The Pose

On yesterday's post an Anonymous commenter wrote "So, I just have a question- how come in every single pic you put your hands on your hip :)?"

If I were a betting woman, I'd bet this was a friend or family member of mine since I often get a lot of flack from them for "my" pose. But in case a dear reader picked up on my signature picture pose, I thought I'd do a brief history of "the pose"...

(I actually poured over hundred of pics in Kodak Gallery to bring you this post, so get excited! )

Back in 2001 the signature "hand on the hip" picture pose was basically non-existent...

Love those High School dance photos, don't you?

Then I went off to College, and by Summer 2002 the pose was starting to appear...


In 2003 the pose shows up more and more...


But by my 21st birthday in 2004, the pose is in full effect in pictures galore...

I spent my 21st Birthday in Vegas with my parents and 6 of my best girlfriends. So fun!

It's all over the place in 2005, especially on Halloween...


By 2006, the pose has even made it's way onto 18th century war ships...



And I'm still loving it in 2007...


In 2008, it really becomes pretty pervasive...


Even at the bridal shop trying on dresses...


I use the pose so much that my friends dub it "the pose". At my bachelorette they have us all pose in "my" pose...

Well... kinda.

In 2009 one of my best friends insists that we BOTH pose in my pose for this picture...


And it apparently catches the attention of a blog reader...


BUT just for the record, I don't do the pose in "every single pic". If I'm holding a beverage I won't do it, instead I'll hold the beverage out in front of me.

Like this solo cup in 2007...


Champagne in 2008...


Coffee in 2009...


And sometimes when I pose with Mr. I'll put my hand on his chest, like this in 2007...


And this in 2008...


But the "hand on the hip" is definitely my standard go-to pose.

So now you know the history of the pose. It surfaces around 2002 begins peaking in 2004.

But I have not yet answered the question, "how come in every single pic you put your hands on your hip"

The answer may be in the history... because In 2001 I joined my sorority. Maybe I picked it up there along with " The Sorority Squat"...

That is "The Sorority Squat". It is usually done in a picture where there needs to be two rows of girls, so the front row assumes a cute little squat. Sorority girls, you know what I'm talking about right?!

It looks kind of like this when done with a larger group...

Note: we did this with our Moms at the Mom's Tea Sr. Year as a joke

But the pose can't be blamed solely on the Sorority, since many of my sorority sisters don't consistently gravitate toward the pose.

I guess I do it because it make me feel less awkward in pictures, makes me stand up straighter, makes my arm look thinner, and makes me feel sassier.

Here's a recent pic, minus the pose...


I know I don't look bad in that picture, but I feel like I look kind of hunchbacky and demure. And my arm doesn't look as thin as I like it to.

When I don't do the pose I'm always thinking "what do I do with my hands? Ahhh!" So I guess that the pose just makes me feel more confident in pictures, which makes me feel happier, which in turn (I think) makes a better picture.

How about you? Do you have a way of standing, posing, or smiling that you gravitate toward for pictures?

I ain't afraid of no ghost: Boston Trip, Part 4

In honor of Halloween, I'm sharing the creepiest and final part of our Boston Trip, the Boston Ghosts and Gravestones tour!


Boston Ghosts and Gravestones tour is two hour trip to several Boston graveyards after dark.

They drive guests around in a spooky trolley and then open up the locked graveyards to let everyone walk around while telling tales of the graveyards and people buried there.

Our "doom buggy" (aka evil trolley)



All of the guides dress up in costume and are in character, even the driver of the trolley.


We were scared!

Just kidding, I ain't afraid of no ghost.

These old graveyards at night really look like a movie set.


They told us all kinds of stories of the shipwrecks, serial killers, ghosts, gravediggers, and legends of Boston.


They also shared that the largest graveyard in Boston is actually the Boston Common (the big park in the middle of Boston). However, it is an unmarked graveyard. Apparently, back in the early days of Boston it was used to hang people that were convicted of crimes. But it was too much trouble to bury criminals, so they just would give them shallow grave in the Boston Common . Creepy, right?

Our lovely tour guide decided to demonstrate on the Mr. of what a hanging in the Boston Common looked like.

I'm pretty sure this should be our Christmas Card this year. No?

The funniest part was when our tour guide pretended to lock our tour group in one of the graveyard and ran off. We stood there for minute feeling confused and suddenly an another guide popped out from behind a grave!

So crazy!

It was such an interesting, fun, and unique tour!


But just remember...

When the sun goes down in Boston...


The spooks come out at night!

(This is actually the view from my Mom's apartment. Pretty amazing, huh?)
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Are your just joining us for our Boston/New England trip recap?

You can find first three parts here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
And you can view our full trip itinerary in chronological order, click here.

