Christmas wish list

As far as Christmas wishes go, it feels a little selfish sometimes to ask for any more than what I already have, which is a lot (both material and immaterial). And truthfully, when it comes down to it, I don't need much to be happy. I've got a lot to be thankful for.

But if we're dreaming big, here are some things at the top of my wish list:

• An awesome job. It would be wonderful to find a job that I love, that I can get with just my bachelor's degree, in a spectacular city, that pays well, with fantastic co-workers and opportunities to advance. And maybe one that is willing to also pay for me to get my master's degree! That's not too much to ask, is it? In this economy?
  
• Incredible opportunities abroad. I'm just about holding my breath for an extraordinary opportunity to work in another country--specifically Italy or maybe Spain--to make a living, expand my résumé and cultural understanding, and improve my Italian or Spanish.
• An awesome new camera. I have a trusty point-and-shoot digital camera that's been really good to me, but I've been really wishing for a DSLR for about three years now and haven't felt comfortable shelling out the bucks to buy one for myself (I obviously don't expect anyone else to buy one for me). My budget in the past year or two hasn't really allowed it, but maybe this is the year!

Dream big, everybody. Dreams come true. Make it happen for yourself. :)

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

Merry Christmas Eve!
And Merry Christmas to all the people who are already celebrating Christmas around the world.

I wish each and every one of you peace, love, happiness, joy, and prosperity this Christmas and all throughout the new year.

Today, my only two big goals are to start and finish wrapping presents and to tidy up my room (which really needs it). Then, hopefully I can bide my time with other, more fun things.

via Susanne Vedvik

Cloudy Napa

Our stay in Napa was so brief and we had so many things we wanted to do, but we really fit a lot into our short time frame, and I guess we're just going to have to plan another trip in the spring or summer to finish the rest! We had a lot of fun, though.

I love how these trees looked in the gray weather.

Upon my cousin's (and his new wife's!) recommendation, we went wine-tasting here.

The castle was completed in 2007 and took 14 years to build!

I guess the owner, Dario Sattui, got a little carried away with the design, which ended up much larger than he had originally planned, but it's beautiful and was made in the design of a traditional Tuscan castle.

And the wine was good. :) I picked up a couple of bottles for my mom.

We also drove north a little ways to see Calistoga's Old Faithful geyser (I really want to see Yellowstone's someday!). Matt wasn't initially too jazzed to check it out, but I paid for him ($10 each), and I think it was actually kind of cool.

Just a little steam; it basically just looks like a big pond with rocks

Bubbles and steam indicate that it's about to burst.

Blast off! This happens about every five minutes or so, and Matt and I watched it three times.

We already have some wineries in mind for our next trip to Napa. In the meantime, there are some wineries in southern California not too far from me that I still haven't been to, so maybe I'll have to put that into the works.

Rain

Napa was wonderful. The clouds and occasional light rain were actually beautiful. Matt and I got home a couple of hours ago and as he just said a couple of minutes ago, "It looks like the rain followed us here." It appears that it just started raining where we are.

But who knows? It might be just as lovely as it was in Napa.
I'm pooped, so that's all for now. Good night!

Weddings and wine

Matt and me yesterday at my cousin's wedding in Sacramento

Although I work in the wedding business and see weddings on a very regular basis, I can honestly say that the wedding was beautiful, unique, and probably more fun than about 90% of the weddings I've seen (although the outdoor ceremony was very cold!).

Matt and I are currently in Napa. Pictures to come. Right now, we're going to go and enjoy our stay! :)

A toast to Winter vacation!

Done with finals, 70+ degree weather in southern California, but I'm leaving this afternoon with Matt for the significantly cooler (in terms of temperature) Sac-Town (a.k.a. Sacramento) for my cousin's wedding tomorrow.

I officially started my winter vacation as of yesterday afternoon after finishing my last final, and my good friends and I had our annual Christmas party last night. Above is a picture of the toast we took in honor of one of my best friends who is currently in Taiwan and couldn't be at the party.

Now that all my school craziness is over, I hope I can start updating regularly again. Here's a toast to finally being able to enjoy the holiday season!

Holiday Sales

As someone trying to budget, the holiday sales have been making it pretty difficult for me to practice restraint. I don't think I can rightfully justify any more purchases as being rewards for my hard work or Christmas presents to myself until I finish buying all my presents for everyone else!

