the first picture taken in 2013
With the approaching of a new year, I think it is just as important to look back as it is to look forward. I’ve noticed this trend where time flies by so fast I don’t ever stop to think about what just took place. We are trained more and more to be future thinkers, and while that has its definite advantages, I think you lose out on a lot by not reflecting on what you have done. Prior to writing this post I would have summarized this year as average. It didn’t seem like a whole lot happened (most likely because something was always happening) and I would’ve categorized this year as just another year in the history books. When I started breaking down each month in my head I quickly realized that holy cow, 2013 was dang good and dang busy. I would so encourage you that even if you don’t blog, take some time over the next couple of days and either just think on or write out month by month the memories that you remember. For my own personal records, I’m going to dive into the last twelve months and hash out the events, memories, etc that I want to remember for the year 2013. Feel free to join along…
January: 
-We started the year in full throttle remodel mode of that itsy bitsy teeny weeny little lake cottage we had purchased in 2012. 

-To break up the time I spent watching Shawn do all of the work, a girlfriend and I went to see Zac Brown Band. I got pulled over and had my first experience using a breathalyzer. Between driving the wrong way on a one way street and telling the police officer I was just trying to get us back to Indiana (we were in Indiana and had been in Indiana the entire time), it’s a miracle I only blew a .01. Erin: 1 Cop: 0. 

-We capped January off at our first ever euchre tournament with friends. That evening proved to be one of my favorite for 2013. Games are my jam. 

February: 
-Celebrated two years of Living In Yellow’s existence. Miracles do happen, this is one of them. 

-Decided that Spring wasn’t going to make its arrival until we started doing Spring things. A full fledged cookout was the answer. 

-That little lake cottage was making some progress 

-Valentines Day was celebrated with friends, spaghetti that had fallen down the drain, and chipped nail polish. True romantics we are. 

–Stitch Fix entered my life and changed it forever and ever, amen. 

-Attended the first annual Hope Gala for our friends over at Awake and Alive. We accidentally showed up just as it was ending because we are punctual like that. 

March:
-Shawn and I traveled to Siesta Key, FL with my parents for five days to play in the sun, celebrate my dad’s birthday, and do a lot of nothing. Well, Shawn and I did a lot of nothing. My parents don’t know how to stop moving. I don’t get it. 

-Easter happened which meant I made Tortellini Carbonara for the first time, got my fix in of all my cute little nieces and nephews, and stole as much of their candy as I could without them noticing. 

April: 
-Debuted Love, Yellow–a collaboration with my best friend and business owner of miss chic. This continues to be one of my favorite things I get to participate in monthly. 

-To celebrate, we went on a girls only trip to Scottsdale, Arizona. We did two things extremely well while there: lay out and go out at night. I was also fortunate enough to meet up with a handful of bloggers who are no longer online friends, but real friends, proving this whole blogging thing to be even more awesome than expected.

aubrey // brie // stesha // ashleyMay: 
-I jumped right back on a plane with my mom and sister to head to Huntington Beach, CA to do something I said I would never do–speak at a blogging conference. It was such a fun experience and I can only hope to have the opportunity again. 

kimmie // sarah // ashley-Shawn and I went to see Kenny Chesney which ended up being one of our favorite concerts to date. I’m not sure if it was the seats, the beer, or the fact that every single song we could sing along to, but whatever it was it worked. 

-We continued to pour our blood, sweat, and tears into the lake cottage getting it ready for Summer. And by we I mean he. I opted to drink and lay in the hammock, no explanation on why needed. 

-My family continued to be normal.

June: -On a whim as we were putting the finishing touches on the lake cottage I said to Shawn “we should sell this thing..”. Six days later we had a buyer and that home was no longer ours but a thing of the past. Peace out lake, it had been real. 

-Thirty of my closest friends and I went on our (3rd, 4th?) annual canoe trip in which nearly every single one of us thought we were going to die near the end. Thankfully somehow we all came out alive, how I do not know but I count my blessings everyday. 

-Shawn turned 29 which meant we celebrated with wax filled waffles because what else do you want when you turn 29?

July: 

-Because I no longer had the lake to suck every ounce of time and creative energy from me, I needed somewhere else to put it. Our guest bedroom it was! 24 hours later and this baby was done.

-The 4th came and went quicker than a firecracker exploding in my parents driveway but a fun 4th it was. We celebrated with my family and friend who was home from Nashville. If my memory serves me correctly, this was also one of my favorite evenings of 2013.

-A few days later, Chris Wiegand pulled into my driveway to film for the American Blogger documentary (which should be coming out this spring so stay tuned). It was a day that I thought I would never experience but I am so grateful I was able to. I now have dreams of becoming a reality TV star because who doesn’t love a camera following their every move?

-I turned 27 sometime during the month which put me way closer to 30 than what I feel comfortable with. To numb the paint, we purchased a boat in exchange for the lake cottage we had parted ways with. We quickly learned that as long as we were on the water, we were happy. House not needed.

-We went on a weekend getaway with some friends of ours to see Florida Georgia Line and Luke Bryan in concert. This weekend also consisted of the most time spent consecutively playing cards. That’s just how we roll.

August: -Much of this month was spent in one place–on the water. Morning, day, night..any chance we could get, that’s where we were. 

September: 
-I was lucky enough to experiment with Stitch Fix and host a party for them with 15 or so girlfriends. The perks of blogging made a big appearance in 2013. 

-My family rented a house across from the beach in South Haven, MI for a long weekend. I am so thankful that I have these people in my life and that we are able to experience this time together. Props to you mom and dad for making it happen. 

-Football season. #GoIrish

October: 
-I had the bright idea that we should re-do our entire house because there apparently wasn’t enough other stuff to occupy my time with so that’s what we did. Our brown walls vanished and became walls of mints, yellows, purples, corals, and so on. -In the midst of that we scooted off to a week in Arizona to celebrate our anniversary. We became quickly acquainted with the pool and hardly left minus the day we traveled off to Sedona. I was also lucky enough to see all of those same bloggers I met earlier in the year. 

-Somewhere during this time my husband put his landlord hat on and decided to purchase another rental property. We don’t like to keep life simple.

November: 

-Attended our first ever craft beer tasting party which was a ton of fun and highly recommended. 

-My grandfather passed away at age 89. While in the his last few days he mentioned how he wanted to get back on his farm for one last time, we honored his request a few days later. It is something I will never forget..

-Thanksgiving came and went pretty quickly (just took about 24 hours, imagine that) which was spent alongside our families and food. And naps. We spent time doing that as well..

-This was the month when I also changed jobs and went from being a full time call center representative to a part-time training assistant for the same credit union. Instead of working a normal 8-5 I now get to spend half of every day doing this whole blogging thing. It’s still crazy to me that this is a reality. December: 
-Shawn and I escaped for a weekend away to Chicago because Indiana wasn’t cold enough for us. It was a great time of shopping, eating, concerting, and museuming. 

-Attended our friends ugly sweater party which was a good time as always, Christmas tree and all. 

-Last but not least, Christmas time showed up quicker than ever which gifted me and every single member of my family with the flu. I’d like to think the vomit just made it more memorable. 

And on that note, I am officially tired, hungry, and ready to not have to do one of these types of blog posts for another 12 months. 2013, thanks for the countless memories, it’s been real, it’s been fun, and it’s been real fun. 2014: bring it.