There once was man from Nantucket: Boston Trip, Part 3

In the middle of our week in New England we headed out to Nantucket Island for a little getaway in the middle of our vacation!

Nantucket looks like a movie set of a New England seaside village. There are over 800 homes on Nantucket that were built before the Civil War!

We took the ferry from Cape Cod over to Nantucket. This is the view heading into port in Nantucket. I love the little lighthouse!


And here is the Mr. on the boat. It was COLD. I sat inside. Ha!


We found an adorable B&B called the Seven Sea Street Inn. I don't think the innkeepers knew what to make of us considering that most of their patrons are retirees -- especially in October!

Regardless, the inn was just so charming!


When we checked into the Inn the innkeeper gave us the lowdown on what to do on Nantucket. When he said that there was a great brewery/vineyard on the island (in fact, the only one on the island) we knew what we were going to do for the rest of that day!

Biking is a great mode of transportation on Nantucket, considering that the island is pretty tiny.

We we rented bikes at Young's Bicycle shop and got to hear about the Nantucket vs. Martha's Vineyard rivalry from the townies working in the shop. Priceless.

Then we biked about two miles out to Cisco Brewers/Nantucket Vineyard.


We started off wine tasting.


No, they don't grow the grapes on the island. They have them shipped in from Oregon/Washington and then make the wine on Nantucket.

Then we did beer tasting.


I'd definitely say that beer is their speciality! But the wine was pretty good too.

After three hours of wine and beer tasting we headed back to the Inn to get ready for dinner.

We had dinner at a chic little place called LoLa 41. It was expensive, but really good. Their speciality is serving food from the 41st latitude line. Interesting, right?

Outside of LoLa.


The next morning we had breakfast at the Inn and then did a 20 mile round trip bike ride out to Sconset, the East end of the island.

We rode on some beautiful bike paths.


And saw some nice fall foliage.


On our way saw lots of historic homes. Including this old captain's house.


Note: I don't want to post pictures of beautiful Nantucket homes we saw, because I feel like it's odd to post pictures of homes that aren't mine. Just do a google image search of "Sconset" to see the adorable homes out there.

We finally made it out to Sconset and got a picture with the big old lighthouse. Lighthouses are so "New England" aren't they?


It was starting to get stormy out at sea, so we took a few more pictures along the coast and then headed back to town.


Good thing we rode back when we did, because when we got back to town it started pouring rain. So we spent our final afternoon on Nantucket indoors eating and shopping. Check out this shirt we found in one shop! I died laughing.


We were on Nantucket island for a little over 24 hours and had a fabulous time. But that was as long of a trip as this city girl would have wanted. Nantucket is just so small, quiet, and slow-paced! Especially in the fall. However, it was very relaxing!

See here and here for part 1 and part 2 of our Boston/New England trip. And to see our full trip itinerary in chronological order, click here.

Stay tuned for the final Boston post tomorrow!

Ask not what your country can do for you: Boston Trip, Part 2

The University of Massachusetts in Boston is home to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, which we spent a rainy afternoon visiting.



If you've never been to Presidential Library, you should definitely go. Such interesting American history!

(If you couldn't tell this already, I really really love History, particularly American History. Not to brag, but in High School I scored a "5" on my AP US History Exam! Hehe.)

The outside of the JFK Library & Museum, which is right on the water.


Here were inside of it with the harbor in the background. Since JFK loved sailing so much it was important to his family that the Library be on the water. I can definitely relate!


His sailboat is even on the lawn!


The museum has all kinds facinating memorabilia. I love to see how political campaigns have changed over the years!


Did you know that JFK started the Peace Corps? This pictures is for my best friend, Laurel and her hubby, who are currently in the Peace Corps in Central America.



They have whole room about Jackie Kennedy too. I loved seeing her dresses! She was such as style icon. Check out this adorable dress and coat by Oleg Cassini.


The Mr. really liked seeing all of the stuff on the US Space Program that Kennedy started.


Speaking of JFK, we also visited JFK's Alma Mater, Harvard.

My Mom and me in Harvard Yard!


Harvard is such a beautiful campus. It's what you think of when you picture the quintessential American university.


We also walked around Cambridge and went the Harvard Bookstore.

Look at this beautiful old church in Cambridge.


And look at this overgrown home! The ivy has totally overtaken it.


There are 44 Colleges and Universities in Boston. Talk about a college town! Everywhere you look there are students!

We also visited MIT... but I didn't take any pictures because it is really ugly (sorry MIT alums, that's just my opinion!)

My Mom works at Emerson College, so we visited the Emerson Campus on the Boston Common.

Here is my Mom and me in her office. Doesn't she have a great view?


Note: These recaps are by "theme" and are not in chronological order. To see how we did our trip in chronological order, click here.

What's the next New England recap? I'll give you a hint... "there once was a man from..."