The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: A Holiday Update

It feels as though I haven't truly blogged in awhile. With the busyness from finals week, catching up with my family and friends, working, and holiday shopping (plus two birthdays!), I haven't had a chance to be with myself and sit down on Blogger. The past two-ish weeks have been so crazy! I came home to a beautiful Christmas tree and Christmas decorations all around the house. It was so welcoming and made me truly feel like it was Christmas time!

My family's Christmas tree (very unoriginal bokeh picture, I know) 

A special December tradition of mine is celebrating my best friend Paul's birthday in Seattle with his family! We have gone every year for the past four years. We always have dinner and dessert at the Cheesecake Factory, visit the Sheraton Hotel where they have amazing gingerbread house displays (this year's theme was "Nursery Rhymes"!), and walk around the malls. It's always so much fun and a special trip we all look forward to each year. Plus, who doesn't love a city, especially Seattle, during the holidays?

Gingerbread houses at the Sheraton Hotel in Seattle!

Seattle's Christmas tree and the well known Macy's star.

Thanks to break, I had the chance to catch up with one of my close friends Shosh. She goes to school less than two hours away, but because of our busy schedules we rarely saw each other this quarter! We spent yesterday morning baking cookies (yes, the pre-prepared ones) and these cute little pretzel-Hershey's Kisses treats! It was so nice to "bake" and catch up, sharing stories from our first quarter of college.

I've also gotten to spend quality time with my boyfriend, Chris. It's been awhile since the last time I saw his parents, so we've spent a lot of time at his house, watching movies and Bob's Burgers. His family uses these adorable colorful lights for their tree and decorate their house in the cutest way for the holidays! For the second year, I helped Chris and his parents put up the ornaments since his brother lives across the state and won't be on the west side for another couple of days. It's really humbling to be able to share the special experience of decorating the tree with Chris and his family.

My boyfriend's Christmas tree - so pretty with all the colors!

So far, this break has been great! I'm really lucky to spend quality time with my loved ones and be home, and get to be so close to Seattle (the most wonderful place in Washington).

Cheers to being home for the holidays!