2011 in review: July - December

I missed a day yesterday so I'm going to double up and recap my last 6 months of 2011 in this post :). Let's kick things off with July!

July

(there is a great story behind this picture. I'll have to give that its own post!)

I was still on my mini-vacation with my mom in Ohio at the beginning of the month. We celebrated 4th of July there with some fireworks and way too much food. When I got back to Chicago, I painted my apartment (with a little bit of help from my roommate) and moved into my new bedroom. I spent most of this month renovating my apartment and I had a BLAST doing so. I still need to post the pictures of my apartment tour :).

August


This month was really fun. I spent a fair amount of time exploring Chicago which is SUCH a great place to be. I visited the Graceland cemetery, took pictures of the Marilyn Monroe statue, and stopped by the Vietnam memorial. I spent lots of time outside soaking up the weather before school started.

September

Looking back at my pictures from September I notice that I spent the whole month cooking! I also got a new job at United Colors of Benetton and started my last year of college. As usual, I went to the Renegade craft fair and came home with a really great letterpress poster.

October

I TURNED 21!!! I had a really busy birthday month but a good one nonetheless. To celebrate my birthday I had a pancake party and went to a few bars. I didn't go out for Halloween this year because I was so exhausted from the past two months of work, school, and my internship.

November

The only thing that stands out to me from November was coming home for Thanksgiving. It was the first time I'd been home since May and it was the most relaxing week I'd had in a while.

December

My last month of 2011 was busy with finals, Christmas shopping, and work. I came home for Christmas and enjoyed the last few days of my year with my family.

I regret that the last few months of 2011 got so busy. October, November, and December I almost felt as though I was drowning beneath all of the work I had to get done. I stopped seeing friends and posting regularly on the blog. I spent almost all of my time alone and I'm sad that I let my schedule get the better of me. Tomorrow I'll be posting about my goals/resolutions for 2012 but I'll say right now that I'm going to do my best to keep my chin up and relax a little. Sometime I take life too seriously.

On a positive note, I had a fabulous year in 2011. I spent my summer living in Chicago which was an experience I wouldn't trade for the world. I had two different internships, built some forever-friendships, and even met a few blog friends! I feel like I grew up a lot this year and learned even more about myself.

Thanks for sticking around with me this year. I absolutely love this blog and the creative outlet it provides for me. I can't wait to spend this next year with all of you :)!!

xoxo
Mal