Shit Blue Said: Vol 2

Hello, and Happy New Years Eve! Today, for the very last post of 2015, I'm bringing you the second edition of Shit Blue Said! I hope you have a wonderful evening, and I'll see ya on the other side!!

Blue: I have a zit between my eyebrows in my worry crease. It hurts when I emote.
It's like I need to stay in sad poncho mode.

Me: You're so Jersey.
Blue: Just like my sheets, baby.


Blue: Today is 3 months since we met.
Me: I know. I wanted to commemorate it.
Blue: We should issue a stamp.


Me: Dude are you--
Blue: Wait... did you just "Dude" me?
Me: Yeah why? I say Dude all the time. It's part of my vernacular.
Blue:
Me: What?
Blue: You are the only person I know who would put "Dude" and "vernacular" in the same sentence.

After GoT,
Blue: was that the pinultimate?
Me: The WHAT now?
Blue: You know, the episode before the finale.
Me: Seriously?
Blue: Whatever, you said "protagonist" earlier. I know big words too.

After mentioning that they were playing music at my office during a department-wide cleanup...
Blue: I just cleaned my desk. You can now see there's an actual desk lol
Me: oh SNAP. did you play some Anita while you did it? maybe Sir Mix-a-lot? those seems to be the cleaning theme songs in my office.
Blue: neither Anita nor Mix-a-lot were in the cubizzle. Though I like the word cubizzle. I'm keeping it.

We have nicknames for our coworkers. One of mine is Wisconsin. One of hers is The Rabbit...
Me: Wisconsin might be sick
Blue: The entire state? Lactose intolerance?

At work, via G-chat...
Blue: I just offered Rabbit's manager 100 bucks to move her desk lol
Me: You're kidding.
Blue: I'm not. Unfortunately the manager thinks I am.

Blue: The crunching though
I can't. even.

Later...
Blue: It's a bucket of celery.

Several months later...
Blue: you should see the size of the carrot the Rabbit is eating.
It's the size of a missile

When she first tried Lootcrate...
Blue: my Marvel laces are fraying already
"lootcrate: your Marvel laces will bring a lifetime of happiness"
my converse: I'm a frayed knot.

When trying to plan a vacation with one of my friends...
Blue: We should do a cruise if she's looking to lay around and drink. We'd get more bang for our buck.
Me: Honestly, I don't want to be stuck on a boat with her. I need freedom to roam, like a bison.
Blue: *singing to the tune of Like a Virgin* Like a bison... HEY! Roamin' for the very first time. Like Bi-I-I-son, feel your hoofbeat... so bovine!


You can check out the other Shit Blue Said here. Happy New Years Eve, and thanks for following along!

Last Confessions of 2015

Hi friends! I have no long preamble for you today, all I have are a few confessions that have been churning in my mind for the last few days. So let's get right to it:

- I forgot to share what I got for Christmas yesterday! I'm not going to list all the cool stuff I got.  Let's just say someone thought I was a very good girl this year. I will say that my favorite (and most thoughtful) present was my Easy Bake Oven. I know, I know... I'm not a little kid. But I had mentioned to Blue that one of the only things I requested, REALLY wanted, and never got from "Santa" or my mom was an Easy Bake Oven. So she (Blue) got me one!

- I'm so happy Christmas is over. Really. I just wish that I could take down my little Christmas tree, but I can't because my mom wants to "celebrate" on Three Kings Day (Jan 6). Which actually falls on a Wednesday, so I don't know which weekend she'll pick to actually be together, and that causes me minor anxiety.

- Christmas Day was not all sunshine and rainbows. I mean it mostly was, at least for me, because I was with the only person I wanted to be with, but there was some family dramz. It acted as a reminder for me, however, that no family is perfect. Every family has issues/problems. Maybe mine takes a different form, but no family is spared. And this was one reminder that I definitely needed.

