This year has gone by so quickly! The last few months have been quite busy for me with work, but I’m finally back for more posts!

Today, as it is the end of the year, I’m going to share my year in photos! Let the reminiscing begin!

January:

January started as any other month, but add in a little jaunt over to NYC and here is what you get. I was able to go to the Met for the Michelangelo exhibit and happened to be there during the Downton Abbey costume exhibit; which, had there been no time limit, I believe I could’ve stayed in there for ages! The details that went into each and every outfit are breathtaking!

February:

February was your average month, but perked up by finding out I was a natural at axe throwing, received the most beautiful hand-knit hat with Pom Pom from one of my dearest friends and booked a romp through Europe!

March:

Had a bit of snowfall, met some cute doggos and baked a little bit. I did get a couple baking books as gifts this year and am hoping to bake more this upcoming year and moving forward as it is so calming and fun!

April:

Was able to paint some Easter eggs with the family, were the only people in the whole theatre and found a new home in my room for a cat mat that was gifted to me!

May:

The most exciting month of my year! The past couple of years, I’ve gone on trips in May with one of my oldest and closest best friends. This year we ventured back to Europe and tried to conquer as much as possible. In a nutshell, as I will eventually post a more thorough posting soon, we started in Berlin to stay with an old friend from university, flew to Romania (to visit Bucharest and Timisoara), flew to Belgium and then took the train to the Netherlands. I would love to go back and take even more time to really delve in and explore!

June:

Before we had even departed for our trip, a mother cat had left a litter of kittens under my traveling friends porch. Once we returned at the end of May, she continued to care for them and my family took in two of the brothers in the litter. The orange tabby is Gus Gus (named after Gustav Klimt for his golden coat) and Mr. Pip because it really suited him. You can follow their adventures here!

I also was delighted to attend a great friend’s wedding!

July:

The weather was warming up, so it seemed the perfect time for a ballgame – as well as checking out a baseball memorabilia exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts. While at the DIA, I was able to check out the Star Wars costume exhibit, which was marvelous! It is a dream come true to be that close to such iconic pieces of fashion history!

August:

I hosted book club this month by throwing a raku pottery painting party! The book that I chose was Stiff: the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. It was quite humorous as educational with regards to what happens to your body if you donate it to science when you pass.

I also began a new planner to keep myself semi-organized. The cats also grew quite a bit and were starting to get more mischievous!

September:

I finally had a bit of time to catch up on the Great British Bake Off and discover that my dream job is that of the illustrator for their show (Tom Hovey).

We had another scrumptious book club by hostess Nina, who handmade several pizzas for us and chose a book that I devoured: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.

And, last but most certainly not least, we celebrated my nephew’s 1st birthday complete with a smash cake!

October:

One of my favorite months of the year! I was officially dubbed the “Shop Mom” at one of my jobs and took off for a birthday trip to Chicago to experience some spooky scary things and visit friends.

Upon my return from Chicago and just before Halloween, our Halloween hostess for book club chose Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.

November:

Not an extremely notable month this year, unless you count straining my back and being bedridden for a week exciting. The cats did keep me quite comfortable however! Our tree was also the last to drop all of its leaves on our street per usual and I finally used a shampoo bar that I’ve had hidden away and almost forgot about from UK Lush.

December:

And here we are…December. What a most joyous time of year! Full of baking, jingle bells, gifts and time with loved ones. What more could I have asked for this year?

Cheers and looking forward to what comes next year!