Hell yeah!

Source: Aesthetic Outburst

2011 was a fine year

Time for the year-end List of Stuff That Happened to Me And You Likely Won't Care About But Who Cares Because This Is About Me. 


A List of Random Things That Happened to Me This Year:
1. Celebrated my second wedding anniversary with Hot Pants by going to France and Spain. It was my first visit to Europe, and it was just as magical as my brain had imagined it. Way to go, Europe.
2. Hosted my family for Christmas for the first time since HP and I got together. It was great to show off my Christmas crafting skills and to share our home with my parents, aunt, uncle and cousin.
3. Took a sewing class and have been going crazy on projects ever since. I can finally stop paying ridiculous prices for throw pillows and curtains.
4. Had a lovely visit from Ian, a  friend from college who lives in England, after more than a decade of not seeing each other.
5. Our two best couple friends both had babies, shaking up our social lives in ways I still can't properly explain without graphs and charts.
6. I paid off my college loans. 
7. I was in three weddings between January and June. Yowser.
8. I visited the set of "The Walking Dead" for work and got to meet many of the actors, makeup artists, costume designers and the rest of the braintrust behind the incredibly popular show. I even got a hug from IronE Singleton. It was a truly awesome evening that I can't really tell you about because I signed an NDA.
9. My grandfather _ my last grandparent still living _ died in April after 90-plus years on this earth. I miss you, Grandpa.
10. My nephew, Elias, was born in May.
Update: 11. Visited with a dozen of my very best friends on a reunion trip in Washington, D.C., part of our annual meet up in cities across the country.


Amazing Albums Released this Year:
Fleet Foxes, "Helplessness Blues"
The Decemberists, "The King is Dead"
Wilco, "The Whole Love"
tUnE-yArDs, "Whokill"
Katie Herzig, "The Waking Sleep"
Adele, "21"
Noah and the Whale, "Last Night on Earth"
The Features, "Wilderness"
The Head and the Heart, "The Head and the Heart"
I'm From Barcelona, "Forever Today" 
The Submarines, "Birds"
Update: Beirut, "The Rip Tide"


Some Books I Read (and loved):
"Swamplandia!" by Karen Russell
"Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" by Mindy Kaling
"Bossypants" by Tina Fey
"My Life in France" by Julia Child
"The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake" by Aimee Bender
"Anthropology of an American Girl" by Hilary Thayer Hamann
"One Day" by David Nicholls
"A Visit from the Goon Squad" by Jennifer Egan
Harry Potter, books 1, 2, 3 and 7 (some for the second time, others for the third or fourth)


Some Awesome Movies I Saw (and loved): 
"Crazy, Stupid Love"
"Hugo"
"Harry Potter: The Freakin' End"
"Bridesmaids"
"Midnight in Paris"
"50/50"
"The Muppets"
"Ides of March"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"


Places I Visited: 
Paris, Avignon and Nice in France
Barcelona and Madrid in Spain
Norwich, NY
Grantville and Harrisburg, Pa.
Memphis, Tenn.
Washington, D.C.
Chicago
Dauphin Island, Ala.
New Orleans


Famous People Sightings:
Bill Clinton
Ron Livingston (sighting No. 2, this time in Atlanta, rather than New Orleans)
the cast of The Walking Dead, plus Greg Nicotero
Michelle Obama
Spike Mendelsohn from Top Chef
Kevin Gillespie from Top Chef
Richard Blais from Top Chef
Gen. Larry Platt of "Pants on the Ground" fame
Spike Lee
Laura Bush
Ann Brashares