Sunday, December 30, 2012

2012 Roundup & Looking Ahead


The Roundup
  • The Bump. Obviously the biggest development of 2012 is what's going on inside my belly. 

    HelloBabyBump

  • Our announcement! We kept the secret for an agonizing 13 weeks or so.  (Coincides with a marked silence on this blog.) We rigged our iTunes playlist to autoplay the video during Sergio's birthday party and that's how many friends found out. I just said hey guys, check out this project real quick. A cheer erupted when everyone realized what it was. And at work, I emailed it around asking for opinions on a personal video project. Was so fun to hear the video being played amongst the cubicles and exclamations and congratulations throughout the day.  Life was a bit more sparkly that day.



  • Instagram. As a result, I'm not blogging very much anymore. Micro-blogging is so much easier and immediate with IG. You don't need an account to keep up with me. Just go here: Instagram.com/elauinc 

    My Instagram Page: elauinc

  • New friends. I've connected with so many amazing people through social media this year. Some I've met in person and others I feel like are coffee/wine dates waiting to happen. Our connections are based purely on like interests, similar aesthetics, and just being good peoples all around. Having cats seems to help too. ha!  Thank you to everyone who regularly comment/respond to my various online musings and postings. I appreciate every word and "like," and if we haven't already, hope to meet you IRL someday.

  • Our new deck! Can I get a whoop whoop? I'm so proud of the design Sergio came up with. I think it's pretty snazzy.

    Wood Deck

  • Epic East Coast Trip. Stephen and Sean's wedding was the perfect excuse to finally get us back on the East Coast! We also got to spend some time at Nora's adorable cabin in New Hampshire. We had so much fun during that trip and really packed it in. I split the photo diary up into SEVEN installments.  In fact, I still have specific highlights from that trip I've been saving up to blog. Is it old news though? Can I call them vintage posts and bring it back in style?
    FiveLeavesOysters WilliamsburgSloth Citgo_Sign KitchenPainting LakeViewWaterTowerBalloonHighline_mural  
     
  • Food. Our love affair with the stuff is still going strong. We're making an effort to not go out as much. I've put the food snaps down at the bottom. Otherwise we'd be scrolling for ages...

  • CSA box. Thanks to Ann Shen who I met at Jen's house on New Year's day (I think) and someone I count amongst my new 2012 interweb friendships, I signed up with Farm Fresh to You.  Since then, I've passed the tip along to a couple of friends, one of whom has even given delivery subscriptions away as gifts! This has got to be one of my favorite developments of 2012. At first, I didn't know what to do with some of the items that came in the box and honestly, let a large portion spoil. But a couple boxes in, I was using nearly everything! I'm learning what's in season and what real produce tastes like. Some of the best carrots I've ever had has come out of that box. Bonus: I don't have to spend as much time at the grocery store.

    Pickled carrots I made. Pretty tasty.Pretty carrots. #nofilter


Progress Report on 2012 goals

How'd I do on the good ole 2012 goals? Well, ok I think. I wouldn't say I hit everything out of the park but I'm satisfied heading into 2013. I'm a little disappointed in myself for not enforcing more regular check-ins (only 1). C'est la vie, non? Here they are from my 2011 end of year post.
  1. Learn my camera - I'm much better at using my camera today than I was at the end of 2011.
  2. Take better photos (and learn how to edit ruthlessly!) - I think my photos have improved tremendously! Learning how to photo edit has been huge.
  3. Create more - I'm creating a human. It may seem like I'm cheating this one because  my body is just making it happen via unexplainable magic. But you know what? It's hard work that I constantly have to consciously keep up with through mental and physical adjustments.
  4. Learn something new - Well, I learned how to knit, sort of. Sigh. Photo editing counts though. And tons of new recipe concoctions thanks to our CSA box.
  5. Get healthy and be honest about it - Honestly I'm not exercising much more than before. But with baby in belly, I've cut out alcohol and nitrates. I'm also eating less meat. Kind of turns me off these days. However, I am totally carbing it up. Sigh. It's what I'm totally craving! Rice, bread, noodles....mmm....
  6. Live consciously - A bit silly to set up an intangible goal like this but I'm really happy with where I'm at with this one.
  7. Clean-up the blog! - Sorry guys. This one totally fell by the wayside. Sergio's Christmas gift is to redesign my blog for me so hopefully this will happen in 2013!


2013 Looking Ahead

Is it possible to be more excited than we are right now about going into the new year? I'm not setting a list this year like I did last. There will be so many milestones leading up to becoming parents, like getting the baby room ready and a baby shower in February. We'll also be taking some birthing classes with our doula and hopefully get everyone in the family certified in infant CPR. I will be readying my work life for maternity leave in the next few months and then well...baby arrives! We have vague ideas of what will happen after that. I could torture myself with a goal like losing the baby weight by swimsuit season. But you know, I intend to enter motherhood as naturally and instinctively as possible. Let's see where that takes us, shall we?


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2012 Food Photos 
As promised, here are some of the foods we ate. Gosh. How are Sergio and I not 476 pounds each?? 

Crispy Spicy Tuna Yellowtail Carpaccio DSC08328 Soy Latte+lips Market Breakfast Fried Tofu Fresh Spring Rolls Cappuccino DSC09214 Bloody orange Strozzapreti / Cooks County With a dash of cinnamon. Trifecta RedHill_EverythingBagel Seafood Tofu Soup ChickenTagine BreakfastTime_meal Coffee_Sugar Cozy Sunday Morning 2 11.18.12 PersimmonPie-filling Second dinner, appetizer plate. Homemade Indian food by @alpnap2k is worth saving room for. Saving these 2 for dinner. Artichoke w/truffle salted butter sauce. Almond milk + chocolate wafers Sushi. Happy Macaroon day friends! Friday pizza night. Gazpacho // Rivera in DTLA Fig bread w/ avocado. Chinese pastries Churro and tangerine. Roasted tomato & leek Asian grocer love. (Limes: $0.99 Tangerines: $0.97 Green Onion: $0.20) Breakfast nook getting action. Shrimp on the barbi courtesy of @jameswan Put an egg on it. Dinner: Chorizo kale Manchego pizza / @sunsetmag Feb2012 issue Dinner: linguine con vongole. (Sergio approved.) Carnitas pasta sauce = winning. @hlc49 Snails. Apple pear slaw. @modernhaus Auntie is the best cook: Mushroom, bean curd, glass noodles. Cornflake French toast. Thank you Mr. Softee Dunkin Donut on my lap. Not a cupcake. My gluttony knows no bounds. Frenchy morning in s. pas. Because we ran into @twworkshop and talked about it. #nelaartwalk Had to find my decaf soy latte. Fried egg banh mi from @eggslut ! Tasty. Thank you @alpnap2k for the Nan Katthai! Winter solstice dumplings. Mac n' cheese pot pie from @republicofpie was delicious. #latergram Biscuits and gravy. Persimmon ginger pomegranate sage pancake topping. #randomcreation Yes. Roasted butternut squash & potato soup. #homemade #perfectday

2 comments:

  1. To a wonderful 2013 and wonderful life!

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  2. Great post, Elsie! I love hearing about all the excitement and consider myself very lucky to get to keep up with it in person on an almost-daily basis during work lunches. I hope to hang out lots in 2013 to keep up with all the upcoming fun!

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