Hello, friends! I am overjoyed to introduce you to our daughter, June Chen Thomas. She joined our family on January 7, 2016 at 1:45pm, surprising us all by weighing 7 lbs, 14 oz and measuring 19.5 inches long! There were, in fact, many surprising things about her arrival, including the method (c-section), and there have been many surprises since. But the best “surprise” for these two newborn novices is just how completely, naturally, and totally we have fallen in love with her. She is the sweetest, best, most adorable little girl, and we are so grateful!

More to come soon! :)

I love seeing the 2016 goals some of my friends have already posted! I’m always inspired by the goals of others — not so much the content of their actual goals, but the ways in which they arrive at them and the structure they use to maximize their chances for progress. A few I’m loving so far: Val, Victoria, and Nancy. I’ll be working on finalizing mine this weekend, and can’t wait to share them on Monday!

In the meantime, I wanted to share my inspiration board for 2016! This is the first time I’ve made one of these; to be honest, I’ve always been a little leery of them. To me, the danger with creating a board like this is that you can look at it (at the end of the year, or the middle), and say, well, my life sure doesn’t look like that. It’s not that clean, or beautiful, or color-coordinated. I didn’t want to even be tempted to have this board make me feel that way, so I tried hard to pull images that felt “real” – and in many cases, I did that by pulling images that ARE real (from the places I love or things we’ve done in the past).

But, for this year in particular, I felt it was important to have a visual touchstone. So as I pulled photos for this board, I challenged myself again and again to choose ones that didn’t just look pretty and went well together, but that meant something to me, and were relevant to MY year ahead. It’s not bad to dream, to be aspirational, or to look toward the future, but I think even those things need to be planted in reality. I’m not moving to Hawaii this year, and I’m not building a farmhouse. But, we hope to renovate our backyard, and we will be traveling to Michigan and Maine with family, and those are things I can dream about.

Alright – I’ll get off my vision board soapbox! :) Here’s my final version:

I wanted this board to be about finding the beauty that’s in my life, and the beauty I hope to add to it this year, and I think that’s what I did. Consider it a sneak peek at my goals for 2016 – can’t wait to share more on Monday! :)

Clockwise from top left: nursery from Elements of Style (photo by Sarah Winchester Studios), guitar, newborn photo by Cassidy Brooke, books photo by Nancy Ray Photography, bikes from Style Me Pretty (photo by Liz Banfield), backyard pergola, personal photo from Maine, holding hands, personal photo from Michigan, camping photo from Lovely Morning, Laura Ingalls Wilder quote, happy gal

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

I’ve been feeling the pressure of the last-minute gift crunch the this week, just wanting to get our loved ones things they will LOVE and need or want, not things that will simply take up space in their lives. Sometimes I’m at a loss for ideas, sometimes I’ve got great ideas but they’d require doubling or tripling our gift budget, and sometimes (sometimes!) I come up with a good idea and it actually fits within our budget. I don’t have any gift guides to share this year, but as I work on checking off the last few folks, here are a few things on my own list! Maybe it will inspire a gift for someone you love :)

Clockwise from top left:

— My “fashion sneakers” are reaching the end of their life. I think these blush ones would be a welcome replacement!
— We’re always looking for new recipes, and I’ve heard great things about this cookbook.
— This vest would be a perfect layer for our mild North Carolina weather.
— Over the last few years I’ve definitely embraced the idea that a bold lip color can transform a basic outfit. This one looks beautiful (I first saw it here), and as a bonus, all the ingredients are organic.
— I’m thinking this style of PJs will be helpful for nighttime feedings in the months to come. My favorite pattern is actually Jetsetter, but the photo was more scandalous! :)
— John and I are all about adventures, and it would be so fun to have this beautiful canvas to record our travels. Plus, the colors could not be more perfect for me – they’re basically the same as the EFM logo!!
— I also love the colors of this happy little garland, and think it would be so fun to bring out for each family birthday in the years to come!
— I’d put this retro board somewhere on our first floor (maybe in the entryway?) to spell out favorite quotes and fun welcome messages.
— Hunter boots are, of course, a total classic, and one I hear is worth the investment. I think I’d go with navy.
— Bonus! After a year of searching, I actually bought these booties on Black Friday, but I had to include them here because I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! John teases me because I’ve worn them almost every day since they arrived, but they are a dream – comfortable all day from the first wear, a fantastic color, and they go with everything. With the low heel, I like to think of them as my stylish mama booties. I’m already picturing myself wearing them to chase a little one-year-old around the playground :)

What’s on the top of your list this year? I always get inspiration from what others are wishing for!