Life Lately {vol. 36 - Christmas Edition}

James and I are best buds, 4 ever. :)

On Sunday, Abby and I studied for Evidence together!

Isn't Jamie a handsome fella?

On Monday, I had a massage at Intuitive Touch in Concord, and even in town, I couldn't help but appreciate how beautiful New Hampshire was. :)

On Thursday, I had to take Leif to the vet to deal with some digestive problems, but we got it sorted out and he was a perfect gentleman (unlike his big brother).

On Friday, Leif, James and I headed out to start our journey at 8:15AM! We had to get to D.C. by the end of the day - around an 8 hour drive - so I knew going into it that the drive was do-able!

I went through 7 states on Friday - New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, and a tiny bit in Deleware (and don't worry - I was watching the road).

New Jersey was, at all times, the ugliest and most terrible state I have ever driven through.

My hotel in D.C./Maryland was perfect and close to the airport! Leif was really scared at first, but eventually warmed up to the place. He's not as good in the car as James, but this was the first trip I let Leif out of his cage. It was tough to deal with him on my own (always trying to sit on my lap or whine), but once J joined me on Saturday, Leif was so much easier to manage!

J's plane flew into D.C. just after 1PM, and we got into Hilton Head around 11PM that night! The next day, it felt so good to sleep in and enjoy being home!

Such a beautiful tree! :)

I really love my family. We're a weird bunch, but we really love each other. :)

My dog, Kichon, is an old lady at heart and has been since she was a puppy. There were a few times this weekend where I asked someone to poke her to make sure she was still kickin', haha!

J was so happy to reunite with Leif! :)

For Christmas Eve (and J's birthday), we had our annual little "feast," which was just as good as it is every year! :) I'm definitely spoiled!

Christmas morning, I treated myself to coffee in my mom's Pi Phi mug and had a blast opening my stocking up!

These avacado earnings were also in my stocking! How PERFECT are they?!

I also got a remote for my iPhone camera, which Grandma and I tried out. :)

I got several AWESOME books for Christmas (including some sweet wedding books), but this is the only one I've started reading yet - and it's AWESOME! Really down-to-earth and fun and useful! :)

Things got a liiiittle bit messy on Christmas, but it was so nice to see my grandparents as well as my family! We ended up eating lunch at 3PM, then went for a long, 2-mile walk on the beach!

This morning, J and I did yoga to wake up, and when I came back upstairs (post-coffee), Leif was just too cute for words! I wish I could transport this chair back to New Hampshire with me, because I can tell he'll be so sad to leave it behind!

This afternoon, J, Chase and I headed out to lunch at Golden Corral, browsed through Best Buy for an hour or so, then headed to Starbucks! It's been so gross and rainy out lately, so it's been really nice to get out of the house more now that the weather's so nice. :)

God, it feels so nice to be home! It's nice to have my family around and taking care of each other. It's nice to give the cats some more room to run around, even if Leif's too scared to leave the room. It's nice to have some free time from law school before this second semester hits me like a ton of bricks. It's nice to be around J and get to fall asleep next to my partner ever night. :)

I hope everyone's Christmas was as lovely as mine - I spent it with family, drinking coffee and watching each other open special gifts for each other, getting things I forgot I asked for and many things I didn't know I needed until I recieved them! Every time I get stressed out about not being happy "enough," or wishing I was as excited as when I was a kid, I remember all the things I got my family and I feel that excitement all over again, because I can't wait to make them happy! Does this mean I'm an adult?

Plus, being in Hilton Head in winter is just fabulous. I love snow as much as anyone, but it's great to be in a rainforest in 67-degree sunny weather. Not trying to brag or anything, haha. I'm just grateful. :)

Merry Christmas and the happiest holidays to you all!