December is always the hardest month to write about. I know in the back of my mind after I finish this post I have to somehow sum up 2019 into one post. But until we get there let’s look back on an abbreviated December.

RECAP OF THE MONTH

As the last month of the year came in we both knew we had a very busy, stressful, and quick December ahead of us. A few days into the month Jenn and I went to The Met after work to visit the opening of “Making Marvels” that I got tickets for through work. It was a dream night. We arrived at the event, dropped off our jackets and walked through an empty museum to a reception and then the new exhibit. It was a night that we could have only dreamed of and it came true. I’ll never forget snagging a table, drinking far too many of their speciality cocktails and listening to the live quartet play classical music.

Only a couple of days later we hit our goal of going to twelve Michelin star restaurants in the year. Our final stop was Ai Fiori in Midtown. It was a short walk from Jenn’s work and on the second floor of the Langham. We got a beautiful table with a nice view of midtown and had a great three-course Italian meal to finish off our twelve for the year. It wasn’t our best of the year but it was a phenomenal experience and made for quite the evening.

One of the highlights of the month was going to see a new showing of A Christmas Carol. If you recall over the last five years Jenn and I have seen A Christmas Carol at South Coast Rep and last year at The Merchant House. This year though the new production was incredibly elaborate, beautifully produced, and one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had in a long time. To give some perspective the morning before we went to see the show I knew I was coming down with a nasty cold and by that afternoon I had to muster as much energy as I could to go. We ate at E.A.K. Ramen beforehand, but when we arrived there were carol singers on stage, fruit being passed out, and cookies being thrown into the audience. Jenn was lucky enough to snag one of those cookies (even if we had just grabbed a cookie at Smackery’s). When the show started I forgot all about not feeling well and was transported. For the next two hours, both Jenn and I were moved by a story we know by heart at this point. I’ll never forget fake snow (we believe it was soap) falling from the rafters onto all the patrons and the pure joy that only the holidays can bring.

Sadly that joy didn’t end my cold, it only delayed it by a couple of hours. Over the next weekend and week, I spent almost the entire time in bed. I missed a couple of days of work and spent 90% of my time sleeping and the other 10% watching a show on Apple TV + called For All Mankind. It’s probably the worst cold I’ve had in a couple of years. Luckily I had Jenn and Frasier there to keep me company and get me back to health. I’ll never forget being slightly delirious on Nyquil but watching Trump be impeached a moment that for as insane as the last couple of years have been felt oddly normal and unsurprising.

Fortunately, the cold was perfectly timed because just as I was getting over it, it was time to jump on a plane and head to California for the holidays. We left on the night of Friday the 20th after dropping Frasier off at a kennel out of the city. We took an Uber to the airport and after a horrific meal at a wine bar we went to the Alaska Airlines lounge at JFK and warmed up by a cozy fire waiting for our 5 1/2 hour flight to LAX. The flight (unlike last year) was uneventful, we grabbed our checked bags and walked to the Hyatt Regency across the street for the night.

The next morning we were off to Riverside. We picked up our rental car, a Mercedes from Sixt and then were off for a week of spending time with family and friends. We had my family’s Christmas party on Saturday night and then we drove from there to our hotel, the Renaissance in Newport Beach that evening. I’ll never forget before checking into our hotel we made a quick trip to our old stomping grounds Fashion Island and had gelato outside. Now in our second winter in New York, the idea of eating ice cream outside in December is lost on both of us. The next morning I joined my second “Friendsmas” at Amy’s house where I once again brought the delicious Sidecar donuts. That evening Jake, Amy, Ryan, Jenn and I had our second annual dinner at Mario’s Place at the Mission Inn. We got a great table, opened a giant bottle of red wine, and had a great evening.

The rest of the week went by like a blur. I had lunch with some old coworkers while Jenn and her dad spent a night in downtown San Diego. We met the next day in Oceanside and spent the day with Jenn’s Dad and Joan before driving back to Newport Beach that night. On Christmas we split the day starting the morning in Riverside and the evening in Oceanside. We tried so hard on this trip to be everywhere as much as possible and now looking back I think we did a good job of it, even if we drove a little over 800 miles in 5 days. It’s not easy trying to cram in so much in a week but it was worth it. We finished up our trip on the 26th spending the morning shopping with Jake and Amy at Fashion Island and finishing the evening with Holly and Max at Spaghetti Bender and closing the night off with an epic nail-biting game of Mysterium.

