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 1st and we
welcomed our dachshund puppy Siena on October 27th (although she was born
on September 2nd). 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.
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