I can’t believe that it’s 2020. I still vaguely remember hearing all the adults around me talking about the world ending in 2000, and throwing a Y2K party that left confetti everywhere. To think that 20 years has passed since then is cray-zeeee.
But as they say, time flies when you’re having fun. I’ve learned that it flies even if you’re not, and 2019 is a great example of a combination of the 2, for me at least.
I think for me personally, one of my hardest challenges is stopping to appreciate the moments that pass – both good and bad. The good moments always seem even better when I look back at them, and I’m often able to appreciate the growth that came from the challenges after some time passes. So, today, I wanted to recap my year, and I figured I’d share it here because… that’s what a blog is! Or at least, it can be.
I don’t have many resolutions for the coming year, but the few goals I made a mental note to work toward this year are: 1) be more authentic and real life with my content, without being afraid to share the simple moments that make me human. 2) get organized – physically and mentally. 3) take life one day at a time without focusing too much on the whole what’s my life purpose trap that only causes me anxiety.
So, here’s my somewhat simple, yet full of good things and challenges, 2019 year in review – a highlight of some of my favorite memories and experiences from the year.
January
I embarked on a year long daily devotional and breakfast recipe project called FaithFull Mornings. It started on January 1st and went on for 365 days right here on this blog (all posts are still published in the FaithFull Mornings section). This challenged me in ways I didn’t know were possible. It took so much work, commitment, and dedication. There were times I wanted to give up (more often than not) but God used me, stretched me, an helped me to grow in countless ways.
February
We took my dad to Las Vegas to celebrate his 88th birthday. This has become one of my favorite yearly traditions!
March
I turned 29! WHAAAA – my last birthday in my 20’s. Real talk; I’ve been low-key panicking ever since. In 13 Going on 30, Jennifer Garner specifically requested to be 30, so maybe it’s not so bad? Also, you know you’re getting old when you get a Dyson for your gift… because you asked for it.
April
My parents came to visit us in Dallas for Easter. We went out for brunch after, and of course, we saw the Easter bunny.
I also decided to step out of my comfort zone and start attending some Dallas blogger brunches and get togethers, so I finally started making some local friends!
May
Ryan turned 38, and to celebrate, he accepted a job offer that brought us to Chicago! We took a weekend to visit, were blown away by how cold it still felt in the month of May. We toured at least 15 places and were initially discouraged by the process of finding a home in the city – but after some time, we adjusted slightly to the learning curve of condo shopping in the city, and we eventually found our condo!
June
We spent most of this month packing up our Dallas home and preparing to move across the country. My sweet mother-in-law came at the end of the month to help us finish up the packing and drive to Chicago. In between the mess, we found time to celebrate Pineapple’s 4th birthday.
July
We moved to Chicago! July 1 was our first day in our condo, and it was a rough start, as moving usually is. It took a lot of time to figure out how to settle in to our new, tinier space and to navigate public transportation and city life. We’re still learning now, but we’ve completely fallen in love with Chicago and we’re so happy to call it home! It should be noted that this post was written in January, so ask me if I feel the same way after spending February and March here in the arctic. Chili got to have her 11th birthday party in our new space.
August
We celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary by going on a helicopter tour of the city and going to our first Cubs game. We also fell in love with so many of the amazing Chicago street festivals, including North Halstead Market Days.
September
I started working with a local photographer in here Chicago who I adore, and it’s taken me across the country multiple times. My first trip with her was to Turks and Caicos and it was the start of a great friendship!
Tucker, our original baby, turned 12 and Chili had a little incident with her back leg, which started her on acupuncture and laser therapy. The silver lining is that she looks insanely cute with all the equipment.
October
I went to Atlanta to visit my friend Ashley for her birthday! We crammed a lot into a few days (you can check out my Atlanta travel guide post here!) and it was a blast. I also went to NYC to assist in a fashion shoot.
Ryan and I volunteered for the Chicago Marathon, which was a really cool experience!
November
I took a quick trip to Lexington, KY to assist with a wedding. I was also invited to attend a brunch and walking photography tour with Nigel Barker from America’s Next Top Model!
This is the first year in so long I didn’t cook a thing for Thanksgiving and we opted to go out instead. While we missed visiting our families, it was kind of nice to stay home and do nothing, with no dishes to clean up. The only thing we went shopping for on Black Friday was our Christmas Tree. We always cut down our own tree at a tree farm, but instead, we decided to embrace the city experience and go to a tree lot to pick one out! We ended up at Ivy’s in Lakeview and our turned out amazing. It’s actually still up – do I have any volunteers to come take down the ornaments??
December
This was a crazy month of travel for me! We took our annual ski trip to Breckenridge, CO and this is the first year we felt like we really progressed in our learning!
We made it back to Chicago just in time to ring in the New Year with a comedy show at The Chicago Theater!