2015 Year in Review

Since we’re in the new year and I neglected the blog all of December, I thought it would be nice to do a year in review for 2015. I was going through all of my photos in 2015 and realized that there were so many experiences I didn’t blog about, so here’s the catch up – I’ll be writing more detailed posts of some of these highlights in the coming weeks (or months!). Hope you had a wonderful 2015 and can’t wait to see what 2016 has in store for all of us!

January

I started off the new year (2015) in Taiwan. My mom, Ken and I visited my dad and other family in Taiwan and ended up going all over the island. Here I am with Ken in Taipei in front of Chiang Kai Shek memorial hall:

Me and Ken recreating the sculptures in front of my dad’s office:

And balancing on slippery rocks after hiking in Hualien:

February

We came back to New York in January to a very cold winter (but thank goodness for Canada Goose jackets!) and celebrated two events – a surprise party for our friend, Anna:

And a baby shower for my brother and sister-in-law – I made a cake for my nephew to enjoy (a sprinkle cake with his nickname, Fab!):

The sprinkle cake was about five pounds of cake and sprinkles (I had to make two trips to the grocery store because I ran out of sprinkles!!)

March

In March, we puppysat my favorite puppy, Harlie! We took her to the puppy park and also walked her around the park (unfortunately for her, she can’t enter Gramercy Park):

At the puppy park, Harlie met lots of other dogs, even a toy Australian Shepard:

April

In April, Ken and I spent a few days in Las Vegas -he was golfing in Phoenix with friends and I was going to Las Vegas for a work trip so we met up in Phoenix and drove to Las Vegas together! Actually, I picked a flight with a connection in Phoenix so we could fly together from Phoenix to Las Vegas, but Ken accidentally booked his flight for the wrong day so I got off the plane and we rented a car and drove from Phoenix to Las Vegas together. We spent the weekend together and then he flew back and I spent the week with my coworkers:

The weekend we were in Las Vegas just happened to be the weekend my nephew, Fab, was born!! I couldn’t wait to get back to New York to meet the little guy:

Here he is, waving at all the gracenotesnyc readers:

April was such a great month because Fab was born – and the cuteness from him now fills up my phone’s memory.

May

We started off May with a move to our new home:

And lots of puppy kisses from Harlie:

Moving into our new home involved lots of packing and unpacking:

And it was also the month that I finally got around to reading Marie Kondo’s book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Ken might think I didn’t take the book to heart, but I ended up donating 20 bags of clothes, jewelry, shoes and other items AFTER we moved (before the move, there were about 10 trips to Goodwill!)

After moving, we flew to Pittsburgh to visit my childhood home (and haunts) and also celebrated my good friend’s wedding:

Towards the end of the month, Ken surprised me with the longest roses I’ve ever encountered for my birthday:

For my birthday, we flew down to South Carolina and spent the weekend in Charleston:

We had my birthday dinner at FIG, which was one of the most memorable meals of the year:

June

In June, my friends Denise, Tyler and Anna took me out to dinner at Marta:

And I also spent a lot of time going to visit Fab, who grew in size and cuteness:

July

In July, we flew to Chicago for a quick anniversary trip (our second!) We stayed downtown for our actual anniversary and then spent the rest of the week with Ken’s niece and nephew, including a trip to Great America:

Where I learned that going on all rides that I used to like as a kid now made me dizzy and feel ill.

After our trip to Chicago, Ken’s parents and sister, Teresa, flew to New York to visit us, where we feasted on Han Dynasty their first night:

And then made a trip to EN Brasserie (and other restaurants):

In July, we also had our first meal outdoors in our new home:

And we ended the month with trips to the Hamptons to visit Anna – here I am with Denise and Anna at Moby’s:

August

We started off August with our first party at our home – I made boozy popsicles that were a big hit (Aperol Spritz Popsicles – in case you’re interested in the recipe):

I also went to Puerto Rico with my mom and brother for a quick weekend trip:

And we ended the month with another trip to Chicago, where we ate a lot of Dairy Bar:

September

In September, we took our first full family vacation with Fab to the Jersey Shore, where we thought Fab would like the ocean but he hated it so we went once for ten minutes and never went back:

October

In October, we started off the month with a trip to San Francisco:

To visit Teresa and Adam at Nopalito:

We drove to Sonoma after our quick trip to San Francisco and rented a house to celebrate John and Erin’s wedding weekend. At night, we would make a fire and eat s’mores in the backyard:

We also went to a few vineyards while we were there:

And then celebrated John and Erin’s wedding:

When we came back, Ken went to a playoff game with the Mets and the Cubs while the girls spent some quality time together:

And also hosted our first dinner party in our new home:

November

In November, we started off the month with more cute visits with Fab:

And also spent Thanksgiving in New York because Fab wanted to stay local for Thanksgiving:

For the second year in a row, I didn’t do a Friendsgiving and opted to have a holiday party (post-Thanksgiving) instead. We did, however, finally start decorating our apartment and I finally got around to framing our special menus and Ken helped me hang them:

Harlie helped, too:

December

We ended 2015 with a lot of fun events – first, our holiday party in our apartment:

We made cookie tablesettings with everyone’s names and also a ton of sugar cookies that Ken and I decorated:

All of us at dinner:

And then solving an escape-the-room type mystery:

AND THEN karaoke:

Then we did an early Christmas with Fab because we weren’t going to be in town for the actual holiday:

We weren’t in New York for Christmas because we flew to San Francisco (our second home!) and spent a couple nights in Napa:

Before heading back to San Francisco to celebrate Teresa and Adam’s rehearsal dinner:

And wedding:

We ate a lot of chocolate wedding cake at their wedding:

After Teresa and Adam’s wedding, we spent the week in San Francisco, where we walked through a life-size gingerbread house at the Fairmont hotel:

And admired Christmas trees and decorations:

We capped off the year with a visit from my mom and a homecooked meal for New Years eve:

And of course, lots of time with my nephew, Fab:

In 2015, we traveled a lot, put our roots down in New York, and had so much fun with my nephew and family. In 2016, I hope Ken and I can finish decorating our place, spend more time with my nephew, and continue to be happy and healthy. Wishing you and your family health and happiness in the new year!