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All I’ve been thinking about since I woke up today is, “what the hell did I do this year?” To help trigger some memories, I opened up my Google calendar, scrolled back to January 2011 and to 2010 (er, just for the hell of it!) and looked at everything I’ve booked for myself or tried to accomplish. There are a lot of things I have not accomplished and still feel down about, such as finishing my Lao cookbook, a New Year’s Resolution from 2010. Yeah, two years ago — once we hit tomorrow, January 1, 2012.

It felt as if I was behind the wheel and looking back at the rear view mirror reflecting on every emotion possible. The happiness, sadness, challenges, the sweet and bitters, and the boring things that arrived and passed, the long and countless days at my desk going about the daily grind, the memories I made with old and new friends and the joy and crazy days my new hometown, New York City has brought me.

This year has been a fun and eye-opening (I will keep the “eye opening” experiences/encounters to myself)…I turned 30!, I got to witness my childhood best friend tie the knot and hit a lot of volleyballs. I also moved from my first little SoHo studio to TriBeCa and became a warrior and spartan-chick while making time to explore Vietnam with two of my best girlfriends.

All through out the events I mentioned above and everything in between, two items that constantly dominated my 2011 calendar year are the multiple happy hours, brunches and dinner dates with the people I enjoy and making time to be in the kitchen even when I didn’t even want to be there. This year, I ate and drank really well and maybe a bit too much at times. I just tried counting how many times I had to hold my head up above the toilet seat and lost count (oy!).

Here’s a quick round-up of the things I made in 2011 and will continue to make in the New Year:

Dandelion pesto is delicious.

I’m never going back to store bought gravlax.

I learned to love pancakes when they are served with strawberries.

Baked flounder with tomatoes and basil.

A refreshing kumquat vodka cocktail.

And, I made time for the best blueberry lemon jam.

So, when the clock strikes at midnight, I will be toasting to 2012 with a glass of champagne in-hand and surrounded by wonderful people who will shape my 2012.

May the new year bring you lots of bubbles, happiness, unconditional love, great health and a plate full of good eats. Cheers to you and happy happy 2012!