Please tell me I'm not the only one having this problem!

via weheartit

bloglovin

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<3

Vermont Wedding

One of the most awesome weddings I've seen online in a while. All the details are so perfect and incredibly unique, and the location is absolutely stunning.

via Green Wedding Shoes

The star on the hill

My brother posted a picture online of the seven-foot star my dad built and mounted on his and my mom's deck in the backyard. We live on the top of a hill, so you can see it from all the streets below. Oh, Dad, I love you.

IMMD

A friend recently introduced me to It Made My Day. Some favorites:

• My brother is playing Wheel of Fortune on his cell pone in the bathroom. Every few minutes I hear “BIG MONEY!” shouted from the toilet. IMMD
• Last night, my housemate got really drunk, came home and thoroughly cleaned the entire kitchen before passing out. IMMD
• My dentist shouted “Booyah!” after he finished my filling. IMMD.
• I was asking my friend’s 5 year old son what he wanted to be when he grows up. He said he wanted to be a veterinarian, weatherman, fireman, or the president. I told him that if he’s the weatherman, he gets paid even if he’s wrong, and he replied, “Yeah! Just like if you’re the President!” IMMD
• I teach young children and one of my students came to me in tears, saying, “Johnny now said the U-word.” I asked him to whisper it to me. He said ‘Umotherfucker’. IMMD.

Pitter patter

Yup, rain has hit us here in southern California, and it should continue on and off for the next week or so. And it's cold, too! While I know some of you, like Krystal, are living with snow right now, this rain is pretty shocking for my fellow Californians who don't even remember the last time it rained during the day (we've had a few nighttime showers in the past couple of months, but that's been it until today). Hope you're all succeeding in staying bundled up and dry. :)

Aside from the rain, today has just felt a little off for me. But I'm so glad I bought a little pack of peanut butter whoopie pies at the store last night. They were totally hitting the spot today! Sometimes, you've really got to enjoy the little things!

via weheartit

Creative seasonal decorations

Read forward email here. Funny.

Tiffany keys

My absolute favorite! Although I'm not much of a jewelry or accessory person, key necklaces have been a huge favorite of mine for years, and Tiffany & Co. has come out with a huge collection that is blowing my mind. Rose-gold, yellow gold, sterling silver, titanium, platinum, diamond-encrusted... Ooh, baby... I want every single one!

The third one costs $2,975.

(L to R): $10,000 - $17,000 - $11,500

(L to R): $2,400 - $1,350 - $2,400 - didn't find it on the website

So beautiful!

via Trend and the City

Neck drapery

Would very happily accept any or all of these!

Abstract Reef Scarf, $38

In-The-Clouds Scarf, $168

Cashmere Squiggle Scarf, $98

Tuxedo Scarf, $38

Ring-Of-Warmth Wrap, $48

A La Mode Loop, $28

all via Anthropologie.com

Stuck!

Minor distraction thanks to my friend that's over, but so worth it. Cracked me up!

Una pagina di piu'

I want to update with fun stuff (like the mini Christmas tree and the Christmas lights I put up in my apartment or other fun holiday and shopping things!), but I'm trying my damnedest not to distract myself from finishing my five-page Italian paper that's due tomorrow! It's a difficult task when my roommates, boyfriend, and one of my best girlfriends are all in the living room playing card games, laughing very loudly, and making it all too clear to me that they're having much more fun right now than I am. Wah wah wahhh. End of the semester!

via weheartit

Italian overload

What do you think the chances are that there is a kind and wonderful Italian person out there that wouldn't mind proofreading my Italian paper? :) Ha.

Welcoming the holiday season

I'm so thankful right now that fewer people get married in the winter (an exception being my cousin, however, whose wedding is December 19), because I really need a break from work in order to give proper attention to all the papers and projects I need to finish in these next few weeks! And I still want to make sure there's time to enjoy all the beauty of the holidays. It's just a pity my sister leaves tonight, and won't be spending Christmas with us this year. That really puts a damper on my holiday spirit, because I'm really a sucker for the holiday season. It makes me so giddy!

I've already compiled all my holiday songs into a playlist, I bought lights (on sale!) to decorate my apartment, I have scented holiday candles that my mom bought discounted after Christmas last year, and I'm all ready to bust out my mini Christmas tree from the closet! Love it!

via weheartit

Thanksgiving sunset

My family and I had a big Thanksgiving lunch, then went to the beach to walk around in the water and watch the beautiful sunset you see above. Living in southern California, I know we miss out on a lot of things, like extreme seasons and snow and cold weather fashion. But I've got to say it's pretty cool to go to the beach in November and see people surfing and walking around in bathing suits and dressed like it's summer.

