Abbie's Adventure Diaries 2017 Review

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Ridin' down the highway, Goin' to a show!

Stop in all the by-ways, Playin' rock 'n' roll!

Gettin' had, Gettin' took!

I tell you folks, It's harder than it looks!

It's a long way to the top!

If you wanna rock 'n' roll!

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Hello folks this is The Abbie's year in review. Woo Hoo! Well, I kicked 2017 right out that door and pulled the welcome mat right out from beneath its feet! It was not a bag of earwax Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans entirely, but trust me there were some seriously nasty flavors in there. Obviously, I shall not make pouty-faced tales of gloom and doom befall you by ranting what all was haywire. Instead, I shall review the precious in-between-the-lines memories that made the 365 days overall worth living for! Let's get right to it. 

The year took off (pun intended 😁) with a Karachi trip and I flew on board the A380 that is currently the largest passenger aircraft with 4 jets! Business Class was such a sweet luxury! I adored the lounge on board that was serving snacks and desserts all night long. Read about my adventure HERE.

O! The old familiar places, the post-monsoon tsunami on the streets, work, and such! Catch the highlights HERE.

I took a 2nd spiritual trip of my life to Makkah and Madinah for pilgrimage. 

The Art Of The Quran exhibit at the Sackler gallery in Washington D.C. was a treat! It featured treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts. The many scripts that were on display at the exhibit dated back to as far as the 1500's! The rare assortment is an over-the-ages collection courtesy of the Sultans (rulers) of the Ottoman Empire that once flourished in Turkey. The scripts were personal copies of the Sultans or their wives and mothers, or collectors art pieces by famous Quran calligraphers of different times. Catch the beautiful experience HERE.

Spring celebrations were new for me in 2017 because let's face it ... I am a Fall person, not a Spring person. I did the unthinkable, really. From sitting outside in the garden to sip tea, bake tea cakes, and buying hydrangeas (which are dead now, I assume!), and making an indoor fairy garden, I did it all! Read the Spring Diaries!

 

April was National Poetry Writing Month and my theme was Letters & Pieces. I have a feeling I'll do a sequel this year.

After 7 years of being a wuss, I upgraded my relationship status with highways! Thanks to be celebrity level kind of busy younger brother, I was trained and set to take on big roads this year! Read the story HERE.  

 

I got to see the total solar eclipse that plunged areas close to us on the East Coast into complete darkness. The phenomenon was covered lived by BBC and CNN and I managed to get the 80% coverage (which was all that Maryland got!) on camera! Revisit the spectacular HERE.

It was a treat to see the Niagara Falls, Canada illumination under the full moon. We caught the American side fireworks. The last that happened was in 2010. 

My heart and mind (they are two different people, sometimes, like an old couple fighting over who snores more at night!) settled on a room makeover that incorporates mostly Harry Potter! There would be some Lord Of The Rings displays but mostly Potter! The makeover took off with the Gryffindor tapestry finally making its way onto the main wall! 2018 would be the year of finishing off and presenting the room!

Spending Fall (the beginning) in New York City was a treat! Times Square and M&Ms World were our most favorite places to visit. Catch the highlights HERE. 

Behold! My yearly bake off for Sara's birthday! Her personality is like the funky candy shop from Harry Potter books/movies, and so I made her a cool looking Honeydukes cake! The color scheme is the Honeydukes shop itself at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The top is a checkered fondant tile floor that’s the shop’s actual floor. And decorations are signature Honeydukes candies: Chocolate Frog, Jelly Slugs, and Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. This cake Is an expression that conveys that she’s the sweetness of my life

🎶🎵 Hedwig's Theme plays🎶🦉Wands at the ready! ... presenting  “Yer a wizard Harry” - I celebrated my 31st birthday with an announcement (a mad one!) of my return to the Potter fandom. It got lost (about the last mad 30% of it that you need to qualify as a superfan!) along the way while chores and business gobbled up my life. Things have settled down, the world's after me with pressures of getting married because that's what you're expected to do when all's done and there's nothing to do! So, I decided to do justice to my fandom instead. Ignoring the tunnel vision freaks who like racing with the biological clock! This magical cake by Sara's Baked Creations (smoochies to Sara!) was a proclamation of bringing my freak back! 

Manneekinz finally found her first fandom! Paw Patrol! And the Bua, Beeya, & Dadi Team has grown to love these pups so much! We put together a Paw Patrol themed birthday for her! The cake was Sara's Baked Creations! The cupcakes were mine!

Snowpeople are a symbol (says, The Abbie) that you are warding off the evil of the entire year and celebrating the end of the days! Moochh and Smooch were our snow ❄️ creations ⛄️ for the first snowfall! We made them on our brother’s car since the snow quality on the ground was pretty slushy. Of course the one with the mustache is mine.

 

ICE!® featuring Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was in Baltimore again and I had my eyes set on this since last year. I finally got to enjoy the 9 degrees Farenheit and ice sculptures. The amazing good time was recorded HERE.

The Christmas Village nextdoor to ICE! at the Gaylord Resort was a shopping and treats wonderland. A kids carousel, mini train, and a hot chocolate stand made it a complete carnival that kicked off winter and a season of great travel ahead! Read HERE.

I gifted my childhood away to the little one as we watched the Disney parades and fireworks together. I have yet to write down these moments. But yes! 2017 was when I revisited the Magic Kingdom. 

To kick 2017 out the door and pull the welcome mat, I headed to the Wizarding World Of Harry Potter, Orlando, Florida with Sara and the Madhouse. There shall be multiple entries on this in the Potterhead Chronicles!