Yeee! What a wonderful year it was. This yearly recap is always so fun to create - I love looking back and feeling so much gratitude for the year behind me. It's funny how my greed for travel and adventure sometimes has me believing that I don't go to enough places, or that I'm in some sort of rut (this happens a lot!). But all I have to do is take a peek back in time to see how golden life truly is.

This year Jimmy and I both turned 30, an age I'm loving and embracing in every way. I made some big strides at work and have met my goals of growing in my professional confidence and authentic leadership. We bought our first HOUSE! Tiny, yes, but a home just the same. With that change, we moved to a gorgeous new location, with a community that supports us in every way. It was our third full year in California, and we sunk into it in a whole new way this year,

It was hard to narrow our experiences down into groups of five but I gave it a go; here are my "top five" pics from 2015.

2015's Top Five:

Eats:
Oscars Mexican Seafood, San Diego
Cheeky's, Palm Springs
Hanazen, Orinda
Plow, San Francisco
Pelikan, Stockholm

Getaways:
Sweden (Part I and Part II)
Palm Springs
San Diego
Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Yosemite National Park

Songs:
Gold by Kiiara
Yours to Bear by HoneyHoney
Hummed Low by Odessa
Cloudline by Joseph
Demon by Shamir

Movies/Shows:
The Revenant
Jane the Virgin
Black Mirror
Chef's Table
Narcos

Buys:
Tiny House
Blue Apron
Pons shoes
Madewell jeans
Manpans

Reads:
The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up
Maine
Still Alice
Station Eleven
Super Sad True Love Story


I'm feeling so much gratitude, and so much excitement for 2016. Let's do it!

(p.s. Here are my "best of" posts for 2013 and 2014)

Best of 2014

Wow, doesn't it already seem so passé to see "2014" in a blog title? I think I've been mentally preparing for 2015 for awhile now. It seems like it's going to be a good one, and it already feels so natural to me (to say, to write). Plus, the first week has been great, so that's a good sign. Bring it on!

I allowed myself a complete and utter PAUSE over the holidays. It felt really good. I literally forgot about work and responsibilities, and even about blogging. I'll post about some of my goals for the year soon, but one of my goals is to relax about blogging. As you all know I don't blog very often or consistently, and I'm okay with that. I want to keep being okay with that and not letting guilt creep in whenever I miss a week (or 3!). For me this space isn't about gaining followers or trying to impart wisdom on the world or trying to make a buck. For me it's a creative outlet, a small community of followers and friends, and an inspiration to keep learning and growing. None of that should require stress or pressure on myself. So I have no idea what this blog will look like in 2015 - but I know it will be very me. Thanks for continuing to follow along :). 

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For 2013 I did a little recap of the year via lists, and I decided 2014 was great enough that I should do it again. 

2014 Top 5:

Getaways:

1. Lost Coast
2. Kauai (part one, two, and three)
3. Bodega Bay
4. Truckee
5. Cape Cod

Songs:

1. From Eden by Hozier
2. Two Pears Dancing by The Moxie Strings
3. Reflections by MisterWives
4. Chandelier by Sia
5. Turn It Around by Lucius

Shows:

1. The Lone Bellow / Don Quixote's, Felton
2. First Aid Kit / Fox Theatre, Oakland
3. Anders Osborne / Terrapin Crossroads, San Rafael
4. Southern Soul Assembly
5. Tiny ukulele performance in Kauai 

Buys:

1. Macbook Pro!
2. Ski Pass (to my Tahoe mountains!)
3. Birchbox subscription
4. Brown Sutro booties (no longer available)
5. Urban Smith "avventura" necklace (a gift)
+Everlane cashmere sweater (also a gift!)

Eats:

1. Margs, Truckee
2. Boonfly Cafe, Sonoma
3. Hanalei Taro and Juice Co., Hanalei
4. Pine State Biscuits, Portland
5. Broder Cafe, Portland
+Pok Pok, Portland
+Piccino, San Francisco

Books:

1. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
2. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
3. Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham
4. The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
5. #Girlboss by Sophia Amoruso 

Movies/Shows:

1. Wild
2. Dexter
3. The Walking Dead
4. Interstellar
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel

Phew! It was hard to pick. And now it's time for a new year of favorites - bring it on '15!