PCD (Post Christmas Depression???)

Oh my god, I can't believe Christmas has already passed! It seems like just two weeks ago I was complaining that I wanted to put my decorations out, but it was too early to, and now I'm already putting them away. :( My Christmas this year was great! On Christmas Eve, I went to service with my family & then we went out for Mexican food at one of our favorite local restaurants. We then went home, put on our matching pajamas we get each year, and just spent the rest of the night together! Christmas morning though we woke up at 7, opened presents, made Swedish pancakes, and relaxed until we went over to my Mom's. When we were at my Mom's we did what we do every year, and it was just a nice, relaxing day with my family. 

For presents, I got everything I wanted and more. I got a new polaroid, which means I can annoy people more and take even more pictures than I already do (yayy), clothes, accessories, and some beauty products! I absolutely love everything. A couple of my favorite presents were my white slip on vans, my army jacket, and my black high-waisted jeans from Urban! I love everything I got, and I am so blessed that I am able to receive these things I want when not everyone around the world can get what they hope for.

Today, to close the Christmas festivities my family and I went to the Grove to do some day-after-Christmas shopping, and go to lunch. We went to a delicious Greek restaurant there called Ulysses, if you go to the Grove you should try it! We then walked around and shopped a little at Topshop and Nordstroms, then took some pictures by the giant Christmas tree they have! It was the perfect ending to the perfect holiday season! Although I am sad Christmas is over, I am excited to finish this year by doing some fun things with my friends, and begin 2015 with a fresh start and make it a great year! I hope everyone had great holiday season and I promise I will post more. Until next time! 

XX,

Hannah

Holiday Favorites

Hey guys! I have had such a writers block for the past week or so, so that's why I haven't posted.  I also felt like no one was reading this so I was like why should I continue? But eh, I don't care about the readers I do it to make me happy. So with continuing on posting I've had to figure out what I've wanted to post about, and for this post since it is finally December, I decided to post about my holiday favorites! One of my favorites (and probably most student's favorite) is the break that we get from school! It is so nice that we have a couple weeks off to relax, and spend time with our families. Other than no school though, I love so much about this time of year. For Christmas favorites, I think my favorite are the decorations! Since I just love them so much, this year I decided to put some decorations up in my room. I added some red lights around my mirror, a red blanket across my bed, and a Christmas tree too! I love having decorations in my room, it spreads the Christmas spirit throughout my whole house. :) I also love 25 Days of Christmas! During this time of year all I really watch are Christmas related shows, so having a channel that constantly plays them is great! I think my all time favorite movie has to be The Polar Express, I will probably watch it 5 times throughout all of December! I also love the food! I mean who doesn't? The cookies, the hot chocolate, the breads, the candy....the list could go on forever. Making gingerbread houses and miserably failing at it is also one of my favorites. One of my favorite traditions though, is baking cookies with my mom. Every year my mom has a cookie exchange party, and each year I help her bake. One of my favorite cookies of hers are her peanut butter blossoms. They are a peanut butter cookie, rolled in sugar, with a chocolate kiss inside! They are seriously heaven on Earth. I will put the recipe below, you should try them out! :)

Ingredients:

48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup REESE'S Creamy Peanut Butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt
 Additional granulated sugar(optional)


Directions: 

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 48 cookies. Enjoy!

Even though the presents, the food, and the time off from school is nice, the holidays are also a time of giving back. I usually feed the homeless people at my church when I have time, but this time is for doing more than that. There are all sorts of charities out there doing things for people in need, such as Toys for Tots or Midnight Mission, please give back if you can. :) I hope everyone is having a great week, and I will update soon! 

xx,

Hannah

11/27

Turkey Day In The Big Apple

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope all of you had a great day. :) This morning my family and I went to a little market a couple blocks away from our hotel for breakfast. I had an everything bagel with butter, and even though it was so simple is was soo good. The bagels here are seriously heaven on Earth. We then went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, but we didn't stay long because it began to snow. I didn't enjoy the parade much, but I thought it was cool to be there because growing up I would always wake up to watch it while cooking with my mom so to see it in person was special. After the parade, we took a subway to Canal Street for some shopping. I bought a black leather backpack that I absolutely adore, and my mom bought some Christmas presents for our extended family. After shopping for a couple of hours we headed into Soho again to go to a french bistro called Balthazar. The restaurant was so cute, and delicious! The croissants were phenomenal, just like the ones in France! After eating we went back to the hotel to get freshened up, and then we headed towards Central Park to take a carriage ride. After the ride we walked to Serendipity for dinner, but once we got there it was closed. We then walked up and down streets trying to find food until we got to Rockefeller Center. We picked up some desserts from a cute bakery there, and also hotdogs and pretzels to eat. Then, at 8:30 we went to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockette's Christmas Show! The show was great, and it really put me more into the holiday spirit (If that's possible?). I am now relaxing in the hotel room getting ready for bed so I am ready for our big day planned tomorrow. I will be putting pictures up on my photography page of my adventures today so check it out. :) Once again Happy Thanksgiving and have a great rest of your break!! :)

