two thousan eleven.

it's been quite the year here on this little space. my home away from home. because that's exactly what it's all happening has been for me. a home. a place to create and dream and explore and offer up every last ounce of grateful energy.

i'm beyond thankful to have discovered this so-called blogging universe. in a way, it's saved me. you know what i mean? it's allowed me to tap into gratitude and - if you can believe it - become a happier, more self-aware person, noticing every single thing that is important. it's helped me truly discover the things and people i don't want to {and sometimes can't fathom} live without.

i owe so much to your eyeballs for taking the time to read. thank you, from the bottom of my heart. i'm inspired by you more than you could possibly know.  i can only hope i've had a fraction of a positive influence on your lives, just a sliver of what you've given me.

i want to share a few lessons learned this year. a moment of reflection, if you will, bare with me.

every single thing happens for a reason. believe in that. even when it's hard to see, remind yourself in that very moment, that you'll make sense of it later, i promise.

keep your friends close. create an army for yourself. yes, you heard me, an army. your best pals... ready to check-in on you or fight for you at any second of the day.

let love in. no matter how scary that seems, just let it. resist how badly your mind and body shy away from it, it's time. it's always time to love.

discover something you're passionate about and dive in head first. let it consume you because you realize that maybe you're a better person with this newfound passion in your life.

stand up for who you are {it's taken me a while to grasp this one, and it's a constant work in progress}. make sure that no matter what happens to you on a superficial level, that at the core of you, you know who you are and what you stand for. we all want to find our own voice and power, so constantly strive to locate it.

i hope twenty twelve comes with more learning and risk-taking and leaps. leap with me, will you? bright eyes for bright futures ahead.

big hugs and open hearts as you ring in the new year, my dears.

{photos 1, 2, 3}.

beaut.

meet my new friend, the newest addition to my haven.

isn't she the most amazing hand-crafted beaut you've ever seen?

i think so.

may this sweet hummingbird be a daily reminder to see the beauty in everything and bring out the best in myself and others. thank you, s. {s, as in sister}.

folk love.

i love songs that make you feel.



first heard this one when a dear friend sent me this video. it's the soundtrack. then a sub played it during class the other night.

my favorite part. 3 min 30 sec. m-e-l-t.

it'll get ya, i know it.

on the mark.

it's no secret that i love my jewels (exhibit a, b, and c to name a few}. dainty gems, really. i don't know what it is, but something about a delicate piece of jewelry makes my heart flutter.

the latest is a gift from a dear, accompanied by a note to interpret the meaning of this on the mark necklace.                 {thank you!!}

it's a great layering piece and a reminder that wherever we are in life, we are moving forward... towards a place that is right for us. we continue to gravitate to the so-called bullseye of life to achieve that on the mark feeling where things are just as they should be. they feel right. in essence, we move towards love, always.

also, just a little favorite i dug up. last year i was so in love with this quote i gave it to my six a.m. yoga teacher to read to the class. i like that memory.

don't want to forget this one until next year. 

x to the o. 

sweet nothings.

dolls, just wanted to stop in and show you the newest wrist addition.

rose is a rose is a rose...

i think by now we know rose - a name coined by these gals - is a name that's stuck. and how perfectly fitting that they now represent the i wear my best friends on my wrist phenomenon. because, well, they are practically family.

the best part is the inside. it reads... sweet nothings.

oh, whisper me sweet nothings, will you? i'll love you forever.

thank you times a million trillion for the sweetest gift. ms. spade wins again.

lazy daisy.

i love my sister.

that's all.

i'm so thankful for holidays at home. merry christmas, my loves. 

laugh out loud.

do you ever go shopping with the clear intention of purchasing gifts for other people and {accidentally} come out with just a little something for yourself? that you neeeeeeeded, of course.

somehow i always justify.

my thought process went... i love kate spade. oh! these are so colorful. look at these cute sayings. they're on sale? only $12? i was sold in a matter of seconds.

smile at a stranger.

take a chance.

dance til dawn.

meet the kate spade coasters. i've been coaster-less since i moved to my apartment nearly two years ago.

can i tell you how many times i've heard, do you have a coaster? nope.

well, now. i. do. so there.

pick your fancy.

laugh out loud.

santa clause is coming to town.

so this mariah carey tune has become one of my all time faves this season. 

santa claus is coming to town, but a way cooler version. it's mariah'ed.

meet my sisters, my pseudo sissies. i'm the middle child, smack dab in the middle age wise. we tend to make up dance routines, lots of them. it started when we were little c.a.p.a dancers and just this past summer we really stepped up our game again.

unstoppable.

make sure you give our latest a watch. it makes me smile so big and laugh out loud every play. i'd recommend blowing it up to full screen. just sayin'...

i hope it inspires you to dance like no one is watching this holiday season. 

so thankful for my sistergalpals. xoxo.

gingham.

have i told you about my obsession with gingham?

wear it and you'll melt my heart. no questions asked.

