h.a.p.p.y. n.e.w. y.e.a.r.

2010 couldn't have been a better year.

i doubt i will ever forget this year and what it brought.

2010 was the year:

. we hosted a great new year's day party/and had some new year's day photo booth fun

. i finished applications, got accepted/rejected from colleges, got my heart broken after falling in love with corcoran/ d.c., and made the crazy, wonderful, and last- minute decision to take a gap year.

. spent time with kiddos

. graduated from asheville yoga center's 230 hr program/ discovered a whole new passion for teaching and practicing

. climbed a little

. graduated high school

. my beautiful sis got married and set the perfect example of a calm, beautiful, and happy bride.

. went on the annual beach trip with my bright stars

. backpacked through europe with my other darling sis/had the time of our lives/met dana/fell in love with travel all over again

. worked various jobs and learned a lot about the real world

. read a ton of books good and bad

. drew stuff/ painted stuff

. wore some seriously funky ensembles/ no pants april

. took thousands of photographs

. learned to be truly thankful for health/ recovery

. painted at thursday night worship/had the privilege to worship in a whole new way

all this to say one simple thing - 2010 was great.

i only wish it would have stuck around a little longer! it slipped past us too quickly.

may the new year bring new joy and peace to your lives.

happy happy 2011!

i'm fully confident 2011 is the year to live your best life. . . approach life in a whole new way and make sense of all the madness to the best of your ability.

"the very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. and the most you can do is live inside that hope." - barbara kingsolver

with all the love in my heart,

g.

another christmas past

can you believe it? another christmas already gone?

i'm still living in a state of disbelief.

even though it sped past, this christmas was as good a christmas as any! i'm tremendously thankful for my beautiful, crazy, generous family. they're all so cool {aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, parents, sibilings, brother-in-law. all of them!}

plus, we almost had a white christmas! {the day after is good enough for me}

one of my greatest joys in life is waking up to a blanket of fresh, shiny snow. in addition to the beautiful snow, the highlight of this christmas was guion and guion's gift. read all about it here!

{click any to see it larger}

venice nights

venice photographs great at any time of the day, but i was particularly captivated by the time after sunset in this always radiant city.

in a way, venice changed our lives.

what k and i knew about city life, changed entirely and k and i met one of the most wonderful people in the world here!

. . . a few more pictures to come . . .

{click any to see larger}

a day in monaco

monaco was everything i had hoped it would be. . .

i can finally check one more place off my list of places to see before i die.

the land of grace kelly was just as classy, elegant, and quirky as i had always imagined!

tt & emma jean

i really love dogs. as i write this, dublin has her head in my lap {she wants to play catch with her squished, pink toy and she thinks if she's really sweet i'll play with her all night. . . and i will}.

as much as i love pups, i doubt i'll ever have one of my own. i'm somewhat allergic to pet dander and all i fully intend to travel for the rest of my days, so. . . i doubt i'll ever call one my own.

with that said though, i hope to always be surrounded by dogs/animals in general. i want all of my friends to have at least one or two beautiful pets! a, i want you to get a dog, and fast!

- - - - - - - - - - - -

as i said before, these two were a wonderful pair to photograph. they are so fun and happy together.

tt & emma jean, i wish you all the best!

3rd birthday photographer

brandi asked me to come over and take a few pics of georgia's 3rd birthday party last saturday.

the house was overpowered by pink and frills. the girls all looked darling in their princess dresses and crowns.

this event was particularly fun b/c i have been present at all three of this little one's birthday parties!

{happy 3rd georgia! you've got a great year ahead of you}

eight

i had the intention of posting these pics since spring, but . . . life happens and i forget about these things until i find a stack of pictures in my bedroom.

this was my first attempt with my holga {most of these are from march/april}. my second roll of film was destroyed {bye-bye all may wedding photos, etc.} and i still have not developed my third roll!

i've been spoiled by the digital generation and film is a constant guessing game for me. i find that i have very little patience when it comes to waiting for a good picture. . . on my list of goals for 2011 friends!

the above eight are my favorite out of the ones that did turn out. many, er, most of mine turn out too dark {s, you're not alone! who knew holga's needed light that much!}

* * * * * * in other news, k & friends are coming home friday! i cannot wait to spend time {ugh, after work} with them. and yes, diddy is my favorite artist of the week.

0 days left to teach yoga on wednesday mornings {today marked the last of my 9 weeks. i'm sad it is already over, but so happy i got back into sharing my love of the practice with others} . . . 1 or 2 days and most of my lovies are out of school . . . 10 days to christmas . . . 23 days before i leave. . . i really could not ask for more right now. * * * * * *