Giving thanks

There are a lot of things we so often take for granted, but I have a lot to give thanks for:

• I have a wonderful, crazy, loving, supportive family with whom to spend Thanksgiving today.
• I have awesome friends, many of whom I consider like family, who bring so much happiness to my life.
• I have a boyfriend that is amazing in more ways than I can count.
• My family, friends, boyfriend, and I are all safe, happy, and healthy.
  
• I have a warm place to sleep each night, clothes on my back, and food to eat.
• I have access to health care and education in a free country in which I feel protected.
• Almost 80 degree weather on Thanksgiving Day!
  

These are just a few of the endless number of things that make me feel so fortunate.
Have a happy Thanksgiving, everybody. :)

Welcome home, sister

This evening. Had dinner at Matt's parents' house, then headed to the airport with him to pick up my sister. Ball of energy she is, it's 4:10am and only now is Matt just arriving home and I am just getting into bed. She was pretend-boxing me and literally jumping around the living room until about 20 minutes ago, so I don't think she would have even gone to bed if Matt hadn't had to leave in order to get some sleep for work tomorrow. With that energy, I can see how she's the doctor working 100-hour weeks and I'm not.

She flew here after flights from Costa Rica (where she spent a week!) to Houston, and she brought some awesome chocolate-covered cacao bits. Yummy! I still have class Monday and Tuesday, but I'll be back at my parents' house Tuesday night, so it'll be exciting to have some family time and a break from school! I'm jealous of all of you who have already started your Thanksgiving breaks!

Plan your day!

Sounds good!

I've been pretty overwhelmed lately. My days have been so jam-packed with things that need to get done that my days usually plan themselves, but if/when I have any days off, this sounds like it could work! Something to try!

Meteor Shower

Whaaaaat. Leonid Meteor Shower tonight.

Read more here!

Blog neglect

I haven't been blogging lately, because it seems like the only significant things I have going on in my life pertain to things that are not fun or interesting and only seem to stress me out (e.g. school, work, finances, future-planning). Rather than whining or venting or using this blog as a form of procrastination, I've been opting to neglect my blog, but it should be temporary and I hope to bounce back soon. I have still been reading everybody else's blogs, though. :)

One happy note I find worthy of sharing: My sister will be coming home for Thanksgiving! I really thought we wouldn't be seeing her for the holidays at all this year. She's been R I D I C U L O U S L Y busy with work (Um, she worked a nearly 120-hour week last month!!! That is barely possible!), and definitely won't be home for Christmas this year (it will be our family's first-ever Christmas spent apart), but I'm SO glad we'll at least see her for Thanksgiving! Can't wait!

Happy November and Daylight Savings Time!

Despite having taken many pictures last night, I don't have any good pictures of my costume. Not that it was much. What you're missing from the picture: I wrapped a fringed black shawl around my shoulders and belted it, I had on a lacy black skirt, dark gray tights, black knee-high boots, and I linked some necklaces together and wrapped them around the ankle of one of my boots.

70s Mama

I found these precious dresses while scouring my parents' house for a Halloween costume, and they both fit me! I was a little surprised that the first one fit, though, because although my mom was tiny when she was young, she's still a good five inches shorter than me!

My mom said she remembers buying this dress at Marshall Field's in Chicago when she was in her 20s, which was during the 70s. I can't think of a single person more meticulous than my mom, which is fortunate, because it means these dresses are in excellent condition!

My mom remembers also buying this dress in Chicago and says she probably wore it when she was about my age, which would be around 1972. My parents met in Chicago when my mom was just younger than I am now, so I asked if he remembered this dress, and he said he does!

So, I'm not going to be wearing them as Halloween costumes, but I'm stoked that I found them. I can't wait for an occasion to wear them!

Crappy Hallowieners!

... just kidding, of course. If you happen to watch the show, Parks and Recreation, that would make sense, though. :)

Today is my first NO-SCHOOL and NO-WORK day in over two months! Thank god my boss has kids or we probably would have booked a Halloween wedding. Yay!

I hope everybody has a wonderful and SAFE Halloween. Can't wait to see everyone's costumes! I STILL NEED TO FIGURE OUT ONE FOR MYSELF. Or else use a previous year's costume. We'll see. :) HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

P.S. We're back to 75-80 degree weather in Southern California (at least where I am). For how long, I don't know.

