The Beautiful Little Things

{source}

There are some photos that bring you back to little memories you had forgotten and this photo

is one of those. While my parents were visiting Orvieto with me, we saw a Wisteria 

growing beautifully on the side of someone's house so we went over to smell the flowers. 

As we were sneaking a smell, the lady who had grown the wisteria was gardening in her

tiny yard and saw we loved her work of art so she proceeded to cut a small branch for 

both my mom and I. We were so struck by her kindness that we thanked her a thousand

times over and continued to smell the sweet smelling flower for the rest of our walk.

I think the kind woman understood the notion of sharing beautiful little things. What good

are they if we hoard them for ourselves? Pretty things are meant to be enjoyed and shared,

at least I believe so. 

It's funny how memories come to you right when you need them. I didn't know I 

needed a little reminder of the simpler, Italy days until now.

I miss Italy every single day. 

All is Merry and Bright

I hope you had a blessed Christmas day with all your loved ones. (My sisters and I clearly love one another haha. But really, we do.). We had a lovely day and I can't wait to share

some photos soon! Right now I'm doing some work on my winter class so I'm a little

busy but I wanted to drop in and make sure everyone had a wonderful day. :)

Enjoy the rest of December! 

Let's Play Catch-Up

Merry Almost Christmas!!
I am finally home for the holidays and there hasn't really been a moment to blog since

arriving home! 

First I left my adorably decorated home in Tucson after my Wednesday morning final

and headed straight to San Diego to see my sister. 

On Friday we drove the blissful 8 hours home which takes you right through

the farming central of California. It's a long drive with not a lot to look at but we were

giddy to be heading home!

 After we got home I quickly changed and freshened up and headed off to my friend's 21st

birthday party! It was so wonderful having all my friends from home in one place again.

I seriously can't believe Christmas Eve is tomorrow! I am trying to soak up as much of the

Christmas spirit as possible before it's gone. 

Hopefully I'll take out my camera this week and snap some real shots. :)

Have a wonderful day!

Little Frustrations

{amazing Everygirl print}

I'm in that stage where I am just waiting (referring to the quote above). I have had a lot

of faith lately and not a lot of moments that pick me up. I've worked extremely hard and

there have been no results showing my hard work. I think that's the most frustrating

thing about grades. Then on top of your own guilt and frustration, everyone around you is

announcing their good work and you feel defeated. (One of those moments that I really

hate social media.) 

Finals suck and we all know that but when it comes down to what you are choosing to 

major in and you still aren't producing results, finals suck even more. 

I'm currently in San Diego visiting my sister at her school until we both drive home.

I keep trying to put on a happy face and let all the school frustrations go but boy is it hard!

Tomorrow I am going to go to the beach, do a little shopping, and not check my grades

because who needs them anyways? (roll with me on this one)

We'll see how I do...

(I missed blogging A TON by the way!!)

I'll Be Home For Christmas

{This girl with a pineapple has nothing to do with what I'm about to say but I like the colors and it
reminds me of warmer days}

I am here to say I won't be posting this week due to finals. Honestly, it will probably be quieter around

here for quite some time. For the next week and a half my mind will be thinking about 

communication disorders, disability studies and language science non stop. 

Bare with me and when I come back I'll be in San Diego picking my sister up from 

school so I'll have some fun San Diego stories. 

Basically, I'll see you when I'm home for Christmas though. 

Have a wonderful week. :) 

{photo}

Friday Inspiration

“A serious girl, when she finds someone who calms her spirit and quiets her busy thoughts, will love you so fiercely, it will defy even her own logic and reasoning.” 

- Unknown.

Anna from Little Reminders of Love always has the best quotes on her blog and 

I had to share this one. I can't wait to find that man who quiets my busy thoughts.

Have a beautiful day.  

The Perfect Little Gifts

Everyone and their brother is putting together gift guides right now and a lot of the time

I end up becoming overwhelmed by the long lists. I thought I would just throw together 

a little stocking stuffer gift list that is short and sweet and any of these gifts would be

perfect for friends! 

Everyone has been talking about the gold monogrammed mugs from Anthropologie 

but what about the books cut out into letters? I have been wanting the 'A' for

quite some time. The Kate Spade glitter coaster would also be perfect for that friend

who is always throwing little parties. Maybe for your sister you throw in some of

the hair ties that don't crease your hair and give her some of those fun colorful

pencils! 

What are some of your favorite little gifts to give someone? 

(And all these gifts are $25 and below!!) 

{monogramed letters, coasters, pencils, print, hair ties, mug}

Outfit Post:: Out in the Country

I absolutely loved being home this past week. There's nothing better than seeing some

real Fall and being surrounded by family and friends from home. 

We went on a little adventure up to Apple Hill on the first day I was there

 and stumbled upon this little farm. 

It was too picturesque to pass up so I immediately told my aunt to pull over 

because I needed to take photos. Everyone had a photo shoot promptly after. 

This outfit is one of my favorite because it was cheap (everything is from F21, Target or

Twice.com) and it is incredibly comfortable. My boots are the trusty ones I brought

with me all through Europe and this was the first time they made an appearance since

then. (We had to take a little break...) 

I dream about living on a little farm like this someday. While we were taking

the photos there was smoke coming out of the chimney and it was perfect. 

Doesn't it kind of make you want to sing and frolick around? Also,

it's possibly the best place ever for a wedding. 

Have a great Tuesday!

"I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it."
-Shakespeare

Thanksgiving Break in Snapshots

I had an absolutely amazing time being home for the short Thanksgiving break and 

thought I'd document some of what we did. We always go down to the Bay Area for

Thanksgiving to visit with family and stuff our faces and this  year was no exception.

On Friday we headed into the city for some shopping and while it was hectic,

we got a ton done so all was well.

Here's some snapshots::

 My cousin just opened up a new Philz coffee in south San Francisco and so the entire

family went to visit her at work and we all swooned over the delicious coffee.

 I went into J.Crew in San Francisco to dream about one day owning this perfect 

cranberry coat. (My mom and sister walked in soon after and told me to

put. the. coat. down. haha) 

 We went up to Apple Hill and frolicked in the leaves and experienced

some of a real fall. 

My dad and sister posed with our Gap bag (with the perfect gold accent) on 

pier 39 and it was the perfect product placement and picturesque scene that I had

to sneak a photo. (Also the fact that we were in SF where Gap originates was too 

perfect as well) 

And last but not least we decorated for Christmas!! We got the biggest tree we've 

had yet and it required 4 men to carry it into the house. The stump was also too

big for our stand so they had to saw off a good chunk. In the end the tree is

beautiful and one of the best we've ever had.

Did anything exciting happen during your Thanksgiving?