#and i got a bluetooth air freshener for christmas | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

la-appel-du-vide · 9 months

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Christmas 2024 💚❤️🤍

So much to get into for the best holiday of the year!

Brayden's family Christmas was first, on the 22nd. We did their traditional Christmas breakfast for dinner, Christmas pajamas, and all the Christmas gifts. It's always chaotic with all of the kids, but Christmas is also always magical and it is fun to get to have so many different "Christmases." His parents gave us some new games, Friends and The Office versions of Uno and What Do You Meme, and a gift card to At Home. I got a Starbucks gift card from Ashley and Herd Mentality from Brianna. Brayden had gifts for everyone, but the cutest was the little girls putting on the ballet tutus he got for them immediately for the rest of the night.

The next morning was Christmas Eve Eve, but since Christmas Eve fell on a Sunday this year, we did our traditional breakfast the day before. My whole family met up at Jeremiah's, and had festive hot chocolate and great food. I was feeling super congested, which is annoying and not fun this time of year, but I'm grateful it wasn't worse.

After breakfast, my parents orchestrated Brayden's piano getting moved into our house while B and I installed the new lighting fixture I got for my mom's gift at her house! I loved playing a double agent, where neither one of them knew there was anything else going on haha.

That night was my friend Christmas party, and then we woke up ready for Christmas Eve! B and I went to our own Christmas Eve breakfast - much later in the morning than my family ever goes haha - and then got the house cleaned up and ready for Christmas. I absolutely love the feeling in the air knowing Christmas is almost here. And it just feels good to really feel prepared!

We went over to my parents for Christmas Eve soup, which is one of the only times I can remember doing Christmas Eve at our own house, and not driving down to Orem. We really did have so much good food, and then we opened our Christmas Eve pajamas! This year, mom did different colors of silk pajamas for the girls, and a matching song title shirt for the boys, along with the same color of sweats. I had navy blue, and B was "Blue Christmas." Aubrey had silver, and Ty was "Silver Bells." Mom had green, and Dad was "Greensleeves." Allyssa had white, and Isaac was "White Christmas." And Whit had red, and ARCH was "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." So freaking cute! And the pajamas were beautiful and comfortable. Big win this year momma!

Dad read "Twas The Night Before Christmas" from the same book we use every year, and the B and I stayed to play some games with my parents and Whit for awhile.

When we got home, we let Reefy open one Christmas Eve present as well, and he got a stuffed jack shaped toy. He loved it and pretty much carried it around the rest of the night.

And then, all too soon, it was Christmas morning. We ran to get Reefy and have him run out and see his stocking full of presents. The next couple of hours were a beautiful blur of unwrapping and Reef making an absolute mess of all of the paper. Brayden killed the stocking game this year - I got a Starbucks gift card, and a gift card to The Pizza Factory, a mini books ball, a new hair brush, hand warmers, Nerd ropes and Airhead Extremes, chocolate mint sandwiches, Sol De Janeiro cream, a new phone charger, some Polaroid film, and the purple Gucci Flora perfume. In B's, I put Tony's chocolate, Reese's trees, Andes mints, an Apple AirTag, and iFly adapter that allows you to bluetooth connect your AirPods to the plane screen, a car air freshener set, a Chick-fil-A gift card, Aquaphor, and body wash.

Reefy had a candy cane of Apple Cinnamon treats, a bully stick, a rope toy, a reindeer toy with tennis balls for feet, and a bag of treats. I absolutely love puppy Christmas.

Then we all took turns opening our gifts from under the tree! B gave me a Dolly Parton fashion book along with the Rockstar vinyl she just put out, games including Lunar Dial, Sounds Fishy, Tengo Duo, and a spin-off of This, That, and Everything, Pop Culture edition, a hand-painted record case to look like Taylor Swift's Eras piano, a Beis travel pouch that matches the set I already have, Red perfume from Zara, the Blood Moon edition of the Midnights vinyl, some silk pillowcases and scrunchies, and a new maroon Fjallraven backpack! My old one was getting pretty dirty. He also got us tickets to see Hamilton in SLC in August, and a subscription for monthly fresh flower arrangements! That will be so fun. He also got me one of the cowboy boot match holders that I got for everyone else, and also myself, so that was a fun coincidence haha. He tried to get me a new color, but the company ended up sending me a duplicate of one of the gifts, so I already had all of the colors I wanted anyway hahah. Still a cute thought, and I'm happy to use them all!

B got to open a book, a carpenter square, and a new set of two suitcases (he's needed them SO bad).

Reefy opened a new puppy puzzle game, a stuffed moose toy, two frisbees, a custom pup cup and pup cup toppings from Kena, and some Broncos themed toys and a bag of treats from Archie. I love watching him open his presents - he's getting so good at it and is always so excited! He was a really good boy this year about not touching the presents under the tree until he had permission (for the most part).

And then it was time for my big finale. I pretended I had forgotten one present for B, and ran upstairs to get it. He knew something was going on, because I'd banned him from going up there, but he wasn't sure what. I brought him a present to unwrap that was just a note saying to go look upstairs for his final gift, because I couldn't wrap it. And it was the piano! I have been so excited all month to show him, especially because he became obsessed with wanting to get one and has been pushing to go look at them. I was nervous that he'd get desperate and just go buy one instead of waiting for Christmas. But it looked so beautiful and shiny with the big red bow on top, and it was just so much fun. Unfortunately, it's WAY out of tune, especially now that it's been moved, so it won't be much use until that gets taken care of. Apparently, pianos are supposed to sit and acclimate for a while before you tune them once they're moved to a new location, so we're in the waiting period.

