I love gift giving for the Holidays.  It's another excuse to buy a little something for someone and make hearts full and warm!  For everyone at work, I did goodies from William Sonoma for one office, and in my own I bought clothes and things that they would favor most.  I did not expect much in return but my oh my, they know me so well!

It's my favorite time of year!

I'm so glad we're enjoying the winter chills vs. having 80+ degree weather in December.  I've been spending a lot of time crafting, spending time with family,  and wrapping gifts.  I spent Christmas Eve with M's family as we indulged in lobster tails and prime rib and exchanged gifts.  Today i'll be with my side of the family which traditionally starts with an early meal with my brothers and mother and an afternoon with my bestfriend/cousin.  I can't believe the year is finally wrapping up.  It's time to enjoy left overs, shop, and spend more quality time with family.  I hope you have a lovely Holiday from me to you! Xo

Happy Christmas Eve everyone!

I can officially say that i'm done with all my Christmas Shopping.  Shopping for presents started late Summer, but somehow I finish a day before Christmas!  The gifts are all wrapped! Other than wrapping in craft paper, I also purchased various rolls of red wrapping paper at ikea. My favorite types of gifts to give and wrap are the pairs that are stacked.  I loved mixing the craft paper, with the patterns, and baking twine!  How did you wrap gifts during the Holidays?

Other than bakers twine, I used a thick rich dark green ribbon from Willams Sonoma, along with raffia for the darker red tones.  Curling ribbon and pre-made ribbon bows are things I rarely like to use (as well as gift bags).  Possibly next year I would love to try things with burlap or maybe even cheese cloth!  Maybe I should test it out for Valentines Day? Hmmmmm.

Enjoy the long Holiday weekend!

I'm nearly done with Christmas Gifts.  The only person I need to shop for is my Mom, which is always the hardest since she has everything!  I started my Christmas shopping after Summer and stopped by Williams Sonoma to get some tiny goodies for my co-workers.  For the little gifts I wanted to wrap them simple, and use the rich thick green fabric ribbon. Here are the festive gifts in craft paper!

Happy December Everyone!

I must admit, I felt the holidays kick in way before Thanksgiving.  Christmas music was playing in my office before November! (not frequently though!) Thanksgiving was busy but full of love, food, and catching up. I'm trying to soak up everything this month, because come January i'll be in and out of airports.  This Christmas is sentimental for me.. Living with a significant other is a big move and we're celebrating/decorating the Holidays together for the first time.  We put up a little hoot Christmas tree earlier this week to celebrate December.  I already knew that having Christmas Decor would have to include the Owls!
I've had the owl ornaments for about 4 years now.  I've never used them for Christmas Decor, but more for room decor.  This year I wanted to incorporate them and use them for what they're actually for!  Everything is from Target.  I didn't want to overdue with colors, so white, silver, and gold were key.  I'm always a sucker for the different collaborations that Target offers, so I had to get something from Sugar Paper.  They had the letters as gift toppers, but instead I blended the Gold letters in the tree.  What's also really special in this tree but isn't really shown is the vintage frame M got me as a part of my gift for our anniversary.  It was the perfect gift as the Holidays were around the corner.  

Now it's time to wrap the gifts! Cheers!

We spent the entire weekend in Joshua Tree.  I've never been before so I was pretty excited and looking forward to taking the chance to be some-what with nature (lol!).  I'm so used to Palm Springs with it's resorts and old glamour glitz coming to Joshua Tree was in it's true old fashion desert.  In order to get to the house, we drove almost a mile through dirt roads, not to mention that it was difficult to find out where to go since phone/GPS reception was out.  It definitely has a small town feel to it, and I adored all it's vintage stores, and great food!



There's only a few main streets with shops, food, and local markets.  Every restaurant we ate for breakfast, and lunch were all delicious!  We are already making plans on when to come back early next year and venture more.  It's always fun to explore new cities, especially when it's just 2 hours away.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Xo

Happy Friday everyone.  The weather is perfect.  We get a mixture of cool/warm days and nights are a bit chilly.  I'll be taking a little vacation to celebrate with my love in the desert throughout this weeknd.  Here is the last time we were in the desert together in Palm Springs.  We celebrated the 4th of July at the Twist.  The 109 degree weather has no existence any more (thank goodness!).  Seeing all these photos again makes me even more excited for this weekend!



