While there are plenty of 2011 recaps and year-in-reviews to go around, I like to use the end of December as a time to reflect on the year passed. Here’s my 2011 as told through the lens of my Instagram.

In the beginning of 2011, after more than 5 years at his previous salon, my husband started a new job as a stylist at Mizu Boston in the Mandarin Oriental. He’s had so many wonderful opportunities since joining the team there including a multi-month “residency” doing the hair for Fashionably Late at the Liberty Hotel, styling shoots for Contra and Style Boston, and of course this happened.

Also in January, AJ and I made our semi-annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas. This time we went with our friends Alex, Lee, and Tony. We stayed at Planet Hollywood which I highly recommend. I’d tell you more about it, but, what happens in Vegas…

 

February is my birthday month! This year my friends surprised me for brunch at Upstairs on the Square (where I also got married). Everything was perfect… Until a flash mob chorus broke out in the middle of our brunch! I am notorious for hating flash mobs, so it was quite an ironic turn of events.

 

At the end of February, AJ and I finally decided to try snowboarding. We went to Loon Mountain for the weekend and stayed at the Woodstock Inn and Brewery. We both picked up snowboarding pretty quickly and it was one of my fondest memories of the year.

 

In March I had the opportunity to attend my first SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin. I stayed with my friends Melissa, Tom, and Steve in a beautiful B&B near the UT campus. My favorite events from the week included the Boston2Austin party (where I am pretty sure I got into some trouble with my friend Chase), panels on Book Publishing, Technology in the Adult Industry, and moot’s Keynote talk about canv.as.

 

On April first, I moved into a new apartment. Due to a long complicated series of events, I hadn’t even seen the new apartment until we moved in. Our new home ended up being down the street from where we lived before (old apartment depicted above) and, while it’s not our forever home, we have been happy enough to stay here through 2012.

 

In the middle of June, I took a new job. Leaving the agency I was at was extremely difficult, but the opportunity I was presented with was too good to pass up. I joined a global technology and marketing services agency and I have never been happier! As a part of my on-boarding process I traveled to Chicago for a week-long training with new hires from other offices across the country. I made a lot of new friends and I am excited to be settled in somewhere I can learn a lot and grow my career.

 

In September my husband and I (finally) traveled to England. AJ is from there and I had never been, so it was a real treat for me. We did some touristy stuff – Abbey Road, the Tower of London, the Tate Modern – but for the most part, we just took in the beautiful city. It is one of the first places that I have traveled where I can honestly say I’d feel comfortable moving there.

 

We also spent a few days in Bournemouth, which is where my husband grew up and where his best friend lives. We hadn’t seen Chris since our wedding and it was a real treat to spend time with him.

 

By the time I had settled back into east coast time, I left the timezone again in early October and went back to Vegas! This trip was for a “girls weekend” with my friend Kayt to visit our former colleague Marsha who had recently relocated there. I finally got to visit the Neon Boneyard which I had been dying to see.

 

October was also the debut of my weave. Having a weave has revolutionized my life so much that it warrants its own feature on this post. I also lost quite a bit of weight this fall (a post on that coming soon) so having a weave helped me feel comfortable in my own skin during the transition. It’s also a fun perk of having a husband who is a hairstylist – I experiment with my hair often. It’s unbeweaveable!

 

The highlight for most people this November was the lucky day: 11/11/11. Ben Speaks held a special memorial service that evening called a Concert to Remember. Ben Speaks is a charity that was created in honor of my close family friend who passed away tragically in 2009. It was a special day and I was happy to reconnect with old friends and celebrate Ben’s memory at a beautiful church in Newton. The moment above captured Canman (who gave me my first tattoo!) working on a live painting of Ben at the event.

 

In mid-December one of my good friends, Liz, got married! I was overdue for a good wedding and it was a nice night of love and friendship. I know it’s cliche to say “it was a beautiful wedding”, but it really was.

 

Finally, this Christmas we went to my sister-in-law’s house in Pennsylvania. Spending Christmas with her family is always a real treat, because the 4 kids are still at the age where they still love the magic of the holidays and Santa and presents. Ashley, the youngest, is about to turn 3 and I’ve really enjoyed bonding with her now that she can talk and play with me. The highlight of the visit was teaching Michael (13) and Andrew (10) how to ice skate!

 

I’m looking forward to many more exciting adventures in 2012, though I have to say, genuinely, 2011 is really the year to beat. Thank you to all who have touched my life this year. I really feel like a lucky lady!

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