After we did our Christmas morning, we were both running late for Christmas breakfast with the families. B went to his parents, and I went to mine. I had the traditional German pancakes, with sausage and eggs, but of course there were Jimmy Dean's breakfast sandwiches available as well. After breakfast, we had to wait until Brayden, Aubrey, and Ty showed up before we could open presents, so it was a very slow start to Christmas day over there! Definitely different than past years.

Once everyone was there, we opened gifts downstairs, and Whit and I helped pass them out from under the tree. I gave Aub, Whit, and Allyssa all one of the cowboy boot match holders as well, because everyone is a country girl these days, and I think they were well-received! I had drawn Whit's name, and I gave her a new pair of Nikes. I got my dad some quarter-zip sweaters and a Utes flag for their flag pole. And of course, I got a reindeer knotted rope chew toy for Arch, and a snowman knotted rope chew toy for Z. My parents got me some new jeans, a 2024 planner, some new skincare products from Sephora (Sol De Janeiro cream, Drunk Elephant drops, and Summer Fridays lip balm), the Moonstone Blue edition of the Midnights vinyl, and a new black coat. Allyssa gave me, Whit, and Aub a set of matching vanilla scented lotion and body spray from Victoria's Secret. Aub gave me and Whit stockings full of socks, hair clips, and skin products like face wash, chapstick, and moisturizing spray. Isaac drew my name and gave me two new Nintendo switch controllers - one pink and one yellow. Ty had B and gave him an orbital sander and an In-N-Out gift card. My parents' gift to B was paying to have the piano moved for us, along with a couple things that will be arriving late.

Other fun gifts were Whit giving Dad concert tickets to see Luke Combs, and the family gifts of games (another of my favorite traditions) like Left Right Center, Piles!, Outsmarted, and Blank Slate.

In my stocking from mom, B and I both got $25 Amazon gift cards, I got a Barnes and Noble gift card, and he got a Dick's gift card, along with some candy. We also got a sweet Christmas letter from Grandpa, along with $40. He's the best.

After presents, we of course spent the rest of the day playing games and eating our favorite snacks - pomegranate seeds, pickles, cheese, chips, olives, cookies, candy.... and having funeral potatoes for dinner. THE BEST.

We tried all of the new family games, plus some of the ones I got from B. My favorites of the year are Piles!, Sounds Fishy, and Pop Culture This That and Everything. Reef came over for a quick visit and playtime with the boys, and otherwise, we didn't go anywhere or do anything else. We stayed in our comfy Christmas pajamas all day.

I get unbelievably sad at the end of Christmas Day, going home knowing I won't have another just free, happy, perfect day like that for a year. But it truly makes me happy to have a day where everyone can just feel happy and be together.

The next day, we found new homes for all of our pretty new things, and got things back in order. But nothing can compare to the pure joy of the chaos of Christmas.

I'll be missing it so much, until it comes back around.

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emloutay · 3 years

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Week 8 – Industrial Design

The first item of design that I found in my house is this new air freshener that my mother bought. It has a sleek design that is aesthetically appealing to customers, while also accommodating for the container that holds the liquid inside. Additionally, it has a very simple spraying mechanic to it which anyone could figure out how to use.

The second is a more decorative piece of design, however I would argue that this shows a more innovative version of design since it had to be functional while also looking like its cat like appearance. This is a door hanger with hooks shaped like the cats paws. The size is appropriate for its function as it does not get in the way of the door closing and is sturdy enough to hold coats and other necessities.

This is my younger sibling’s “AeroChamber” which they use for breathing treatments with their inhaler. There is a mask like end on the left which covers the nose and mouth without much gapping, allowing the medicine to stay where it should. This attaches to the inhaler by a long clear chamber, which has instructions printed along it. Finally there is the inhaler, which simply clicks in and the end, allowing the pumping function of the inhaler itself to still be usable.

Then I looked in my room and found the digital calibrator I had to buy for a project. This device measures items in multiple ways. Within the claw like part of it, it measures length. When the bottom claw slides down, a small pointed piece protrudes from the bottom, which measures depth. The small screen shows the measurements so the user gets exact measurements rather then having to guess.

This is a Tupperware product that my mom recently got. It has a simple handle with a hole at the end to hang it if desired. Then it opens to a spoon like shape with a lot of slits in it, which allow for straining and easier stirring for things like pasta.

My mom fosters kittens and also has two cats of her own, so she goes through a lot of litter. This is a Litter Genie, which is a life saver for her. It allows you to put dirty litter in the top after opening the little lid, then you slide the small plate out and it all falls to the bottom. Then you close everything, and you cannot smell the litter anymore. It also has more bags inside once you fill one that you can simply slide up. Additionally there is a pocket for the scoop so you do not have to put the dirty scoop on a clean surface.

This is a cover that we put on certain foods in our microwave. It prevents spill overs and allows us to steam certain foods. The small holes along the sides allow ventilation. Furthermore, the dips at the top create a type of handle to remove it easier.

This is the Google Home that my brother got my parents for Christmas. It is a small spherical shape that is pretty bear in its design. The main aspect of the design is a grey, exposed speaker, a thin white base and a since white cord. This makes setting it up pretty hassle free physically. It also has four white dots that will appear to indicate that the speaker heard you say “Okay Google” and is able to fulfill the request you are going to ask.

I have been given these small easels for many birthdays now, and I never realized what simple, yet efficient design an easel has. It is a plank attached to two other angled ones forming the shape of a capital “A”. Then there is a simple rod to attach and create a hinge like function with an additional plank, allowing the easel to stand.

Finally, I have my moms bluetooth headphones. To me, these are very innovative. They have a small band that wraps around the users neck, making sure they do not fall off. Then they have extendable/retractable earbuds that can be stored within the bands themselves. There is a button on both sides that retracts them back so the user doesn’t have to deal with winding up cords. Also the main band bends inward in two spots to allow for easier storage.

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