{12 Days of Christmas} Boat Parade 2014

Jellyfish!

This year, I attended the Santa Cruz Harbor's boat parade for the second year in a row. This time I went with a large group of friends (my Santa Cruz family!) and had a lot of fun. It was very chilly down at the harbor. There weren't as many boats this year, and many were the same as last year, so that was kind of disappointing, but going to a boat parade at Christmas has been a tradition for me my whole life. 

I really liked the jelly fish boat (pictured above) and my favorite from last year was back: Rudolph the Red-Nose Rein-boat! See this post for the picture. 

They even lit up the lighthouse! 

Overall, it was a lot of fun to enjoy the boat parade tradition with new and old friends, who have become my family.

Have you seen a boat parade this Christmas? If so, where was it? 

Merry Christmas!

xoxo

Giving Thanks {my home}

Sometimes, when you're running around to fifty thousand things and feeling completely stressed out, it is hard to remember what you are grateful for, but it is important to stop and take the time to be grateful and gracious. 

I am thankful for so many things, and people, and events in my life.

I am very blessed. 

My new home, Santa Cruz, has been a tough transition, but I am so, so glad to live here. The beach is so close to my house, so I get to go there all the time. I have the opportunity to see wildlife (like my favorite animals- otters!!!) and collect shells. Whenever I need a break, to calm down, to clear my head... The beach is where I go. It has become a tremendous part of my daily life, and I am so grateful to live where I do.

What are you thankful for?

xoxo

{Pumpkin Patch}

I am sitting in a giant pumpkin, 

and I am so freakin' excited about it! 

I was fortunate enough to head back to the same pumpkin patch I fell in love with last year. This year I went with my new housemate, who loves Halloween just as much as I do, and my old housemate, who went along so she could have an Autumnal experience with us. It was such a beautiful day and there were so many types and sizes of pumpkins to choose from!

This pumpkin patch is just so darn cute, I had to come back this year!

I will be continuing to return here because I think it's about time I start establishing some traditions in my new town. (Is it still okay to call my town new after living here for a year and a half?) There's more posts to come: 

We just carved the pumpkins into an anchor and a lighthouse! 

I can't wait to share!

xoxo

Oh, {Happy} Day!

Last month, I had the privilege of standing next to my best friend as she said, "I do." It was really a fun and beautiful wedding in the heart of the Santa Cruz mountains. Surrounded by redwood trees, some that are over 1,700 years old, we were able to celebrate love and happiness and a new beginning. It was magical and I am absolutely happy for them both!

My job that morning was to grab the most important meal of the day: breakfast! We had to do the whole bride-to-be Starbucks cup thing, of course! Then everyone else wanted theirs to say what their importance was today - my personal favorite was my mom's "Mother of the Maid of Honor" cup - those poor baristas spent as much time writing as they did making our drinks!

Her dress was absolutely gorgeous, and she looked stunning. I'm so proud of the woman that she is and so happy that she found someone to share her life with - he is so sweet to her! 

Oh, so happy!

xoxo

{Dog Days} of Summer

Oh, Summer...

The sun beating down, the waves crashing on the sand, barbecues, bonfires, pool parties, water balloon fights... Summer is here, and I don't want to waste what small amount of Summer we have left. 

I've been spending an hour or so every day lounging on the beach, reading, playing in the water, and relaxing. I've been making sure to find a small part of every day to relish in happiness. 

I've found love recently, and I honestly think it's because I've started to take the time to appreciate a small part of every day. When I take the time to appreciate the beauty around me, I'm reminded that I'm beautiful and worthy of love, and so are the many people around me.

If you aren't taking the time to appreciate your life every day, I highly suggest it. It's very much worth it.

xoxo

Quote of the Week: {July 28, 2014)

"Deep Summer is when laziness finds respectability." 

