Happy 2016!!! I can’t believe it is here already! This year was full of new adventures and travels! Sometimes I forget how many places we went and how much we experienced until I look back on it. Here is a look at our 2015 in review.
In January, I started this little blog! Can you believe it was almost a year ago? We were so excited to have our wedding featured in the Spring/Summer issue of The Knot North Carolina with the beautiful photos by amazing photographer, Graham Terhune. We spent the long MLK weekend in the mountains and even saw some snow while we were there!
February brought lots of snow and ice to us (complete with a few days off!). Some of my college friends came to town for a reception and benefit auction and Will and I finished our West Wing marathon just in time to get hooked on the third season of House of Cards.
In March we experienced loss, love and gratitude. We celebrated Will’s birthday, were civil to each other at the Duke-UNC game, spent time with family, and my college friends made another return trip to the area to see this year’s Dance Marathon.
We visited my family in Virginia for Easter and returned to find our entire town covered in a coating of pollen. I baked the most exciting cake I have ever made for my birthday and spent time with good friends amidst the beautiful flowers.
In May I did some strawberry picking and went to a hot air balloon festival! It was so cool! We had a delicious Memorial Day brunch with my family where every dish failed in the most delicious way ;)
Will and I celebrated our one year anniversary in June by visiting the Outer Banks and soaking up some sun. We also sat in the front rows of the Train concert – a band special to us because of our first date at our high school “Drops of Jupiter”-themed homecoming dance. Pat Monahan took a selfie with us while he was singing and I didn’t regret the late concert at all when I was exhausted at work the next day. I spent a weekend with many of my college roommates in DC, acting like a local and casually walking 10 miles a day in the dead of summer. It was so wonderful and I can’t wait for our next reunion.
We traveled a lot in July. We took our annual trip to Georgia for the 4th of July and had tons of fun with Will’s family playing corn hole, cooking ribs, and watching the fireworks. A few weeks later we headed off to an adventure across the pond in England and Scotland with my family and family friends. We spent two weeks in the UK and loved every minute of it. I look back at all of our pictures and just want to take another trip!
August was the month of big steps. I started in a new job and Will started his second year of medical school. We became immersed in French cycling knowledge as we virtually followed Will’s family in France and at the Paris-Brest-Paris bicycle race. We got to indulge in a bit of French culture ourselves with our own version of the Paris-Brest pastry.
September brought all things apple and Will and I soaked it in as we went apple picking with apple cider slushies in hand. But of course, after apple comes pumpkin, which I subsequently added to everything.
In October, we attended the International Bluegrass Festival, celebrated our engagement-iversary, and I ran a half marathon with my friends in New York (can we go back there too?). We took a trip to Smith Mountain Lake and Blacksburg to visit my sister for Virginia Tech’s homecoming game against Duke. Blacksburg knew it was fall and the colors were out in full force. The next weekend we took a trip to the State Farmers’ Market and celebrated the engagement of one of my good friends. Halloween brought zero trick-or-treaters to our home this year, so I was forced to make candy-filled blondie-brownies with the leftover chocolate ;)
Will and I celebrated eight years together in November! Eight! It certainly doesn’t seem like it has been that long since we started dating; it really does fly. Daylight savings time hit us again and the wonderful long days became so short. I had a lot going on at work in November and felt like we jumped straight into Thanksgiving (and Christmas!). We spent Thanksgiving in Virginia with family then wholeheartedly embraced the Christmas season!
December was wonderful and busy and there wasn’t much sleep to go around. But here we are, finished with the month and the year. We ate delicious treats, hosted and attended many Christmas parties, baked up a storm, decorated our little tree and our little apartment, and watched the downtown Christmas parade. Will finished the main classroom portion of medical school and we went to Med School Prom to start off the Christmas break. We spent lots of time with all of our family and soaked in the meaning of Christmas and all of our blessings.
Reflecting on the year, I realize how lucky we are. We were able to travel together, see lots of friends and family, make new memories, celebrate accomplishments and have a great support system for the sad times. Here’s to the great year that 2015 was and the year we have ahead of us in 2016. Happy New Year! Happy 2016!
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