I feel like we say this every year…”Where did the time go?…Can you believe we’re coming into a new year already?” 2013 has come and gone just as quickly as years past. A lot happens over the course of twelve months however I wanted to take a moment to reflect on those events that I found most important. 
Watching Quattro grow throughout this past year has been amazing. When we first picked him up in Buffalo, NY just over a year ago, he was a mere 8 pounds. Today, he weighs in at over 80 pounds! We watched him grow as a puppy involving many sleepless nights of potty training. He attended Puppy Training and graduated. He grew through his “awkward teenage stage” with his giant ears and small head. Today, he is a handsome and strong young dog. Though he still has some growing up to do, both physically and mentally, he has become a part of our family. I feel that the first year of his life was the most important and involved the most change. That is why this stands out as one of the top events of our past year. 

July 2013 marked one year of owning our house and we finally were able to move in. After months of renovations we were able to call the house our home. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to enjoy a place that we put so much work into. Though there is a lot more to do, as with any house, the transition we’ve made is incredible. 

One of my dear friends, Cara, was married this past October. Over the course of 2013 we celebrated with two bridal showers, a bachelorette party, and a wedding. I was very honored to be a part of this very important moment in Cara and Chris’ life. We were able to celebrate their marriage throughout the year with all of the different events which made it that much more special. 

In late October, after Cara and Chris’ wedding, I met up with Nick and company down in Florida for a little vacation. It was really our only extended vacation this year since we had so much going on with the house. It was a great week of sunshine, relaxation, and good friends. 

The twins graduated in May. Michele completed her four years at The College of Holy Cross with a degree in English and Women’s Studies. Melissa completed her four years at Villanova University with a degree in Chemistry. I could not be more proud of my younger sisters. The stayed focused on their school work but also made sure to enjoy themselves. They both made lifelong friends and memories along the way as well.

Another busy week has come and gone. I swear, this happens to me at least once a month. I am jam packed with activities and outings. I can’t complain though. Makes for great time with friends and family…and of course an an excuse for a blog post! So here is how my past week went. 

Monday
We had been overloaded with leftovers from Thanksgiving. Instead of eating more turkey and stuffing, I decided to make some homemade mac and cheese. You really can not go wrong with the ooey, gooey deliciousness of baked macaroni and cheese. I like to use crushed up oyster crackers and bread crumbs to make for a crunchy topping. 

Tuesday
This week was my week to host girls night. I prepared one of my “leftover concoctions” of turkey bolognes and paired it with caesar salad and italian bread. It was a great way to use up the last of the turkey in a non traditional leftover kind of way. We then proceeded to eat an entire bowl of Christmas M&M’s. I’m telling ya, there is just something about the red and green M&M’s during this time of year that really warms you up inside. 

Wednesday
This week I had my monthly date with Joyce, Sabrina, and Jamie. This month we decided to try Greek. We went to a delicious restaurant in the area. So we could try a little bit of everything, we decided to share a bunch of appetizers. We had everything from octopus, spanikopita, to various dips with pita bread. For dessert we had my favorite…baklava. We also enjoyed a delectable treat of what essentially was fried dough with a hershey kiss in the middle. Every last bit of the meal was amazing. 

Thursday
The night of Friendsgiving the group of us decided we wanted to attend the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert together. So we purchased 11 tickets to have a night of Christmas fun. Before the show we all met at a local restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately, I was busy chatting so I forgot to take a picture of my meal. But I had a delicious Mediterranean style veggie wrap with onion rings. Nick enjoyed a Bacon Cheddar Chipotle Burger. He admitted that it was one of the best burgers he has ever had. 

Friday
Nick and I were tired from the weeks events. We ran some errands and just stopped at Subway for a quick meal. I stuck with my old stand by of a 6 inch turkey sub with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, cucumbers…and for a little kick, banana peppers. I topped it off with honey mustard dressing. Always a good, lighter meal. 

Please note the photo bomber. 🙂

Saturday
Every so often I spend the evening with my little girlfriend Maeve. This time we went to see Frozen, Disney’s latest movie. It was actually very cute. I am partial to Disney movies though. The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, The Lion King…all classics. Maeve had eaten before we went to the movie…plus we of course had snacks. So for dinner I just made myself some pasta with peas and parmesan cheese. Light and delicious. 

Sunday
It seems that for all of the major holidays I have given my mom tickets to a show of some sort for the two of us to enjoy together. For her birthday I let her pick a Christmas show. She chose the Symphony’s Miracle of Christmas concert. It was great. It really got me in the holiday spirit. Afterwards we went to the restaurant I used to work at which is right down the road from the theatre. On Sundays they offer a prefixed three course meal. To start I had corn and crab fritters. As my main course, I enjoyed the Chicken Paroma. This used to be on the menu way back when I first started working there but had since been removed. It is a spicy chicken parmesan dish with angel hair pasta. Delicious! I ordered pumpkin pie to go for Nick to enjoy.