My 2011 in review

January: This time last year we were in Maui, on vacation! We celebrated New Year's Eve at David Paul's Island Grill and had the most amazing Ahi! The day after New Year's, we watched the sunrise from Haleakala. We also planned a Cabo San Lucas trip with our college besties.

February:  We saw the Harry Potter exhibit,  celebrated my birthday,  Mr. F's birthday, my Mother's birthday, my Grandfather's birthday and my Uncle's birthday! In the middle of the month, we flew from Seattle to Chicago to look for a new home!  I had four interviews in two days!

March: We went to Cabo with the soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Beav! We spent a lot of time in the infinity pool, and an amazing time in the sun with lots of sunscreen!

We drove across the country from Seattle to Chicago! We stopped in Boise, ID, Boulder, CO and St. Louis, MO on the way! We love our new view. 

April: We discovered more of our neighborhood and the Loop area! The kitties love the new apartment too![Lyra on a rainy weekend.] 

We met my cousin's cousin and her boyfriend for drinks at the Wit! They've really introduced us to Chicago  with block parties, new friends and El rides!We celebrated Easter in St. Louis.We went to the St. Louis Botanical Gardens.I also met a few Chicago bloggers in April at the Anthroholic Afternoon at Anthropologie! 

May: It was very rainy and full of thunderstorms in May, so it was hard to take (as many) pictures!

 Over Memorial Day weekend we rode the ferris wheel at Navy Pier!

June: We went to the Division Street Fest with my cousin's cousin and our new French friend! 

The next day, we went to the Eastside Millenium Park Art Fest and later walked through Millennium Park. We loved the Lurie Gardens! We went to Barcelona for a conference and stayed for a few extra days!We loved all the Gaudi, cava, and walking everywhere!We also made it to the Taste of Chicago and had Rainbow cones!

July:We had a fabulous Fourth at the beach with friends and a swim in Lake Michigan!We also walked around Waverly Island and saw fairies!We had a fun summer BBQ at my cousin's cousin's house too! At the end of July, we drove to Crystal Lake, Michigan for a long weekend! We loved swimming every day!

August:Lily Thomas looked cute. We ran many loops through Lincoln Park.We explored more neighborhoods in Chicago on foot and by El.We also had our three year wedding anniversary! It was a very muggy month. We had dim sum in Chinatown with friends! 

 September: We had a foodie and an oyster filled month in both Chicago and Seattle! I took a few ballet classes and we got a lot of running in.  Our friends, Mr. and Mrs. Beav, surprised everyone and made it official at city hall. We went back to Seattle for a vacation and a reunion and it was strange. Everyone has moved on, grown up, began balding, in grad school, or got married and started having babies......None the less, we had an amazing time with Mr. and Mrs. Beav. Returning to Seattle also made us realize how much we love our new lives in Chicago! 

October: We had a wonderful first fall in Chicago. We ran more in Lincoln Park and we went to the Chicago Botanic Garden and hosted a fun Harry Potter Halloween Party!

November: I went to Tampa for a conference. We celebrated Thanksgiving in St. Louis with Mr. F's family! Mr. F also got a promotion and we celebrated at graham elliott. We can't wait to go back there!

December: I did not realize how big of deal Christmas is, until I moved to Chicago. Christmas music plays everywhere starting the day after Christmas. Everyone has lights up. It's pretty amazing. We really enjoyed the Christmas Mart in the Loop with friends, too. I loved see the Joffrey Ballet's the Nutcracker. We had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas in St. Louis. We brought our kitties with us and so did Mr. F's sister. There were four cats and a dog all under one roof and they seemed to get along pretty well! Mr. F's sister just got engaged! I miss my family but I Skyped them during the opening of presents and it was just like I was there! 

Have a wonderful 2012!