Monday, December 29, 2014

A Week of Christmas


Oh what a wonderful week of holiday spirit. My sister and I had a bit of baking fun with friends we hadn't seen in a while and made some delicious chocolate chip banana bread and peanut butter cookies. 


We went a little crazy with the decorating. Not the most aesthetically pleasing cookies, but it's the spirit that counts, right?


This is really the only one I decorated myself.

We tried to make Santa...
I also got to go to one of my best friend's last Christmas ballet show (The Nutcracker), with some other friends, which was absolutely amazing. She did a beautiful job with her solo as the Snow Queen.



Then we got to watch Big Hero 6 with the same friends we baked with and more. It was such a cute, funny, and bittersweet movie. I definitely recommend watching it.



And of course, some last minute Christmas shopping had to happen. We went to the mall and there was a cleverly named pet store called AniMall that I forced us to go into. Just look at the little cuties! They had fluffy rabbits, cats, and guinea pigs that all made me melt from cute animal overdose.


 


And of course, you can't have a Christmas post without Christmas decorations can you?



My favorite ornament. It's an adorable raccoon!

On Christmas day, my dad's best friend came over and brought his sweet dog along with him.


We also got to watch the premier of Into the Woods. It was a pretty dark musical overall, but there were some funny moments. My favorite part was when the princes sang their duet, "Agony". Saying that the princes were being overly dramatic would be an understatement. The music was fantastic and it was interesting how they combined different fairytales into one plot. It was nice seeing this version after watching my school's version of the musical.


In the evening we had my best friend's family come over for dinner to celebrate the holiday. We exchanged and opened gifts under the Christmas tree. I'm so grateful for the gifts I received, but more importantly for the people who gave them and how thoughtful they were.


We played a fun game of Sour Apples to Apples, re-read my sister's old diary from when she was 8 and 9 (which was pure comedy gold and made us cry from laughing), and sang songs while playing the piano.

Overall, a perfect week of Christmas.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Lakeside Reflections

The park's lake was unusually clear from all the rain we had this week, so the reflections were stunning.




Friday, December 19, 2014

A Trip to the Railroad


My sister's friend came over and we spontaneously decided to go on a walk through the neighborhood after being in the house for a while watching some episodes of Game of Thrones. We walked to this man-made pond and did a little adventuring.


And what did we find behind it? Railroad tracks!



Balancing...very treacherous.

Me and the sis.


When we were going back I saw this and just thought it looked so pretty.

Monday, December 15, 2014

A Peek into the Week(end) #3

Christmas came early because my sister is finally back home!


We picked her up from the airport this weekend and the view going to the airport was stunning. A great way to be welcomed home.
















After we got home an moved her in, we decided to go out to eat at C&T Wok. But first, a detour to this beauty. 


We drove around looking at all the pretty Christmas decorations, but this one takes the cake!


The amount of lights this house had was absolutely insane. It was so colorful and intricate that I wondered how long it must have taken to get these lights up. The entire front yard was covered in thousands of lights hanging from almost everywhere, along with an inflatable snowman and Santa. I couldn't help but wonder how much their electricity bill cost. I've gotta say, these pictures do not do it justice. Let's have a moment of appreciation for those people who take the effort to go all out for the holidays and make the world a little more cheery.


Friday, December 5, 2014

Friday Night Cookies + Christmas Movie


After a long week of stressful schoolwork, it was time for a little fun with my friends. Since it is nearing Christmas (I'm so excited!), Christmas movies and other Christmas-themed foods were in abundance. I think these adorable (and delicious) cookies say it all. We watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas while snacking on cookies and Twizzlers and sipping lemonade. We also had a lot of fun sliding around on the super slippery tile floors, dancing, and other assorted shenanigans. Just a great way to end the week and get into the holiday spirit!