Bopril

2011 Year In Review

2011 brought us a lot of adventure and fun, and we're at least a tad sentimental to have already said goodbye, but we are equally excited for 2012 and all that lies ahead. For whatever reason, 2011 was also they year when writing on the blog was fairly light and photos with the fancy camera were exceptionally so. I have thousands of photos from my iPhone though, so pardon the mish-mosh of small and large, good quality and not-so that you'll see below, but at least the good times were captured, whatever the medium. 

I write this from our final day of holiday vacation, with work and all the trimmings of the real world waiting for us tomorrow. The last couple of weeks have been exceptional, packed with family time and my favorite combination of soul-soothing awesome: sun on my face and sand in my shoes. We rang in 2012 in our living room, enjoying a feast of appetizers that husband whipped up. It was enough food for 20, and we enjoyed a quiet evening reminiscent of years (way) past alternating between New Years Rockin' Eve and the bevy of movies featured on every cable channel. We fell asleep well before the ball dropped, but did manage to wake just long enough to see the East Coast clock slip from 11:59 to 12:00 and to whisper happy new year before conking out for good. We're wild and crazy these days, and the truth is that we love it. In fact, it is without question my favorite way to ring in a brand new year.

But before we trudge headfirst into 2012, herewith, our 2011 in review. I've decided to forgo links this year since the writing was light to begin with, but feel free to click through archives if a particular topic strikes your curiosity. 

Best wishes for an amazing 2012, from our family to yours.

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We usher in 2011 snuggled into MIL's cozy lake house surrounded by family, game playing, champagne sipping and loud conversation. New Years Day brings a trip to a nearby park where we race up a million stairs to fly down steep tracks on sleds, shrieking and laughing our way into a brand new year. We embrace four years of marriage, and four years of Cooper with equal elation and gratitude and celebratory antics.

We enjoy a getaway to ski in Utah, encounter a record breaking blizzard in Chicago, celebrate Valentine's Day and I turn 32.

We scratch the travel bug in a pretty significant way, spending much of March touring Italy and falling head over heels for Rome, Florence, Tuscany, Venice and Cinque Terre. We stand literally in the center of history, toss coins into the Trevi fountain, eat gelato and pasta and drink wine to the point of gluttony, climb to the top of the Duomo, gape at the majesty of the Vatican, get lost in a sea so blue it is blinding, tour a private castle and make friends with its owners while enjoying their much cherished wine, enjoy a gondola ride just as the sun bathes the Grand Canal in the most stunning light. Life is exceptionally good, and we vow to come back, to always remember, to cherish a very special trip.

The Easter bunny visits our boys, and we make our annual trek to Kentucky for the Derby, donning hats and suits and all variety of finery to represent Southern roots and our family's favorite weekend of the year. My very best friend --- she's my sister more than my friend --- has a beautiful baby girl she names Everly and my heart bursts open in a brand new way. I scoot to Connecticut as quickly as I can and I snuggle and rock and bounce and love her within an inch of her life. I marvel again and again at how I can love something so small so fiercely. A lifetime of girl talk begins.

We (slowly) welcome Spring, and then Summer and with it, plenty of opportunities to fill the house with fresh flowers, cook all meals and lots of fruit on the grill, visit the dog beach, and spend ample time soaking up the sun (and the rain) at the lake. Jack turns six, and we celebrate every sweet furry inch of him. I rock the fedora as much as possible, and make a long overdue trip back to Kentucky to celebrate a very special birthday for a very special Aunt. We enjoy our very first sail on Lake Michigan, and after I take a turn at the wheel, we enjoy fireworks high above Navy Pier to close out the night. We take in the Air and Water Show from another boat on Lake Michigan and enjoy a marvelous weekend with Mom and family friends checking out all that Chicago has to offer. Our great love of music returns, and we spend a weekend at Lollapalooza rocking out and drinking cold beer against the scorching cityscape of Chicago's summer.

