Well-Traveled Wife: 2013

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

2013 in review

dear 2013,

how are you almost over?

all i can say is that we loved you,

and can't believe how every year

just keeps getting better and better.

here's an attempt to recap you in one song:

and as for a little 2013 blog recap...

in january we rang in the new year by hosting a party with friends, enjoyed our winter break and played in the snow at home, got all dressed up for the downton abbey premiere gala, then came back to california and moved into a new apartment in the bay...we got settled and saw friends, explored more and more of san francisco, had some fun date nights with friends and explored half moon bay for martin luther king, jr. day.

in february we took a last-minute trip home for the funeral of chase's sweet grandpa... we then celebrated valentines day, had a little trip to seattle, then we were off to paris and rome!! we came home to warm weather and fun with friends.

in march we went to a pro tennis tournament, celebrated st. patty's day in style, and threw a party for our bff's birthday. we had some fancy date nights and chase got into lots of law schools {but has since decided against it.} we saw the pretty new bay bridge lights and celebrated easter with friends who have become family.

in april we made a tradition of temple + tacos, went on some fun runs together, and spent a week in laguna beach with my family. husband's mom & grandma came in town for a fun visit, and of course we kept visiting the SF ferry building farmer's market..our fave. my friends threw me the cutest birthday bbq, and then i turned 23!!

may got off to a great start, and then we headed to miami beach for the best vacation! we had some fun weekends and then booked a lighthouse hostel on the coast for memorial day weekend with our best friends. we summed up what we've learned about marriage so far as we drew close to a year of being married!

on the first of june our one year wedding anniversary rolled around, and chase planned the perfect celebration. we finished year one of teach for america, and summer began. i flew home to surprise my dad for father's day, and threw one of my best friend's a bridal shower. chase got hired at GOOGLE, (!!!) and i visited SLC solo while he got going. chase came home and surprised me, & we celebrated our friends ralph and abby's wedding and soaked up some boating and family time.

in july we made it back to the bay just in time to throw a party for chase's 25th birthday with our friends, then we were off to CHINA for the most amazing trip ever before chase started his job at google.

in august we ran the SF giants half marathon with our besties, and i made it to jackson for the best trip of the year before starting year 2 of teach for america. we explored alameda island, and hit our one year mark of living in the bay!! husband went home for one of his best friend's weddings, and i finally got the prettiest wedding band. we enjoyed the end of august with some nice california days, and ended summer with some mini golf.

september brought a fun labor day adventure touring all of the california gold rush towns, and then my brother and sister in law came for the most fun visit. we got invited to go on a travel show for the blog, and got to invite two couple friends for an amazing week in cannon beach, oregon. my parents came to town for such a fun visit...they toured google, we hiked muir woods, and we showed them our favorite spots on the coast. we also started to do our first features for the blog!

i ran the st. george marathon in october with my whole family and got to spend a gorgeous fall week in utah. we started posting some travel tips and i got obsessed with GIF's..hehe. we recapped our fun visit to portland, and i threw a baby shower for my cute friend tara. we checked the half moon bay pumpkin festival off our bucket list, and paid a little visit to treasure island...& fell in love with that view! we posted our bay area bucket list and kept checking items off. we had a new york halloween which ended october perfectly.

in november we had such a fun trip to new york city..{that place is perfect in the fall} then a little miracle joined our family as our nephew. we had another visitor and some perfect, warm SF weekends. we celebrated thanksgiving with chase's family in the mountains.

our december calendar was full of festivities, dates, parties, and fun. we had chase's holiday party for google, explored jack london square, tried out juicing, sent out our christmas cards, took my TFA students on a field trip to google, soaked up december in the bay, then headed home for a white christmas with a special christmas eve and bright christmas day. we just finished off december right with the most relaxing and nice ski weekend in deer valley with my family, and got some exciting news we will share soon!

here's to an incredible year that i can't believe we got to live. can't WAIT for 2014. xo

Monday, December 30, 2013

pre & post christmas

coming into town for christmas is the best thing,

but it sure is busy!! having both of our families +

friends here, we've had lots of parties, gatherings

and festivities before & after christmas. we came

home to a white christmas, then went to chase's

family neighborhood party, had my high school

friends brunch, and my extended family party

thrown by my grandma...and that was just the

first day of being in town! whenever we are
here we stay up late, wake up early,
and soak up every second we can
with our favorite people. here is some
of the fun we've had while in SLC.

see all of our fun over the holidays here:
our snowy welcome home, christmas eve with my
family, christmas day with chase's family, and
our little ski vacay to deer valley.