- It really bothers me when people don't put thought into the gifts they give to others, especially family members. I always try to give things that would be meaningful to the recipient, even if I don't know them well, but getting something that you think is a re-gift or something they had laying around, well, that's not a very good feeling. And it's worse for me when I see this happen to others that I care about.

- One of my best friends moved away the day after Christmas. This person is the reason I moved to my current apartment. She lived (literally) across the street. I mean, I could watch their TV (because it was gigantic) from my back deck. She had been talking about moving for a little while because the space was cramped between her, her bf, and their one year old, but I was kind of hoping they wouldn't. I liked that we could stop by whenever we wanted, ask for milk, or help when necessary. I liked seeing their cars come and go, and the glow from their windows. I didn't think it would bother me much, but it does. They only moved two towns over, but it's just not the same.

-I was really surprised that I didn't get Christmas calls/texts from certain people. like my best friend in Puerto Rico. I called her on Christmas, and though I never expect her to answer, it's odd that I STILL haven't gotten at least a call back. The same goes for some friends.I'm wondering if I hadn't sent them a text in prior holidays, would they have sent me one? It seems unlikely now, since this is the first where I didn't at least text first, and that is disappointing.

- I tried eggnog for the first time on Christmas Eve. It's so thick! I didn't hate it, but it wouldn't be my first choice when reaching into the fridge either.


Hmm... I think that's all I got to get off my chest til the new year. What are you confessing? 

Christmas Thangs

Hey loves! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and old St. Nick was good to you! I'm on Holiday Break from work since last Tuesday and have efficiently lost track of what day it is, so it's been pretty good in these parts! Last Wednesday I did my last minute shopping/wrapping/and prepping for Christmas. Thursday I headed by Blue's to finish her wrapping since she's not great at it, and then we headed to her brother's for Christmas Eve dinner. Not surprisingly, I have no pictures to show for it, but it was a great time filled with delicious food, yummy cocktails, gifts, and Cards Against Humanity.

Christmas morning I was supposed to make these chocolate crescent croissants that Nadine mentioned, but I forgot (don't worry- I made them the day after and they were delicious). And like little kids, we were eager to open presents!

our first Christmas

A note: I didn't get Blue a lot of presents. In fact, I was a little sad because she had only four gifts wrapped under the tree... however, my presents to her were really hard to wrap. You see, I got her a new TV stand and a Soundbar. And because they were heavy (and I am without wheels), I contacted her downstairs neighbor/friend who agreed that I could have them delivered to her apartment. And then I snuck the Soundbar up to Blue's apartment on Christmas Eve while she was napping. But the TV stand was too heavy, her friend wasn't home, and I couldn't come up with a  "grand scheme" to get the damn stand up to Blue's in a creative and sneaky way.

She went through her stocking, where everything had a cute Post-It note on it (I know- we're gross, sorry), and one of them (A DVD of Die Hard) had a note that said "put me away after you open your other presents." She assumed it was because I didn't want her to lose it. So she went upstairs to her loft area closet where her DVD collection is... and found the hidden Soundbar :D

Blue's new NYR Zuccarello jersey,  my loot, and Keebs in a bag

All was going well, except she wanted to set it up immediately (obviously). If I didn't tell her about the stand, she'd have to redo the whole set-up. Luckily, she already had shoes on, so I was like, "Uh... those gifts we have for your neighbor? I want to give them to her. Right now. Let's go." It was two small bags, which obviously I could have taken down by myself, and she wasn't even home (but she had given me permission to go in whenever and Blue had a set of keys). Of course Blue was suspicious, but went along anyway. We brought it upstairs, and she was SUPER excited. And again, wanted to set it up immediately. So we did.

#relationshipgoals

One of the things she mentioned while we were building the TV stand was that she had never been able to successfully build anything with anyone else. I can say the same. Building things brings out frustrations (especially when things aren't labelled well and you have to redo it, say, 3 times). But where she got frustrated, I persevered, and vice versa. And 2 hours later, we had constructed the new TV stand. (She was on her own for the Soundbar- I'm technologically challenged, at least compared to her.) 

finished product! And Sex and the City. I hated The Russian.

