Wrapping Up 2014

A couple friend of mine has a great tradition of posting their Top 5 on their holiday card and I'm graciously stealing their brilliance for my blog. 

5. Our annual holiday party 

I can't believe we just wrapped up our 13th annual party. It's insane that we've kept something going for so long ... and how old having a 13th annual anything makes me feel. Every year, I treasure seeing everyone we love in our house, basking in that fabulous holiday glow (ok, the glow may come from the Moscow Mules). But the warm feeling that comes from throwing a kickass party to thank our friends for being so damn awesome ... nothing beats that.

The brave souls, closing out the party at 1:30 am.

4. Hosting summer parties

For years, YEARS, I have wanted to host more often and we'd been so limited in terms of space and lack of A/C (nothing like sweating through an indoor summer dinner party). This year, we were able to host a couple shindigs and I loved being able to celebrate a fabulous season with our favorites.

The first summer party of the year ...

 

3. Being an honorary auntie

Truth be told, we have some awesome kids in our life. Tristan, Hayden, Jack, Owen, Lily, Sophia and the many others we don't get to see as often, THANK YOU for letting Evan and I be a part of your lives. Thank you for smiling at us, playing with us, loving us ... and letting your crazy Aunt Bre take so many damn photos of you. You help us remain young at heart and we cherish watching you grow up. And I can't wait to become an official aunty in 2015!

Hayden, Owen, Tristan and Jack ready to open their Christmas presents

2. Our neighborhood

We live in an amazing place. Not only is it beautiful, but we have AH-MAZING neighbors. Moving from a town home community to Solterra was a big change for us, and if anyone asked we were quick to say that our biggest fear with moving were "the neighbors." And, being pretty anti-social, neither Evan nor I relished the idea of having to make small talk. Well damn if we weren't wrong. Our neighbors are one of my favorite things about where we live. From summer parties to random nights of drinking, I feel blessed to truly adore the people in our community.

Summer celebrations

1. Traveling

I know this shouldn't be one bucket category, but there were two trips this year (outside of my business adventures) that really meant a lot to me. The first was spending the 4th of July in Grand Lake with my family. It's the first family trip we've done since I was 13 and it was so nice to spend time with my parents, sister and brother-in-law. Times like these remind me how important family is and how fun it really can be spending time together.

The second was Evan's and my anniversary trip to Jackson Hole. Aside from getting some much needed 1:1 time with the hubby, we both needed some desperate R-N-R and I can't think of a more perfect spot to go. Instead of boring you with the details, I'll just share some amazing photos from the trip.

Hope you all had a fabulous year and cheers to a bright, shiny and brilliant 2015.

Excuses, excuses

So, yeah, that whole posting every week during my #100happydays challenge ... pretty much dropped the ball on that one. I swear I do have good excuses, but I won't bore you with how insane work and the holiday season has been ... or how lazy I've been. Instead, since I'm a couple days out from wrapping up the challenge, I'll share my thoughts. Good? Good.

The challenge itself was just that, challenging. It really made me look at the simple things in life and challenge myself to find a smile everyday. I truly enjoyed spending the last few months focusing on finding happiness. Did it get me out of my funk? A little. Did it help clarify what makes me happy? Absolutely.

So what does make me happy? That's easy. Flip through my Instagram feed and you'll quickly see lots of food and drink posts. Some of these were much needed glasses of wine at the end of a busy day or a special meal made by a special hubby. But a lot of them were centered around being out -- either with friends or on a date night. It made me realize as much as I enjoying being at home (and trust me, I like it a lot), I'm happier out than sitting on the couch being a bum.

I also realized that I'm not happy with how I look right now (queue the head slap). I know. I know. How long ago did I post about that and how many times have I not done something about it?  But going 100 days and only posting 2 photos of myself made me realize some serious change is needed in my life. I can't play at this anymore.

More than anything, my takeaway from this challenge is to not let life pass me by. I need to cherish the small moments in life and make sure to do something every day for myself that counts. It's too easy to fall into the trap of every day looking the same and following the same routine. This challenge reminded me that change really is good and finding small moments of happiness every day can do a wonder on your mood and outlook.