baking + birthday

my 22nd birthday

in photos…

check out the rest on my flickr

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and words…

powdered sugar + hanson’s snowed in + hor d’oeuvres for dinner + twinkle lights + crinkle cookies + bursts of laughter + cooling racks + sexy stilettos + long island ice teas + white christmas at midnight + dozens of birthday wishes + an incredibly wicked hangover + my five favorite things as presents: wine, books, DVDs, jewelry, and hockey + snow flurries + coca cola cake + a crosby home jersey + the consol energy center for the first time + unobstructed, center ice seats + continuous “let’s go pens” and “geno” chants + a 6-1 blow out over my other favorite team, the coyotes + the incomparable exhilaration of witnessing a home game win for the first time EVER + late night eat’n park + more cakes, cookies, and risotto + the undeniable feeling of being content, grateful, happy, and deeply moved by the wonderful things i’ve found in my life (like you!)

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as christmas approaches, i hope you are all have a fantastic week doing whatever you love with the people you love the most!

xo Alison

winter break so far

PART III

these are the things i LOVE about right now…

// staying up late + getting up early

// taking tons of photos of twinkle lights and the blue winter sky

// starting the day with chocolate, coffee, and peppermint

// spending the majority of my day on netflix, watching better off ted + damages for the first time

// singing the wrong words to christmas songs. loudly.

// watching the penguins’ sections of HBO’s 24/7 (which is an in-depth, uncensored look at the pens + caps on the road to the winter classic on january 1st), over and over and over…i’m in heaven!

// lighting dozens of red, green, and white candles in the early afternoon

// eating tons of my mother’s homemade risotto— it’s to die for!

// making plans to start my birthday celebration early, saying as i may actually have to participate in jury duty on monday, which is the day i turn 22 (what are the odds of that??)

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what are you loving right now?

xo Alison

thunder in our hearts

my weekend in….

SIGHTS

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SOUNDS

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MUSTS

// baking chocolate raspberry marshmallow muffins at night

// giggling while skimming through an AP stylebook from 1988

// browsing the super rad pattern people surface design

// being two wins away from taking the top spot in the atlantic division

// watching glass: a story of philip in twelve parts, an incredible, in-depth documentary about philip glass that i highly recommend

// having a major psych marathon via the dangerous wonders of netflix

// getting lost in the awesomeness over at house of commons

// discovering how wonderful laura marling’s voice + lyrics + songs are

// scoring the perfect seats for the penguins vs. coyotes game in pittsburgh that’s on my birthday next month

// loving rachelle letain’s wonderful portfolio

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LUSTS

one. nob hill by kima kline at alkeemi via elsa may

two. tote by filedguided

three. owl table lamp by west elm

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what sights + sounds + little moments did you fill your weekend with?

xo Alison

p.s. i realized a couple days ago that i have not mentioned my mother’s leukemia for quite some time. that’s been because, for the most part, things have been (relatively) dandy. she had an oncologist appointment a few days ago, and while her white count did go up, it didn’t go up too substantially, which is good. if the white count continues to rise over the next four months, things could get scary again, but as of right now, in this moment, she’s okay, so we’re okay. thanks in advance for all the support. it means the world. ♥

so far

hello, my darlings…

it’s been an incredibly busy few days for me. in between classes, note cards, research, paper writing, study sessions, and penguins games i’ve been able to capture these small, autumn moments so far this week ::

what are you up to this week?

xo Alison

autumn adventures

from AKRON to SHENANDOAH to HIGHWAY 61

(that is bob dylan. *thud*)

what kind of autumn adventures have you been having this season?

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hope you’re have a lovely day!

xo Alison

p.s. thanks so very much for the feedback on my latest poem, and all my poetry for that matter. it means the world :) also, LET’S GO PENS!