Recapping December . ~ With Love, K.

The beginning of December meant finals week was rapidly approaching.

And with finals, comes an undying need for comfort food.

In the same week I managed to make brownies, make egg-less cookie dough, and buy a cookie cake.

All of which were devoured, I'm pretty sure, by the end of said week.

Then there's the other side of finals... the actual studying side.

I've come to find out this semester that if I want to REALLY focus, I can't let myself

study in my apartment. I get more work done when I'm somewhere I'm less distracted by Netflix.

After 5 semesters, I am completely finished with chemistry labs.

The weight that is off my shoulders is immeasurable.

To beat the finals blues, sometimes you just have to take a night where you sit in the hallway with your roommate and cut out paper snowflakes for hours.

The only way to study for winter finals: spotify + Netflix fireplace + candles.

The second cookie cake of December.

For this one my roommates and I decided to add our own motivational phrase.

At last, the dreaded week arrives.

Three finals separated me from finishing the worst semester I've had yet.

After two finals in one day, and one being particularly discouraging, my roommates and I decided to treat ourselves to Steak 'n Shake. Surprisingly it was not impossible to find something "vegetarian friendly", and delicious, on the menu.

To break up the tension of finals week, I decided to take after my mom and decorate the apartment.

Just some tiny decorations to make "The Cabin" feel a little more home-y.

The last night my roommates and I were all at the apartment, we decided to have a bit of girls night by going out to dinner and then driving around to find Christmas lights.

Once my last final was over, I could finally breathe for a bit.

And, to reward myself for finishing the semester, I bought myself this perfect sweatshirt.

It was worn 90% of Winter Break.

Despite my finals being over, I had to stay at the apartment a few extra days to work.

However, between work shifts I drove up to my grandparents house to surprise them and then decorate 21 dozen cookies with my mom, aunt, and grandma.

Once I was finally home, I had to catch up on dentist appointments, doctor appointments, and spending time with some great people. I drove down to my hometown and spent the day with two of my best friends, Andrea and Nathan. We went to the mall and relived our high school glory days of eating Carlos's Pizza.

Later that night, I finally got to meet "my neice", Hannah.
She's almost three now and this is the first time I have been able to see her in person.
My heart was so full.

The next day, I spent with my mother.
We started, of course, with a trip to our favorite donut shop.

Next up, lunch at our favorite local restaurant.
Usually, I get a club panini sandwich. However, seeing as I'm not eating meat, I decided to branch out and try something new -- spinach and sun dried tomato quiche.

The last "event" of the day included my long-awaited haircut.

After over 6 months, my hair was long but extremely damaged.

I was ready for something new, and something healthy.

The final product.
I went in asking for a cut just below the shoulders.
That is exactly what I got.

Of course, like any girl, I went through moments of loving it, utter regret, and then consoling myself that it would grow back. However, ultimately, I know it was for the better. And, as it has started to grow somewhat I love it more and more.

Christmas Eve dinner. A tradition that used to include the whole family going to the Christmas service at church, coming home to eat lasagna, and exchanging a Christmas Eve gift with my brother.

Nowadays, this tradition is similar. There's still lasagna (this year, made with zucchini and mushrooms, sans meat), there's still the gift exchange, and there's still the most important thing, spending time with my family.

Christmas morning comes a lot quicker now that I have learned to sleep in instead of waking up at 5:00 am, bouncing off the walls, and forcing everyone else out of bed.

My brother and I used to wait at the top of the stairs while our parents made coffee (priorities), the anticipation only making it that much more exciting.

Christmas mornings now look something more like this.

After unwrapping all the presents and going through our stockings, we had a Christmas brunch.

This year we had egg nog french toast and fruit salad (yep, still no meat around here).

After brunch, my dad headed back home while my brother and I got ready/dressed for Christmas with my dad's side of the family. It couldn't have been a more beautiful Christmas.

Personally, I'd take sunshine over snow any day.

The day after Christmas I had to pack myself up and head back to school for a few more days to work. That's what I get for waiting until the last minute to request off time for break.

However, once I was finished with my last work shift, I drove home (at 10pm).

That next day I was home for only a few hours until I was being driven to Indianapolis to board my first plane to Wisconsin.

Five hours later, I successfully made it to the dairyland.
Jake and I had a relaxing night-in of exchanging gifts (we both got each other mugs) and, of course, Netflix. We spent the next few days eating donuts, braving the cold in an attempt to visit the art museum, and stopping by shops on State Street.