Once again, just a liiiiittle behind. Oh well! #10: Favorite Hashtags. This one was fun because I don’t really do a lot of trending hashtags. #Hippo is for my little squeezie hippo Izmee I take pictures of in random places.
The last one is very special. I made that hashtag a little while back, and an old friend of mine found it *so* hilarious, she is getting it tattoo’d.
It’s still January. I’m allowed to do this. 2014 was a hell of a year, right? Here are the most awesome things that came out of it.
1. Izmee the Hippo: after 5 years of waiting for someone to give me a hippo, I took matters into my own hands. Since then, Izmee has become a constant companion in my adventures. She’s there at new restaurants, she gets to check out the digs at hotels, and she reminds me not to be so serious.
2. Rats: in December, we welcomed into our home three fuzzy brothers who have grown into delightful additions to our family. Chip, Moby and Oreo are like tiny puppies: they lick our faces, they want to interact with us, and they are constantly playful. I’m 100% converted to the way of the rat.
3. The Jane Hotel (NYC): this one is very specific. When I booked my room at the Jane, I was mostly intrigued because it came off as an affordable, private hostel. Now, though, as I reflect on it, the Jane was one of the most inspiring places I’ve ever been. It captures the Manhattan feel of old movies, with its boat cabin rooms and distant view of the Statue of Liberty. I can’t imagine going back to New York and not staying there.
4. Food: 2014’s food was amazing. No kidding. My husband and I did a lot in 2014 to expand our culinary horizons. I baked bread from scratch for the first time. Instead of going out for Valentine’s Day, we had a 5-course dinner at home, including duck confit (pictured here). Looking at cooking as a creative endeavor has changed the way I look at food everyday.
5. Travel: I can’t express how pleased I am with how much traveling I managed to do in 2014. I chose pictures from only a few of my outings, including DC for the annual cherry blossoms, Houston, Philadelphia, Detroit and Virginia Beach (local to where I grew up but my first time at a beachfront hotel). I also visited New York City twice – once by train! – Columbus, Cleveland, Baltimore, and several cities around Pittsburgh during my summer staycation. And I am ready for more!
What were your favorite parts of 2014? I’d love to hear about them!
Watching: Forever on ABC — I really didn’t want to give this one a shot. Because come on. The premise reads like, “Let’s take Sherlock, put him in New York, make him live forever and…let’s see…oh! But he’ll be a doctor instead. Where’s my Emmy?” Now that I’m a few episodes in, I can’t really say that I’ve been proven wrong with that assessment, but the characters are engaging/likeable. And I love Judd Hirsch.
Loving: My Hippo’s misadventures — 5 years ago, I started a day job at a local insurance company. A bunch of people in a department adjacent to mine had these little hippos (for some HIPAA awareness…get it? Hipaa hippos?) all over their desks. Obviously, I wanted one and was never able to get one. Finally, the other week, I took matters into my own hands and ordered one off Amazon. Then, I started taking pictures of it at different places and I’m having a lot of fun with that. My favorite?
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Reading: An Age of License by Lucy Knisley — A travelogue graphic novel. Two of my favorite things. It is lovely and makes me want to relocate to Europe for an undisclosed period of forever.
Hearing: Everything Will Be Alright in the End by Weezer — Is it as good as the blue album? I wouldn’t go quite that far, but it is the most 90s-rocktastic album I have heard in some time. And yes, of course my favorite track is “Back to the Shack.”
Doing: Professional videography — I’m going to keep the deets under wraps for right now but rest assured that I am very, very excited and I really, really need to order new business cards.
It’s Monday. What are you doing?
bohemian.on.rye 