2010: A Year in Review!

I decided to take a leaf out of the lovely notebookdoodles book, and share some of my mobile phone photos to sum up this past year. I thought this would be a fun way to show some of the exciting, and not so exciting parts of my 2010. All in all, it was a great year, but I am oh so ready for a fresh start!

My 2010 consisted of:

 spent the 4th of July in the pretty Smoky Mountains

 had more fun Christmas shopping (and taunting my sisters with pictures like this!) than ever before.

 watched the baby birds in my mailbox leave the nest.

 said goodbye to my precious Oreo, who was our lovely pet for 11 years.

 had a lovely time with my mother, when she came to visit me at school.

 enjoyed fall in North Carolina.

 got a cute new kitten named Pip.

enjoyed hot chocolate and good books.

took far too many cute pictures of Pip.

moved myself into the last dorm room I will ever live in.

sipped countless cups of tea.

went crazy for watercolor.

 experienced ridiculously high temps, who knew it could get this hot in PA?!

read, read, read, read.

rediscovered green tea. 

saw a sight-and-sound show...3 times!

had a lovely Christmas. 

wore out my favorite pair of Minnetonka Moccains

painted, painted, painted.

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Goodbye, 2010! You were lovely, but here's to 2011 being lovelier! :)
Happy New Year everyone!!

My Favorite Movie Scenes Pt. 5

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"get over here" 

27 dresses

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I'm pretty sure this is the prettiest thing I have ever ever seen!

by fotografer_san on flickr
psssst, there's a giveaway going on!

Monday Giveaway!

Hello lovelies! This weeks Giveaway is from a charming etsy shop called Naomilingerie. Naomi creates these sweet eye masks, and is giving the winner of this giveaway her choice! I'm sure any lucky lady who gets to wear one of these to sleep will have nothing but sweet dreams!

to enter, simply leave a comment on this post.

followers of Una Bella Vita get two comments & a better chance of winning!

I will pick a winner, via random number generator, on Monday, January 3!

make sure to check out Naomi's blog as well! :)
Good Luck!

Update:
The winner is Michelle!
Congrats girl! enjoy!! :)

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love this wintery shot by Nikoline
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
What was your favorite gift?

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining.

Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn,

Fall on your knees! Oh hear the angel voices!

O night divine, the night when Christ was born;

O night, O  Holy Night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenly beaming

With glowing hearts by his cradle we stand.

O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,

Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.

The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;

In all our trials born to be our friends.

He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,

Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.

And in his name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

With all our hearts we praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,

His power and glory ever more proclaim!

O Holy Night

(Nat King Cole Version - here)

(Carrie Underwood Version - here)

**(Martina McBride Acapella Version - here)**

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Merry Christmas!

the holiday

I've found almost everything ever written about love to be true. Shakespeare said "Journeys end in lovers meeting." What an extraordinary thought. Personally, I have not experienced anything remotely close to that, but I am more than willing to believe Shakespeare had. I suppose I think about love more than anyone really should. I am constantly amazed by its sheer power to alter and define our lives. It was Shakespeare who also said "love is blind". Now that is something I know to be true. For some quite inexplicably, love fades; for others love is simply lost. But then of course love can also be found, even if just for the night. And then, there's another kind of love: the cruelest kind. The one that almost kills its victims. Its called unrequited love. Of that I am an expert. Most love stories are about people who fall in love with each other. But what about the rest of us? What about our stories, those of us who fall in love alone? We are the victims of the one sided affair. We are the cursed of the loved ones. We are the unloved ones, the walking wounded. The handicapped without the advantage of a great parking space! Yes, you are looking at one such individual. And I have willingly loved that man for over three miserable years! The absolute worst years of my life! The worst Christmas', the worst Birthday's, New Years Eve's brought in by tears and valium. These years that I have been in love have been the darkest days of my life. All because I've been cursed by being in love with a man who does not and will not love me back. Oh god, just the sight of him! Heart pounding! Throat thickening! Absolutely can't swallow! All the usual symptoms.

-iris, the holiday

10 Things I Love This Week!

1. Sally Illustration

I came across this adorable Etsy shop, Sally Illustration. What caught my eye was this hand painted matroyshka card -- I didn't even hesitate to purchase it! I can't wait to receive it and put it in a cute little frame. I'm really loving the idea of having lots and lots of creations like this hanging around my apartment some day -- if you have any recommendations, let me know!

2. Ban.do Shoe Clips

so pretty!

3. City of Love Ballerinas from Anthropologie

too bad these babies are $96!

4. Cupcakes and Cashmere

I feel like I might be a bit behind everyone else in discovering Emily's lovely blog, but I'm so glad I finally did! She posts so many wonderful things -- from her cute outfits, decorating ideas from her own apartment, tips on makeup and hair, and other fun things. Definitely one of my new favorites!

5. This Girl, shot by The Sartorialist

 I wish I could pull off this effortless look! 

6. Old Books

gosh, these are all so pretty. how lovely would an entire shelf of these look?

1(unknown), 2, 3, 4

7. Henna

I've loved Henna ever since the 8th grade when I got a Henna Tattoo at Hersey Park. That time, and every time after that, I got the same star henna done on my wrist -- and now it's permanently there in ink.  After looking at these lovely henna tattoos, I'm itching to get my entire hand done -- so pretty!

1, 2, 3

8. Pretty Desks

how lovely are these? i love when people make a space their own. i don't think my own desks truly fit in with these other pretty spaces, but i couldn't resist adding them in! the second to last is my desk at home, and the last is my desk in my dorm room.

1, 2, 3, 4, my home desk, my school desk

9. Yellow Coat
I love the idea of brightening up the cold winter months with a pop of color!

photo from here

10. Cozy Sweaters
what better way to spend your winter than wrapped in a big, cozy sweater?
i love these, from Gap:

p.s. I did a little interview for Unicorn/Dream Magazine!
Check it out, here.