best of 2014

Not being a diary or journal keeper, I always appreciate at the end of a year how having a blog has gotten me to record all sorts of memories and happenings from the past 12 months that I wouldn't otherwise have the chance to look back on. And while I wouldn't want to pretend that there weren't any disappointments, frustrations, and anxieties along the way, it's just kind of nice to look back and see all wonderful things - stuff we did, places we went, meals we ate. I can't help but think - what a year!

Here are some highlights that I wrote about and Instagrammed along the way (funny to see how many of this year's favorites mirror last year's - I guess I'm a girl who knows what she likes!)

Best trip:

• Florida: this was a year with much less travel than the preceding ones, but we made the most of baby's first vacation by spending two whole weeks in Florida in March - one with just the three of us, and one with a whole bunch of my family. It was a great escape from the Ohio cold

Best books:

• The Good Luck of Right Now and The Storied Life of AJ Fikry are the two books I gave 5 stars on Goodreads and they've stuck with me all year. Recommend to all!

• I also couldn't stop thinking about The Secret Place, What Alice Forgot, and All the Light We Cannot See after finishing them - all books that will suck you deep into their world.

Best restaurant meal:

• Boca dinner for our anniversary and 30th birthday celebration (this time at the new location, which is an even better experience than when it topped our 2013 meal list). Other highlights of new-to-us places: Bouquet and Bakersfield.

Best recipe:

• Fish taco bowls: in 2013 I tackled learning to make fish tacos, but in 2014 we discovered the deconstructed bowl version, and it's become one of our go-to recipes that I can whip up really quickly for a super yummy and satisfying dinner (pro tip: stir in plenty of guacamole!) 

• But for sweet things, definitely this cookie pie, discovered for Hendrik's birthday and made (and eaten) many a time since. 

Best Pinterest project:

• Fireplace bench: it doesn't get better than a great combination of form and function - it just looks so cute (I still can't get over how great this fabric is), and it's been amazingly useful as a bumper to protect Hendrik from hitting his head on the bricks - not to mention as a climbing surface for him and a bench for extra seating when we have people over.

• Runners up: tassel garland and painted beads - both were really fun to do, added some nice festiveness to my life, and got lots of use!

Best outfit:

I blogged way more outfits this year than in the past, plus I really felt like I started nailing my personal style, so it was too hard to choose a top outfit from all my favorites. Thus, one (or two) per season:

• Spring: white jeans + graphic tee + utility jacket and floral dress + denim jacket + sneakers

• Summer: striped dress + denim jacket, not groundbreaking by any means, but my most worn combination of the year - so simple, but it worked for all kinds of occasions and I felt great in it!

• Fall: distressed jeans + graphic sweater + blazer and sweatshirt dress + denim jacket + ankle boots

• Winter: plaid scarf two ways

Big achievements

• Finished my third half marathon with a PR of 1:34:59 (and then was injured a lot, boo)

• Created and successfully remixed the heck out of a fall capsule wardrobe.

• Planned and made it through a master bathroom renovation.

• Read 44 books.

• For Hendrik: learned to... sleep through the night, roll over, sit up, crawl, say his first words, eat solid foods, pull up, drink from a sippy cup, stack blocks, and so much more. A baby's first year is busy (all his monthly updates with favorites, firsts, and adorable photos are here)

Big events/happenings
In 2014, we:

• Entered the last year of residency, and our final year in Cincinnati, and completed almost half of a list of 30 things to do before leaving on June 30. 

• Turned 30! And celebrated with a cupcake pairing party and lots of other fun stuff.

• Celebrated Hendrik's first birthday with a cutie pie party

• Celebrated our 8th anniversary with another Boca dinner.

• Got a blog makeover!

The cliche "the days are long, but the years are short" has always felt true while Peter's been in residency (those workdays really are long), but with a child in the picture?! In 2014 somehow all of a sudden I went from having an infant I still had to get up to nurse during the night, to a toddler who eats more lasagna in one sitting than I do.

