Currently :: November

And here I am, welcoming December thirty [American] pounds heavier and thirty [British] pounds poorer after that weekend has come and gone. Slight exaggeration. Of course I'm more than thirty pounds poorer. 
I opened my front door this morning, after having spent Thanksgiving at my sister's place in Seattle, to an apartment fully decked out with a Christmas tree, stockings, nutcrackers galore, and mistletoe too. To you, this may mean gift guides and gingerbread houses. To me, this means shoveling as many peppermint Joe-Joe's into my mouth as I humanly can. To each their own.
But first. November was spent recuperating from the best wedding of all time, tailgating my tail off, aaaaand...
WATCHING // and re-watching Quantico. Obsessed is an understatement. Aziz Ansari's Master of None was also a crowd pleaser for this crowd of one. Have you seen it? Also, this weekend was a testament to my family's affinity for dystopian / apocalyptic movies apparently? Our list: Mad Max, Hunger Games, and San Andreas. 
EATING // soooo... Thanksgiving was pure gluttony. We had a turkey and a duck at the table, in an effort to make this our first Ameriasian Thanksgiving. Mashed potatoes and lo-mein. Stuffing and braised tofu. Pumpkin pie and... birthday cake...

MISSING // my family, already. 

WANTING // to be back in Europe, just a little bit. The other morning as I was getting ready for work, I caught a whiff of the perfume I used this summer in Europe and my gaze fell on a go-to summer dress and I just about cried, I missed those carefree summer days so.  

PLANNING // an itinerary for this upcoming weekend in Los Angeles! Suggestions welcome, as always.

READING // the news. The new News app and Flipboard (and theSkimm - the best way to stay informed) have been mainstays for my commute. Though the headlines may be sad more often than not, it's as important as ever to learn about what's going on around us.

MAKING // myself get off the couch after work. I need weekends and M-F 5pm onwards to recharge. Slowly but surely, I've been seeing friends and attending social media events at cool places like Adobe headquarters (see below!) – it's a start.

LEARNING // all the things. Work's been crazy, but also crazy good. The very best thing about working at a startup, in my opinion, is that you get to wear so, so many hats. There's always something new to learn!

TALKING // travel plans for 2016. You know me. Can't sit still for long.
SPENDING // ... IN MY DEFENSE I got a new credit card and NEED to spend a certain amount to receive my intro offer of shiny reward points. Wink.
FEELING // so lucky and so thankful. It took me a long time to think of something for "Wanting" and "Needing" and I realize how fortunate I am to be in such a position.

WEARING // booties, booties, booties everywhere. Bootylicious, baby. Also, as of now – cat hair on everything. 

ENJOYING // the rain! It's no secret that California's been in a major drought, so I'll take every evening and morning of light sprinkling I can get. I've forgotten how magical it is to fall asleep to the sound of rain against the windowpane. 

DRINKING // coffee. You don't want to know my daily average. It's worrisome.

NEEDING // to finish my Europe recaps. I've been struggling with figuring out just how exactly to properly tell the stories from the second half of my trip, but I'm also so impatient to share them with you. I should also tell you more about exploring Seattle... what a glorious city.
LISTENING // to She & Him's holiday album. Incredible.
LOOKING [FORWARD TO] // LA this weekend with the bestie, Santa Con, going home to Houston for a few days for Christmas, and then I'm off to China for about ten days to see family!