My new toy is the Bondi Flexible Cell Phone Holder. I use mine in the car and hang it from the rear view mirror. That way I can use my GPS on my iPhone. Plus, I can see text messages when they pop up instead of trying to reach for my car. I can even have my secretary Siri respond to a text if I need to quickly without being distracted from driving or have to pull over. I do not endorse driving and texting, and would not even respond to a text unless I thought it was safe. But if the universe was in perfect alignment, I could easily respond by hitting the button for Siri to take care of it quickly!

It’s easy to be able to see the phone without moving your eyes off the road, much like any GPS.

But it’s not just for the car. You can also use Bondi as a stand:

Or at the gym, in the garage, on the charger, or even hang from your makeup mirror while putting on your makeup. It’s like a little assistant. Hope Siri doesn’t get jealous!

You don’t have to worry about it fitting your phone because it’s little arms bend and hug your smartphone in place. It is very secure, promise.

The link above is to a seller through Amazon and is priced at $14.95 with free shipping. I got a pink one for  me, and a black one for my husband. I wish they had a selection of all colors in one link but they don’t, so just click out if you don’t want pink and search for another color. Great, great gift for anyone!

When my son was in that obnoxious junior high stage, he used to entertain us by picking up a Christmas gift, shaking it, and proceed to tell us what the gift was, and what it’s return value was. So amusing. Now, there’s an app for that.

You simply take a picture of the box with your iPhone.

And then click the “Analyze” button.

And the app will analyze your package.

Oh look! Is that a diamond ring?

Why yes it is! A big ol’ diamond ring! Thanks honey. Actually, probably not, but the look on your gift givers’ faces, when they think you have incorrectly guessed their gift will provide loads of entertainment! Be careful though, I’ve also gotten a box of rocks in a scan.

Very amusing app – and the good news is it’s free. Ho Ho Ho!

This month I will be sharing cookie and candy recipes for Christmas and/or any Christmas Cookie Exchange Parties you might go to. Today I’m giving you one easy yummy cookie recipe and a candy recipe from my mom’s recipe vault.

Don’t these look yummy? If this doesn’t say Christmas I don’t know what does.  Well, I guess a Christmas tree does.

My mom made huge batches of pralines every year for us.  She loved making candy at Christmastime, but this was everyone’s favorite.

I love to give makeup gifts to my girls! I’ve scoured the sites to find what I think are the two that I like the best – of what is still in stock as of today. These things sell out quick because they are always such a good bargain.

Two Faced Love Sweet Love for $46. This has it all. Everything you would need to get yourself all purdy:

• Book of Love: 6 eye shadows, 2 blushes, 2 lip glosses
• Full-size Lashgasm Mascara
• Deluxe Shadow Insurance
• Deluxe Perfect Eyes Eye Liner in Perfect Black
• Half-ounce Primed & Poreless Face Primer
• Exclusive Teddy-Bear-Hair Multi-Purpose face brush
• Exclusive gold embroidered velveteen make up bag

Did you read that above? A makeup brush with teddy bear hair! How adorable. This truly is a great way to try a lot of products for not a lot of money. And I love anything that comes with a makeup bag. I can never have too many.

Urban Decay Smoked Eye Shadow Palette for $48. Everyone wants the smokey eye look. And this one has some really great shades, along with my all time favorite eyeliner, the Urban Decay 24/7 and a primer.

From Urban Decay:

Zipped inside this sleek, mirrored case are ten decadent shades (five are exclusive), including neutral mattes and shimmering jewel tones for a range of smoky looks. Sure, you can create a smoky eye with a range of gray and black shades. But what about a touch of purple, blue or bronze? The Smoked Palette lets you keep things simple… or get a little more creative. Our secret smoky eye weapon? A blacker-than-black matte pencil. Included with the Smoked Palette is a full-size 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion, and a travel-size Eyeshadow Primer Potion.

I hope this helps you in finding that beauty gift for someone you love. Like me!