Weekend Glimpse

Mabel & I channeling our best Minnie Mouse ( I just noticed that we are both wearing stripes)

Mickey mouse is kinda OCD

Inside Mickey's barn. He raises chickens and plants veggies, so I guess he lives a green lifestyle.

Prepping to meet Mickey

Where dreams come true

Enjoying L.A. life

Brunch @ the charming Little Next Door

sister love

I heart eggs benedict

Best croissants EVER. I could inhale a hundred of these in one sitting

exploring venice beach

After a short blogging hiatus, it's really good to be back. Now that the holidays are soon approaching, I hope to be able to blog more regularly.

My Thanksgiving weekend was definitely eventful. Braving the nightmare holiday traffic was worth every minute of spending quality time with family, eating a delicious home cooked feast, experiencing the magic of Disneyland and all that L.A. life has to offer. I had one amazing time.

I am so grateful for all the blessings in my life all the people in it. Hope you all had a wonderful time with your loved ones too! Here's to the holidays =)

2010 already??

{Houston Rockets New Year's Game}

{my sparkler won't light!}

{terrified of the fireworks}

Oh how fast time flies! I'm still getting used to the idea of it being 2010. Instead of the "usual" New Years Resolutions, I've decided to really put some thought into mine this year. I'm not sure what they're going to be yet but I'm determined to make them good =) It feels really nice to be blogging again. Back to the daily grind for me starting tomorrow. Bring on the obscene amount of coffee!

xoxo

In vacation mode

{I heart twirling in our massive hallway. The wood floors make it so much fun}

I hope you all had a stupendous holiday! I am luckily still going to be in vacation mode till next Monday, so until then I'll be enjoying the comforts of home, lots and lots of sleep, and good food =) Can't believe the New Year is right around the corner, I'm crossing my fingers and praying that good things come my way!

Enjoying Home

Houston's Discovery Green- the city's first "all green" park. Everything used in the park is environmentally safe and friendly =) Hopefully other cities will catch on!

{the dancing recycled water fountain}

{faces of the nation}

{holiday ice skating}

{up up and away on Houston's helium passenger balloon}

Ever since I stepped foot onto Texas soil, I've been in full vacation mode. Did all the important things this weekend: slept in everyday, ate good food, and spent time with my family and dearest friends. It's so good to be home =)

Giving Back

{Homemade holiday treats- Oreo truffles and pumpkin bread}

{Derby and Burger wanted to help wrap gifts too}

{Santa's little elves. Ignore my gigantic feet LOL}

{finally home! This is my Dad's dog Lucy who is Burger's sister. She is my new cuddle buddy for the next couple weeks}

Wow, it's so nice to be blogging again! I took a little break to get my self together before heading home to Texas for the holidays, and now that I'm here I can finally just relax!

Before I took off, my friend Martha invited Derek and I to help sponsor a less fortunate family and help make their Christmas a little brighter this year. After shopping for all the gifts, I invited the girls to come over for a wrapping party. We had a great time drinking hot cocoa and listening to Christmas music as we took on the roles of Santa's elves that evening. I had such an amazing feeling in my heart throughout the whole process. It was exactly what I needed to help get me back into the Holiday spirit. Whoever said "To give is better than to receive" was right. I'm definitely planning on making this a yearly Christmas tradition =)

Now that I'm back in Texas, I'm sure I'll have a ton of fun stuff to blog about. Especially since they do everything BIG here! Have an amazing weekend everyone =)

Bittersweet Holidays

For the past few years, I've been having a really difficult time getting into the Christmas spirit. It just isn't the same anymore without my mom here. I miss her cooking and the way we used to wake up to the smell of her cooking big elaborate breakfasts during the holidays. She was the best hostess, and threw the best parties, so good that my friends would ditch their own Christmas gatherings to come celebrate with us. Things are pretty different now. My dad, sister, and I have tried to avoid Christmas like the plague, but as expected, we found it to be an insurmountable task.

Today as I worked from home, I couldn't help but realize that Christmas is coming at full speed ahead. Everything from music to t.v., and not to forget the blogosphere is saturated with the holiday spirit. I felt like such a Grinch as I caught myself frowning at all the hoopla, and hated myself for doing so. So this year, instead of being a big fat Grinch, I'm going to make a serious effort to let go of painful things in the past, and sit back and enjoy the time I have with the people I love. I really and truly want to love Christmas again, I really do.

(i'm starting by participating in MerrySitsmas hosted by SITS !)

Glimpses of my Thanksgiving

{the best picture of the family we could get considering the horrible photo conditions. I think half of us are either squinting or fixing our hair}

{12 cousins. One for every month of the year =) }

{ my lovely aunt audrey making her famous roast chicken. I could go for some right about now}

{my cousins trisha and ashley insisted on making a box of Funfetti to help further induce our food comas}

{uncle jim pre-carving the turkey}

{my homemade pumpkin pie that I will make again and again}

{our famous pumpkin rolls. The recipe is a family secret ;) }

{our FEAST}

{walking off all those calories}

I decided to take a little break from my finals misery to post these photos from Thanksgiving. I feel so lucky to have spent the entire day with my family. Since everyone is grown up now, it's been getting harder and harder to get the family together, but no matter how much time has passed, it always seems like we've never been apart. The Santiago family definitely knows how to party. We never fail to have a good time ;) I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones. I'm already looking forward to Christmas!!

Stuffed and Happy

{the santiago ladies}

There's nothing like good food and family =) I'm sad the holiday weekend has come to an end, but I'm super excited to go home to my three sweet boys. The past few days have been eventful, and I have a mountain of pictures to share. Too bad I have a presentation looming over my head, but once I get it out of the way, I promise to post away! Wish me luck ;)

xoxo

A glimpse of my 4th of July Weekend

I love that 4th of July fell on a Saturday this year because it meant being able to have an extra long weekend :) This year's Independence day festivities has landed itself in one of my top three celebrations ever.  I got to spend the entire Friday with my boys in Carmel and followed it up with the mother of all barbecues hosted by none other than our fabulous friends Mabel and Marco.  Nothing beats firing up the grill and enjoying yummy drinks poolside in the company of great friends.  I'm already anticipating next year's shindig!

{partners in crime}

{our cute lunch spot in the heart of sleepy Monterey}

{the most delicious coconut cream pie that will keep you coming back for more}

{burger doing what he does best}

{taking pictures while sitting in traffic}

I love this dude. 

{Seriously, he never fails to humor me even when I bring my battalion of cameras}

{in front of the coolest little cottage ever}

July 4th:

{our gracious hosts mabel and marco}

{the boys playing hours and hours of volleyball}

{me and my ill fitting bikini (i had serious issues with that thing)}

{the gals}

{the red white and blue cheesecake I made for the occasion -- tutorial and recipe to follow}

{yummm!}

{watching recession fireworks... they were 15 mins long, and we sat in an hour of traffic!}

{can't wait till next year!}

How was your 4th? Hope it was spectacular!