-Sam Keen

It's summertime and it's easy to find things to do, but sometimes, when the weather's so warm, all you want to do is walk on the beach or lay out in the warm sun. I have definitely been indulging in both of those things, and enjoying it profoundly. Being lazy in the middle of Summer is not something to be ashamed of, it's expected. Relax a bit, find somewhere that you like and enjoy just being there. 

What are you doing this Summer?

xoxo

Summer {Bucket List}

1. Bonfire!

2. Make 2 new recipes from Pinterest!

3. Throw the most kick-butt bridal shower

4. Go to a concert!

5. Midnight movie premiere

6. Watch the sunrise

7. California State Fair

8. Lose 20 more pounds (I'm down 20 already!)

9. Have a picnic

10. Meet someone new!

Some of these came from my 101 things in 1,001 days challenge, and others are random, but I hope to be able to accomplish these all by September!

What's on your summer bucket list?

xoxo

{Valentine's Day} Blind Date with a Book

Blind Date with a Book

It's one of the cheesiest holidays of the year, but of all of the date ideas I've stumbled upon, this is my favorite!

I was in a bookshop downtown when I saw a small table filled with books covered in kraft paper and a short description of the book inside - it's essentially a blind date with a book! Such a cute idea! My roommate and I bought two books, and while we hadn't heard of either, I'm hoping that we will love them!

Would you go on a blind date with a book?

xoxo

Quote of the Week 1/13/2014

"It's always summer somewhere."

-Lilly Pulitzer

I'm enjoying what I've nicknamed "June"-uary here in Northern California - it's been 70 degrees and sunny for most of this year! Pictured above is a photo I took on a jog Thursday evening  - such a beautiful sunset, no? So, while the weather or your mindset may not be the best, just remember what the great Lilly Pulitzer once said,
"It's always summer somewhere."

It will be your summer at some point, too!

Enjoy the day, whatever the weather!

xoxo

P.S. Announcements to follow!

Christmas Boat Parade {Northern California}

Christmas Boat Parade

{Northern California}

Last weekend, I was able to make it to a Christmas Boat Parade on the harbor after rehearsal; the preschool I work for was part of a "Friendly Beasts" Christmas performance. It was so much fun! 

It's been an annual tradition for my family and I to go to a boat parade around Christmas time, I cannot wait to go to the one with them in Southern California soon! 

Sharing this tradition with my friends was a really great experience for me, one that I hope to be able to continue next year. 

It is always so much fun to see how each boat comes up with cute concepts for Christmas lights! My personal favorite is this one: 

It looks like Rudolph! So cute!

What are your favorite Christmas traditions?

xoxo

{Week of Thanks} My family

A mosaic I love.

My family means the world to me.

I do not know what I would do or who I would be without them in my life. While I live too far away to make the trip for Thanksgiving (I get to see my mom though!), I cannot wait to see them for a whole week in December. With them in my life, I feel very blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

xoxo

Boardwalk Frolic!

Swingin' around

UCSC takes over the Boardwalk!

Last Monday night was UCSC's annual Boardwalk Frolic, where they close down the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and only UCSC students gain entry. It was so much fun and I'm so glad that I was able to go. We rode the Giant Dipper three times; I am pretty sure it got faster after sundown... which makes it even better!

Giant Dipper

The Giant Dipper is actually a National Historic Monument: It was built in 1924 and cost about $50,000 to build the wooden coaster. It has been featured in a few movies, most notably, The Lost Boys, which is set in the fictitious "Santa Carla," but was filmed in many locations throughout Santa Cruz. 

See? Lost Boys! 

It is the 5th oldest roller coaster in the United States, which I thought was a pretty nifty fact. 

We rode a few other rides, like the Haunted Castle, and a personal favorite, the Double Shot. We were given a few coupons for things like bowling and laser tag, which my roommate and I cannot wait to use once we can afford a break from studying!

xoxo

Summer Bucketlist 2013: End of Summer

I know, I know, the last day of Summer isn't technically until Saturday, so I'm a bit early to posting this. However, this weekend will involve figuring out where all of my classes are, buying last-minute school supplies, decorating for Autumn, and looking for part of my Halloween costume...  so it is unlikely that I will complete anything else on this list before the "technical" end of Summer. It has been a great season full of work, play, and walks on the beach!

