First Facebook Official Christmas

Since I'm still enjoying my new camera, I took it upon myself to document Campion Christmas this year or as my cousins have so lovingly named it the "first Facebook official Christmas" thanks to my many photos.

Overall the day was fabulous. There was lots of food.

Followed by lots of dessert.

A little bit of football. 

Gifts.

(please note my uncle is a St. Louis fan...)

Lots of alcohol.

And lots of laughter to be had.

Holiday Cookies

This year, I realized I hadn't really made Christmas cookies in a long time. I have made gingerbread men the past few years, but that had been the extent of my Christmas cookie baking. One of my coworkers suggested we make cookies as a team this year though, so I finally had the opportunity to make more than just gingerbread cookies.

We had a blast watching Love Actually while making sugar cookies, spritz cookies, chocolate pretzels, chocolate rolo pretzels, lemon curd bars & the overwhelming crowd-pleaser: chocolate peanut butter pretzel balls! It was a lot, but our office spent most of the day in a sugar rush or recovering from a sugar crash with more cookies, and we ended up finishing almost all of them by the end of the day.

Even though I now live away from my family, I'm so thankful to have great friends & coworkers to enjoy holiday activities with.

Seeing Loved Ones

This holiday season has already been filled with lots of cookies, lights, and awesome gifts (hello the beautiful necklace Sara got me & tickets to the Book of Mormon!), but this holiday season has been truly amazing thanks to all of the loved ones I have been able to spend time with.

Since my brother moved to Boston for school, I haven't been able to see him very often, but he flew in a day early to Chicago so we could spend the day together. It was so fun to roam around the city with him, eat delicious food, visit the Christkindlmarket (3rd time's a charm...) & laugh my face off at a production by the Improvised Shakespeare Company.

The day after my amazing day with my brother, I headed out to O'Hare to greet my best friend as she returned home from her 7 months in Turkey. I was so excited, I could hardly sleep the night before, and the actual reunion was tear & smile-filled. We only got to spend a few hours together before I had to head to the train station to come home, but those few hours meant the world to me.

I rounded out my 3 days of greatness by hanging out with (almost) the entire Campion side of the family. I spent time with my mother...

My beautiful cousin Sara, whom I sadly don't get to see nearly as often as I'd like...

And my cousin Laura who just returned to the US after living in Bolivia doing missions work with her husband the past 2 years.

I've been joking the past few days that I've done more holiday activities the past few weeks than I have in years, but the loving reunions I've had the past few days are what have truly made this holiday season so amazing. 

I hope you have had a great reunion this holiday season, are getting ready for a reunion, or have appreciated your time with someone you see often just a little bit more.

Cheers to 2 more days of Christmas celebrations then birthday & New Years celebrations :)

Zoo Lights

The past few years, I felt like I didn't celebrate and appreciate the holidays as much as I wanted to, so this year, I set out to change that. The many holiday festivities of the past few weeks was kicked off 2 weekends ago by visiting the zoo lights at the Lincoln Park zoo. It was an unseasonably warm evening, and we had a blast enjoying all of the beautiful lights. This was also the first chance I had to play with my new camera in Chicago, so I took many photos. Enjoy a few of my favs! 

I've already posted about my trip to the Christkindlmarket and now my zoo lights adventure, but look out for more about the holiday fun I've been having :)

Light in the Dark

My heart was heavy with sadness after hearing about the tragedy in Connecticut. At first, I felt like just going home after work, but my coworker and I had already agreed to visit the Christkindlmarket, so we took a low key walk through Daley plaza while I snapped photos. 

Darkness was seen in the world yesterday, and it was really nice to see a little bit of goodness and light while strolling the market.

Happy Birthday Blog!

 

Wow, I cannot believe it has been 2 years since I was sitting in Grainger attempting to study for exams but feeling such wanderlust and unrest that I started this blog. 

2 years!

So much yet so little has changed since then. I still have an almost constant wanderlust, doubt myself and my work at times, have anxiety, and can be self destructive with my procrastination and bad habits, but so many amazing things have also changed. I graduated from college, moved to a new city, have 100% supported myself for a year now, have made many great new friends, and although I'm not perfect by any means, I do a lot better job of slowing down and appreciating my life.

The blog itself has even changed. The main theme is still thankfulness, but I now let myself be a little more free with what I write and share. I finally changed my blog header a few weeks ago, added two new pages to my header bar, and updated my layout so I can share larger photos. I have other ideas of what can be done, but for now, I am happy with my space.

Honestly, I never thought after so much time, this blog would still be around. What began as a desperate plea for peace has turned into one of my main tools of living with intention. It has literally turned in to a space for me to appreciate 'pieces of sunshine.' 

Sometimes those moments are big, like when I share about my travels. But sometimes they are really small, like when I see the beauty in a smashed bowl. Both the big and small things I post about, however, are really cathartic.

Today, I am thankful for this space to acknowledge and share my blessings and beauty in the world.

Thank you to everyone who has experienced this 2 year journey with me, no matter how long or short you've been reading :)

Playing Tourist

Kathryn's neighbor from Austin was in Chicago this weekend, so I joined the mini-tour we gave her of Wrigleyville. Instead of just helping lead though, I took my camera along and played tourist as well.

I sometimes forget what a cute neighborhood I live in and love getting to play tourist in my own neighborhood. Below are some of my favorite photos I snapped. Enjoy!

Top to bottom: Wrigley Field decorated for the holidays, Tulips outside a flower shop on Southport, The Music Box Theatre, Some holiday decor and passersby, Sugar cookies at Sensational Bites, More cookies :), Fun shadow at the bakery, Cafe Tola the new cafe on Southport, Wreaths at Mystic Celt