I can’t say that I’m sad to see 2015 come to an end. Don’t get me wrong, 2015 was pretty great in many aspects, but it was also a year of growth, meaning that I learned a lot of lessons the hard way. I didn’t accomplish the goal that I was most eager to accomplish this year, which was travel out of the country again, but I still went on so many adventures. With the exception of three months, I traveled out of state every single month this year. I have a feeling that 2016 is going to be pretty incredible, but before we get into all of that, let’s relive some of my favorite moments of the year.
JANUARY
I started the year with a road trip. Honestly, it was one of the best trips ever because I got to let my true nerdiness show. Jon and I went to the first Houston Supernatural Con, and it was pretty much the most incredible trip ever. I sang karaoke with several of the stars from the show. I took a picture with Misha Collins (who plays Castiel, aka my favorite character) and Mark Sheppard (aka Crowley aka the King of Hell). I also met so many other stars from the show and got their autographs, including Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. Swoooon! What made the trip even better was reuniting with my middle school best friend, Sammi.
Blog Post Highlights:
12 Things I Learned NOT to do After 2 Years of Blogging
Being a Tourist in Your Own Town
1989 Lyrics That Pretty Much Define Life in Your 20’s
FEBRUARY
In February, I had the opportunity to travel to New Orleans for work. I was chosen to give a presentation on social media to all of the directors of sales within the company. I actually only had to work one day of the trip, so for the rest of my visit, I was able to explore the town on my own and even experience my very first New Orleans Mardi Gras. I had a blast, and it was my first real taste of solo travel.
Blog Post Highlights:
The Best Way to Explore New Orleans
7 Ways to Fight Winter Blues
14 Love Songs from the 90’s to Listen to on Valentine’s Day
MARCH
In March, my friend, Anamaria, came to town for a wedding, and I had fun showing her the highlights of Shreveport and playing tour guide for a few days. We went to a wine tasting, ate crawfish (and lots of other food) and had a game night (because it wouldn’t be a reunion without one).
Blog Post Highlights:
44 Signs You Grew Up in the 90’s
9 Things Monica Geller Taught Me About Being a Grown-Up
My Biggest Fear and Why I Try to Blend In
APRIL
This month was full of exciting, bucket-worthy firsts and experiences. For work, I had the opportunity to travel to Las Colinas, Texas, which is right outside of Dallas. I was asked to help out at a Hampton hotel in the area while the director of sales was out of the office. Naturally, I made huge plans to check some things off of my bucket list. I started simple with my first trip to a drive-in movie then I decided to go to my first awards show! I attended the 50th annual Academy of Country Music Awards solo, and I had an absolute blast. I also saw Matt Hires in concert, and his acoustic show was absolutely incredible! He had two openers that were really awesome and fun, especially Ty Mayfield. I met both Matt and Ty after their sets, and they were both super nice.
Also in April, I went skydiving with my friend, Jimi. I got the most horrible headache, but it was so fun. I honestly still can’t believe I did it. You can watch my full experience below, ugly facial expressions included:
Blog Post Highlights:
39 Signs You Were a Preteen in the 2000’s
Out With the Cold, in With the Sunshine: Winter to Spring Fashion
When Famous People Tweet You Back: Part 2
MAY
May was a great month for music! Jon and I went to a couple of concerts together, both of which were country. The bigger concert we went to was Lady Antebellum’s Wheels Up tour. and Sam Hunt and Hunter Hayes opened for them. We went to the concert with one of my co-workers and her mom. Honestly, I was mostly excited to see Sam Hunt perform. He was my favorite of the night, even though you could tell he was a bit cocky. I belted out all the lyrics to every single one of his songs with a margarita in hand. Hunter Hayes was incredible. I had no idea how many instruments he played. Such a talent. Lady Antebellum was really awesome too. Overall, it was a great show.
We also saw the Swon Brothers at a smaller concert at one of the local casinos. I was a fan of them when I saw them on The Voice, and they were so amazing live. They put on such a fun show, and I got to take a photo with them afterward.
Blog Post Highlights:
Things to do Instead of Adulting
College vs. Real Life
Ranking of Taylor Swift’s Music Videos
JUNE
I fell off of blogging in June because it was a very emotional month for me. Jon and I broke up, and it was definitely tough. Luckily, we’re still friends, and honestly, our friendship is stronger than ever. He’s still my best friend and my roommate, and I’m grateful to have moved past the emotional toils that engulfed me in June.
