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.

closing out 2013

2013 has not been a banner year. It's been one of the hardest, darkest years as well as one of the most exciting years. My emotions have been to all kinds of extremes and I wish that as the year comes to a close, I was at a place of peace.

2013 was filled with a lot of hard work, devastating losses and frightening realizations. The only bright spot of this year had been our house -- and it's really more than bright, it's brilliant. But our house aside (because this blog is dedicated to how much I love our house), I don't recall a lot of good from this year.

Evan and I both developed unhealthy habits and paid the price by gaining weight. We worked a lot, which meant I don't have a lot of great memories of times with friends or family. Working so hard also threw into stark realization who my true friends are understanding there were times when I needed them to give more because I simply ran out of hours in the day. And, I also realized there's a whole lot of friends who fade away if I don't take the initiative to reach out.

We lost our baby puppy in a truly heartbreaking moment leaving both of us raw and depressed for months. God, I miss him. And then there's the guilt. The guilt I feel with losing him the way he did, the guilt I feel in not being a better wife, the guilt I feel in letting myself down.

To say I will be glad to see 2013 pass is truly an understatement. I desperately need 2013 to come to an end for my health and sanity.

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I hope that 2014 brings wisdom to know where I want my life to go. I hope that 2014 brings wonderful memories with family and friends. I hope that 2014 brings the start of healthy, sustainable habits and with it a healthy life. I hope that I'm a good wife, friend, daughter and sister. I hope 2014 brings adventure, joy and happiness.

goodbye sweet dudley

It’s been a tough week at Here to Home, and it’s been something I’ve dreaded writing about. But I think there’s a level of comfort that comes from talking about it and at this point, I’ll take any comfort in whatever form it comes in.

A week ago, Evan and I came home to find our sweet puppy Dudley had passed away. He was 7-years-old, very healthy and hadn’t given any indication that anything was wrong. The best guess the vet can give us after performing a necropsy is that he died of a stroke. 

Dudley enjoying his favorite pastime, squeaking his toys

Dudley’s sudden and very unexpected passing has absolutely rocked our world as he was such an enormous and important part of our family. We loved him with our whole heart, and he was loved by many of our friends and family – it was tough not to love him as he was the happiest, cutest puppy I’ve ever met. 

Evan and I have been struggling this week working through a lot of emotion. At the top has been heartbreaking sorrow and a lot of grief. We feel so guilty for not being home and staying out later than normal that night. I don’t know if our being home would have made a difference or if we could have prevented his death, but it breaks my heart to think that it could have. We also have a lot of guilt around him dying alone. We desperately hope that he wasn’t in pain or afraid, but instead passed very quickly and painlessly. 

More than anything though I miss him, I miss him so much. Moving into our new house, we had so much excitement about Dudley finally having his yard, about where Dudley’s new favorite spot would be … it’s been devastating realizing that he lived there for approximately 2 weeks. We’re doing our best to work past our emotions, honor his memory, remember the thousands of amazing times we had together and figure out what it means to suddenly be a family of two. I know it takes time to heal, but I hope it comes quickly.

I know these posts are never fun, but if each of you could think of us and him, we’d appreciate it.

Our sweet Dudley bear