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Au revoir 2019! You were a crazy busy year with a lot goin’ on. Each year, I like to do a little recap of what we were up to. It helps me reflect on things that were, all the wonderful things I have to be grateful for, and prepare for the exciting things ahead!
This year, we didn’t only just say goodbye to another year, but a whole decade. This was the decade of my life of some seriously big changes. I mean, how could you go a whole decade without any big changes? That’s a lot of time to have passed! Transitioning from my mid-20’s to my mid-30’s, I met and married my husband; traveled internationally for the first time; bought a couple of houses; became a travel agent; said goodbye to my job of 13 years for a new challenge; and made some incredible new friends! I also had some lows – being diagnosed multiple sclerosis, losing my dad, and escaping a huge part of my life that was downright mentally unhealthy (turned out to be the best thing ever).
As you get old, it’s scary how time passes so quickly. Live in the moment, see the world, hug the ones you love, eat that extra large burrito! Going into 2020, I’ll do my best to embrace life in the best possible ways. But before I do that, here’s a recap of how our last year of the decade went.
Highlights
- We took our first baseball spring training trip to Arizona! It was my favorite trip of the year.
- I got to meet the author Frances Mayes of Under the Tuscan Sun fame thanks to my friend Lisa!
- We ventured off to see our neighbors to the north in Toronto and Montreal, Canada (including Niagara Falls).
- We bought a freakin’ house!
- We got to spend a lot of time this summer in the Pacific Northwest visiting friends in Oregon and Seattle, Washington.
- I made a big blog change here from “The Wandering Dragons” to “Appetites Abroad” since our travel focuses so heavily on food.
And here’s a run down of how each month went for us this year:
January
I love our quiet January months where we recover from the holidays and figure out what our goals, wants, and needs are for the coming year. I think like a lot of others, we also use this month to start planning and booking our travel for the year!
Russian Food at Babushka
On the foodie side of things, we ventured out to Walnut Creek to try out some Russian food at a restaurant called Babushka. It was incredibly delicious and the best winter comfort food! I wrote an entire blog post about it if you missed how it went.
Random Inspiration
I also felt like getting inspired and did a little dabbling in the self-help stuff by reading some Rachel Hollis and Mark Manson books. I even went with a few friends to see the Rachel Hollis “movie” that was out. Who am I?! I’m not usually into these things but you know how January is – where people get all into their new goals and resolutions? Me too. Lessons learned: “I am enough.” Drink lots of water. Don’t give a f*ck about about the small stuff – but do give a f*ck about the important things in life.
I also enjoyed my favorite Indian food from Curry Up Now! This oddly happened to be my most liked photo of 2019 (back when Instagram still showed people my photos).
February
February was a chill month for us. We did our usual Superbowl Sunday thing, tried out a new Brazilian Steakhouse, and made our annual stop at Dustbowl Brewing out in Turlock after getting our taxes done (adulting at its finest!).
I also went to an Italy meet up and met Cassandra of Travel Italian Style. It’s so fun to meet up with people as equally as passionate about travel (and Italy!).
March
I love when March gets here because it means that spring is just around the corner! Speaking of spring….
Spring training trip to Arizona
Our spring training trip to Arizona was one of my favorite trips we took this year. It was my first time to spring training for baseball and I thought it was a blast! Arizona has great spring weather, a ton of eateries to explore, and is a great place for any baseball lover as there are 10 stadiums to choose from to see the games at. I wrote up a spring training travel guide from that trip, and am excited to add to it this year.
Spring Brews Festival
The Spring Brews Festival we attend in Concord, CA has become one of my favorite yearly events that we go to with our friends. Sunshine, beer, and good company = so much happiness (and beer)!
Hawaiian Bistro in Oakley
Another highlight in march was finally visiting the new Hawaiian/French bistro in Oakley (Punahele Tonnelier). It really made me feel at home to have some Hawaiian-inspired food (I’m from Maui originally, if you aren’t a regular reader of the blog here)! This place is top notch. So delish.
April
April was a mixed bag of nuts for me with some highs and a really big low…
Saying goodbye to dad
April was the month that I lost my dad. April 7th to be exact, and I’m still not sure I’ve fully dealt with it emotionally yet. We had an interesting relationship over the years – my mom raised me as a single mom, though I saw my dad here and there over the years. He was a riot – if you think of Cheech Marin, he reminded me of him…easy going, likable, happy, most likely high on weed. He got too involved with drugs and alcohol over the years (which took its toll on his family – and his body) and survived a rough battle with colon cancer. His body finally told him it was too much.
I had a bowl of seafood udon the day I found out he passed away. I’m thinking I’ll carry it on as a tradition in his honor.
Meeting Frances Mayes
On a lighter note, I got the chance to go to a book signing of Frances Mayes, author of books like Under the Tuscan Sun. I saw the movie (starring Diane Lane) years ago, and it ignited a spark in me to make it to Italy one day (which I eventually did in 2015 with my husband). It was so cool to meet her in person!
I also won the raffle grand prize – a beautiful lemon jar from Italy!
May
May was a crazy month when I reflect on it. We must be nuts!
Saying yes to a new house!
Yep – we bought a house! This is actually our second home we own – if you read my recap back in 2016, you’d also know that we have one up in the Portland, Oregon area. We’ve been settled back in California for a while now, though, and were ready to invest in another place to call home again.
Travel to Toronto and Montreal, Canada
Meanwhile, we had already had a trip planned to visit Canada so we got the keys to our house just before we jet-setted off to visit our northern neighbors.