We say goodbye to summer with an awesome lake weekend, walk in the rain for our furry friends at PAWS, and spend as much time outside as possible as we welcome the most spectacular fall Chicago has seen in years. We walk again for our furry friends at the annual Mutt Strut and Husband runs his very first marathon. We make signs and run all over the city screaming for him, and we're so very proud. We're thrilled to usher in the holiday season with Halloween, and we take our little lamb and duck to the neighborhood block party and to trick or treat festivities across the city to celebrate.

We go to Connecticut where I make my godmother role official at sweet Everly's baptism. She is amazing, and I rock her to sleep while she holds onto her little bunny and I know for sure that there is nothing in the world I wouldn't do for her. We celebrate Thanksgiving at the lake and we're so grateful for so much; there aren't words or time or photos enough to really express how much. MIL reinstates her annual Christmas party, and we have such fun catching up with friends and family and gobbling yummy food. Husband turns 33, and we toast to him and another great year to come. And then, of course, we eat cake. There is always cake. We wind down the year with a week in Charleston with my family, and even though it is cliche to say so, it is divine and awesome and exactly what I need. Walks and yummy meals and sunshine and my favorite holiday with my favorite people all in one place fills my heart to bursting and reminds me yet again that my blessings are rich and many. It goes too fast, as it always does. I miss them immensely, as I always do. It's a very merry Christmas, indeed.

This is but a mere sampling of the amazing minutes and moments and events that make up a year, and I'm sure that I'm forgetting a few here and there, but all in all, this exercise is a lovely reminder of how lucky and loved we are. Each day brings a blessing, and I'm humbled at year's end to collect them all and relive their magic for a little while before we open the door to see what lies ahead.

Thank you for stopping by, for reading and encouraging and sending love our way. We send it right back.

Thankful

For family, near and far. To be surrounded by such a strong network of people who see the best in me, love me without fail, push me to new heights, remind me that I’m never alone.

For an especially amazing husband who continues to inspire me and make me laugh and remind me that this life is beautiful and lucky and endlessly fun, mostly because I get the distinct honor of living it in his company.

For fur babies who are so much more than pets; for their sweet faces and unwavering love that pull me through the deepest of trenches and greet me with “smiles” every single day. I struggle the most in expressing my gratitude for these furry little beings; words aren’t quite adequate to convey what they’ve brought to my life.

For grace and for surprises, often intermingling, always catching me when I most need to be caught and always reminding me of the importance of perspective, and of the promise of what’s to come. I think 2012 is going to be an especially amazing year for us, and I’m grateful in advance.

For unwavering spirit and belief, for perseverance and fortitude, and the knowledge that we are at least partially responsible for the path in front of us. What we put into the world does tend to come back to us, and even when times are tough, I try always to tip the scales in favor of putting good into the universe. I see so many doing the same. It gives me pause, and inspires gratitude.

For a warm home, a table overflowing with food, good health and good cheer. It is too easy to take these things for granted when so many make do with so much less.

For this space which gives me a place to exercise my writing muscle and connect with friends near and far. Even when I’m far too inconsistent with posting or even wholly uninspired, being a click away from access to you is a blessing.

For all of this, and so much more,  I am immensely thankful.

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I hope that you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones, friends. I hope you were surrounded by all that you’re especially thankful for, and that you were able to reflect on all that makes your life awesome.

We spent a quiet few days at the lake this year; our colds lingered a bit, but overall, we’re on the mend and the quiet and relaxation was just the ticket to push us back to good health. We cooked and ate and talked and read and watched Love Actually and Christmas Vacation and the requisite boatload of football. But mostly, we were content just to be. And I was struck, as I am every year, by the embarrassment of riches that I’ve been blessed with. And I relaxed in MIL's cozy home and gave thanks for every single one.

My cup runneth over. Happy Holidays – my favorite time of year – from our family to yours.

Friday Funday

Today is a 'mental health day,' aka 'comp day' from work that I was about to lose if I didn't quickly use it. The last couple of weeks have been pretty intense, so I decided to kick-start the weekend with a day at home and catching up on life.

Thus far, I've enjoyed a morning walk, chai latte in hand, an acupuncture session and consult with the lovely Caroline (whom I adore), and some time browsing my beloved inter-webs. Veggies are currently steaming on the stove, and I think there is considerable reading and perhaps a mani-pedi in my near future.

