2016 – My Year in Review | As Her World Turns

In the words of Jonathan Larson:

“How do you measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee…”

Well, there certainly were many cups of coffee. Time to recap my favorite moments of the year in photos! I did this last year for the first time (here), and it proved to be a great exercise in gratitude — much like my monthly recaps, it’s hard to feel anything but love and joy when you pause to reflect on all the good moments of the past year. Yes, a lot of things went wrong in 2016 (the fallout of which will affect us all for years to come) but that doesn’t stop me from being grateful for the good things — quality time with family, nights out with friends, beach walks, hikes, holiday weekends, swimming in lakes, watching sunsets, eating sushi, playing board games, meeting refugees in Greece, visiting new countries, watching my friends get married, and seeing a plethora of excellent theater. If you were part of any of these moments, I am so thankful you are in my life.

Also… despite trying my best, I didn’t take photos every time I hung out with someone. So thank you to the friends I spent time with who aren’t featured here! I appreciate you too!

Here is a chronological recap of my year…

JANUARY 2016

I flew from Boston to Los Angeles on January 1st, and ran into my best friends at the airport — Kelley & Irving and their daughter were supposed to fly out hours before me but their flight was delayed, so we got to catch up! I was lucky to enjoy several sushi meals at Octopus in 2016, often with Tamar, Grace, Rian, and more friends. While working on the Warner Bros. lot, my friend Adam and I ran into fellow Emersonian Andy.

I spent January having the time of my life working on Grease Live. Every morning I walked to work through my favorite neighborhood, got coffee at my favorite spot, worked on the historic Warner Bros. lot, got to watch Broadway vets like director Tommy Kail and actor Aaron Tveit do their thing. There were lots of ‘pinch me’ moments throughout January.

Steampunk Coffeebar + Kitchen in Valley Village is a great brunch spot where Laura, Naz, Yas, and I met for good food and conversation (pro tip: order The Stack and thank me later). LOVED getting deep dish pizza at Masa of Echo Park with Jenny & Ziggy, Allison & Craig, and Amanda & Matt. And Jinya Ramen is a favorite spot for me, Jenny, and Ziggy.

Went on a fun day trip to Laguna Beach, San Juan Capistrano, and Dana Point with Jenny.

FEBRUARY 2016

The following month I went on a few more road trips with Jenny — first up the coast to Avila Beach, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo, Madonna Inn, and Morro Bay.

And then a trip to Death Valley National Park during the super bloom — we saw millions of flowers, the glowing valley at sunrise, salt flats & sand dunes, Golden Canyon, and the lowest point in North America.

Road trip meals with Jenny — at In-N-Out, and a super delicious Mexican place in Santa Barbara.

Loved going on hikes around LA with my college buddy Mike, and trying new vegan places with Mike & Amy. Plus nerd trivia night at a bar in Echo Park.

More fun times with friends… Menchies with Kelley, Irving, and Adele; happy hour at The Grove with my Young & Restless friends; Malibu beach day with Jenny; dinner at Yard House in Pasadena with Jenny, Ziggy, Allison, and Craig.

A bunch of my favorite people met at Golden Road brewery for a fun afternoon:

Jenny introduced me to some delicious restaurants in San Gabriel Valley, including Mama Lu’s Dumpling House — YUM. And we were successful in our quest to find Portuguese / Hong Kong egg tarts!

MARCH 2016

After six glorious seasons, Downton Abbey wrapped up in early March. The past two years Kelley and I have watched every episode together (always with Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea!) so we were sad to see that tradition end.

Sojourn to Sawtelle for ramen with Jenny; drinks out with Sommer, Bethany, Matt, and Grace following a Shakespearean Improv show at Largo; post-sushi photo with Grace, Brenda, and Bethany; hiking in Burbank with Mike.

Delicious vegan brunch at Gracias Madre in Beverly Hills with Mike, Amy, and Caitlin!

An evening with Sarah Koenig all about Serial podcast, with Kelley, Irving, Jenny, Ziggy, and Allison:

Silver Lake walk with Grace, followed by deep dish pizza in Echo Park (aka the most perfect afternoon):

In mid-March I went to Denver to visit my uncle — we met up with lots of friends, explored the RiNo neighborhood, and hiked around Dream Lake in the Rockies.