I was surprised we finished it before going to Blue's sister's house for Christmas dinner.  One thing I'll never understand is why we have to go to relative's houses so early for "dinner." I mean, dinner is never ready before 5-ish, so why must we be there at 2? I suppose it's for extended "family time," but being since my family consists of one other person, any time we spend together is classified as this. But I digress...

We headed over and I bonded with Blue's sister's dog, Buddy, and her two nieces. They are 18 and 22, one just in college and the other just entering the workforce, and it was cool to get to know them better and reminisce about my own times at that age. Ahh, so young! So free! They prepped dinner, we opened presents, and ate and then played Cards Against Humanity. Again, I had never played with them, and again, Blue won, but it was still a lot of fun. My favorite part of the game was when me and one of her nieces, put similar cards down for one of Blue's questions.  The black card said: " After the earthquake, Sean Penn brought ___ to the people of Haiti." Mine: The white half of Barack Obama. The niece's: The black half of Barack Obama." (Blue discarded both because they "cancelled each other out," but it was still really funny!)

Manahattans on Christmas Eve Eve, my stocking notes,
some of Blue's other presents, and CAH

Saturday was day of rest. Sunday we went to go see "Sisters" (funny, but a bit long), had dinner at Chevy's with my bday gift card from them (thanks Chevy's!), ran a few errands (the soundbar came without a very necessary HDMI cable- whaaa?), and polished off the weekend with some Kentucky Mules (like a Moscow mule, but with bourbon), and a puzzle we got when we went to Mystic, CT. This one is 1,000 pieces. We've never completed a puzzle, but we're going to try! We also watched "Wish I Was Here" starring Zach Braff and Kate Hudson (it was pretty awful. Don't watch it.).

Kentucky Mules and puzzle

How was your Christmas? What are your plans for NYE? 

Linking up with the lovely Biana for Weekending! 

Confession: A Delayed Christmas

I always have a hard time when it comes to "The Holidays."  I don't really have any "grand" family memories of Thanksgiving, or Christmas for that matter. I know that at one point I did experience them; there are pics of me as a toddler with my grandma cooking, my father, Christmas trees and presents, etc. etc., but I don't remember this. My dad left when I was little, my grandma passed away the summer before my sophomore year in college, and my grandfather lived in Puerto Rico, which is ridiculously expensive to get to during any holiday season,... not to mention we never really did holidays with him.What I remember of childhood Christmases is a lot of Chinese food and movie theater marathons.

I guess my issues with the holiday started when I was a Sophomore in college, and I thought I had met "The One." He wanted to make me part of his family seemingly immediately. We had started "officially" dating in January, so I didn't have to deal with any of the holiday split-ups/issues for nearly a year. And I had already met almost all of his family, and gone on vacation with his mom and step-dad.

So, after a lot of pressure on his side, I decided that I'd do Thanksgiving his family, and Christmas with mine. Except my "family" consisted of just my mom.   I suppose I followed through with this plan, at least until Christmas morning. At the time, I was living in an off-campus apartment which I shared with a bunch of graduate students who had gone home for the holidays. My mom was supposed to come up and take me home, which was her idea, even though I could've just taken the bus. Except she never came, or called, or texted, or anything else. She just didn't show up.

For a second I was nervous that something had happened to her on the way over, but then I realized that she had done this on purpose: we had gotten into a fight about who even knows what, so she was just going to leave me alone on Christmas Eve/Day. Maybe she was also pissed that I didn't spend Thanksgiving with her? I have no idea. All I know was that my ex was texting me on Christmas morning, asking what time my mom was coming, and other details, and then hours later she wasn't there (which I regrettably admitted to him), and then he came and got me and I spent it with his family. Don't get me wrong, I really, really liked his family, but I was kinda like... what the Hell, Mom?

