bold.beautiful.boston.

Boston brownstones. aka the soon to be homes of r2m (i claimed the middle one)

the coolest bookstore ever. the guy could grab a book from the middle of a floor to ceiling stack without knocking over the whole thing. (salem, ma)

chez leary. beverly, ma. say "hi" savoy!

leary and savoy walking down the streets of ipswich, ma

savoy soaking in the sights...

mfa, boston 

we laughed. we hugged. we ate. 

it was a marvelous weekend is boston with the best friends. friendship is amazing in that when it's good you can pick up right where you left off no matter how long it has been. 

the rachels remind me of who i am at my essence. how i can be awkward and silly and yet highly poised. they are embracing and nonjudgemental. wonderful, wonderful people. 

new england is awesome in the winter. covered in feet of snow, there is a chill and a silence to the area that is enchanting. i could live there forever (i like to think it's because i was born in rhode island and my mom is from new jersey...i'm a new englander at heart). 

being a bostonian was great. i hope you enjoy this tiny sampling of pictures from the weekend. we traveled all over the 'burbs of boston...beverly, salem, ipswich...and bookended it in the heart of it all...

i do adore city life

r2m takes over boston

r2M

this weekend it's all about the girls. me and two of my best friends are rendez-vous(ing) in boston where one bff goes to graduate school. we are taking over boston and impeding her studying for some good old quality friend time. 

i've been home since may and loved every minute of it. spending time with my family is exactly what i should be doing right now. but coming from a college community, and being myself and making friends late, leaving those friends was a very hard thing to do. now me and the rachels are in three different cities leading three different lives. there is no para every night. no coordinating outfits late at night. no sleepovers. skype dates and long emails are the basis of us at this moment. 

and i miss them dearly. 

so this weekend we are getting back to basics. we are making us a priority. back to hours at coffee shops, long lunches, wine with every meal and tons of shopping. 

i wish i could have this kind of quality time with all my friends all the time (michigan, charlottesville, new york). but right now there is something else planned. all of my friends and i are doing some growing up and self discovery on our own. 

i'm just glad that at the end of the day, there will still just be us. 

and maybe a coffee shop. 

(ps the picture is one from our photo shoot with our dear friend barrie...love it)

melancholic mood music--video of the week

every time my brother comes home, or when i used to come home, i would beg and plea for a mixed cd. my brother has awesome taste in music and knows the best songs. this break i got my playlist.

i'm becoming a big fan of alternative rock and a genre i like to call folk pop (think bon iver). and classics like U2, madonna (i'm eclectic, i can dig it).

so in this mixed cd my brother introduced me to blue october, the band in the music video. their song "hate me" is really dark and twisty and so true. it's the real story behind needing space, letting go, and the sadness sometimes behind "it's not you, it's me."

if loving someone means letting them go, maybe this is a song everyone can relate it.

or maybe it's just me...

i want it

i. LOVE. this.  

i love the length of the skirt (holler to a little length, the mini is of limited use in the real world), the mixed patterns, the fully buttoned shirt. and who doesn't want to rock a scarf as a true parisian would? 

i'm not sure i'll be brave enough to do so much pattern in one outfit, but i am certainly going to try. usually a color hog, i'm definitely going to have to incorporate more pattern (and i've certainly been stocking up on the plaid...i'm seeing some severe outfit trials in the future).

what about you? dare you try some patterns...

(image here)

video of the week...tgif!

i love this song. it's cute, simple, and so much fun to sing along to in the car while sitting in traffic. my favorite lyric is "we may only have tonight, but til the morning sun you're mine...all mine"...it's kinda corny/ romantic, but i still like it!

so this weekend, have a little fun and relax with the plain white T's.

TGIF!

at work today...

at work this week the new spring line for men and women arrived. and let me say, i love it so very much. it's all cotton and layers, florals, oranges and pinks. while i'm a HUGE fan of winter, there is something idyllic about dreams of wildflowers and warmer days, long walks and later days. it may only be january, but in fashion world spring is really only a hop, skip, and a jump away.

 i think i'll have to pick up a new pair of boyfriend jeans, some cotton cardigans, and a paper thin floral scarf. 

so besides that infamous spring cleaning...what's on your spring list?

(p.s. picture number 2 is lc's favorite whereas picture number 3 is mine...love the model, love the props, love the overall look)

things to remember never to forget

January 2010 snowstorm overtakes Charlottesville, UVA Chapel 

Springtime in Washington DC! Cherry Blossoms at the Jefferson Memorial

FLY House Lovin' 09-10 

we LOVE para! thanks barrie!

UVA Graduation 2010 (I'm the gold star balloon)

may the force be with you

Lombard St, San Francisco CA 

the Golden Gate Bridge, under fog, which is really most of the time

Sausalito, CA

California State Capitol

Sacramento, CA

Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

Relay for Life, Survivors Tent, Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach Snowstorm, December 2010

Busch Gardens Christmas Town (France)

Merry Christmas and Happy 2011!


one year. it's been a wild ride...who knows what could happen next?