The Gosh Gee Golly Bests of The Year

Best-of-the-year list time is my favorite time of year, so if only for posterity, I am writing one for my own blog. Here it is: 

Book: I couldn't put down Detroit: An American Autopsy. You'll shake your head in disbelief just about every page. Charlie LeDuff doesn't pull any punches, even when he's writing about his own disfunction. What will happen to Detroit? How will this story end? I also was surprised that Bourdain pretty much rehashed the book in his Detroit Parts Unknown episode, but at least LeDuff was along for the ride.

Honorable mentions:  The Interestings, The Light Between Oceans, David and Goliath, Beautiful Ruins

Music: I felt kind of behind on new music this year, so I am going with what I know. Sorry haters, Vampire Weekend is a crowd-pleaser for a reason. Their latest, Modern Vampires of the City, seemed heart-felt. I played "Step" about a million time, but that's not my favorite moment. That has to be the spoken word lyrics on "Finger Back" that goes: "Should she have averted her eyes and just stared at the laminated poster of the Dome of the Rock?" This is just the best for some reason I can not articulate.

Honorable mentions: Tegan & Sara's Hearthrob, Lord Huron's Lonesome Dreams, Thao & The Getdown Staydown's We The Common, Jessie Ware's Devotion and for single, Wale's Bad, not the Rihanna version.

Concert: This is cheating, but Coachella. I can't believe we went. I wrote here about all of our adventures, including falling in love with Father John Misty and nearly getting squished by a giant snail.

Politicians: Our leaders continued to let us down this year at nearly every turn, so I am turning to Canada for some dark comic relief. Put aside Rob Ford's crack scandal for a moment, and let's just focus on his pratfalls. Running into a camera, inexplicably collapsing when attempting to throw a football, dropping candy just out of reach of children at a parade — here's one person who actually does need a reality show.  

Blog: The Racked.com universe!

Fashion: I like that the Topshop section at Nordstrom Pentagon City exists, that the Brooklyn Flea made it to Washington, and I thought that Thread at Union Market was ambitious, lovely, and unlike anything in D.C. 

Personal: I left Mount Pleasant and moved in with Joe to a groovy little (emphasis on little) apartment on H Street. I loved living in Mount Pleasant with the best roommate ever, but I was excited for Joe and I to start a home together. I counted down the months from January until July. We fell in love with our place and the neighborhood, from Hunted House to Boundary Road.

After three years and some change of growing my hair out, I pulled a Miley and chopped it all off. I think my hair likes being short. Don't know if the world likes it, but who cares.

I took barre classes and yoga classes and tennis classes and quit my gym.

I've challenged 10 bartenders in D.C. to make cocktails on the spot with crazy ingredients like quail eggs, Four Loko, and marmite for my WCP column Remixology (!) and I've been so amazed at the results from these creative folks. So impressive and unflappable.

I still need to pinch myself about Racked DC, I can't believe it. It's been amazing and I can't wait to hit the ground running in 2014. I made some tough decisions over the past two years, knuckled down and did work, got some very lucky breaks, and help from folks around me, and maybe that's the secret, huh? Just stick around and keep plugging away.

The DIY Move With Wegobox

Note: this isn't a sponsored post. Just wanted to share about my experience using an eco-friendly box service for my move, because I think it's a cool idea. Keep in mind that I am the type of person who will go above and beyond to be "green," i.e. the type of person who would actually buy an indoor composter. With that in mind, here it goes:

I've never bought boxes for a move. Last time, my office happened to be moving at the same time and I acquired boxes that way. But alas, that wasn't the case this go around, and I didn't feel like buying something that was just going to be thrown away. Plus, we didn't hire movers so I wanted to make it as easy as possible. All of this is a justification for dropping a not insignificant amount on Wegobox. 

I would do it again, though! The company dropped off the boxes a week before my move. You can see above: that's the "1 bedroom" stack of boxes. The boxes blocked out the sun in my apartment. I thought I would never use all of them. But I did... It's amazing how much stuff you can accumulate without realizing it.

I loved not having to tape up the boxes, and the fact that they are stackable. Just throw things in and close the lid. The thing is that they can get heavy fast, so I didn't fill them up all the way. As you can see from the box filled with outlandish shoes and the Holy Bible. That pretty much sums me up.

The move itself went so smoothly. We couldn't have done it without our friends, who graciously came to help. I have no idea why. Moving is horrible. The only answer must be that they are saints on earth. Joe's friend Mark packed all my stuff up in the smallest U-Haul with a Tetris-like precision that I still can't get over. In the picture above, you can see me "helping." By carrying an ironing board and eating a donut.

When we arrived at our new apartment, we wheeled out the boxes on two of Wegobox's dollies, right up the elevator and into the apartment. Then a week later, the company picked them up and that was that. I think it definitely helped our move. 

We're loving the new apartment! It's very, very small. The floor plan is kind of a loop, so Joe and I kept going in different directions and then bumping into each other. "Oh, you again?"

But I think it's going to work out just fine. In fact, it's going to be groovy. For now, I'm plotting out my next shopping spree at the Container Store to figure out where to put all this stuff I spent so much time and effort moving here. Can't wait to get it all corralled!

IRS Romance

I just sent my accountant my 2012 tax questionnaire with all my paperwork, and towards the end of the questionnaire, there were questions about 2013 so he'd know what to plan for the future. One of the questions read:

"Do you anticipate a change in marital status in 2013?" And there was space to check yes or no.

But in between "yes" and "no," I wrote: "Possibly."

I wonder what the accountant will think of this. Maybe he'll have a laugh.

I told Joe about this, and he said. "Did you write: it better?"

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!

Sincerely wishing you peace, happiness, and a wonderful end of 2012. I'm here visiting with Joe's family in Indy and Chicago, trying to be on my best behavior and not spill too many things.

Turkey Day

Thanksgiving Dinner, 2012

Norman Rockwell meets 2012. Don't worry, this picture is staged. We did talk to each other, instead of staring at our respective smartphones at the dinner table. When you see your parents semi-successfully navigating Android phones, doesn't it make you feel like we are truly in a brave new world?

As for the dinner itself, my brother smoked the turkey outside on the grill, while my mom labored over the sides. In accordance with tradition, I made a mess hall's worth of mashed potatoes. Mostly for myself. It's my favorite food after all.

Other than that, I didn't do too much work. I showed Joe my room at my parents' house, untouched since my teen years. Which means the creepy White Stripes poster is still on the wall and there are stuffed animals everywhere. "Look, I'll show you all the stuffed animals I treasured as a child," I said to Joe, gesturing at an entire bookcase of teddy bears and Beanie Babies.

"Please no," he said, with true fear in his eyes. Then he relented. "Maybe just the most important one or two."

"Well, they all have a long and complicated backstory," I said.

Hope everyone had a delicious dinner and a restful holiday weekend! And I hope your turkey was as gorgeous as this bird!

Kate Getting Married

Photos courtesy of Lauren C.!

Last Friday, my friend and wonderful college roommate Kate married the love of her life, Dan, in such a beautiful setting. Who knew that the ruins of a 18th century gristmill in Powatan, Virginia would go on to have such a robust life as a wedding venue?  I heart the string lights over the ruins. They are so beautiful and a really nice touch.

Our friend Tori gave us a quick synopsis of the history of the site as we walked to the ceremony. She said it was owned by a relative of Thomas Jefferson and we joked it was his brother Jeffrey "Jeff" Jefferson.

Anyway, Kate and Dan were so happy, the food was awesome, and the DJ did a great job —and may the record note that that he played "Gangnam Style not once, but twice!