I never really got an answer to this question, no matter how many times I asked. She was ignored it. I figured she didn't come because of a fight, and I didn't want to re-hash the fight or talk about it. About a month or so later it was done, and we were back to normal. In the following years, I spent Christmas either swapping Thanksgiving and Christmas with C's family (the other serious ex), at the cemetery where my grandmother was buried, or at a restaurant, and last year, when she came to my apartment and we got into a huge fight (again) and wound up not even speaking for hours on end.

Which brings us to this year. I called and texted to figure out what we were going to do, and she responded that in normal (insert our last name here) fashion, we should "celebrate" it later, on Three Kings Day. I should mention one other thing about my mom- she always thought holidays were fake, and that you should do thing for each other year-round. So, this could be her avoiding the "family holiday" too. But I never agreed with this line of thinking-- not that it shouldn't be celebrated year-round, but that doing things on or for the holiday was "fake."

The other thing that's hard to explain to others is that I would rather be alone in such cases. Christmas is a family holiday, therefore people should be with their families. And if their family wants to hold grudges, well, fine. As much as I may appreciate you "taking me in" for such a  holiday, that's not what I want. I'm not some "little orphan Dani." I've gotten to the point where if I can't be with my family because of whatever dramz we have, I'd rather be alone. And no one seems to get that.

However, the silver lining is that I'll be with Blue's family this year. And I will see and celebrate with my mom, even if it is later, so I'm not mad about it. I'm actually excited about both celebrations! Maybe this will be different, eh? Here's hoping!


What are you confessing today? Any Christmas confessions to share? Link up below! 

**I'll be taking a little break until next week, so I hope everyone has a very Happy Holiday with their loved ones!**

Weekend Thangs

The weekend was kicked off with Jack (Daniels), Jim (Beam), and the cast of Star Wars on Friday night. We had tickets to see it in 3D solely because it was the only one not sold out. The cinema had roped off sections outside for the impending lines, but there were none. We showed up 45 min early so we could get decent seats- I don't think I've ever showed up to a movie that early. The movie was absolutely amazing, though I don't think you need to see it in 3D.  

My Jawa shirt, pre-gaming, Darth Blue and I @ the movie

Saturday morning was spent sleeping in before a lazy day with drinks and movies. Blue and I received a mulled wine kit as an early Christmas gift which we opened, made in the crockpot, and devoured far too quickly. It was seriously so good. The kit we received had 2 wines and a spice bag, but I want to make it using an actual recipe next time. And then we started in on our loot from the Bourbon trail and ordered pizza. 

mulled wine goodness

Love Actually, an awesome Canadian tuexedo, bourbon

Movie marathon started with Die Hard, which I had never seen before, and really enjoyed! Then came A Very Murray Christmas (on Netflix). You guys... it was AWFUL. At one point we checked to see how much longer it was because it was just that bad (luckily it was only about 5 min left). The best part was George Clooney's part, which was so bad it was good. The marathon concluded with my favorite Christmas movie, Love Actually. 

George Clooney, A Very Murray Christmas, Die Hard

Sunday was a day of doing things. Home Depot, liquor store for Christmas gifts, Red Lobster for lunch (with a gift card!), and the Dollar Store. A note: I love my Dollar Store. $1 gift bags, boxed cards, decorations, and candy? Sign me up. Attempted and failed at napping, so watched Bad Santa. Sunday ended with Wendy's, the SNL Christmas Special (yay Bruce Springsteen!), and a new favorite Netflix show, Emily Owens, M.D. It's new to me, apparently it came out in 2012 on the CW. I'm more than halfway through, but recently learned that it was cancelled, which makes me a sad panda because I really, really like the show!  

my tree

Not done over the weekend but I forgot to blog about it- I put up and decorated my little pre-lit Christmas tree. The glow makes me happy. Favorite ornaments include one I got form one of my first ever solo trips to Hollywood (met a friend there), a little ship with Christmas lights from Mystic, CT, one of Dany's dragons from Game of Thrones, and a dinosaur foot ornament I made in Kindergarten, complete with my initials and a school picture on the back (the only reason I know it's from Kindergarten). 

