WOW did it feel AMAZING to be back in one of my FAVORITE states!! CALIFORNIA, I freakin love you and your winters never cease to amaze me.
For those of you interested, finals went well… I am still passing all of my classes {lol}, but I was just counting down the hours until my flight home because I could NOT wait to be with my family and get some puppy lovin. Now, I wont go through the ENTIRE winter break because I know y'all are not interested in reading through a blog that is pages long BUT I’ll just hit on some key points of my break.
Starting with my lil beach trip which was very much needed. After just about two days of being home, I need my fill of “vitamin sea,” so I was able to meet up with two of my friends, Nicolette and Savannah, and head to the beach for some sun and a cute {and aesthetic} picnic.
And as though us three couldn't get enough of each other, the next day we went to the Grove for a girls day. We started at one of my favorite restaurants {link to restaurant} in the area, clicked our champagne glasses, and just shopped during the day. Yes — we even booked a private shopper at Topshop for a few hours and were given the “VIP” room. I could get used to that life.
Fast forward a couple more days, and I FINALLY got to do GOAT YOGA with my fambam!! I know that before we went, my dad was kinda dreading it, BUT if you could have seen the smiles on my family’s faces when we got in the area with all the cute little goats… ugh I just know they loved it as much as me!! Honestly, when it comes to goat yoga, I think that more people are focused on getting pictures and Snapchats with the goats than the actual flow, so watching everybody play with the goats {some of which were in pajamas} and witnessing some goats pooping on people’s yoga mats was super entertaining. PLUS, the money that you pay to enroll in a goat yoga class goes towards a great cause {fundraising for local causes}.
Christmas Eve, we experienced the magic at Descanso Gardens {link to site} with our god family. I’ll say that it was definitely a neat experience because the place such a big property and there are different light experiences everywhere, but I wouldn’t make it an annual tradition. If you're an “instagram influencer” or a “big time blogger,” I do think it would be a neat place for you to check out and you could TOTALLY get some fun pictures.
Christmas of course consisted of some typical family festivities… An early morning wake up call from my brother blasting music in my room and doing some weird dance {seriously… If you have my number, you HAVE to get ahold of this video} and then down the stairs to open some gifts from Santa {Santa, you were TOO good to me this year}!! Then, we had about an hour to get ready to head to Newport to continue the celebrations with my dad’s side of the family. After indulging in a very yummy buffet of my favorite foods {turkey bacon, eggs, and my Nanie’s infamous potatoes}, playing with the kiddos, distributing my infamous rice krispie treats {thanks to my mamas secret recipe}, and saying our goodbyes, we loaded up the car once more and headed the to the Valley to continue Christmas with my mama’s side of the family. Now by this part of the evening, we’re able to get into our pajamas, play pool {or play with the pups if you're not as coordinated like myself}, eat another fulfilling meal, and then do our annual game of Secret Santa. BOY DO I LOVE CHRISTMAS!! Spending time with family, eating a delicious spread of food, and just knowing that it’s a day dedicated to Christ’s birth.
Now — For those who always ask, because I live in California, if I surf, yes I do… IF you count just being able to stand up on small waves BUT unfortunately, I never made it out on my board this break, but hopefully during summer!! Although I didn't make it out into the ocean, I did make it down to Newport and San Diego with Tatiana which was fun… We road tripped down for a couple of days, went ice skating at the Hotel del Coronado {which I wish y'all could've witnessed Tati on skates like I did}, and then spent the night at my Nanie and Papa’s in Newport.
As New Year’s Eve approached, let me begin by telling y'all that I have NEVER gone out on New Years. In elementary and middle school, my brother and I would celebrate by banging on pots and pans with wooden spoons while my parents celebrate on New York’s time; in high school I would maybe have one to four friends over for a dinner with my parents and drink sparkling cider; freshman year of college I spent it with my parents and was asleep before midnight; sophomore year of college I spent it with {some may call him… but we never defined it} my “boyfriend” with a bottle of Veuve {which I apparently hated at the time because I was only used to crappy champagne} and some cocktails thanks to my mama on the couch just watching movies; and junior year I spent it with three of my really good friends from TCU at one of their friend’s houses in LA {but again, not a “rager”}.
This year however, Tatiana and I had planned on having a really nice dinner {reservations and all} at the Ivy and then a wine and movie night at my brother’s place in Santa Monica BUT, lemme tell you that it did NOT end up that way… We got a call from my Zeta biggie, Nicolle, telling us at around 8:00 pm to be at her apartment {30 mins away} by 9:00 pm to get ready and go out. THANK GOODNESS for us being prepared and knowing we may fall into peer pressure of going out on New Years though, because we both had outfits ready!! ALSO, for those of you who don't know, Los Angeles during New Years is INSANE and you typically have to pay hundreds of dollars to get in ANYWHERE!! We didn't though!! Nicolle has the plugs in LA {lol} and we ended up at Hyde for a masquerade bash. Let’s just say {without clarifying}, someone ended up with a chipped tooth, somebody peed their pants, somebody wiped out on the floor, and multiple people lost their masks… What. A. Night.
After some rest and rejuvenation for a couple of days, I was headed north with my good friend Joel, whom I have known for about twelve years. Considering he lives in Morro Bay {about three hours from my house}, I left early in the morning to pick him up and then we continued our way straight up to San Francisco… Because it was his first time in the city, we did what any typical tourist would do: checked into our hotel, went ice skating in the square, treated ourselves to some celebratory drinks for making it to the weekend, went to the Krispy Kreme factory, explored the wharf, walked market street, etc. I even had the chance to spend some time with my aunt, uncle, and cousins while Joel caught up with his buddy he hadn't seen for a while. After two full days of adventure, it was time embark on our drive back south. I only had a few more days left in California and I still wanted to get a few more things into my busy break schedule.
To end my break, Tatiana and I went on a lil beach hike and went on a very interesting double date in LA {which ended us up at a table at Nightingale}, my mom and I had a girls night, my brother and I went to a Ducks vs Kings game {my birthday gift to him} and I made it to the beach with my brother and one of his friends to take photos of them surfing.
Sooooo, as you can see {and if you were even interested in reading all of that}, my four weeks of winter in California were INCREDIBLE and the days definitely kept me on my toes. As for future posts on this blog, I don't know the next adventure I will be going on… For all I know, my next post won’t happen until Spring Break, and I don't even know what I’m doing for that yet. If you have ANY ideas of what I should do, reach out to me. {contact link} Until then, love you all and thanks for supporting me and following me on all of my travels.
xoxo V
