Continuing a tradition we started in 2006… and continued in 2008 and 2009, Amy and I thought it would be fun to post a few photos from each month to create a photo recap of what we've experienced, written about, and shared with all of you over the past year.  We're sourcing the photos from our personal blog at SteveandAmySly.com, our beverage review site at BevReview.com, and for the first time, our odd site about Disney trash cans, MagicalTrash.com.

We didn't blog as much in the early part of the year, but then we relaunched our personal site using WordPress in August, which accelerated things once again and enabled the use of larger images.  At the same time, we started actively posting on MagicalTrash.com using the Tumblr platform.  Because of that, our posts were distributed across many sites.

Looking back, we posted a total of 80 personal blog stories this year, including 985 images, in addition to 73 beverage-related reviews and 42 trash can-related posts. Yeah, we've been busy on the blogs!

Enjoy the recap and thanks for reading!

January

Review: Pepsi Throwback (Rerelease)

Review: Heritage Dr Pepper

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Not sure this is real or a hoax (Update: It's real!), but what if you added monsters to the world of Ticket to Ride? Either the folks at Days of Wonder have a screw loose or this idea for this "Alvin & Dexter" expansion might actually be brilliant!

Ticket to Ride - Alvin & Dexter Expansion

A forum user at BoardGameGeek.com discovered this product being listed on Japanese site AmiAmi.jp, an online retailer for miniature figures. If this does play out to be a real expansion, it's quite an unexpected twist for the TtR world created by Days of Wonder. However, given that I'm a huge fan of the series, any expansion is welcomed these days.

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Culinary Christmas - December 25: A Merry Christmas At Grandmother's

Featured Foods: Pudding, pumpkin pie

Our journey through a Culinary Christmas has come to an end, and what do we end up with? Pudding and pumpkin pie!

We may all know the classic song "Over the River and Through the Woods" but probably not in the way that it's performed today by Danny Kaye and the Andrews Sisters. The song is expanded and modified to have more of a Christmas theme in this 1951 recording of A Merry Christmas At Grandmother's. I thought the journey to eat food with loved ones was a fitting way to wrap up our theme of this year's Steve's 25 Days of Christmas Music.

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We got snow on Christmas Eve here in Chicago, so Amy and I took a walk around the neighborhood. Here are some things we observed — when we weren't throwing snowballs at each other…

Pretty lights

It's almost Christmas!

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Amy & I continued our 4-year Christmas tradition of watching White Christmas at the Music Box Theatre as part of their annual Christmas Show.

Music Box Theatre in Chicago

It's a fun time where they not only show the movie, but also have a visit from Santa, group caroling, and all-around Chicago holiday fun.  (For those interested, recap posts from our Christmas show visits in 2008 and 2009.)

Steve & Amy in blurry, cameraphone self-portrait at event

The Music Box has been putting on a double billing of White Christmas/It's A Wonderful Life for 27 years and it seems to be getting more and more popular.

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Culinary Christmas - December 24: We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Featured Foods: Figgy pudding

My favorite version of We Wish You A Merry Christmas is performed by John Denver & The Muppets, and we featured that track back in 2002. During the song, Miss Piggy confuses the reference to "Figgy pudding" as "Piggy pudding" and has a little conniption. It's all quite delightful.

However, since we've already used that version, I present to you this track by Roger Whittaker. There are no pigs mentioned, but he sure does make a big deal about figgy pudding. You hear it a lot… and even in a round! Personally, the stuff sounds amazingly gross.

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Once upon a time there was a small, rural town by the name of Sawyerville. With all the main industries long gone, to help their tax base they attempted to refocus their promotional ventures towards tourism.

Welcome to View-Masterville!

Noting Hollywood's creatively-bankrupt strategy of making every possible movie in 3D to produce inflated ticket prices, the town's Chamber of Commerce thought they could do something similar.

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Culinary Christmas - December 23: Good King Wenceslas

Featured Foods: Feast of Stephen

The Glad Singers are back with their cheery tunes and made-up lyrics for popular Christmas songs. We first encountered them when they rewrote the words to "Joy to the World" during 2006's Under the Tree, A to Z theme. Today they jump in with their take on Good King Wenceslas. I just love the way that pronounce the title!

Why is this song included in our Culinary Christmas? Why, it features the "Feast of Stephen", of course!

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Culinary Christmas - December 22: Frosty the Snowman

Featured Foods: Corn

Move over Jimmy Durante. Ella Fitzgerald lights it up today with her rendition of Frosty the Snowman.

This contribution to Steve's 25 Days of Christmas Music is pure class. I just love the prelude lyrics you hear right away (though I'm having trouble figuring out line 3… any help?)

~/~
Who's debonair with a tall silk hat
Muffler of wool and a tummy that's fat
King for a day and he loves [to roam?]
With a broomstick cane and a heart of gold
~/~

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Culinary Christmas - December 21: Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

Featured Foods: Pumpkin pie

Does anyone remember Hanson, the one-hit-wonder group that recorded "MMMBop" back in 1997? (I'm really hoping I can ask that same question in a few years in regards to Justin Bieber.) Believe it or not, they recorded a Christmas album, which we're featuring on today's installment of Steve's 25 Days of Christmas Music.

Fortunately for our Culinary Christmas theme, they decided to sing Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree, which just happens to make reference to pumpkin pie.

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