Despite all the 5pm whiny hours that will drag on, I'm sure I'll be back here at the end of 2015 saying the same thing... so here's to spending some time this year heeding the advice of that other cliche everyone pulls out when you have a kid: "enjoy it, because it goes so fast!"

October in review

The month in my baby turning into a little boy:

• In eats: no more formula...we're on to regular milk in sippy cups (somewhat to his dismay)
• In looks: first haircut and the appearance of a couple more teeth (8 in all now)
• In months: 12 of them! 

The month in this & that-ing:

• New favorite Hendrik foods: PB&J and mac & cheese
• New favorite treat: M&M chocolate chip cookie pie
• New packing challenge: mini mix & match suitcase

The month in remixing:

• Everyday style: three ways to wear jeans and not-jeans
• Foxy style: five ways to wear a graphic sweater
• Mini me style: a capsule wardrobe for the little man

The month in working on my 14 in 2014 list:

• Try a new recipe every month: overachieved with beef kofta, smooth hummus, salmon with pesto spaghetti squash and crockpot BBQ beer chicken
• One-in, one-out policy: no clothes coming in, so I extended it to the makeup drawer! Major cleanout and restock has me feeling oh so pretty.
• Stretch after every run: to the max, plus foam rolling like crazy - finally learned my lesson in taking care of these muscles now that I'm finally back to a bit of running...

The month in blogging:

• Most visited post: fall capsule: not jeans
• Most commented on post: cutie pie 1st birthday party
• Blogged this time last year: an October review with giant baby bump and tiny newborn baby photos. Hard to believe a whole year has passed already!

And because, let's face it, this month was pretty much focused on celebrating Hendrik's big day around here, a little recap of the rest of our celebrations - besides the cutie pie party the weekend before his birthday, we celebrated on the day of with a children's museum date with mommy and some cake and balloons at home, and then since Peter had a really busy work week, we had a special family Sunday the weekend after:

For the day of: my dad made Hendrik his first personalized birthday cake, with an image from the H is for Hen(drik!) page from Charley Harper's ABC book, along with his initial off of the periodic table - a little left brain/right brain action for our smartie pie.

I picked up some balloons to match, since I knew he'd love them ("ball! ball!"), and when Peter got home we opened some presents sent by grandparents and great grandparents and then let him experience the cake - just a slice, not the whole smash cake action thing, since that cake was too nice to destroy (i.e., I wanted to eat it) - but unfortunately Peter got stuck at work kind of late, so it was pretty much bedtime and Hendrik was a little too tired to make much of it. He did rather like the tastes I fed to him, but he didn't go at it much on his own - no bath necessary.

For our special family day: we joked that what we should really do to celebrate Hendrik's birthday is go out for chocolate milkshakes, because that's the big treat I wanted (and got, thanks to Peter bringing one back to the hospital) after delivering him. So we decided to make an afternoon of it - it was the most gorgeous and sunny fall day to head to Oakley square and poke around in the toy store (train tables galore!) and children's bookstore for a bit, and then we got our shakes from Aglamesis Bros.

Hendrik liked the birthday pie and the birthday cake, but birthday shakes were definitely the winner (is he a momma's boy or what)... not all that skilled with straws before, suddenly he was an expert when he got a load of what was coming out of those cups. He helped both of us polish ours off and was still looking for more. I think we have a birthday tradition!

September in review

Before we cover September, reminders about lots of October link ups! Tomorrow is the fall capsule link up - come show any outfits you've been wearing from any capsule-type collection. Then Wednesday is currently with Jenna and me, on what we're currently smelling, loving, planning, baking, celebrating. For fellow pinners and doers, the next pin to present link up is Thursday, October 16. And I'm co-hosting The Circle, a really fun monthly link up by Kiki, on October 22. This month's topic: favorite books! See the bottom of this post for details.

