2013 Favorites

2013 was a different sort of year for us. It involved a lot of change (new jobs for both of us and a new house) and not so much travel, which was really the low point of the year for me. I crave travel planning and having an adventure to look forward to, but starting out a new job means no vacation time and having two mortgages means eating ramen every night limited travel funds.

Luckily, 2014 will bring some excitement in the way of travel. We’re headed to Miami in January and Ireland in March; we may even check out Champagne (aka my heaven) and Paris on that trip. We’ve also got tickets to James Taylor at Tanglewood for July 4th. And lots and lots of house unpacking and projects to do. It looks to be a full year!

Before we jump into 2014 though, I wanted to share a few of the highlights of 2013. It may have been a different year, but it still had plenty of great times. Here’s my best of 2013.

A blissful wine tasting afternoon at Truett Hurst – Our April trip to Sonoma and Napa was pretty magical. We tasted a lot of great wine and caught up with awesome people. As you know we love Northern California, and I bet there will be a wine country trip in 2014. It will definitely include lunch and wine at Truett Hurst.

The New York City Marathon – it wasn’t my favorite marathon, but it was my fastest! A cold day running 26.2 miles through the boroughs of New York City is not something I will soon forget. I still have my eye on a 4 hour marathon though!

Our anniversary on Martha’s Vineyard – Summer in New England is the best thing ever. Being able to spend a leisurely day at the beach and exploring Oak Bluffs and Edgartown was the perfect way to spend our anniversary. We’re hoping in 2014 for some more Vineyard time. I’m not-so-secretly hoping the terribly awesome reality TV show of the same name returns.

A return to the Jersey Shore and a blissful, spontaneous evening swim with my niece and nephew – This was the perfect day with my family; warm weather, great food, surf, and ice cream. 2013 included lots of family time, but it’s never enough. In 2014 I will try for a little more.

My favorite restaurants of 2013 included Ten Tables in Provincetown, Boston Chops (though we had an unfortunate service experience that has kept us from going back since June), Sycamore in Newton, Row 34, and of course, my all time 2013 favorite, Steel & Rye in Milton.

What were your favorite moments/meals/restaurants of 2013?