2019 in Review

I don’t know if I’ve ever done a post like this before, but I always enjoy reading them from other people. 2019 was, like all years, a year of ups and downs. I traveled more than I ever had, saw some amazing new cities, and even gained airline status on Southwest.

January

We rang in 2019 with a nasty bug. Both Jim and I were sick, but we still managed to leave the house. We had dinner at my favorite restaurant, Acqua al 2 and then went to the Salsa Room in Arlington.

I discovered the magic of air frying thanks to a 2018 Christmas present. Tip- the Trader Joes potstickers (in the air fryer) with the cauliflower rice stir fry is uh-mazing and one of my favorite meals still.

I visited New York and brought the dogs to a dog-friendly hotel for Frickle’s first and last hotel adventure. It. Was. Awful. His howling almost got us kicked out…

February

I surprisingly don’t have many pictures from this month, but I visited New York again for the Valentine’s Day.

We saw Waitress on Broadway, which I loved… And yes, that’s Joey McIntyre in the scrubs.

And met my friend’s new baby, Eddie!

March

I visited San Antonio for the first time for a work conference and loved it!

I played tourist in Baltimore and visited the Guinness Brewery for the first time…

.. and Heavy Seas for good measure.

I went to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Brewer’s Ball, which is seriously the most well-run event I’d been to in years! GO in 2020! You’ll have a blast.

We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day at Fado. We both entered to win a whiskey tour of Ireland. We didn’t win.

Finally, we went to visit Jim’s parents in New Smyrna Beach, FL.

April

For a nice change of pace (wink), I visited New York for the end of Holy Week. We went to Holy Thursday Mass at old St. Patrick’s (not pictured), which was so cool.

I met up with the New York CL Community for their annual Way of the Cross over the Brooklyn Bridge on Good Friday. They do it every year and I can’t recommend it enough. It’s so beautiful.

I ventured up to Midtown to see the sights and meet up with a family friend.

And we came back to celebrate Easter in DC. We ended up in the overflow Mass at my parish and I LOVED it.

At work, we hosted our annual conference, which was a BLAST. We kicked it off with a sailing trip through Annapolis.

I took a quick trip to visit my family in Florida and learned that I was going to be an auntie for the first time!!!

May

The weather was gorgeous, so I spent a lot of time on my work days taking calls outside. When you have a view like this, an already-amazing job gets even better.

My friend hosted her annual Cinco de Mayo party and I made these to contribute, which might be my favorite cookies I’ve made to date.

I went back to New York (shocker..)

.. and Jim found my second favorite NYC Pizza place. Sigh, I could go for some right now.. (note- Artichoke Basile will always and forever be my favorite)

The day I was leaving, I happened upon a pop-up shop in Fi Di that was selling the Target + Vineyard Vines collaboration!!! I was SO excited and got some great additions to my summer wardrobe.

The weekend before Memorial Day, Jim and I took a ride up to Rehoboth Beach, which is my favorite weekend to go. It was chilly, but we still got to enjoy all the beachy vibes. We played in the arcade, rode some rides, drank some Dogfish Head, ate caramel corn and Grotto’s Pizza. It was pretty much perfect.

June

I spent some time in Old Town, my old stomping grounds, and loved it.

.. and visited Jim in Orlando when here was there for work.

I flew straight from Orlando to Atlanta where I circled up with some colleagues for a conference. Our Air BnB had a rooftop view of the city. It was amazing.

So, we hosted a spur-of-the-moment party and it was lovely.

And had lots of delicious Monday Night Beer. Seriously-so good.

When we weren’t grinding away at the conference, we got to see some of Atlanta’s sights.

Back in DC, some friends and I tried to go to the Nat’s game and it got rained out.. See all the rain?

Trick question. There wasn’t any. World Series Champs, friends. *eye roll*

I did SolidCore for the first time.

And hated it.

The Indians played the Orioles and we got to go!

And Ashley and I found Hofbrau House beer in Alexandria (!!!)

July

We celebrated 4th of July in Ohio, which was a BLAST. When Jim and I were talking about our highs of the year, this definitely made my list. We took the boat over to Put-In-Bay, which is an island in Lake Erie, and drove a golf cart around and visited some great restaurants, bars and a not-so-great but nostalgic winery. We also had so much fun that we took all of three photos all day.

Once again, I visited Jim in New York and we spent an evening at the oh-so dodgy but amazingly charming Coney Island.

Later in the month, we took a day trip to Asbury Park which is sooo worth the trip. It was severely damaged by Storm Sandy but it’s slowly but surely making its way back to its former glory.

Back in DC, we had an insane heat wave but I still managed to venture out to see the Apollo 11 rocket projected on the Washington Monument with some friends. I complained the whole time because I’m pretty sure it was well over 100 degrees.

I had a work trip to Indianapolis and immediately flew to Detroit for another work trip. It was whirlwind and I was exhausted by the end of it!

Coming back from Detroit was a mess. My flight was delayed so, in order to make it back that night, I had to reroute through Chicago.

But I made the most of it.

August

My mom and I hosted my sister’s baby shower at the Cleveland Zoo.

We went to the Feast in Cleveland.

I saw Dear Evan Hansen at the Kennedy Center and loved it.

And spent some girl time at the Wharf DC.

And, most importantly, kicked off the best time of the year!

September

We kicked off the month on a sailboat for Labor Day. We sailed on the Potomac and it was a perfect day.

And had date night in Old Town which ended at Pop’s, my favorite ice cream place.

We saw a 2000s cover band at the State Theater which made me feel soooo old. How are my high school and college years already meriting a throwback band? 😉

I went to a charity night for the Wellness House of Annapolis, which was a fabulous evening.

Definitely the highlight of the year, we spent five fun-filled days in Atlantis Bahamas. Everything about the trip was amazing. Atlantis is incredible.

And I wrapped up the month with a work trip to Louisville which might be one of the best food cities I’ve ever been to. So much yum.

After Louisville, I rented a car and drove to Ohio and got my very first (and hopefully last) tire blowout on I-71. It was terrifying.

Jim met up with me in Cleveland and we went to Cedar Point the next day.

October

I got my basic white girl on…

And celebrated my bestie’s bday at Alta Strada with our babies.

I had a lovely work trip to Louisiana where I went to see Houmas House and rediscovered my love for Bloody Marys. I also met up with a dear friend from college and ate alligator for the first (and last) time.

I dragged myself to an alumni event that I shockingly didn’t hate.

I watched lots of college football.

And ran the Marine Corps 10K to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It was a chilly torrential downpour at the beginning which wasn’t fun. Running in soggy shoes for 6.2 miles is the opposite of fun, but I’m so glad I did it!

And was beyond proud of myself for earning this.. If you know, you know.

I baked pumpkin snickerdoodles and Halloween sugar cookies.

And carved pumpkins with Jim.

And went to Newport, RI for a work trip and totally scored on my hotel room. It was 2 bed, 2 bath and I had it all to myself. So, I invited my friend and her husband and baby to come down. It was a blast to see them!

I dressed my dogs up for Halloween…

And greeted trick-or-treaters while watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

November

Because I procrastinated making Halloween plans, we ended up getting “last minute” (translation- over-priced) tickets to a Day of the Dead party at Congressional Cemetery… Yes, a party at a cemetery. It surprisingly wasn’t creepy and we had a blast.

The next day was spent relaxing and Cannoli had the right idea…

I solo ventured out to Luckett’s and am becoming increasingly obsessed with it. Was 11/3 too early to kick off Christmas season? I think not!

I visited Jim in Orlando when he was there for work (again). Disney Springs was in full-on Christmas mode and I was sooooo there for it.

I had a work trip to Tennessee and lucked out in the rental car department!

I had meetings in Nashville, drove to Knoxville, had meetings there too, and drove back to Nashville to fly out.. All within 36 hours. It was INSANE but so good. On my way back to Nashville, I stopped in Cookville, which might be the cutest little college town ever.

I put my tree up the weekend before Thanksgiving and decked it out with Dollar Tree finds… Seriously :).

I went back to Lucketts, but this time with a friend…

And took a whirlwind trip to Phoenix where I met with two lovely schools and hung out with one lovely pal.

Jim and I went out for “Blackout Wednesday” and did our own DC Irish pub crawl. It was so much fun. I was glued to my phone the whole time, though, because my sister was in labor!!

Thanksgiving morning came with this wonderful news! Asher Gregory was born healthy and cute as a button.

December

Vivi Volkswagen was on the fritz, so I bought a car! Lest you think I overspent, this is a 2019 but it isn’t new. I still love it.

We saw Arie Spears at the DC Improv.

Anna and I hosted our sixth annual cookie exchange!

We went to Jim’s company Christmas party at the African American Museum (which was soooo cool).

And the next morning, we flew down to Florida for my birthday and to meet a very special little dude.

I unfortunately got struck with the plague when we were there, so it was all quite low-key.

Back in DC, I made ornaments for my Junior League committee.. and couldn’t go to our party because I was sick.

… and baked for our family Christmas Eve party.

We went to Ohio for a few days and celebrated Christmas Eve.

And Michigan to celebrate Christmas day.

Back in DC, we ended the year by visiting the DC Botanic Gardens and the Capitol Christmas Tree.

I took a nap and we went to Baltimore, where we had dinner at the Inner Harbor and rang in 2020 in Fell’s Point. It was lovely.

2019 was a great year and I’m confident 2020 will be even better! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!