My life for the past two months has been a little crazy, and if you can believe it, I finally have the time to blog. Hooray!

December was a crazy month. It involved lots of studying, solving a huge mess created by an extremely irresponsible person, and a huge trip home. I love living in London, but by the time December 15 rolled around, I was ready to head on a plane and see my family and friends.

I did a quick two-day stop in NYC and then headed to Florida for ten days... Then I headed back to NYC for a week (and more specifically, to attend Brittany and Logan's wedding). Overall, (and despite being plagued with the fact that I had two term papers to finish and one exam to study for) I enjoyed my time at home. There's nothing like being where you belong with the people who you love most! I loved, loved, loved seeing my family, KLR, Tash, Elise and James, Mrs. B and her boys, Bella, and the rest of my wonderful NYC people!

View from my NYC apartment. Not the most exciting view, but it's home.

My Sweet baby girl. I got to puppy sit for Mrs. B and I LOVED hanging out with little B... It's crazy how much a person can become attached to an animal.

I also got to spend some fun time with little Will. Sweetest boy!

Manhattan Saturday brunch is absolute perfection. We went to Isabella's which I had never been to before.

Brunch was in honor of this gent. Happy 30th, James!

My silly monkey. He stuck by my side the whole time I was there. He also made me take 85 shots just like this one!

The sweetest pup around. Mozart is seriously the BEST dog.

Spent some time fishing with my brother Esteban. I caught absolutely nothing, which I am sort of okay with.

I spun lots and lots with Rodrigo

Beautiful Mama and Rodrigo

My silly monkey. He had to have me help him the first time, but this one he did all on his own!

Mom found a recipe for stuffed apple caramel cupcakes. She was super proud of her creation.

The finished product

Mom made the boys matching PJs! So cute!

Jessie loves this dog.

Picca (that's what we call him) learning to use this. He sort of just hit it as much and as often as he could. I suppose technique will eventually follow. :)

A traditional parting shot.

Beach days are a dream. Even in December... I LOVE that about Florida.

Right as I was leaving for the airport. :( She's kind of the greatest sister in the world.

B camping out on my bed. She would sit RIGHT in the middle and refused to move.

Britt and Logan's wedding! You can't really tell from the photo, but the Statue of Liberty is in the background.

Greatest girls. I miss them so.

The Newly Weds! 

Welcoming the New Year in Central Park!

SO MUCH FUN!

A parting shot. I love this city. So. Freakin'. Much. 

home for christmas

a. i already know i fell WAY behind on my 30 days of blogging. get over it. i'll do them sometime... maybe.

b. i've been MIA because i had a few big things on my plate. three will largely decide my future. one took a lot of sweat and pain...but mostly just pain... the last was tres, tres amazing (but more on that later).

c. i went home for some MAJOR r & r. i have missed my family so much this year and i loved spending my holidays with the people who i love most in this world. is there anything better than family? is there anything better than a child who wants nothing more than for you to just sit with him? is there anything better than making fun of mom for watching sabado gigante? better than watching harry potter with my sister while snacking on vegan carrot cupcakes? is there anything in this world that beats walking on a white sand beach with my mom, followed by pina coladas as big as your head? nope.

beautiful mom

those 2 minutes i walked in the water were absolutely glorious.

south beach is... exactly what i think of when i think of where i want to live long-term

if you like pina coladas...

d. the overachiever/wannabe chef in me decided i would prepare a christmas feast. thankfully, jessica insisted in making mom's delicious lemon-cream chicken supremes and saved me a ton of time, but the rest came from me with the help of martha stewart, cooking light and real simple magazines.

check it: apple bacon stuffing, vegan apple stuffing, barley risotto with porcini mushrooms and flat leaf parsley, vegan spinach artichoke dip, vegan sweet potato casserole, regular sweet potato casserole, chickpeas with tomato and spinach (for the vegan), and spinach salad with proscuitto, candied almonds, fresh mozzarella and homemade red wine vinegar poppy seed dressing. For dessert: vegan-friendly apple crisp.

gorgeous family. I am one lucky girl.

Jess, Esteban, Rodrigo

Wii boxing and excessive giggling.

someone fell in love with the m&m dispenser

opening a gift from yours truly.

en route to go see yogi bear.

saying my goodbyes to my sweet munchkin

i'm a creature of traditions

lifetime original channel christmas movies. my favorite stars kristin chenoweth.
christmas tree decorations shopping.
no christmas tree though :(
church christmas concert

that was just today...

there are so many things i love to do around the holidays, many of which are new since being in the city... many remind me of happy times shared with family and friends and others i do because i can't think of a better way to enjoy the holiday season.

still on the list:

* ice skating in central park.

* ELF. the best way to spread christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.

* how the grinch stole christmas with jim carey and christine baranski. "hate, hate, hate... loathe ENTIRELY." :) love that movie.

* the polar express. i can basically recite the entire book but i love the movie too. i've kept that alive since i was a nanny and logan, the little boy, made me watch it with him almost every night.

* christmas in connecticut. the movie starring barbara stanwyck. if anyone finds this, you will be my hero. it's a rare find. in black and white but sooo funny.

* home alone 1 and 2. i will watch these year round.

* just friends. with ryan reynolds. one year, when i was in provo by myself during the break, i went to this movie randomly and it just reminds me of christmas. "i love salmon... it's the prettiest color for bedrooms."

* eloise at christmastime, which gavin is actually in as bill. this is a new one. plus... who can say no to the remarkable julie andrews? and gav even has a signing part.

* apple crisp with momma. one year i made it, and we've kept it around ever since.

* egg nog. southern comfort brand is my favorite.

* the little christmas shops in bryant park, central park & union square.

* radio city rockettes with mom. even though i saw this already. but i loved, loved, LOVED it.

* white christmas. the broadway show. let's hope i win the lottery!

* sub for santa. plus i really, really love wrapping presents.

* wrapping presents

* the nutcraker. the ballet.

* tree buying and decorating. i wish it would stop raining/snowing so i could just go buy one!

* christmas card writing. i love sending cards out and catching up with friends and family.

Who wants to spend Christmas in tropical climate anyway?

First of all, if you can tell me which movie the quote that is acting as the title of this post is from, you will win the award of Friend of the Week...

Secondly...

I'm baa-ck... but not necessarily by choice. Remember how nice the weather was everyday that I was in Florida? Remember how we actually had to blast the AC? It was so wonderful to get away from the cold and to go spend time with my family. Mostly, I hung out with Abue (my grandma) during the day and with my mom and sister when they got home from work.

It was an exhausting break though. We had visitors nearly every day. My mom's cousin and his two sons were in town the first weekend. It was fun to have them there and to be able to show them around South Florida. The only downside was that they were very interested in going to the Sawgrass Mills Mall (AKA HELL) and we ended up spending like 45 years in there while Gabo and Daniel looked for gifts for their girlfriends. Still, it was good to hang out with fellow Costa Ricans.

We all headed up to my brother's house in Fort Myers and met up with Aunt Kat and her family. Downside here was that the baby got a 24-hour virus, so naturally, every single person in my family got sick... with the exception of my sister and I. We attribute our good health to positive thinking/karma/being awesome. We haven't decided which. Probably the last one.

The second week, I stayed with Esteban, Jessica (Esteban's wife) and Rodrigo (baby, named after my Uncle Rodrigo). I am glad I got to do that because I was able to get to know Jessica a lot more and spend a ton of time with the Munchkin (aka Rodrigo).

I'm sad Christmas is over. It has been such a long time since the family has been able to get together for the holidays. I am glad my grandma's visa got worked out. That was truly a Christmas miracle. We all had so much fun.

Abue and I at Sanibel Island... My second favorite place... at least until I travel to Europe, then it may get bumped down.

Esteban and I at Fort Myers Beach

My cousins, Esteban and Ebony at Fort Myers Beach.

Sister and I.

Ft. Lauderdale Beach with Daniel and Gabo.
Hideous picture, but the only one where all four of us got in the frame.

Protecting my shoes from the waves.

Mama.

Abue was the honored guest, so she got to place Baby Jesus in the Nativity scene this year.

Fla-Amalia and I. We also call her Little Jerk and Lovely Hobbit.

Christmas Eve dinner. So good. We got Miguel to join us again, which I guess is now sort of a tradition.

I just like my house a lot. My mom did a great job designing the living room.
I was going to say decorate, but I remembered Jeff will disown me as a friend if I use that term as it refers to interior design.

That baby wins favorite person of the year. No battle. He has this new thing where he chews on his hand all the time because he is teething. So precious.