{in the past week I...}

...got snow:

...celebrated family:

...visited with this girl:

...was sick in bed:

...packed for vacation & Cali:

It's been quite busy. SO...

I'm taking a little blog hiatus. I may post once or twice in the next two weeks, but since I'll be without my computer for a week + moving across the country, my blogging schedule is going to {continue} to be inconsistent.

I wish you all a safe & fun New Years!  See you in 2013...

{holiday decorations}

I love all of our Christmas decorations. Nothing cheesy; just festive, jolly decor :)  Here's a peek into our festive house...

Kitchen:

these berries are some of my favorite decorations. so simple, but so festive!

Dining Room:

we've been hanging these giant ornaments for as long as I can remember...love!

Hallway:

hurricane vase filled with ornaments...so easy!

Living Room:

to avoid nailing nails into the limestone fireplace, we hang our stockings with these hooks!

And because I love Christmas light bokeh...three different apertures.

And the best decoration of all...Cooper!

I hope you all had wonderful holidays!

{holiday times}

I took about 50 pictures this week of the holiday decorations around my house, downloaded them, edited them, & then headed on a little trip without my laptop. Sigh.

This blog has taken a back seat because of the holidays, but I'll be back soon. Posting from my iPad {especially with photos} is a little annoying, so I'm going to wait until I get home.

We celebrated Christmas at my mom's on Friday, because my step-sister & step-brother were in town. We opened presents, went to a museum, & ate dinner at a fab restaurant. It was the perfect way to celebrate! Then the four of us headed to NYC, where Dylan & I met up with our dad & sibs. We went to see the Rockettes show at Radio City & spent the night in the Big Apple.

For my gluten-free readers: if you're in NYC, eat at S'MAC! It's a macaroni & cheese restaurant & it's amazing. The GF m&c is un.real.

I'm writing this from the car...we're driving up to Boston now. I'm literally going from one city to the next! It's exhausting, but worth it. Hopefully. lol I can't wait until my real vacation starts in about a week ;)


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{these past few days...}

The Sandy Hook tragedy is still making my heart hurt so much. In a season that is supposed to be happy, joyful, & filled with family & gratitude, the fact that the victim's loved ones are experiencing the opposite is just devastating. I hope that in time they can find peace.

No transition will sound right, so I'm going to just go ahead & move on...

I had such a fun, busy weekend. After Christmas shopping & showing Ashley around my hometown, we went into the city to see Peter Nero and the Philly Pops' Holiday Concert.  Dylan & I sang in the chorus for this concert series all throughout high school, so it was bittersweet to watch from the audience.  We've performed at the Kimmel Center over 30 times & it's always so amazing to go back! It's one of my favorite stages in the country. We still remembered every note to all of the songs & had the best time.

It seemed appropriate that for my first weekend back with my camera I had two photoshoots!  Well, one scheduled one & one on-the-fly one ;)  Capturing beautiful people--inside & out--is one of the things I love most about photography, & these ladies were no exception.

{Mrs. Berry...if you're reading this, look away! Your Christmas present will be that much better, I promise!}

I'll be back soon for some pics of holiday decorations! Hug your loved ones tight.

{blogger day of silence}

What happened in Newtown, CT on Friday still has me reeling with sadness. Outside of my home, I've always felt safest at every one of the schools I've attended. To think something so horrific could happen to the safe place of those 20 children and 6 women is just unimaginable.  My heart goes out to all those affected by this tragedy, and my thoughts and prayers will be with them while they heal.

On Tuesday, December 18th, there will be a blogger day of silence. We will post the button and that's it. Please try to not post anything else that day if possible.

We are also raising money that will go to an organization in the memory of this tragedy. The organization is called The Newtown Family Youth and Family Services. Here is the official description of the support service we are donating to: 

"Newtown Youth and Family Services, Inc. is a licensed, non-profit, mental health clinic and youth services bureau dedicated to helping children and families achieve their highest potential. NYFS provides programs, services, activities, counseling, support groups and education throughout the Greater Newtown area.

ANY DONATIONS MADE TO NEWTOWN YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES WILL BE DONATED DIRECTLY TO THOSE EFFECTED BY THE SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING."

Please visit THIS PAGE to make your donation.

We can't imagine how they must be feeling, especially this close to the holidays. We would love for you to spread the word on your own blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Let's make a difference and use blogging in a positive way. Thank you in advance for participating.

Love,
The Blog World 

p.s. If you would like to, copy-paste and repost any part of this, please do. Share on.

{pics of the last two weeks}

This semester was one for the books. I loved all of my classes {um...except one} & made some great new friends.

Some stories & photos from my last two weeks...

My social media class tweeted HUNDREDS {it may have tipped over 1000} of times over the past three months to Mark Wahlberg & Rob Gronkowsi {tight end for the NE Patriots} to have one of them come teach our class.  Rob finally responded & visited last week! He was very nice, & I think we were all a bit star-struck.

My neighborhood's holiday decorations tugged on my heartstrings. 

Commonwealth Ave.

Faneuil Hall

I was walking around the other night & heard beautiful piano music. I looked around frantically to find the source & when I did...I almost fainted. 

See that guy? In that beautiful window? In that perfect brownstone home in Beacon Hill?

He's playing the piano. 

My piano at home is tucked away in that kind of window, so I have a thing for pianos & bay windows. 

My finals uniform:

My life has been packing & studying the past few weeks, so that's all the interesting pictures I have :)  

The good news? Now that I'm back home, I've been reunited with my camera. Let the photo-taking commence!

{goodbye boston}

Boston pulled out all the stops for the best sunset ever on my last night.

My last final was this morning--insert loud celebration here--so I packed up & headed out of Boston.

Originally it was goodbye until graduation...but I'll be back in twelve days for Christmas. Lol.

Nevertheless, it's still bittersweet. & it's still a true goodbye.

When I came to Boston 3.5 years ago, I had no idea what was in store for me.  I wasn't totally happy with my college choice, so I was very hesitant to come here. When I applied to transfer for my sophomore year, I was ready to say au revoir to Boston & pick a new city. But I didn't. I just chose another school down the street & stayed. 

Oh, how glad I am that I did. 

When I first arrived, it was the first time I'd lived away from home, from my parents, friends, and especially...Dylan. I had no idea how to live as a independent.

Remember I wrote about my best friend/freshman year roommate Ashley a few weeks ago? She's coming home with me today. We've been trying to do this trip ever since freshman year, & I'm stoked it's finally happening. I've been to her home, but this'll be the first time she's visited mine! It'll be a perfect little goodbye trip, because I'm gonna miss her like crazy.

Back in October, my sister's friend from school passed away unexpectedly. It was a devastating shock, & when Dylan told me the news, we were both struck with that "life is so short so tell the people you love you love them" feeling. I had dinner with Ashley that night & got a little sappy at the table.  I explained to her what happened to Dylan's friend, & then went on to say how much she means to me.

Ashley will always hold a special place in my heart because she was the first person to show me I can have a close confidant outside of Dylan. She was my first friend who just knew Olivia, not Olivia & Dylan. She showed me that I don't need Dylan to be me.  We became very close very quickly, & it was so odd being friends with someone who didn't know Dylan at all. She was my first "independent" friend.

The city of Boston holds that same spot. It will always be the city where I became a true independent. Where I grew up. Where I had my own life. Where Dylan & I's first big solo concert was. Where our first televised concert was. Where our first professional sports game performance was. Where I got my first apartment. Where I learned more than I ever expected--about the field I chose to study, but mostly...about myself. I now know I can live on my own.  & be okay.

I've been ready to say goodbye to Boston for a while, but I hadn't prepared myself for how sad I am to leave it.  As the days dwindled, I felt more & more attached to everything. My apartment, my school, my friends, my dad & sibs being 15 minutes away, Ashley, my neighborhood, the restaurants, the water, the parks. It really is a great city, & I'm so happy I chose Boston as the first setting in my own life.

I may move back some day. But I have a lot of other places that I want to try out too. LA is at bat. Who knows what'll be next!

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.

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I'll be back tomorrow with some photos of the last two weeks.

{wishful wednesday}

It's baaaack! Here's what's on my wishlist...

1. Desert Boot

I want them. That's all.

2. Cashmere Hoodie & Sequin Pencil Skirt

I want everything in this outfit...down to the shoes. 

I love the mix of casual & dressy.

Too bad I feel in love before I saw the price of this skirt.

3. Chic Earmuffs

My ears are constantly cold during east coast winters. 

These earmuffs are so cozy & fashionable!

4. The Ability to Time Travel

Back in time & in the future. Don't we all?

{december photo challenge}

12/1: 8 o'clock {outside of the restaurant}

12/2: peace {chris botti}

12/3: something I carried {my backpack}

12/4: black & white {my plate}

12/5: looking up {neighbors}

12/6: people I love {the sibs}

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   .  .  .  .  .  . 

I had grand plans of doing gift guides this year...so hopefully I can get my act together & put them together sometime before Christmas :)

I have one final tomorrow & one of Thursday. I'll have lots of time in between them to get back to blogging.

In the meantime...enjoy the rest of your Sunday! 

{christmas decorating!}

I'm only here for ten more days, but I still wanted it to feel like Christmas around the apartment.

First order of business? The tree. I'm a real Christmas tree girl.  Like...bundle up & go to the farm & cut down your own tree kind of real.  So when I saw the $90 price tag on the 4 foot Christmas trees, I almost started to cry. Because I knew it wasn't worth just ten days.  I came to terms with the fact that if I wanted a tree this year, I would have to cross over to the dark side: fake.

So I went fake. & found this little guy.

No ornaments {yet}, but I did make that star out of felt. & then wrapped it up in lights. He may not be real, but he gets the job done.

Next order of business...more lights!  I just grabbed a random box of lights at the hardware store, thinking it would be enough to drape across one wall, but little did I know how long it was! I was happily surprised to realize it could wrap around the entire room.  I'm glad I got some with a white cord, as opposed to a green one, because it blends nicely with the paint.

I love it! Most nights are spent with all the lights off...& just the Christmas lights on :)

Last but not least, I switched out the pictures in my frames. I found a pretty vintage drawing of a girl hanging up ornaments online that I printed. I put that one in the oval frame.

For the black frame, I made my own print. But I'm going to be completely honest...I did NOT come up with this on my own. I saw it on Pinterest, so I re-created it myself. So credit goes to the wonderful person who designed it in the first place. 

Again, sorry the photos are so terrible.

So that's it for the decorating! It was really the perfect weekend to do it, since we got a little bit of snow! Made it all seem that much more festive.

On Friday I watched Christmas Vacation, Saturday night I watched Elf, & Chris Botti's holiday album has been playing since Thursday. This season's gonna be a good one.

I'm so ready for finals to be over so I can go home & be with my family!!!