Posts
January started out beautifully - warm, sunny, and full of long bike rides (we even made a film about it). I spent some time with my best friends during a quick trip to Chattanooga and I came to a realization that my ideal day involves being in the kitchen. I continued to fall in love with Charleston during long walks and I spent one funny night wearing a pink mustache.
February was a month of baking and more baking. I was beginning to miss warm weather and dream about our beach house. There was an epic snowfall in the lowcountry as we drove to Savannah for a weekend trip. My family visited Charleston on Valentine's Day, and my sweet dad got excited about heart wind chimes. I spent lots of time lounging on sun porches and drooling over salted chocolate cakes at Baked.
March changed my life as I made caramel salted brownies for the first time. I was over-the-moon excited about the debut of Southern Flourish and my first published articles! During a trip home, I met my oldest friend's angel fairy baby and cried happy tears. I ate lots of Indian food, slept with the windows open, and spent lazy afternoons on rainbow blankets.
April was an amazing month that began with a blissful trip to California. We fell asleep to wind chimes in Malibu, died over the Santa Monica farmers' market, ate incredible food, swooned over breath-taking landscapes and hiked up to sacred monesteries. We started eating dinner outside and sometimes ate only cupcakes for dinner. We spent our first day of the year on the beach (in shorts and tees!) and Tyler decided he was going to bike across America.
In May I happily finished school for the semester and happened to be home during the devastating Nashville floods. My sweet Cupcake family had a fun party and I started a fire in my kitchen making s'more brownies. Tyler and I attended his best friend's beautiful wedding in Alabama, where we found cool antique shops and came across a boiled peanut boat. I left Charleston for the summer but had a perfect last night with art and motorbikes. I visited a friend's lake house and canoed a lot.
June was spent frolicking around Europe. In the span of one week I visited Nashville, Raleigh, Brooklyn, Helsinki (where we made life-long friends), London, and Edinburgh (and was featured in Skirt Magazine!). We toured a castle in Scotland and lived in a castle in France. We took a road trip through the highlands to the Isle of Skye that will forever be sacred to me (made a film about that, too!). We stayed with friends in Bristol and Bath, England watching the world cup and laughing a lot (sleep deprivation = delirium). We stayed in Provence, France, where I decided I could live forever if I learned to not spend all my money on cheese. We became regulars at Cafe de France, took day trips to Gordes and Roussilon, and stayed up into the wee hours of the night with incredible people. We ended the trip in Paris (stayed in Montmartre) where we devoured macarons and were unexpectedly touched by the sight of the Eiffel Tower.
July was the ideal follow-up to our Europe trip; I spent the month at my family's beach house in Nags Head. I cooked and baked with inspiration from French food and we ate like kings. I missed Paris, but also felt so content and cozy with my family as I hit the legendary two-week mark. My sister and I spent many evenings on our dock watching the sunset. The end of July was bittersweet, as we had a send-off party for Tyler, Landon, and Mike to say good-bye as they began their 4,000+ mile bike trip.
I spent most of August at home in Nashville. I met the biking boys in Chattanooga and then they spent a week in Franklin eating mushroom truffle oil baked pasta and drinking wine in the pool. I turned 21 and drank my favorite drink to date; a champagne cocktail with lavender honey and orange zest (and then blood orange mimosas the next day). I revised my caramel salted brownies and made a film about my life in Charleston.
September was prime season for the most awesome apple in the world. I continued to fall in love with Charleston as I developed an avid addiction to heirloom tomatoes and finally found the perfect bleu cheese. I spent lots of time with my amazing friends who share my love for impromptu dinner parties and lavender cupcakes. We had a beautiful garden party for Southern Flourish and I was on the cover! It was still warm enough to kayak at sunset and drink lavender lemonade. We listened to music under string lights and drank red wine. I lived in a tree house, moved out of the tree house, and then declared Hope & Union and Bin 152 my second homes.
I began October with an intense desire to get my life under control after the chaotic living situation. I took solo trips to the beach, made dinner for my friends, and then took a road trip with them to Nashville (and discovered the magic that is Burger Up)! A week later, my mom and sister visited Charleston. We lounged by the ocean and had a lazy brunch. I flew to California but my trip didn't go as expected even though my dad and I had a blast and fantasized about moving to Ocean Park. Tyler and I broke up (amicably!) and I was (and still am) touched by your kind words.
In November, the people in my life made me so happy (and I felt so grateful). I lounged on porches waiting for Bill Murray to walk by and I met my parents in D.C. for the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert rally. I went to the fair and ate grilled banana bread in the middle of the night. I lusted over France and Skye and had too much fun with my friends. Isabel visited Charleston for her 17th birthday and then we took the train to Nags Head for a blissful, coastal Thanksgiving (and Izzie made the sweetest film about it).
