Deck the Halls and stuff

The last week or so I've been feeling a little lonely. I think its mostly due to the fact that Christmas is coming and I'm away from most of my family and friends (although I am endlessly thankful for the opportunity I had to move to CR with part of my Whitworth family). In order to fight off the loneliness and put me in a Christmasy mood (since our weather is like endless fall up here on the mountain), I decided I needed to do a little decorating.

On a side note, I'm sure some of you have seen my older sister's blog (lavidadebeth.blogspot.com). Over the years I have teased her endlessly for having a blog, but it has actually been a great way for me to keep up with her life. I only mention this because she loves to put cute little crafty, decorating, and cooking things on her blog, whereas my blog is more about my adventures here. However, this blog entry makes me think of Bethany, because it seems more like one of her entries than mine, so I thought I'd give her a little shout out.

Back to my decorating story.

So, last night Kristina and I headed to good ol' Auto Mercado to get a few supplies. Candles are one thing that always lift my spirits, so I stocked up on those (in yummy scents like pumpkin and cinnamon!).

Now, if you know me well you know I am a mug person. I take great pleasure in picking out what mug I will use each day, finding something that motivates me and matches my day. Well, here I've been trying not to amass a zillion mugs because 1)I shouldn't spend money on them, 2)I get attached to my mugs and will want to keep them all, but I won't be able to ship 20 mugs back home when I'm done here and 3) There just isn't any real need/much room for them at the moment. Therefore, I bought one mug a few months back and have been using it daily. Its a really cute mug with pink flowers on it, but it just wasn't helping me get into a festive mood. So, last night I bought this adorable mug that reminds me of all the cute Starbucks mugs my Mom and sisters have at home. (P.S. Bethany, I almost bought you a mug that said Feliz Navidad, but decided I didn't want to have to lug it home to you).

And finally, Kristina got some Christmas lights! This is not the best picture of them, but it would be hard to get a great picture, considering the strings were a little shorter than we expected, so our wall is only half decorated in lights at the moment.

1 mug, a few candles, and a few strings of Christmas lights later, and Kristina and I were feeling pretty cheery! It is so much fun to turn off the lights and work/read/watch TV by the light of candles and Christmas lights. Oooh, and one more reason to be cheery: did I mention I'm coming home in 2 weeks?! My Christmas gift from my parents - I can't wait!!!