christmas party - work edition

on tuesday night, i went out to this quaint italian restaurant with my work colleagues for our christmas party.
we were served an amazing 8 course meal - some plates more so than others...

this antipasto plate was a little much for palette...

after dinner there was a raffle followed by a little karaoke sesh - even my boss got in on the action, haha.
i work in the medical field, so it was nice to see everyone dressed in something other than scrubs.
all in all, it was a great night with great people.

i was having too much fun and forgot to take any pictures.
luckily for me, my friends alicia and racquel were on the ball and captured this gem:

**please excuse my sister jennifer's outfit - she literally had just stepped off the plane.

shout out to pepperdine law, lol.

hope you're all having a wonderful christmas season!

:)

vanessa

fab 5 - christmas songs

with just nine days left til christmas, i decided to share my top 5 all-time favorite christmas songs in a new series i'd like to call "fab 5".

seriously, if any of these songs come on just know that it's about to go down.

*an honorable mention must go to "carol of the bells" - my most favorite instrumental christmas carol of all-time.

david foster/trans-siberian orchestra/destiny's child/pentatonix - doesn't matter who's covering it, know that i am humming along.

what are some of your favorite christmas songs/carols?

:)

vanessa

christmas gift guides

now that i'm all done with dreaded finals, i can now focus my attention on finding the perfect gift for my loved ones. 

this will be my family's second year doing the whole secret santa for the adults/gifts for the children.

we've yet to draw names, so i don't know exactly who my secret santa is just yet but to help me narrow down some gift ideas, i created a couple gift guides :)

1. one line a day (a five year memory book) ; 2. floral phone case; 3. sephora gift card ; 

4. bordeaux by essie ; 5. portable battery charger ; 6. eos lip balm ; 

7. monogram mugs ; 8. knit infinity scarf

1. art of shaving kit; 2. knit cardigan sweater; 3. portable battery charger; 

4. concert/sport tickets; 5. wool scarf ; 6. patterned socks ; 

7. black wrist watch

and just in case my potential secret santa stumbles upon this blog post...

1. lavanilla vanilla grapefruit perfume; 2. love ring (etsy); 3. fujifilm instax mini film; 

4. ikea gift card; 5. jazzy jubilant by essie; 6. 2014 planner

what are some of the items you'd like to get or are excited to get for your loved ones this christmas?

:)

vanessa

i've finally joined bloglovin'

^^ click here to follow me :)

i mean, if you want...no pressure.

does this make me an official blogger now?

:)
vanessa

4 6 6 6 4

"no one is born hating another person because of the colour 

of his skin, or his background, or his religion.

people must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they 

can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the 

human heart than its opposite." 

rest in paradise, mr. mandela.

(1918 - 2013)

finals week :|

me either, leo.

me either.

pray for me.

:S
vanessa

let the festivities begin :)

december: |di-ˈsem-bər,| - n.
a month of lights, snow and feasts;
time to make amends and tie loose ends;
finish off what you started and hope your wishes come true

happy december, y'all.

:)

vanessa

ps. i can finally sing this song aloud again *wipes away a single tear*

cold december night - michael bublé