The month in counting things up:

• Items in my fall capsule wardrobe: 37
• Years' worth of giant cardboard tissue paper fringe decorations: 75 
• Months of Hendrik: 11 (!!!)

The month in being home:

• Happenings in the kitchen: hummus making, baby meal time, and even baby play time
• Happenings on the couch: some book reading
• A look at it all goes down: my bloggy house tour 

The month in being away:

• Favorite date night: wine tasting at The Wine Merchant
• Baby's first plane ride: tagging along to Peter's work conference in Orlando
• Snazziest-feeling going-out outfit: black tank & jeans

The month in working on my 14 in 2014 list:

• New recipes tried (stay tuned for full posts): sausage, peppers, & onions and roasted lemony salmon
• Keeping up with the 15 minutes of abs: big fail - but I'm getting back on track with the Nike Training Club app, which has some great 15-minute workouts!
• Continuing to stretch after every run: not really a concern, since I still can't run due to the piriformis/IT band issues. BOO.

The month in blogging:

• Most visited post: fall capsule wardrobe reveal + linkup
• Most commented on post: the September currently
• This time last year(ish): fall-ified pregnancy outfits (!)

August in review

Thanks to slightly less hot/humid than normal weather, a family visit, and a happy baby, August came with lots of fun outings - and eatings! - around here. Here's little recap of the month (already?!), but don't forget that we'll be living in the present on Wednesday: come link up with Jenna and me on what you're currently writing, anticipating, missing, wearing, craving.

The month in wining & dining:

• Wines of the month: Cantine Valpane Barbera del Monferrato (nice) and Doural Branca Malvasia White (boring/disappointing) were the selections for the first pickup of our wine of the month club.
• Flavors of the month: tomatoes + basil + cheese
• Baby meal of the month: pretty much anything I make for him 

The month in whining:

• From me: not being able to run/exercise (and being in a lot of pain/discomfort) because of piriformis syndrome. Unhappy camper.
• From Hendrik: teething and a little cold, poor baby
• From me again: our great and always available babysitter's sudden move to Florida... at least we got in date night to see some good tennis first.

The month in showing and telling:

• About my glasses options: #WarbyHomeTryOn (thanks for the votes - I went with Watts!)
• About my closet: everything from oldest and newest items to current favorites
• About my Pinterest projects and yours: pin to present linkup (and we'll do it again on Sept. 11 for those interested!)

The month in blogging:

• Most popular post: wearing lately: back to basics
• Most commented on post: Warby Parker home try-on poll (thanks for the votes!)
• Blogging collaborations announced: fall capsule wardrobe linkup with Jacquelyn starting September 2; monthly currently linkup with Jenna on September 3

And as for my 14 in 2014 list - um, no changes since last month (though I can report veggie tacos, tomato pesto, and classic hummus as new recipes tried). But check this monthly update off the list, anyway...

July in review

Yikes! I swear the months go faster in the summer. But it's time already for the recap of what I was up to last month... Next week, though, we'll discuss the happenings for the new month, so be sure come back on Wednesday to link up a post on what you're currently reading, enjoying, listening, photographing, feeling.

The month in celebrating things:

• for Peter's birthday: Eli's BBQ and BYO birthday cake
• for both of our birthdays: cupcake pairing party with friends
• for National Ice Cream Day (and National Ice Cream Day Eve, and Post-National Ice Cream Day): Dairy Queen blizzard, Graeter's Buckeye Blitz, and Walker Bros. ice cream date with Allison

The month in taking advantage of convenient things:

• fast dinner: shredded crock pot chicken
• go-to stylish outfit solution: black maxi dress
• easy reading: lots of library Kindle downloads, including the excellent Storied Life of AJ Fikary

The month in trying new things:

• in the kitchen: sriracha chicken quinoa bowls and zucchini flatbreads
• around town: dinner at Bouquet with Katie and her husband (crossed off my new list of 30 things to do before we move away from Cincinnati!)
• at the gym: yoga class (plus a 1st ever visit to a chiropractor... running injury = MAJOR bummer)

