Best of Feast + West 2020

Here’s a look back at the last 52 weeks of 2020.

You guys, it feels like 20 minutes ago and also two years ago, all at once, that I was writing my Best of 2019 post.

2020 sure was something. Such a hard year in so many ways. So many have lost so much. This year has been one blow after another.

And yet, there have been good things. Small things, big things. Hopefully there have been silver linings in all of our clouds.

I usually spend some time on the last day of the year waxing poetic about the last 365 days. (Or 366 in this case.)

Please believe me that it feels weird and selfish to be making a list of happy things when this year has been so tumultuous for so many.

2020 has been a wild one in so many ways. And to be honest, I haven’t felt much like blogging through all of it. This list is a tad shorter this year and I’m okay with that.

As such, it’s been a tad quiet on my corner of the internet, but that’s okay. My fave new posts this year were these:

1. Herbal Limeade Recipe — a really yummy green citrus punch
2. Pizza Popcorn — a snack that tastes like pizza without the carbs
3. Pomegranate Yule Mule Cocktail — a spin on my most popular cocktail
4. How to Make Sprinkles — something everyone who loves sprinkles should know
5. The Best Old-Fashioned Cocktail Recipe — our absolute favorite cocktail

While I am fortunate to not have lost anyone to this pandemic (knock on wood that it stays true), I have watched it affect the ones I love in horrible ways.

And there have been other, intangible losses, too — less time with loved ones, trips cancelled, next-to-no social life, not being out of the house, political and racial turmoil that really hurts deep… it’s been tough in its own way.

But at the same time I feel like it’s important to look for the good things, the wins, the successes — no matter how small. Otherwise the losses feel too great.

So here’s a short list of good things I want to remember about this year:

• A visit from my cousin who lives in Australia early in the year.
• My birthday trip to Charleston (right before the lockdowns began).
• Making the most of our time at home by making our own tortillas, Dole whip, kombucha, sprinkles, pizza dough and Milk Bar birthday cake (and so many more things!)
• Grabbing takeout at the same place as someone and chatting a parking space apart.
• Picking up cocktail kits and takeout from our favorite restaurants and bars around town.
• Hanging fairy lights on our patio and eating a summer of outdoor meals with things grown in our herb garden and from our local CSA boxes.
• Renting a house in the Outer Banks for one week to socially distantly celebrate our first anniversary.
• Cat cuddles!
• Monthly lunches with my lovely, remote coworkers.
• Watching new-to-me shows like Breaking Bad, and rewatching old faves like Parenthood. Oh, and playing Animal Crossing.
• Picking up embroidery again.
• Teaching myself how to draw on my iPad. (I made an Instagram for my doodles!)
• Throwing a Zoom baby shower for my friend Meghan and a drive-by one for a close family member.
• Seeing my friends and family celebrate weddings, new babies, new jobs, new homes — even if from afar.
• Buying a house! And making it a home.

Oh yes, the house. That has been our focus of the last couple of months, but we are officially signed, sealed and moved in! We moved a couple weeks before Christmas so we are still settling in, but it’s going just fine. Although, the cats might actually like it more than we do…

Chris and I are overjoyed to have a place of our own, and I have no doubt there will be more photos to come. (Probably of the deer who hang out in our yard daily!) We can’t wait to invite our friends over when it’s safe to do so. Here’s a tiny peek at our new 1970s haven:

Despite everything this year threw at us, I hope that you too had a few glimmers of hope this year. Chris and I wish you all a 2021 full of champagne toasts, and so much good health, luck and success. We all need something to celebrate.

Much love,
// susannah