Of course I found this through airbnb.  It was a perfect size studio with a patio along with outdoor furniture and a firepit.  I loved the modern yet retro vibes it had to it.  My favorite was the sofa, the nail heads and color completely grabbed me!  Not to mention all the Kartel inspired pieces they had.  Bottles of whiskey and wine were consumed while music and little sparklers lighted the night.  This time i'll be taking my first trip to Joshua Tree (finally!).  I can't wait to explore, see the starts, and most importantly celebrate!

Cheers to our one year M. XO

My first pumpkin patch believe it or not was about a few years ago.  Since then I've always wanted to visit different ones.  Here is one by the beach which made this very warm day just a little cooler.  I loved the fact that the pumpkins were huge and not small little handfuls.  I helped my cousin set up her fall decor, and a pumpkin patch with large pumpkins was the way to go!

October has came and went.  With more responsibility at work, adjusting and finding a routine with the new move, things have yet to subside.  When planning my weekend, I make sure I have a little time to catch up with a family member or get errands done aka shopping with a good friend!  Calm Saturday mornings is what I adore most in LA.  Here's a few mornings spent with great company and a good latte.

This portion from dinette is perfect!  Just enough to eat in the morning but not too heavy.  Most of my friends don't really have a sweet tooth (but I do!)  The waffle is not too thick, but is glazed perfectly with their syrup.  The bacon topping is a thick slice, and enough for your waffle (so is the poached egg).  A light latte I drank, while K had the iced cardamom milk tea which was delightful. It was right down the street from K's so a lovely stroll was needed for this sunny Saturday.


At this time, I was craving something sweet.  I kept the caffeine light with a Tea Latte, and shared a slice of homemade coffee cake.  It's always great to catch up over treats and drinks.  I can't wait for this month as November is all about getting together.  It's been such a long time since I've seen a few folks.  I hope the weather cools, so we can cozy up and be merry, but thankful first ;)

Favoring the sunrise and sunsets sure makes me crave yellow and orange tones.  I'm so glad that Fall is here.  Although the sun is shining brightly and warmly here in So Cal, i'll be enjoying fall in it's some-what effect in a light flannel today and will be anticipating the cooler nights in the near future.  While in Vegas I made a trip to the Bellagio Conservatory I fell in love with all their fall decor and florals.  Below are a few stills from exploring the garden!








If you all know me very well, as a child coming to this city was often.  I've always been going to these gardens since they first open and I was about 10 years old.  I would see early in the morning all the gardeners coming in and pulling wilted flowers and replacing them with fresh ones, I see them lightly and fully watering the plants, and even switching out everything for the next season.  I love that it's still here and I can appreciate it even more now that I'm older.

Are there things here you like to do every time you come to Vegas?

Cheers to Fall everyone!

My mind is still on vacation mode.  I spent the weekend in Vegas but in my own style and way.  This trip wasn't about dayclubs, party all day and into the early morning.  This trip was more for embracing the city and what advantages it has for being Vegas itself.  I spent the days shopping as shops there are impeccable and so close to one another!  I had an afternoon of high tea, explored gardens, and sipped on endless glasses of wine and whiskey on the rocks.  I couldn't get everything in but not to worry my next venture there will be next Spring.  I can't wait to share with you all the details from this past weekend soon!  Cheers to a great summer!

The summer is almost coming in an end.  Of course while enjoying the fair food we also enjoyed the rides and the blue skies.  All this fair talk is making me miss the fair.  Thankfully the LA Fair is still going on and will be ending next weekend. Below are a few photos from the OC Fair -




The ferris wheel, carousel, and photo booths are always my favorite at the fairs.  I'll definitely be sharing my trip to the LA Fair when I go next weekend.  In the meantime, stay cool. XO

Each summer one of the things I look forward to is the fair.  Whether it's OC or LA either one since each has a variety of food. Other than Thanksgiving this is another time where I would completely spurge.  Unfortunately when I went this time, I couldn't find this specific thinly cut fries with a particular steak/beef.  Hopefully when I go to the LA fair i'll find it there!



Just to let you know, all the food shown above was split between four gals.  It was quite enjoyable eating it that way as it was just all a little appetizer sampler hah!  I made sure to get the refillable lemonade cup since it was a hot day.  I can't wait to see what goodies I find at LA Fair.  Not to worry I save my cheat days for ventures like this! ;)