I think we had a tough time connecting with the Canadian cities – mostly because we were distracted with our new home – thinking about packing, moving, painting, and furnishing a whole house! In the end, I think our time in Toronto was pretty successful, though our visit in Montreal could have gone a little better.
I did write up a ton of posts on our trip though, and really did enjoy Toronto a lot more than I thought we would! We visited Niagara Falls, caught a Blue Jays game, went up the CN Tower, and ate a ton of food. I think we did it justice!
We also had a little escape up to Murphys, a favorite wine town!
June
June was really all about moving – lots of packing and cleaning; painting some of the bedrooms; unpacking; picking out new furniture; and really just settling in. Moving is so exhausting! But it’s worth it to have a little spot to call our own. As much as we love travel, we are also homebodies and love to be home.
July
In July, I took a solo trip up to the Oregon coast for a bachelorette weekend getaway for one of my oldest friends from Hawaii. I made some new friends, and enjoyed a chill weekend on the Oregon coast! Bachelorette parties in your 30’s = wine tasting, touring a creamery, sipping on beer, long walks on the beach, 90’s dance parties in the kitchen, and taco night. Couldn’t ask for anything more.
August
In August, we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary! We didn’t really do anything special to commemorate it except go out to dinner, but I’m glad for another year to spend with my adventure partner.
Labor Day Weekend in Bend
At the end of August, we drove up to Bend, OR for my friend’s beautiful wedding! We also had the bright idea to do the Bend Ale Trail prior to the wedding (we made it to 10 stops in two days), and visited Yelp’s Top Rated Restaurant of 2019 – Bangers & Brews.
September
Onward to Portland!
After Bend, we hopped on over to Portland to check up on our house and meet up with a few of our friends. Oh, and we also ate a lot, as usual.
A weekend in Seattle
At the end of September, we jetted back up to Seattle to visit our friends! We did a little self-guided food tour of Pike Place Market, and caught an A’s vs. Mariner’s baseball game. Not a bad way to end the month!
October
In October, we went out to Lodi a couple of times for some wine events, celebrated Oktoberfest locally, checked out some more local eats in Pleasanton and Livermore (tacos and ice cream!), and passed out candy to trick or treaters for Halloween.
I also took a day trip with some friends up to Apple Hill out past Sacramento for some festive fall activities. I discovered a very special treat…apple cider donuts! Goodness, there’s nothing better than a warm apple cider donut from Boa Vista Orchards.
I also started Appetites at Home – a blog about what I’m eating while at home! We started back up with Blue Apron, and I have a mild obsession with Trader Joe’s and all their seasonal goodies. We aren’t traveling all the time, and I really wanted to showcase the things I create at home. Although, I’m really a terrible cook and pretty much stick to creating super easy meals! (I’m not selling it, am I?)
Last but not least, I got my new Pixel 4 phone which is upping my cell phone photography game. I am in love!
November
In November, we both turned a year older. I explored a little bit of small town Martinez locally with a friend, while Micah headed out to Charleston, South Carolina for a work trip (he loved the Southern food out there, btw. I was totally jealous!).
The rest of November was relatively uneventful. We celebrated Thanksgiving at home, just the two of us, with king crab and lobster.
December
And here we come to the end of the year, and the end of the decade.
We discovered a new local ramen place for some delicious soup noodles on cold winter nights, went out to Lodi one last time for the year to stock up on wine, and really just chilled at home watching Christmas movies, and hanging out with friends and family.
Technically, this year, we celebrated Festivus instead of Christmas and I think that will be our new yearly tradition going forward.
Favorites of 2019
- Travel Destination: Surprisingly, it was Arizona!
- Book: Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
- Movie: The Joker (dark and very disturbing)
- Savory Meal/Food Item: Mac and Cheese from Beecher’s in Seattle (Second Place: Vegetarian Poutine in Toronto)
- Sweet Food Item: Apple cider donuts from Apple Hill (Second Place: Canelé from Marche Jean Talon in Montreal)
Blog Stuff
I’ve been trying to focus on writing for the blog a bit more versus obsessing over what’s going on with social media. Part of this also involves delving into the world of Pinterest, which is probably the most important tool out there I can recommend for bloggers!
Blog Posts
My most popular blog posts published in 2019 were:
Social Media
Social media – I don’t get you! Instagram followers hover around the 740 to 750 mark. I didn’t put much effort into actual posts, but instead have continued to focus on my stories, especially while we are traveling. It’s much more fun to share all the highlights rather than stressing over trying to find the right photo! As everyone else has complained, people aren’t seeing actual posts very much – engagement for me personally is down to like a quarter of what it was, which is why I don’t put much effort into it.
YouTube subscribers are up to 141. As time passes, I get a little better at filming videos. I’m shifting my focus over to food travel, but eating in front of the camera is more awkward than anything!
What’s Next?
We’ve got some good travel plans brewing this year:
- Back to Spring Training in Arizona this March
- Ireland in May
- Maui sometime in the fall – dates are still TBD – but it’s time to get back to my family
- In between our big travels, we’ll be exploring California as best as we can, in search of new food experiences!
And that’s that! Pulling together these highlights really makes me so appreciative of the life I have. It really is a privilege to be able to see the world, eat well, and live in a comfortable home.
Happy New Year and New Decade! Thanks for reading and following along with our adventures, as always.
2020 – Let’s do this!
Wow! What a year! I appreciate you and your posts so much. I can’t wait to go on new adventures with you via Appetites Abroad. 🙂
Aww thanks Deborah! Looking forward to many new adventures this year 😁