Of all the posts I’ve written on this blog (more than 1,200 over the last seven years!), the ones I most love to look back on are these year in review posts. John, too. Seeing all of these beloved memories and people in one place laid out so neatly never fails to make me feel like helium is filling me up inside!

I am really grateful for this year, and know it will be one I’ll always look back on with joy. Here are a few of the highlights of the year on Em for Marvelous and in our lives!

We started off the year by celebrating Christmas with my family in Connecticut over Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend! The highlight was roasting marshmallows over the smoldering coals of our beloved childhood playground. We slowly added several new pieces to our home over the year, starting with this pretty vintage rug. Best of all, we celebrated our ten-year dativersary by recreating our first date: ice skating!

We got our annual dose of snow in February, which meant, much to his chagrin, John’s year once again included shoveling. I wrote about our strategy for replacing paper towels (one of the small things that made me happiest this year!) and preparing financially for a baby.

March was a great, full mix of some of my favorite things! John and I flew to NYC for an extended weekend so I could do a speaking thing for work and we both could visit with his family. We got to worship at Hillsong. Then we squeezed in a camping trip with friends, I flew to Austin and Houston for work, and I hosted a baby shower for Nancy! I also posted a few of my thoughts on camping.

We really maxed out our travel budget in 2015, which both at the time and in hindsight, I am grateful for! We visited Savannah and Beaufort, SC over Easter weekend. We also planted a blueberry bush in our yard, and finally ordered our wedding album!

Another month, another weekend trip, this time to Wilmington and Bald Head Island! My Dad also came to visit, we did projects around the house, picked strawberries, went to an outdoor concert and a Bulls game, and I traveled to Charlottesville and Charleston for work. I also wrote about my water drinking game, which is still holding strong! AND, we found out I was pregnant!

Good golly, June! The highlight was without a doubt our trip to France – our first trip to Europe, and one I covered in five posts (Paris, Versailles, Provence, Cassis, and the Côte d’Azur). I also flew to Connecticut to see my family and help my parents clean out our attic, my younger sister came to visit us, and I traveled to Richmond and Kentucky for work!

In July we threw a baby shower for Natalie and Joe in NYC, and got to tell the Thomas side of the family our happy news! I also spent the next week working remotely and hanging out with my Mom in Connecticut, which was really wonderful.

We had one of our best weeks ever in Maine in August, where, among other things, we got to tell my side of the family our news! At the end of the month we took a weekend trip to Greenville, and found out we are having a baby girl! I also wrote about deciding to have children (one of the most popular posts of the year) and our car fund. Also took my first bump photo at 18 weeks! :)

In September we flew to Nashville to visit my younger sister, and we did a lot of good eating :) Also took another bump photo on one of our runs – 22 weeks! I wrote a post about the best way to reheat pizza, and if you haven’t tried that tip yet, you are missing out.

In October we headed to the mountains for a weekend trip with John’s parents and aunts. Took another bump photo (26 weeks!), made some biscuits at our church’s Fair booth, traveled to Charleston for work, my Mom and Dad came to visit, hosted the third annual pumpkin and soup party, shared nursery plans, and posted a third trimester update!

Bump’s getting bigger (33 weeks here!). I was lucky enough to have three baby showers in November, one of which we traveled to Connecticut for and one for which my Mom and sisters flew into NC. We celebrated Thanksgiving with dear friends and finally pulled the trigger on new dining room chairs!

And finally, December. We were so happy to host John’s family for Christmas at our home, something I’m considering a little gift from our baby girl since it wouldn’t have happened without her due date aligning!

Friends, thank you for reading. I just love y’all – sharing with you, hearing from you, getting your opinions, and seeing what you’re up to. It is a joy to write here, and I can’t wait to see all the adventures 2016 will hold!

2014 year in review
2013 year in review
2012 year in review

Let me tell you about my friend Stephanie, who recently moved back to the Triangle after living in DC for several years. Since she’s been here, the list of things she’s done, places she’s been, and people she’s met is mind-boggling. In fact, I’m positive she has more local friends than I do. (This is not surprising or upsetting, as I readily admit I am an introvert who prefers fewer, very closer friends over a larger circle.) She and I only recently met in person after being online friends for several years. Perhaps this emboldened me, because when she posted about a local book club she had joined, I inquired.

Stephanie, bless her heart, not only told me about the book club, but went one step further: she invited me to START an articles club with her. Even though it was a little outside of my comfort zone, I was instantly enamored with the idea. Both she and I had read about the concept on A Cup of Jo last year, and Steph had successfully hosted one with friends in DC. After a flurry of back and forth emails, our new version is taking shape!

And here’s where you come in: you’re invited! Yes! The first one will be on Tuesday, November 10, in the evening, in the Triangle of NC. We’ll meet about once a month (we are considering keeping it on the second Tuesday of the month). One gal will email out three articles to the group – perhaps themed, but not necessarily, and about topics that feel relevant to our age group: maybe friendship, career, work/life balance, children, or relationships. Then, we’ll gather and discuss them over appetizers, dessert, and drinks.

In addition to meeting new friends, Stephanie and I are both very set on actual discussion, so we’re hoping to attract ladies who feel the same way! :) If that sounds like you, and you’re available, shoot Stephanie an email – she will be rounding up RSVPs. Just as a note, depending on the level of interest, we might have to cap attendance, as the space where we’ll be gathering is not huge.

