2012: A Year in Review

3rd January 2013

OK, so I’m a little behind on the “how great 2012 was” posts, but in all of its cheesy goodness, 2012 was a pretty great year. From new friends, triumphs personally and professionally to a few fantastic adventures with loved ones, 2013 has some big shoes to fill. Month-by-month, here are just a few of its highlights:

  • January: I started the new year embarking on a new tradition with colleagues who also double as great friends (funny how that works). Our book club, morphed into craft club, which quickly became wine club and it’s still one of my favorite monthly traditions.
  • February: I made my first ever ski trip and it turned out not nearly as terrifying as I expected. Three days, a few blue-black runs later, I was hooked and found a new passion.
  • March: I ran my second half marathon with one of my dearest friends and despite the never ending hills, we beat our goal of 2:05, coming in at 2:03. I was psyched. Just a few months later, another friend dragged me across the finish line of my third half at a time of 1:49. It’s impossible to think I took 17 minutes off of my very first half marathon just over a year ago. Training pays off, and better yet, falling in love with a sport that revolves around free time with my favorite people.
  • April: P and I wound up with free entry into Atlanta’s Great Urban Race. Awesomeness and a lot of running ensued and landed us a trip to Vegas.
  • May: My baby brother graduated from UGA, marking the second of four Dennihy kids to do so. My ties from UGA are officially cut (for now, come on siblings three and four). This was a heartbreaker, for the first time in six years, Athens no longer offers a dedicated couch to sleep on.
  • June: I had the opportunity to travel to Chicago several times over the summer for work, talk about blessings for business trips at the most beautiful time of the year. Even the 5:30 am runs were worth it.
  • July: I took a full week vacation for the first time ever. It was amazing.
  • August: P and I went to our first UGA game in Alumni seats. Fancy. (This may have been in September, who knows, but the tickets were a birthday gift and that was in August, so it counts.)
  • September: I went rock climbing outdoors for the first time with my best friend. Another sport I am now hooked on. (Sensing a pattern here…wilderness, no technology…humm).
  • October: We took a family trip to New York for my Grandma’s 80th birthday. We also had a chance to visit a former mental hospital on Long Island that is now deserted. Yes, an odd tourist destination, but the history buffs in the family (myself included) were thrilled.
  • November: Vegas! We survived the national championships and are already scheming on how to make it to next year.
  • December: A week off of work meant lots of time with family and friends. We spent a large portion of it playing things like Words with Friends version 1.0. How primitive.

2012 could not have left me more blessed or with a bigger smile on my face and I cannot wait to see what challenges and adventures 2013 throws my way. What highlights did 2012 bring you?

Southern Living Decorating Charm

21st December 2012

Image via the Southern Living Idea House Website

Since graduating college, I have taken on a love-hate relationship with home decorating. On the love spectrum, there is nothing I love more than finding the right little wooden box to store magazines or the perfect trinket to fill a shelf. However, on the hate side, it seems my post college tastes and my post college bank account have yet to catch up to each other.

Thank goodness for Pinterest and its never ending supply of DIY solutions for a gal on a budget.

So when a good friend shared tickets to visit Southern Living’s annual idea house, the wannabe decorator in me jumped on the opportunity. Each year, Southern Living Magazine selects a home and stages it from top to bottom {Talk about dream living spaces} giving guests inspiration and shopping tips from top to bottom. This year’s home is conveniently located in the picturesque town of Senoia, Georgia, just a little over an hour south of Atlanta.  I’ll let you read all about the house itself with Southern Living here.

Even though I am unfortunately not writing this from the comfort of my own restored 1900’s farmhouse, there were quite a few fantastic ideas I can’t wait to tackle myself – on a 24-something’s budget and timeline.

Curtains are such a simple way to brighten up a room and add a splash of elegance, no matter how small the space. I toyed with the idea of creating my own out of burlap for quite some time before settling on this pair I created with a painter’s drop cloth and some stenciling, but I have fallen in love all over again with this pair at the front of the home. The little details of rope as a tie back are just perfect. And with sites like this one, this is a cheap weekend project I’m adding back to the list. 

Little trinkets and collections are one of my favorite ways to add character without a single, expensive piece. These vintage trophies are fantastic. Target had a similar collection recently, while I also love the idea of a collection of old bottles  {which I also have a soft spot for} or even a collection of ceramics.

Pillows, pillows, pillows. Who wouldn’t want to fall asleep on this porch-side daybed? While my dreams of a southern porch are still on hold, there are plenty of easy pillow tutorials out there, or you are always only a shopping trip away from finds at TJ Max, or my personal favorite, World Market. 

So there you have it, I’ve fallen in love and will be adding ‘move to the country’ back to my bucket list. However, in the meantime while I’m living in the real world, these little projects will have to keep me occupied. What projects have you completed to make your house {or in my case, apartment} feel more like a grown up home?

{PS, interested in visiting the 2012 Southern Living Idea House yourself? Check out the full remodel and order tickets here and be on the lookout for the 2013 home soon}.

The Pilgrims and the Romanians

23rd November 2012

Late yesterday afternoon as my Mom and I checked off the final items of our grocery list,  we received a phone call from my Dad. While Thanksgiving at my household is always a small affair with our immediate family, he shared how had invited a new guest to join us for Thanksgiving dinner. Our new guest to be was a coworker from Romania who does not have any family in the United States. He had shared with my Dad that afternoon in conversation that in his nearly decade in the States, had never experienced Thanksgiving. My Mom of course welcomed him with open arms and plenty of food (as any Italian chef always cooks for 15 when the group is certainly less than 10).

This afternoon, we listened to this man share his story of how he had always dreamed of coming to the United States, from the time he was a teenager. He made the trek here a little less than a decade ago and shared with us how in his first few months, he wanted nothing but to return home as the experience of knowing no one in a new place was overwhelming. He quickly reminded himself that this was his dream and well, he stayed. He shared his history, what eventually lead him to Georgia and what he is most Thankful for in his life.

The day’s conversation left me with a quite a few things to be thankful for and certainly a few reminders for each and every day.

Share your passions with others. Share a meal, a conversation or extend a welcoming hand. I’m so incredibly blessed to have parents who have not only taught me this every day of my life, but who also continue to outpour their love on others. If you think no one is watching, think again. Your actions inspire those who surround you.

Follow your dreams. Don’t ever sell yourself short of exactly as you have planned them. With dedication, hard work, faith and maybe a little luck, you can achieve that little ‘what if?’ in the back of your mind. Sure, you may have to make a few tweaks along the way, and the road will always be rocky, but you are the only one person truly responsible for your destiny.

While a single Romanian man at our family dinner table is far from the tales of the pilgrims and the Indians more than 350 years ago, it was certainly full of simple reminders of thanks and left me a little more inspired and grateful on this historic and humbling holiday.