Snippets of Christmas

by gina on December 29, 2011

AveryginachristmasHere Comes Gina enjoyed an especially wonderful Christmas this year. Joe and I hosted every member of our immediate families (a first) for the fourth Christmas Eve in a row. We worked like elves on speed in the weeks leading up to Christmas to prepare our house, the gifts and the menu, and our diligence paid off. Our “feast of seven pastas” was a success, and Aunt Gina and Uncle Joe even started a a new tradition of giving our little nieces and nephews special matching Christmas pajamas. After attending longer-than-expected midnight mass and doing some final clean up, we eventually passed out at 4:30 a.m. just in time for Santa to wiggle down our chimney and leave some gifts. Side note: how awesome would it be if that actually happened?

Pictured here are a few snippets of my Christmas experience. I hope everyone had equally fantastic Christmases!

Above, from left to right:

  • My mom (my McMahon family pollyanna) gave me a Dyson! Joe gave it a whirl the other day, and it’s life changing. Muchas gracias Mom.
  • How can this gingerbread man ornament not make you smile?
  • One of my favorite Christmas gifts: The Book of Awesome from CF.
  • Festive napkin rings from Crate and Barrel added holiday sparkle to our Christmas Eve feast.
  • It’s all about the flowers: red and white roses with fresh cranberries topped our Christmas Eve dinner table.
  • One of my gifts to Joe: Wall and Piece – a book comprising the works of the notorious graffiti artist Banksy.
  • Another one of my favorite ornaments on our tree: a chocolate chip cookie.
  • Joe gave me the Ibiza brush!
  • My mother-in-law Carol (my Colantonio family pollyanna) gave me the Clarisonic Mia! I haven’t used it yet but am very excited to look at least 10 years younger.
  • My mom’s much loved butter cookies which are a highly anticipated annual treat in the McMahon family. Despite a scary malfunction with my mom’s cookie press, she was able to churn out enough for me to scarf down an entire (albeit relatively small) tin the day after Christmas. Also pictured: my beloved holiday Hershey’s kisses.

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HCG’s Personal Christmas Wishlist

by gina on December 16, 2011

collage

Dear Santa,

Above is a collage depicting the items on HCG’s personal Christmas wishlist. These items are listed below in no particular order of desirability, so feel free to choose whatever you like.

FYI – I am publishing this to my readers so they may use my personal wishlist as gift suggestions for their friends and family. Since the HCG community and I have a lot in common, I’m willing to bet my wishlist helps them shop. If I happen to receive some of these gifts from my husband/friends/family as a result of this post, well, that’s just an added bonus.

Waiting anxiously for baby Jesus to arrive,
Gina

  1. A backpack vacuum or a Dyson so I don’t kill myself vacuuming the steps in our three-story house. Lame? Probably. Practical? Definitely. Besides, who wants to buy a vacuum for herself?
  2. Proenza Schouler PS1 in midnight blue. Significantly cooler than the vacuum.
  3. A terrarium for my office (preferably from Terrain because things there are expensive and smell nice). It turns out I’m not that good at watering plants.
  4. This J.Crew bracelet which C and I gifted to A for her 30th birthday in July. I still curse myself for not buying two.
  5. Hanky Panky low-rise thongs. A girl can never have too many. Great stocking stuffer.
  6. Anything cashmere (preferably moderately expensive cashmere). My wardrobe definitely needs more cashmere.
  7. A DVF wrap dress. How is it possible that I still don’t own one?
  8. Anything by The Row (PLEASE).
  9. More free time to work on HCG. This may require an annual stipend in the amount of my current yearly salary. Make magic happen, Santa.
  10. This Ibiza round brush.
  11. A Yogitoes yoga towel.
  12. Voluspa candles. I love them. I also love the Yankee Candle “Christmas Wreath” and “White Christmas” scents (they make any space smell like a Christmas dream), but I just bought two huge jars so I’m good for a while.
  13. Elegant and impressive Here Comes Gina personalized notecards to send thank yous for all of the free gifts I receive (CF came up big in 2009 with HCG’s beloved business cards). Feel free to throw in a personalized HCG return address stamp if you have time. Letterpress notecards are suggested.
  14. Laser hair removal for my entire body. You’ve been ignoring this request since Christmas 1994.
  15. Hunter fleece welly socks.
  16. A glass straw dispenser. I am really into straws lately and wish I had somewhere nice to store them.
  17. The Clarisonic Mia skin cleansing system. I’ve heard way too many good things about it to put off trying it myself any longer.
  18. A gift certificate to Soul Cycle (the most amazing spinning studio on Earth). Yes, I know I live in Philadelphia, but SC is worth a day trip to the Big Apple. Did I mention I celebrated my 29th birthday workout there this year?

