2012, I Sure Will Miss Ya

It's December 31, 2012. As I type this, I can hardly believe that 2012 has come and gone - in what seems like the blink of an eye. It's been a huge year for me. I moved from Florida to Washington, DC; I finally got the nerve to pursue my own photography business; I met incredible new friends but also realized how dear my old ones are. This year has been full of ups & downs, many MANY laughs, incredible times with my family, roadtrips, city explorations & new adventures. I am SO grateful for everything I've been blessed with this year and have so many wonderful people to thank for making it quite possibly the best year of my life thus far (you know who you are).  

I have to admit - I started 2012 in a rut. Thankfully, that rut motivated me to pursue my 365Grateful photo project. Every day this year, I took a picture of something I was grateful for. It started off as a way to bring me out of this so-called rut by bringing to light the wonderful little everyday things that I would often overlook. It ended as the perfect way to reflect on what turned out to be an incredible year. 

I've decided to highlight a few of my favorite things about 2012. It was so hard to pick!

1/ The amazing wedding of two of my best friends! 

2/ Beautiful Ocala.

3/ The Ocala Symphony Orchestra & its inspiring people.

4/ Tampa adventures with SP.

5/ The newest addition to our family - little Zooey! 

6/ A roadtrip through the South (Savannah, Charleston, Appalachians & all!) with my Dad.

7/ Fun(ny) evenings with the family in Southport, NC for the 4th of July week! 

8/ DC summer with the soulmate - Mary.

9/ Coldplay's 2012 concert. Absolutely amazing/wonderful/breathtaking.

10/ The Hardknocks - our kickball team! 

11/ Glen "ohmygoshiloveyou" Hansard's live show at the 9:30 Club.

12/ Life with the always amazing/supportive/fun/talented/hilarious Kati & Bridget

13/ My new Arlington apartment! 

14/ New friends :)

15/ A northern fall complete with brightly colored leaves, pumpkins, and perfect weather.

16/ The beginning of my pursuit of a photography career.

17/ The purchase of my first real Christmas tree! Whattacutie.

18/ Thanksgiving with my New England family.

19/ An inspirational morning of wreath-laying at Arlington National Cemetery.

20/ The most perfect Christmas at home with my family. 

21/ My first snowfall as an official VA resident! 

2012, I love you a lot & I'll miss you dearly. 2013, I can't WAIT to meet you. 

F-L-O-R-I-D-A

I shot these photos about a year and a half ago. Brian, one of my friends from Univ. of FL, asked me to take some graduation pictures for him, and I gladly accepted. These were the first creative "portrait" pictures I'd ever taken, and I was so happy to be given the opportunity. Now that I've been attempting to get into photography a little more seriously, I figured these should be displayed loud & proud! Brian was a great subject because he came to the shoot with the most creative ideas and a good attitude (and patience!) - the perfect combo for a beginner photographer :)

Bluefield Estate Winery

Last Sunday, I had (what felt like) was the first day to myself in a long, LONG time. Between work, going home for Easter, and more work, this was my first day to breathe/sleep/catch up on life/hang with friends - which of course means Kristin and I are hangin'! A couple of months ago, I got an email about a Living Social deal for a wine tasting at the Bluefield Estate Winery just outside of Gainesville. On Sunday, we took advantage. It was the perfect sunny FL day, and we were ready to become those wine connoisseurs we always knew we could be. 

We arrived at the quaint little farm, quite literally out in the middle of nowhere, and didn't see another soul in sight. We made our way inside the winery, and what do ya know, there were tons of people crowded around a tiny bar trying various wines! We squeezed into a spot at the bar, and began to order our samples. We tried everything -- we tried blueberry wine, we tried a white wine, we even tried an orange wine. Our favorite, however, was the pomegranate wine, and as a part of the Living Social deal, I was able to take home a bottle! As we were trying out the wines, we were given a sheet to fill in our thoughts on the various wines. Some of our obviously very knowledgeable and experienced wine drinker comments included: 

"It's like...whoa"

"Reminds me of a bad mixed drink from XS"

"Very...wine-y"

"Reminds me of a headache!"

Despite the above negativity, the majority of the wines really were delicious! 

Once we had our fill, we ventured out into the vineyard. It was small, but certainly gets the job done. They grow both grapes, AND blueberries - as their main wine is a blueberry wine. 

Blueberries! 

(Literally, whenever I say that word, I think of that "Muffins" YouTube video from like 5 years ago - and I laugh. And I laugh some more. What ever happened to that guy??)

They also had horses! We had to pet them, of course. This guy was so sweet.

Once we had gotten our fill of the horses, sunshine and wine, we headed home, but took the long way through a tiny little town called Windsor - which pretty much consisted of 2 or 3 big old victorian houses situated along a beautiful tree-lined road. It was pretty fantastic. I'll miss little things like that when I'm in DC! 

Warehouse Restaurant and Lounge

Last night, I went out to celebrate one of best friend's birthdays - Happy Birthday Kristin! Kristin and I are on a "try new places" kick. Both of us are Gator grads still living in the great ole' town of Gainesville. That said, we realized that during our 4 years of undergrad we did NOT take advantage of the variety of restaurants and culinary creativity Gainesville has to offer. We've made it our goal to only go to restaurants that we've never tried before. So, last night, when we had to make a decision about where to go to dinner and Kristin suggested Warehouse Restaurant & Lounge, which I had never heard of, I knew we had to give it a shot -- and I'm so glad we did. Warehouse is exactly how it sounds - a warehouse. It is located in a slightly sketchy area of town (just south of downtown on Main Street), but once you're inside that giant, warm room and surrounded by wine bottles and live music, you feel as if you're right in the heart of downtown.

I was so pleasantly surprised as I walked in. The high ceilings and shelves full of wine that lined the walls gave Warehouse a funky, modern, yet classy ambience. Their menu does not have much variety, but what they do have? Amazing. Their dishes range from curried chicken and seared ahi tuna to gnocci and corn cakes. I decided to go out on a limb and try their Grilled Flank Steak & Snow Crab Macaroni and Cheese. HOLY COW. It was unbelievable. Honestly, one of the best things I've ever tasted. Although the wait for our food was a bit long, you can tell that Warehouse offers freshly prepared food - no microwaves, no reheats.

Now, of course, because we were surrounded by wine, we had a get a bottle for ourselves. Their drink/wine/beer menu is quite extensive - significantly more extensive than their food menu. We went with a bottle of pinot grigio and enjoyed every last drop! Finally, the grand finale - dessert. We decided to share raspberry pound cake (which we got on the house, thank you very much) and to our surprise, the pound cake had been grilled! This is not something I've ever seen before, but it works. And it is GOOD.

We ended our night out on the patio listening to Little Jake and the Soul Searchers, a band that looked and sounded as if they came straight out of the fifties. They had everybody dancing, smiling and singing. Kristin and I decided that we just might have to become groupies - they were just that awesome.

SO. To anyone looking for a fun, funky, delicious restaurant in the Gainesville area: Warehouse is your place. And be sure to venture there on a night when they have a live band!