I should have known at 12:01 am on January 1, 2014 as confetti was flying all around me, balloons were dropping from the ceiling, and sweat was dripping off me from dancing so much that 2014 was going to be a great [great] year. It kinda felt like the confetti never stopped. I believe I mentioned the other day that this past year was my favorite year to date, but in case I didn’t — 2014 was my favorite year to date. So much so that on New Years Eve I felt sad the majority of the evening because I just didn’t want it to be over – this may sound slightly pathetic, but it’s true.
With an abundance of time off work, opportunities to travel frequently, moving and remodeling a house from top to bottom, concerts upon concerts, new friendships made, the start of two new jobs, and a lot of other fun sprinkled in between, there was definitely a lot to be thankful for.
Because I want to make sure to never forget the year that was, I put together a year in review below which I should warn you is entirely way too long, contains a lot of links to previous blog posts, contains even more pictures, but are all things that I hope to never forget.
Thank you to each one of you who have helped make 2014 even more special than it already was.
Love you, you, you, and you.
January
What do you get when the new year starts out with more snow than I have ever seen in my life and temperatures that should be outlawed? A tattoo. On a random Saturday morning I decided to do something that I always said I would never do. You can see what it is and why I got it here and make sure to read my tips for your next tattoo while you’re at it. Along with a new look for me, my blog got completely redesigned as well this month. I was also busy making peanut butter and oreo cheesecake pretzel bites , talking about how I used to be funny [and other blogging lessons learned] sharing 20 ways you know you are addicted to blogging, wrote my first ever thank you notes blog post that several of you enjoyed, started [and basically stopped] a food blog, and ended the month with a girls trip to Chicago that will forever go down as some of the most fun days in the history of January’s ever.
February
This blog turned a whole 3 years old at the beginning of this month [good job baby blog] so I celebrated by interviewing the most popular person on this blog, my father. And then you all interviewed me. Outside of things happening online, we found ourselves making an impromptu dinner trip up to Chicago on a random Saturday night to meet the ever so fabulous Lauren in person, hosting our friends from Nashville for a romantic [ha] Valentines Dinner, and topped off the month with a favorite vacation to date to San Diego for a week full of fun.
March
This was the start of the ongoing concert series that never seemed to stop, first up was Thomas Rhett followed by the cowboy himself, Justin Moore. In between singing my head off, we re-did our living room, celebrated my nieces birthdays, and here on the blog I was busy writing content that you all got really into including the ten best tools for bloggers , sharing why I didn’t attend college and my thoughts on it now, talking about the 5 things I never blog about, and last but not least teaching you all how to travel well while on a budget.
April
For whatever reason I got a wild idea to start working out and invited a few of you to join in with me – 1,500 people later we started the #1800MinuteChallenge and somewhere along the lines I found my muscle again. To celebrate I did an “I’m on my period” outfit post because that seemed normal. My mom, sister, and I went away for a weekend to the greatest place in all of the world, IKEA, where I came home with an empty wallet but a house full of awesome. The American Blogger documentary I was fortunate enough to be included in was released this month [wrote about my thoughts on it here]. Easter came and went [along with a few of my teeth from all of the candy consumed]. I spent some time talking about why I blog for money and why you should too, created a fun gift to give to your man, and shared some truths about the girl behind living in yellow. Oh and I made a wreath proving that the impossible is possible with enough wine.
May
This is where things really started getting exciting. First up was the Kentucky Derby which will forever be one of the coolest experiences of my life. Something about walking down a red carpet with a giant hat on my head while sipping on $28 mini bottles of champagne. It was this month that I started as a project manager for my favorite media agency, Pollinate. When I wasn’t learning my new job responsibilities I was busy perfecting margaritas, drooling over Jake Owen at my first ever front row concert experience, started looking [and found] a house to buy, and spent as much time as possible laying on a boat.
June
We started the month strong by canoeing with 30 of our closest friends. Speaking of 30, Shawn turned it. It was this month that I started to freak out about the whole home selling experience so I wrote about learning to let go. To distract me from it all I returned to my roots and saw Nelly in concert and then decided to put extensions in my hair.
July
Stuff started to get real come July. We closed on our new home, I stopped enjoying my blog, went to 5 concerts in 6 days [and suffered for a solid week afterwards], turned 28, overcame my fear of ferris wheels [with the help of a little Captain], wrote about a typical day in the life, and like any Summer month – spent a lot of time on the boat.
August
While August had its fair share of fun, it also had its fair share of busting our butts on this new house of ours.
When we weren’t covered in blood, sweat, and tears [okay mainly just tears], we soaked up the month by watching the Chicago air show from a boat, went on a day trip to Michigan with a group of friends, and questioned our sanity [a lot].
September
I think it went something like this — hosted a bridal shower for my best little lady, packed up and moved from our old house into the new one, left the very next day for San Francisco to spend some time at the Stitch Fix headquarters, returned home for a few days and then headed to Louisville to see one of our favorite humans, Eric Church, and then came back home to a house that felt nothing like a home. Somewhere in between I cheers’ed to balls and tried to find a few hours to sleep.
October
But here’s the thing – instead of actually sleeping, I ventured off to Florida for a full week to celebrate my friend who was getting married. A seven day bachelorette party is absolutely necessary. After returning home I spent some time actually focusing on making this place livable and revealed our completed kitchen to you all. Somewhere in there Shawn and I celebrated 8 years of marriage by strolling through TJ Maxx with a dinosaur costume on my head. Pure romance baby.
November
To bring in the month we took off to Nashville with my parents to partake in my friend’s wedding festivities [and perhaps partake in a few bars and late night Jake Owen concerts]. On the home front I revealed the outdoor room and decorated for Christmas a few weeks too early. It was this month that I published my most pinned post. November ended with a week long trip to Disney with my family which went 225% better than I expected.
December
Within days of getting home from Disney, I was on the road again to California for a third and final time in 2014. This time it was back to Southern Cali for our Pollinate Christmas party. Back in Indiana I decided to change positions at the credit union I work at, went on a weekend getaway with Shawn, hosted two Christmases on the same day, revealed our living room, and ended the year on the couch at 11 pm on New Years Eve. Turns out 2014 made me tired.
2014, you were incredible. I would say lets do it again but I don’t know if I have the energy for that. What in the world am I saying? Please, please, please lets do it again. I’m begging.
