A Year In Review
24 Dec
Happy Holidays, my friends! I have just so much to be thankful and cheerful for this Christmas. I am so thankful for my family, my friends, and all you out there in the blog world! The support I’ve received this past year is outstanding. You all are amazing! Since the end of the year is quickly approaching, I thought I’d take some time to do a little recap of all that went on. When I read back on this past year, I was amazed at how much I was able to pack into twelve months.
In January, I packed up my life and moved into a tiny place in Manhattan. I had grand plans for culinary school, but it fell through, but I continued to live in New York City for a while. I picked up my DSLR and documented my experiences through photography. It’s this month where I started to become really passionate about it. I also met my best friend, Erica!
The first photo I took when I picked up my DSLR again.
In February, I most remember eating lots and lots of cake! Erica introduced me to Vegan Treats and I was hooked. I also got to take Erica back to Connecticut and show her around my hometown.
Coconut macaroon cake- in the post I got the photo, I wrote I didn’t like coconut! Not true anymore!
In March, I was filmed in New York City for a documentary about vegans. March is also the month that it was time for me to move back home to Connecticut. It was sad to go, but it was also really nice to be back in the town I love!
In April, I drove from Connecticut to Miami with my boyfriend at the time. It was a lot of fun! I am surprised that I was able to sit still in a car that long. Besides Miami, I also traveled to Baltimore, Maryland with my family. We watched my sister compete in a cheerleading competition.
In May, I packed up my bags once again and moved to a house my Dad was remodeling, in Fairfield, Connecticut. Looking back, I can’t believe I moved so much! And this isn’t even it! Jeez. I really drove my friends and family crazy when I forced them to help me!! Anyway, I also won Grand Prize in a Photo Competition in May! Winning this contest enabled me to upgrade my camera. How exciting!
The winning photo!
In June, I took a trip to New Jersey to check out Cupcake Fest at Sweet Avenue Bakeshop. It was a lot of fun! I also remember that I baked a massive amount of stuff- mostly coffee cake!
In July, I cooked my way through Rachael Ray’s Big Orange Book! I never officially finished this endeavor, but I made so many recipes. It was a lot of fun to veganize all these recipes.
In August, I rescued two bunnies that needed a home. We found them at a livestock auction and I could not leave them there. Astrid von Periwinkle and Professor Funkenstein now live very happily in my house!
In September, I took a trip to Pittsburgh, with my friend Chris, to attend the demonstrations at the G20 Summit. It was quite the experience! I also took a trip to Portland, Oregon in September, with my Mom! It was a fantastic trip. We ate tons of great vegan food and I even got a tattoo when I was there 
September was not all full of smiles though. In this month, I came clean to the blog world about my history with anorexia. It had been a roller coaster ride until the point where I was, and it needed to stop. With all the support I received, it really hit me that I deserve to be recovered and to take my life back.
In October, I discovered my love of kabocha squash and I played with tons of farm animals!
In November, I celebrated my 21st birthday! On my birthday, I packed up all my stuff once again and I moved back to New Haven! I lived here when I was in college, and it’s been my favorite place to live. I love it! I also threw my very own vegan Thanksgiving and almost burnt down my kitchen with vegan marshmallows under the broiler (don’t do that!!).
And finally, in December, I ate tons of Thai food and wrote this very post. I’m about to go celebrate Christmas Eve with my family, so I’ve got to wrap this up.
I hope you all have a beautiful holiday. Thank you, again, for all the support you all have given me this year. I cannot express it enough.
Happy Christmas lovie!
hope your Xmas eve is amazing and tomorrow is amazing as well!
LOVE all these photos, you are so talented!
loved this recap of the year
lots of love
xx
Eliza
All I have to say is that meeting you (going to be a YEAR since we met already? crazy!) has my made life so much more meaningful, so much more complete. I’m so thankful to have you in my life!
To the best friend I could ever ask for.. Merry Christmas!
<3!
It feels like we’ve known each other so much more than a year!
Reading through your blog always makes me so happy; you have a charm that always comes through in your posts! Thank you for your wonderful blog!
Merry Christmas <3
what a year! i’m glad i found your blog recently so i can see all the wonderful things that the next year will bring ya! merry xmas!
I’ve loved reading your blog through 2009! Great recap post. You’ve moved a lot, yes, but you’ve also grown so much as well! Plus baked lots of delicious sweets, captured the most beautiful photographs, and traveled to some cool places. You’re amazing !
Your year sounds like it’s been so exciting and I love all of your pictures! Especially the food pictures, I can never see enough pics of desserts. Were there lots of vegan cupcakes at the Cupcake Fest?
This was a great post! Oo, and Merry Christmas!
It was all vegan cupcakes! Sweet Avenue is a 100% vegan cupcake shop in NJ
i had NO idea about you and rayray’s orange book.
whoa.
yr kinna amazing.tell me next time you come to nyc!
I definitely will! I think I’m coming to NYC soon!
yay!
Awww I love this post, what a great and full year you have had. Thank you for sharing your life and your pictures and your AMAZING recipes with us, we are so lucky! (As are your adorable rabbits!)
Such a beautiful post. Lovin the cupcakes
Thinking about you! Merry Christmas, darling!
xo Rebecca
aww beautiful pictures! have a great day!
Merry Christmas Nicole!!
you had such a great year
congrats on your winning photo- i love it!! ooh and cupcakes galore haha
happy holidayss girly
I’ve loved every minute of reading about your life’s journey over the past year. May 2010 be even better!
Great recap Nicole. It’s fun to look through the post, and remember that I read about all of those moments of your year. I’d love to see you restart that Big Orange Book endeavor – I saw it at the bookstore today, and thought of you. Hope you and your family had the most Merry of Christmases
I met you almost a year ago, I think? So glad I did!
Happy holiday to you too! And have a great new year!
Thanks for the re-cap, I missed some stuff! Sweet Avenue is 30 minutes from me, yum! We got 36 cupcakes from there for Xmas!! Tooooo goooood to be trueeee!
I went to college in New Haven too, and I was just thinking that ten years ago I was celebrating Xmas there with my boyfriend at the time.
Happy holidays!
BODA weight loss
Oh my god, I didn’t know you had bunny rabbits – they’re adorable!