where in the world...

are rich and olivia?

yesterday we were in nyc.

today we're in ohio. 

the next 3 days will be spent in michigan.

then back to ohio.

then back to new york.

i guess the 10000 hours spent in a car are the appropriate way to cap off a year spent in:

nyc

massachusetts

maine

disneyworld

disney caribbean cruise

castaway cay in the bahamas

key west

cozumel

grand cayman

england

scotland

wales

greece

i. love. travel.

bring me more, 2012. bring me more!

posts on all of these places coming your way....i have to pick up this guy first:

not a joke. totally serious. he is alllllll ours.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

behind the bar

bartenders have all kinds of interesting conversations with their customers. sometimes  they're hilarious, sometimes they're deeply awkward, sometimes they're way too personal for two strangers, and sometimes they are amazing and stick with you for a long time.

last spring, i waited on this guy from minnesota who was waiting for his daughter to finish a day of auditioning for dance companies. i think his name was brian. i knew i liked him from the moment he ordered a coors, and after listening to me rattle off our list of imported funky draft beers, said "uhhh......just give me whatever is most like coors." his daughter joined us, and she was like a cartoon character: super nice, super sweet, but the most insane valley girl mixed with minnesota accent ever. i loved waiting on them as they were just so nice and funny and chatty, and reminded me of my own dad and me. we talked about new york, and her hopes of joining a dance company or college dance program, and my own dreams and goals of acting.

when they got up to leave, the dad grabbed my hand over the bar, looked me right in the eyes and said:

"olivia, i want to tell you something i tell all four of my kids and i want you to remember it, too: 

no one is coming for you. if you want something, go get it. that's it. go get it."

i think about that all. the. time.

thank you, minnesota-dad-who-is-maybe-named-brian. your words stuck with me.

(via here)

sweet nothings

(in bed, post tgi-fridays dinner)

rich: ew, olivia, get away from me. do not touch me for even one second. i just want to sleep.

simultaneously

olivia: ew, oh my god, you smell like sizzling onions.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

olivia: if i met ryan gosling and he wanted to be with me, would that be ok with you?

rich: olivia....you must.

5 minutes later

rich: you know...i really think i am ryan gosling's biggest fan.

olivia: are you seriously looking at page after page of google images of him?

rich: I LIKE THE WAY HE DRESSES, OK??????

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

olivia: rich, can you please join the rest of us in this hilarious game we are playing called "friends hanging out together"?

rich: hang on please- i am live chatting with a j. crew customer service representative.

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rich: olivia, please put down that magazine and help me decorate our christmas tree.
olivia: ok, one sec please.
5 minutes later
rich: liv, come on.
olivia: mmmmm yessssss i will beeeee riiiiiight.....oh wow reunion photos of the cast of the princess bride!!! just a sec.
5 minutes later
olivia: oh my god!!! you decorated the tree without me?!?!?!
rich: olivia, this tree is 18" high. if it makes you feel better, we can spend the next 3 minutes taking the ornaments off and putting them back on.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
true love, my friends, true love.

{photo by the amazing tye jakobs}

dilemma.

how can i concentrate on this:

when these are calling my name?

my name is olivia and i am addicted to magazines. 

these are only half of the pile that began in july.

why do i need to read an article in entertainment weekly about "the stars' worst movies"?

i don't know.

i. just. do.

home sweet nyc

a few observations about nyc after five months in the uk:

new york smells bad.

new york is so loud.

paris metro > london tube > nyc subway 

(did i do that right? i remember the mouth eats the bigger/better thing....i think)

(ok just in case: new york is the worst. i'm no urban planner or whatever it's called but seriously, let's get it together, mta.)

people, myself included, have no shame in public: i witnessed so many angry/tearful/crazy/funny cell phone conversations in our first 24 hours and i was like "wow. people in london DID NOT broadcast their private lives like that." at first i was a little surprised and then i remembered the time i missed the megabus to go home to see my dad sing and i was in literal hysterics on the corner of 34th st and 8th ave on the phone with my mother...wish i could say it's the only time it's happened but that would be a lie.

and

new york is my home and i love it so.

(photo from here...someone please buy me everything in this shop)

old to new

we left our home in nyc for the uk on july 16. 

on november 29, we left our new home in the premier inns all across the uk (seriously...50+ different hotels over the last few months) for my childhood home in massachusetts.

there. is. nothing. better. than:

.

there is nothing better than your mom picking you up at the international arrivals gate.

there is nothing better than pretending to ignore your dad when he comes home, which only works until he says "what's up, mah bitches?!"

there is nothing better than sleeping the deep, deep sleep of the jet-lagged. 

there is nothing better than doing literally 90 pounds of laundry.

there is nothing better than seeing american money and for a split second, honestly not knowing what it is.

there is nothing better than constantly looking the wrong way when crossing the street/driving (except remembering that it's the wrong way and not getting killed).

there is nothing better than my dog.

there is nothing better than my dad's baked goods. i have eaten no fewer than 5 magic bars/day.

there is nothing better than going to bikram yoga with your parents and witnessing firsthand where your lack of flexibility orginated.

there is just nothing better.

(except maaaaaybe going to our own apartment early next week...cannot. flipping. wait.)

(except i'm also sort of nervous and overwhelmed at the thought of basically moving back in...oy.)

(how many ellipses could i use in one post? i wonder....)

(i'm lame.)

26th Birthday

(hi new friends visiting from suzy krause! thanks for hopping over- i hope you stay! isn't her design genius?!)

i was born on thanksgiving day, 1985, in an emergency c-section. the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck, i couldn't breathe, and i was literally the color of an eggplant when i was born.

today, 26 years later, i'm in london with my husband on the last day of our 4.5 month uk tour. wow!

i'm thankful for lots of things on my birthday, and especially grateful that the last year has looked like this:

25th birthday with my beautiful fam the day we got back from paris / 25th birthday with beautiful friends at home in nyc / christmas in our apt

(key west / funniest photo of the year / grand cayman / on board the disney magic / with minnie in castaway cay in the bahamas / market in cozumel, mexico / disneyworld!

fam & friends in maine & massachusetts for the 4th of july/our second anniversary

stonehenge / edinburgh festival fringe / greek islands x 3 / athens

london / celebrating at bohemia on the island of jersey off the coast of france

i am so grateful to have been in all these places this year (9 countries, 7+ states), and even more so to have been  in them with so many wonderful people.

now off to wander london for the last time before our final show in dunstable tonight.

tomorrow, we are going home.

27, i am coming for you. watch your back, son!

quickie!

whoa! i disappeared under a mountain of thanksgiving in london, billy elliot, guacamole, flying to the island of jersey, celebrating my birthday at my first michelin-starred restaurant, and playing wardrobe consultant to rich in topman. more coming soon, but here is a photo that best sums up the last several days:

also!

i turn 26 tomorrow!

also ALSO!

we are going HOME on tuesday. aka the day after tomorrow. how it's possible that 4.5 months have gone by remains a mystery.

also also ALSO!

the word "also" looks like a fake word if you type it often enough.

be back soon!

date nights

confession: being in the uk is amahzing and all, but dayyyyyum is it expensive. the usd to gbp exchange rate is tragic. because we're trying to save tons of moolah while here so we may lead temporary lives of leisure when we get back home to nyc, we have become cheapskates.

there is no easy way to say it.

oh, we still do tons of fun stuff like see the new musical matilda in the west end (fabulous and magical):

and dress up in harrods:

but more often than not, on our nights off, we have a hobo date.

yes, a hobo date.

what is a hobo date, you ask?

a hobo date is when we buy beer or hard cider and gross snacks from the newsagent on the corner, and then we rent a movie on itunes (this requires preparation as it always takes 10000 hours to download). then we sprawl out in our hotel room and eat things like prawn cocktail flavored pringles (yes, for real) while watching a movie on our laptop.

claaaaaaaaaaassy.

sorry for the terrible photo...RIP stolen iPhone. i miss you every day.

also, rich thinks it's important i mention we got discounted tickets for matilda by flashing our student IDs....you know....the ones from our first day of college....in 2004. 

we just don't look anyone in the eye.

and now a huge bag of haribo gummy candy + melancholia (you know, a delightful film about the apocalypse) are calling my name.

night night lovelies!

bang bang

that's the sound of the week starting! are you ready?!


i've been a total idea maniac lately, meaning the hundreds of crazy ideas running through my head keep me up at night.


sometimes they're practical, like post ideas, and sometimes they're a fantasy in which i become a nurse midwife and move to africa to save the children and become the angelina jolie of medicine and am the subject of an oscar-winning biopic in which i play myself and win my own oscar.


anyway, here's one of my 2 am ideas:


change your online passwords to affirmations, empowering words or goals. for example, change them from "password1234" and "ilovepinkberry" to "icandoanything1234" or "itisallworkingout5678" or "broadwayorbust" or "ryangoslingwillbemine." 


change all of your account settings so that you have to manually type in the password every single time (this is super hard for me...i love being already logged in). however, it literally takes 2 seconds to type in a password and wait for the site to load. let those 2 seconds be a teeny tiny moment of meditation as you focus on the affirmation and consciously take one deep breath. no need to light a scented candle and put on a meditation cd to get the benefits of conscious thought.


plus, think about how many times you mindlessly log onto a site just to check it (facebook, i'm talkin' to you). i guarantee that if you have to stop and type in your username and password, you will be less likely to just quickly check your newsfeed  waste time!


just try it, my friends! let me know how it goes and if you notice any changes in mood or productivity.


ps: none of the suggested passwords are my actual passwords for anything, so back off identity thieves.


pps: although i do believe in them all, especially the last one. don't tell rich.


ppps: actually, i think that might legitimately be his password. he's got a mancrush. i'm ok with it:

now go get that week!

(ryangosling@cannes)

oregon trail wedding

i'm so torn between thinking the wedding of lauren bush and david lauren was stunning or hilarious (read the comments).

also, doesn't david lauren look like a young james spader?

ps: she can change her name to lauren bush-lauren, but she'll always be lauren lauren to me.

pps: you know....for all our correspondence and stuff.

lyra silvertongue

Under the shadow of her arm, she opened her eyes and came properly awake.

