Family Pictures 2012

I'm back from vacation! Okay, okay I've technically been back since Sunday night around 1 a.m., but after 10 days without my guy and my cat I didn't feel like spending the last two days of my time off blogging.

I had a great time in Ohio visiting my family. I hate squeezing a year's worth of quality family time into 10 days, but despite snow storms, illness, and demanding work schedules we made the best of it. The best part of the trip? Getting our family pictures taken for the first time in over a decade.

My mom has had a really rough few years, so I wanted to do something special for her this Christmas. The last professional photos we had done together were so long ago that my sister was in elementary school, my mom was still married, and I still thought wearing white eye-shadow and black eyeliner was cool.

I found a Living Social coupon for Studio Polaris in Columbus and made an appointment with them. We had a fantastic experience and got a great deal on the photos. Our photographer, Kasha, was super friendly and helpful. She even rushed the order so the photos could be printed before I left the state. If you're in the Columbus, OH area, I'd definitely recommend Studio Polaris. This is my favorite photo from the bunch:

Me, Mom, Sierra

Don't I have a beautiful mother and sister? Yes, that's my mom in the middle. I know a bunch of you thought she was my sister in the pajama picture from my last post. (She appreciates that, by the way!) These three photos turned out great as well:

I can't wait to use my Marshall's/ TJMaxx giftcard to buy picture frames!


* I was not compensated in anyway for this post. I just really enjoyed the experience! All photos by Studio Polaris. 

On Vacation

Greetings from Ohio! Assuming the winter storms didn't cancel my flight (and that the Mayans were wrong) I got into Columbus late last night. I'll be spending the next 10 days with my family and returning to Boston to spend New Year's Eve with my sweetie. I've only been able to see my family once a year since moving to Boston, so I always try to make the most of the time we have together.

Today my mom, sister, and I are getting family pictures done. It'll be the first time we've had professional family pictures in over a decade and the first time ever with just the three of us. I can't wait to share them with you, but in the mean time here's one of my favorite pictures of the three of us from Christmas 2008. Little sister is about a foot taller now!

I probably won't be very active in the blog world until after the new year. I'm hoping I can persuade my sister and mom to be act as my personal photographers while I'm here, so that I come back with lots of outfit photos to share. I do promise to tweet lots of pictures. I guarantee there will be cookie decorating, an animal print themed Christmas tree, and more matching pjs so make sure you follow me on twitter!

Happy Holidays to you and yours. See you in 2013!

Friday's Five Facts: Family 7/27

Now that I'm a little over six months into this fashion blogger journey I've been thinking a lot about what I'd still like to achieve with this blog . One of the things that I think I need to work on is injecting a few more personal touches/ pieces of my personality into the blog. So I'm starting a new (hopefully weekly) feature called "Friday's Five Facts". Each Friday I'll include some photos and five things you might not know about me. I'll focus each week around a theme. This week I'm going to focus on my family.

 1. I have a sister, Sierra, who is 8 1/2 years younger than me. Since I used to change her diapers and rock her to sleep at night I am in complete denial about the fact that she turns17 in September. I seriously can't believe that she's a full fledged teenager now and will be graduating high-school in less than two years!

At the beach in summer 2008

Christmas morning 2011

2. My mom is awesome. She had me when she was really young and was a single mom for the earlier part of my childhood. She is a single mom again now and I admire how hard she works to make a great life for her and my sister.

Mom and I, Christmas 1992. Check out our awesome early 90s style.

At my college graduation in 2009.

3. I am incredibly close with my grandmother. She is an amazing hardworking and nurturing person, and the first person I call if I'm having a really bad or really good day. 

4. My biggest regret of my 20s (thus far) is not spending enough time with my family. They live in the Columbus Ohio area and it's just so hard/ expensive to get out there more than once a year.

L to R Mom, Aunt, Grandmother, Sister and Me at my College in 2009

5. My bff, Katy, is awesome. Sometimes I can't believe we've only known eachother for a little over three years, because she seriously feels like family.  She lives all the way on the other side of the country, near L.A., and I miss her like crazy. Her birthday is tomorrow. Happy birthday boo!

Katy and I on Halloween 2009 I'm wearing a peacock burlesque outfit and she's dressed as "Don't ask, Don't tell"

 Let me know what you think of the new feature, or if there are any topics you'd like me to cover. Have a great weekend!