happy new year!

2013 was a big year for me.

I bought a new car.

I finally went on that three-month cross-country road trip I've been dreaming of for over a decade.

I moved into a little house on the lake.

I chopped off all of my hair.

I got glasses.

I started telecommuting.

I upgraded to an iPhone after years of resistance.

I basically stopped blogging... whoops.

I'm not really into setting specific goals for 2014, but I do know that I want MORE: more travel, more time with friends, more creative expression, more mindfulness. I want to focus on making healthy choices.  I want to eat more natural, raw foods, and drink less alcohol/eat less sugar.  I want to start making more of my own foods, and convince K to let me cook more nutritiously ;).  I want to sew.  I can't wait to have a little garden this summer.

I think 2014 is going to be a good one, too :)

twenty-eight

I feel good about 28. Unlike years past, I'm not going to set a list of 28 goals that I won't complete. I don't feel like I need to.  Maybe I finally feel comfortable accepting that not everything has to be a mad scramble toward success and that life is long (though short enough that I should live in the present as much as possible).  Things will happen this year.  Maybe better things than I can even think of wanting right now.  All I know is that I want to travel.  I want to make things.  I want to spend time with my friends and family.  I want to read more.  I want to get fresh air. The rest can just come as it will.

Last night I hosted a dinner party.  I made mushroom risotto, roasted beets for salad with arugula and goat cheese, and roasted  butternut squash to be served with maple syrup.  And I made a decadent flourless chocolate cake (I never knew how much BUTTER goes into those things! Oof.).  I've never really enjoyed cooking or baking... I much prefer eating.  But when I put my mind to it, I can follow a recipe pretty well ;)  I think it was a great way to ring in my new year.

2013: happy new year!

I have a marvelous New Year's :)  K planned a surprise getaway to Albany, New York, and booked a room (the inn equivalent of a penthouse, on the top floor) at this amaaaaaaaaaaazing "Mansion Row" inn called the Morgan State House.  As soon as we reached the top of the stairs and I looked through the French doors to see the spacious room with that incredible skylight, I was in heaven.

We arrived around 3 PM, and spent the first few hours of our stay relaxing, sipping champagne, and reading up on the history of the inn.  I was even more enchanted by the room after learning that the house had been owned by Alice Morgan Wright, a renowned sculptor and activist who spent time in prison for her participation in the women's suffragist movement in the early 1900s, and was an active advocate for women's rights until the mid-1940s, when she switched her focus to animal rights.  We spent the night in what once was her art studio. Pretty. Awesome.  Around six, I got gussied up and K took pictures of my outfit.

Seriously, I love this dress SO MUCH.  I found it for two dollars at the Bargain Boutique and it fit PERFECTLY.  It is homemade brocade.  I've been saving it for months because I knew it would be perfect for NYE, and now I plan to wear it all the time! :)  We left the room only briefly to enjoy a delicious meal at the Jewel of India, conveniently located right around the corner (so my bare legs didn't take much of a beating).  It's become something of a tradition for K and I to have Indian on NYE (when he's around). OMG so good, I want it again right now.

After dinner we headed back to the room to indulge in chocolate and champagne (and whiskey and coke for K), take advantage of that awesome tub, and watch House Hunters and catch the end of Taylor Swift's unfortunate performance before the ball dropped in Times Square.  The next morning we had breakfast at the only diner that was open in town and headed back to Vermont, where we had milkshakes for dinner.  Our holiday season is always pretty party-heavy, so it's nice to be able to get away from it all and spend that last night of the year exploring a new place with K. I had such a great time, and if the 'eve was any indication, I'm in for a pretty spectacular year, with a pretty spectacular fellow by my side :)

2012 was a good year, but I just KNOW that 2013 is going to be GREAT!

life lately: christmas

1-4: caroling on christmas eve

5: christmas morning mystery date

6: puppy dog

7-10: skating on christmas day

life lately: signs of brightness

1: surprise flowers/collage

2: el cortijo/secret bubbly

3: scribblings

4: steph comes to visit (thai food, ravioli/twilight)

5: springtime sandwich & lemonade

6: holga/ice cream dress

7: sunday breakfast (k makes coffee, i make crepes)

8: baby bananas/big rock candy mountain

9: tree bark

10: woodland wanderings

11: reading by the riverside

12: cloudy day

happy new year!

Ohhh, New Year's Eve... you are fun. I convinced my friends (and mom!) to get all gussied up for the occasion, even though the party was only at a country house down the road. A girl's gotta get her dress on once and a while, and if you can't go out in glittery heels on NYE, when can you?

I bought this dress months ago at H&M, and though I wasn't entirely sure where I would wear it, I immediately thought of NYE (of course). It's actually more of an orangey-red than the pink that my camera seemed to want to call it. The glittery heels were a happy accident--spotted in the window of Payless (=cheap!) while Christmas shopping. But enough about me--doesn't my mom look amazing?? That dress/coat combination belonged to my grandmother and she looks so classy! You basically can't beat those faux-fur cuffs.

All-in-all, a good night was had by all. I dropped the (basket)ball at midnight, and that's when the party really started. My mom busted out the limbo pole (/broomstick) and we all got down and rowdy before finally heading home around 2 (yes, I limboed in those heels, and no, I do not have photographic evidence, which is probably for the best). We spent New Year's Day eating a scrumptious brunch (I don't think I was quite ready for a mimosa...), playing music, reading the journal (my dad keeps a journal of all of our adventures throughout the year and it's become tradition to read aloud on New Year's Day, while drinking hot cider from the "wassail cup"), and then going to see the late showing of "My Week With Marilyn" at the Savoy (which my brother called "horrifying").

So far, 2012 is okay in my book. Now I just need K to come home... (Wednesday!)
I'm looking forward to a whole new year of adventures, and to sharing them (and my outfits) with you here!

Merry New Year, everyone! :)

this year in photos: 2011