My Favorite San Diego Festival

All year I wait for a little winter festival called December Nights here in San Diego. It's only two days long, but features all my favorite things in one go: pretty lights, gorgeous buildings, international foods and spirits, free museum entry, and a city feel. 

BUT SERIOUSLY, LOOK AT THOSE LIGHTS: 

By far, my favorite part of the festival is the international village section (big freakin' surprise). I forgot to take a picture of the House of Turkey with their delicious doner kebabs, but I did take a couple snapshots of the International Spirits section. 

Two glorious words: Swedish Glogg. What is that, you ask? Essentially, mulled wine with a kick of brandy. That'll make all the scrooges jolly! 

Above: Me savouring every last drop of my glogg. Below: other options of alcohol from around the world (here, it's India). 

Obviously, the best thing about these sorts of festivals is meeting up with friends and soaking up the happy atmosphere. 

 Emiliano practicing his "London Look." 

Above: I asked the parents of this adorable child if I could take a picture of their son. They got him to pose for me ;) 

Honestly, I could have taken TEN BAZILLION more pictures of the festival, but I got too busy with my second glogg and good conversation. December Nights is always the first weekend of December...so if you happen to be in Southern California, drop by! 

Do-It-Yourself Glitter Ornaments and Christmas Craft Parties

My friend Rachel is the most crafty person I know, so when she decided to hold a Christmas Craft Party, I knew I could learn a thing or two from her. While I've always been good at drawing, I'm often times too impatient for most crafts. But this DIY is easy peasy, fast, and perfect for the less-than-crafty crowd.

What You'll Need: Mop & Glo, Clear Ornaments, and Glitter.

Directions: Squeeze about a teaspoon of Mop & Glo into the clear ornament, swig around until entire inside is coated, discard extra liquid in the sink.

Next, sprinkle desired amount of glitter into the ornament and shake until, again, entire inside is coated. That's it!! EASIEST CRAFT EVER!

Optional Step: Wear glitter balls as earrings (thanks for modeling, Zach).

While I made the easy glitter ornaments, others worked on more difficult (a.k.a. adult) crafts.

I then worked on taking pictures for this blog and eating lots of cheese.

 Above: Selection of cheese. If you haven't tried Port Salut, you haven't lived. Below: A caprese salad I made for the party (easy party dish!). 

Rachel made peppermint sugar scrub for co-workers: 

Craft parties are an excellent way to eat, laugh, and create with friends! Just the thing to put me in the Christmas Spirit.

Christmas in July Party

Whilst in London, I had the pleasure of being able to attend my friend Stu's "Christmas in July" party. Everything I love about London can be found in these photos: a cheeky community coming together drinking copious amounts of wine, wearing silly hats, and allowing for a little bit of humor. 

Stu = Sad Santa?

 I know you're chowing down, boys, but CHEESE! (I'm evil) 

 I had ripped my contact that morning and foolishly did not bring a back-up. So it was glasses for the rest of the trip (argh). Giorgio was my glasses buddy! 

 I just love when English companies go overboard with American-themed stuff ^

 We had a Secret Santa gift exchange! 

 The whole crew. 

Ya know. 

The aftermath ^

Laura and I actually couldn't stay at the party for terribly long because we had to dash to our train for Scotland. We hurriedly made our way to Kings Cross (one of my fave stations):

 And yes, this is the station to find Harry. 

We took our seats, ordered some tea and water to sober up a bit (ha!), and relaxed on a five-hour train ride up the U.K.! 

***

Next post: Scotland. 

Holiday Happenings & Other News

THIS MONTH HAS BEEN BUSY!

On top of the usual holiday shenanigans I usually get into (parties, too much food, ugly sweaters, winter festivals), I also have some exciting/scary news...

I've accepted a writing job (on a trial basis thus far) in addition to my university temp job. This is exciting/scary because it's definitely a bit of a career shift for me. However, I'm really thrilled at the idea of having a more creative career. The job is centered around creating web content for businesses. And guess what?! I even listed this blog on my resume. How funny is that? Putting the ol' blog to use! 

Anyway, thought I would share a few pics from the ugly sweater party...because, why not? 

 Ugly sweaters in action. 

 Lisa called this her 'Ugly New Years Sweater'

Merry Christmas, San Diego style!!!

My Very First Vlog Post

Yeah, I said vlog. My friend Michelle tagged me in a Winter Wonderland vlog post, and this was the result...

(oh, and let me preface by acknowledging that, yes, I say 'um' entirely too much. I apologize. This was my first go at a vlog post and I'm clearly a novice!)

I'll be incredibly impressed if you make it through the whole video. It's a bit long, and I could definitely learn to edit/shut my face a bit better. Oh, and if you feel like participating, go for it! I figured it was getting kinda late in the game to tag people, but anyone is welcome to play.

Happy Holidayyyyyyyyys!

Just Your Average Gluttonous Christmas Event, San Diego Style

December Nights is a Christmas festival that is as merry as you can get: trees, caroling, free admission to museums (in San Diego's Balboa Park), international foods from around the world, performances and even carnie rides make this one jam-packed event!

Despite the rainy day, I knew I didn't want to miss one of my favorite festivals in my hometown.

 We were sucessfully photo-bombed by these dudes. I had to give them credit for it! 

I do love December Nights, but the gluttony of this kind of event--deep fried dessert, nachos, copius amounts of alcohol, etc.--had us discussing what those coming from third world countries might think about our wasteful, indulgent ways. On the one hand, this privilege is all we've ever known. But still, I think it's good to question just how much food we are consuming (and then humorously having to diet from), whilst there are countries out there struggling to gather a meal.

Of course, I love any festival where a city gets together in such a joyful way, so I won't complain too much. Especially when we ended the night watching one man sing his rendition of "I Believe I Can Fly," complete with back-up interpretive dancers. I mean, that made for the best night ever!