Sweet vacation...

Today is Monday. And it's two days after Christmas. And I am sitting at home in sweat pants, drinking coffee, and NOT at work.

This year, I unintentionally saved nearly all of my paid vacation days for the end of the year. I left work at the end of the day on December 22, and I'm not going back to the office until January! Awesome! Since I have so much time off at once, there are a few things I would like to accomplish during my vacation:

-Get a new bed. Check! I have a new bed, and I love it!

-Learn how to use Lightroom for my photography workflow. See my photography website at www.stephaniegracephotography.com.

-Design a new header for my photography blog.

-Finish reading The Corrections and re-read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

-Plan for and organize my exciting blogging project for 2011! You'll hear more about that soon...

So far I am off to a decent start on accomplishing these vacation goals. Tomorrow, I head to Big Bear with my family for a few days in the snow, where I plan to spend a lot of time on my computer with the aforementioned Lightroom learning and blog designing.

Merry belated Christmas, and a Happy New Year to all!

'tis the season...

and I have almost all of my Christmas shopping done! This is the first year I have successfully shopped ahead of time, and I'm super pleased with myself for these reasons:

1. by thinking about Christmas shopping earlier in the year, I was able to take advantage of some great deals on some great stuff.

2. by spreading out my shopping, I am not dropping an obscene amount of money all at once within a four- week time span in December.

3. by shopping online (and early) I have avoided the Holiday Mall Mayhem.

4. by planning ahead, I have nearly eliminated the stress that so often accompanies this time of year...and what's not to like about that?

the skinny debut

Today I wore my freshly-washed, still-smell-like-Cheer skinny jeans. With boots and a cute Michael Kors shirt, I was pretty pleased.

Verdict: Skinny jeans + boots = Thumbs up!

the skinny

This weekend I bought skinny jeans. I've been contemplating this purchase for quite some time...and on Sunday I caved. But I did only buy a $20 pair at Target. Because I am not convinced that they will still be "cool" in a year and a half...

Admittedly, the main reason I decided to finally buy the skinny jeans is because I love to wear my boots. And a girl with boots needs skinny jeans. It's a fact. They are made for each other.

Cheers to the skinny...

what I love about the ocean

...is that it's seen it all before. Death and new life. Destruction and rebuilding. Endings and beginnings. It was there for catastrophe (both natural and man-made), for triumphs, for every world war and epic moment in our history. So there's something soothing about the rhythmic ebb and flow of waves on the beach, of crashing water on cliffs and rocks. To me, it always seems like the sea is saying something. Something like "Been there, done that..." or "Yeah, it's rough sometimes, but you'll get through it...." or "See? I told you so. I told you you could do it..."

In its inconceivable depth and distance is wisdom. Assurance for the things we do not know, the things that stay hidden in dark places. The ocean has seen it all, and it's still here, meeting the sun each morning and kissing the moon each night.

That's what I love about the ocean.

this weekend...

camping

beaching

playing

walking

eating

bonfire-ing

breathing

Location: San Onofre State Beach

first day of autumn

I love autumn. It has always been my favorite season. Although, I really can't complain too much about any of the "seasons" here in San Diego. I enjoy them all! Fall is probably the only season I miss from living in the Midwest. Cool, crisp days and nights. Lots of changing leaves. The scent of woodsmoke and bonfires in the air. It's pretty fantastic.

Now that the first day of fall is upon us, here are some fall-ish things I'm planning on indulging in very soon:

- Cinnamon-frosted Pumpkin Cookies from Von's (okay, maybe I have already indulged in these...)

- Squash. Spaghetti, acorn, butternut...all good!

- Apple Cider

- Baking. Starting with these Caramel Apple Cupcakes from the Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine.

- Holiday-scented candles

- Christmas shopping! I promised myself I was going to try really hard to shop throughout the year this year, instead of saving it all for December. To date, I have one Christmas gift. I know it's only September...but think about how fast the last nine months have gone...then think about how there are only 13 weeks until the Big Day. Yeah.

What are some of YOUR favorite things about the season?