2014 in Review

It's crazy to think that another year has come to an end! I think 2014 has been the most exciting year for me thus far filled with many changes and personal growth. I'm so excited to see where 2015 takes me, and I would really love to keep up with this blog a little more as a way for me to document my life and things going on in general.
Here are the highlights: (I may or may not come back to post pictures for all of the fun stuff).

January:

• January was a pretty boring month (as it always seems to be). Seriously my least favorite month of the year!
• I  began my last semester of college & really stared to hit the job search hard..it was crunch time!

February:

• Snowpocalypse hit Georgia HARD! Lucky for me I was in Athens and able to get to my apartment safely without any delays or traffic, but I would be lying if I said I don't fear for it to happen again this year now that I'm in Atlanta.
• I attended the UGA Career Fair and found many great opportunities, but one that really stuck out in my mind. I crossed my fingers & did everything possible in hopes I would secure an interview. 
• I turned 22 this month and Ben and I toured the winery at Chateau Elan to celebrate! 

March: 

• Ben and I spent my spring break in Boca with family! It was a perfect half-week away and I'm looking forward to hopefully getting to do the same this year. We spent time hanging out on the beach, out on the boat, playing mini golf, and just enjoying lots of family time. 
• We celebrated my nephews first birthday in Athens with a whale-themed party. It was adorable!
•  I interviewed twice with the company that I mentioned above and on March 28th I accepted an offer with them to begin in June in Atlanta!

April: 

• April started the apartment hunt in Atlanta. I'm not going to lie..this was really frustrating as I had NO IDEA where I wanted to live/what was a good area to be in. Thankfully, by the end of the month I had secured a place and was ready to move at the end of May. 
• I presented my semester term project that consumed my life for the past 4 months. It was a HUGE weight to have lifted and once that was completed it really hit me that I was about to graduate from college. 
• One of my good friends asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, and I can't wait for them to tie the knot on May 16, 2015!

May:

• I GRADUATED from UGA!! If I could go back I would absolutely relive this day again. It was such a fun day filled with celebrations and friends and family. One of my friends and I had a graduation party the next day that was a continuation of the fun. Such a great weekend!
• I attended a bachelorette party for Ben's brother's now-wife in Tybee/Savannah.This was the first bachelorette weekend I had ever been to and it was so much fun All of us still laugh when we think back to all of the fun we had. 
• I moved out of Athens and to a new area that I knew nothing about..it was a tough first week just learning my way around and getting used to not being in Athens. It took about a month, but it finally started to feel like home and I'm happy that I chose the area I did to live in. 

June:

• Ben's brother got married!
• I started my new job on the 17th. It was a big transition getting into working everyday all day long, but honestly it is so much better than having school, homework, and a part-time job all at once. The worst part I would say is having to iron clothes every week :) 

July: 

• Ben and I road-tripped to Nashville to visit his cousin for July 4th. This was my first time in Nashville and I LOVED it! I wish we would have had more time to explore and check out the city, but hopefully we will be able to go back again soon.
• I also tried Pure Barre for the first time with his cousin and honestly thought it was terrible at first. I felt so out of place and so un-flexible, but when I woke up the next morning super sore I knew I needed to try it again. I signed up for a month-unlimited at the studio in my area and really began to fall in love with it! 
• I made my first big-girl purchase and bought myself a LV Neverfull. I had been wanting one for a looong time, and knew once I started working I would reward myself. It's the absolute best bag for working/carrying my laptop and for traveling. I have used it almost everyday since I got it! 

August:

• August was a very low-key month. The only exciting thing that happened was that we went to Boca again for Labor Day weekend. We had a party to watch the Georgia vs. Clemson game on Saturday.
• Ben purchased a 3-month unlimited pass to Pure Barre for me for our anniversary, so I got to continue tucking the summer away!

September: 

• Ben and I celebrated 3 years together with a delicious dinner at Canoe. It was our first time at Canoe and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Luckily, I got to go back just a couple of weeks later with my team at work, but haven't been back since. We may have to change that soon. 
• We celebrated Ben's 25th birthday by going to see Garth Brooks at Phillips Arena. This concert was amazing!!! Phillips Arena always puts on a great show as does Garth Brooks, so it was a win-win for us. 

October:

• Spent lots of time in Athens for gamedays and I decked the apartment out in fall decorations. 
• I realized I should also start running more considering I was running a half-marathon in Las Vegas the next month!
• We also headed down to St. Simons & Jacksonville for the Georgia/Florida rivalry weekend. Although the game didn't go as planned it was a fun weekend with friends and I learned how to play Tunk..the funnest card game ever!

November:

• I jetted off to Las Vegas with one of my good friends to run the Rock n Roll Half Marathon. This reminds me that I really need to do a recap of that trip because it was one for the books. Although I am not a huge party person or gambler, I absolutely LOVED the city and would be happy to go back again. Nobody had ever told me how gorgeous the area is with all of the mountains and scenery. I think this was one of my favorite parts!
• We celebrated Thanksgiving with both Ben's family and my family and had a great time seeing some people that we don't get to see too often. 
• We took family pictures the day after Thanksgiving that we just got back this week and they are so wonderful! I will have to share some if I think about. I'm so thankful that my SIL set them up because they are some pictures that we will treasure forever. 
• My family also went to see the Lake Lanier Nights of Lights before my brother & SIL headed back to Florida after Thanksgiving. We did this last year, and I think it will be a tradition that continues on next year.  

December: 

•  I won and hosted a Kendra Scott color bar party at the new store at Avalon in Alpharetta.
• Ben and I attended my holiday work party. This was the first "fancy" holiday party we had ever been to together. It was so much fun to get dressed up and go out and have fun with co-workers. It was also nice for Ben to get to meet some of my co-workers that he hears me talk about all of the time :)
• I split my time at Christmas between being in Athens with my family and Hartwell with Ben's family. This Christmas was one of the best that I've had a while. I was able to spend time with my Mom and Dad as well as spend time with Ben's family. I am so thankful that my parents have finally finalized their divorce. They both seem to be much happier now and for that I am so grateful!
• Tonight (NYE) we are going to see Cole Swindell in concert! This will be the second time we have seen him, the first being at the Georgia Theatre in April. He puts on a great show, and I am so excited to see him perform again!

2014 has really been a great year for me, but I would be lying if I said that there have not been a lot of hard times as well that I chose not to put out here. Watching your parents go through a divorce is never fun and I cannot stress how thankful I am that it is finally over. I pray that they are both able to move forward and put it all in the past.

Here's to a happy 2015! I can't wait to see what's in store!