As we close out 2023 we made sure that we ended the year the best way we could. Although we ended up cancelling what would have been a beautiful trip to California we made the best of our new plans and had a fabulous end to the year.

Unsurprisingly December was a very busy month. I started the month our leaving on the 2nd of December to Europe for my last work trip of the year. It started out in a cold but beautiful Paris and ended in a cold and damp London. It was a very busy work trip, one of the more exhausting ones of the year but one that I did carve out a few moments for myself. Meanwhile back at home Jenn was continuing to grow our baby and start to get out of the first trimester blues. She wasn’t completely out of the woods yet but in comparison to the first 15 weeks she was improving each day. Her energy was coming back and she was able to keep down food much better.

I arrived back from London on Friday the 8th and the next day we went to see Gutenberg! The Musical on Broadway is our first of three shows of the month. The original plan for the month was that Jenn was going to be flying to her offsite in Napa Valley on Sunday the 10th of December but I think a combination of the holidays and stress and a slight cold for me made us decide that given everything this year it might be better if we stayed home. Both Jenn and I canceled our trips to California and instead stayed in New York for the rest of the year. It was genuinely a tough decision but after we made it we knew it was what was best for both of us and our baby.

We made the most of staying back in New York. Enjoying a lot of long walks with Frasier, brunches throughout the city, and more Broadway shows. One of my favorite memories was walking to the Paris movie theater across from The Plaza Hotel and seeing Maestro with a nearly sold-out crowd. Since the pandemic, it’s been hard to find those old movie theater vibes, and to see what I thought was a brilliant movie with an engaged crowd felt great.

Another big memory for me in December was going to see The Best Christmas of All with Norm Lewis a few days before Christmas at Carnegie Hall. We had had Carnegie Hall on our list of things to do in New York since we got here and I couldn’t think of a better way to check it off. It was a brilliant evening, but even more so Jenn was simply radiant. It’s the best she’s felt in a long time and to see her shine in a beautiful dress listening to beautifully conducted Christmas music was a memory that I will cherish for a long time.

That leads us straight into Christmas. It’s the second year in a row we’ve been home for Christmas. Last year was when Jenn got strep throat from her offsite and this year because of our baby and an abundance of caution. Because we had more time to plan this year we were able to buy each other Christmas gifts and have a proper celebration. On Christmas Eve we watched It’s A Wonderful Life during the day and went out to Bar Boulud for our Christmas Eve dinner. Jenn got a beautiful dark red dress from Rent the Runway that was perfect for the occasion. We enjoyed a lovely three-course dinner. Jenn’s dress was a bit tight so I’ll never forget having to take half of it off on our walk back home covering it with her massive jacket. The joy of being pregnant is what she would say. We closed out the night with Charlie Brown’s Christmas and the start of Christmas in Connecticut, or at least until Jenn fell asleep.

On Christmas morning we took things slow with our last Christmas without being parents. We took Frasier for a long walk and I made a nice breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast and we enjoyed a peaceful morning. We opened gifts after breakfast and Facetimed my family shortly after and called Jenn’s Dad and Joan on the phone. Christmas was also the day we announced to our broader friends and family that we’d be having a baby girl in June. We haven’t announced her name yet but Jenn did such a beautiful job making an announcement picture. I purchased her a small Lacoste outfit and Jenn bought her a onesie that said “Dada’s Little Love” which made me cry. It was such a beautiful Christmas. We closed it out with some Filet Mignon and the end of Christmas in Connecticut.

We both took off the last week of the year and spent a lot of it enjoying quiet days at home and planning for what I can only imagine a very eventful 2024. We saw two more Broadway shows (Appropriate and I Need That), went out to another brunch and dinner, and put a bow on what was a beautiful 2023. We closed out the year for the third straight year at The Modern where we had a 6 PM reservation and enjoyed another fabulous dinner. I know it’s a two-Michelin-star restaurant but their food is underrated. The eggs, on eggs, on eggs dish might be the best thing I’ve ever eaten. The best part of the evening was just how much fun we had. Forget how good the food was, we just had the best time. I think we both knew what this year was and also how excited we were for the future that it all culminated in an evening that we both won’t forget. It was delicious, it was beautiful, and it was the perfect way to close out 2023.

TV WE WATCHED

Given it’s the end of the year, it means we are also putting together our rankings for TV shows this year along with this post. I can say that some of my favorite and least favorite shows of the month came up in December. Jenn and I still love every second of The Amazing Race it would likely be one of our favorites every year. I didn’t finish For All Mankind yet but somehow that show continues to amaze me that it’s as good as it is.

The two standouts this month were Colin From Accounts a fun, easygoing 30-minute comedy from Australia that is bursting with charm, and the second season of The Gilded Age which somehow makes tickets to the opera a compelling season-long drama.

BOOKS I READ (OR LISTENED TO)

The only book I read this month was Troubled Blood the fifth murder mystery book written by Robert Galbraith (AKA JK Rowling). For some reason these books get longer with each new entry in the series, and although I am still thoroughly enjoying the series I’m not sure the extra pages are needed. Troubled Blood comes just shy of 1,000 pages where as her first book in the series was under 500. I’m now so invested in the series it’s hard to know if this is where I’ll leave Cormoron Strike or continue with these monster murder detective mysteries. This one was fun but bloated.

MOVIES WE WATCHED

It was a great month to watch movies. I’m going to skip the 8 Christmas movies we watched in December because those are all now holiday staples in the Szerlip household. Instead, I will say that Before Sunset was easily one of my favorite movies of the year, but that’s only because Before Sunrise is likely my favorite movie of the year. I love these movies.

Jenn and I went to see Maestro at the Paris Theater and it was brilliant. Jenn didn’t love it as much but I found it to be a profoundly moving and beautiful movie. A bit over done in parts, but the final scene where he’s conducting the church was worth going to see in theaters.

THEATER WE SAW

Appropriate, Appropriate, Appropriate. One of the best shows we’ve seen all year. It was an edge-of-your-seat drama that was bursting with talent both in the room (Jenna Fischer sitting right behind us) and on stage. We loved this one and am so glad we saw it.

Gutenberg was a good comedy, Jenn loved it, and I thought it was fine and clever, but not nearly as good as The Book of Mormon. We finished our 2023 Broadway year with I Need That which starred Danny Devito. Did I miss the memo? I didn’t realize how much everyone loved him, the crowd (mostly older) was in love with him. A good solid show, but if you ask me about it in 6-months I’m not sure I’d remember much about it.

GAMES I'VE BEEN PLAYING

I finished up Assassin’s Creed Mirage early in December. It was the perfect re-introduction back to the old-school Assassin’s Creed-style game and one that I fell in love with all over again. Once I finished that up I jumped back into the virtual Manhattan skyline in Spider-Man 2. For some reason, I’m just not in love with it as much as I was the first game. It’s still fun but it feels maybe too close to the original.