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Friday, December 30, 2011

looking back at 2011

you know, i've been perusing blog posts from this year for the last few days in preparation for the annual recap.  and other than the constant thought of "holy crap, it's already been that long since we did that?" i couldn't help but notice that more than ever, food was a major topic in 2011.  good gracious.

like, for example, this was definitely the year of the cookie.  a few of my favorites:









i dabbled in cake pops, too.






alas, the macaron obsession fizzled out fairly quickly.



but there was actual cooking this year, too.


i was able to return to my old life as a SAHM this year, too.  this was a wonderful thing, although it didn't come without sacrifice - the ILs made their move to texas permanent, and i said goodbye to my friends at my fun cupcaking job.




with unlimited time to spend together, the girls and i found ourselves doing all sorts of fun stuff, including fun midweek playdates with good friends.



in addition to preschool and gymnastics, the bean started a combo tap/ballet class



oh, and she did some swimming lessons too.


after wrapping up year two of junior league with a formal ball, i hung up my pearls for good.



there were fun GTGs with my friends, too - including several fabulous baby showers!








some well-known folks were lucky enough to meet us.


my beloved cousin r got married!




the teen celebrated her sweet sixteen with a fun overnighter in hollywood (complete with limo ride, a blowout, a stay at the redbury and sushi at katsu-ya), a BBQ at home, and then dinner at her favorite pasta joint.   





AND she finished up driver's training, aced her behind-the-wheel exam and earned her license.  yay!




we spent a week in texas, visiting the ILs in the dead of summer.  it was...hot.  but fun.




summer 2011 was all about the hollywood bowl.






 oh hey, i turned 40.



and the bean had a super duper rainbow party.




besides the bowl, there were other live shows too.





plus, there were food trucks galore.





i started getting my ass in shape - and ran my first two races ever.


with my most favorite birthday gift from the hub EVER - annual passes to disneyland - we kicked off a full year of fun at the happiest place on earth. 










i didn't get to do as much sewing as i would've liked, but i managed to turn out some fun stuff - mostly gifts for new babies and stuff for the bean to school on fun dress-up days.  well, i eked out a few things for myself, too.






whew.  it's really hard to recap an entire year in one post without making it last...well, forever.  in any case, 2011 was pretty darn good to us.  i hope 2012 brings even more joy, love, and laughter.

with a family like mine, that's a given. 

heading out to the big apple

like most of our best vacations, our christmastime trip to NYC was kind of a last-minute decision.  i don't even think there were six we...