A White Christmas, The End of 2017, & Looking Ahead to 2018

Alright, my last blog post of 2017! It's hard to believe 2017 has come and gone. I got married, I made some big decisions, made some mistakes, and learned a lot about myself. Here's hoping 2018 is better. ;)

I'm skipping the WWPR post this week because I haven't made much progress during Pass 2 on my MS. I could blame it on the holiday craziness, or the fact that I've been feeling unwell, but in plain black and white, I didn't do much, so I'll accept the consequences of carving out some revision time in Hawaii. Then again, writing time in a relaxing place doesn't sound too bad, right?

I hope everyone reading had a wonderful Christmas! If you follow my instagram, you'll have seen the huge surprise we received from Mother Nature on Christmas Eve: snow! It was my first ever white Christmas. It was beautiful and magical! I loved it! Because of it, Christmas Day was at our place. It was Michael and I's first time hosting Christmas, so that plus the snow will always make it a memorable one.

Here's a quick highlight of my 2017 in no particular order:

1. Getting married

2. Michael's 30th surprise party

3. Santa Barbara wine trip

4. My birthday in the desert & at home

5. Thanksgiving in California

6. Seeing Banners live!

7. Mother's day visit

8. Meeting K&K / TIU Tour

9. visit from Mic & Joan

10. LA Trip

And because, who doesn't love New Years Resolutions:

Writing Goals

1. Finish my YA Contemporary - the current project I'm working on

2. Draft my YA Fantasy - the one I made an outline of last month

Health & Fitness

1. Level up on yoga - i.e. no more intro classes. I'd like to do more advanced classes and get more comfortable with inversions.

2. Stick through a workout plan - I like to dabble in all kinds of workouts and do them based on how I'm feeling, but it' be nice to finish one completely from start to finish. I've decided to do BBG2 from start to finish when I get back from Hawaii.

3. Learn more new recipes - everything I've been making is getting kind of old. Time to revamp my culinary skills.

4. Practice gratitude more often to keep a positive mindset.

Personal

1. Make more time for people and keep in touch more - I have a tendency to keep to my writing cave and my little bubble.

2. Explore the area - whether it's coffee shops, bars, or new restaurants. I used to be all for trying new things, but I've had the tendency to stick to my favorites (and while there's nothing wrong with that--I do enjoy the novelty of new experiences).

3. Live minimally -  as in don't buy things unless I really need it so I can reduce on clutter. I'm no hoarder, but I do have trouble letting go of paper memories, whether that's journals, photographs, cards, or printed manuscripts. The thing is, they end up in my closet or in trunks, which means I have no space for anything else. So, yeah. I'll try to work on that. 

4. Study up on Wine - I'd like to increase my knowledge base enough to past the level 1 somm test!

Christmas 2015: Going home, coming back, and 'The Nutcraker'

Christmas is over! Still a bit hard to believe with the last couple of days being a whirlwind! I'm still coming down from my my ballet high. This year Michael got us tickets to 'The Nutcracker' for one of my Christmas gifts.

'The Nutcracker' was so much fun. The hall was decked out in Christmas decor and all the kids were so excited. The ballet itself was very festive and beautiful. It was my first time seeing 'The Nutcracker' and I loved every minute of it.

Before the ballet, Michael and I went to Petit Toulouse. They're rated top ten in best happy hours in the nation (according to their disclaimer on their menu)! The HH menu is pretty awesome though! Every single bite was delicious and none of the food went to waste.

Oh gosh. This white chocolate bread pudding was amazing. I am currently ranking it two in best desserts in Seattle, with the first being the maple bread pudding at Walrus & Carpenter.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we spent with Michael's family. As usual it was a blast with thoughtful gifts, great food, and great company.

Every year, I do miss my family. It's been three years since I spent a Christmas with them. Luckily, this year I flew down the weekend prior to Christmas to see them, also hoping to catch the birthing of my first little niece, Jasalyn. Of course, she was past due and didn't want to see me! But as I write this blog post, my sister is currently in labor, so I'm thinking good thoughts for her and her baby. By tomorrow morning Jasalyn will be sleeping in this little basinet Michael and I gifted to her.

I do have to admit, kids have grown on me! For awhile I thought I could do with or without them, but I am leaning toward them in the future now (like way wayyyyy in the future :P).

Now I can't wait to meet my niece next year!

How was your Christmas? Comment below :)

Happy Christmas!

Cheers to another Christmas! 

Christmas 2014

This was Michael and I's second Christmas together. Can you believe that? Time sure flies! Just last year I was posting about Christmas 2013 here!

Christmas 2013

Not too much has changed from these two photos besides our longer hair. Again, we spent Christmas with Michael's family and celebrated his brother-in-law's birthday. As usual it was a grand time filled with warmth, love, wine, good company, and such great food!

But before heading over to his parent's house, Michael and I had a little Christmas celebration of our own. Christmas morning I woke up super early! We had forgotten to turn off all of our weekly alarms so I was bright-eyed by six-thirty. It was agonizing waiting for Michael to wake up (as you can tell I'm very impatient when it comes gifts!). You see, last year we went shopping and picked out what we wanted for Christmas from each other, but this year I had no clue what I would be getting (though I had a few guesses). Michael wouldn't even put my gift under the tree and kept it hidden all week so I that I would be unable to shake it and use my deductive reasoning skills.

When 7:40 came around, I could wait no longer! I kissed Michael good-morning and jumped out of bed shouting Happy Christmas!

When the sleepy Michael appeared, he handed me this little box. And we all know what a little box means, right?

A very beautiful necklace!

I love it! Not to mention, I got a gift certificate for a massage! A Happy Christmas indeed!

Unlike Michael, I am terrible at surprises or secrets. I wear all my emotions on my face, making me very easy to read. So Michael guessed what I had got him two weeks prior to Christmas. Nonetheless, I appreciated his feigned enthusiasm!

After gifts I got to work on making brunch: mimosas, bacon, and baguette french toast with strawberries, bananas, and pomegranates. Yum!

Blaire also had a good Christmas. Thanks to some doggy friends of his, he got some neat toys too!

I hope you all had a Happy Christmas with your family and friends! How did you spend your Christmas this year? Comment below or answer in a post on your blog :)