Christmas Tree Farm // Living Stephen

Happy December 12th! Only 13 more days until Christmas!

Christmas is coming up so quick, and I am so excited/sad! I feel like I wait all year for Christmas to come, so it's always a little bit bittersweet when it gets this close and I know it will end soon. :( Luckily, we will be trying to get as much Christmas packed into the next two weeks as possible. Starting with buying a Christmas tree!

Growing up, we always went to the local store and bought a real Christmas tree. We would come home, put it in the holder, put all the lights up ourselves, water it and enjoy spending the evening together. Unfortunately, around 12 or 13, my parents decided to buy a fake tree, and all the excitement of the Christmas tree kind of went away. Luckily, since I'm living away from home now, Tyler, Robert and I decided to actually go to a Christmas Tree Farm and cut down our own tree! (More like, look at the uncut ones, and decide to pick one that was already cut.)

It was so much fun to actually go out and walk through the trees. The smell completely set the scene, and the fun we had running through the mud to each tree was unforgettable.

There was so many trees throughout the farm, I couldn't even believe it. Although a lot of the trees out in the lot were a bit smaller than we hoped, it was just fun looking at them. There is so much happiness and excitement knowing its Christmas time and that we were going to be able to take one of the trees home and decorate it.

We had so much fun, and I would really recommend going out and getting your own tree. It's so nice to drive out far away from the city and relax a little bit. Our phones weren't working very well, so it's almost like we were in a different country. It was amazing.

Hopefully within the next couple days, I'll be able to show you the finished product of our Christmas tree.. because it looks pretty damn good! I'm so happy with it!

Until next time, Merry Christmas!

Stephen

I had to add this.. HAHAHA.

Winter Tips // Living Stephen

Hello everyone!

I wanted to start off by apologizing for the lack of posts this past week! I have been working every day since Thanksgiving, and haven't had any down time to sit and write. I absolutely love Christmas and I had so many things inspire me the last few weeks, and it makes me so sad that I only have a few more weeks to share them. So keep checking by in the next three weeks because I hope to make the most out of December!

Like I said before, I absolutely love Christmas. I love to bundle up with some blankets, put Elf on, light some candles, and drink hot chocolate. Unfortunately, the worst past about Christmas is that life still goes on, and you have to go outside into the rain and endure outside life, even though you want to be inside listening to Christmas music. So today, I'll share with you guys some of my winter tips to get through the rain and sludge.

My number one tip is to not care how you look when you're outside in the rain and cold. When I moved to Portland, I had "rainy California" in my head, where you can go outside in the middle of winter in a light jacket and tennis shoes. Unfortunately, that is not the case in the majority of the world, so my advice is to not care about how you look, take care of yourself! I made the mistake of being like "I don't care! I won't wear a beanie, I don't want my hair to look a mess!" I was wrong. So wrong. When you're outside in the pouring rain, you shouldn't care how your hair looks or how many jackets you have on! (I wore three coats the other day..)
What I would say is go out and buy a travel size bottle of hairspray to put into your bag, grab one of your favorite warm scarves to wear over your coats, and don't worry about fixing yourself up until you get back into the dry indoors!

This brings me to the next tip: go places being prepared! I always bring a bag to work with all my little essentials. I always have a bottle of hairspray, an extra pair of socks, a scarf, a beanie, and gloves. (For women, you'd probably want a couple little make up things as well) I think that for people like me, I don't usually care how I look and don't expect other people to judge me based on my appearance, but I do however like to have my hair done. So have an extra hairspray or some hair product in my bag is a must. I just run into the bathroom once I get to work, throw some hairspray on, fix it up and I'm good!

My third tip is listen to Christmas music! I know a lot of people are not big fans of Christmas music like I am, but I honestly think listening to it makes being outside SO much better. I've noticed that I am in a better mood, and that I start to appreciate the cold and the winter. Plus, there is a lot of really amazing Christmas music out there from pretty much any artist (My favorite this year is Kelly Clarkson!)

My last tip is to be happy! I've noticed that a lot of people are pretty depressed and unhappy once it starts raining and feels a bit gloomy, but if you are being positive, people will feed off of it! I try to at least look not completely miserable on the bus, and I've noticed people realizing it and smiling. It's Christmas time, and people should be in a positive mood! It really is the best time of the year!

That's all I have for you guys today! I'll be able to post more pictures in the coming weeks, as I have a few big things coming up! Let me know of any winter tips you have. I'd love to hear them!

Stephen