I can't believe we will already be ringing in 2021 in just a couple days. It is crazy!!!! This past year has been an absolute blur and honestly I just feel blessed to be entering 2021 still employed. Even though this year has been weird and has felt short I thought I would recap some of the good moments that have kept my heart warm.
January 2020
Went To My Cousins Wedding
I honestly can't believe this was in 2020 as so much has changed since we went to this wedding. My cousins wedding was right after New Years in Chicago. We spent the time beforehand browsing Nordstrom and walking the chilly Chicago streets admiring the left-over Christmas lights. We thought about going into the new giant Starbucks (above), but it had just opened at that time and was soooo crowded.
Took the LSAT for the First Time
Hard to believe that it has been a year since I took the LSAT for the first time. This is another event where looking back I can't believe how much things have changed since I packed my bag of sharpened pencils and headed down to a hotel in downtown Milwaukee for a long four hours. Since that time the test has been moved online and shortened by two sections! It is crazy.
Conference in Silicon Valley
I started off the year by heading out to a conference in Silicon Valley back when I worked in marketing. I had never been to the Silicon Valley/San Jose area so it was fun for me to explore when we weren't working. The best part of this trip had to be one of our last nights when we went to a Mexican restaurant where they had the coolest bar setup. Basically they had shelves lined with bottles of tequila to the ceiling and they could flip a switch and the shelves would move so you could get at the bottles towards the top. Heading to California was so nice in January because I crave sun so bad that time of year. It was around this time that we began to hear about COVID and the first cases were being reported in Wuhan.
February 2020
Celebrated Four Years With My Love
My boyfriend and I celebrated four years together in February last year in the best way that I could imagine, over chocolate cake and with a glass of wine. I remember Brett got me these flowers and I decided to bring them into my office because our old apartment never got good light for plants. The week after I brought the plant into the office we were closed for quarantine. I left this plant there because I was like "oh we will be back in a week" (also left some dirty dishes LOL). We were NOT back in a week. Actually I didn't get back to the office until after I gave my notice. RIP to my lovely yellow flower plant you were loved.
March 2020
Went Outside.....A Lot
Despite the still freezing weather in March, the way that we coped with all the time inside was getting out and going on walks. I love this picture (it's at Pheasant's Branch Nature Preserve) because I have identical ones throughout the spring and summer showing the change of seasons since we were out on the trail so much. I've written about this before on my mental health blog posts but I will continue to emphasize that getting outside no matter the weather is the best thing physically AND mentally. Takes the edge off of the cooped upness.
Was Super Into My Audible Subscription
I went through a hardcore phase of listening to my audio books instead of watching TV. During quarantine I was really into listening to thrillers. I listened to the Woman in the Window, The House We Grew Up In, The Third Wife, and others that I honestly don't remember. I liked listening to audiobooks over watching TV because I could pop in my headphones and clean or get work done while listening.
April 2020
Perfected the Art Of Baking With Different Flours
At some point in April I decided that one of the things that I wanted to work on while stuck inside was baking things that I love with funky flours that are healthier than the traditional white flour. I tried almond flour pancakes, oat flour bagels, and tried to only include natural sugars in all my recipes. I learned how to use fruits as sweetener and how to bake with plain greek yogurt. I tried and loved a lot of different recipes, but by far the best recipe was for banana almond flour pancakes (pictured above).
Celebrated Easter In Our 600 Square Foot Apartment
Easter was much quieter than I am used to...... we celebrated in our small apartment and the day is marked in my mind by the smell of burnt toast and cinnamon rolls, and the sound of Aretha Franklin coming from the kitchen. I also made apple bread which involved a lot of butter and was very good. Not exactly an "in-season" treat but honestly something I would recommend no matter the time of year. We really needed comfort food at that time and apple bread did the trick!
May 2020
Organized an At-Home Graduation Brunch
My sister and mom both graduated this past spring and I knew with the pandemic still in full swing we would not be able to do a celebration anything like what we had done in the past. I decided to organize an at-home celebration inspired by the show I was watching at the time (haha), The Crown. I had the idea to do a tea party brunch and bought little cakes and fruits and made croissant sandwiches. I lit a fire, opened the porch doors to let in spring air and it was the best morning. We got to honor all of their achievements and enjoy some good food too.
June 2020
.....More Hiking
This summer taught me to appreciate the value of a day trip. This shot is from one that we took to Spring Green. A wayyyyy smaller state park than we had expected, but the view was pretty cool. There is also a Frank Llyod Wright house in the area that is famous and generally offers tours. Would have been pretty cool to see if it hadn't been a pandemic but we did get to drive past and admire the gorgeous landscape that surrounds it.
July / August 2020
Started a New Job
I feel very lucky to have been able to get a job during a world-wide pandemic. I left my job in marketing and started a job at a law firm as a legal assistant. I talk to clients everyday in this job and I love it. I bought this dress before I started which can really only be worn with these high heels but god knows with the snow we have right now I am not sporting this getup.
September 2020
Moved Into A New Apartment
Moving during a pandemic was the last thing that we wanted to do but we had extended our lease so many months that finally we just had to get it done. In September we moved into a place double the size of our first place and we have loved it here. I have especially loved it as my decor looks so good with all the natural light that this place gets! The space has definitely helped with working from home and trying to stay home as much as possible.
October 2020
Went on a Weekend Trip to Sayner, WI
In October we rented and airbnb up north with the goal of getting to see some amazing fall foliage. Welllll the snow came really early this year in the northern part of the state and instead of the fall colors weekend that we were hoping for we got to see a bit of snow and a lot of leaves on the ground. But it was still absolutely beautiful. We went hiking and came back to our cabin for a fire, brie cheese, and potatoe chips. We played scrabble by the fire and walked out in the morning on the dock to watch a foggy sunrise.
November 2020
Thanksgiving Festivities
Thanksgiving was quiet this year, we celebrated with just immediate family. Delicious food followed by my fav, Knives Out. My family always goes and gets our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving and this year was no different. We trek about 45 minutes away, grab a saw, and cut probably the biggest tree that the place sells. My favorite is the wagon that runs around the perimeter of the tree farm. It really does make you feel like you've stepped into a Hallmark movie.
December 2020
Celebrated A Marvelous Christmas
After this totally weird year, it was so nice to relax and focus on visiting with my family and eating food. That is pretty much what we did for Christmas if you top it off with a couple movie marathons. Christmas Eve was Boeuf Bourginon followed by pear cake and Christmas Day was tenderloin sandwiches and a hot cocoa bar. I had enough time to homemake everyone a present which was pretty nice :) By the end of the weekend both my heart and stomach were full.
.......And that brings us to the present! 2020 was weird and I am glad to see 2021 on the horizon. Cheers to a wonderful new year!
XX,
Seff
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