I finished ordering presents, and I think I've received everything I had previously ordered, but need to go through and assess because I haven't gotten around to unpacking them, let alone wrapping them. I got all my wrapping paper/bows/boxes/bags at the Dollar Store, but still need to purchase cards. I had my Godson's presents mailed directly to him (Thank you, Amazon Prime), but still need to mail my friend and her family their gifts. Her birthday is actually Jan. 1, so I try to send it by then. 

How was your weekend?

Winter Bucket List

Happy WEEK OF CHRISTMAS friends! Can you believe today is the first day of Winter? It certainly doesn't feel like it with temps in NJ in the 50's and 60's, and expected to hit 70 on Christmas Day! What!? Before jumping into what I want to accomplish this season, let's take a look at how I did on my Fall Bucket List, shall we? 

Fall Bucket List

drink allthepumpkinales: Complete! I think I had about 10 pumpkin ales! You cane see what I thought of them here. 

craft something: Complete!

put up fall decor: Complete!

attend another concert: Complete! Sara Bareilles 11/5/2015, Ani DiFranco 11/21/15

dress up for Halloween: Complete!

Coach and Tami Taylor from Friday Night Lights, ya'll

go to a haunted house or forest: Fail. 

attend an Oktoberfest event: Fail. 

watch a "new to me" horror movie: Complete! Children of the Corn. Creepy kids!

attend a football game//tailgate//or throw a Football themed party: Fail. But I did co-host a Halloween party, so I'm calling it a Pass. 

bake banana nut bread: Fail. 

go pumpkin picking: Complete! Blogger Day, 10/10/15

go apple picking: Fail. 

attend a fall festival or winery: Complete! Brotherhood Winery  (grape stomping!) 10/11/15, Cheesesteak Festival and Fall Harvest Festival 10/24/15

enjoy a PSL or 5: Complete!

bake pumpkin pie- an annual tradition!: Fail. I did make Oreo pumpkin cheesecakes though, so I'm calling it a pass. 

Overall, I think I did pretty well! With a new season upon us, it's time to make some goals for Winter. Usually, this is my time of the year to become a hermit, but there are a few holiday/cold weather things I'd like to see and do. (Actually, I kind of forgot that I had drafted this, and absent-mindedly completed some of these things over the weekend, but I'm leaving them on here anyway.) Here's what I have in store for this season: 

Winter Bucket List

Go see the tree in Rockefeller Center

Union Square Holiday Market

Eat at Serendipity

deck the halls

craft some stuff

Go see Star Wars: The Force Awakens

try eggnog

have a holiday movie night- complete with hot cocoa and footie pajamas

Attend a hockey game

Attend a holiday party

Go to a concert

try a new noodle house

attempt to make mulled wine

Do you have seasonal goals? What's on your list? 

Friday Favorites: Star Wars Quotes Edition

"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." there was this thing online where people commented with all the Star Wars quotes that could be deemed "dirty" if read in a different context (or we all just have really dirty minds- whatevs). Anyway, in honor of the new Star Wars movie that came out last night, I've compiled a list of my favorites. 



"The force is strong with this one." -Darth Vader (A New Hope)

"There is good in him. I've felt it." - Luke Skywalker (Return of the Jedi)

"One thing's for sure, we're all going to be a lot thinner."- Han Solo (A New Hope)

"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought."- Princess Leia (A New Hope)

"General Grievous, you're shorter than I expected."- Anakin Skywalker (Revenge of the Sith)

When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master.”- Darth Vader (A New Hope) 

"It's a trap!"-Admiral Ackbar (Return of the Jedi)
“He’s holding a thermal detonator!”- C3PO (Return of the Jedi) 

“The Dark Side of the Force is the pathway to many abilities some consider to be… Unnatural.” – Senator Palpatine (Revenge of the Sith)

“Evacuate in our moment of triumph? I think you overestimate their chances.”

“But how could they be jamming us if they don’t know… that we’re… coming?”

"I thought they smelled bad...on the outside"



"You came in here and you didn’t have a plan for getting out?”

“Luke, at that speed do you think you’ll be able to pull out in time?”

“I find your lack of faith disturbing.”- Darth Vader (A New Hope) 

“Well, you said you wanted to be around when I made a mistake.” 

"Let’s blow this thing and go home!”

“Now, witness the power of this fully operational battle station.” 

“Sorry about the mess.” 

“…I think I just blasted it.” 

“He is as clumsy as he is stupid!” 

“You don’t have to do this to impress me.” 

“You’ll find I’m full of surprises!” 

“Boy, it’s lucky you have these compartments!”

“STAY ON TARGET.” 

I already got my tickets and will be watching The Force Awakens tonight and I'm super excited. What are you up to this weekend?

101 in 1001: The List

Back in 2012, I had attempted to do a 101 in 1001 List. I had gotten about 1/3 through before kind of forgetting about it. Then Steph started one and I wanted to get back on board, but my old list no longer reflected goals I currently have, so I redid it. However, I only came up with 83 things. So if you have any ideas for me, let me know! I tried to break up my goals into categories. Here's what I have so far. 

Start Date: December 12, 2015

End Date: September 8, 2018

In Progress

Done

Creative (13)

Make a new wreath

Blog about progress once a month

Complete a scrapbook

Read all the books I currently own but haven’t yet read

Develop all my old negatives

Put all photos into albums

Finish a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle

Frame it

Make sangria

Read 5 "Classics" (One Hundred Years of Solitude, Don Quixote, etc.)

read 101 books

Create a gallery wall

Journal every day for a month

Travel (14)

Go wine tasting in wine country

Visit Niagara Falls

Ride in a hot air balloon

Road trip in the USA (or at least 5 states)

Gamble in Las Vegas

Fly first class

See one of the 7 Wonders of the World

Explore a cave

Go back to Europe

Visit a new country

Get my Passport renewed

Go on a  spontaneous weekend getaway

Eat New England clam chowder in New England

Have a meal in a real Rt. 66 diner

NYC Things: (7)

Visit the Bronx  or Central Park Zoo

Visit the Botanical Gardens

Visit the Highline

See 3 Broadway Musicals

See another Broadway play

Visit a museum

Go see the tree in Rockefeller Center at Christmas Time

Learn (5)

Take a cooking class

Take a wine/cocktail class

Learn how to BBQ

Enroll in a Graduate Program

Try a new food

Personal Care//Wellness (10)

figure out a skincare routine

Have my makeup done professionally, then splurge and purchase all of the products used

Get a hot stone massage or mud/seaweed wrap

Get professional photos taken

Completely use up or otherwise get rid of all excess makeup

Find my holy grail in each makeup item
Find holy grail skincare and hair care products

Get to my goal weight

decide if I really want that tattoo, once and for all, and get it if I do
*private goal*

Finances (5)

start a savings account 

pay off student loans 

Accumulate $5k Emergency Fund

Get a promotion/new job

Renew my license

Entertainment (14)

See another Cirque du Soleil show

Sit in the live studio audience of a late night or daytime talk show

Attend another music festival

Be an extra in a tv/music/movie production

Throw a wine/cheese or cocktail party

Host a game night

Host an annual party

Try 101 different bars and restaurants

Go on a picnic

Install monthly date nights

Watch a movie starting with every letter of the alphabet

Watch a movie in 3D

Attend an NFL game

Attend an NHL game

Home (11)

get my apartment and possessions 100% organized

organize all of my photos and back them up in multiple places

organize all of my music files, delete/update as necessary

get everything for a well-stocked home bar

Set up a new vanity area with makeup and jewelry storage

Clean out my closets and purge

Frame my diploma

Frame a wall-worthy map and start marking the places I've been

Create an emergency kit

start and maintain a complete address book and birthday list 

Start a new Christmas tradition

Get rid of 101 items

Shopping (6)

Get a car

Get a desk

Buy some sort of headstone for grandma's gravesite

Buy a new laptop or seriously fix the one I have
Purchase a scale
Get a suitable area rug for the living room

Current Count: 86. 

Have you done one of these lists before? What are some tips you have for completing it?

Confessions: Christmas Things I Tolerate

First of all, I confess that I haven't checked emails in a few days, so if you left a comment and haven't heard back from me, I'm sorry! But I'm going through them today!

I also confess that I was overwhelmed and touched by all of your birthday wishes- thank you! 

Now on to today's Christmas confessions... 

I'm not a huge fan of Christmas. Mostly, I find a lot of the things about it annoying, but part of it is also because it's a big family holiday and I don't have a lot of family, and the family I do have isn't all that close. I'd say this has been more true in recent years, but I think I've always felt this way, to a lesser degree. Anyway, here are some other Christmas confessions. 

I don't like:
- Christmas carolers because they're annoying.
- Black Friday because it's a madhouse and leads to absolutely ridiculous behavior like trampling over people just to get inside a freakin Walmart.
- putting up lights
- white Christmas trees
- candy canes in any flavor other than spearmint

I don't like Christmas music. At All. At any time, but especially any time before Thanksgiving. The other night I was asked what my favorite Christmas Carol was, and I had to think long and hard before I said "Dominick the Donkey." A few others I tolerate: 

Songs:
Shake Up Christmas- Train
All I Want For Christmas- Mariah Carey
Feliz Navidad- Jose Feliciano
Dominic the Donkey- Lou Monte
The 12 Pains of Christmas (so funny)

You know what kills me? The Christmas Shoes song by NewSong. I'm not a bigger crier, but seriously only listen to this with tissues nearby.

I'm not a total Grinch. I do like:
- driving around seeing all the other houses lit up
- finding the perfect present
- Cyber Monday/getting said perfect present at a great price
- seeing the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center
- Collecting Christmas ornaments from wherever I go on vacation. Does that count as a tradition?

Food/Drinks: 
pizzelles
mulled wine
DD mint hot chocolate
merry Manhattan

Movies: 
Elf
Love Actually
The Holiday
Bad Santa
A Christmas Story

Where do you fall? Are you a huge Christmas lover? Or do you just tolerate the season? Linking up with the lovely ladies below! 

*** Shameless plug: part of a linkup is to find other bloggers, right? A little birdie told me that one of my posts (this one) was nominated for a blog award over HERE. And I'm a Finalist! I would love it if you would vote for me, but even if you don't, I was happy to see some of my very favorite fellow bloggers nominated as well! Check out the link to vote and find some new awesome blogs!***

Friday Favorites: Highlights from the 31st Year

Guess what guys? Tomorrow is my birthday! I'm currently in a car on my way to Kentucky to experience the Bourbon Trail first-hand, but I wanted to stop by and share some of my absolute favorite moments/memories from the last year. It's been a crazy good year, and I can only hope that the next one is just as good! Cheers!!

Made my apartment into a home by finally decorating it and adding personal touches

Cut my cable

Met blogger friends

Ate my weight at food festivals

Went to 3 Broadway shows

Made new friends

Saw a meteor shower

Watched loved ones get married

Kept in touch with old friends

Went on a camping trip for the first time in YEARS

Finally made my way to The Hamptons and City Island

Had fun in my own backyard (so to speak)- local adventures

Swam with sea turtles

Kayaked in the ocean

Finally had pizza at Mystic Pizza

Saved money

Invested in a new laptop

Spent time with family

Drank bourbon on the Bourbon Trail

Went to lots of concerts and even saw/listened to my Spirit Animal Mindy Kaling talk about her latest book

Met Blue's family

Met my lobster

Finally got someone to dress up with me for a couples costume

Co-hosted an awesome Halloween party

Became a NY Rangers (hockey) fan

Found my favorite, signature cocktail

Completed 3 graduate courses

Won a grape stomping competition

Had a “Garbage plate” in Rochester, NY

Went on adventures, took the cheesy pics to prove it, and basically had the time of my life :)