Even though the day has also included a considerable amount of time and effort cleaning up runny doggie excrement - from the rug, and also my sock - overall, I quite like this extra weekend day all to myself.

I know it will fade all too fast, so I'm off to enjoy the expanse that's left in front of me. Have a lovely weekend, friends.

And before you go, a few gems I've enjoyed this week, for your reading pleasure:

Cute (and love) overload via the always lovely artist of words, Rebecca

A place I think we all know well, and one we can collectively push against

Just the kick in the pants I needed this week (perhaps you need it too?)

Awesome advice for exploring an awesome city

An important reminder (that I intend to watch regularly)

And finally, a relaxing photo for a relaxing Friday:

Weekendings: Best When Water-Filled

It seems as though life might interfere with our annual 4^th of July plans at the lake, and so we made a last minute decision to head there for a relaxing weekend. I had taken Thursday and Friday off work in a sad attempt to use up my vacation days before they expire, and the weather promised to be kind to us, and so we went.

Thursday evening we road tripped for the second time in as many months---just us and the open road, guided by a late-night moon, the beat of our tunes and the quiet created when each of us surrendered to the pull of our thoughts. The trip began with animated conversation and laughter as we devoured the impromptu picnic I’d prepared to avoid gut-rot courtesy of the food available at rest stops between our destinations. But eventually, we settled into that comfortable place that comes after years together, when you can enjoy silence---alone, and yet so completely together.

Friday was chilly and a bit dreary, but perfect for lakeside reading wrapped in cozy towels with a fur babe snuggled on each side. I tore through three books and adored every minute of it.

Saturday and Sunday gave us bright blue skies and gentle breezes and we checked out the lake by pontoon boat and by wave runner and by kayak. I think if I could begin every morning greeting glass-surfaced water with the left to right rhythm of a paddle, I’d be infinitely more relaxed and would happily boast well toned arms. There is a lot more kayaking in my future, is what I’m saying.

A rogue wave tried to abscond with Jack when he got a little too close as I was attempting to gracefully exit the kayak, but I quickly grabbed him after only a few seconds of furious swimming with all four paws. Husband showed quick reflexes and Hero worthy moves when he deftly scooped Cooper from the water between the dock and the boat lift where he slipped in after running a bit too close to the edge. And we also took an unexpected dip while pausing astride the wave runner to take a closer look at a new-ish house on the lake’s perimeter. A lean too far in one direction dumped us both in one quick flip, but miraculously we were able to drag ourselves back onto the seat without much fanfare.

Unexpected dips into the lake aside, it was the sort of weekend that wraps up every summer staple into the perfect package. The sort of weekend where the Sunday sads came much later than usual, if they come at all. The sort of weekend that you just want to live again and again.

Here’s to lazy days of bright blue skies and yellow kayaks, and evenings full of smoky scented s’mores. Happy summer!

Cinque Terre

At last, let's talk about the final stop of our much loved, long awaited Italian adventure.

We finished our trip with a few days on the coast discovering the five darling towns of Cinque Terre. It isn't really a place that you can capture in words and photos, but it grabbed me by the heart and I know two things for sure: 1) I will never forget our time there, and 2) without question, we will return.

It's the sort of place that challenges reality; you honestly can't believe it exists. Stunning views at every turn, sleepy villages built into the mountainsides with panoramic line of sight to the ocean thousands of feet below. You look out to the horizon and see nothing but sea in all directions, but it doesn't feel desolate, it just feels peaceful. Comfortable. Like coming home.

I adored every minute and every stop of our Italy travels, but I am a coastal girl at heart, and this place brought out the best in me. We weren't able to do the full hiking experience due to an extra long rainy season that had the trails closed for fear of mudslides. I suspect they opened about a month after we left, and it is now on my life list to return and hike them in full. We did do the infamous "lover's walk" from Manarola to Riomaggiorre, and it was lovely. We stopped to take photos all along the way, and to inspect the locks and trinkets left by people all over the world who had traveled our same path. I posted updates to Facebook while we were on the walk, and immediately several people replied with their own endorsements of the same experience. It seems that everyone who visits leaves truly touched by this special place.

