzards for Valentine’s Day though. Go figure. But an actual white christmas is rare. I love them and I’m afraid I just want to sit and watch it fall and forget that I’m an adult sometimes lol. Sadly, this year , my hubby started a new job and will probably get to go plow the snow for the township. So I might find myself sitting alone with the kids trying to stop the inevitable fight by myself lol. It’s funny, you get what you wish for, but not necessarily when you want it. Hope you have a lovely holiday.

  • Dee

    Merry Christmas, Muse! I hope you have a wonderful holiday and that you get your wish for a white one! I also hope that it isn’t as rushed and hectic as in years past.

  • Dee

    Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and the warmest of holidays! Thank you Muse for everything you do for all of us readers on your blog. We all appreciate and love you! You seem like such a sweet and wonderful lady! Can’t wait to hear from you about all the new products and reviews coming our way in the new year 2018. (What a fast year it has been. Just flew.) Take care dear Muse, enjoy yourself, and wishing snow for all (but not too much,, hehe.).

  • Chris

    A very Merry Christmas & a Happy Healthy New Year to you! I rarely comment, but I do enjoy your blog. I’m up to my eyebrows with cookie baking here. Hard to believe how fast December went by.

  • Stephanie

    Hi Muse! I live in New York too and I always hope for a white Christmas as well. I think it would be so nice!

    I wish you a very Merry Christmas. Thank you for all the hard work you put into this blog. I hope Santa is good to you this year! 🙂

  • Jewekcat

    Merry Chridtmas Muse! Thanks for helping us be as beautiful as we can be! Have a happy and healthy 2018!☃️

  • Colleen

    Merry Christmas Muse! Thank you for all of your hard work all year long. Enjoy the long weekend!

  • Linda M

    Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! All your work during the year doesn’t go unnoticed. You’re the best!

  • Susan

    Happy Holidays, Muse! I wish I could send you some of our snow; we have gotten about a foot of it in the past week.

    Thank you so much for keeping the beauty stuff real. You and two other blogger are the ones I can count on for good swatches, fair reviews, politeness, and NO UNWARRANTED HYPE. I’m so over the YouTubers who squee over every single new release like it’s the cure for the common cold, because face it, we know they’re in it for the freebies. And can I make a really nerdy comment too? Thank you for consistently good writing and grammar. If I’m going to read what others write, that matters a lot to me! <3 <3 <3

  • Christina

    Merry Christmas! Thank you for sharing your story. I look forward to your emails every day. Have a Happy and Healthy New Year

  • Martine

    Aw, that was so sweet. I hope you do get snow for Christmas.

    Thanks for all you do (especially, yes this crazy time of year).

    Happy Holidays,
    Your friend,
    Martine

  • L

    What a heartfelt and thoughtful post. I just said to my husband yesterday that I wished I could pause the day to be able to enjoy the holiday spirit and cherish the time with our family members who are in from out of town. The holidays go by so quickly every year and I miss them before they are even over. Thanks for always blogging honest reviews and pointing out sales and promotions. I love to read your posts and know that you have to balance it with working full time so thank you and please know it’s appreciated! Merry Christmas Muse!

  • Sooshi

    Wishing you and your family a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year! You give such joy with your reviews and as a regular reader, the time you take to do this (with humour) is really appreciated. Can’t tell you how much your reviews have made me laugh! Keep up the good work in 2018! X

  • Trina

    I love your story, thanks for sharing it with us! Austin will be very cold but we don’t get snow, however, almost 2 weeks ago, we DID get snow! An anomaly that’s for sure. My daddy’s birthday was Christmas Eve and when he died suddenly in 1980, our holidays and our lives would be forever changed. We still had great Christmas’ but they were vacant feeling you know? Over the years, we made new memories; my mom acquired 2 grandkids so that gave us a slew of fun and adventures lol! I can’t help but think of my father at this time of year-life truly does spin on a dime and my wish for anyone is to spend time with the ones you love and by God, get the toxic and people that don’t matter out of your lives. Life is to be loved, time with our loved ones is so special and so short. Sorry, I didn’t mean to be preachy-I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a crazy fun NYE!!

  • Elaine G

    Love you, merry Muse! Enjoy it all & rest up! You are right–simple kindness & beauty should fill our 2018. Thanks for the warm & fuzzy note & more. EG

  • Linda

    Merry Christmas to you and your family Muse. Thanks for all you do all year round.

  • Cookie

    Oh my gosh, Muse. You made me tear up. That’s such a beautiful thought — a warm bed, food and someone to love. It’s been so hectic here. I’ve got appliances failing (sadly not the oven which I really want to replace) and a leaking roof. We can afford (it still hurts) to fix them just as soon as the holidays pass and we can get people out here. But as far as the holidays go, we’re not really doing anything Christmassy. Too tired and too stressed. –I haven’t baked a single cookie and that’s my thing!– We’re taking it easy watching movies and drinking lots of cider and hot chocolate. I know we’re blessed. We have our warm bed (it isn’t near the leak, LOL) plenty to eat and we know we are lucky to have each other. Thank you for the beautiful reminder.

    And thank you for everything you do. All the work and time you devote to this place. It’s such a pleasure to sit back and read your blog — it’s like a conversation with a friend.

    Bless you and your family. Hope y’all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

  • Penny

    What a lovely story… 🙂 Merry Christmas to you and a Blessed New Year. Can’t wait to see what you have in store for 2018! ♥

  • Christina Tran

    What a sweet story! Thank you for sharing!

    Having grown up in Canada and now residing in sunny California, I, too, miss snow falling on Christmas day. It is truly a magical sight to behold and something you don’t realize is so special until you don’t get to experience it anymore. When I think back to my childhood holidays, I agree that it used to be so much more simple and less hectic–at least it appeared that way from a child’s perspective; perhaps our parents were busy running around just as we are now!

    I have no idea where I’m going with this train of thought. LOL! I was going to write something long and pensive, but my mind is not working right now (struggling to write coherent sentences as I type–again, it’s been busy, busy, busy!), and I really just wanted to say Merry Christmas Isabella! You’ve been a joy to get to know all these years, and may you continue to shine bright, spread your joy to everyone, and make lots of friends!

  • Melissa

    What a lovely well written story! I completely appreciate the sentiment. Hopefully you take a few minutes tomorrow to enjoy the day! Merry Christmas!

  • Emily

    So sweet, Muse! I hope you had a wonderful holiday. I’ve been mostly away from the computer for the past few days, so I’m just reading this now. I love your blog and this community, and feel like we’re friends. Thank you for doing what you do. I hope you continue to love it!