2012 - The Year In Review

What. A. Year.

2011 seems like so long ago, yet this year flew by. It was one of the most eventful years I can remember.

Personal

So much happened in our personal lives! We made new friends in the city and we’ve gotten closer to old friends. We celebrated our two year anniversary in February. We had several fun social events, including my Boozy Birthday Brunch and our Second Annual Holiday Party. For the first year in what seems like a decade we didn’t move!! Instead we are loving our apartment on the Upper West Side and for Christmas we invested in new furniture including a kitchen buffet table, a bookshelf for the bedroom, a new filing cabinet, and a DVD rack. The biggest updates were new additions – Nate’s nephew Jaxson Allan Wilt was born on October 1^st and we welcomed our dachshund puppy Siena on October 27^th (although she was born on September 2^nd). We were also excited to share the news that our good friends Josh and Melissa got engaged! We are excited to celebrate with them in 2013! We also supported my sister Jenni as she moved to the Dominican Republic in February to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer until May 2014.

Professional

2012 was an eventful year in our professional lives. My first big work project took off and I was proud as the partnership with The Hunger Games unfolded. In August Nate was promoted to Manager of Human Resources for the Math Department at Columbia University (where he has been Administrative Assistant for two years). He also completed several classes for his Computer Science degree – a lot of work but I am so proud of him! In December I got a new job as Manager of Marketing & Social Media at the national March of Dimes. Saying goodbye to WFP after two and a half years isn’t easy, but I’m excited for this amazing opportunity.

Travel

We didn’t have our feet on the ground much in 2012! In the spring we spent a week in London, England where we also attended The Hunger Games European Premiere. I spent two months in London back in 2005 and it was such a different experience returning 7 years later and introducing Nate to the city (and England brought his country total to 5!). We spent Easter visiting the nation’s capital in Washington D.C. staying with one of my best friends Rachel & her husband Allin. In May we spent 10 days in Italy with my parents – Nate went in 2011 and my mom went in 2007 but it was my dad’s first trip! We rented an apartment in Rome and also travelled to Siena, took a wine tour of Tuscany, and spent an afternoon at the beach in Fregene. Before we knew it, it was summer and I was off to visit another one of my best friends Chrissy in Atlanta – touring the world of Coca-Cola, boating, and visiting Stone Mountain – before heading to Florida for two weeks. I also managed to make it to Sarasota with my best friend Courtney to visit friends from the Breakfast Club, Natalie and Laura. Summer ended with Nate and I taking a trip to Costa Rica for a week, where we stayed next to the active Arenal Volcano, went white water rafting and rappelling, and Nate did zip-lining. Fall was quieter with no trips or travel until December, where we just spent over a week at home in Gainesville, Florida.

Cuisine

Perhaps I should have called this post a year in food! We tried lots of new restaurants in 2012, even took a cooking class at Eataly. We tried Buddakan for Jenni’s birthday, Dovetail for our two year anniversary, Asiate for our birthdays, plus brunch at great spots including Calle Ocho and Isabella’s. We discovered new favorite Mexican, including Café Frida and Diablo Royale.

In the News

In the sports world, our New York Giants won the Super Bowl, repeating history defeating the New England Patriots (which also happened in 2008). The election dominated the news this year, leading up to Obama’s reelection in November. There were tragedies this year, some local, some international, including a heartbreaking stabbing on the Upper West Side (very close to home for us) and the Stony Brook school shooting. Hurricane Sandy hit New York and New Jersey in October, leaving Nate and I stranded at home for a week. Internationally, some of the major events included Europe’s economy continuing to struggle, violence in Syria boiling over, and the draught in the Sahel region of Africa leaving many hungry. There were so many events it's impossible to name them all - but we feel fortunate to live safely and freely when so many do not.

Entertainment

In the world of pop culture there were some stories to note, particularly my favorite Angelina Jolie getting engaged to Brad Pitt, and Prince William & Kate announcing they are expecting a baby in 2013. I fell in love with the bands Foster the People, Alabama Shakes, and Mumford & Sons. I saw three movies in theaters: The Hunger Games, The Avengers, and Les Miserables. I saw two plays – Les Miserables (in London) and Nice Work if You Can Get It (Broadway). Nate and I got invested in new television shows, including Modern Family, Doctor Who,  and How I Met Your Mother. Nate introduced me to Firefly and I developed my own personal obsession with Nashville. In terms of reading I spent the first half of the year absorbed in the Game of Thrones series, also enjoying Divergent and Insurgent, part of a new trilogy. The book that got under my skin this year (last year it was Hunger Games) was World War Z, which I read twice and still find myself thinking about. Stay tuned for a future blog post on that one.

Life In General

In short, we are blessed, we are exhausted, we are excited, and we are happy. 2012 was an incredible year and we are so excited about 2013.

The End of an Era

WFP Headquarters in Rome, December 2007

Tomorrow is my last day of work at the World Food Programme.