NG International Photo Contest

via National Geographic

I've been subscribing to National Geographic since I was eight or nine, and their photography never fails to amaze me. Check out their international photo contest. Absolutely stunning!

Big, reflective lake

I've been seriously craving the outdoors for a long time now, and I want to be exactly where Rebecca of The Clothes Horse is in these pictures. I want a big, clear lake, lots of trees, and good company. I'm thinking maybe Big Bear or Tahoe this Winter, and hopefully a few of my other hopeful plans will fall into place, too. I need a break after the semester is through, because Fall has been just a whirlwind of work and no life.

(And her outfit is cute, too. I want her tights!)

Making choices

I'm feeling anxious right now, trying to concentrate and study for two exams and a debate that I have tomorrow after having studied late last night for a midterm I had today. It's the plight of every college student, but it doesn't suck any less. A lot of you have been through this. You know the pain.

Knowing that we all have choices and realizing, hey, I don't have to be studying right now, I made myself stop and ask myself, "Why am I doing this?" And there it was again:

• I want my degree this May.
• And I want to be able to pursue a higher degree eventually.
• I need good grades in order to do so.
• I don't have to study right now.
• I could go to sleep instead.
  
• But if I want decent grades, I should study.

And there it is. I see my choices. So, back to studying it is.

There is a purpose in all this! I'm achieving my goals and chasing after the future I want. Nobody said it was all going to be pretty, but I'm going to do it.

Giuliano Stroe

This seriously concerns me to no end.

Don't be a raptor.

via Health Stones

Reminder from tonight's wedding for all the ladies out there:
It doesn't matter how cute your heels are, when they start making you walk like an ostrich or a Velociraptor, they stop being cute. If you cannot walk in them, their cuteness will not make up for how un-cute you look trying to hobble from one place to the next. There are a million of us who have done this before, so do not waste your money on shoes you cannot walk in!

Mmm... ear candy.

Cannot wait for John Mayer's Battle Studies album to come out!

I've been listening to Taking on Water for months now, and I've currently got Heartbreak Warfare setting my ambiance right now.

Fall

via World Hum

Yes, it was 80 degrees today where I am, but I know the reign of the warm weather will be coming to an end soon enough, so I've still got Fall on the brain.

Cons:

• I'm such a baby in cold weather. I'll be complaining for months once the cooler weather sets in.
• My roommates tolerate the cold much better than I do, which means I don't get to turn on the heat in the apartment when I'm freezing.
• Southern California doesn't really experience the seasons the way most other places do. We don't get the beautiful, colorful autumn leaves. Southern California stays pretty much green all year long.
• Bye-bye, warm beach weather!
• I find it much easier to dress for warm weather than for cool weather.
  

Pros:

• We don't get nearly as cold as other places. (This may also be a con, but remember: I don't do well in the cold.)
• I love the beautiful, rich, warm fall colors!
• I wear whatever colors I want to all year long regardless of the season, but I still love the colors that come out in the fashion world during Fall and Winter: deep jewel tones, forest greens, cooler gray tones, warm chocolatey browns, rich reds, deep navy blues and burgundies. My favorites!
• Hot chocolate with marshmallows! Amaretto-flavored coffee!
• The beach is still beautiful when it's cold! It's just totally different. And I don't want to get in it. :)
• Hats and berets and beanies! I don't wear hats much when it's hot out, but when I'm too lazy to attempt any sort of style during Fall or Winter, out come the hats! I love style that's functional.
  

Basic black

I don't really feel too strongly one way or the other about Katie Holmes as a person, but I'm totally digging her look here. And I bet I could make this happen with my wardrobe! Sweet.

via E! Online

Whirring in my head

As my schedule has been hectic (what's new?) and it seems there are a hundred important things I'm trying to prioritize, here are some things on my mind:

• Everybody's been getting sick, and I got my flu shot, but I'm still totally paranoid, because getting sick is awful and stressful when there are too many other things to do.
• I don't feel like I have sufficient time to study for the GRE or GMAT, meet with professors and mentors, and still maintain my GPA this semester so that I would be able to submit grad school applications this winter. And I've done hardly any research on schools.
• But I don't want to wait a whole year more to begin grad school!
• I'm trying to enjoy the warm weather as much as possible while it lasts, because it probably won't be here any longer than a month from now.
• I'm incredibly frustrated with my wonderful boyfriend's lack of self-motivation right now.
  
