2014 Year End Review

My oh my. What an exceptional year it's been for Zach and I. I like doing these year end reviews as a way to see how far we've come, the blessings along the way, the challenges we faced, and the adventures we took together. I am grateful to have spent another year with this tough as nails dude and thankful to be still be laughing like dorks through it all.

grey skies, brown cows, and pink barns. I took this picture on Christmas eve, on the way to Zach's parents'.

Where making art was concerned, we've had a really BIG year with a ton of ups and downs. In August, we moved the studio from Foam City to a pretty cool location right downtown. With this new space, we were able to host several events and have a "home base" while we ran the Small Spaces: Lafayette project. And speaking of Small Spaces, it ended up being anything but small. For the project, over 35 artists were hired, 90% of them local, and nearly 80 works were put up around town. We battled the newspaper, critics, and naysayers. We took comfort in the kind words and support from those who loved the art. But most of all, we learned from every twist and turn how to make this project run a little smoother in the future.

Amidst all the highs and lows, I forgot to share that Tom Shafer wrote an awesome piece on Zach for the Lafayette Magazine that came out in the fall.

On the blog, we were able to roll out several different things this year. We upped the ante for "Recipe of the Week" by introducing "Recipe Re:Make," where we attempted to bring new flavors to old favorites. We didn't go too far with that, but it's something we look forward to continue in the new year.
Here's five of the most popular recipes from 2014:
Japanese Cotton Cheesecake, The Best Clam Chowder, Nyonya Achar, Crab and Asparagus Risotto, and Coconut, Red Beans, and Tapioca Dessert

We also tried doing a "Five for Friday" feature, and that went well until the summer when our blog was taken over by Small Spaces-related posts. We'll bring that one back for 2015 too.
Here's five of the most popular "Five for Friday" posts from 2014:
5 Teas to try, Kitschy Knick-Knacks, Let's start with ... cookies!, Our Garden Cat, Turning Cardboard into Art

Our garden. Oh, where should I even begin? For 2014, we were adventurous and started all our plants from seeds, using heating pads and lights in our poorly-insulated garage. Everything was growing lush and well until a freaky hail storm on the first day of August wiped out all our plants. We managed to salvage a few, but not enough that it mattered. We still have some cabbages, broccoli, and carrots in the garage. We'll wait see what happens with those. Click here to see our monthly garden updates for 2014.

We traveled some. There were several road trips to Chicago and Cincinnati, and a really long one to Baltimore for Zach's birthday. I spent 3 weeks in Singapore over the summer, and we were in New York twice this year (both times in the winter!). We decided that our favorite things to do while traveling are searching for good food, and seeking out some art!

Thank you for spending time on this blog. We look forward to sharing more with you in 2015!