The past year wasn’t all fun and games, but these 2016 highlights show why this year was full of so much goodness.
I know, 2016 was a bit of a doozy. Not the best year on a macro level, was it now? And I know that. Even if the world was going crazy, on a micro level my year was pretty stellar, and I hope looking back, you too celebrated many personal victories and big moments. These are the moments that made my year one of the biggest & life changing ones yet.
2016 Highlights
Got Engaged, January 23rd
Kicked off 2016 with a January blizzard engagement! Even though we’d been together a long time and I knew it’d be coming soon, I did not expect a proposal in the middle of a snowy Central Park, complete with a photographer and guitar player. You can read the full engagement story here. I can’t believe it’s almost been a full year since that special day!
Cross Country Road Trip, May 31st-June 17th
I was so thrilled to be able to do this trip. Taking a cross-country road trip had been a long time goal of mine and I didn’t know if it would ever become a reality. I was obsessed with this adventure and all the stops we made and National Parks we visited. A highlight for me were the Grand Tetons and Jackson, Wyoming. Those snow-capped mountains were so beautiful. I hope to make it back there someday soon.
Moved to California, June 17th
After 9 amazing years in New York City, MM and I bid farewell to our dear city. As much as I was ready to leave NYC and try something new, driving away was extremely bittersweet and I miss New York a lot. Am I glad we moved? Yes, but I still miss the familiarity and most of all, our friends and having family close(r) by. But sometimes we need to leave comfort and take a leap and that’s what we did. And hey, if you’re going to take a leap, a leap to California isn’t a bad one to make. It’s been an adjustment that is still a work in progress, but exploring the West Coast has been pretty dreamy.
Ran 3 Half Marathons
I can’t do a yearly recap without mentioning some races, right? I ran my final race as an NYC resident, the Brooklyn Half in May, then ran my first race as a Cali resident, the San Francisco Half in July and then went on an epic trip to Vancouver for the Lululemon Seawheeze Half with a house full of blogger babes in August. While I didn’t put in many training hours for any of these races and didn’t get any PRs in the process, these races were all very special to me. I did so many races in NYC from mini 4-milers to the NYC Marathon and the NYC Triathlons (6 times!) that it was meaningful to do just one more race before heading west. And then the San Francisco Half Marathon was a beautiful welcome to my new city. The last five years that I lived in NYC, I lived next to Central Park and just steps away from many race starting lines, which totally spoiled me and I loved it. The SF half kicked off less than a mile from my apartment, not bad at all, and it was a great chance to experience the city as a newbie, especially the foggy miles over the Golden Gate Bridge. I hope to do this race again in 2017, plus a few more.
Bachelorette in Charleston, Labor Day Weekend
Can I please book another trip with 13 of my best friends? Sad to say, I think your bachelorette party is the only rare opportunity for this to happen, and damn, I’m sad it’s over. It’s making me emotional writing about it because I have such an amazing group of girlfriends and the fact they all booked flights to celebrate and party with me is a really special and meaningful thing. We explored Charleston, SC and the city lives up to all the hype. I miss all my friends so much and wish I could relive this entire weekend (except for the little hurricane at the beginning that made the trip a little challenging for a few of my friends, hi Lauren, Steph & Genniva!).
Got Married, November 5th
Another huge milestone! After months of planning, MM and I tied the knot in front of our closest friends and family. Our wedding thankfully went just as I had planned on the most beautiful fall day in Virginia. All the hard work and details came together in a mostly stress-free celebration, despite doing a lot of the planning from across the country. Wedding planning is tough but fun work and I’m glad I was able to get through most of the prep with a smile and the support of my family and friends. It all goes by just as fast as everyone says it does and all wedding related things, now looking back, flew by. While I’m sad it’s over, it’s a huge weight off my shoulders that it went as I had hoped and everyone had fun. Since I can’t relive it, I’ll stick with endlessly scrolling through the pictures (more of which I’ll post on the blog soon!).
Lots of Travel, All Year!
Travel is a theme of this post with our cross country road trip and our honeymoon (below), but it deserves it’s own headline too. I love traveling and exploring new places and this year I was lucky to visit a bunch of new places, and visit some old favorites. One of my life goals is to visit all 50 states and at the end of this year I’m up to 38, adding three new ones from 2016: Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming. Other especially memorable places from 2016 travel include Africa, Charleston, Ann Arbor, Madison, Los Angeles, Napa, Sonoma, Carmel, Vermont, Virginia, Park City, Niagara Falls, Vancouver, and even more.
Honeymooned in Africa, December 25th-January 4th
And what better way to close out a wild year than with a trip to Africa! MM and I just returned from our safari adventure through Zimbabwe and Botswana and it was incredible. I’m going to give you a full trip recap in the coming weeks, but for now I’ll say it was so exciting, different from any trip I’ve ever been on, and one I’ll never forgot. It’s pretty crazy to ring in the new year in Africa, but oops, I fell asleep before midnight. When I woke up and headed to our 5:30am breakfast, it was the perfect time to text my friends in the US as they were still waiting for the ball to drop (10 hour time difference! it’s really a miracle I’m even writing this post just after the journey home). If you’re considering a trip to Africa, let me tell you–take it.
Sure, this post makes it seem like my life is full of magical positivity. And yes, lots of amazing things did happen, but like anyone, the year had struggles and down moments as well. But while we look back, I choose to see the good and use the not-so-good as as motivation to be a stronger and better person in the new year. I know this comes a bit past new years, but let me take this chance to wish you all a new year full of incredible and positively life changing events!
All wedding photos via the incredible Candice Adelle Photography
