partner party

a few weekends ago my partners & i celebrated the holidays with a cozy little get-together. 

we all most of us brought something to eat or drink and daiana brought cards against humanity which we played...which got interesting. but now i totally understand why the game is called that! it was so much fun, maybe too much fun for me as i definitely had a glass or two too many of wine, but hanging out with my friends from work, outside of work, is always fun. 

i haven't even mentioned on my blog yet, but i'm going with my mom and sister to new york for a few days! we leave the 29th and will ring in the new year in a different city with a totally different vibe. sadly, dek isn't coming with us. i miss him already. don't event get me started. but this is a girls trip and he didn't really want to join in this time. so we have rented an apartment in the upper west side and have plans to be total foodies for five days while we scope out the city for fun treats and take advantage of the scenic & iconic backgrounds for photoshoots, of course. if you have any suggestions on what to do/must see things/places, let me know :)

hope you all have a wonderful week & holiday!

here are some photos from our "partner party," if you would like to see...

pasta salad & cider

spinach salad with strawberries & homemade peppermint bark (in the background) 

chili's appetizer platter & cornbread (?)

i fell in love with this kitty

& stay tuned for a fun and super cool diy project that i will post soon!!

sunday funday

this past sunday dek & i made our way over to white rock coffee to sip on a latte and enjoy their atmosphere before heading over to my grandmother's house to rake and mulch the sea of leaves that has accumulated. 

i've heard of wr coffee before, a few friends have suggested we go and sunday was the day. we had no idea what to expect walking in, but we loved it! the coffee shop itself is located in a slim and narrow building with space being really well utilized. they have a lot of seating for being such a small cafe, but the ambiance of the upstairs and all the natural light is really great. as you enter and you walk right in to a fluffy and decorated christmas tree, paired with the robust smell of their-own-roast of coffee...it's a great sensation. i especially appreciate the wood vaulted ceilings and the industrial fans :)

the barista behind the counter was super nice & helpful, as they usually are when the first words out of my mouth are "hi, we've never been here," said with a smile. dek & i weren't feeling meat that morning so we opted for plain & everything toasted bagels with cream cheese to pair with our lattes. (his: extra hot, mine: vanilla with almond milk) we opted to sit upstairs with our breakfast & beverages and people watch from up above. it was super cool & we even left our mark by tagging our names on the beam. you know you're a barista when...you keep 2 black, fine-tip sharpies in your purse.

here are some photos from our sunday, if you would like to see:

there was a wr barista named parker actually roasting his own coffee on the patio outside; it was the coolest thing! he had a notepad with details from how he wanted to differentiate this batch from his last and a timer running in order to catch the beans at their peak. i have never witnessed coffee roasting before my own eyes, but he explained this is an at-home roaster, so i might have to look more into this whole coffee roasting process thing myself...

raking the sea of crunchy leaves in my grandmother's back yard

beanie: charlotte russe, scarf: charlotte russe, sweater: h&m, pants: target, shoes: nine west fango booties

i had a blast riding that thing!

thanks for reading!

have a wonderful week!