Ok, so, it’s been 2016 for a hot minute. But today we’re taking a look back into the past, and then taking another look straight into the future!
2015 was kind of a crazy year.
In January, I quit my full time job. I started working on the blog more, doing more yoga and finding random little things like dog walking and volunteering at a cat shelter to fill my time. Eventually, I started working part time again and found a really perfect happy medium.
I also traveled. A ton. Lots of trips to LA, San Fran, the coast and Paso Robles (for wine tasting!). In February, I went to Utah to attend my first ever blog conference! Where I got to meet the amazing ladies behind Maebells and Pumpkin ‘N Spice.
In March, Nick and I took a trip to Monterey, stopping at Pinnacles National Park on the way. In April I visited Orange County for the first time (and fell in love), and did a half marathon up in Napa Valley. In May, I went on an awesome girls’ trip with 2 of my BBF’s to Pensacola, FL, and New Orleans. Then I flew straight to Virginia for a bachelorette weekend with one of my oldest friends. At the end of the month, I visited Lake Tahoe while Nick was up there for some training. In June, I went to my sis-in-law’s bachelorette weekend in Palm Springs.
In July, I had a girls’ trip to San Diego, and then went back to Virginia to be in my friend’s wedding. After the wedding, I spent a few days in Massachusetts with the fam, then went back to San Diego to take a trip out on an aircraft carrier!
In August, Nick and I spent a week on Cape Cod with my family, and then went to Utah for his sister’s wedding.
In October, I left the country to go to Chile! What a trip. It was probably my favorite vacation of all time. You can read about it here, here and here.
In November, I went back to Utah to visit the in-laws. And finally, in December, Nick and I road-tripped to Arizona and the Grand Canyon via Joshua Tree National Park.
Phew. Like I said, it was a crazy year.
2015 included a lot of travel in part because I needed to keep myself busy. Nick was gone a lot this year, including a 3.5 month deployment. That’s about 2 weeks longer than we’d even been apart before. Although, I guess 3 months may still hold the record since I got to see him in Chile about a month into deployment. There will be much longer deployments in our future, but trust me, 3 and a half months was long enough.
Although 2015 was crazy, 2016 is going to be even crazier. A different kind of crazy.
At the beginning of September, we found out we are going to be growing our family!
And just a few weeks ago, we found out it’s a girl! Baby P will be here in May and we are both super excited for this new adventure. I’ve crossed so many things off my bucket list in the past couple years, and it finally seemed like the perfect time to embark on a new phase of life. I’m a little terrified, but also really looking forward to everything.
The first few months of my pregnancy were a bit rough. Cooking was not appealing to me at all, which is why things probably seemed a little slow this fall. I pretty much only wanted to eat English muffins with butter and ALL THE FRUIT. And lots of popsicles and anything juicy. For a while, the thought of chicken was revolting. Luckily, I am pretty much completely back to normal with my eating habits, and enjoying cooking and eating lots of healthy things.
I’m feeling great these days. I’m still hiking and running and yoga-ing, and pretty much just carrying on as if nothing has changed. I do miss wine. And sushi. I especially missed wine on our wine tour in Chile. That was rough. But the weeks are flying by and I can’t believe we’re already more than halfway there! I’m finally starting to look noticeably preggo which is fun, but also a pain in the back (hehe). I’m hoping to get one or two more fun weekend trips in before baby girl arrives, but we’ll see how that pans out.
I’m not making any resolutions this year because, well, we’ve got a heck of a year ahead of us without changing up any of our usual routine!
Just for fun, here are my Top 5 Most Popular Posts from 2015:
- Spinach and Red Pepper Mini Frittatas
- Chocolate Covered Potato Chip Crispy Treats
- Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
- Reuben-Style Irish Nachos
- Buffalo Chicken Chili
SO… cheers to 2016! What are you most looking forward to this year!?
Wow! whatever I am looking forward to doesn’t hold a candle to your past year or your upcoming year!! Huge congratulations on the soon-to-be-arrival of “Baby P!!”
Thanks, Caren!! It’s going to be fun!!
Yay!!! You did travel a TON last year! It felt like every week you were somewhere new! I am SO glad we got to meet face to face! And I am so looking forward to your new journey! I can’t wait until baby P gets here!! 🙂
Thanks, Annie!! Definitely more conferences in our future! 🙂
Awwww congrats on Baby P! How exciting 🙂
Thanks, Sarah!! 🙂
Ahh congratulations!! As amazing as hour 2015 was its nothing compared to what’s ahead. 🙂
Thanks, Lauren!! We can’t wait!
First, I Love your blog. It’s great!
Second, keeping busy was a good thing !
Third, a huge congratulations for you and your husband on Baby P 🙂
Thanks, Dolores!! 🙂
Wonderful !!!
Aww, congratulations! How exciting!
You has such an amazing year, Jess! I’m so jealous of all of your fun trips, but I’m happy I now get to live vicariously through you through instagram! 🙂 And it was SO fun meeting you! I wish you the very best of luck this year and can’t wait for your little bundle of joy to arrive!
Thanks, Gayle!! 🙂
YAY — a girl! I’m so excited for you, Jessica! 2015 sounded like a fun year traveling, but it won’t come close to this year with the birth of your baby coming!
Thanks, Marcie! We’re so excited!
Girl you rocked 2015 and all that travel you did that sounds so amazing!! And many congrats for being pregnant!!! Hoping that you have a safe and relaxing 2016 with an additional member added soon! 🙂
Thanks, Ami!! 🙂
Oh my gosh congratulations Jess! I am so excited for you and Nick =) =)
Thanks, Shelby!!
Congratulations! So happy for you. 2016 is sure to be a busy year too, but a much different kind of busy. 🙂
Thanks, Christin!
2015 was such a fun year for you! So many great travel adventures. But 2016 is going to be even better! So happy for you and Nick. Having a baby is just the best! Glad you’re feeling better. Ick, and chicken was my revolting food too. Hugs!
Thanks, Natalie! Watching your little cutie on Snapchat makes me even more excited. 🙂
CONGRATULATIONS! I can’t wait for your baby girl to get here! Your 2015 was totally crazy busy! It sure looked like a ton of fun!
Thanks, Rachelle!
OMG CONGRATULATIONS Jess! What a crazy wonderful 2015 you’ve had (minus the deployment), and you have so much to look forward to for 2016 with your little baby girl! Can’t believe you’re halfway already! Glad to hear your eating habits are back to normal, too 🙂
So happy for you!! 😀 <3
I can’t believe it either! It’s gone SO fast!! Thanks, Sam!!
Gah! I’m so behind on all my blogs, and I’m thrilled to see this awesome news. Congratulations! Baby girls are absolutely the greatest. =)
Thanks, Amy!! I can’t wait!!
Wow, you guys really did a lot last year! Makes me feel a little lazy, haha! But, it sounds like you have the biggest adventure yet coming up soon!!! Congratulations! I’m so happy for you!