Happy New Year's Eve, friends!
This year-in-review post is one of my favorites to write each year. Sometimes it feels like the year passes by so quickly, so I’m grateful for the opportunity to look back to this time last year and celebrate all that’s happened and how much we’ve learned along the way. Here's a look back on our year:
Early in the year, we made snow cream for the first time (it was delicious!). I also learned how to make an Italian cappuccino (never going back to regular espresso).
We took several trips to the vet for Rory (she’s better now!), which resulted in a cone and a list of dos and donts for a few weeks (making sure she took her antibiotic - a small green capsule hidden in her food bowl - and bribing her with rotisserie chicken and a few drops of olive oil).
To pass the time, we spent the evenings researching floor rugs and lake houses, flights, and “how to fix a refrigerator water dispenser.” We drank out of the fancy wine glasses and ate dinner picnic-style in the sunroom.
In March, we flew to Gulf Shores for a long weekend to visit my parents. The weather was refreshingly warm and we enjoyed riding bikes, going to the beach, riding the golf cart around the neighborhood, and sitting out on the lanai.
In April, we flew to Vancouver, B.C. to ski at Whistler-Blackcomb with Steve’s family. The conditions weren’t great on the days we skied, but the moments when the clouds cleared and we could see the mountains all around us were breathtaking! In the evenings, we gathered around the table in the breakfast nook and learned a new family game. 🃏We also enjoyed a few days exploring Vancouver, including the totem poles, steam clock, Granville Island, and the cherry blossoms that were in full bloom.
I spent the week after Easter in Nashville, TN for a writer’s retreat with Growing in Grace and Steve ended up doing a composition residency in Huntsville, AL (just a few hours away) at the same time!
In May, we did some updates to our kitchen: new countertops and backsplash, a new breakfast nook + gallery wall, and a new old-fashioned-style bridge faucet for our porcelain sink.
We spent our days researching countertop material and tile spacers, pedestal tables and French doors (for a different house project!), flights and almond biscotti recipes.
As the weather warmed up, we planted the garden: tomatoes and basil, of course. Lettuce, kale, cilantro, mint, and flowers for cutting. Eggplant, peppers, and oregano and chives given to us by a friend.
In June, I took a solo trip to Georgia to visit my siblings, niece, and nephews + spend a week at Lake J.
In July, we flew to Gulf Shores to celebrate my dad’s 70th birthday over the 4th of July weekend. The following week, we met Steve’s family and a few friends at Tanglewood for an evening of Copland and Grieg and a picnic on the lawn.
In between travels, we enjoyed candlelight dinners on the patio, ice cream from our favorite local places (including our favorite, pineapple-pistachio custard), taking Rory to swim at Mendon Ponds, tending the vegetable garden, cutting armfuls of Mock Orange to bring inside, making homemade sauce and tomato pies, and hosting outdoor movie nights on our street.
We also signed up for library cards (#oldschool).
In August, we spent a few days at a small cottage on Keuka Lake and enjoyed the slow, simple life: sitting on the dock, swimming, watching the sunsets, antiquing, wine-tasting, getting take-out fried chicken from Seneca Farms, and taking Rory on her first canoe ride (we didn’t tip over!).
This fall, we fulfilled a 4-year house dream by putting in French doors and adding a covered porch to the back of our house. As such, I learned how to weave a rocking chair seat (for the antique Brumby rockers we now have on the porch!). 🙌
I spent some time sitting down at the piano and writing music. (The result? Three mini-collections of choral service music).
We went on farmer’s market dates (with breakfast sandwiches) and picked up Zestar apples, heirloom tomatoes, and plums (to make plum-cream cheese breakfast pastries, of course). We spent our weekends researching old door hardware; oil-based primer; porch spindles, door spindles, and chair spindles; new piano method books; gutters and barrel bolts; and Airbnbs.
In October, we discovered Fall festivals in the Finger Lakes (just like Gilmore Girls) and shared warm apple cider donuts. We sipped coffee on the porch in the afternoon wrapped up in blankets and planted two new trees in the backyard.
We survived 40 hours without power after a Halloween-night wind storm.
We made Apple Harvest Cake and delivered warm slices to the neighbors. We heard our songs performed at Eastman. We went on lunch dates and remembered the magic of the first snowfall (I even made a snow-day playlist for the occasion).
In November, we celebrated both of our birthdays by going to see the touring Broadway production of “Come From Away.” We also hosted SD’s family for Thanksmas (our fifth year hosting!), since we knew we wouldn’t all be together at Christmas and tried a few new recipes: Tomato-Artichoke Soup, Creamed Spinach, and Apple Slab Pie à la mode.
In December, we sang Vaughan Williams’ Festival of Carols at church. We hosted friends for dinner and hung wreaths on the lampposts on our street. We baked Butter Cookies and delivered some to the neighbors.
We added whitespace to our schedules.
Steve went to Ithaca for a performance of his “Into the Silent Land” and to receive an award and Rory and I decided to tag along for a spontaneous overnight! We enjoyed Christmas lights along the lake at night, a Hallmark Christmas movie (with popcorn and gummy bears), a morning hike to Buttermilk Falls, brunch from the Bistro, and visiting a few dog-friendly wineries on the way home. 🏡
I also finished reading my 30th book of the year! See my top six books here.
2019 was a year of travel and adventure and trying new things. It was a year of building and creating but also a year of rest and taking a step back.
As always, I’m grateful for what has been and hopeful for all that is to come. Cheers to 2020!
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