2011 helped me find my smile

2011 was a challenging year for me, but it's one I'll always feel affection for whenever I think back on it. I was pushed and pulled to places where I'd never thought I'd be able to stand with two solid legs. It was a year of discovery, harsh realities, acceptance, validation, growth, and, most importantly, forward momentum. All those lessons led me to be kinder to myself than I ever had been before, and that has made all the difference in the way I feel right now. I found a genuine way to be happy, and that's what I hold in my heart as I enter 2012. 2011 was a tricky bugger, but it made me find my smile. So with this year coming to a close, it's fun to remember all the things and experiences, both great and small,  that made me smile this year. 

One of my resolutions for 2011 was to read the written word more (and that does not include magazines). True to my promise, I've devoured a selection of books with an enthusiasm that had been dormant since my bookworm days in high school. I've been keeping a ongoing reading list, but below are my 2011 selections:

• In the Skin of a Lion / M. Ondaatje (in the middle of this right now)
• Auberge of the Flowering Hearth / R. de Groot
• One Day / D. Nicholls
• A Moveable Feast / E. Hemingway
• Dickens on France / ed. by J. Edmondson (1/2)
• Anna Karenina / L. Tolstoy
• Never Let Me Go / K. Ishiguro (1/2)
• Not Under Forty / W. Cather 
• Sake: a modern guide / B. Timken

Maybe it was because of the forced break my broken ankle forced me to take, but I don't think I've consumed as many movies in one year as I have in 2011. It seemed like every month, there was always a new release to be enthusiastic about or I would find something on television or Netflix that I absolutely adored. As with my reading list, I also keep a movie list, but here are the titles that I saw in 2011 that got my heart beat faster:

• A Letter to Three Wives
• Drive
• Attack the Block
• In the City of Sylvia
• Midnight in Paris
• Super 8
• Hugo
• I am Love
• The Italian
• Beginners
• Jane Eyre
• Shame
• Get Low
• Animal Kingdom
• Piranha
• Joe Versus the Volcano
• The Guard
• Certified Copy
• Network
• City Island
• The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover
• Bridesmaids
• Being Elmo
• Le Cercle Rouge
• The Amateurs
• 13 Assassins
• Go
• White Material
• Fish Tank
• The Secret in Their Eyes
• Un Prophet
• In a Day
• Restrepo
• Joan Rivers: a Piece of Work
• Captain America: the First Avenger
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil

This year I was fortunate to seek out and find some extraordinary places and record those experiences with my trusty sidekick (a.k.a. my camera). 

• Central Coast Day 1 | Day 2|  Day 3
• Pie Ranch Farm
• Collins Lake
• Macarons class
• Corn Maze
• Addendum
• Cornerstone Gardens
• Hakone Gardens
• Montalvo Arboretum
• Tango Weekend in Fort Bragg and Mendocino (photos come soon!)

Wow, writing all this out has made me appreciate 2011 even more. I packed a lot into 1 year. Wishing you a happy and healthy 2012! And thank you from the very bottom of my heart for reading my little blog!

Image of Mendocino by me