Browsing Tag:

holidays

In travel on
December 2, 2017

lights of florence

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll probably remember a post I did about the Christmas lights around Nice, France when I lived there five years ago (I can’t believe its been FIVE YEARS!). One of the things that made me the most excited about studying in Florence was being here around Christmas time. This past week, lights started slowly going up around the city. Then suddenly, on Black Friday, all the lights went on! I find it entertaining that Europe seems to be on the same “day after thanksgiving” Christmas schedule as the States. The lights in Florence seem much less flashy and colorful than in Nice. They are understated and classy but oh so beautiful. My favorite is a little side street that has arches of lights stretching as far at the eye can see. If you ever get the chance to visit Florence at Christmas, I would highly recommend it for the magical lights alone!








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In music on
December 1, 2017

christmas playlist 2017

Hello everyone! I’ve been really wanting to get into blogging again so I decided this month I’m going to do a ‘blogmas’ where I blog every day of December! And what better way to kick off the month of December than with a Christmas playlist? This playlist is a mix of songs that have been on my Christmas playlists for years, like River by Joni Mitchell and some I’ve found this year. You can listen to the songs on YouTube by clicking on the song name or in the Spotify playlist link below! Enjoy and stay tuned for more posts and Christmas goodness!

link to Spotify playlist here

1. The Holly and The Ivy by Annie Lennox
2. Little Saint Nick by The Beach Boys
3. Carol of the Bells by Celtic Women
4. Joy To The World by Citizens & Saints
5. O Come, O Come Emmanuel by The Civil Wars
6. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing by Hillsong
7. Gloria (Angel We Have Heard On High) by Hillsong
8. Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon
9. River by Joni Mitchell
10. Come Thou Long Expected Jesus by Kings Kaleidoscope
11. O Come All Ye Faithful by Kings Kaleidoscope
12. Mvmt IV, Every Bell on Earth Will Ring by The Oh Hellos
13. Sleigh Ride by She & Him
14. Christmas Is All Around by Sleeping at Last
15. The First Noel by Sleeping at Last
16. Lo! How A Rose E’er Blooming by Sufjan Stevens
17. I Saw Three Ships by Sufjan Stevens

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In holidays, travel on
December 28, 2016

oh christmas tree

when I read an article a few weeks back about how the biggest tree in canada was at the toronto eaton mall, I knew I had to see it! I had been to the massive mall in the heart of toronto before and they have just about every store you can imagine so I was excited to go again. the tree certainly didn’t disappoint and was probably close to 6 or 7 stories tall! I had seen massive trees before but never indoors and never with so many ornaments! we also looked at the beautiful window displays at hudson’s bay and saks fifth avenue which I thought were every bit as beautiful as the displays on fifth avenue in new york city. we walked around some more and bought some last minute gifts then piled in the car and headed to christmas eve service. tho it was last minute and we had to wake up early, spending christmas eve day in toronto was the highlight of my christmas in canada this year!






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In holidays on
December 27, 2014

happy christmas

happy belated christmas! this year was certainly a good one. it was filled with my favorite things like baking and good food and walks by the beach and presents but best of all, it was filled with spending time with people i love. here are a few snapshots of my wonderful christmas.

//christmas eve//



{on christmas eve morning, we went on a walk around Balboa island as a family. for christmas eve dinner, we went to cucina enoteca at fashion island, which is the new location of one of my favorite restaurants. i didn’t get any good pictures but the snapper i had was superb and i ended up really loving this new location. after dinner, we came home and had dessert and opened a few presents. i made a dark chocolate beet cake which i really regret not photographing but it ended up tasting much better than it sounds. i received the cookbook plenty more and i can’t wait to try some of the recipes!}//christmas day//



{christmas morning went from chill and quiet to stressful and crazy real fast. after we woke up, we sat around the tree and started opening presents. i got a lot of clothes, another fjallraven backpack to lug my laptop around school and a beautiful necklace i had been eying, which was a huge surprise because i was convinced the store had sold their last. after present time, my mom and i got down to cooking then we were off to grandmas house}



{every christmas afternoon, we go to my grandmas house with the rest of our family and have a late lunch together. it was a really warm day so my dad and i walked the dog around the neighborhood before we ate. when it finally was time to eat, we had italian soup, courtesy of my mom, shrimp and grits, courtesy of my aunt and a quinoa apple salad, which i made. after lunch, we had desserts and opened more gifts and chatted around the table}

In holidays, travel on
December 21, 2014

a white thanksgiving

this year for thanksgiving, I went to my dear friend julia’s parents house in the woods of connecticut. i went here once before for thanksgiving during my freshman year at cedarville and it was a wonderful experience that i’m blessed to have the chance to repeat. we drove 12 hours thru the night the tuesday before thanksgiving because we heard there was going to be a snowstorm in connecticut wednesday morning. literally as soon as we arrived to julia’s, it started to snow and snow and snow. on thursday, we had thanksgiving dinner at julia’s grandparent’s house, which already felt familiar because of my last thanksgiving spent there. we played pictionary and apples to apples and had races to fill out maps of the US and Canada with some of the Canadians we had visiting. after thanksgiving, we had a pretty chill break, filled with homework in coffee shops, watching the original pride and prejudice, baking and candle lit dinners due to power outages. i had a ridiculously large amount of homework to do due to finals week starting right after thanksgiving break but i ended up having a great time of fun and fellowship regardless of my workload. i ended up missing the first monday back because we were driving but God is good and all my teachers moved back our assignments so i didn’t miss anything.

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victoria station

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In holidays, lists on
November 27, 2014

thanksgiving thankfulness



happy thanksgiving people! i’m currently in connecticut enjoying my six day break with my friend julia and her gracious family in the adorable cottage above. as my last post alluded to, this semester has been a whirlwind of craziness so its nice to rest and have some downtime before the final push to the end of the semester. in honor of thanksgiving, here are a few things, great and small, that i am most thankful for

  • my amazing, wonderful, supportive family back home
  • getting into the industrial design school of my dreams
  • the vast array of friends God has gifted me with, from lifelong friends back home in california to my awesome cedarville girlies to relationships i have made on my travels and new friends at college from daap, my sorority, my church groups and everywhere in between
  • my iPhone, for capturing the moments i would otherwise miss and keeping me organized and sane
  • having As on every project thus far
  • the opportunities i have gotten to travel and the many more to come
  • living in a city with a whole foods and a trader joe’s
  • the immense love for design, art and aesthetics God has blessed me with
  • having a car at school that is my saving grace
  • getting in to such a great sorority
  • discovering quest bars for my days when food is the last thing on my to do list
  • julia and her family, and all the people who have graciously hosted me over the years
  • urban outfitters sale rack
  • finding hidden gems to do homework at like coffee emporium and sidewinder coffee
  • Jesus Christ, for being my Savior and best friend and walking with my every step on this crazy journey we call life
what are you thankful for?
past thanksgiving posts here