Looking Back | 2014

Check out my past "Looking Back" posts! 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013

So, 2014 has come to an end. I haven't made a post here all year, what is up with that? I'll definitely have to do detailed posts about everything that happened this year - eventually. For now though, I'll just do my annual "year in review" which I've been doing since 2010 (woah).

Looking back, I have to say this year has been absolutely incredible. I knocked some things off my bucket list (NEW YORK CITY!!!), I finally got to see British Columbia which took my breath away, I got my first job, saw tons of concerts, and went out of my comfort zone quite a bit. I'll let the photos do the talking, so starting with January..

For Christmas last year, Jared and Shanna got me tickets to see Panic! At The Disco who have been one of my favorite bands for almost 10 years now. We saw them January 30th and they were so amazing live, I would totally see them again!

On March 28th, I saw Hedley for the 3rd time on the Wild Live Tour! Their new songs were amazing live (especially Heaven In Our Headlights, man I love that song), and they never disappoint. Can't wait for the next album/tour!

In May, the Habs were having a few away playoff games televised on the jumbotron at the Bell Centre, so Jared, Shanna and I went to 3 of them! We saw them kick Boston out of the playoffs, and I have never seen anything like that in my life. It was insanity. Good times. But, not so good times when we saw them go golfing against New York. Still, though, I think I'll remember this playoff run for a very long time.

For my birthday, Jared and Shanna got tickets to see Twin Forks! They introduced me to them a while back and I really got into them so it was awesome to see them live. Plus, I met them and got my CD signed. The longtime Dashboard Confessional fan in me was pretty happy about meeting Chris Carrabba, haha.

This summer, I went to New York City with Jared and Shanna. Yes. NYC. Which has been on my bucket list since watching Home Alone 2 as a kid. And then when I got into Glee, even more so. We went to Battery Park where I got to see the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 Memorial, we saw Aladdin on Broadway, Central Park, Bryant Park where they shot countless scenes of Glee, saw a Yankees game, Nintendo World, Times Square and just so, so much more. More than I ever dreamed of seeing. I swear I'll make a post about it sometime. Oh, and did I mention I got a book signed by Chris Colfer? Yeah. What a trip that was.

Mario and Zelda showcase at Nintendo World in NYC. Heaven!!

In July, Peanut unfortunately passed away at the age of 13. I've had her since I was 10 and she was my baby. I'll always remember her as being a happy girl who loved her ball. RIP my girl. ♥

In August, just a few weeks after NYC, my family and I travelled west to the beautiful province of British Columbia. My sister Katie lives in Victoria, so we all went to visit and did all sorts of fun things like the Butchart Gardens (pictured above), Beacon Hill Park, whale watching, and had s'mores by a bonfire. :) BC really is such a beautiful place and I can't wait to go back!!

On October 19th, I saw Demi Lovato, who I've been a fan of since 2008. I remember watching Camp Rock and was like "Who is this girl?!" and a few months later she put out her debut album. She's had her struggles along the way and it's really inspiring how open she is about it all and how she's overcome so much. Her song Warrior really talks about that and I was almost in tears when she sang it live. Her songs have made me a stronger person and to finally see her live was such an incredible and overwhelming experience. I can't wait to see her again. :)

I got my first job in September, and I've been saving quite a bit. So in November after I've saved enough money, I bought a Wii U with Super Mario 3D World and Mario Kart 8! I LOVE it, and I'm so happy I finally bought one. The games are so much fun and the HD graphics are stunning!

On November 23rd, I saw Simple Plan for the 10th time. These guys... I can't even put into words. I was front row, and it was my first time seeing them play an acoustic set. AND they played a new song called "Boom" that will be on the new album next year! I told Chuck (top right) that this was my 10th show and he was so appreciative and kept thanking me and that he hopes to see me at all the next shows. I'll be there Chuck, I'll be there, haha.

♥

And finally, December. Which consisted of sisterly and family bonding time, an insane amount of Christmas baking, some new video games, shirts and pyjamas, Jakey in front of the tree, and a new iPhone which I was (thankfully) able to upgrade to! What a year.

December 8 | Plattsburgh Run

So tonight we went to Plattsburgh to have a nice family dinner for Wendy's (my pretty awesome stepmom :D) birthday! Then after that we did a couple of grocery runs at Price Chopper and Walmart. We got a bunch of baking supplies since we're gonna be baking for Christmas. I'm super excited.

Aaannddd tonight was the first night of Hanukkah! I'm currently listening to Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah by the Glee Cast. It's wonderful, haha. Also the rest of their new Christmas album. Yeah. So, tonight was super awesome and hopefully tomorrow we'll light the menorah since we weren't home to do it tonight!

Chateaugay Lake | Summer

The lake has always been one of my favorite places to go. I've been countless times in every season except winter.. which I still really want to do one day. 

Of course, the dogs were brought along! Couldn't leave the girls at home. :)

Zoey doing her favorite pastime at the lake.. she's a bit crazy. :D

Boat ride! One of the best parts of the day.

She's 11.. but I swear she still fetches as well as she did when she was 2. She's slowed down and can't do it as long, but man does she jump into that lake!

I'll be going again in the fall... I can't wait. I hope it's as gorgeous as it was last year! :)

Off Cruising Days 7 & 8 - Sea Days

The last two days on the ship were a long travel back to Florida, so they were both sea days.

Our last towel animal - a bat.

Saturday was a day of packing everything up, sadly!

It was a really, really fun week, we all had a blast on the ship! We were sad to leave the Freedom for the last time. HOWEVER, our vacation didn't end here! We still had a house waiting for us in Boca Raton, Florida for a week!

One last sunset on the balcony.

Sunday morning, we docked in Florida, and we walked off the ship one last time. And then we were off to Boca for a week! Sadly we didn't have very good weather, it rained all week, but that didn't stop us from shopping. All we basically did was shop. And eat. I caught up on my TV shows while it rained so that worked out. Yep!

A week of lots of shopping, eating, and rain later, we were off on a plane back to New York.

When we landed in Plattsburgh, we did some shopping there. Mostly for groceries because grocery shopping in the States is just awesome.

Montreal skyline from the bridge.

That's all the pictures from my trip! I have Canada Day pictures to come and some other pictures from a few months ago that I haven't posted, so those will be blogged about shortly. :)