2011: The Year in Review

January:

In January I moved into Andrew's house and bought a cupcake courier. My grandpa passed after a long battle with cancer and it was the hardest thing that has ever happened to me. The week of the services and the funeral was just so beautiful, though. It seemed like it never stopped snowing, but it wasn't a dangerous amount of snow. Just enough so that the streets and sidewalks and trees would glisten with a light dusting. I think that helped calm me. I saw Tigers Jaw the night of his funeral, after the service and dinner. I got my PCA license and worked in an adult home as a candy striper. Met a lot of interesting characters during that time. They still hold a special place in my heart. I listened to S a lot and bought new water colors.

February:

Once the temperature outside was above freezing, I was riding around town on a bike Andrew had built for me. One night, Andrew surprised me by driving home from Richmond unannounced and met me at an Iron Chic house show just as I was leaving. That was a good memory.

March:

I turned 24 on March 8th! Came home to decorations all over the house and another new bike, this time a REALLY new bike. A pumpkin orange Mercier fixed gear from Andrew and his mom. Went out to eat that night at Red Lobster (it was my first time and it was really good). I seemed to be going out and shooting a lot in March, that's cool. Ali and I started hanging out fairly consistently at this time. Not after long, craft night was born!

April:

Spent an incredible week in Nashville with Laurie and Ed. Went to the zoo, where we all agreed the most incredible sight was watching an elephant take a poop. My parents drove up from North Carolina to hang out. We went to the Country Music Hall of Fame (the Johnny Cash exhibits redeemed that for me), ate some incredible BBQ, hung out on Broadway and watched street performers on the pedestrian bridge. Also drank a lot of wine and ate a lot of cheese with Laurie. One of the highlights of the year, for sure.

May:

Just hung out, I guess :)

June:

Spent a lot of time with my sister, Victoria, who was home for the summer. We explored this little hippie hut at the David Welds sanctuary. This month we also attended a few days of Long Island Fest and saw a lot of great bands (Grey Area!!!). I got my iPhone 4 and my pet beta fish, Unis. Towards the end of the month, we went and saw Title Fight and Touche Amore at Santos Party House. In very me fashion, I stood on stage and could've sworn Jeremy Bolm nodded at me in recognition. On the drive back with our friends, gay marriage was declared legal in New York. I was ELATED. We had a Lemuria sing-a-long and celebratory pizza.

July:

Spent the fourth of July with Andrew on the hood of his car. The sky was so bright pink and orange, and we watched a really rad Grucci fireworks display. I think I danced in the street outside of our house in my pj's that night. This was also a great month for friendship. A whole big group of us went and explored the Vanderbilt mansion after a morning of garage sailing. We saw a Beatles light show. We ate a grown up dinner in Huntington and went night swimming. We went to Port Jeff with wet hair to get ice cream. The two days in a row that we all swam and hung out all night are another highlight of this year.

August:

August was a fairly lazy month. I did a photo challenge for Tumblr and crocheted my first scarf. I went to the beach a lot by myself to draw and read books in my bathing suit. I watched Blue Valentine this month (that's notable for some reason) and also saw Crazy Stupid Love in the theater with my sister. I cried twice. Thrifted and got thai with my BFF Leanne. Danced in her backyard in the rain with home made pina coladas while listening to the Decemberists. The end of the summer was cool. OH ALSO, we took the train to Times Square and saw The Movielife play their last show ever. Brand New was the special guest opener. Two of my favorite bands of all time, no big deal. I dyed my hair brown and I still regret that. Long Island got hit by Hurricane Irene this month, and the day after she hit, we went for a walk around our neighborhood to survey the damage. The streets looked so strange, just covered in wet leaves and branches. This was the start of our night walks, when we'd hold hands and I would usually wear pajama pants and we'd do a lap around the neighborhood, just talking about nothin'.

September:

Drove the longest distance I ever have alone to see Victoria in Albany during her birthday weekend. I loved the town a lot, and this particular weekend I felt the first hints of Autumn approaching. Traveled around the capital with my sister and our cameras, ate at Bombers for the first time, partied in a cowboy hat, the usual. Andrew's birthday was the next weekend and I filled the living room with balloons for him to wake up to in the morning. His mom and I bought him a new bike (noticing a trend here?) and we had a delicious lunch at The Cheesecake Factory.

October:

My most favorite month of the year and I only photographed a few pumpkins during it? My friend Amy and I had a really nice day in October picking these guys and garage sailing. I got a crate full of old records for around $5! I started my new job this month and dressed as Harry Potter for Halloween. Craft nights were in full swing, and Ali and I were up to our elbows in felt every Wednesday night. We're still going with it too! So many plans for crafts and maybe even a small business (!!!). It's my favorite night of the week.

November:

Discovered Pinterest, made these as a result of that. Went to Mohegan Sun for my friend Lauren's bachelorette party, where nine of us ran around causing a ruckus in short pink wigs. This month was sad, because my grandmother passed away unexpectedly. I miss her every day. It was so difficult losing both of my grandparents in one year. I'm almost comforted though, knowing that they're together and she doesn't have to deal with the heartbreak of missing him anymore. They both passed on the 4th, too. I think she was just ready. I had a great support system surrounding me. Lauren and Chris got married this month! Their wedding was a BLAST, I could not have had a better time. I definitely took full advantage of the photo booth and open bar. The memory of Chris serenading his bride supported by their awesome wedding band is saved in my heart, and in the video folder on my phone, forever.

December:

We carried on Nana's tradition by making strufoli in her deep fryer with the babies of my family the night before Christmas eve. My parents and my sister were here Christmas weekend and I stayed with them the entire time, it was really nice. Christmas night, my family came over to have desert with Andrew's family. That's a special memory for me. James showed me Sea Cliff a few weeks before that, before the Backtrack record release show which I wrote about recently. Last night was New Years Eve! I celebrated with my family and their friends (a lot of whom feel like family because I've known them since we were kids). Things got wild, and fun, and hilarious. I could not have asked for a better way to ring in the new year.

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