Back in Connecticut, my sister hosted a dinner with our lifelong friends Emily & Carrie:

Lots of love for our pups, Missy and Oscar:

We celebrated Easter on Cape Cod by throwing a “reverse Easter egg hunt” for our parents to find all the eggs:

Easter afternoon with family:

Also in Cape Cod, we toured Chatham Light so I could take photos for them:

We also got out to Race Point in Provincetown, and then I celebrated my 32nd birthday back in Connecticut:

My birthday night included pizza, board games, and puppy cuddling:

APRIL 2016

My sister and I went into NYC to see comedian Mike Birbiglia’s show Thank God for Jokes, which was just terrific.

And we got pizza with Dad after work one day, since it had been more than a decade since I’d been to Pepe’s in New Haven:

My cousin gave birth to her second son, little Rowyn!

Then I spent a month in Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala. I’ve wanted to visit Central America for a long time and this was a great taste of the area. I can’t wait to go back and explore more — El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua are next on my list.

I did a three day sailing trip off the coast of Belize with Raggamuffin that was just lovely:

Here are some of the delicious meals I ate during my month in Central America…

MAY 2016

I got back from Guatemala and went right to New York City to work on three back-to-back awards shows.

First up was the Peabody Awards hosted by Keegan Michael Key:

And then the CFDA Fashion Awards:

And finally the Tony Awards! (They were actually in June but I’ll keep them under May as they pair nicely with the other two awards shows I worked that month.) I was SO grateful to work on the Tonys, as that awards show is one of my favorite things in life:

Plus this was the year Hamilton won everything. This will always be a special memory. Here’s Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Steve Martin, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Edie Brickell, Sara Bareilles, and Glenn Slater rehearsing one of the bumpers going to commercial:

Spent a long weekend on Cape Cod with my family:

JUNE 2016

I snapped this photo while at Lincoln Center seeing an off-Broadway play:

And then it was time to go to Los Angeles — I went back to Young & Restless for six weeks to cover vacations. I LOVED spending time there with people who are like family after all the years we’ve worked together.

Plus I got to hang out with all my LA friends — I seem to be officially bicoastal now with work split pretty evenly between NYC and LA. This is a dream come true.

Dinner and a movie with Allison, celebrating Irving’s birthday, and enjoying a fun night out with friends while Alexis was in town!

JULY 2016

Spent July 4th weekend in Big Bear with great friends — we rented a house and simply hung out all weekend. It was the best.

Sushi followed by Grey Gardens at the Ahmanson:

More sushi at Octopus… coffee at Priscilla’s with Kelley & Adele… Jinya ramen with Jenny & Ziggy… and lunch at Sage with Mike & Amy:

Brunch at Steampunk with Laura, Yas, and Naz… ramen with Tamar… Bob’s Big Boy with Kelley, Irving, and Adele… and dinner at Timmy Nolan’s with Jenny and Ziggy:

Saw West Side Story at the Hollywood Bowl with Grace, Rian, and Anthony. Hiked in Pacific Palisades with Mike. And celebrated Greg at Maggiano’s with Young & Restless co-workers — that was almost as epic as the week before when we sang karaoke!

Happy hour drinks with Laura and Nancy at The Grove!

Intense wildfires rages around Los Angeles, painting the sky an ominous orange. This shot I posted on Instagram won me a $25 gift certificate to Bob’s Big Boy — a nice surprise.

Hiking Griffith Park with Mike during the fires — the air quality was terrible. This was such an eerie morning.

Marathon cooking day with Kelley! (Recipes linked to in the body of this post.)

More fun times with Kelley in July — watching fireworks from the roof with Adele, brunch lakeside in Encino, and hiking Fryman Canyon just days before Melissa had her baby:

Had a perfect summer afternoon in Temecula at Wilson Creek winery with Grace, Rian, Elena, and Jessica:

Plus puppy brunch with Mike, Amy, Caitlin, Archer, and Reggie:

AUGUST 2016

I spent the first week of August running a video-making program for high schoolers at my childhood summer camp. It was probably my favorite week of the entire year. We had a smaller group (only 20 kids) and everyone bonded really well. This is our counseling and dean staff — these people are like my brothers and sisters: Dan, Lulu, Luis, Julie, Aila, Jamie, and me.