I think about Cinque Terre quite often; I close my eyes and remember sitting at the water's edge when the sun went down. I think about the full afternoon and evening we spent sitting at a table on a cliff. We drank wine and prosecco and ate jams and breads, and talked and talked. It is truly the sort of place that is so difficult to leave, you can actually see yourself forgetting the "real world" and moving there full time. I'd open my own cute shop or restaurant or gelato stand and interact with people from all over the world, every day. I'd hike and kayak and swim and take ferry rides and travel all over Italy and Europe. 

I'd endure thirty rocky train rides on dirty cars to get there again. It's a special part of the world, and I am so thrilled that I was able to experience it.

Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore---you captured my heart with your magic, and I will be back.

Venice. Sort Of.

I finally got around to writing the post that was going to regale you with all things Venice and inspire you to set off on a Venetian adventure of your own. I wrote the entire (long) post, added approximately eleventy billion photos, hit spellcheck just before publishing and then....nothing. Frozen, the spinning pinwheel of doom.

Yep, Typepad ate the entire post. Unfortunately, I have neither the time nor the inclination to recreate it, so you are getting this instead. My apologies in advance.

On Venice: it is charming and lovely and a city atop the sea. There are gondolas! and gelato! and children who play after school! and wine! and water buses AND taxis! and a trillion awesome spots to sit and look out over the sea! and countless spots and reasons and inspirations for making you so thankful to be there! and pigeons! and wide open squares with orchestras! You should go the first opportunity you get, and don't let naysayers color your opinion. I found nothing cheesy and everything awesome about Venice. Especially the lanterns. Venice has really badass lanterns. Instead of the carefully curated and lovely photos I painstakingly picked out and posted for you, you'll have to click and browse over here if you'd like photographic evidence that Venice is fab.

And now I will share with you the only thing that kept me from hurling my laptop out the open balcony door when I discovered my post was gone, forever:

j

You're welcome.

Coming soon pending further Typepad related meltdowns: Kentucky Derby, the five glorious towns of Cinque Terre, and general summer fun!

PS, I am terrified to attempt spellcheck, so please forgive any typos. Thanks in advance.

Ritual

Can it really be the last week of summer already? In some respects, it feels as though we only just welcomed summer, but in others, I also feel quite ready to embrace fall.

Either way, the weekend ahead beckons with its comforting rituals---evenings on the patio hunched over the fire pit, smores in hand, applying bug repellent and swatting away pesky mosquitoes that threaten to send us running inside; days under the bright sun, reading and chatting and staring across the water, lost in thought, blissfully unaware of any stress in my worldview; kids and fur-babes running, summer's stamp across their faces in the form of sunscreen and ice cream, panting with tongues hanging out and old-fashioned exertion; choppy water in front of me as I skid across it at warp-speed, astride the wave runner, holding tight to The Hubs, exhilaration with each turn and stop and start---we bookend each summer this way. In our happy place to welcome it, and back there again to say goodbye, see you next year.

It occurs to me that these rituals become more important each year---that their comfort increases in direct proportion to my own acknowledgment of time's passing.

And so, I wait. I wait for Friday and then? I unplug the computer and turn off the blackberry. I whip out my camera and I quiet my busy, crowded brain, just for today, just for right now. And I send summer packing---out with a bang---and head home ready to face fall and all that it brings. Ready to face time, another mile marker, another beginning with its inevitable end.

Leaps

Tonight, we pack up and leave Maui behind---our time on the island flew by, but we also enjoyed every minute and jumped feet first into our Hawaiian adventure (see photographic proof below). 

We watched amazing sunsets, hiked steep trails to stunning views, flew through the air Tarzan-style and marveled at the views beneath us, kayaked with sea turtles, snorkeled in waters so turquoise you could see straight to the bottom, ate more varieties of fish than we knew was possible, swam and lounged in the sun and read and talked and caught up with old friends. And last night, we watched a beautiful couple tie the knot against the deep blue backdrop of the sea, sharing their first dance as husband and wife exactly as the sun set behind them.

