dear twenty-fourteen

Celebrating the final night of twenty-fourteen
My year would not have been so amazing if it weren't for him

As twenty-fourteen comes to an end, I sit here in my tiny living room, with the candles lit, and a death cab for cutie vinyl playing in the background. As sparse as my blog posts are, I always look forward to my "end of the year wrap up" post. It's always interesting to reflect back each year to see what season I was in, and see what type of perspective I had on the year to come.

Twenty-fourteen was a great year for me. We entered into our second year of marriage, which has been so much fun. The first year was amazing, new and exciting. But, the start of the second year has proven to be more comfortable, familiar and settled. This year, we also went back to college (6th time for me), and I am proud to say I completed two classes, and passed them both! We traveled a lot this year. Mostly little weekend getaways, but we made it a point to pursue adventures every chance we got. Catalina, Santa Barbara/Solvang, San Diego (twice), San Francisco (anniversary trip!), Big Bear (twice), Palm Springs and Indio. We started (and stopped) working out at a local bootcamp. This was a great addition to our day to day routine, but sadly had to end due to finances and also just having way too much on our plate with starting school again. 

A few major highlights but so many more simple things that brought me joy. I feel like I am in the best place I can be in life. There are days I feel like I am getting so old, and then I quickly snap out of it and realize I have SO much life ahead of me, and it's time to start pursuing the things that I feel called to; that bring me joy. 

Twenty-fifteen is starting to look like it might be one of the biggest years for me yet. Lots of plans in the making, and that brings me so much excitement! I'm not necessarily a person who creates "resolutions" for the new year, but I definitely have some goals and hopes for this season. A few dreams of mine are:

(In no particular order...)

Move into a larger apartment

Get a dog

Find a church to call home

Continue taking classes

Pay off our car

Find a healthy regiment/lifestyle that works well for me

Keeping it simple, or at least that's the goal. I'm finding that simplicity is such a beautiful way to live life, and truly enjoy the things in front of you. 

XO

Brenda

one year down, a lifetime to go

photo credit: sarah shreves

A week and a half ago, Jamey and I celebrated ONE year of marriage. We heard a lot of things about the first year of marriage. One thing being that it would fly by, and another that it would be the hardest year. One was true, and the other could not be further from the truth. 

Time most definitely flew by for us. It feels like it was yesterday, that I was sitting in my old living room with my closes ladies, getting ready for our big day. I vividly remember being oddly calm and content, just ready for our special day to take place. One year later, here we are. I love reflecting back on this past year, and all of the memories and sweet moments we've made together, as husband & wife. I'm kicking myself for not posting more blogs about those moments, because I know one day my memory won't be as strong, and those special times will soon fade away. But alas, here I am now, making the effort! 

We were graciously gifted with a week-long stay in San Francisco by my wonderful Grandma. We spent the first week of June roaming the city streets of SF and exploring together. It was a wonderful week of getting away and being on a much needed vacation, but most importantly, celebrating our love together. 

[a few snapshots from our trip to san francisco]

On our actual anniversary (June 22nd),  we spent the entire day together, doing some of the things we love. We started the morning off in Long Beach (one of our favorite cities, which holds so many of our first memories together), and got breakfast at our favorite diner, Long Beach Cafe. This is also where we had our first impromptu "date". Oh, and if you ever go there, do yourself a favor and order the Cinnamon Pancakes... to die for! After that, we just drove aimlessly around the city and then started to make our way back home. We spent the afternoon being lazy together  and watching back-to-back episodes of Friends. W

e got all dolled up, and went out to a restaurant called Stubrik's, in Downtown Fullerton. We rarely spend a lot of money on going out to eat, but for this special occasion we definitely knew it was necessary! (Plus, we had a gift card from my best friend, so it was a no-brainer!). The dinner was delicious, and the atmosphere had a really neat vibe. 

anniversary date at stubrik's in fullerton

My favorite part of dinner was that we shared our reflections on our first year of marriage, and then we shared our goals for year two. We kept our goals to a minimum, and then we asked how we could encourage the other person in accomplishing those goals. I loved that. I love that I have the honor of living and sharing this life with Jamey. He is the best gift I could ever ask for, and he is a constant reminder of grace & unconditional love.

The first year of marriage could be described in so many words..."hard" is not one of them. 

Here's to year TWO, and to many, many more after that.

XO

Brenda