• Because my sister won't be coming home for Christmas (work won't give her more than a day off), this will be my family's first disunited Christmas, and as much as I love the holiday season, I kind of don't want to celebrate Christmas day with her being left out.
• I feel guilty that I've had no time to spend with my parents, specifically, my mom. I want to hang out with her, but I'm only in town on the weekends, and 10- to 15-hour work days followed by homework don't allow me to spend time with her, or even see her, usually. Luckily, wedding season is slowing down now, which helps, but I still have a ton of school stuff. I hate that time with my family suffers when I get busy, because it's time you can't get back. But 1.) I need the money, so I need to work, and 2.) I need the grades, so school has to remain a top priority. It sucks.
• I have to catch up on so much reading.
• I need to cut my hair. Badly. I've been just wrapping it up into a bun pretty much daily for the past two months, because it's probably the fastest, easiest way for me to do it that looks put-together, and it's been hot the past few months, so it just makes sense. But now, the style/shape has completely grown out, and I feel like it looks like a mop. And I think I just need to switch it up. A haircut is pretty high on my priority list as soon as I can schedule an appointment.
• Note to self: Breathe.
  

101409.

How am I supposed to continue attempting to plan for my future when people do not get back to me? E-mail me back, yo!

I have so many professors I need to meet with and questions I need answered, but I've also just barely been keeping my head above water in all my classes. And I need to maintain good grades this semester. Where's my life raft?

Dear Baby

I adore this lovely lady's baby blog, Dear Baby, and she's participating in a contest for best pregnancy blog. I'm sure she'd love your votes, so click here to support her!

Berries and cream

I've been pretty good this week about making food for myself this week and not resorting to quick, easy microwaveable stuff. Yay! This morning, I made parfaits for breakfast for my roommates and myself. I layered plain yogurt, sliced strawberries, raspberries, and strawberries and cream granola in a tall glass. I thought I had bought vanilla yogurt and I was craving a little bit more sweetness, so I added a little bit of honey to mine, which made it perfect. I think I'll try to use up the rest of my yogurt and make it again tomorrow morning.

Once again, I failed to take pictures, but I wasn't feeling so hot this morning (read: awful cramps), so I'll do better one of these days.

From breakfast to dinner

Used some of the leftover bacon from breakfast to make a salad for dinner! Baby spinach, mixed greens, grape tomatoes, black olives, a little bit of mozzarella, crumbled bacon, and light balsamic vinaigrette. Yum! :)

Hearty breakfasts

via zenmocha

Even though Tuesdays and Thursdays are usually my best days to sleep in, we had some eggs in the fridge that we needed to use and I haven't made breakfast in a while, so I decided to wake up early and make some real breakfast for my roommates. I made french toast and bacon and I was going to make some eggs, too, but I realized a little late that I had made more than enough food for three people, so I think I'll save the eggs for omelets tomorrow or something. :) I didn't think to take a picture of the process or the finished meal, but next time I'll try to remember!

I love cooking for other people. It feels like a while since I've done it. I often don't cook big meals, just little things for myself, because my roommates sometimes don't eat my food (I think they feel guilty about letting me do all the work). Maybe I'll start doing it more frequently again, though. It feels so nice to make food for other people. I've already got ideas brewing!

France and New Orleans

Aside from my weekend being crammed with tests and studying, it's been a fun week so far! Much more social than any other recent weeks.

On Tuesday, Matt, my friend Melanie, my roommates, Bryan and Ralph, and I went to a little French restaurant downtown. So many good options down there, but I'd never been to this place before.

We had some Lindemans Framboise beer, which is Belgian and raspberry-flavored. I've had the peach before but never the raspberry. It's good, but don't expect it to taste like beer!

Melanie, Matt, and I had never tried escargot before (Ralph and Bryan had), so we decided to order some!

Garlic fries. A m a z i n g .

Melanie with her snail!

I ordered French Onion soup as a starter. Always good. Mmm. I ordered the Linguine Pomadoro for my entree. Later that night, we all went back to the apartment and played board games. Apples to Apples and Outburst. Hilarious.

Wednesday night, Matt and I went to a really popular local New-Orleans-inspired restaurant (an hour long wait for two on a Wednesday after the dinner rush?! Crazy, but worth it). You eat seafood with your hands that you have seasoned and spiced to your liking out of plastic bags on tables covered in wax paper. And you get bibs!

Our crawfish and corn. So much work to get the meat out of crawfish and ridiculously messy, but so yummy!

We also ordered King Crab legs and gumbo, and all of it was amazing. Oh my god, I'm practically drooling thinking about it.