It feels like the end of an era (and yes, I know how cheesy that sounds). My adventures with WFP started in 2007 when I moved to Rome Italy to spend 6 months interning in the Fundraising for Donors, Private (FDP) division. I learned so much about myself in those 6 months - about what I wanted in a career, how to live in a foreign country alone, and for the first time I realized how much I truly love to travel. It was such an important time and I'll never forget it.

I also loved the work I was doing - specifically, supporting the first World Hunger Relief campaign with one of WFP's partners YUM! Brands. I realized I was passionate about nonprofit communications campaigns - the opportunity to reach people who otherwise would never hear about an issue and educate them and give them the opportunity to get involved and help. I also learned a lot about the due diligence research process and other WFP private partners.

I moved back to Gainesville in 2008 before heading to graduate school at Duke University. Inspired by my work at WFP, I focused my coursework in merging public policy and consulting skills with an emphasis on public-private partnerships. The summer of 2009 I did an internship in Tanzania where I worked on a range of issues, including nutrition assessment for people battling AIDS. One weekend I went to Dar es Salaam for the WFP/TNT event "Walk the World." Even though I wasn't working for WFP at the time I felt connected - I even had my WFP FEED bag with me during the walk!

Walk the World in Dar es Salaam, June 2009

My second year at Duke I worked on my Master's Project for WFP - a strategy to engage the agribusiness industry. I even came to Rome in April 2010 to present the final project. A few months later I started working in the Public-Private Partnerships division (CPP) in New York City, where I have worked the last two and a half years. I've been incredibly proud of the work of our division, particularly the Hunger Games partnership which I helped initiate:

I also returned to the management of the YUM partnership, where I supported the World Hunger Relief campaign as the global coordinator. I learned so much and I was lucky to get the opportunity to travel twice: once to Rome for a month of training, and once to London for The Hunger Games European Premiere (which is still without a doubt one of the coolest experiences I've ever had).

WFP Colleagues in Rome, April 2011

Hunger Games Premiere in London, March 2012 

Any major life change fills you with a mix of emotions - excitement, anxiety, nostalgia. It can be bittersweet. I'm so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have worked with WFP in so many capacities for so many years. Life events continued to bring me to Rome a total of 5 times (in addition to living there for 6 months) which has instilled in me a fierce love of Italy. I remain passionate about solving hunger and believe WFP is the solution.

At the same time, I'm also so excited for my new adventure at March of Dimes - to work on an amazing cause and be challenged in new ways. It is always hard to say goodbye so instead I'll say see you around the bend, WFP. Who knows what the future will hold! Until then, rest assured every October I will visit a Taco Bell and donate $1 to WFP for World Hunger Relief - and I'll be tuning in to the next installments of The Hunger Games films and I can't wait to see what will happen with that partnership.

Arrivederci (for now!)

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!

We had an amazing 10 days in Florida (twice as long due to our flight being cancelled because of snowstorms in the northeast). We spent time with our families and closest friends. Of course it wasn't the same without my sister Jenni who we missed dearly.

Hope everyone had as amazing a Christmas as we did!

Upcoming Adventures Announcement - Dominican Republic

More exciting news!!!

My Christmas gift from my parents this year is a visit to see my sister Jenni who is serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic! I will be going for a week, leaving next Friday and coming back a week later before I start my new job.

The Dominican Republic, or "DR" as she calls it, is located in the Caribbean on the isle of Hispaniola which it shares with Haiti. It is due west of Puerto Rico and east of Jamaica. It's a wonderful country and my sister loves it and I can't wait to meet her host family and friends in her community!

This will be my first but not last trip - Nate and I are planning to visit Memorial Day weekend in May. That trip, however, will probably just be to the beach as we will not have enough time to journey into the center of the country to my sister's site. 

New job announcement!

After two and a half amazing years working at the United Nations World Food Programme (where I also worked an additional 9 months on my master's project while in grad school at Duke and also spent 6 months interning at headquarters in Rome in 2007) I am moving on at the end of the year to a new job and new challenge at the national March of Dimes!

In January I will join the team as Manager of Marketing & Social Media, where I will help build the online presence of the organization on social media outlets including Facebook and Twitter. I am so excited about this new challenge, really excited about joining the March of Dimes which is a fantastic organization with a great mission to save babies, promote education to expectant mothers and invest in research and technology to save babies who are born prematurely.

2013 is going to be a great year with new opportunities and new adventures - I can't wait!

2nd Annual Holiday Party!

Our second annual holiday party was a huge success! This year I went even more overboard than last year with the menu! We spent the day cooking up a storm but it was totally worth it! After two and a half years in the city we are really blessed with an amazing group of friends who all turned out for the party.

