Quick Pics

December really flew by! With all the hustle and bustle of getting ready for the holidays, it's like there was no time to focus on much else. It felt like I had so many more people to buy for this year, so it took a little extra planning and consideration for what to get people. I did a lot of my shopping right at the end of November/beginning of December with all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals online. Towards the beginning of the month is when I visited a couple of tree farms, too! I didn't actually get a tree from a farm, but my dad and I did pick out a beautiful Fraser Fir tree this year from a local lot.

We had a few snowfalls this month, mostly in the middle of the month. Thankfully, there was only one day where it was more wise to stay in and do nothing than go out and drive in the snow. Winter is a good time to break out one of my many novelty mugs and enjoy a nice cup of chai tea. It may or may not be a good time to wear a short-sleeved sailor dress, but it's definitely a good time to go to the movies and forget about the cold for a while. I recently saw the new Hobbit movie in 3D. We even got special Hobbit 3D glasses! I still can't get into The Hobbit as much as I can Lord of the Rings, and after seeing The Desolation of Smaug, I think I finally realized why. It's hard to care about the characters in The Hobbit like you can in LOTR. There are so many dwarves in The Hobbit that it's hard to really differentiate between them all. I honestly wouldn't care as much if one of the dwarves died as if say Gimli or Pippin died. Is it just me?

As usual, I did a bunch of baking for Christmas. The gingerbread and sugar cookies always take the longest because I have to keep rolling out the dough and cutting out the shapes, and afterwards I have to decorate them all! I enjoy decorating them, though. I like making silly gingerbread people like for instance my derpy gingerbread man or my cyclops. I also got back into playing Catan this month. I hadn't played in a few months, but it's a game that I really love! 

My friends and I had an ugly sweater party again this year. I looked in Savers and Goodwill for a new and even better ugly sweater, but I had no luck. I ended up wearing the same plaid sweater that I wore last year. It reminds me of Scotch tape because it has blue plaid, red plaid, and green plaid. Scotch tape is kinda Christmasy, right? You use it enough! I also finally managed to find a pair of gold heels! I was perusing through ModCloth's site when I came across these sparkly beauties. They were the perfect height, so I had to get them. I wore them on Christmas with my red dress that was supposed to be my Christmas dress two years ago, but it had came too late. I didn't get to take any outfit photos of my Christmas Eve or Christmas Day outfits, so I'll have to wear them again at a later date! I did manage a Christmas Day selfie, though...haha.

Now that it's New Year's Eve, I'm thinking about some things I'd like to do in the new year. I don't really have too many set "resolutions", except to pay off my credit card in full. I'd like to try to finally move out of my parent's house this coming year, as well as start my career as a librarian. A smaller thing I'd like to do is get back into a creative mindset. I want to listen to the music I don't usually listen to. I want to start practicing piano again and just playing music in general. I'd also like to start trying to write music and lyrics again. I used to be in a band in high school and I kept doing things with music until around the middle of college, and then I just sort of stopped. Finally, I'd like to really get my room more organized, try to sell some clothes that I don't wear anymore, and keep building on my photography skills. Oh, and as always, I'd like to find the time to read more! :)

By the way! I did a little mini interview with Irene of Love Simple Green the other day. You can check it out here! Oh, and be sure to follow me on Instagram! :)

Stellar

As always, Christmas came and went in a flash! We spend so much time preparing for it, and then it's gone in the matter of a day or less, depending on your Christmas traditions. I got a lot of new clothes and accessories for Christmas. I already did a shoot where I wore a bunch of new things from my Christmas loot, but that'll probably wait until the new year. I still have to exchange with a few of my friends that I haven't gotten to see yet, so it'll be like a little holiday extension!

Unfortunately, I had a cold almost the whole week of Christmas. It wasn't too bad since I took a ton of Zicam to lessen the severity of it, but I still couldn't sleep well since I couldn't breathe. When I get sick, my sinuses always get hit the worst. They always end up super swollen and stuffy, so much that no form of medicine or home remedies ever help. My cold combined with all the excitement and festivities of Christmas caused me to become a little sleep deprived. This weekend I finally got to catch up on my sleep, though. I slept 10 hours both Friday and last night!

Although I was a little under the weather, I was still able to get all my Christmas cookie baking done at the beginning of the week. I made gingerbread, sugar cookies, and hot cocoa cookies. I'll be posting the hot cocoa cookie recipe soon! If you're interested in my gingerbread or sugar cookies, you can check out the recipes here and here!

Dress: Fervour via ModCloth//Sweater: American Eagle//Tights: Apt. 9//Boots: Rockport (thrifted)//Belt: Forever 21

I just had to style this dress again because the print is so awesome and begs to be worn with so many different things. It's one of those dresses that can be worn in so many varying ways. I love versatile pieces!

After I was done with this shoot, I headed over to the nearby beach to watch the sunset. I got there just in time to see the colors get all gradient and pretty. It gets dark so soon in the winter, and I hate it! The days are so much shorter and it's dark by 5, 5:30. I wish the days could be long like they are in the summer all year round!

Favorite Outfits of 2013

With the whirlwind of Christmas coming to an end, it's now time to focus on New Year's! I can't believe that 2013 is almost over. Time always go by so fast, but it really felt like this year went by SUPER fast. As this is usually a time for reflection, I thought I'd put together a little post dedicated to some of my favorite outfits from this year (and yours too!). I think that fall was definitely my best season for outfits, which is usually always true in general.

Meet Me There In The Blue//Valentine's Day

Up In The Air//Blossoming Sailor

May Day//Nautical By Nature

Grad Student//Hi Ho! Cherry-O

Ahoy!//"Delicious Autumn! My Very Soul Is Wedded To It"

It's Just A Bunch of Hocus Pocus//Green Mountain Forest, VT

Milkshake Print//How Evergreen Your Branches

Looking back at some of these, they seem so long ago. It's crazy! This is my first sort of "recap" post, which is odd since I'm all about the recaps and lists. I love looking back at old photos and remembering all the special moments they hold. That's one of the best parts about photography: capturing moments.

I want to thank you all for allowing me to have a great year here. You have no idea how much I appreciate your comments, feedback, e-mails, and readership in general! Thank you so much for always stopping by. :)

Sleigh Bells In The Air, Beauty Everywhere

Winter is in full swing, and Christmas is finally upon us! Here are some lovely photos to peep at as you get ready for one of the best holidays of the year. I'm wishing you all a very merry Christmas! :)