Holidays in San Diego

Is it too late to talk about the holidays still? I hope not because I'm gonna do it anyway! This year we were lucky enough to spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas in San Diego with my family. Sometimes it can be a lot to travel during the holidays, but I am so glad that we made the trips to spend this special time with those we love!

One nice perk about Thanksgiving this year was that my best friend who goes to college in San Diego decided to stay and spend that holiday with me and my family instead of going home to the Bay Area. I was so happy to have her with us and it really made the day extra special. During our visit there, I went to the zoo, had coffee with Morgan, took a walk on the beach on Thanksgiving morning, hung out with my dad, and had a fun little shopping & coffee outing with my sister. It was a whirlwind trip, but super fun nonetheless!

A few weeks after Thanksgiving, we loaded up the car once more to head down for Christmas! This was a much longer trip than the last, which was pretty nice and allowed us to relax a bit more. A couple days before Christmas, my siblings and their families all gathered at our dad's house and we had a Christmas brunch to celebrate a little early. It isn't often we get everyone together (and we were still missing my brother), so it was really nice to hang out.

On Christmas Eve, Dai and I went on a special date to a super yummy place for lunch and we even made it fun with a little champagne :) I went to church with my family, which was great since it is pretty rare that we get to do that together. The rest of the evening was spent curled up on the couch watching Christmas movies! Dai and I spent Christmas morning at my dad's and then later went to my aunt's for dinner and to stay the night. I got some really great and thoughtful gifts for Christmas, but one of my favorites is definitely the iPad Mini that Dai got me! I was so surprised and really love it!

The next few days were spent hanging out with more family and exploring San Diego a bit since Dai isn't that familiar with it. Dai sadly had to go home before I did, but we had a lovely time together! Once he left, I headed up to the mountains with my sister and her little family. It was so nice getting away to a place to simply just relax for a few days. I played with my nephews, colored with my sister, played in the snow a bit, and took naps every day. It was wonderful and I was so happy that my sister invited me to come along :)

How were your holidays? Did you travel anywhere or do anything fun? Did you get any cool gifts?

I know that all this holiday talk is a bit late, but I know that if I don't get it all written down that I may forget some details and this blog is, after all, the perfect place to keep memories :)

A Thanksgiving Break

I know I am a few days late, but Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends! I took this little holiday to disconnect a bit and enjoy some relaxing time. It was definitely a nice break! Let me fill you in...
Dai and I kicked off our Thanksgiving Day with warm cinnamon rolls, hot chocolate, and the parade on TV! It felt lovely to be curled up on the couch with a blanket and in my pajamas on a Thursday morning, instead of rushing to school.
This year, I was in charge of making the sweet potato casserole, my favorite dish! I love how it turned out and it was just too pretty not to photograph. You know, it's just butter, brown sugar, nuts, and sweet potatoes, so what's not to love?? I will definitely be making it for Christmas dinner as well :)
Dai and I headed over to my uncle's house to spend time with my cousins. Marly even got to come along to play with his doggy cousins. We ate yummy snacks and chatted over mimosas, while Thanksgiving dinner cooked in the background.
It was too beautiful of a day to not document it with some photos outside!

Missing one of my cousins and her husband since they live in LA, but I thought this was a really nice little family shot of my uncle (my dad's twin brother!), his wife, and the rest of the family.
Definitely thankful for this guy of mine :) Love his kind and generous heart!
We then spent the rest of the day with my dad and my stepmother's family. It was quite the gathering! At one point, there were probably about 40 people visiting and eating at the same time. Definitely a lot going on there! It was really nice spending time with my dad and celebrating the holiday together.

The next day, we did a little shopping and had a great time looking for Christmas presents for family. I also met up with the family I nanny for to do a little photo shoot for their Christmas cards. It was pretty fun and I am always up for the opportunity to get some photography practice in! Later that evening, Dai and I hosted a BYOP (Build Your Own Pizza) party with his friends, which was definitely a success!

Yesterday, I finished and submitted my college applications! Yay! There's still a supplemental application to submit, but I won't be notified about that for a while. We celebrated by heading out to the outlet mall to look around and continue our Christmas shopping. All I have to say is OMG Kate Spade. I may have treated myself to a little something little... Merry Christmas to me!

Today I woke up with a sore throat and decided to take it easy. I ran some errands and got some things done that needed to be tended to. I am starting to decorate a bit for Christmas and even hung two strands of twinkle lights up in my bedroom. I love them! I think they will stay all year. It really helps make it feel a little more warm and homey.

I'm working on plans for a tree and am torn between getting a real one or an artificial tree. It will actually be set up at Dai's house, which I am still trying to convince him is a great idea ;) I have always had a real tree, but I am considering possibly getting an artificial one only because Dai will never be able to say 'no' to getting a tree since we will already have one haha and I can put it up whenever I want without having to worry about it drying out before Christmas. Decisions, decisions...

Also... Tomorrow is the first day I will be allowing myself to listen to Christmas music! Woohoooo! It has really been difficult to resist these past few weeks. Happy to finally pull my Michael Bublé Christmas album out again! I really just want all the Christmas everything now.

Well, I think we are all caught up now! Just wanted to check in and let y'all know what I have been up to this past week :)

 I hope everyone had a lovely holiday weekend filled with family and friends! What did you do to celebrate Thanksgiving?

Have a great week! Hooray for the Christmas season!