2013 was the year that...

2013 was a big year for us, in a lot of ways. We struggled, we laughed, we cried, and we persevered. Here are some highlights:

On the blog front, I celebrated a year of blogging in January and made the move to Brittany's Joy from The Crafted Cure. I am ever so happy with that choice because it freed me to post more lifestyle-type posts rather than just projects, which I find can be sterile and impersonal.The past few months you may have noticed a dearth of "what's going on in our lives" posts and that has been intentional--life has thrown us a few curveballs lately and I did not want to immortalize our personal struggles on the internet just yet. HOWEVER! The goal with the blog's third year is to move back in that direction again. Whoo!

2013 was the year we yanked our wedding duds out of storage and donned them again for a spectacular yacht shoot (here and here).

2013 was the year I turned 25 and accomplished SOME of my 25 before 25 list.

Lots of weddings = lots of love, lots of tears, lots of joy.

 We witnessed the marriages of seven wonderful couples (Jen & Jon, Christine & Ryan, Katie & Ernie, Jordan & Elisse, Dilip & Stephanie, Devon & Adri, and most recently Amy & Jared the week of Christmas).

In 2013 we traveled. A LOT. In addition to all our wedding-related travel (Hollywood, Livermore, Ojai, Walnut Creek, Springville, Escondido, and Temecula!), we went camping, spent a LOT of time at the lake cabin (and a few more times after the sale fell through), I tagged along on a business trip to New York, watched my brother graduate in  San Diego, had bachelorette weekends at Laguna Beach AND Palm Springs, Went to San Francisco a bunch of times (gala, 4th of july, gala 2, gala 3), spent a week of summer in Mammoth, visited Bakersfield a couple times for Elisse's and Adri's showers and then Redlands for Amy's shower, celebrated our Second Anniversary in Ojai, spent Thanksgiving in Arizona, and finally Christmas in Tahoe and Pismo Beach. PHEW!

2013 was the year Tim and I were both able to run a 5k together, which was so fun! We chose a color run and wouldn't have done it any other way :)

2013 was the year we adopted a pup, Daisy, and our lives have never been the same, haha. We love her and she brings so much activity to our home.

In 2013 we sold my car (to my brother!) and got a "new to us" one, AND I passed my motorcycle permit test. Still haven't taken the drive test yet though...!

2013 was the year I left my job at Westmont college and have not yet found a replacement that makes leaving it seem worthwhile.

I opened Brittany's Joy Shop in 2013, and am overwhelmed by the support from everyone! Thank you so much! Come check out the inventory here: http://brittanysjoy.storenvy.com/

Tim stepped down from a big promotion at work in 2013 and now no longer travels 50% of the time at a job he hated. We are so thankful for the Lord's provision during this time, as living on a single salary has its challenges (and the step down correlated with a pay cut as well)! We have been more than financially blessed during this time, praise God! There are hopefully big changes coming along soon on this front--keep us in your prayers if you think about it.

2013 was also a big year in terms of changes around our home! There were a lot of little changes in the place, but I think the biggest were when we redid our bedroom, and most recently moved our ikea sectional to the living room.

What was your favorite Brittany's Joy moment of 2013?