This year's menu:

• Cranberry brie bites (our tradition)
• Veggie platter with french onion dip (pinterest inspired, red and green pepper hollowed out and filled with dip)
• Stuffed mushroom caps
• Chicken crostinis with pesto and mixed cheeses
• Orzo pasta with feta, spinach, tomato, and pine nuts
• Miniature pecan pies
• Homemade paydays 
• Vegetarian chili 
• Caprese bites (tomato, mozzarella, basil)
• Pumpkin bread

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with new friends in our neighborhood. It's one of the many things I'm thankful for - we have made great friends in the city this year. We're also very thankful for our new addition Siena and how much joy she brings to our lives. We are thankful for our families, even though they are far away (Florida, Colorado, and Dominican Republic). We are thankful for our jobs, our health, and our apartment. We are so lucky to have so much to be thankful for!

I am extra thankful for Nate :)

Thanksgiving Recipe: Mom's Homemade Pumpkin Bread

I feel like cooking today... and eating. Can you tell? It's never officially fall (in my mind) until I make my mom's homemade pumpkin bread. Holy deliciousness. I make it every year, it's the best thing ever (don't even talk to me about banana nut bread, it's so confusing, I can't even talk about it). So every year I make this pumpkin bread and my mom has made it for us since we were little - it's super easy, all you need are basic baking ingredients, spices, a can of pumpkin, and 3 bread loaf pans. And you need to not be afraid of baking, which I mostly am... I might have had a few recipes go wrong, and there is an infamous story about doubling a doubled recipe and making something like 84 chocolate chip cookies on accident and having to use a storage bin to stir in the mixture.... it was traumatic. Let's skip over that. On that note though, I will say for the record that MELTED BUTTER is not an ingredient. BUTTER is an ingredient. Melting is a direction. I know you all agree with me. Because in the stress of the moment you might add a stick of butter to your cookie mixture and it won't mix together and you'll be HIGHLY confused... and spend the next 15 minutes picking pieces of oatmeal off your butter before you melt it.

AHEM.

Back to the recipe...

 Ingredients:

• 3 cups of sugar
• 4 eggs, beaten in a bowl
• 1 can of pumpkin
• 3 1/2 cups of self-rising flour
• 2/3 cup of water
• 1 cup Crisco (vegetable) oil
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Mix sugar, oil and eggs in a mixer until combined.
• Add pumpkin, mix together.
• Slowly add dry ingredients until combined. 
• Finally, slowly add water (the mixing bowl will be really full so mix the water in gradually or it'll splatter all over you. not that I know from experience).
• Butter the loaf pans.
• Pour mixture evenly into the 3 loaf pans
• Bake for 45-50 minutes at 325 degrees until bread is golden brown and you press your finger into it and it springs back.

I'm making some right now... and potentially eating some after that...

Enjoy!!!

Thanksgiving Recipe: Jenni's Cranberry Brie Bites!

Can we talk about one of my favorite holiday food traditions?

A few years ago, my sister Jenni created this recipe after trying something similar her friends made. It is PERFECT for when you are entertaining and you love the idea of baked brie with cranberry on top, but it's a bit messy for finger food. These are bite-sized, melt-in-your mouth, delicious brie bites. I'm obsessed. We're making these for breakfast Thanksgiving morning I'm so excited. I will easily eat half the batch. Watch me.

Ingredients:

• Crescent roll dough
• Brie cheese
• Cranberry jelly or cranberry sauce (whichever)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Open crescent rolls. The dough will be in rectangles, separated by a dotted line. You want to keep the rectangles and mush the lines together (see pictures below). You will be left with 4 rectangles. Divide each rectangle into 6 small squares (2 by 3, cut using pizza cutter if you have one, a sharp knife if you don't). One crescent roll should yield 24 brie bites. You can double the recipe if you're having a lot of people over (we usually do).
• Fill your mini muffin pan with the small squares, one square per muffin hole.
• Take out the brie. Cut into small pieces, I aim for about double the size of a traditional cheese cube. Fill the crescent squares with one piece of brie.
• Take out the cranberry jelly. Add a spoonfull next to the brie in each crescent square.
• Bake to directions on crescent roll tin - generally 12-14 minutes
• Take out of oven, try to avoid eating all at once. ENJOY!

So yummy.

Nate's Parents Visit the Big Apple!

Last week we were fortunate to welcome Nate's parents to the city despite being days after the devastating Hurricane Sandy. All in all we were able to have a fun time even with subway delays, closures, and some areas we wanted to visit being unable to do so.

Their first day in the city we went to the Broadway show "Nice Work If You Can Get It" starring Matthew Broderick. It was a great show we really enjoyed it! After that we went next door to the Marriott Marquis for a happy hour drink at the top floor rotating restaurant The View. The restaurant turns slowly going 360 degrees in an hour while you are treated to panoramic views of the city.

The next day the weather was beautiful so we walked Central Park, taking them by some of our favorite spots in the city including Bethesda Fountain and Belvedere Castle.

We also went to an amazing dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Dovetail! It's my favorite restaurant on the Upper West Side.

Finally we had to take in the amazing food at Eataly. I had the classic margarita pizza which is still my all-time favorite. Simple done well, is the best.

We had an amazing visit with Eadie and Allan - we were sad to see them leave early, but they beat the winter storm Athena that arrives on the heels of Hurricane Sandy.