Happy New Year!

I cannot believe that 2014 is already over. So much happened in the past 12 months to my family and me. I went to France (Perigueux to be exact) in March, Playlist Live a week later, graduated from high school in May, drove up and down the East Coast in May then in July, went to LeakyCon in Orlando in July/August, started college in Washington D.C in August, spent my last Thanksgiving in Florida, helped my family move from Florida to Massachusetts three weeks ago, and then we celebrated our first Christmas in our new house last week. I want to thank everyone that has been a part of my life this year. I had a great 2014, and I have every hope that 2015 will hold even more adventure and fun. Here are some of my favorite photos from this year!

Taken during my amazing trip to Perigueux, France 

Last spring break in WDW for a while! Glad to have spent it with my parents, sister, and Aunt Linda. 

Graduation! Can't believe that high school is over!

Beginning of the road trip to Boston. And South of the Border was an experience to say the least. 

Pit stop in D.C., exploring the new home!

First day of the summer in Boston, one of my all time favorite cities. 

Duck face and new ombré hair. 

From the Met in NYC. One of my favorite museums!

Chocolate gelato on a hot day in the city, need I say more? 

The beautiful Leighton Meester after the fantastic play adaptation of Of Mice and Men

Taken after a delicious meal at Jean Georges with my Aunt Kathleen. A meal I will never forget. 

Gorgeous tea with Mom at the Taj in Boston

A few days before orientation for college!

Spending time with my sister is always fun!

One of my favorite restaurants in D.C.: Jaleo!

Connecting with my inner kid in a park this summer

Revisiting my old camp, Camp Bernadette, while dropping Emma off for her first year there!

Leaving Boston (through New York) to go back home to Tampa

A beautiful shot of Charleston, SC from the top floor of a parking garage.

Impromptu trip to EPCOT and meeting up with Dale!

When Mom and I prepared an afternoon tea for my friends and their mothers. So much fun!

Meeting Hannah Hart (My Drunk Kitchen) was definitely a highlight! 

Mary Kate Wiles and Matthew Glick (from The Lizzie Bennet Diaries) was another highpoint of LeakyCon!

Nick Lang (member of Starkid) and I at LeakyCon. Cannot believe I met him!

Emma and I at the One Direction concert in MA! 

Start of my Freshman year at college!

Had a great day at the American Girl Place with my roommate and her sister!

Beautiful sunset from the Capitol!

Christmas tree on Christmas Day. I had a great Christmas! How was yours?

Trying to ice skate this past Monday. Started off shaky, but ended strong!

And that was my year! I hope you had a great 2014! Thank you so much for reading my blog this year, it really means the world to me. I hope that I will keep writing in the coming year. Is there anything that you guys want to see me write about?

Have a great new year!

Love,

Kara

A Sunset and A Christmas Tree in D.C.

The past week and a half has been busy. Mom and I have been unpacking box after box since all of our stuff got to the new house last Tuesday. Dad and Emma got here on Saturday, and then it was the full sprint to Christmas. Now it is Christmas Eve and we are baking cookies, wrapping last minute gifts, and assembling gingerbread houses. 

But before the movers arrived and before I even got to Boston, my friends and I decided go to downtown D.C., and see the different Christmas decorations. First we went to the Madison building to get library cards for the Library of Congress. It was a super easy and I can’t wait to explore the library.

A statue of James Madison in the Madison Building

Even though the Library was closed, we went outside of the building and took some great photos of the sun setting.

As we walked towards the Christmas tree in front of the Capitol Building, the sun got closer to the horizon and the colors got more vivid and bright. 

The views from the front of the Capitol Building were magnificent with the entire National Mall before us. 

Then the sky got dark enough for the Christmas tree to turn on!

It got a bit chilly after that, so we hurried off to dinner at the Shake Shack in Penn Quarter. I had the special salted caramel hot chocolate, which warmed me up on the cold night. It was a great last night in downtown D.C. before we all headed back home for the holidays. 

Now I am home and surrounded by my family, the perfect recipe for Christmas. Our tree is up, lit, and decorated. There are lights and a wreath in front of the house. And most importantly, a great majority of the boxes are unpacked!

Until next time,

Kara

Doughnuts and Chicken & Waffles?!? Yes Please!

Hello everybody!

A few weeks ago one of my classes decided to play a game of assassin. For most of the game, the way to kill our given targets was to throw a piece of paper at the target without them seeing. The winner and the person who made the most kills would get a free lunch from our program assistant (a PA). And guess what?! I tied with someone else for most kills! Don't know why I'm so excited about that . . . But I was also the runner-up! So that's good! Along with two other people from our class and our PA, went to GBD in Dupont Circle.

Now I love chicken & waffles and this obsession can be seen in many posts on this blog. So when we had to decide on a restaurant and my PA suggested GBD, it was a new brainer. They have an actual restaurant area and takeout. Since the actual restaurant area had a wait of 40 minutes, we decided to get takeout and sit at the tables at the front of the restaurant.

What to choose?

For brunch, GBD has a deal that it is only $3 more if you pair a doughnut and coffee with your entrée. So we all of course had to do that! Three out of four (including me) got chicken & waffles and the other girl got the GBD Poutine (which looked so good!). Now, onto to the doughnuts! I got a pumpkin spice doughnut, two of my friends got Nutella doughnuts and the last one got a vanilla glazed doughnut. When they arrived, we tried to get the perfect Instagram pic (which you can see on my Instagram @thekschiap).

Trying to get the perfect shot!

Then came the all waited chicken & waffles! While not as delicious as the sweet potato-cornmeal-bacon chicken & waffles from Lowcountry Bistro in Charleston, SC that I wrote about HERE, it was still really good. The chicken was tender and the waffles sweet. I only wished that I had gotten syrup with it, which might have been due to the fact that we technically got takeout. 

Before catching the bus back to campus, we stopped by the Dupont Circle Farmers Market for a look around. Lots of apples, which is to be expected, and lots of fresh fruits and veggies that I wanted to buy! It made me want to cook!

After getting back to campus, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful it looked with the changing colors of the leaves, bright autumn sun, and crisp and cool air. It reminded me why I chose to go to school where there are seasons. I absolutely love fall and I can't wait for the first snowfall!

Then I spent the rest of that Sunday writing papers and doing homework, which seems to be my life at the moment. I have so many papers and projects to complete before the end of the semester in the middle of December. Does anyone have any tips for surviving finals? Anyways, thanks for reading! See you next time!

Love,

Kara