The month in enjoying favorite things:

• in my closet: denim jacket, over and over
• in my belly: lots of tomato/cucumber/feta combos (also, see above on ice cream outings)
• in Henk's world: yummy eats and a new kiddie pool

The month in blogging:

• most visited post: wearing lately: summer chambray
• most commented on post: Hendrik at 9 months
• number of friends I met via blogging I got to hang out with in real life: 4 (so fun! and more get-together plans next month, yay)

And as for my 14 in 2014 list, nothing new crossed off this month, but still plugging away on the ongoing items (new recipes were sriracha chicken quinoa bowls and zucchini flatbreads). Sadly the stretching in #4 is just happening on its own minus the running right now because I'm dealing with some terrible glute/IT band pain... but it does free up time to really get back at #12, I guess.

around town lately + 14 in 2014 update

With some fabulously nice days in the last couple of weeks, it's been great to get out and about to some new and some familiar - but all fun - things around town. A couple of weeks ago Henk and I saw the Costa Rica butterfly show at the Khron Conservatory with some friends, and he loved tracking the butterflies (and all the little kids!) flying around the room. Almost got his mitts on one too, but it was smart enough to escape first.

On Mother's Day we walked down to our new local place, A Tavola, for dinner. It turned into beers on the patio and boxed pizza to eat at home because the wait was so long, but we still had a great time chatting & sipping while Hendrik snoozed, and the appetizer course of arancini (fried risotto balls, yum!) that he did last through before getting a bit squirmy and whiny was excellent.

Also on Mother's Day we made our annual trip to Pipkin's Market, where we get our vegetables and herbs to plant. It's such a pretty and colorful place to wander around too.

Since two of these outings are (again) checking things off my 14 in 2014 list, I thought it was time for an update (since a monthly recap is #14 on the list!). The butterfly exhibit was the first time it worked out for us to participate in a children's playgroup outing with the Resident Spouse Association I'm part of. It was fun to hang out with some of the ladies I do monthly dinners and book clubs with and their kids, and Henk had fun too - so that's another check for #9, try a mom group. And of course our new A Tavola is another check for #5, try 3 new restaurants in Cincinnati. Since we've already been to 3 new places this year it's kind of turning into a monthly thing, but that's quite alright by me.

I also checked off #3, run the Flying Pig half marathon again, and with a personal best by almost 10 minutes. Happy to have that complete. And #1 is finally wrapping up - I'll be able to reveal the new bathroom before the next update time, yay! Still in process are #2, , #4, #12, and #13 (look for two new recipe posts in the next few weeks: BBQ chicken burgers and sweet potato quinoa salad).

What have you been checking off your resolutions list, or doing around town, lately?

weekend + 14 in 2014 update

From a childhood in Michigan, I have memory of very few Easter Sundays that were suitable for actually wearing an Easter dress - but the weekend was perfect for it around here this year, and I was quite pleased to get to pull out my favorite dress again (which was stored in the back of the closet all last spring/summer while I was pregnant) for church. The 70s and sunshine were also perfect for wearing a dress on date night at Metropole, for going on family walks, for reading in the sun (I am LOVING Longbourn), and for getting in my 12-mile run.

Some scenes from date night and Easter morning:

Metropole made the #1 spot on this year's Cincinnati Magazine top-10 new restaurants list; while we'd already been meaning to try it, this made it a must-do, of course. And we enjoyed it a lot - it's in the cool 21c Hotel, and it's really fun to go and wander through their art galleries before/after the meal. There's art (and giant penguin sculptures that visit tables) to look at in the dining area too, and I'd say the food is mighty nice to look upon as well.

We loved our first course of the burnt carrot salad (with avocado, pickled onion, feta & pumpkin seeds) and the beet salad (with blueberry, ramps, & goat cheese) and the wine, but we weren't super wowed by the entrees. Not as much as at the other top new restaurants we've been to anyway (Boca and Sotto). Perhaps it was a matter of execution that evening, but based on that course, we would say Boca should have gotten the top ranking... In any case we had a great time and definitely plan to go back and try some of their amazing-sounding cocktails on the rooftop deck. And if they'd serve me some of those crazy good fries I had along with a drink, I'd be a happy girl.

