happy new year's eve!

last year at this time, i was in india

with some of the most fabulous people i have met in my short lifetime.

our new year's celebration in kurnool was epic.

this year,

we're not in india.

and that makes me a little sad . . .

but

i am with some of my beautiful faceless family

in d.c.

it may not be india . . . but still pretty flippin' awesome for some of us to be back together.

we will think of the rest of you, india team, when the clock strikes midnight. {via flickr}

wedding photography . . . again.

i am just dying over this.

aren't these dresses lovely?

i would wear the second and fourth any day of the week.

{via once wed}

top 5 . . . day 4

as this decade comes to a close,

i feel like it is important to mention that

i've been completely sentimental and contemplative about the last 10 years of my life.

SOOOO much has happened . . .

i feel like i've had these 'revelation-ary' moments that have taken my life down roads i never thought i would see.

also, some are just plain life-time milestones.

therefor, i think it only appropriate to revisit some of these . . .

please excuse this completely self-indulgent post.

top 5 life-so-far events 2000-2009

5. graduated high school/college/discovering that my life plans and prep don't count

i did not plan to go to school for 4 years only to work in the line of work that i do now . . .

but it turns out that God's plan is better than mine anyway.

4. moved away from home for college, back home after school,

out again with friends and then back in again.

perhaps a lot of back-and-forth within the last few years,

but moving back home was the best choice i've made in a long time.

it's afforded mom and me the chance to foster a much deeper relationship

and has taught me to be a more considerate and kind individual

{maybe? mom, i hope you agree at least a little}.

i know my time living with her is limited

and i shall always look back on our 'roommate' years as a very cherished time.

3. india

changed my life in every way i hoped it would and so much more.

2. reconnecting with my sibs post-college

especially with brother.

we were always close, but the last couple of years have been an amazing time of getting to know one another as adults, rather than children.

i am so proud of both of them and the people they strive to be every day.

they're not perfect. but neither and i and we still love each other fiercely.

1. finding God

growing up in a christian home was great and all,

but taking ownership of my own faith

and relationship

with Jesus is by far the most amazing thing that will ever happen to me.

~~~

on a plane to dc bright and early tomorrow morning

{ugh, 5-ish am; i am going to die}

to party with my fave india girls.

i can't wait to see their faces.

happy new year!

top 5 . . . day 3

abby's top 5 personal discoveries of 2009

5. metric

what did i do before i knew this band?

seriously.

4. carrot soup with drizzled honey

amazing.

3. AAA guys who tow your car really don't know much about cars.

trust me on this.

2. brothers make amazing fashion advisers

{and, surprisingly, find a tactful way to tell you if something makes your butt look big.}

1. blogging

addicting and fun and sometimes a little stalker-ish.

i blame amanda for dragging me into it.

you should too.

~~~

i take off for dc in a few days to visit some of my india girls . . .

i haven't seen them for a whole year and i am

so

excited to hug them!

ruffles

absolute genius.

they look good on everyone.

case in point:

i owned an adooooorable ruffle dress a few years ago.

it went from me to church gal-pal jill and now lives in kristen's closet.

definitely an all-figures friendly hand-me-down, if you're into that sort of thing.

and i totally am.

i miss my erin featherston

{another thrifty target creation circa 2007}

something fierce.

side note ---

can you believe the blond bob {and the white girl dancing face}????

{via refinery 29}

top 5 . . . day 2

for my top 5 today,

i had to focus on the last decade.

not enough movies i liked that much during 2009 to make the list this year.

besides,

the ones i kept wanting to mention were all outside 2009 . . .

so i just decided to focus on the last 10 years.

{which, by the way, have gone by ridiculously fast.}

a lot of these are the films i go back to when i need a good friday night movie fix.

they never get old.

they're visually stunning.

and the scores can be played over and over again.

~~~

so,

my top 5 fave movies 2000-2009

across the universe

amelie

a very long engagement

slumdog millionaire

the fall

{which i did not see until 2009, but no matter}

i know i am missing a ton from this list,

but these were the 5 that came to me most quickly.

your faves?

top 5 . . . day 1

in preparation for the new year, i've decided to declare some of my 2009 faves.

you will not find 10 of everything in honor of the new decade-

i simply have too many things to do

{mostly hanging out with brother and sister before their exodus back to school}.

~~~

so for today,

top 5 fave music videos

{i know--- old to you, new to me.}

stay tuned for more fun top 5.

time well spent with brother

drinks out with brother is one of the most fun things.

{yum, organic black cherry soda.}

i will definitely miss him when he leaves for england again.

december 26, 2008

last year,

this day,

i met 20-something strangers at jfk airport

and went to india.

