Happy New Year's Eve, friends!
This year-in-review post is one of my favorite posts to write each year. It’s always amazing to think back to this time last year and see how far we've come and how much we’ve learned. Here's a look back on our year:
In January, we flew down to Georgia for a few days to visit my family. It was a wonderful respite from the cold, snowy winter we had here in Rochester, and my brother took some pictures of us while we were there!
In February, we discover a new private ski area nearby that’s open to the public during the week. Great skiing!
In the spring months, we started preparing for our big summer trip (more below) by trying a few new recipes: cranberry-almond biscotti, homemade pizza (from scratch!), and zucchini pie. We also learned a better way to cook brown rice - boil it like pasta!
In April, we had our second annual work retreat - a time to work on our businesses and plan for the future.
In June, we went to Italy with SD’s family (Milan and the Lakes region + a day in Switzerland). We loved the beautiful architecture, delicious food, cobblestone streets, and of course, gelato.
The summer included trips to the beach, dinners on the patio, hiking, ice cream from the dairy, taking Rory to swim in the pond near our house, tending the vegetable garden (we had tomatoes ripening inside through November!), and hosting outdoor movie nights on our street.
In July, I learned how to make Sicilian cheesecake for National Cheesecake Day!
In August, we traveled to New Smyrna Beach, FL to celebrate the 40th wedding anniversary of sweet friends. We spent a few days at a cottage on Lake Ontario at the end of the summer and enjoyed sitting by the water, antiquing, picking blueberries, hiking with Rory, and touring the little lighthouse nearby. We also went to our city zoo for the first time!
This fall, we joined the Sanctuary Choir at church and I started hosting monthly studio classes for my students. I launched two new mini courses, started arranging handbell music, joined a mastermind, and shared my story on three different podcasts (over the course of the year).
In November, we ran our first 5K together! We also celebrated both of our birthdays and hosted SD’s family for Thanksgiving weekend.
In December, we heard New York Polyphony in concert, learned how to make tarallucci (Italian lemon cookies), and went caroling around the neighborhood. I also finished reading my 16th book of the year! See my top 5 books here.
2018 – a year of healing, growth, and trying new things. The year we went to Italy for the first time, made pizza and Sicilian cheesecake from scratch, and learned enough Italian to order a small cup of coconut gelato (and a cappuccino). The year we started singing again and ran our first 5K together. The year we made four different kinds of sauce with tomatoes from our garden and discovered Nick Stellino’s Italian recipes.
Grateful for what has been and hopeful for all that is to come. Cheers to 2019!
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