1.1.12.

one year has gone by.
a lot of it was joyousness.
a lot of it was trying.
all of it was love.

and a bunch of it was just a blur.

please excuse me while i go have an adventure

goodbye twenty-eleven.

we are just shy of the new year.
a new start, a fresh start. i'm excited and nervous and wondering what it will hold. i'm ready for change, big change.
2011 was hard. my hardest year, in ever. i cried so many tears and i wanted to quit so many times. i thought it would be the death of me. but experiencing 2011 with my face in the dirt(it seemed) more times than i could stand on my feet, was worth it. it was so so worth it. i learned my fare share in 2011. i drew closer to Yahweh, through the thick and the thin. i experienced closer relationships, better relationships. i stepped out of my comfort zone more times than i can count. and it was all...epic. yes, as cliche as that word is, it's true. my 2011 was epic.

i will miss it. i really will, but i think i will embrace 2012 like no other.

so, i say..
bring it.

i secretly dream of being kissed under mistletoe.

that's my instagram from earlier today.

noël introduced itself today as my little brother ran through the house screaming. i threw my hair into a bun and pulled on my black knit sweater. and forgot to eat breakfast but of course. we were off to church even before we could open gifts. pink pencil skirts and knit tights were almost the equivalent.

i have two more christmases to go to. 50 more presents to make. just kidding. bring it.


{1.there has been a lot of talk and fbook statuses about how today "didn't feel like christmas." but i say, put a pipe in it. obviously some people needed to watch elf again and shove some more cookie dough down their throat.
2.it did NOT snow. this may or may not be the culprit to the unfortunate moods people are experiencing.
3.although i am dying to kiss under mistletoe and iceskate with some good lookin boy during the holidays, i am completely satisfied with not doing either or. plus, christmas isn't about romance.}

it's friday and all i want to sing is "cheers to the freekin weekin."

"Be the woman that when your feet hit the floor in the morning the devil says, 'oh shit she's awake'."
-unknown.

you will always have some excuse
not to live your life.

chuck palahniuk

skipping showers? ...this must be serious.

it's a nice morning in my house. my little brother is sitting right beside me reading his book, the fire is crackling, yeast is proofing in the kitchen, and christmas gifts are strewed about the house. 
tuesday is going to be joyous.
i have plans to string popcorn garlands with the sibs for the tree that has yet to be set up. five days before christmas too, talk about procrastination. 
we are off. 
christmas has been so demanding that showers are being skipped. can you say serious or what? 


may all your days be filled with family, warm hearts, and all that jazz.<3

my noel

noel is coming around the corner quicker than i imagined. i've been busy wrapping gifts and tying one too many bows. i also have been putting my dream list together. i hope you enjoy it.

 1. Ruche Marilyn sunglasses

2.flowers.[sent to my door]

3. letters.

four-seven are all devoted to anthropology.

4.

5.

6.

7.(i swear these are my wedding dishes.)

8. fish eye.

9.fabric flower garlend.

10. "Emma" BBC version.
11. a vintage couch.[cause we all know every good photographer owns a vintage couch.]
12. purple yarn.
13. concert tickets.

my mere

i'd say i'm glad it's the weekend, but since i've been on break the last week or so it's sort of like the weekend everyday.

i went shopping with my marmee and little soeur(sister) today. she took us out to mexican food afterwards. everyday, i get a little more thankful for her. a little more appreciative. a little more sad, because oneday she could be a little more than just hours away.
i hope you all are enjoying your week-ends(and you mothers) as much as i am.
yours, mandy.

no time.

time is moving entirely too fast.
and i am not nearly ready for the holidays.

i think it's time to bring the record player out. and string the lights.
get in the mood. you know?

xo,
mandy.

 

sometimes, i pretend we're twins. even though he's eight years younger than me.

talk about cute, though. my little bothers a hunk. and no, you can't have him.

xo, mandy.

terribly happy

 -last day of fall term.
-pumpkin bread.
-being told you look like your grandma.
-that nostalgic feeling right before christmas.

hallelujah, just try and get me down.

my dear emma

 the movie.
the book.
the moment Mr. Knightly says, "I cannot make speeches. If i loved you less, i might be able to talk about it more."

swoon.

i miss her everyday. but today, i miss her most.

when i was little, i never thought all three of my sisters would be my best friends like they are today. we had our tiffs, and by golly, still do. we made one another mad more times than i can count. but in all fairness, my sisters are my best friends, ever.
that's a picture of my great-grandma and my two older sisters with me. it's my oldest sister's birthday today. the little girl with the floral skirt and a crown on. she turned twenty-two.

la.
she takes better care of me than i take care of her. she calls me from faraway and leaves messages on my phone when i'm in ceramics class. i've smiled and laughed with her. la has this love for life and blessing other people that i don't have. she loves jesus. and this quote, sums her up in a nutshell.

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.

I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

- Marjorie Pay Hinckley 

that's her. she's doing it.

Joyeux Anniversaire dear.

bottom line, i feel bad for everyone who doesn't get to have her for a sister.