The best of 2012

2012 is almost over and there were good times and some bad as well, but I know that 2013 is waiting with only the best expectations and intentions for all of us. But here's looking back at some of my favorite moments in 2012 (12 to be exact).

In January, I celebrated Mom's 60th with her Beatles party.

Then in February I tried my hand at cake decorating with Angel's Lego birthday cake.

Inspired by my cake making, Mom and I signed up for  the Wilton cake decorating class in March.

In April, I started my traveling, and headed out to Vegas!

My friends came down from Orlando for Memorial Day and we had wine slushies and cupcakes.

In June, I helped celebrate Lexi's Hunger Games birthday, as Effie Trinket.

It was a little belated, but in July we finally celebrated my birthday.

I developed my own recipe for peach cobbler in August.

In September, I came back from my trip to Paris!

I was so happy to help celebrate my niece's 1st birthday in October.

I love baking for Thanksgiving, and this year I learned to make my own pie crust.

And in December, I had a great time at the girls holiday dinner party.

I had some great times in 2012 and hope to make even more great memories in 2013.

Happy new year everyone! Here's to a 2013 filled with fun, family, health, laughter and love. Happy 2013!!

Christmas Day 2012

I'm a little late in posting these cause thanks to the super cold at the End of the World party, I seem to have caught a cold. Not exactly the way I planned on spending my Christmas vacation, but hey at least I'm not at work.

We had a good Christmas. On Christmas morning, Mom made a huge brunch (with belgian waffles!) and then we all gathered around the tree and village of houses.

And the newest member of the family, Marty McFly (Angel's dog) joined in on the fun too. But Tiffi was terrified of him, so she wouldn't come and join us. All he wanted to do was play, but she wasn't having it.

Angel passed out the gifts and we all got to opening all of our goodies.

(I played photographer, so there is only one terrible cell phone pic of me.)

We had a great time as usual and all got some really great gifts from each other. You gotta love spending time together on Christmas.

Color bar blanket: Take 2

I'm glad to report that I finished my second color bar blanket. My first attempt too me years to complete, but luckily this time I was motivated and it only took me 6 weeks. And this blanket came out way better than the first one.

This attempt at the blanket came out way better than the first one. I attribute it to buying all of the yarn at one time (and all the same brand). I found a great deal on Vanna's Choice, and it was available in all of the colors I needed, so I bought them all at once. That way I wouldn't have to go searching for another color or brand to match what I had.

Another thing that really helped this time was crocheting all of the squares in a relatively short amount of time. I started the blanket a bit before Halloween (and took a break to make costumes) and finished after Thanksgiving. I think doing them so close together kept my stitched a bit more even. Plus, I've had some practice now, so my crocheting has improved overall.

The sewing together of all the pieces didn't get any easier though. Making 140 squares into one big blanket gets hard near the end cause the color blocks are are so big. But it's totally doable, it just takes a bit of muscle.

I love my new blanket at it was a total hit at the office. Those that actually realized it was color bars loved it even more. And the blanket is totally serving its purpose, it's keeping me warm in my office that is an icebox while still looking cute.

It's the "End of the World" as we know it...

Looks like the world didn't end on 12/21/12, but it was a great excuse for a party!

Some friends had an "End of the World" party, and it seemed like the end of the world, cause it was in the 40s in Miami that night! But we all bundled up and partied like it was the end of the world.

And yes, there was a Mayan calendar being projected on the wall. Thankfully after a few drinks and some dancing we all warmed up and had a blast.

Girls holiday dinner party

My friend, Karina hosted a holiday dinner party for some friends earlier this month. It was so much fun. She decked her house in all of its holiday splendor (plus we got to see her newly remodeled living room!). 

We each brought some yummy dishes to share, and I of course brought some cupcakes (french vanilla with strawberry filling and cream cheese icing).

We all had a great time eating, chatting and drinking some wine. We even had a little gift exchange, and all got gifts that totally suited each of us.

We totally lost track of time and were there til the wee hours of the night. It was such a great night, Karina said she would have to make this an annual event. I can't wait til next year!

Holiday celebration 2012

Work has been pretty crazy lately, but my friends and I finally got a bit of a chance to relax and have some fun at the holiday party last week.

We chatted with everyone, enjoyed a drink and then danced out all the stress. We had a great time, but it would have been even better if it hadn't been on a Wednesday. A mid-week party made the rest of the week at work drag by!

Currently...

Watching:  Being Erica. I found this series a while back on Hulu. I finally started watching it and I'm hooked. A girl goes into time travel therapy, weird, but soo good.

Listening to: Today I'm hooked on Luke Bryan. I found out he's gonna be the headliner at the Chili Cookoff this year, and I totally need to go. The other acts that are gonna play are pretty awesome too.

Planning:  I'm helping my friend, Karina, with a girls holiday cocktail. It's gonna be so much fun, and everything is coming out super cute.

Thinking about: 2013. I can't wait for the new year, I feel that there will be some awesome changes for 2013 and it's gonna be a great year all around.

Reading:  Nothing right now. I've been so busy, I haven't started anything. I hope to change that soon.

Making me happy: Those chocolate Christmas bells, wrapping gifts, planning parties, cool nights, getting packages in the mail, laughing with friends.