{this music video is especially dedicated to my ashlea and sara vargas, who danced

and tried to sing in what they thought sounded like hindi for the

entire trip.}

it's weird . . .

even after only hanging out with them for 2 weeks,

i miss:

acting with abandon every single day

loving the people we met

praying in hotel rooms together

ashlea and vargas laughing at the top of their lungs in the bus seats in front of me

heart-to-hearts with amy and bobby

eating vijay's food

invading indian night clubs

limping everywhere

sleeping for hours in a dusty old bus

eric's 'the office' imitations

listening to parker's ipod

the smell of flowers and hydrocarbons

chai tea

watching indian tv late at night with sue

working with a group of people collectively dedicated to God's will

you all are amazing. thanks for the memories.

merry christmas, everyone.

merry christmas eve

it is christmas eve

and that means church and then indian food!

we'll stay up late {well, brother, sister and i will . . . }

and will end up, like always, watching it's a wonderful life

until some obscene time in the morning.

the best part is at the end.

seriously. read all the way through. i'm dying.

~~~

the ballet last night was beautiful.

bestest, sister and i had a wonderful time dressing up all pretty,

stopping at starbucks for a quick snack

and then running to the opera house to catch the show

{shhh: we were incredibly silly and decided to walk up hill on beacon st. in heels where it is all bumpy-lumpy cobblestone sidewalk and ice . . .

it is because of this poor decision that we nearly were late!}.

i know i'm one of many girls who dreamt {okay, still dreams} of being a ballerina.

i was just amazed at the grace of the dancers . . . clearly, i would be a very poor ballerina.

and.

oh.

my.

gosh.

the baby mice???

how cute.

my primary take-away from the evening?

everything looks amazing when you can wear a tutu.

and also . . .

we definitely have named december 23rd

"the day of the creepy man."

1} when entering our aisle at the opera house,

some dude --- who appeared to be with his children and wife ---

checks out sister and says, "merry christmas, girls," in only way a creepy man can say merry christmas.

2} during intermission, he asks lizza why we aren't guzzling champagne together and then proceeds to get all creepy with the "merry christmas" crap as we left . . .

can i just mention, too, that he was like, 2 feet tall???

i mean, i have nothing against people who are vertically challenged but it did add a considerable amount of humor to the whole thing.

3} this is the best part:

walking through the common to our car in the parking garage.

we're already sort of running because

it.

is.

freeeeeeeezing.

{frigid winds + party dresses = really big fashion sacrifice.} suddenly,

some random old dude catches up to me,

"hey, my name is so-and-so.

will you go on a date with me???"

cue audible record stop.

WHAT???

sister now contends that she was watching from about 5 feet behind us and was ready to bash the creepo over the head with her cell phone

{yet still claiming she's a pacifist . . . ha.}

nearly died of hysterical laughter/embarrassment after he disappeared.

i mean, really???

~~~

merry christmas eve,

everyone!

few short hours at work,

white christmas on amc all day {perfect accompaniment for wrapping},

lots of church and last minute errands for today.

love it.

gifts v.s. giving

i received one of the sweetest presents from my dear friends, miss amanda and katie.

i am now the proud owner of a hand-crafted coffee {or hot cocoa!} mug

from

justwork, a group that employs individuals who often find it difficult to find jobs.

{think physically disabled, refugees, homeless, etc.}

justwork's goal is to help it's employees with self-esteem and dignity through producing beautiful pieces of pottery.

yeah, empowerment!

i'm not really sure amanda and katie are completely aware of how much this little mug means to me {my friends also know me and my coffee habit incredibly well}.

i love gifts that are part of giving back, especially to causes that hit so close to home.

check out justwork to learn more

and visit their etsy shop so that

you can have one too.

kings and queens

sister hadn't seen this video {love!} before last night . . . definitely forced her to sit down and watch it because

it

is

a-maz-ing.

so many gorgeous shots,

super-fun concept . . . and the song is pretty stinkin' grand as well.

i can just picture myself as an extra right now.

lagging waaaaay behind on my little rusted one-speed cruiser.

like, far enough behind that no one knows i'm there.

in a dress.

because i'm like that.

{don't worry, bicycle, i still love you and your basket-less self.}

~~~

fave lizza quote of the night,

"sister, whatever happened to the jonas brothers?"

excuse??

clearly there are issues in need of attention.

i simply can't wait for tonight.

boston ballet nutcracker.

{pretty stellar gift, huh? thanks, bestest. you're amazing and beautiful.}

i am especially excited for the arabian pas de deux.

it's probably my favorite . . .

so close an evening to christmas.

truly magical.

i'm going to be hopeless at work!!!

{via my polaroid blog}

for honesty's sake

life things have not been going so well.

i guess i could continue to write cheerful musings and pretend that all is splendid.

but its not.

in fact,

my heart is breaking a little these days.

if i appear grouchy,

frustrated

or just plain sour,

it is probably because i am and i'm sorry. i don't want to bring anyone down.