With our Metropole visit we concluded #5 on my 14 in 2014 list (new restaurants Boca, 50 West, Metropole - I'm sure we'll get to more though!), so I thought an update of where else I am on the rest of the list was in order:

Still in progress are 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, 13, 14. Of note from those: (1) master bathroom demolition begins today! So this one better be crossed off the list by next month's update; (3) just under 2 weeks away from the race, and I did a 12-mile training run on Saturday, so I think I'm ready to go; (13) last month's recipe was the tasty one-pot Thai dish my mom introduced me to.

Aside from the restaurants, I also deemed #11 (meet with a financial planner) cross off-able, thanks to Peter. He had enough of a phone chat with one that we've got a plan, at least through the end of residency, so we know we don't need to further involve a planner at the moment. Easy enough!

14 in 2014 update #2

My 14 in 2014 update hasn't really changed since last month since most items are monthly in-progress items - but I am here to report (and keep myself accountable) that those items are still successfully in progress...

Still in progress:
1. Redo the master bathroom: picking out floor tiles this week, then we'll be ready to order all materials and get going!

2. One-in, one-out wardrobe policy: removed more than I took in from my closet (finally being more ruthless about some unworn things) - though I need to get rid of a bathing suit since I got a new one for Florida!

3. Run the Flying Pig 1/2 marathon again: distance up to 9.5 miles in my long training runs, and I've been working on some hills, so I'm well on my way.

4. Stretch after every run: yes, and I think it's helping my usually way-too-tight calves.

5. Try 3 new restaurants in Cincinnati: we went with my parents to 50 West Brewing Co. and it was great. We liked the beer, and the menu of tasting plates was really enticing - we would have been happy to try pretty much anything on it. Of the 6 dishes we did try, we really liked about 4 (the others good but not great). The "tasting" portions were definitely bigger than we expected, which I guess is good for value, but meant we ordered more than necessary. We were a little nervous about how loud/crowded it was when we walked in, but we were seated in a cozy back area that was quieter, and the service was great. Definitely will go back to try more, preferably in the summer so we can try the patio...

12. Do 15 minutes of abs/day: okay, I've revised this down to just "some" per day, but I'm actually doing it, and I can tell they're getting stronger again post-pregnancy.

13. Try a new recipe every month: over achieving again... skillet shrimp with orzo and fish taco bowls. (Plus a new variation on gluten-free peanut butter cookies.)

14. Share a monthly update: done!

a few scenes from our visit to 50 West (no, the baby didn't drink that pint, but he was really well behaved the whole time!)

Also to keep myself accountable, here are my goals for the coming month:
6. Complete a blog design course: I downloaded the blog design love e-course from A Beautiful Mess ages ago, and maybe with a couple weeks of vacation coming up, I can sit down and actually start going through it!

10. Drop off "hazardous waste": it is WAY beyond time to get that old paint left from the previous owners, fluorescent light bulbs, etc. out of the basement. I know exactly where I need to bring it, so just do it already! I should also do a Goodwill drop-off at the same time, since I've got a big pile of stuff for that sitting next to the old paint...

14 in 2014 update

The 14th - yes, it's Valentine's Day, but it's also the day for my monthly 14 in 2014 list update!

Done (now shown in gray text):
8. do a double spin class: started my exercise year off strong with this in early January. It was mentally easier to get through 2 hours (and 50 miles) of spinning than I expected, slightly harder on the legs. But kind of proud to have done it, and as with most things, the yummy brunch prize afterwards was definitely worth it.

