Well, it has been forever since I wrote an entry! Probably because I will be starting a new blog in 2015 and 2014 was one insane roller coaster to be on. As per usual, I'd like to share my Top 100 of 2014, something I have been doing since 2007. I was going to retire the tradition, but after sitting with that decision today, I decided to buck up and figure out what I would consider my 'Top 100'. It was a weird wicked year, but I think I am ending it in a really great place.
So here we go:
100. Following every experience with gratitude set the tone for a year that was filled with the highest highs, and pretty low, lows.
99. Probably the prettiest snow followed the first half of this year, and I loved every second of it.
98. Yogi Tea and my new love of a cup of tea in the evening to settle my stomach and my mind.
97. Ispy and my monthly new bag of make-up
96. Making more time to walk, get fresh air, and self care
95. Getting better at making more adult responsible decisions (gross).
94. Cleaning out, purging, and getting rid of A LOT of the clutter
93. Snapchat and all of the hilarity it continues to bring into our lives
92. Crazy Crepe and their awesome catering
91. Hot chocolate
90. Crisp notebooks, and more effort in my writing ventures
89. Traveling to Brooklyn more and exploring parts I never had before
87. Taking myself on 'dates' to spend some time figuring out what I need, what I want and where to go from there
86. Long Island being a beautiful place to live
85. Getting my hair waved and it lasting for almost 8 months of no blow drying or insane styling
84. Going blonde!
83. Colored lipstick
82. Pizza.
81. Anticipation
80. Lowering expectations and learning when ones were just way too high
79. My new camera lens for the New Year and just overall taking more and less pictures at the same time
78. Veronica & Joey visiting
77. NYC's restaurant week
76. Learning how to use the subway system better
75. "Your number one better not be $10 on a Starbucks card" - Steev (he has a lot of faith in me)
74. Seeing Imelda May twice and her being unbelievable
73. Slippers and morning coffee
72. Project Hope coming to an emotional and heartfelt close, me leaving knowing I was a good Leader, with an amazing team of beautiful people. I miss them every day.
71. Setting limits with my cell phone. We needed some space.
70. A growing belly :)
69. A full body pillow
68. Aromatherapy body lotion
67. My Oswego gear from my awesome cousin Alyssa
66. Buzzfeed and Bitstrips
65. Amanda the Florist and her overall loveliness
64. Feeling so much support from my family and friends when Paisley needed votes for countless things on-line. It was so gratifying knowing people believed in us.
63. Facetiming with my little cousins, my little cousins in general - it's been a great year for cousins
62. Gilmore Girls and binge watching
61. Netflix marathons
60. My Catcher in the Rye print from Nicole
59. Street Art & Doughnuts
58. The Meetball Place
57. Unearthing a lot of old family photos and preserving them
56. Causing a commotion in Victoria's Secret with our 'New Year's Tradition'
55. The Rangers Making the Stanley Cup Finals
54. Kaila's Sweet Sixteen
53. The Mini-Van
52. Max Brenner's with Nicole, Kjell and Steev to celebrate Paisley and how far we've come
51. Whole-Assing Everything
50. Viva Juans & Project Hope having a love/hate relationship and GREAT karaoke memories.
49. The 'date jar' and exploring new places on Long Island and cooking new foods we never had before.
48. The Walt Whitman Museum being charming, simple and just a lovely place to visit.
47. The Redneck Louie-Q since it was hysterical and I got to wear my good denim
46. Prospect Park and their free concerts outside in the gorgeous summer weather.
45. Long visits at Tracey's Table, you really feel 'family' when you go to Tracey's
44. Annie. because she's still the best dog ever
43. Little kicks. Little rolls. Little bouts of pure joy.
42. Voo-Doo Doughnut
41. Easter Brunch, at City Cellar, not only delicious but a really nice touch to the holiday.
40. Weekly dinners with my Dad (for the most part)
39. Salem in Halloween, our last actual Halloween there for a while
38. Crazy Beans being my favorite new Breakfast place
37. Way more trips to Avalon with really awesome people
36. Pumpkin Picking and BBQ in Riverhead on a perfect fall day
35. Another magical Christmas with beautiful decorations, and fun Christmas Eve, a nostalgic Christmas and lots of love
34. Traveling to CT with Katie to see Lana Del Rey in all of her moody glory - the road trip, weird lunch, and concert is now one of my favorite memories.
33. Another pretty, fun, and full of laughter trip to Lake George
32. My cousins in general, they are the greatest.
31. My Brother's Paintings
30. Alyssa's 20th Birthday in the city - the bad Italian place, finding Alice's Teacup, dealing with weird comedians, and just an overall wonderful day out with my awesome cousins
29. Visiting Cedar Point for a whole Saturday of Family Fun
28. My pink typewriter. The hunt is over and my husband is the best.
27. Being more conscience of how and where I spent my time and energy. This year was filled with more of events, outings and visits than years past.
26. Anti-Gravity Yoga coming into my life and proving to me that I am stronger than I think, and can have fun while reaching goals.
25. My 25th birthday starting at The St. Patrick's Day Parade in Kings Park with my whole family singing to me and Amanda which was just hysterical.
24. My 25th Birthday Celebration with friends at the shitty Bowlmor - ridiculous circumstances, best company.
23. Steev's Birthday celebration for me, taking me to 'A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder' and a lovely dinner in the city on my actual birthday, it was perfect.
22. This Picture:
21. Babysitting Rylie & Haylie for a fun day of crafts and projects in the spring. Love those kids.
20. My Valentine's Day Flowers - Steev worked a wrap and I didn't see him for two days but my flowers were gorgeous.
19. Gunshow, the best restaurant we have ever experienced.
18. The Atlanta aquarium, I love aquariums and this one was out of this world.
17. Flip Burger, being the best burger I have ever had.
16. Visiting SIX new states together this year
15. Paisley overcoming a lot of challenges and knowing enough to refine and refocus for 2015 - my business partnership with my best friend is one of the best decisions that I have ever made personally and professionally.
14. Spa day with my Mother-in-Law and Sister-in-Laws for Mother's day.
13. Paint the Town for Mother's Day with my Mom…I need to 'brush up' on my skills.
12. My trip to Plattsburgh - a beautiful train ride to see my awesome cousins for a weekend of fun.
11. The Stadium Series at Yankee Stadium with newbies Big Steve, Seb & Kaitlyn - which was a below zero day and yet so incredibly fun.
10. Seeing Shovels & Rope (one of the best and coolest bands ever) across the country and in NY
9. Jack White in Boston - a fun mini fall vacation and a killer concert at Fenway Park where we were SIX rows from the stage. Incredible.
8. Vacationing in Seattle and Portland. A beautiful, relaxing and overall cool trip to the West Coast together was much needed and much appreciated. I'd go back to Seattle in a second - we really loved it.
7. Georgia for Lenny & Laura's wedding where we connected with old friends and experienced a lovely, wonderful union of two amazing people. This trip turning into friendships reforming with Chris, Lauren & Pat and that just being way cool.
6. Finally getting to Florida to see Jen, Brandon (meeting Bruno) and my cousins after about a year of planning. The trip was cut short, but it was still really great to see my friends and family in their homes. Cannot wait to make this trip a tradition.
5. Boston with the siblings for St. Patrick's Day. Liz & Seb invited us along for their annual tradition and it was a blast, plus The Dropkick Murphy's were awesome and we love Boston.
4. Krystal's Bride Day, which was a labor of love, and just overall everything I wanted it to be for her. From the bonding over decoration making, to the surprised look on Krystal's face when she walked into her brunch, and then had an 18 hour day of Bridal Celebration and held fast like a champ, it was awesome. Any day with my cousins is lovely, but this one was special.
3. Our Gender Reveal Party - there is something so wonderful about making a huge announcement in front of everyone you love to share such a moment. It was stressful to put together (planning while pregnant is not my forte) but it was a memory I will always cherish.
2. Starting the year off with Steev's Surprise Graduation Party. I worked so hard to put a day together to show how proud I am of how hard my Husband works for me, and for everyone. The look on his face and the happiness that carried him throughout the year knowing everyone was proud of him was worth every second of suspense keeping this surprise a surprise. So proud of Steev and everything he does for us and everyone - this was the best way to kick off the year.
1. Our Three Year Anniversary - it started with us talking about how lame this celebration was. We were so used to going away, and this one was just being spent in the city for dinner. After a delicious meal at David Burke's Kitchen, we arrived home. While at home, we found out that we were expecting our son. After two months of being tested for Lyme, it turns out I was pregnant all along - the news was an exuberant surprise, and seems to overshadow everything of 2014, and is something that we are so looking forward to in 2015!
All I know is that this year I surrounded myself with people and places that I love - and it turns out that I feel like I am missing SO MUCH from 2014. Thank you all for participating in this silly tradition again and I hope 2015 brings you everything you wish for!
