The Best of 2014 – My 14 Favorite Moments

Happy New Year’s Eve! As 2014 comes to a close I wanted to recap my favorite moments of the past year and there have been some really great ones.  My best of 2013 post highlighting my 13 favorite moments of 2013 post met with such rave reviews last year I thought it was time do another, plus they are so much fun to put together. Here we go: 

(1) Weekend in Boston.  The year got off to a rough start with my knee surgery in January but I took a trip up to Boston in February the week after I got off crutches and was able to spend the weekend with my parents and watch my brother play in collegiate squash nationals. (A Snowy Weekend in Boston)

(2) Shannon’s Wedding. My cousin Shannon got married this Spring in Nashville, Tennessee and it was our first family wedding. She was an absolutely stunning bride and it was so fun to get my mom’s entire side of the family together. (A Classic Kelly Outfit and Coral and Sky Blue)

(3) Lobster de Mayo.  I attended the first ever Lobster de Mayo event, an evening of drinking and dining with 19 chefs from premier restaurants all around New York City to benefit a great charity, City Harvest. I ate more delicious lobster than I care to think about, drank a number of delicious tequila cocktails and met a supermodel.  (Lobster de Mayo)

(4) Kevin’s  Graduation.  In May my brother graduated from Georgetown and I headed down to Washington D.C. for an incredibly enjoyable weekend.  (My Brother’s Georgetown Graduation)

(5) Blogger Meetups.  One of my favorite things about blogging is the community is the friendships you create with other bloggers.  In 2014 I was able to meet a number of blogger friends and blogger idols in person.  Through Karly I became friends with Erin of Two Thirds Hazel and this year we brunched, drank, and explored the Met together. I am thankful to LeaaAnn of Join the Gossip for organizing a dinner in Central Park Big Apple with  Kimberlee of  I Have a Degree in This, Jodi of Jodi Bean’s Blog, Christina of Easily Entertained, and Allison of La Dolce Vita.  I crossed off an item on my 101 bucket list by going to The Guggenheim Museum with Caroline of Perpetually Caroline and I met Christina Caradona of Trop Rouge and Blaire Eadie of Atlantic Pacific at blogging events.  

(6) Broadway Shows with Parents.  My parents came to New York City a few times this year and each weekend they were in town we were able to see a Broadway musical.  This has been a tradition since I was growing up and this year we saw Newsies, If/Then, and The Book of Mormon.  (My Very Touristy Weekend) 

(7) Sparkles & Shoes 2nd Birthday.  In August this little blog of mine turned two and just because, I threw it a birthday party at my new apartment. It was a wonderful evening with “real” friends and blogger friends alike. (Sparkles and Shoes 2nd Birthday & A Giveaway)

(8) My Grandfather’s 80 Birthday.  I spent my Labor Day weekend in New Hampshire with my family.  While our two days on the lake were incredibly fun the real highlight of the weekend was my grandfather’s 80th birthday party.  (Black and White)

(9) James & Lindsay’s Wedding.  Two of my good friends who I swam with at Georgetown got married in Pennsylvania at the end of the summer and I had the best time at their wedding. With sixteen former teammates in attendance it was by far the classiest swim team party I have ever been to, and arguably, the most fun!  (Black Lace for a Wedding)  

(10) Mercedes Benz Fashion Week.  With a knee surgery taking me out of the F/W 2014 shows in February I made sure I could attend as many S/S 2015 shows when fashion week rolled around in September. With a demanding job I had to turn down quite a few invitations but the shows and events I were able to attend were amazing! (Black and Gold for Fashion Week)

(11) My Birthday.  This year I took a step away from my traditional dinner at Becco routine as, for the first time since I graduated college, my birthday did not overlap with homecoming. Instead I held a small dinner at a local Italian restaurant and then celebrated with a few dozen friends at an Irish pub afterwards. (Beauty Marks at My Birthday Party)

 (12) Homecoming in New York. For some reason this event did not get a blog post all to it’s own as it has done it past years – perhaps because it was on a “school night”, not a Friday as in 2012 and 2013, or maybe because it was a few days before Halloween but I wore a dress I absolutely loved and had a great time at the Bryant Park Grill with a few hundred Hoyas.  And I love this shot of my brother and I from that evening: 

(13) Halloween. This Halloween I had two parties to go to and instead of reusing and repeating a costume I dressed for each event – as Holly Golightly, Audrey Hepburn’s role in Breakfast at Tiffany’s for the first party and on the second night I went as Marvel’s Spider Girl. (Spiderwoman to the Rescue!)

(14) Christmas.  Sure, Christmas is over but I am still soaking up the sun down here in Florida and loving every minute of it. I am so thankful my brother was able to fly down and enjoy the holiday with us! 

This truly was an incredible year and writing this recap just reminded me how much I love my family and friends and how glorious the last 12 months have been. I hope 2015 knows what it is up against! 

Happy New Year’s Eve!