xx,
Hannah

11/26

A Day In Soho

Today was day two in the best place in the world. To start off my morning we walked to a cute café called Café Bene. Its theme was so typical New York- library, a perfect place to study, and to be creative. There I ordered a caramel latte and a banana whipped cream waffle, it was delicious! After breakfast we walked around Times Square for a little bit taking pictures, but not for long since it was raining. We then took the subway to Soho to stay there for the afternoon. While in Soho I took sooo many pictures, everything that I see here catches my eye, and I think it is all so beautiful so I try to take a picture of everything that I like. One thing that I really loved was the wall art, I think it shows so much about the city’s people who are bursting with creativity, and it just gives it something special. I also took a lot of pictures of the buildings, I love the old style look and it looks great in pictures. As well as taking pictures, I also shopped around with my sister and mom. Shopping in New York is definitely something special, especially around the holidays. We then went out to lunch in Little Italy. We ordered a pizza from Lombardi’s, America’s first pizzeria! My family and I shared a margarita pizza with half of it having sausage on it. It was so good. For dessert, since we had heard that Ferraras is very good we had to go. We got an assortment of their desserts, but the best was the chocolate covered cannoli! If you ever come to the city, you have to go there! Below are some pictures that I took today, but if you want to see more go to my photography page also. I will try my best to post something tomorrow, but if I don’t happy Thanksgiving!! I hope everyone has a good break! 

Xx,

Hannah

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Fashion Finds

Okay, so as many of you may know that on Tuesday I am going to NYC!! I am so beyond excited I can't stand it!! Since it is obviously colder there than it is here, I have been shopping for things to keep me warm while I'm there, and I would like to share my new fashion finds with you. I have been following the weather in NY, and it has been varying between the 30’s to the 50’s. Last week I went shopping with my sister, and since we both didn't have a lot of money, we went to less expensive stores looking for good deals. I find my inspiration on clothes and trends by photos on Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest so I was looking for clothes similar to some that I've seen other people wearing. We first went to Abercrombie (which definitely is NOT cheap. sigh) and I found the cutest jeans ever. I absolutely fell in love with them, but I didn't have enough money so I couldn't get them. :( We then went over to Urban Outfitters (which once again isn't cheap, but I'm in love with their clothes so I had to go to look at the sale section). I found the cutest tops and jeans, but I didn't know if I would wear them all the time so I decided not to buy them, I may have to go back though. After that we headed to Forever 21 because sometimes they actually have pretty cute things for a good price. We probably spent an hour in there raiding the racks of clothes looking for the decent pieces out of the tons of clothes they have there, and I left with boyfriend jeans, a black sweater, and navy blue knee high socks. I have been looking for the perfect pair of inexpensive boyfriend jeans for the longest time, but every time I found a pair I loved they were $80 or more, but these ones were only $27! I think that they are so cute, and I will definitely will be wearing them with everything I can. The black sweater that I found I also love because it has a different feel to it. It is very soft and comfortable, but it looks like something out of Clueless or Sex and The City, which I absolutely adore. The 80s fashion I think is so cute, I just have no idea where to shop to buy clothes like that, and I don't really think I can pull it off, but whatever. Then the socks are just plain, but I am obsessed with navy blue, and they match one of my scarves perfectly, so I just had to buy them. But, three things obviously isn't enough to get me through my five days in the Big Apple, so I am hoping that this weekend I can go shopping again, and maybe thrifting to get some new clothes! One of my favorite used clothing clothing stores is Buffalo Exchange. It has previously owned, usually designer or top brand, clothes for cheap! The last time I went, I bought a pair of Jeffery Campbells for only $35! The store is kind of a mess, but if you look long and hard enough you will definitely get some cute finds, if there's one near you I definitely recommend you to go! There are also some great thriftshops in the Valley or LA around me, so you should go there too if you're into that sort of thing! Right now, Top Shop also has adorable clothes so if you have the money and time to go shopping, go! There are such great jackets, sweaters, jeans (amazing high-waisted jeans), and really anything you could imagine. Their shoes and accessories are really cute too!

Here's one outfit that I am thinking of taking with me, the sweater is the one I bought at Forever 21, and everything else is either from Urban Outfitters or Nordstroms. :)

 I will update you guys on what I buy and wear this next week in New York, but also throughout the winter. I hope you are enjoying reading this as much as I am enjoying writing these pieces. :)

xx,
Hannah