~~~

thankfully,

i have a Heavenly Father who sent His Son to save me.

He loves me and my family beyond our understanding.

things will be okay.

if only because we have Him.

{via zephyrance}

this will be my most picture-heavy post to date!

sunday night was the pulse christmas party

and let me tell you;

it was a blast.

i am so happy with the results of our

pulse photobooth,

inspired by the fabulous smilebooth site.

it was so much fun!

so much so that i am determined to have a smilebooth at every

party

family function

wedding

friendly get-togethers at my place.

i'm thinking of just installing one permanently in my apartment.

hmmm . . . we'll see about that one.

{can i just take a moment to say that the light directly above us drove me CRAZY throughout this whole thing???? that is all.}

{i love this one of brother and me . . . can you tell i love him just a little???}

oh.

and.

we had a costume contest . . . and we won.

obv.

"we seek a star . . ."

my rodarte is coming!

i ordered my

rodarte for target

today!

i'm just adore rodarte's pretty-yet-hard, rockstar-princess

{aw, i used to love something corporate}

aesthetic.

i'll probably never be able to afford an actual sample from the line

{after all, i have chosen development work as a profession . . . i don't know many non-profit employees who sport temperley to work. and really, if i did, wouldn't that seem really immoral to do that whilst working with people who can barely afford food???? but i digress . . . }

but i can certainly stomach a target purchase.

i'm crossing my fingers that my little dress will get here for christmas eve festivities.

i still don't have anything to wear to the nutcracker wednesday night,

but i'm sure i'll figure something out.

anyone want to loan me???

{xs/s or 2-4 . . . and i'm verrrrry careful!}

phwomp

when i imagine snow falling,

"phwomp"

is the sound i hear.

we're expecting a super-huge snow storm

{or so says our not-so-accurate weatherman} in just a few hours

and sister is due to fly in at 11 pm-ish.

let's say a prayer that she makes it in before the snow starts to pummel us.

oh.

and.

i just baked a cookies 'n' cream pie for the pulse party tomorrow.

with from-scratch whipped cream and chopped ghirardelli chocolate.

yeah, i know . . . amazing.

now off to cut a gazillion paper tissue snowflakes for our own special smilebooth.

{via curious bird}

brrr, winter.

in case you're not from around here,

the northeast is

ridiculously cold

right now

{sister comes home from college in florida today . . . how evil is that?}

this weekend is a busy one.

1. test shoot with meg this morning for our very own home-made

smilebooth

for the pulse christmas fiesta tomorrow.

maybe i'll even post some of the pictures.

thanks to former boss,

jeff-who-is-the-coolest dachowski,

for lending us lights.

2. finishing all holiday shopping

3. wrapping everything

4. sister's belated birthday celebration

{yum, chocolate coconut cake}

5. coordinating the most amazing/top secret ensemble for the previously mentioned party at church.

~~~

all whilst dodging the cold.

perhaps i shall wear a snowsuit to run errands. that seems appropriate.

happy weekend!

one week!

7 days 'til christmas!

i home tonight

because,

quite frankly,

family is more important that parties.

i hope that you take time to simply

be

with you loved ones during the craziness that is the christmas countdown.

{mom is still very much out of commission post-hand-surgery . . .

she is in bed and we are watching elf together as i type this. heart.}

sister is 22 today.

your chocolate coconut cake is done baking and is now

soaking in cream sauce in the fridge.

for 2 days.

i'm glad you're coming home this weekend.

{and not just because i get to eat your cake.}

~~~

i've been in love with radiohead since the first time

i was melancholy to fake plastic trees.

i've been a huge not-fan of hanson since,

well,

they sang that annoying mm-bop song.

ugh.

but this . . .

oh it is amazing

and i hate myself for loving it.

~~~

poor mother had hand surgery today.

brother and i are playing care-takers.

that means we're responsible for house work, i think.

this should be interesting.

christmas party!

last night i hung out with my fellow

pulse leadership members

for a little christmas cheer.

as always,

it was a night of hilarity

{which some people mistake for lameness . . .

they just really don't get us.}

~~~

"what kind of car would Jesus drive?"

"a honda."

"what?"

"um, hello, 'they were all of one accord?!'"

we also had a few rather beautiful sentimental moments.

and snuggled

{well, bestest and i, anyway}

by the fire place.

and at lots of really yummy greek salad and lemon pie.

sometimes, in the craziness of the days/weeks/months, i forget how much these people have done for me and how far we've all come together. thank you, Lord, for the gift of church family.