9. try a mom group: thanks to reader Sarah, I checked this off a couple of days ago - she’s also a new mom who lives in the area and was looking for mom groups, so she contacted me about whether I’d found any. We decided to meet up and try the Fit Mommies stroller workout held in the Athleta store at the local mall. It was fun! I am used to more intense cardio workouts, but circuit training part definitely kicked my pants a bit on muscle groups I'm not used to working as much... Looking forward to trying it again when the weather improves and they go back to holding it in area parks.


Progress:
1. redo the master bathroom: got 3 estimates, picked a contractor, and almost have the material choices finalized (based on my inspiration board).

2. institute a one-in, one-out wardrobe policy: so far, so good. Acquired a few things, got rid of even more - but more importantly, thought harder about things that I was tempted to buy, and thus avoided a few impulse purchases because of it.

3. run the Flying Pig half marathon again: I signed up! Haven’t started an official training schedule yet because of the darn weather, but I have been putting in quite a few treadmill miles. (Official training = lots of hill runs!)

4. stretch after every run: check.

12. do 15 minutes of abs every day: okay, so I don’t get all the way to 15 minutes’ worth every day, but the main point was to do something every day, to start getting the baby-stretched ab muscles strengthened back up. And now abs are part of my routine again, so I'm calling it success at this point.

13. try a new recipe every month: I did 2 in January! A fancy pizza and a simple paella. Especially proud of that second one, as I’m not sure I've ever cooked shrimp in my life - so I've got a tasty new recipe in the repertoire and tackled a new ingredient.

14. share a monthly update: month one, done!


Excited to work on next:
5. try 3 new restaurants in Cincinnati: though we don't really celebrate Valentine's Day - as we've just beat the crowds out to a fancy dinner thanks to our anniversary being on February 4 - I did get Peter this great Foodie coupon book that reader Katie recommended to me, so we can get a good deal on trying out some new places!

The rest of our Valentine's celebration around here will probably be some yummy takeout and the usual Friday night baby bath time. However you celebrate - date night, gal-entine's fun, sugar overload, etc. - hope you have a lovely weekend. Hendrik wishes you a happy one too.

working on: bathroom remodel

One of the big things on my list for the year is a remodel of our master bathroom. Which is really only called "master bathroom" because it's attached to our bedroom - there's nothing special about it in terms of size or luxuriousness or anything like the term might denote... so while we can't do anything about the rather small size of the room, we decided it's finally time to do something about the super cheap fixtures & finishes, icky linoleum flooring, and bulging drywall spots (that could get ugly), partly because we'll be putting the house on the market in a little over a year.

image sources: top left | top right | middle | bottom left | bottom middle | bottom right

Of course Pinterest is a handy place to find and store all my inspirations, and here's what I'm shopping for based on the themes that emerged from the photos I bookmarked. (I must know what I like, because the elements on this board are awfully similar to the one I put together for the kitchen redo last year.) We decided now's the time to get on this, so that we get a little enjoyment out of a spruced up space in the time we're still here but also can have it contribute to resale value.

Contractors are coming out to do estimates for the work this week, so stay tuned for more!

14 in 2014

I'm still working on my 30 before 30 list - I've got until June to finish! - but I'm kind of a list lover, so why not add another resolution list now that we've started a new year? I admit I'm maybe a bit less enamored of some of the remaining items on my 30 list, so I felt like picking a couple of new items. But also there are some things I'd love to get around to this year that I'll definitely be more motivated to do if I know I get to cross them off a list when I'm done.

So, inspired by Sarah and Allyssa's recent list posts, here are 14 things I aim to do in 2014:

And I've already actually checked one off... Sometimes after a spinning class, instructors who teach two in a row ask, "anyone want to stay and do a double?" Usually my spinning buddy and I think it's crazy, but we thought we should try it at least once just to see if we could do it. And we can! After two hours and the equivalent of 50 miles on Saturday, my legs were really tired and that brunch was extra large and extra delicious, but mentally and physically it wasn't quite so hard as we expected.

Anyone else have resolution lists for the year (or a 30 before 30 type deal)? I love reading other people's lists!