Whether or not you live near by, what do you think? Does an articles club sound like something up your alley? If so, take Stephanie’s example and reach out to someone about starting one – you just might be surprised! :) And feel free to leave links to articles you’re itching to discuss in the comments!

I apologize for those longtime readers who have now read 4 or 5 of my fall to do lists over the years… but they’re my favorite! Even though the items don’t change that much year to year, I love being reminded of my favorite things to do when the temperatures get cooler and the leaves get crunchy. And since I’m starting early (fall doesn’t officially begin until September 23), I have my fingers crossed I’ll check all of these off!

— Go to the driving range
— Listen to my Cozy Fall playlist on repeat
— Drink hot apple cider
— Introduce John’s parents and aunts to Asheville on our annual trip
— Make my favorite pumpkin chocolate chip muffins
— Venture out into another pumpkin recipe – I’m eyeing this one
— Buy a fall scarf – eyeing this one
— Host the third annual pumpkin carving and soup night
— Catch the goat showmanship competition at the NC State Fair (Fun story: last year an EFM reader came up and introduced herself to me while I was watching! The best!! If you go and see me, say hi!)
— Make biscuits at our church’s Fair booth
— Listen to lots of great music at the Wide Open Bluegrass festival with my parents
— Cheer at a high school football game under the Friday night lights
— Make a trip to Monuts (they are open year round but for some reason I love to do this in the cooler months!)
— Hike somewhere with beautiful leaves

What are you hoping to enjoy before December 1st? To me, that’s when winter begins :)

P.S. Linking up with Day 8 of Bailey’s Blog-tember Challenge! :)

Before Memorial Day fades too far into the past, I wanted to share our weekend trip to Bald Head Island and Wilmington, NC! Neither John nor I had spent any appreciable time at either location, so we were excited to explore both over the long weekend.

We drove down to Wilmington (about two hours from the Triangle) on Saturday morning. There are lots of beautiful old houses in Wilmington’s neighborhoods and some really neat businesses. I convinced John to pull over and take a photo of this one: an old fire house converted into a home decor store! It wasn’t quite open when we visited, but looked fantastic from peeking in the windows. I found this article after some Google searching. Worth a visit on a future trip!

Instead of eating lunch, we stuck it out until 2:30, when we met up with our group for a food tour of Wilmington! The tickets were my birthday present from John. Neither of us had been on one before; it was really fun. We visited six stops in about 3.5 hours. Highlights included:

— braised pork belly and pimento cheese grits at Pilot House
— zucchini noodles with delicious marinara sauce, sausage, and wine pairings at The Fortunate Glass
— oysters Rockefeller, a mini lobster roll, a pickled shrimp lettuce wrap, and an AMAZING flourless brownie at PinPoint. This restaurant, which had only opened the week before, was the unanimous group favorite. The chef, who has worked with John Fleer and Hugh Acheson, was SO impressive, and obviously very talented!
— macaroni and cheese, brisket, and homemade pickles at Fork n Cork
— mixed drinks at speakeasy The Blind Elephant
— four types of chocolate fondue at The Little Dipper

Needless to say, we were stuffed by the end! We took the long walk back, along the riverfront boardwalk, to our accommodations for the weekend — the genteel Graystone Inn. It was a very nice example of a bed and breakfast. After dropping our things, we hopped back in the car to drive the half hour or so to Wrightsville Beach to see the sunset. So beautiful!

Since the food tour kind of awkwardly segmented our day in terms of meals, we finished our evening with some pizza from Slice of Life and ice cream from Tar Heel Creamery. Yum :)

While walking the boardwalk on Saturday, we spotted a sign for The Anchor church, a United Methodist community that meets on a barge. So cool! We try to worship with local churches when we travel (we always learn something!), and this was definitely a neat experience.

After church, we drove down the coast to Southport and hopped on the ferry to Bald Head Island. It was such a beautiful day! After the 20-minute ferry ride, we arrived on the Island and immediately picked up our rental bikes from Riverside Adventure Company (it’s about a two-minute walk from the dock). Then, we moved one more door over to Mojo’s for lunch. It was yummy – a fairly typical example of a casual seaside lunch spot.

There are no cars on Bald Head Island (only golf carts!), so it was quite relaxing to ride the length of the island out to the beach on the far side. There was a pretty severe undertow going on, so we mostly just waded, but it was delightful!

After a few hours, we hopped back on our bikes and completed our circuit of the Island. Before dinner, we strolled around a few of the neighborhoods closer to the marina. These people know how to do blues and jasmine!

Our last stop of the day was dinner at Delfina Cantina. It was delicious and really hit the spot after all of our activities! Because it was Memorial Day weekend there were lots of community festivities going on (hula hoop contest, DJ, pinata) and therefore lots of good people watching. Just FYI, almost every lady was wearing a romper – the BHI summer uniform, apparently. We caught a fiery sunset on the beach before taking the ferry back to the mainland.

Could that sailboat be more perfectly situated? I don’t think so. I would highly, highly recommend a trip to Bald Head Island – either a day trip or something more extended! It would make a great family vacation for sure!

Before departing Wilmington for home, we spent the morning touring the USS North Carolina Battleship. I think it’s important to honor — in some intentional way — days like Memorial Day, instead of just seeing them as a free day off for picnics. It was neat to learn about the battleship, and now we’re so curious to see how a current ship compares to this one that was decommissioned in the ’60s!

Have any of y’all been to Bald Head Island? Wilmington? Do you try to recognize holidays like Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day in some way? I’d love to hear!