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And the Winner is…

by gina on December 14, 2011

resultsCongratulations to the winner of the Lucky FABB swag bag giveaway: NORAH MAXWELL!

Here’s how the incredibly sophisticated selection process worked: I manually typed the names of all those who left comments into the list randomizer on random.org. I excluded (1) comments by my sister’s dog Rusty Ferry, (2) any multiple comments (Jenn, Rusty Ferry) and (3) any comments by me. Then I hit “randomize” and Norah Maxwell’s name came up as #1! I grabbed a screenshot of the final list so Meg, Mary, Betty, Ski and A Lud could see just how close they were to winning. CF – you were actually #62 out of #63, so no re-do was necessary. Phew!

It’s only fitting that a member of the Maxwell/McGann would win HCG’s first giveaway since they’ve been on Team HCG since day 1. Hopefully Norah will share some of the FABB swag bag contents with everyone else in her family (HCG suggests a birthday gift to Cassidy).

This giveaway was so thrilling, I may just start buying stuff to give away on HCG. I’m sure Joe will love that.

Thanks to everyone who participated!

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Win the Lucky FABB Swag Bag!

by gina on December 12, 2011

SwagProductsHCG is thrilled to announce our first official giveaway!

You may recall that I attended Lucky magazine’s FABB conference in September and promised to write about the tons of goodies that were included in the swag bag. Well, I’m doing you one better: I’m giving away the entire thing (except for the paddle brush pictured in the background of the photo above. The handle of my brush recently broke during an aggressive blowout, and I had to grab this one to finish).

Christmas is right around the corner, so winning this swag bag – which is actually a LeSportsac weekend bag that is literally bursting with products, discounts and gift certificates – would do wonders for checking people off your list. Oh the stockings you can stuff with all these goodies! watch&cuffminikitfrontminikitbackspinpinsswagDVFbirchboxbirchbox2Giftcards

From our favorite spin pins to Smashbox eye shadow to Butter nail polish to Marshalls gift certificates (two $25 GCs!), there is truly something for everyone. Let Here Comes Gina make your holiday shopping a bit easier.

HOW TO ENTER:

  1. Comment below. That’s it!
  2. One entry/comment per person (no, CF, you may not use multiple e-mail addresses).
  3. Giveaway closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on Tuesday, December 13, 2011. The winner will be selected at random (for real – this means you CF) and will be announced on HCG on Wednesday, December 14, 2011. The winner will be contacted via e-mail to confirm delivery details, so be sure to provide a legit e-mail address when you comment.
  4. Giveaway is valid for U.S. residents only. My dad isn’t cool with shipping stuff for me internationally.
  5. HCG makes no representations or warranties regarding the contents of this swag bag. No purchase necessary; void where prohibited. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Must be 16 or older to participate.
  6. Good luck!

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Gobble up my Money

by gina on November 23, 2011

shopWatch out Philadelphia Premium Outlets: for the 5th Black Friday in a row, Team HCG is coming to town to let your stores gobble up our money. LET’S DO THIS SHIT.

Four years of bundling up and hunting down outlet deals into the wee hours of the morning have taught us valuable lessons, and this year Team HCG has created a formal game plan to increase our efficiency and our hours of sleep. As much as we love shopping, we really love sleeping. As you can tell from our Thursday night time frame captured above, we’re hoping to be back home snuggling before most people have parked their cars and made it into the stores. Behold, the 2011 HCG plan of attack!

HCG’s 2011 Black Friday Gameplan

8:00 p.m.: Depart Delco
We’ll dine twice on T-giving, but our second dinner at my parents’ house will end close to our departure time, so we’re taking off from Delaware County, PA. Unlike earlier years, this year’s departure time won’t leave much room to nap or digest. Hopefully we don’t cramp up while running from our car (something we actually did the first year).

