2016 Year in Review

Where do I even begin!?  2016 was good to me.  I moved back to my home state of Louisiana, enjoyed multiple trips to the beach, celebrated a 7 year anniversary, committed to a workout routine and weight loss goal and actually succeeded, planned a wedding, married my best friend, had the most amazing honeymoon, and ended the year house hunting for our first home. 2017 has some big shoes to fill, but I have no doubt this new chapter will be another great one.

Before I officially close the book of 2016, I want to take a look back at some of the highlights from the year.  I’ve rounded up a year in review of my most memorable events.  Documenting everything on here is how I remember all the specifics  (really, I’d probably forget most of what happened and when if I didn’t), so this is a must for me!  I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane just as much as I do and that your year is off to a fabulous start!
JANUARY
It’s safe to say 2016 was officially the year of the wedding for me, and it all started with wedding dress shopping in New Orleans 2 days into the new year.  Wedding planning consumed about 90% of my thoughts at any given time this year!
FEBRUARY
February was Mardi Gras season!  We were still living in Dallas at the time, but couldn’t miss it for the world, so a road trip was on our agenda!  We met up with friends in Nola and paraded until we couldn’t parade anymore.  Incase you’re wondering, here’s what you need to know about Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
MARCH
This month, and really just about every month in the beginning of 2016, was filled with lots of traveling back and forth from Texas to Louisiana.  Chris and I celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in Dallas and then I headed to Louisiana to go bridesmaid dress shopping with my girls!
APRIL
This was a chill month spent in Dallas, but the highlight was definitely booking our honeymoon!!
MAY
In May, we enjoyed some of our last moments in Dallas as we prepared for our upcoming move back to Louisiana.  Although we had been planning on moving back to Louisiana, we weren’t sure exactly when we’d want to do the move.  We weren’t locked into a lease, so we were able to be flexible with this.  To our surprise, Chris got a very quick job offer and before we knew it, we were packing up and preparing for move #4 (Dallas to Louisiana) in 4 years. For those that are curious, you can read about our move #1 (Louisiana to Connecticut), move #2 (Connecticut to Massachusetts), and move #3 (Massachusetts to Dallas).  Prior to officially moving back to Louisiana, we made another trip back to pick up my wedding dress and do a cake tasting, take our French Quarter engagement photos, New Orleans City Park engagement photos, and then celebrate my birthday at the beach in Gulf Shores!  Due to my schedule in the beginning of June, it didn’t make sense for me to return to Dallas only to move a week later, so I ended up staying in Louisiana. May was officially my last month in Dallas and was by far one of the most busiest months with all the traveling in between.
JUNE
In June, we celebrated my friend getting married and bridesmaid duties were in full swing!   Shortly after, we officially moved back to our hometown in Louisiana! Between planning our wedding in New Orleans and all the driving back and forth from Dallas we had been doing to tend to wedding stuff, the timing of moving back to Louisiana couldn’t have been better.
JULY
We headed back to the beach in Gulf Shores to celebrate the 4th of July in the beginning of the month.  By the middle of July, we were celebrating 1 year of being engaged (time flew!), and then ended the month with sending out our save the dates!
AUGUST
August was packed with both fun and heartbreak.  We enjoyed a Louisiana staycation, celebrated Chris’s birthday poolside at Hard Rock, and celebrated our 7 year dating anniversary in Nola.  This month was also one of the saddest months for my beloved state.  We got hit with a devastating 1000 year flood, and while I was fortunate enough to not be directly affected by this, thousands of others were not.  It was almost like Hurricane Katrina all over again.
SEPTEMBER
In September, I did something I never thought I would do.  I committed to an 8-week workout/weight loss challenge which officially kickstarted my sweating for the wedding mission.  If you know me, you know I’ve never been one to consistently work out.  Somewhere along the way during the program, I discovered a passion for working out I never knew I had. I stayed committed to it, worked out at least 5 days a week, and lost 15 pounds!  September was officially the starting point for the new me!  I also can’t forget about our lovely brunch and bubbly couple’s shower that was thrown for Chris and I this month!
OCTOBER
October was a crazy busy month, full of wedding planning and events, but I wouldn’t expect anything less being a month out!  Between venue walkthroughs, taking bridal photos (I’ll share all of those soon, but for the meantime here’s a sneak peek), and my bachelorette trip at the beach, I stayed busy.
NOVEMBER
Finally!  The month I had been waiting for since getting engaged had arrived! November was our wedding month and I officially married my best friend on November 12!  Our French Quarter wedding was everything I could have hoped for and more!  My biggest fear was putting in so much effort and my vision not come to life.  Thankfully, everything fell into place on the big day and it couldn’t have been more perfect and exactly what I had envisioned.  The day was filled with lots of love and happiness.  I’ll never forget how I felt on that day.  The morning after our wedding, Chris and I headed out to our honeymoon at Excellence Playa Mujeres for an unforgettable week of relaxing on the beach, swimming and ATVing through caves, exploring Tulum, snorkeling, and zip lining! Seriously y’all, this place is amazing!  Stay tuned for a full honeymoon and wedding recap!
DECEMBER
As soon as we returned from our honeymoon at the end of November, we got into full Christmas mode to celebrate our first Christmas as Mr. and Mrs.!  A few things to note: we started a new tradition- an ornament memory tree, we rode the Polar Express to the North Pole, enjoyed visits with family, and ended the year house hunting for our first home!  I can’t think of a better way to end the year and I can not wait to share all the details about our first home with y’all soon!
Looking back, I am so thankful to have been able to share a wonderful year with the most loving husband I could ask for, and the most amazing family and friends.  I’m also thankful for each and every one of you, my readers.  Thank you so much for sticking around and reading my tidbits of life.  As this chapter closes, I can’t wait to see what’s in store next.  Here’s to an even better 2017, filled with opportunities to learn, grow, give, and love.