So here it is, my bucket list with all that I've completed stricken out: 

• 
  
• Get a job
• 
  
• MEXICO!
• 
  
• move in to my new place

Swim with the dolphins

• 
  
• Bonfireeee! 
• 
  
• Swim in the ocean
• 
  
• Watch the sunrise 
• 
  
• And the sunset
• 
  
• Make sweet tea
• 
  
• Get a nice tan
• 
  
• Drive-in movies
• 
  
• Watch fireworks
• 
  
• Try a new recipe
• 
  
• Go camping 
• 
  
• Make butterbeer (added to my Autumn list!)
• 
  
• Disney Movie Marathon
• 
  
• Learn something new
• 
  
• Have a picnic 
• 
  
• Roadtrip!
• 
  
• Get a new tattoo (decided against this one until I have lost at least 30 pounds and have a bit more money!)
• 
  
• Go to the mystery spot
• 
  
• Water balloon fight
• 
  
• Visit Hearst Castle 
• 
  
• Girl’s Night Out
• 
  
• Go hiking
• 
  
• Take a ton of photos
• 
  
• Summer Scrapbook!
• 
  
• Save up money for Europe  (*not nearly enough, but it's a very small start!)
• 
  
• Get a passport
• 
  
• Go to a concert
• 
  
• PARTY! (:

What did you complete this Summer?

xoxo,

Caryn Elizabeth

Happy September!

Hello everyone!

Sorry that I haven't been posting for a few days; I visited my hometown last week and now my mom is visiting so I haven't had too much time to spend on the computer!

I hope that August was great for everyone and I'm so excited for this month. It's the first "Brrr" month so I'm really getting ready for Autumn! 

It seems that the weather agrees:

So foggy!

The weather has cleared up for the afternoon, though, and I'm sure that there are plenty of Labor Day visitors in town and on the beach. I'm just relaxing with my family and friends, BBQ-ing, and enjoying the last few days before heading back to work.

What are you doing this Labor Day weekend?

xoxo

Lighthouse Adventures

The Walton Lighthouse, Seabright Beach, Santa Cruz, CA

This past week, I had an afternoon off of work, and the sun was shining. My roommate and long-time best friend were faced with a dilemma: what do we do with all of this extra time?

She's really been eager to go to a lighthouse, any lighthouse, since we moved in, so we put ourselves in Siri's hands and went for an adventure! Siri did not know how to get to the lighthouse because there is no specific place to park for it. You have to park at Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz, California, and take a long beach-hike to get there. It was quite the workout. But we made it! 

Walton Lighthouse, up close!

There were a bunch of warnings about dangerous waves and such, but the bay looked calm, so we walked up and took a bunch of cheesy tourist pictures, of course.

Posin' all tourist-like

We just had to! We couldn't resist! We also hugged the lighthouse. We looked ridiculous but it was so much fun.

"for the people and mariners of Santa Cruz"

It was a fun adventure, and I cannot wait to explore the other lighthouse in Santa Cruz! 

xoxo

Quote of the Week: 8/12/13

Evening in Santa Cruz, California

“When you do something noble and beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad. For the sun every morning is a beautiful spectacle and yet most of the audience still sleeps.” 

- John Lennon

This week's quote is really special, I find, because often we do good things because we want to be acknowledged for it, and that is not the point of doing something good is not suppose to be to gain praise. To do something noble and good just for the sake of doing it, out of the goodness of your heart, is something to hold dear, whether there is praise or not. As long as you know you did a beautiful deed, that is all you need. Cherish the feeling and harvest in yourself the ability to do noble and beautiful things just because you can and you want to. That will take you far. 

