My Christmas Wish List

I discovered this neat tool online to create a collage of images and thought what better way to utilize this tool than to create my very first Christmas wish list!  It took me an hour and a half to come up with just ten items - what can I say, I already have everything I've ever wanted!  In no particular order...

1. Gucci Envy - Thank you secret santa, for getting this for me!

2. Roseark Sideways Cross Silver Necklace

3. Roomba

4. Naked Palette and Powder Foundation Santa Fe

5. Cute coffee mugs

6. Gift cards to my favorite stores

7. Tory Burch flats

8. MacBook Pro

9. DSL Camera

10. A puppy! - This really is a wish as I probably can't take care of one by my lonesome right now

Thankful

I am a very lucky girl, I proudly admit.  This Thanksgiving, and every other Thanksgiving for that matter, I have a lot to be thankful for.  But, there is one thing that overwhelms my spirit more than anything else.  When I think of this, I find it hard to contain how grateful I am and often find myself exclaiming "THANK YOU" out loud.  What I am most thankful for, are the people in my life.

These people, who are my family and close friends are one of a kind.  They challenge me through every encounter with them to be a better person, to find the silver lining, and to remember to stop and smell the roses.  They uplift me, protect me from living a destructive lifestyle, and open my eyes to new opportunities life has to offer.  They have seen me at my very worst, even when I threatened to give up on life, and spoke positivity into my life, urging me to push on for just one more day.  They take me seriously, always without judgement. And most importantly, despite all of my many shortcomings, they genuinely believe that I deserve the very best in life, and remind me of this every chance they get.  I am TrulyBlessed.

Ni Hao - Trip to Taiwan!

Hello!  I just returned from a one week vacation in Taiwan!  All in all, it was a good trip filled with sightseeing, A LOT of walking around and shopping, good food, bonding time with my brother, and spending time with friends.   

@ the National Palace Museum where we were educated on Chinese history

@ Din Tai Fung in Tapei 101 - not the original, but just as good!

@ Chiang Kai Shek memorial where we watched the changing of the guards

 Learning how to pay respects to the gods at Longshan Temple

Street vendors at a night market selling stinky tofu - yuck!

@ Tamshui - US version of a pier or fisherman's wharf

Tapei 101

I Left My Heart In San Francisco

I spent the past 4 days on a road trip up North.  Talk about cramming in as much as you can in a short amount of time!  From a delicious dinner at La Mar, to wine tasting in Napa, to walking the Golden Gate Bridge, to salivating over crab at Pier 41, to hanging out with good friends and so much more, I can't say I'm refreshed and ready to get back to work, but as tired as I am today, it was all worth it!  I'll let my video do all the sharing.  Enjoy!

(P.S.  I LOVE iPhone apps - especially Splice which is FREE and allowed me to build this video during the drive back!)

LA County Fair

Junk food, farm animals, ferris wheels, and carnival games have a way of bringing you back to your childhood, and sometimes, it's nice to feel like a kid again.  I was pleasantly surprised by the LA County Fair as I had been to the OC Fair a couple times before and wasn't very impressed.  The LA County fair was a lot bigger, had legitimate toys you could win by playing the games, a variety of food, and adorable farm animals to pet.

In the petting area - I hear the sheep are very soft!

I had my eye on this prize from the moment I walked in, and I got to go home with it!

Little piglets sleeping together

A shooting game where you had to shoot off the entire red star - so close!

And of course, the obligatory junk food meal