By the Numbers: 2013

I could pretend I waited until now to post this so it wouldn't get lost in all the other 2013 recaps in your blog feed, but let's face it: I just hadn't gotten around to compiling everything until now. :) My numerical summations of 2011 and 2012 were so fun, I thought I would do another one for 2013! Enjoy....

Best of December: A Month in Review

December: The end of 2013. The month of Christmas. My first NFL game. Rocking a sock bun on NYE in the city. Here's the best of last month in my life and on the blog:

Most Popular on Instagram & Notable Events

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 

December started off on a high note when I attended my first NFL game with Jonathan and his family. (But I'm definitely rooting for the Panthers tomorrow—sorry California friends!) We also visited a nearby Christmas tree farm to chop down our tree, which neither of us had ever done before. (And the tree is definitely still up in the living room, lights and all. Whoops!)

Other notable events of the month included two holiday parties with Jonathan's co-workers and a night out in San Francisco to celebrate the New Year. Jonathan and I went to a NYE party at a lounge near AT&T Park with his sister and cousin and their significant others. I even participated in a dance-off! He told me I was a "pretty good dancer." I admitted he was better. ;) 

Autumn 2013 Book Challenge: Final Scoreboard

Photo via @mcstroup on Instagram

I think this challenge set the record for most finishers! Even though I did possibly the worst I've ever done (though I'm embarrassed to look back at the other challenges and confirm), we had SEVEN readers finish every category in the three-month challenge timeframe! Congrats to all these wonderful ladies, and thanks to everyone who participated! See the full scoreboard after the jump (and an announcement about the next challenge!).

Autumn 2013 Book Challenge: Month 3

Photo via @mcstroup on Instagram

Is it just me, or did this challenge finish way too quickly? I actually had to go back and read the challenge rules again to make sure the challenge ended yesterday and didn't last through the end of January. Sure enough, it did end last night at 11:59 p.m., and six people have already finished! So maybe I'm the only one who has been slacking. ;) Here is the current scoreboard:

Photo a Day: November

My thoughts tonight: "Quick! Better get my November photo-a-day recap up before December ends!" *whoops* But really, I almost skipped November because it is so late until I noticed I only participated four times last month anyway, so this won't take too long to share. And I really liked these photos, so I wanted y'all to see them. :)

Dear 2013 ...

Photo via @mcstroup on Instagram

When I saw Amanda was co-hosting a "Dear 2013" link-up, I knew this would be the perfect way to recap the year. As I mentioned in my November recap post earlier this month, this year has been full of SO MUCH FUNNESS. (Yes, I am aware funness is not a word. And because I know this rule, I can break it. Ha!) Without further ado ...

Cityscape on Camera: Budapest, Hungary

So Christmas Eve probably isn't the best time to bring back Travel Tuesdays, but my Timehop feed has been full of pictures and tweets from my trip to Budapest last Christmas, and I realized I never blogged about it! This post will be short and sweet so you can get back to the holidays with your family. Enjoy more pictures after the jump!

24 Before 24: Run a Half-Marathon

I think I already mentioned this on the blog once, but in case you missed it: I ran my first half-marathon last month! In fact, this was my first "real" race ever. (Unless you count the two-mile "Friendly Frolic" run at my grandma's practically-retirement-community lake every Fourth of July. I don't.) Anyway, running a half-marathon was #1 on my 24 Before 24 list and also #7 on my Life List, so that was pretty exciting to cross it off both lists. (To be completely honest, my Life List originally said "run a marathon" because I wanted to do one with my sister, but then she saw it and told me she never planned to run a marathon again. So I was perfectly happy downgrading to a half-marathon haha.)

Why did I decide to run a half-marathon? I have never been a runner. I enjoy being active and working out, if that means: playing sports, cycling, lifting weights, doing sit-ups, hiking, swimming or skiing. I do not enjoy running. My mom and sister, on the other hand, have run numerous half-marathons, and my sister, Abby, also ran the Chicago Marathon a few years ago. Abby has been wanting me to run a race with her for quite some time, so when I got engaged, she finally convinced me to train for a half-marathon as a way to get in shape for my wedding.

Currently: looking forward to Christmas!

Photo via @mcstroup on Instagram

reading | Delirium by Lauren Oliver. I'm only halfway through the first book, but holy cow! I honestly think this series will be better than Divergent. When will it get its own movie franchise?? (And speaking of underrated young adult trilogies, when will Uglies get its own movie(s)??

The Best of 2013: Read

So I'm probably not going to reach my goal of reading 53 books this year, but I have read 39 already, and the even better news is that I thought eight of them deserved 5 stars! That means I absolutely loved more than 20 percent of the books I read this year, so I really can't complain about that. :) In no particular order, here are those eight special books: