zanta claus is coming to town

I couldn't really say goodbye to 2013 until going through and sharing photos from Matt's and my holiday party. It was a special party for us because 1) Zanta showed up, and he's the cutest Santa Claus you've ever seen, right?! And 2)  it was the last party we'll host as roommates (errr, we assume!).

Matt and I met at a summer nerd camp in high school, and we've been friends for the last decade since. All of my favorite memories in our friendship are kind of around the same theme - what's next? We've always seemed to be catalysts for big, good change for the other. He came to visit me in school in the dead of a Nebraska winter in 2007, and he helped me get over a really bad boyfriend and realize how horrible a person he really was - with the help of homemade baked goods and binge-watching America's Next Top Model.... and so many jello shots we lost count.

We roadtripped from Georgia to Los Angeles in the summer of 2008; he was moving there for acting school, and I was going to find a summer internship before finishing my last semester of college. We dyed my hair blond (big, BIG mistake), saw the tallest cross in the Western hemisphere (and after, Matt's broken AC in his car miraculously worked again!), and we ran through a waterpark in Amaraillo, Texas riding every single ride in 30 minutes flat (best choice ever). That summer in LA we shared a bed in a studio apartment that wasn't worth half of what we paid but "they filmed A Lot Like Love in the courtyard and omg we live in Hollywood!" so it was kind of worth it anyway, at least for the crazy memories.

Matt came to visit me in DC in 2011 after he went through a bad breakup, and my god if we didn't paint the town and shut it down. He loved DC so much that he swore he'd move here. Within six months, he had. We've lived together since. We've survived a slumlord and bionic rats, and it has been so. much. fun.

He decided to go to grad school, and when Matt puts his mind to something - it happens. He got into American for international relations, and we tore up nachos and pitchers of margaritas to celebrate his victory. His success was my catalyst to finally do the same exact thing, a goal I've had for years but was too afraid to pursue because of the possibility of taking on more debt. He helped tutor me for the math portion of the GRE and has been my biggest fan in this process.

So for our last party together, we wanted to go out with a bang. With the help of our closest friends in the city, we went through a dozen bottles of wine, threw countless beer bottles in the recycling bin, ate fried turkey and deviled eggs until we nearly burst, laughed until our faces hurt, and filled our whole stinking basement apartment with holiday joy.

I can't wait to see what's next for us in 2014.