*dedicated pinterest board, obvi.

caitlin and vix.

we used to think we were models.

the hours spent dressing up... hair and makeup, outfit changes, overalls, matching lavender j.crew flip flops and bathing suits. these were our biggest worries. and boys. we had secret code names for just about every one of them.

i'm so thankful for kate.

we've been friends since the awkward teenage years, the best years. when school dances are the events of the season. when driving the red mercedes without a license around the block {or to longs drugs store... once! shhh!} was the most rebellious thing we ever did. when many-a-friday night were spent making up routines to classics like who let the dogs out? see, big nerds.

some of the best kind of friends are the ones who know us as our most dorky selves. the ones that could fill up a book with memories and inside jokes. that's us.

love you to the moon,
vix.

sail away with me.

poor december, i've been neglecting thee.

'tis that season. lots to be thankful for, though.

dahlias. a saturday afternoon farmers market treat. and better yet, they match a rather festive apartment i know of.

i learned they represent dignity, elegance, and forever thine. yes, please.

ornaments. hand-crafted sailboat ones. a precious, favorite holiday treat.

immediately upon opening, the david gray song played in my head.

sail away with me

what will be will be

i wanna hold you now

...and something to leave you giggling. 

guess who!?

courage.

i've had this necklace for as long as i can remember.

one side reads courage. and the other side has a simple, snow-capped mountain and sun. to me, it symbolizes the courage to climb any mountain. 

here i go again...all about the symbols. mom got it for me at a local party store, most likely in elementary school when i needed courage to stay through the night at sleepovers and strength to stand up to a mean girl or two. because, well, that's just part of growing up.

i still wear this necklace. quite often, as of late. it's been with me to college and traveling. first days on the job, heartbreak, and big presentations.

it occurred to me that i'll never stop needing courage... in every phase of life. we could all stand to channel a little extra, don't you think? here's to being courageous! rawr.

shine.

are you ever afraid to shine? like, really shine?

i learned that i am, but i don't want to be anymore.

i think there are many things that hold us back...

fear. doubt. vulnerability. to name just three.

but, see, in the end we all just want to be shining. and buzzing. and exist as nothing but utter lightness. sometimes we just can't take that high, but i want to take it. let's.

*found here.

december.

how'd it get to be december already?

oh, but we're always saying that, aren't we? such is life.

well, i must confess, time got away from me. i skipped right over november without even hanging my favorite calendar.

so, i must make it up to you here...

november.

december.

that's all for today.

happy friday, loves! may you live in skyscraper dreams and find some sweetness this weekend. xoxo.

gentleman.

he walks on the outside, closest to the street. always, no matter what.

they'd be en route to anywhere, really. saturday morning coffee. dinner reservations. or just a sunday stroll, and he'd be there without thinking twice. sometimes he'd carefully take her hand and, never skipping a beat, gracefully glide her to the inside where he could protect her. you know, just. in. case. in case something scary happened in the middle of that road.

it was what she loved most about him. his need to protect her. and, his good 'ol fashion manners.

he was a gentleman in every sense of the word. doors, they were his specialty. ladies first he'd silently whisper.

this all came effortlessly to him as if it was in his genetic makeup. he must have read the handbook, she thought to herself. or maybe it was that angel of a mother, caring father, or sisters three. {because somewhere behind every polite man is a good woman, yes?}

or maybe, he just really loved her.

*love this photo.

happy holidays.

i know it's late, but i needed to stop in and tell you just this one thing.

i am in holiday heaven at the moment.

to the point where i'm getting all mushy and nostalgic for no reason other than the fact that this is my very first christmas tree ever on. my. own. like, not at my parents house.

i'm all grown up. funny how that happens.

she's magical, isn't she?

thank you, bob. you're the only christmas tree lot i've ever known.

there may or may not be five bushels of mistletoe hanging about my humble abode. i love mistletoe. any excuse for a showing of love, really.

it's going to be a great holiday season, if you know what i mean. wink! kiss!

there's no place like home.

planes, trains, and automobiles. that's what's been happening at it's all happening this past week, dolls.

i'm so glad to be home.

you know you're in the right city when no matter how much fun you're having, your heart yearns for home just a little bit. you secretly think to yourself, ________'s got nothin' on my home sweet home.

how dorothy-esque of me. and click...click...click...go the ruby slippers.

some highlights...

saw williamsburg for the first time. such a hipster-y gem. thank you to my dear friend, dyl, for always being up for an adventure. great catch up time. also, {finally!} got to meet the one and only mrs. daily dubes. she is the sweeeeetest. go on, see for yourself.

...and onward we go to embrace yet another week. let's make it a good one, shall we?