A Farewell to the Fabulous 2010

2010 has come and gone, even though it feels like only yesterday that I celebrated the start of 2010.

Beginning of 2010

Beginning of 2011

Still, I can’t believe how much has happened between those two pictures. After ending such a fabulous year filled with so much growth, first times, and fun, I'm reallyyyy looking forward to whatever is in store for 2011.

:)

Christmas Giving

ust as expected, my Christmas was amazing. My sister and I flew to Upstate New York to see our American side of the family. It was a typical Simpson Christmas, filled with pepperoni rolls, Catch Phrase, cousin photo shoots, and laughing until the aunts start crying. I wouldn't have changed a thing.

Some cousins, the sister, an aunt, and me.

Anyways, years back, when all of my dad’s sisters and brother started having children of their own, they decided that instead of exchanging gifts between everyone, they agreed to just buy gifts for each other’s kids. This was an effort to reduce the stress and clutter of unnecessary and unwanted gifts. But as the children started getting older the rules of who should receive gifts started to blur. There was no cut-off date; what happened when a kid graduated high school and then college? I am the oldest, so many years ago I started trying to make it clear that there was no reason to keep giving me gifts. Yet, every Christmas the gifts continued. I guess it’s hard to break tradition? Thankfully this year the family finally realized that, as a college graduate, I can finally graduate from gifts too.

Since I was in my early teens, I have always been against the idea of me receiving Christmas gifts. Unlike my little sister who used to write out a detailed wish list spreadsheet complete with links/sizes/colors, I acknowledge that I live a very privileged life and I have always gotten all that I wanted. I am always so spoiled that by the time Christmas rolls around I have nothing left to ask for. I have always honestly felt that the true beauty of the holiday season is showing love to your family and friends (in forms other than superficial gifts). I tried asking people not to buy me gifts and to instead make donations, in my honor, to their favorite charity. This year I took it a step even further and as my gift to others I made donations to non-profits that I thought would tie-in nicely with their interests or passions. Don’t worry, of course I made exceptions for little kids who still deserve the excitement of tangible toys and don’t understand what a donation means.

I love it when I hear about families who go to soup kitchens or send gifts to orphanages in lieu of the traditional Christmas gift exchange. In America we are so unbelievably blessed that we can afford to take the Christmas spirit to a broader level. Yes, giving to our family and friends is wonderful and should happen all year long, but when we are taking extra time off to celebrate maybe we should take some of that love and spread it around even more? Personally, I can't stand the idea of just buying gifts for my little circle of family and friends.

Yes, my face is an ornament...

As I was listening to NPR on my ride home from work in early December, I heard the story of a lady who didn’t have the money to pay her bills and never experienced a ‘typical’ family Christmas. She lived in foster-care her whole life, and now that she has an infant of her own she was so excited to finally be able to give her daughter what she never had herself, a family to love around the holidays and traditions of their own to start. It just killed me to be reminded of how lucky my family and I are even in a non-monetary sense, and how important it is to share any good fortune with others. Ok, yes I know others feel this way too and I’m probably the least giving person all year round, but the more I remind myself of these ideas, hopefully the more I can actually live them. Please don’t see this post as a lecture on how amazing I am or how people should be more giving like me. I mean it only as a gentle self-reminder to continue being grateful and remembering there is a world outside myself. That is all.

Anyways, I did receive some amazing and much appreciated gifts this year. Since I have been going on about how it’s my dream to be a bartender, the roomie surprised me with a bartending starter kit, complete with recipe book, all the garnishes, and a colorful (very important) mixer shaker thing. Also, my grandfather made a big donation to an organization that supplies desks to classrooms in Africa that are in desperate need of better facilities. He also gave me a large set of beautifully bound century old books that belonged to his father. My dream of filling a Beauty and the Beast style library one day is now well on its way. I feel so lucky to have people around me that actually listen to my hopes and dreams, no matter how silly they may be. Told you I live a very privileged life. :)

Decorating Decisions

he application for the new apartment (just 2 blocks from the metro!) has been approved and I can’t stop myself from planning out every minute decorating detail of every room of the new place. Yes, I'm letting my OCD tendencies (or as Elizabeth would say, "full blown case of OCD") get the best of me...

I will not bore you with EVERY detail I’ve planned out, but a couple won’t hurt. :)

Since most/all of the furniture in the new place will be what’s currently in Arya’s place, we will be sticking with a modern look to match what we have. Because so much is being used from his old place, but we still want a new feel, we will be changing all the details to make it feel fresh.

Overall layout of the cuteness that will be my new home!

FURNISHED! (it's not perfectly to scale and ignore the colors)

Now for the room by room breakdown!

Kitchen:

Nothing really exciting to say about this except that we will have Arya’s amazing spice collection. He is very proud about bringing that to the table, so we must give him some credit, or as he would say… “props.” No food that comes out of this kitchen will ever be bland thanks to my lovely SO.

The best part of the kitchen definitely has to be the big, open breakfast bar. It just opens the whole place up, lots of counter space for everything. It’s probably my favorite part of the whole apartment.

Oh and I will need something to help stop me from loosing my keys... maybe like this?
I'm probably one of the few people who is so awful about losing their keys that even when just looking for them inside my purse it takes me more than 10 mins to eventually find them...

Living/Dining Area:

We just ordered this huge, colorful, and happy painting to hang over the dark gray modern couch and white loveseat. 

Original Acrylic Painting, Size: 48" x 20" x 0.75" Three 16" x 20" canvases

Throw in some coordinating green, red, or yellow throw pillows on the couch and I think it will give the place a fun/cheerful vibe. 

Bedroom:

We already have black and white framed photographs to bring over to put on the walls to complete the overall black and white theme to this room. Then maybe some deep red curtains to add a little spice? That part is still up in the air, but very likely.

The real problem with the bedroom will be figuring out how to store all of our clothes/shoes. You would think that would just be a problem for the girl in the relationship, but sadly I think Arya might have me beat in the shoe department.

Bathroom:

We have the shower curtain pictured below. Maybe we'll add a couple more mustard yellow towels to bring it all together.

Don't worry, I haven't given away everything! There are still plenty of incentives for everyone to visit me and see it for themselves this December. Of course, the number one reason to see where I will be living is to see me too! Don't forget that. ;)

Oh yeah, and between now and the move-in date, I'm sure a lot of these decisions will have changed 400 times, at least. 

btw- Election Day!

I just wanted to let you know that I voted on Tuesday.

Proof:

But everyone else didn't vote the same way :(

Another move towards moving

ot official and booked the movers today... well, more like got my living social email today, saw that movers were the deal of the day, thought it was a good idea to take advantage of 51% off something I'll be buying in a little more than a month anyways. A little more than a month! That's when I'm finally moving out. :) Wow, it's about time.

My final destination for the next year is Arlington. Probably, more specifically, Ballston.

Now please watch following educational raps about Arlington.

Where I will be much more metro mobile. :)

I'll miss you Fairfax area.... but I'm long overdue for a change of scenery.