Monthly round-up of a few of my favorite things!

OK, first off, how is 2016 already over?! This year has flown by. Between moving home to LA, traveling, applying to graduate school, moving out of LA, and trying tons of new things to redefine my happiness, it has been a busy year.

Despite how surprised I am, it is time to round out the year with my December favorites!

1. Winter Wonderland Having grown up in Los Angeles, I never really experienced a classic Christmas. But this month, I went to North Dakota! Although the temperature reached as low as -24F (seriously), the scenery definitely put me in the Christmas spirit.
2. Frozen Rain Like above, another thing that I have never experienced before is frozen rain. This happens when it rains but it is so cold out that the water freezes once it hits a surface. Every where you look, things are perfectly preserved in ice. Tree branches, flower petals, fences – you name it. It was like nothing I have ever seen before! Well, it did remind me of a few scenes of Frozen. Don’t get me wrong – frozen rain causes some serious damage (we had power outages, trees falling over, and dangerous ice-covered roads), but it is beautiful!
3. Exploring With the busyness of my MBA program, I haven’t been too able to explore as much as I would like to. So when I started my month-long winter break, I took off! My best friend Jessie and I went to Florence on the Oregon coast. The hiking was great and the sunset on the beach was amazing. It feels good to be out exploring more of Oregon!
4. Canva  With my free time, I have been able to do some great work on my resume. One of my favorite tools for any kind of graphic design is Canva. It is super easy to use and produces really high-quality content. They also have free resume templates that are perfect if you are interested in displaying creativity and design skill.
5. Family Time The reason I was in North Dakota was for Nick’s college graduation! Nick double majored in Air Traffic Control and Aviation management from one of top rated aviation schools in the US. And, like me and my dad, he graduated in under four years. I was able to spend some time with my mom when I was in New York last month, but I hadn’t seen my dad or brother since July. It was so nice to have quality family time together and be there to support Nick was he walked the stage! In case you are wondering, Nick is heading back to Los Angeles to soak up some much-needed sun while he waits to hear back from the Federal Aviation Administration about Air Traffic Controller positions.

I hope this post finds you happy and healthy as 2016 comes to an end!

-TM

What were your favorites for the month? Let us know below.