What happens when I can't contain my excitement about 2012's adventures and when I can't choose just ONE picture of some of my favorite memories/people? A blog post of collages! I love pictures so much (and am always the pesky one constantly snapping them); they bring us back to so many wonderful adventures and times with friends and family... times that are so easy to forget as we deal with the demands of the present. Here's just a few of the things happening this year I'm excited about:
SOME SERIOUS JAMMING
Blake Shelton, Passion Pit, Andy Grammer, Atomic Tom, The Dance Party concerts to kick off the year, and hopefully another Pop Rocks night soon!
WINE TASTING IN NAPA VALLEY (TIMES TWO!)
In February with these lovely ladies! It's been such a blessing having Michelle (throwback to 5th grade) in the same city after 4 years apart. Her, Katie, and Jules have been one of the best parts of moving up to the Bay area. It is sure to be a weekend full of lots of good wine, laughing, gossip about the Bachelor, and hey, maybe even a picture of the four of us :)
And again in March, to support my all-star friends run the Napa Marathon (yes, I will be bringing glittery signs)! As my very first friend at NU, Em will always hold a special part in my heart, and Kels & I have had great fun these past few months exploring the Bay together. I'm beyond excited for the three of us to be reunited. From spending 3 months in Uganda together to planning a trek up Machu Picchu in the next year or two, I can't wait for all the travel adventures the three of us will have over the years!
A DSLR PHOTOGRAPHY CLASS AT BERKELEY
Thanks to some help from my mom, I'm officially enrolled in a night photography class at the Berkeley Art Studio for the winter semester! I invested in an awesome Canon Rebel XS (a beginner dSLR) a few years ago and I'm FINALLY going to learn how to use it. Photography has always been something I've been attracted to (see my New Years Resolutions)... the ability to capture all that surrounds us feels like such a gift to me. I know there will be a steep learning curve, but I look so forward to starting on the path to a life capturing the beauty in life.
SO MANY VISITS FROM BEAUTIFUL FRIENDS
My lovely Vanessa is visiting in January (t-minus 1.5 weeks!) and I can't stop myself from constantly looking up fun things to do in SF with her. She and I have been on some of the most incredible travel adventures (all over Australia and New York) and never fail to have the most epic, hilarious, fun, times playing tourist and dancing the nights away. I love this lady more than words! We're hoping to get Danny up from Santa Clara for a mini-Aus reunion too!
Manda Jo is visiting in February! We'll be missing the other part of our self-proclaimed Triple (love you Miss Swan!), but being able to hug the heck out of at least one of my other thirds makes me happy enough to bust out the Hootie (see the top left picture)! I'm beyond excited to meet this new beau of hers too :)
Katrina is coming in Spring! I can't tell you how hard it's been without this girl living two doors down the hall from me, let alone in a whole other country. My life is so desperately in need of a weekend talking about everything and anything with her, dancing til we can't feel our feet, and rejoicing over Damon & Elena ;)
Fingers crossed that LeCav and Morgan G. will be able to visit the Cali Coast too! Ever since Katie visited in December, I've been craving seeing the beautiful faces of my long lost college friends.
ZIN FESTIVAL
March means an amazing St. Patty's day weekend becoming Zinfandel experts at the Paso Robles Zin Festival! I can't wait for a girls weekend out, and who better to spend it with than my amazing mom!
HIKING IN YOSEMITE
This past fall, almost 20 of us had one heck of an epic camping trip to Big Basin Redwood Park including some awesome hikes, banana slugs, cliche singing around the campfire, Dominion, and being completely soaked by a downpour. We have our sites on Yosemite for Round 2 (pun intended)!
WE'RE GOING TO THE CHAPEL... FOR TWO SPECIAL LOVEBIRDS
Brandon and I are headed back to Chicago (I'VE MISSED YOU EVEN THOUGH I SAID I WOULDN'T!) to see our beautiful friend Britta tie the knot with Eric. Those two embody the term soul-mates and I feel so lucky to be able to cheer for them as they take the leap. I can't wait for getting into shenanigans with Brandon and being able to see some of my sorority sisters and pledge family that still live there (miss you Katie, LeCav, Kate, Claire, Madelaine, Jamie, Rebekah)!
EUROPE ADVENTURES WITH SCOTT
I have the best brother in the world. You might say I'm biased, but its the truth. And he's studying abroad in Sussex this year which means one thing: EURO TRIP! We've traveled the world together with my family and have had a heck of a lot of fun doing so. I can't wait to explore Sussex, visit Katrina and relatives in London, and maybe even make it to Spain/Portugal if the parentals plan a trip there.
A NEW JOB
Ok, a little random I know, but as daunting as it is that I have to start looking for a job for after August, I AM excited to see where the search takes me next year, whether it be abroad, in SF, or somewhere completely new. I have so much to learn about myself, what I'm passionate about, and about the world, I'm looking forward to that next chapter wherever it is.
2012: I'm in love with all the happiness you're bringing my way <3