We flew home the next day (27th of December) from LAX to JFK and were home, eating Indian food and resting before picking up Frasier the next morning. I’ll never forget getting Frasier and him at first not realizing what was happening and then he heard Jenn’s voice and has never been more happy/excited. We drove home and Jenn took Frasier to the dog park before getting him groomed. The next day Jake flew out to New York for an incentive he won for work and by 9 AM on Sunday he and his friend Kayla were in our apartment. We had brunch that morning at Maison Pickle and dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaurants in the city, Il Buco. We felt so honored that they’d spend their first day in the city with us and we had a great time.

And just like that the month, year, and decade came to a close. Jenn had big plans for our New Years Eve so we got up early and took Frasier to Central Park where he’s allowed to be off-leash until 9 AM and we let him romp in the mud and play with the multitude of dogs out there. He got quite dirty so we washed him when we got back. After lunch, we went back out and let him have more fun at the dog park in Riverside park.

We got ready and headed out to our New Years’ Eve dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in the city, The Musket Room. This was our fourth time at this restaurant and it was once again a perfect evening. We started with a glass of champagne and enjoyed their six-course meal with another glass of wine. Every course was incredible but the duck, ribeye, and canapes were the highlight. We came back from dinner a little before 9 PM, watched one of our favorite movies, About Time, and brought in the new year with an incredible firework show in Central Park. It was one of the best New Years’ Eve we’ve ever had.

TV WE WATCHED

Being sick for a week meant that we had more time then most months to watch TV. We powered through The Morning Show, Living With Yourself, and the final season of Silicon Valley. While I was sick I also watched almost the entire season of For All Mankind a show that was fine but was a perfect “sick show.” At the end of the month after our California excursion I also watched the first half of the new Netflix show The Witcher.

BOOKS I READ (OR LISTENED TO)

Although I had already hit my goal for the year of 33 books I finished the year strong with three very good (one great) novel. I love Ta-Nehisi Coates, he’s one of my favorite authors but his first foray into fiction just did not land with me. It’s a beautifully written novel but it’s one that I struggled to follow and connect with. The next book was Theft By Finding the third book by David Sedaris I’ve read. This was random diary entries he wrote from 1977-2002 and although it wasn’t my favorite of his works there was something cathartic about hearing someone grow up, and the passing of time. And although David and I are very different people seeing his mindset change similar to mine as I’ve grown older was endearing.

But the best book I read in December and one of my favorites of the year was Kindred by Octavia Butler. It was Jonathan’s pick for GamersRead and it was one of the best books we’ve read for the podcast. An unbelievable time travel story of an African American woman who is transported randomly back in time to Maryland in the early 1800’s. A truly phenomenal piece of fiction.

MOVIES WE WATCHED

Half of the movies we watched this month were Christmas movies but we also made our way to theaters a few times as well. I saw Knives Out with Jake and Ryan and loved it. We went to see Little Women on Christmas day with Jenn’s Dad and Joan which is one of the best movies we’ve seen this year (can’t wait to see it again). The biggest disappointment this year was The Goldfinch a book I loved but a movie that was incredibly rough.

THEATER WE SAW

I know I talked about A Christmas Carol already in the monthly recap but I will just reiterate that this was a truly great production of a classic tale. I’ll never forget thinking during the show I wonder how many more times I’ll be lucky enough to see this story told. It’s one of my absolute favorites and each time I see it I take something new away from it.

GAMES I'VE BEEN PLAYING

I didn’t get a ton of time to play games this month, we always seemed to be out and about when I wasn’t sick. I expect this section to see a lot more variety in 2020.

2019 GOAL TRACKING

Goal #1: Read 33 Books: I've read 35 books and exceeded my goal for 2019

Goal #2: Run 300 Times: I’ve run 269 times so far in 2019. I failed this goal for 2019.

Goal #3: Keep Weight Under 140: I've did not go over 140lb's in 2019. Success!

Goal #4: Eat at 12 Michelin Star Restaurants: Success

Goal #5: 12 Monthly Recaps: 12 for 12.

A Look Back - December 2019