Christmas Boat Parade

If you ask me, winter is the best time of the year! There is nothing better than chilly weather, cuddling up with a cozy blanket and a delicious, hot chocolate, picking out a giant Christmas tree, seeing all the lights, I could go on and on forever. What is most important to me over the holidays is keeping traditions with my family and friends to look forward to each year. One of my favorite traditions that I have kept since my childhood is watching boat parades across the Coast of Orange County. The two main ones are in Newport Beach (which is more well-known) and Dana Point. The past two years we have spent in Dana Point on our family friends’ gorgeous boat in the harbor! It makes me so happy to be reunited with friends that I do not get to see often and to watch the beautiful lights reflect off the water. Along with the boats, there are Christmas lights along walkway in the harbor that are always so charming. Since the boat parade is on designated nights I often drive around neighborhoods with extravagant lights set up for the holidays with my sisters (just because we enjoy lights that much). A part of me wishes that the lights could stay up all year long, but having them up once a year makes them that much more exciting and special! 

Chicago, IL | University of Notre Dame

Going to new places is always exciting, but I always look forward to revisiting places I love. Chicago is one of those citiies that I could visit one hundred times and never get sick of it! (My last Chicago adventures are linked here.) My reason for visiting Chicago this time around was to take a day trip to South Bend and watch the USC versus Notre Dame football game. While the score was very disappointing, enjoying the city with my family was so memorable! Of course, we visited the famous Bean and walked around Michigan Avenue (and may have done some damage while shopping). Aside from site seeing, a majority of our trip was dedicated to USC. This included the pep rally on Navy Pier and of course the game. After we wrapped up our tailgating, we found famous landmarks on the Notre Dame campus. From Touchdown Jesus (which we could see from our seats in the stadium) to the beautiful Grotto, Notre Dame’s campus stands as almost as beautiful as USC (; On a serious note, it is one of the most beautiful campuses I have seen and I appreciate how they incorporate their Faith into their campus. Going to away games is always so much fun, but I especially cherish this one because I got to spend a whole weekend with my family in one of my favorite places! 

Museum of Ice Cream

Oh my, YUM! Despite my guilty pleasure for going to art museums, exploring a museum solely dedicated to ice cream may have been a little better! The Museum of Ice Cream has been hyped up all over social media lately. It has gotten to the point where posting a picture in a pool full of sprinkle sis no longer very original (and yes, I did it anyway). Aside from the pool, I really enjoyed the Museum of Ice Cream and can confirm it is completely worth the hype. The other rooms (that are less showcased on social media) are adorable, colorful, and full of samples (How could you resist?). Each room makes for fun pictures and more importantly a really unique experience. The samples are one of the top reasons I would go back! From mint mochi to charcoal cookie dough on a mini cone to classic gummy bears and more, the samples are coordinated with the room you go through and make the experience one of a kind. I know tickets are very limited, but if you can get your hands on some in Los Angeles or San Francisco I would recommend it and believe you will really enjoy it!

San Francisco

The Weekender is a traditon for USC students to venture up to Northern California for a few days while our football team plays against University of California, Berkley. It is a nice, little getaway from schoolwork and Los Angeles. When I first arrived in San Francisco, my friend and I explored the must-see, tourist spots that are in the city. We went to the iconic Fisherman;s Wharf and Ghirideli Square! I always enjoy walking along the piers too because the area shows so much of San Francisco's culture with fishing boats and a lot of seafood markets (that sometimes do not smell the best)! We stopped by Boudin for lunch and went  through the bread museum (upstairs), wher we took a mini tour that I do, religiously, every time I am in San Francisco. On Saturday, we went out of the city to the Berkley campus and experienced game day tailgates on The Row. It was so exciting to expeirence a completely different school on game day and expore a city that I love! The lookout point we went to was Fort Point... if you find yourself in San Francisco I highly recommend you experience this unreal view (and take a few amazing photos)!

I GOT INTO USC!

This year I have learned that hard work is essential to reaching your goals. If you had sat me down a few years ago and told me I would be attending community college I would have laughed. However, after receiving acceptances from universities worldwide during my senior year, I was not completely thrilled about any of them, as I have always been about the University of Southern California. I would never consider myself as someone who settles or fails to put time and effort into my goals. Swallowing my pride in the competitive bubble of Orange County, I attended the local community college to fulfill the requirements to transfer to USC through the Trojan Transfer Plan. I have worked immensely hard this past year in order to get where I know I want to end up. While it has not been easy, attending another four-year university that I did not love would be harder to swallow. By sacrificing the typical freshmen year experience, I stayed true to myself to not settle. With the sacrifices and hard work I have put forth this academic year, I am extremely thrilled to announce I will be attending USC in the fall. Reaching this goal of mine is so much sweeter because I know how hard I worked and how many sacrifices I made to accomplish it. Fight on!

Paris, France

I have been dreaming of going to Paris for as long as I can remember! After being there for about a week, it superseded my expectations! First off, I ate croissants, chocolate croissants, and (heavenly) hot chocolate for breakfast almost everyday! It was the best because I could sit down and relax or just grab a croissant to-go (or as the French say “take-away”)! I have yet to order a Starbuck’s croissant since I’ve been home because I know it will not be half as good! Also, Paris has flower shops on almost every corner! I always thought this was exaggerated on social media, but they are everywhere! It is a unique trait about Paris that adds so much beauty! Of course we had to shop while in Paris! We went to a few department stores (Le Bon Marche & Printemps), but the best shopping finds were when we just strolling around. I find that straying away from the tourist attractions is when you find the real heart of a city. We found hidden, delicious bakeries, charming cheese shops, unique shoe stores, and French designer stores (not found in the US) just by wandering! As for tourist attractions, we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe to see the incredible views! We also went to The Louvre, Musse d’Orsay, Sacre Coeur, Café de Flore, Angelina’s, La Maison Rose, and Sunday mass at Notre Dame! When someone asks me my favorite part it is hard to choose one thing because everything combined made my first experience of Paris amazing! Knowing un petit peu (a little bit) of French helped getting around the more local parts of the city, but for the most part all I needed was Bonjour (Hello), Merci (Thank you), and Combien ça coute? (How much does it cost?). Basically, the essential words you need to shop in Paris! I hope you enjoy a few photos from my adventure and that you get to experience Paris yourself!