Moments from our week (some photos were taken by camp staff):

Celebrating mom’s birthday with family:

Visiting my cousins’ family in CT… and dinner with my college friend Blair in NYC:

I only got out to Cape Cod once this summer, but it was pretty epic (full recap here):

We re-discovered Nickerson State Park on Cape Cod and now it’s one of our favorite places:

I took several day trips around Connecticut — to Essex, Silver Sands State Park in Milford, Washington Depot (the town that inspired Gilmore Girls), and the Book Barn in Niantic.

My high school friend Harmony got married! So glad to witness her happy day and catch up with friends I hadn’t seen in a long time.

Breakfast in New Haven with my sister, and a belated Mother’s Day lunch with Mom in West Haven:

Post-show drinks with Ian, Zach, Adam, Sabrina, and me… walk and coffee with Mom… Scrabble with Dad… and a Times Square selfie with Kelley!

I worked on the MTV VMA Red Carpet Preshow with Adam & Sabrina. At first it was just another gig… but then I got to watch Beyonce on the main show, something I will remember the rest of my life.

September 2016

I spent the first nine days of September working on Miss America in Atlantic City, NJ.

Loved working with the script team on this show — Michelle, Lisa, Jennie are terrific. Plus I ran into college friend Eric who is now a state judge for Miss America!

My second work gig in September was the iHeartRadio music festival in Las Vegas — the hours were long, but it was worth it to see musical acts like U2, Sting, the Backstreet Boys, and more. Here is host Ryan Seacrest running lines with teleprompter backstage:

More fun moments from iHeartRadio:

My sister had me over for dinner one night — delicious stuffed salmon, crispy kale, and beluga lentils:

I spent an early fall weekend in Cape Cod with my parents, visiting scenic Woods Hole and Falmouth.

OCTOBER 2016

The only thing that matters for the month of October was that I went to the island of Chios, Greece to volunteer with a group that support refugees. It was life-changing and the best decision I made all year.

I returned to the States just in time for Halloween. My sister dressed as Jessie Spano from Saved by the Bell during her “I’m so excited… I’m so… scared” episode:

These cuties on the left are Pinky and the Brain… and we had a great family night out at Geronimo’s in New Haven:

NOVEMBER 2016

I spent the first two weeks in November working on back-to-back shows in NYC with my friends Adam & Sabrina — first the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, and then Halo Awards for Nickelodeon. Also memorable during this timeframe: a conversation at the Director’s Guild with directors of the past few live TV musicals. Here we are chatting with Grease Live and Hamilton director Tommy Kail on the left below:

Some great family moments this month… a comedy show in LA with my sister, losing to my dad in Scrabble, and photographing my cousins and their families in CT / MA:

I flew to Los Angeles in mid-November and stayed for a month. Had a very fun night out in Toluca Lake with college friends I haven’t seen in awhile:

But the highlight of the month was Grace & Rian wedding over Thanksgiving weekend, and all the events leading up to it! I love these people so much:

Their wedding was pretty perfect. How special to gather with all your friends and family to celebrate love:

More fun moments from November… gingerbread house making with Adele, pre-wedding moments with Grace & Rian, a pumpkin donut in NYC, and hiking with Mike & Archer near the Getty.

DECEMBER 2016

I worked on a Christmas show for Fox called Taraji’s White Hot Holidays. The best part was watching Alicia Keys and Andra Day rehearse their medley:

Mike found a great hike in the foothills of Altadena where back in 1899 a train used to take people up to a hotel and casino up here — it all burned down by 1905, but the remnants are still visible along this hike.

Holiday season at The Grove, happy hour drinks / apps with Laura, and a fun birthday dinner hosted by Jessica and Elena:

Walk through Toluca Lake, my favorite neighborhood:

Lots of visits to Priscilla’s, my favorite coffee spot in Los Angeles — where I happen to be typing these very words!

We had an epic night of food and fun at Mama Shelter’s in Hollywood, followed by brunch at WINSOME the next morning. I also met up with Tamar & Nathan for delicious kebabs at Spitz.

Very much enjoyed seeing Wonderful Town at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion downtown — from the second row:

I spent five days in Denver visiting my uncle and lots of friends:

And got to catch up with friends throughout the holiday season… dinner with my uncle and Lisa in Beverly Hills, dinner and the musical Falsettos with Julie in NYC, and visits with Terry and Phyllis in CT: