2022 Trophies, Blue Ribbons and Honorable Mentions
"I bought a lot of stuff in America" is my yearbook quote for the year
When seniors at Newport High School (my alma mater) are preparing to graduate, one of the secret, off-campus things they do is create a Senior Will. I have no idea how the tech-centered class of 2020s kids do it, but we had to type it up in Word, print it out, and hand deliver it to the person in charge of making 100s of copies held together by heavy duty staples. Then, during lunch, you had to go off campus to buy your copy so you could see what was passed down from those moving on.
In your senior will, you might give an underclassman friend your lunchroom seat in the sunbeam, and you might bequeath your locker with the broken shelf to your sworn enemy. You might will a certain person perfect weather on Tolo, the midwinter formal dance. As a member of the Knightlife, I gave the Features page to an up-and-comer I knew was getting the job, along with some insider wisdom (use the newest Mac on layout day, or be prepared to spend the night in the studio). It’s a funny process, but cathartic, because although no one’s senior year is the same, the framework is similar, and there are always some things that happen to your older friends you hope will happen to you.
In the spirit of the Senior Will, I present my 2022 best of list. Our year was beyond unique (who leaves home for 6 months to make a home in their previous home?), but I bequeath to you, dear reader, the satisfaction of watching your children learn a different language, the joy of spending time with family at Christmas after a long time away, the thrill of the hunt (and find!) of second hand shopping, the freshness of starting a much-loved and highly-recommended book.
Cheers to 2022!
Best of Spain in 2022:
Brilla Cafe
Gluten and dairy free Roscon de Reyes from Celicioso for Día de los Reyes Magos
Cabalgata in Meco
Hiking in winter with no rain (take me back now, please)
Celebrating my birthday with Spanish friends who moved away
Visiting Barcelona and staying steps from the Sagrada Familia
End of masking (let that sink in, American friends)
Date night at the arcade at Oasiz
Being a plant mom
Austin playing fútbol every weekend for months
Knowing we get to come back
Best of America in 2022
Hands down, Value Village was my favorite shop. Thrifting clothes and shoes for the whole family gave me the most delight. On one of my first trips with my friend Ally, I found a brand new pair of J. Crew slippers. (Later, when they went on super sale, I bought another pair and one for Chris too.)
Visiting favorite places, like the peninsula, Fall Creek, and downtown Bellevue had us talking a lot about memories.
Susanna submitting a finger knitted necklace to the State Fair and receiving an actual Blue Ribbon
Asking for art prints for Christmas (Loré Pemberton, Kate Whitley of Little Things Studio, and Elizabeth Person will grace our walls in Spain).
Best of Noms
Cookbook: Canelle et Vanille Bakes Simple - gluten and dairy free baked goods to die for. Unique flours required, but worth it. I even made bread!
This was the (half) year of the American convenience foods we don’t have in Spain, so take this list of grocery store finds with a grain of (Natural Redmond) Salt: Taylor Farms salad kits (I’m eating one right now), Siete Brand cheese sauce, plant based ranch dressing, Miyokos truffle cheese spread, flavored sparkling water, turkey pepperoni sticks, everything but the bagel seasoning, Castelvetrano olives. It’s so funny to me that I had to come to America to try an olive from Sicily, but there you have it.
We all tried to have our fill of Specific Asian Food TM, not just general Asian food. Highlights include Kami Teriyaki in Snohomish, the undying love for Pho Austin discovered, authentic Korean bibimbap for date night, high quality sushi, and one authentic Indian place where we just pointed at items on the menu and gasped at the sight and taste of each unfamiliar dish.
Best of Media
Best TV shows and movies: Three Pines, the Chosen, Enola Holmes, Ted Lasso, Downton Abbey: A New Era
Five-star Fiction (I gave 4 stars to a lot of books, but these were the best of the best): Carrie Soto is Back, All the Little Hopes, The Nature of Fragile Things, Book Lovers, The Four Winds
Five-star non-fiction: This Beautiful Truth, No Shortcut to Success - A Manifesto for Modern Missions, Breaking Free from Body Shame, Tell Me More: Stories about the 12 Hardest things I’m Learning to Say (Kelly Corrigan is my new memoir go-to), The Woman they Could not Silence (started the year with this recommendation from Sharon McMahon and I’m honestly still thinking about it.)
Music: Andrew Peterson, the new Taylor Swift (alone, in the car), I Am They, and lots of nostalgic old school 90s music because I went to my 20 year reunion
Online stuff: I love Substack and think I’m doing a much better job with our ministry newsletter and my personal blog. Still super happy to subscribe to Exhale Community, Lindywell Pilates, and the NY Times games, where I aim to get the mini crossword in less than a minute.