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