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.

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

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.)