2013 in Review

This was a year of...

Weddings

Blythe + Joe

Charlotte + Andrew

Christmas 2013 Recap

This Christmas we traveled A LOT, and when it's all said and done I can say it was worth it to see everyone we wanted to see, but I don't know that we'd do a repeat of it in future years. Christmas as an adult is hard. Especially if you are married and you're trying to find time to celebrate with both sides of the family. You get one day off (or 2 if you're lucky) to celebrate the best holiday of the year, and with family members located in different states it's just not possible to see everyone on Christmas Day.

2013

Twenty-thirteen, I'm not so sure what to make of you yet. I don't really know what my goals for you are, but I'm taking the month of January to figure them out (although we all know I'll still be doing that come December). I guess that's mainly because things are good. I feel settled, I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be, and I feel like my life is full. I don't know if I necessarily want to make any changes, but I believe there's always room for growth and new opportunity. New experiences. I'm really looking forward to this year. I think I sort of felt the same way at the close of last year, and it's great to see that I've accomplished my goal of staying in the same company for one whole year! It feels good to have some longevity and history somewhere. I will say that at the end of this year I feel more grown up. I'm not sure why, but I just feel more comfortable being an adult. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I'm almost 25? Yikes, that feels really weird.

I also did pretty well on my resolutions this year. Not perfect, but pretty good. And that just feels nice. We paid off all of my student loans - hooray! I would say roughly 50% of the year I tried two new recipes a week, although I didn't do so well experimenting with new veggies and ethnic foods as I had hoped. And I worked on having patience with my husband, which is still a work in progress (obvi).

Poll: have you ever successfully completed all of your New Year's resolutions? I don't think I have ever finished all of mine.

On New Year's Day we had friends over for a brunch to welcome 2013, and we all decided that it needs to become a New Year's tradition. That's one of my resolutions this year: make some intentional family traditions with Michael. I'm excited about this one. My one faux pas - I forgot to take pictures of the food or the people! Guess I was having too much fun!

I'm also excited to learn how to use this. I've sewed before, but not with my own machine and I don't really know how to set up all the thread, bobbins, etc. I'm ready for some new pillows and curtains to come!

This is random, but remember our living room? We took down our tree and started brainstorming different arrangements to make it feel more open. Here's our latest. We kind of love it! Although it does kind of make me crave a larger area rug to fill the space more. I'll chew on that one for a bit before making any decisions.

Happy New Year! May your 2013 days be bright.

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P.S. The calendar above is a gift from my mother-in-law. She is an amazing artist and every year she puts together a calendar showcasing her paintings and gives it out to friends and family. I just love it!