She didn't move for some time, because her arms and legs were so sore, 

and every part of her body felt limp with weariness;

but still she was awake, and she felt the little breeze and the sun's warmth,

and she heard the little insect scrapings and the bell song of that bird high above.

It was all good. She had forgotten how good the world was.

-Philip Pullman, The Amber Spyglass

(clouds, lions, paris balloons, macaw, aurora borealis)

integration now!

when i see this photo after 4 months in the UK, i do not think:

a. sweet car

b. awesome movie 

or

c. you are in for the ride of your life.

i now think:

AHHHH!! YOU ARE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD!

totally assimilated, i'd say.

(image via here)

what a surprise

i totally get that hearing other people rehash their dreams is the most boring thing ever. i usually start zoning out once someone says "and then this guy i went to kindergarten with, joe hammersmith, you don't know him or whatever, but it was totally him except he looked different and it was SO shocking because, if you knew him, you would know his black afro was his signature and he had NO hair in my dream and i was so surprised and blah blah blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

(sarah silverman agrees:

I had a dream that I was in my living room. It wasn't my living room but it was, like, playing my living room in the dream.)

anyway. i had a beautiful dream a few weeks ago and i want to remember it forever. so feel free to zone out and know that i am not offended.


my dad told me that he was napping on the couch a month ago and had a dream that my face was hovering over his and smiling at him. he said he was just on the couch dozing with a big smile thinking about my face and feeling excited that we will see each other in a few months.


well. i cried. obviously. i love my dad so much. i can't wait to hug him too.


then a few nights later, i had this dream:


my dad and i were in a weird tiny kitchen making paella. i have no idea why. (when i told him about this dream, he was like "wtf is paella?" it's a traditional spanish dish of rice, veggies, and seafood, or meat, or a combo.) in our dream kitchen, we could only use an electric kettle to make this dish and i was getting worried. i kept saying that we didn't have the right tools (ie a STOVE and POT among other things) and the paella would be gross and wouldn't be perfect. my dad was telling me to calm down and that we had everything we needed. there were oysters in the recipe (????), and i picked one out of the bag of seafood. when i opened it (i was a trained shucker in the dream), my jaw hit the floor.


there was a giant pearl in the oyster. 


i screamed and showed it to my dad and he said "look underneath!!"


and i lifted up the oyster, and hundreds of tiny seed pearls were pouring all over my hands and down my arms and all over the kitchen floor. i was crying and giggling and my dad was laughing. we were like gleeful little children as we slid all over the pearl-laden floor.


i felt so amazed. i felt so overjoyed. we could not stop laughing.


and that's it. i was so happy when i woke up. i felt so close to my dad. most of all, i felt capable of anything. i felt i can make do with the resources at hand. i felt that being on the road doesn't mean putting everything on hold. no need to press pause just because i am away from home. i can use what i have, and find something amazing.


love you, dad!

{pearl image via here , wedding photo via the amazing hinkley photo)

bring on the montage

exciting news!

if you have ever spent any amount of time watching television or a movie or reading blogs with me, you know that nothing gets me more psyched/teary than a good old fashioned MAKEOVER.

i love a good before and after. LOVE it. LIVE for them. 

i just want the amount i love makeovers to be really clear.

so i am psyched to announced that very very soon, this little blog of mine will be "pretty woman"-ified by a fabulous little canadian named suzy! she has a super fun blog here and she is doodling away in her cabin in saskatchewan (she doesn't really live in a cabin...i think....but shouldn't everyone in saskatchewan be required to live in a log cabin?).

i am positive a beautiful blog will get me pumped to post more often. is that superficial? don't care. i love aesthetically pleasing and pretty things and i'm not ashamed to admit it.

i love them so much that i cried in the shoe boudoir in harrod's.

(yes, there is a shoe boudoir.)

(yes, i cried actual tears.)

(yes, some of them were for the shoes and some of them were tears of jealousy as i watched a 70 year old woman in a sweatsuit drop 10,000 GBP on shoes. not exaggerating.)

(yes, i was sort of ashamed of myself.)

(sort of.)

on another note, i miss nyc so much. i am going to OWN christmas in nyc.

partly because i can't wait to be home, 

partly because i will be unemployed with too much time on my hands.

highway angel

“Don't be afraid; people are so afraid; 

don't be afraid to live in the raw wind, naked, alone...

Learn at least this: What you are capable of. Let nothing stand in your way.”
― Tony Kushner, Angels in America, Part 1: Millennium Approaches

The Angel of the North is an enormous steel sculpture designed by Antony Gormley 

that overlooks the highway in Gateshead, England.

And I mean enormous: it is 66 feet tall and its wings measure 177 feet across. 

It can withstand winds over 100 mph.

We drove by one afternoon and I was agog. Luckily, we followed the same route back the next day, and as it was a gorgeous sunny day, we stopped to see it up close and personal.

Totally, totally amazing and awe-inspiring:

i felt so small.

and safe.

xo, liv