December has been the month of cheese and Prosecco. I did my first outfit post and fainted twice in public (I'm weird). Then our Christmas Extravaganza 2010 and beautifully-lit palmetto trees made me happy. I went home for the holidays, ate spice cookies and got new eyeballs. I gave gifts of sweets in mason jars and had the most amazing Christmas with my family (including a lovely Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas day brunch).
---
2010 has been a fabulous year. I feel so very grateful. Thank you for your constant love and support - it means the world to me. Happy New Year. xo
40 comments:
I just read this 4 times! It's so beautiful, the photos, the memories. You had a great 2010.
Here's to a great 2011 :)
This is so beautifully crafted! I have enjoyed following your blog for the past year and look forward to reading in 2011. Have a Happy New Year, Olivia! xox
wow,what a compilation of the year!!
This is wonderful. Thanks for sharing your stories and photos!
What a full, amazing, life-changing year you've had! I love looking back on it.
Oh, dear! I feel like I need to redo my 2010 post because yours is so beautiful. I'm glad 2010 treated you well :) <3
Oh Olivia, you are so endearing and lovely. A year to remember, for sure. Keep shining and here's to 2011 being the best yet! xo.
wow, what a beautiful recap and what an incredible, rich year! i'm sure there are so many things you have to look forward to this coming year. keep living life to the full!!
See you in 2011!
This was a gorgeous post, Olivia!
Happy New Year!
What a beautiful commentary on your year! I wish you love, laughter and good health in the coming year, Olivia! Warm hugs & smiles! xxoo :)
such a great year! your writing + photos are so inspirational. you should know that reading your blog is an instant mood lifter. have a wonderful time ringing in 2011! xo
loved following your adventure this year! heres to a great 2011!
your photos are so amazing. What a great year
I love this! I'm going to do one now! I just wrote about Charleston in my latest and made references to your blog (I hope that's okay!) http://mletemp.blogspot.com/
:)
What a wonderful recap! I love how you put this whole thing together! :) Looks like you had a great year! See you in 2011!
you are so talented! i love your photography and your passion for everything you do.
i hope you have a blessed 2011!
You put to shame everyone who has ever written a Christmas letter. Nice work!
hands down, most beautiful year in review post i've seen yet. so so so lovely beyond belief! :)
What a beautiful year-in-review post!
Happy New Year to you and yours x
Great photos, as always! Happy 2011!
What a beautiful recap! Happy New Year!
Sweetest Olivia, happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ivana from Croatia, Europe (next time you visit Europe, you should visit Croatian coast too :-D)
What an absolutely beautiful post and year for you!!! xo
Love your photo collage, I'm going to make one of my own! 2010 was quite the year...!
loved this. thanks for being one of my top 3 fav blogs of alllllllll time. :)
OLIVIAAA this is so beautiful! your year sounds so amazing. so many new experiences!
i love your blog so so much! happy new year!xx
cuutee! I'm sitting here at the airport waiting to go to Colombia and reading your blog!! I will miss you so so so much!!!
great post!
Amazing recap!
Lovely blog!
xoxo,
colormenana.blogspot.com
I love this post! When you put all your pretty pictures together, they are even more beautiful :)
this is such a lovely recap post!
Happy New Year to you and your loved ones! I hope that 2011 is an amazing year for you and yours!
Beautiful!!! Love how you put this together... exciting to think what this next year holds! xo
This is such a great idea! What a lovely post :) Sounds like a wonderful year!
You've got the sort of blog that just makes me think, makes me want to do more, see more, be more. I am so inspired each time I stop by. But I have to stop myself from commenting on EVERY post. ;-) 2010 looks like it was a stellar year for you. I'm thrilled. Love the recap. I look forward to your coming posts in 2011. All the best!
What a great yearly recap! I love the photos and all the links. What a perfect day to stumble upon your blog, I feel like I've been quickly brought up to speed.
I hope you have a wonderful 2011, I look forward to following another blogger that loves France as much as I do. :-)
Such a great recap! I think I may do my pictures like that for next years recap post!
I just happened upon your blog, so this little recap was a great intro! Love it. :)
What a fantastic 2010 roundup! Such a great way to check out posts that I missed - including your trips to Chattanooga (my hometown). Happy new year to you Olivia!
olivia, such a lovely look at the year you've had. i realize going through these months there's been a lot that i've missed--busy with school and work and everything else that keeps me from staying totally tuned in. wishing you a fantastic 2011. may it be filled with love and laughter.
Post a Comment