Also, wake up every so often to enjoy the gorgeous sun on a chilly morning. You will not regret watching the beauty of a sunrise, promise. 

xoxo, 

Caryn Elizabeth

Cupcake Adventure!

The best cupcake shop in the world. 

That is the exterior of the best, I mean best, cupcake shop. They have great and unique flavors, and everything is local and organic, which I love. 

I actually first found out about this shop at a bridal expo for my friend last year, and man, were we hooked. I then decided to take my roommate, who has a huge sweet tooth, here a few months ago. Whoops. Now she requests that we come here all the time! I love cupcakes but these are so rich that I have to be careful not to eat too many! 

We were downtown yesterday and just had to stop in for a bite:

I ordered the "Bramble" cupcake, which is Vanilla Butter Cake with Raspberry Rose and Cream frosting, and the "Chocolate Hibiscus," which is, you guessed it, a chocolate cake with hibiscus and cream frostings, topped with a blueberry! Delightful!

xoxo,
Caryn Elizabeth

Wow, what a weekend!

So, last Friday was my new university's orientation for transfer students, and while I was expecting to meet a ton of new people, I really didn't meet many people, and besides running into them on campus, I doubt that I'll see any of them again. I may have met more people had I not gone to the wrong major's advising meeting in the morning. -sigh-

So, apparently at my new school, there is a difference between Italian Studies (my major) and Italian language studies (apparently not my major)... So I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off all day long, thinking I was taking all of the wrong classes, only to find out from one of the student volunteers that I was doing all of the wrong advising all day. 

Luckily, I was sent to the literature and history departments before they left (I cut it really close) so I have all of my classes for this quarter, but I have no idea how to get around school (there's buses to take you around campus, but which one do I take? When do they run?) or which college is which. So things are going to be pretty confusing for the first week or two. 

My mom came for the weekend, though, so I got to spend time with her and my doggies. We went on a nice morning walk on the beach pictured above, and then a friend from home came to visit. The three of us shared the best cupcakes in the world and then went to see the Conjuring.

Rotten Tomatoes

The Conjuring started off alright, particularly since the doll pictured above was involved in the beginning of the film, and the doll alone is just freaky. However, toward the middle of the movie, I thought it was just going to be another mediocre horror movie. It started to move really slowly and went for a lot of cheap scares that just weren't scary. But then, at the end of the movie, things looked up. It got pretty frightening - there were a few laughable moments, but overall, they put together a horror film that was better than I'd seen in a long while. 

Enjoy what's left of the weekend! 

xoxo, 

Caryn Elizabeth

Boardwalk Concerts

Last Friday, 7/12/13

Every Friday night during Summer, the Boardwalk has free Friday night concerts, which is great entertainment for people on a budget (like me!). So my roommate and I headed downtown for some cheap food before going to last week's concert, Blue Oyster Cult. 

It was a pretty great show. We were a bit late so we had to sit pretty far back, but as you can see above, the view was pretty wonderful. The music rocked, and the crowd was enthusiastic, which made the show that much better. 

For those of you also on a budget, you should check out if there are free concerts or shows in your area! It certainly does something to shake up your weekend. 

xoxo

Caryn Elizabeth

Moving Out

It's hard to do, for some. Awfully easy for others. For me, personally, it's been quite difficult. My whole life, it had been just my mom and me against the world. And now, it's just me and my 20-pound Italian Greyhound/Jack Russell Terrier. My roommate should be moving in sometime this month, and hopefully that all works out for the best. 

On the other hand, living seven-tenths of a mile from this lovely sight isn't too shabby! I've been pretty busy with work and unpacking, but when I'm feeling way too stressed or overwhelmed, I'll just come down here to this little beach with a book and relax for a little while. 

This is my baby; her name is Angel. She's not too fond of the water, but she certainly loves to dig up the sand! 

Until next time, 

Caryn