December 2017 Recap

On December 9th, I celebrated 5 years of living in California!!

Jacket // Jeans // Sunglasses

 

I got stopped by police after walking across the crosswalk at Target, was thanked for actually using the crosswalk, given a gift card, and got my picture taken with Pedestrian Pete. Not a bad Tuesday.

Turtleneck // Purse // Pants

 

Alec and I found the most amazing decorated neighborhood. Legit, every single house was coordinated and themed and they must have a seriously talented artist on this street. Obviously, this house was my favorite.

Leggings

We survived the horrible Thomas Fire that came through our city. It seriously still smells like smoke. It is just stuck in everything. This was taken outside our apartment.

To get away from all the smoke, we randomly flew up to WA the weekend before Christmas and my mom and I made a gingerbread cake! Fun fact: I actually made the little pieces on the cake last year. I bought the wood figures from Hobby Lobby and hand-painted them all! Hit me up for all your baking decor needs.

Top // Pants

Alec and I threw an ugly Christmas sweater/ gingerbread man decorating/ Elf watching party.

We also celebrated our first married Christmas together complete with cranberry mimosas and baked brie appetizers.

Mimosas:

• Champagne/ Sparkling Wine/ Prosecco (whatever your heart desires)
• A splash of cranberry juice or POM juice (see above ♥️)
• Cranberries and Rosemary to garnish (I prefer to just set the rosemary on top to look festive because if it sits in the drink too long, it’ll pick up the taste)

Brie Bites:

• 1 sheet thawed puff pastry
• 16 mini Brie rounds/ pieces of Brie
• 1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water for brushing

1. Set oven to 400F

2. When the pastry has thawed, lay it out on a floured surface. Roll it out gently into a 12×12 square. Cut the sheet into sixteen 3″ squares.

3. Lay a Brie round in the center of each square, and bring up the corners to meet in the middle. Twist the ends together to secure.

4. Set the pastries on a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet and lightly brush with the egg mixture.

5. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until the pastries are golden brown.

6. Serve hot with your favorite jam (I like raspberry or fig). Don’t forget to garnish with something festive!

OR just go get these from the frozen app section of Trader Joe’s lol (but beware that they are sometimes just seasonal)

We celebrated Christmas at Alec’s parents on a bright and sunny California day with his extended family. Lots of laughs, gifts, and food (seriously, time for the gym, this holiday season was not kind to me)

Top // Pants // Skirt

I enjoyed a beautiful brunch at the prettiest restaurant, Orange Hill, and took advantage of the unlimited mimosas…but it was for a good cause becauuuuse…..

Sweater // Pants // Shoes // Purse

…This beautiful little (emphasis on little) lady got ENGAGED!! Remind me never to wear heels around her though…

Last but OMG CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, I got asked to be a freaking bridesmaid in my friend Bliss’s wedding!!! I was genuinely so surprised…I thought I was just going to an intimate bridal shower brunch. Nope. September can’t come soon enough!!