2013 in Review (Part Two)

July:

I didn't realize until now how much went on in July! We celebrated the Fourth of July in some festive outfits, and I made a flag cake for the first time. We hauled hay, jetted to Salt Lake City, celebrated our brother's birthday, finished Financial Peace University, fell in love with Kendra Scott jewels, attended Aggie Meet the Coaches Night, and found our dream couch on Craigy (craigslist!). Whewwwww! This was also the month that I got intentional about blogging.

August:

This month we loved playing with Ben's cousin's precious kiddos. Here, pretend naps are taking place.

We got Ben all set up in his classroom! I legitimately wish I could be a fly on the wall in there!

We got to celebrate a good friend's baptism!

This photo has nothing to do with August but it's a photo of Ben's dad in his twenties... aka Ben's twin. The resemblance blew me away in this pic!

Sprinkles Ice Cream opened in Dallas and we visited on a surprise date day! Our verdict is that we like the cupcakes better than the ice cream. :)

My mother in law and I took Ella, another second cousin, on a day of fun to the Galleria, American Girl Place, and Sprinkles. (Yes, two trips to Sprinkles in one week don't be a hater!)

I took a wonderful trip to Nashville, Tennessee to visit some friends from Making Things Happen, Meredith and Chandra, and Ben's bestie/college roomie, Collin. I've got an itch to go back since Meredith had a sweet baby girl in November. We also visited the Southern Living House on this trip. 

September:

We had the Campbells over for dinner to start the month. Not all dinner dates are pictured, obviously... but my love affair with Caroline June the most precious baby called for her to be blogged!

We finally saved for and found a rug that I loved! This photo is a random snap from my phone before I started styling the room (which has yet to be revealed, I know!)

We  booked our trip to Europe for Summer 2014!

We were basically living and breathing middle school football this entire month. October, too!

I got an amazingly sacrificial and loving gift and I will cherish forever, from my friend Lyndsey.

October:

I took a road trip to College Station to celebrate the arrival of a new member to my Theta family!

We purchased our first Christmas tree!

My friend Susannah and I went to the Magnolia Mom Home Show, and my love for Joanna Gaines's style hit the big time. 

My good friend Katherine took our Christmas card photos. The perk of a great and talented friend is that she takes the photos and edits them the same night, at your house. We're spoiled! 

We hosted three 9th and 10th grade girls (from my lifegroup) for Disciple Now weekend. It was such a fun transition to go from being college age leaders to a host home! 

The next week we opened up our home to even more youth, for a Halloween girls fellowship! Our house has never been louder. 

November:

To enjoy the beginning of slightly cool weather, one of our date nights included Ben cooking dinner for me outside on the fire, while I snuggled up with Matilda and read. It was pretty stinking perfect and I'm happy to have a photo to remember it.

In preparation for hosting two Thanksgiving dinners, I attended a turkey cooking class at Williams Sonoma. Read about our celebrations here.

I still can't believe this happened. Being included in Volume 6 of Southern Weddings was a true honor. It still excites me so much when I see it on shelves in stores. Read more about that journey, here. 

It's nice to have a sister to go shopping with. :) I'm so thankful for Kayce and that we married into the same family. 

I decided that we needed some scarves so I ordered two from Zara. Apparently mine went totally sold out soon after and is an internet phenomenon. So random! 

The day after Thanksgiving we put up all of our Christmas decor. I was so happy with how everything turned out. I kind of miss it! 

And a few days later we celebrated the engagement of some dear friends! May 2014- Michelle and Caleb will become husband and wife! Whoop! 

December: 

We attended two Mavericks games this month. Wahoo! My favorite was the first one because we played the Charlotte Bobcats.... Nathan Scott's team on One Tree Hill. :) 

We got super super ice/snowed in early on in the month. It was fun to have Ben home from work for three days plus a full weekend, but man oh man. I like interaction with human life. Matilda does look extra cute with a snowy background, though.

We celebrated our first married Christmas.. it was the very best yet! :)

Other fun things from 2013:

I started recording monthly goals and started my 101 in 1001 list.
August Goals 
September Goals
October Goals 
November Goals 
December Goals
101 in 1001
Thoughts on our First Year of Marriage

Thank you to all of you who follow along with my blog. It really does bring me such joy and encouragement. I'm so excited for all that's to come in 2014- let's get pumped to share a bunch of goals and go on lots of adventures! Happy New Year to all!