2011 in Review – My Favorites

I did my brief run down of what 2011 looked like for me, now it’s time to state the facts about my favorite things from this year!

Favorite Event: WE GOT ENGAGED! – Obviously this is going to be a favorite! Oscar proposed on the day of our 5th anniversary and I wasn’t expecting it at all. In fact, I thought he was rather UN-excited about the monumentous event that is our 5th anniversary; needless to say, I was wrong wrong wrong :) So some day next year (we have the date nailed down but are keeping it mum since it will only have the two of us, our photographer and our officiant there) I will be posting about being MARRIED!

Favorite Movie: 50/50 – Joseph Gordon Levitt (or JGL as I like to call him) is not only seriously nice to look at, he’s also an amazing actor. This movie had me sobbing – SOBBING – so much in parts that I was tempted to excuse myself from the theater and go outside to make those horribly embarrassing “glu-buuuuhuuuhuuuuuuhhhh-gh!!!!” sounds away from the moviegoers who aren’t losing severe amounts of fluid from their eyes. But it’s not just sad, it’s also really funny and really really real. It’s an amazing portrayal of what someone my age goes through when your health just gives out on you. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.

Favorite Mellow CDs: Radiohead and Bright Eyes – Both of these bands never let me down but these two releases just blew my mind. Radiohead’s was perfect for zoning out and for listening to while writing, responding to emails or needing to relax. Bright Eyes’ CD was perfect for music on rainy cold days when you just want to be quiet and think. Loved them both.

Favorite Fun CDs : Jennifer Lopez, Kanye West & Jay-Z – No matter what Jenny Lo puts out, I will rock, but this CD is my favorite one since “This was me…then” with fun songs that make me love her even more. And then you have the Kanye West & Jay-Z CD and all I can say is…WOAH. This will go down as the tour that I should have gone to see (both of these guys on stage together? How did I not go??) and has had a constant rotation in my CD player while editing photos.

Favorite Concert: JENNY LO IN CONCERT! – I’ve seen Jenny twice in concert and both times were awesome, but this one takes the cake as the clear winner. She wasn’t pregnant so she could really dance and she just seemed to be having fun. And get this, the show was the NIGHT of my birthday!! It’s like it was planned just for me! My mom and dad pitched in and Oscar and I made the 2 hour drive to Connecticut to see her. I loved every second.

Favorite New Food : Wallaby Yogurt – Random, I know, but this yogurt is so friggin’ good. The “Down Under” type is the best with chunks of fruit at the bottom and the super duper creamy, awesome yogurt on the top. I eat this as a dessert at night after buying it once on a whim because of it’s name (our cat Dexter reminds us of a little kangaroo) and I will never go back; Chobani has nothing on this stuff. I like it so much that when my grocery store stopped carrying it for a little while, I special ordered it from my local health food store…by the case….three of them.

Favorite Accessory: My Nixon Watch – I was looking for something simple to wear when I’m doing senior photos, engagement shoots and baby shoots to help me keep track of time and this fit the bill perfectly. I feel like it’s tacky to pull out my phone when I am on a shoot, but at the same time I need to be able to make sure I am moving the shoot forward at a good pace so we get to everything. And since it is basic black with just a lil bit of red (sorta like the Run DMC colors which I also ♥) I can wear it with just about anything. Word.

Favorite YouTube Video Series: Shit Girls Say – If you haven’t seen this series yet and you either are a girl or you know one, you need to watch. It’s hysterically true and reminds me of myself and a lot of girls that I love to pieces, plus I am ALLLLWAYS asking Oscar to “grab me my ____ out of my bag” or to “do me a quick favor”… but I must say that Oscar is guilty of a few of these things as well – especially the door locking bit. He says that about twice a week to me at the very least.

Favorite New TV Show: American Horror Story – I’ve sworn off horror movies because I have determined that my imagination is waaaaay too overactive to be able to tolerate them. I mean c’mon, I’m scared of sharks while swimming in pools for God’s sake! And although this show started out kinda scary, as it progressed it was just a crazy cool story with a lot of creepy thrown in. What makes it even better is that when Oscar, myself and his brother were talking about this show when it first came out, Oscar was vehemently against watching it because “It’s supposed to be like that stupid Rocky Horror Picture show with singing and sh*t”…Oh Oscar, I love it when you are accidentally hilarious.

Favorite New Website: xoJane.com – Did you read the magazine Sassy as a kid? Or perhaps when that one closed up shop, you read Jane? THEN YOU WILL LOVE THIS SITE!!! Jane Pratt of Sassy and Jane history has given up on the print world, but and has created an AWESOME website filled with irreverent and hilarious real stories, makeunders (loved those) and interviews that you always loved about the magazines! Stuff that you and your friends actually might talk about and actually have happen to you fill this site and I am in heaven for stumbling upon it on total accident.

Favorite Music Video : Cee-lo’s ‘No One’s Gonna Love You’ – **Due to my horrible memory I had to be reminded by Oscar that this video actually came out last year…but I make my blog rules and I am going to include it anyways. So there! This video is insane. It doesn’t have crazy computer animation, things blowing up or special effects, it’s just a great cover song with a great story to go along with it. The first time I watched it, Oscar was out of town for work and being the girl that I am, I cried and instantly told my best friend that she had to watch it…she also proceeded to cry. Ugh, so good. His voice, the actors in the video, the story. Just watch.