As I'm writing this I'm wearing two pairs of socks, leggings and sweatpants, a long sleeve shirt and my boyfriend's cashmere sweater which is about two sizes too big for him, meaning it's about four sizes too big for me. It's a tiny bit cold out. (I just looked at the weather forecast and the high for the last day of the year is only -1. And that's without wind chill. Whyyyyyyyyyyy??) Even though I'm barely warm enough to move, I've been setting up my 2018 bullet journal and, in the process, taking a look back on my previous year. There have been quite a few highlights, so I thought I'd take a minute to share them with you lot!
In a lot of ways, 2017 was rough. The political climate was pretty horrid, so I did a lot of hunkering down and trying to find a balance between staying involved and protecting my own happiness. One of the greatest ways I could have imagined starting off the new year under the new administration was the women's march in January. Living in a conservative state when you don't agree with those politics can be hard, but seeing how many people showed up reminded me that there is still hope.
On a brighter note, 2017 involved a lot of fun trips. I started April with a quick trip down to Kansas City and Lawrence for a bit of art, shopping and music. John and I saw the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, did a little window shopping around the Plaza and then headed out to Lawrence. In Lawrence we had some delicious pizza at Limestone Pizza, walked and shopped Massachusetts street, enjoyed some coffee and then indulged in a little nostalgia at the Newfound Glory concert at The Granada. On the way back home the next morning we couldn't resist a quick trip to Ikea to cap the whole thing off.
In May we headed to Las Vegas for a week with John's family to celebrate his parents' anniversary. I had never been before, but this was John's third time. It was certainly a sight to behold. Neither of us are really much for gambling so instead we did a lot of shopping, even more eating and enough walking to thankfully counteract all the other indulgences. Some of my favorites included Bobby's Burger Palace and the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian.
Not long after visiting one of the most over-the-top, commercialized locations on earth, we took another trip to practically the polar opposite; Yosemite National Park. Technically we started with a few days in San Francisco, staying at Hotel G, a truly adorable boutique hotel right off of Union square. After a few days of seeing the sights (Tartine bakery was a favorite) we met up with my parents in Yosemite to camp for a week. The scenery was truly unbelievable. Be sure to check out the Vernal Falls mist trail and the Sentinel Dome hike.
Even back at home there were a lot of fun moments. It wouldn't be life in Lincoln, Nebraska without outings to Jazz in June, the Seward 4th of July festival, a few Husker events (some more notable than others -- hello, fifth volleyball national championship!) and, most notably, the total solar eclipse! I also spent a lot of time eating delicious food and enjoying the company of a lot of great friends, whether that be for birthday celebrations, anniversaries, housewarming parties or the annual Friendsgiving dinner.
In my personal life, I really dove into minimalism, financial planning, meditation, skincare and zero-waste ideas. I successfully Kon Mari'd my whole house (ignore the fact that I still have a whole big pile to try to sell or donate), I saved more for retirement than ever before and I've been working to cut down on how much waste I'm making. Next year I hope to improve on all of these things!
And then there are the things I unfortunately didn't capture on film that I truly regret. My brother-in-law graduating with his PhD in Music Performance, my sister dopey from painkillers after a successful foot surgery, celebrating John and I's one year anniversary, painting my house, getting a brand new roof, and finally pressing 'Buy Now' on two tickets to Europe for next spring. Regardless, this has been a fantastic year filled with great memories (maybe even a few bad ones, but that's life right?). I am ready for everything that next year brings, and I look forward to sharing those events here.
See you next year!
In a lot of ways, 2017 was rough. The political climate was pretty horrid, so I did a lot of hunkering down and trying to find a balance between staying involved and protecting my own happiness. One of the greatest ways I could have imagined starting off the new year under the new administration was the women's march in January. Living in a conservative state when you don't agree with those politics can be hard, but seeing how many people showed up reminded me that there is still hope.
On a brighter note, 2017 involved a lot of fun trips. I started April with a quick trip down to Kansas City and Lawrence for a bit of art, shopping and music. John and I saw the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, did a little window shopping around the Plaza and then headed out to Lawrence. In Lawrence we had some delicious pizza at Limestone Pizza, walked and shopped Massachusetts street, enjoyed some coffee and then indulged in a little nostalgia at the Newfound Glory concert at The Granada. On the way back home the next morning we couldn't resist a quick trip to Ikea to cap the whole thing off.
In May we headed to Las Vegas for a week with John's family to celebrate his parents' anniversary. I had never been before, but this was John's third time. It was certainly a sight to behold. Neither of us are really much for gambling so instead we did a lot of shopping, even more eating and enough walking to thankfully counteract all the other indulgences. Some of my favorites included Bobby's Burger Palace and the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian.
Not long after visiting one of the most over-the-top, commercialized locations on earth, we took another trip to practically the polar opposite; Yosemite National Park. Technically we started with a few days in San Francisco, staying at Hotel G, a truly adorable boutique hotel right off of Union square. After a few days of seeing the sights (Tartine bakery was a favorite) we met up with my parents in Yosemite to camp for a week. The scenery was truly unbelievable. Be sure to check out the Vernal Falls mist trail and the Sentinel Dome hike.
Even back at home there were a lot of fun moments. It wouldn't be life in Lincoln, Nebraska without outings to Jazz in June, the Seward 4th of July festival, a few Husker events (some more notable than others -- hello, fifth volleyball national championship!) and, most notably, the total solar eclipse! I also spent a lot of time eating delicious food and enjoying the company of a lot of great friends, whether that be for birthday celebrations, anniversaries, housewarming parties or the annual Friendsgiving dinner.
In my personal life, I really dove into minimalism, financial planning, meditation, skincare and zero-waste ideas. I successfully Kon Mari'd my whole house (ignore the fact that I still have a whole big pile to try to sell or donate), I saved more for retirement than ever before and I've been working to cut down on how much waste I'm making. Next year I hope to improve on all of these things!
And then there are the things I unfortunately didn't capture on film that I truly regret. My brother-in-law graduating with his PhD in Music Performance, my sister dopey from painkillers after a successful foot surgery, celebrating John and I's one year anniversary, painting my house, getting a brand new roof, and finally pressing 'Buy Now' on two tickets to Europe for next spring. Regardless, this has been a fantastic year filled with great memories (maybe even a few bad ones, but that's life right?). I am ready for everything that next year brings, and I look forward to sharing those events here.
See you next year!
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