Today I attended my last PYE (Private Yelp Event) for 2013.

It was another special fun filled event of good food with good friends. Another happy memory to be added to the list of sugar, spice and hello kitty nice moments of 2013.

2013 was an amazing year filled with many memorable moments. Looking back I feel so blessed and thankful that I got to be a part of several wonderful foodie events this year. In this blog post, I share with you a few of some of the memorable ones.

My first event for 2013 was for a Yelp event held at the Cheesecake Factory. The Tropical Sunsets Yelp Elite Event made us feel like we were in paradise as we feasted on unlimited sangria and tropical iced tea, various Cheesecake Factory treats and ‘Lette macarons.

At the end of first quarter of the year, I got to try Euro-French cuisine at Joie De Vivre Yelp Elite event held at Dominique’s Kitchen. Some highlights of the French feast of the night were the savory mushroom risotto and the creamy Creme brûlée. This event was very meaningful to me because my blog post about that event garnered me some recognition as I landed on Dominique’s Kitchen’s press page. (Thank you so much Dominique’s Kitchen!)

When summer started, I got to attend various South Bay Foodie events. My favorite was the red carpet 7th Annual White Night White Light Event by Walk with Sally. It was wonderful to see so many folks and businesses come out for this chairty event supporting mentoring programs for children who have parents or siblings with cancer.

Mid-summer I was one proud UCLA Bruin as I attended the 6th Annual Nachos and Networking UCLA Alumni Event. Blue and gold spirit was felt all over. The victory bell was present!

I ended the summer with the Flavors of Belize PYE where my friends and I tried Belizean food for the first time. Ten courses and three desserts made for one interesting night of discovering new cusine.

With the start of fall, came another blessed birthday celebration for me. I got to try chicken and waffles for the first time at the popular LA hot spot Roscoe’s. I definitely felt the birthday love because my photo from that birthday outing became my most liked instagram photo for 2013!

A couple days before Thanksgiving, I joined my friends for Filipino Asian Fusion PYE @ La Fang. I’m always so thankful for events like these where I get to spend time with some of my closest Yelp friends.

Towards the end of the year was the wonderful opportunity to be a part of the Jackson’s Food and Drink Tasting Event. It truly was an honor to be chosen to be one of the first to try out some of Jackson’s new offerings.

As this year comes to a close, I look back with a heart full of gratefulness for all the blessings, the opportunities given to me and the friendships that have been formed. I thank each and every one of you who have taken the time to read my posts. Thank you so much for being a part of my happy little adventures and I look forward to sharing with you all more sugar, spice and hello kitty nice moments this 2014!