2021 was weird. And to top it off, Paul and I finished the year with a case of COVID. Okay…. I’ll stop being dramatic, because truth is, 2021 was actually pretty great. I changed positions at the tech company I work at and my new role is 95% less stressful AND I actually enjoy what I do. We went on two beach vacations to Hawaii and St Lucia and also took trips to Palm Springs, Las Vegas, Minnesota, Vail, and Steamboat Springs. Our spring, summer and fall was filled with a TON of golf. And we started planning our basement remodel. Even with the uncertainty across the world, it is safe to say that although 2021 was weird, it was pretty great too. With that, I put together my 2021 highlight reel in photos. PSA: This post is more so for me to look back on, but if you are interested, feel free to keeping on reading!
January: I started the year off on a blogging and cooking frenzy. Paul and I tried out a lot of new recipes and I documented our favorite on the blog. I definitely go through blogging phases and I usually attribute my inspiration to the weather. Whenever it is cold and snowy here in Colorado, I have more time to do things like blog. At the beginning of 2021, I started getting more into cooking. I have found that trying out fun and delicious recipes during the work week breaks up the mundane day to day and gives us something to look forward to. Check out some of my favorites: Spicy Shrimp Tacos & Chicken Gyros.
February: I made a TON of charcuterie boards in 2021. We stepped up our game and got a fancy board from Crate & Barrel, which now makes an appearance basically every time we have guests over at our house. In February, we had Paul’s family over to celebrate his mom’s birthday and I brought my charcuterie essentials to my friend’s house for a chili and game night.
March: Paul and I had a fun date night at STK Steakhouse on the eve of a huge snow storm in Denver. Side note, STK is a little over hyped. I remember I was not that impressed with my entree, but never the less, it is always fun to go on date night with Paul. The next day, we woke up to snow piled up the highest I have ever seen. We ended up shoveling twice that day. At the end of March we headed to Hawaii with my family. It was also the first time I had flown in a year and also the time we have ever flown in first class with lie down seats.
Hawaii Posts: United First Class // Delta First Class // Hawaii Travel Day Vlog 1 // Golf & the North Shore // Final Hawaii Vlog // My Guide to the North Shore // Travel Review: Grand Waikikian by Hilton
April: Our Hawaii trip spilled into April, and when we returned from vacation, I won an award at work! I was so surprised I think I blacked out when they announced my name, but I managed to snap this picture to send to my mom. Historically, this award includes a trip to Hawaii, but due to COVID, I received a cash prize instead. At the end of April, Paul and I went to Las Vegas for a long weekend of golf and yummy food. My parents graciously let us use their timeshare, and we stayed at a Hilton towards the end of the strip. We played golf at Bali Hai and TPC Las Vegas. In the evening, we went to Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant and Nobu.
May: The weekend trips continued and we went to Palm Springs for our friend’s 30th birthday party. It was my first time in Palm Springs and I am now obsessed. I definitely envy the retired snow birds who live in Palm Springs half of the year. At the end of May, we headed to Steamboat Springs to celebrate Paul’s birthday with golf and food (our two favorite combinations).
June: Consisted of golf every weekend with a trip down to Colorado Springs for my cousin’s wedding. Paul and I celebrated Father’s Day with my dad and took him out for a round of golf.
July: Was pretty eventful. I played in my first golf tournament with one of my friends from the club we belong to. I played terrible, but it was fun coordinating matching outfits and dealing with the pressure of tournament golf was a good experience. On a positive note, Paul won the men’s division of the tournament. I flew to Seattle for a long weekend to attend my friend’s baby shower and also catch up with my first roommate and friend from when I moved Denver in 2016. The month concluded with my 27th birthday party!
August: I started interviewing for a new position at my company in early July and got the offer in August. It was bittersweet leaving my team at the time, but the new role was an exciting change. In August, my bff from high school, Juliana, and her husband Martin visited me and Paul. This month Paul and I also played in a golf charity scramble with some friends and came in third place. I concluded my summer travels with a trip to my hometown to visit my grandparent’s and great grandma. It was the first time my sister and I had seen my grandma and 100-year old great grandma since before the Pandemic!
September: We played even more golf, went to our friend’s wedding, and celebrated Rex’s third birthday! My grandpa also visited and I got to play 9 holes with him and my dad.
October: Was a busy month and it kicked off our streak of non-stop travel each weekend. The month started with trying a new favorite recipe of ours from Half Baked Harvest, followed by a work trip to LA, a long weekend in Minnesota visiting friends, our anniversary trip to Vail, and a golf trip with more friends to Eagle, Colorado.
November: We took a few weekends off of traveling as we prepared for our much anticipated vacation to St. Lucia. We were gone the entire week after Thanksgiving so it gave us an excuse to decorate for Christmas early this year. We celebrated Thanksgiving with Paul’s family the day before and my family on Thanksgiving Day. The following evening, we hopped on a red eye flight and started our vacation in St. Lucia where we got to stay in an over water bungalow!
St Lucia Blog Posts: The Ultimate St. Lucia Packing List // Review: Sandals La Grande St. Lucia // Vlog: Final Days n our Overwater Bungalow // Vlog: St Lucia Overwater Bungalow Tour = Private Dinner // First Class Review: United from Denver to St. Lucia // St. Lucia Vlog: Cabanas & Golf // JetBlue’s Mint Seas Review // Travel Day + First Full Day in St. Lucia
December: The year concluded with a few weeks of work before the holidays. I was nervous about some nasal congestion and Paul’s scratchy throat the morning we were supposed to bake Christmas cookies with my family so we took at-home COVID tests. If you missed my COVID-Christmas post and didn’t read the beginning of this post, spoiler, we have COVID. We spent the holidays at home with Rex and were able to celebrate virtually with our families. Sorry parents and Allie, it appears I accidentally took a screenshot of our FaceTime and just found it when I was working on this post. I thought it is a good addition to the blog 😉
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xoxo Olivia
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