In exactly two months I’ll kiss my 23rd year goodbye. So I’ve taken a scattered inventory of the last two decades and some change.

I’ve:

1. Sat in the stands at Wimbledon
2. Rowed in The Charles
3. Packed for a weekend trip to Geneva after a sparkly party in Madrid. (Sparkly= a sangria-soaked evening dotted with the occasional glass of champagne.) Showed up at the hostel with a chiffon top, no underwear, and two pairs of capris…in November.
4. Walked from my apartment to the 2009 Presidential Inauguration
5. Pierced my tongue
6. Baked over 100 cupcakes in one evening
7. Danced Attempted salsa in Colombia
8. Had flowers sent to my apartment by stranger
9. Spent a Saturday watching an entire season of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team on CMT
10. Taken a class on civil rights politics from Julian Bond
11. Gone on a waffle crawl in Brussels and a bakery crawl in Philadelphia
12. Sunbathed Suburned topless
13. Established a savings
14. Filed my taxes (in the process of doing this now…big kid alert!)
15. Marched in protest
16. Learned to jump a car battery
17. Attended a World Cup match
18. Maintained the ability to do the splits (Hat tip, childhood gymnastics. Hat tip, Wednesday night yoga.)
19. Learned to develop photos, old school darkroom style
20. Graduated from undergrad
21. Had the ridiculous privilege of seeing:  Mona Lisa, Guernica, The Persistence of Memory, the Sistine Chapel, la Sagrada Família, Cristo Redentor, the Alhambra and too much more
22. Gone snorkeling in Key West. Related but irrelevant: eaten so much at a memorable Key West dinner (and sunned so much pre-dinner) that I had to opt out on an evening on Duval St. Woof.
    
23. Ridden on a bus with a hot chocolate dispenser in the back
    

BUT I haven’t

• Learned to whistle
• Earned health benefits
• Fallen in love
• Had a massage
• Made a souffle
• Made [successful] macarons
• Watched a single episode of The Simpsons or Family Guy

There’s always next year, right?

January was so hard. Working all day, everyday wasn’t the best thing. The snow is pretty but sometimes the weather was mean and hateful. Distances seemed farther, lights appeared dimmer, and every night after work my tote bag(s) felt heavier. January was so hard.

10 Highly Frivolous Items That Kept January Bearable:

• Laura Mercier Creme Brulee hand cream
• Essie Au Natural for the digis (Clambake for my toes)
• Pretzel Covered Sea-Salted Caramels from Bespoke
• Franny & Zooey
• Real Housewives: Bev Hills & Teen Mom 2
• Lush Almond and Coconut Body Smoothie
• 4 PM cappuccinos from Joe’s 
• agnes b lounge pants (a gift from the overly generous NannyMom)
• Rainboots
• Stemless wine glasses

And a few intangibles:

• This one on the end of the phone line. And this one, too.
• The 60 block walk I choose to trek on Sunday evenings (good for clearing the head, not so good when I forget my gloves)
• Remembering that I’m one of the luckiest. Family, health, friends, and a working DVR…so lucky.

I don’t wish time away and I never will, but I have to say that I’m more than excited to see that February’s decided to show up. I have such a spot in my heart for Valentine’s Day. I’m in love with the world and to quote The Format:

I love Love
I love being in love
I don’t care what it does to me

Peace out, January. See you in 2012.

Can’t stop crushing on:

Blog crush: I want to be her! (I’m sure you’ve heard)

Etsy crush: Tiny Hearts

Recipe crush: SK’s Chana Masala

Site crush: AwesomeHighlighter.com (hat tip, SwissMiss)

Design crush(es): GOOD.is infographics

Life of the Party crush: This 4 year-old’s bday bash trumps anything I’ve ever thrown together (hat tip, Black Eiffel)

(But maybe only once…or once a year)

• Watching the sun rise from a boat
• Christmastime in Manhattan
• Dudes in bands
• Drive Straight Through Road Trips
• Preakness infield
• 5AM Black Friday Shopping
• A Staten Island Iced Tea

A is for Autumn.

B is for Brandon Walsh & Bookshops & Bakeries!

C is for Crustacean. I love a lobster. I love a shrimp. I love a crab.

D is for Dolly Parton and DVF.

E is for Espana.

F is for frozen yogurt (Ahem, in order: Sweet Green, Yogi Berry, and Tangy Sweet.)

G is for a Gin Bucket (G is always for gin buckets.)

H is for Hydrangeas.

I is for Irises.

J is for Julia.

K is for the K-Street waterfront and Kennebunkport.

L is for Lipton. James Lipton.

M is for my Mama. The very best!

N is for Navy blue.

O is for Outdoor markets.

P is for Pumpkin. My fave-o veggie/fruit. And it goes in everything from pasta to pies.

Q is for exQuisite.

R is for Ray bansssssssss.

S is for Summer which includes: sailing, smiling, sunshine, Stone Harbor, Sam Summer, and shoe-less feet unless they’re in Sperry’s.

T is for Tangerines. & Theme parties

U is for Umbrella, ella, ella. A classic in its own right. Also serves the unofficial national anthem of Spain.

V is for Valentine’s Day. I love this day. More to come when we get closer to V-day.

W is Warrrrshington. It’s where I hang my hat. For now. (Also for Welsh Corgi— like my beloved Sophiedog.)

X is for X-treme, as in my life!

Y is for yellow (pale yellow).

Z is for Zenon Carr: Girl of the 21^st Century.