9:00 p.m.: Arrive at J. Crew
J. Crew is opening a full TWO HOURS earlier than last year, and we intend to be there when the doors are unlocked. We seriously debated not telling people about this early opening time, but we love the HCG community too much to hide such great details from you. The entire store will be between 40% and 60% off. We’re kind of hoping this is the first year we keep our J. Crew total under $500, but actually, we don’t really care. We love new stuff.

10:00 p.m.: Arrive at Theory
In huge outlet news, THEORY has opened at PPO! HCG had considerable success when we visited the Theory outlet at Woodbury Common for WCYK09, and we are hoping to make some serious scores tomorrow night. The entire store is 25% off and there are special gifts with purchase for the first 100 people.

After Theory: Banana Republic
As you know, HCG has gotten some terrific finds at Banana Republic on Black Friday. The store opens at 10:00 p.m. and it used to be our first stop at the outlets. Hopefully we’ll have bagged J. Crew and Theory by this time, and we can snag a few great work pieces. The entire store is 50% off and HCG received an e-mail coupon for an additional 15% off a purchase of $100 or more. I’m sure I can make that happen.

11:00 p.m.: Restoration Hardware
Unless RH is lying just like it did last year, the store should open at 11:00 p.m. As long as normal colors are stocked, I am definitely picking up another plush throw. I wish I kept one of those blankets under my desk at work, and this could be my chance to significantly improve my late nights in the office (I already keep these slippers under my desk). Plus, there has to be someone to whom I haven’t already given this blanket (hopefully).

7:00 – 9:30 a.m. Friday morning: Zara and H&M (and maybe Gap)
Given the crazy deals offered at two of my favorite stores, Zara and H&M, I’ll make a point to stop at both in the morning before my 9:45 a.m. Lithe Method class. If I’m feeling crazy I might make a stop at Gap after class and see what I can steal there.

Happy T-giving to the entire HCG community! I am thankful for you.

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Versace for H&M

by gina on November 18, 2011

versaceVersace for H&M launches in the U.S. tomorrow, Saturday, November 19, and there is serious hype surrounding the release. We’ve never truly shopped an H&M designer collaboration because most have not been offered in Philadelphia stores, but we’re in luck with this line: Versace x H&M will be sold at the Philadelphia Walnut Street store along with 33 other stores across the U.S. (see the complete listing of stores here). Philly shoppers may have noticed the window display of Versace x H&M pieces that threw me for a loop last week. If you started screaming when you saw it thinking it had been released early, you’re not alone. I was equally surprised.

In an effort to calm some of the hysteria and avoid the mass-eBay selling of the pieces which accompanies sought-after designer capsule collections (Exhibit A: Missoni for Target), H&M has announced special rules governing the sale of this collection: the first 280 people in line will each receive one of 14 diferent colored wristbands which allow the shopper to enter the designated Versace area of the store for only 15 minutes.  A limit of two pieces or sizes per product per customer will be enforced (view the entire shopping guidelines here). We doubt 280 people will be lined up outside the Walnut Street store tomorrow morning, but we doubted a crapload of people would’ve lined up outside our local Target when Missoni launched. We’ve learned not to underestimate our fellow Philadelphians.

Will we camp out at H&M tomorrow morning? Probably not. Would we like to snatch up some of these pieces? Yes, definitely. The line is fairly pricey – pieces range from $19.99 for a ring to $299 for most leather items. But like all great designer collaborations, these prices are a tiny fraction of what the goods would cost from the designer’s high-end line.

Check out a preview of some of the women’s looks below. I really love the studded silk skirt ($129) above, and the studded leather dress ($299) below:versace-x-hm-lookbook-w-07[1]Pink studded dress ($199):pink versaceBustier ($129), jeans ($69.95). I can just picture myself wearing this to work on casual Friday (with a camisole, obviously). Sarcasm.floral Dress ($129):orangeDress ($149), leggings ($29.95):
blue
Dress ($199), ring ($19.95):yellowDress ($149):versace2Dress ($149):versace3Dress ($249):
sequins
Check out the entire collection online at H&M.

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