Ah, Maui---it has been lovely meeting you, and I have a feeling this is simply the beginning of a long and beautiful friendship. 

Mahalo for the memories!

[proof positive that I was, in fact, a cheerleader in a former life. look at that perfect "V" form---my coaches would be proud]

Climbing

I've read that hiking is literally good for your soul (not to mention your body) and I have never believed that more strongly than I do here in Hawaii.

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We wake with the sun here---our internal clocks don't quite fully adjust to the five hour time difference---and this means we often find ourselves up and at 'em---out and about---before 6am. Our trusty map sits rumpled and ripped from frequent use and we spread it out once again to plan the adventure ahead. We decide on a trail not far from our hotel---its terrain and difficulty level set to a foreboding DIFFICULT.

Our trusty convertible delivers us to yet another island excursion---the top is down, and each of us is lost in thought as we stare at the incredible morning light reflecting on the sea---and after a couple of misses, we find it. The trail isn't marked and you have to really study the map closely in order to identify the right turn-off.

Almost immediately, the trail begins a steep ascent over rocks and sand packed into concrete like dirt from years of foot (and horse) traffic. We carefully negotiate each step---calling out to each other when the view is particularly stunning or to have a little fun and call each other Jack and Kate in an impromptu LOST inspired role-playing session---but mostly, we are quiet---the only sound for miles the surf crashing hundreds of feet below and the thudding of our hearts in our ears, steadily increasing with the exertion. 

The silence up there is incredible, and you think that maybe you've never felt so small, never experienced such calm.

We find ourselves pushing the limit here---seeking out every adventure, wanting to experience as much of the island as possible. We don't even blink at attempting one of Maui's toughest hikes, and we laugh as we find ourselves muttering foreign phrases like "babe, we need to ration our water supply for the way down." (you know the hiking is serious business when the rationing of water is involved)

To begin each day excitedly asking what's next is really quite an amazing way to live, I think.

(the trail---this was taken on the way down---easy does it, friend)

(would you look at the turquoise color of that water?)  

To Maui, With Love

I turned to BJ during our descent into Hawaii with an enthusiastic "Babe, we actually made it!" He laughed and we continued staring out the window as Paradise grew larger and larger beneath us. The descent was spectacular---even taking the plane directly through a rainbow---which I think we can agree is a good sign for an excellent trip ahead, can we not?

Maui is all I had hoped it would be, and then some. On multiple occasions, I've found it best to describe the island as poetry, pure and simple. I've never seen such color---from the 10 shades of blue you can identify when gazing at the sea, to the lush vegetation and wildlife you spot at every turn. I have to believe that Hawaii---and Maui in particular--- has the ability to make every soul yearn to be a world-class photographer, if only so you can capture the beauty, and do it justice (I'm not sure that is possible in fact).

The island brings out your inner adventurer---with relative ease, you can swing through the mountains like Tarzan, hurl yourself from cliffs into the shimmering expanse of deep blue sea, challenge your endurance and calf muscles with hikes of a million different levels of difficulty, swim with the dolphins, frolic beneath waterfalls---it takes my wanderlust to new heights altogether, is what I'm saying.

Yesterday, we spent hours discovering the Road to Hana---an hours long trip that whips and winds up and down rugged terrain and back again, all the while showing you stunning views of the coastline of the Western side of the island alongside lush vegetation, sleepy surfer towns, caves, waterfalls and hiking trails---and honestly, I would happily do it again. I believe you could do it a hundred times, and still find something new to marvel over each trip. 

Lounging by the pool on the afternoon of our first full day, I met a lovely group of Australians who were here for a wedding. We chatted for the better part of an hour and discussed their travels, flight times and went on and on about how beautiful the island is, and that really, no matter the length of your flight (or the drama of your travel experience), all is forgotten the moment you touch the soil, and it is entirely, assuredly worth it. The sun began to slip down the horizon, bathing everything around us in the most amazing, soothing light and my new friend turned to me and said, "there's just so much of the world to see, isn't there?" I sipped my drink, squinted my eye against the blinding twilight and nodded as I replied "oh yes...and I'm just getting started."