Blog Post Highlights:
Quarter-Life Crises and Making Changes
Ingrid Nilsen is Gay & I Love Her
Summer Road Trip Jams
JULY
July was still pretty emotional for me, and it’s reflected in my lack of posting this month. I spent most of my time off of the computer, and honestly, it was pretty refreshing.
Something else that contributed to my lack of posting was my summer travels! I went to Chicago and met up with my two best friends and former college roommates, Mandy and Anamaria. We explored the city together and then I cried my eyes out at Taylor Swift’s 1989 concert. #noregrets
Blog Post Highlights:
Finding Happiness
Taylor Swift Concert Recap
Adventures in Chi-Town
AUGUST
I started August at the beach in Florida. I took a family vacation to Fort Walton Beach, and it was great to escape to the ocean. I absolutely love the beach, and it was fun to spend some quality time with the fam.
During the middle of the month, I reunited with the Tech Fam to see Analeigh and William get married. It’s one of the best weddings I’ve ever attended, and I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I adore Analeigh, she and William are perfect for each other and I got to see so many of my favorite people.
Shreveport also had its first Geek’d Con, and I decided to attend because two people from Supernatural were doing a panel, Lindsey McKeon and Samantha Smith! I got to meet both of them and watch their panel. I think they learned firsthand how awkward the residents of north Louisiana are. I also met Jim Cummings who does the voice of several notable cartoon characters, including Ray, the lightning bug from Princess and the Frog, Tigger and Winnie the Pooh, the Tasmanian Devil, Ed from The Lion King and so many more. The Twisted Toonz panel was my favorite panel of the day. Several different voice actors and actresses acted out a play using different voices. It was so awesome!
Blog Post Highlights:
Things That Make Me Happy
If You Loved This, Then Read That
8 Current Favorite Song Covers
SEPTEMBER
September was a crazy busy month for me. Most of it was spent making plans for Freak Fest, the Halloween event I was helping to host. Even though it was really busy, on the upside of it, I became closer to some new friends, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that.
I also made a spontaneous road trip to Dallas with my friends, Katherine and Priscilla. It was definitely an eventful weekend trip. Let’s just say ‘what happens in Dallas, stays in Dallas.’
Blog Post Highlights:
Things You Can Do Daily to be a Little Happier
Things I’ve Been Doing Instead of Blogging
Girl Power Playlist
OCTOBER
One of the best highlights of the year: AUSTIN CITY LIMITS! My sister and I went to our first music festival, and even though we only went for one day, it was the best day ever. The night before ACL, I got to see Cherub and Hippie Sabotage live, and holy amazingness. I love Hippie Sabotage so much, and I got to meet Jordan from Cherub (after he accidentally hit me in the face). At ACL, I saw so many incredible live shows and fell in love with lots of new artists. We also got to explore Austin, which is my favorite city in Texas, and I met up with one of my blog friends, Katie from The Hungry Goat.
A setback of the month was my car accident. It couldn’t have come at a worse time. Even though it sucked, it also showed me the true colors of some of the people in my life, and I’m grateful it shed light on that. Luckily, I got a new car that I named Stella because she’s a sassy little thang.
Of course, I couldn’t talk about October without talking about all five of the costumes I wore the week of Halloween. I love dressing up, and Halloween is the perfect excuse. You can see all of the costumes here. My favorite was my Penny Proud costume. Talk about #tbt.
Blog Post Highlights:
False Comfort and Learning Who Your Friends Are
8 Things NOT to do When Dating in Your 20’s
Fried Bowtie Pasta Recipe
NOVEMBER
This was a great month because I really felt like I was turning my life around, so to speak. I rid myself of a few toxic friendships, went on some horrible dates and learned a lot about myself. On the opposite side of that, I made some new friends (and got closer to some old ones) at Friendsgiving. It was a crazy fun night and still one of my favorite nights of the year.
Thanksgiving with the family was business as usual. My mom had to go to work, and my step-dad, sister and I had Thanksgiving lunch before taking a nap. Later, my sister and I did some Black Friday shopping, and I bought way too many movies and lots of gifts for friends.
I also got to reunite with some of my college besties this month! I went to Houston to see James Bay in concert with my friends, Mandy, Tyler and Analeigh. James was just as amazing as I thought he would be, and seeing my friends was more amazing than I could have imagined. The reunion was way too brief.
Blog Post Highlights:
Knowing Your Worth
A Thankful Heart is a Happy Heart
Break-Up Playlist
DECEMBER
Honestly, December has been amazing. Mentally and emotionally, I’m in a much better place. I’ve spent so much of this month with a smile on my face, and the bliss that I’ve been trying to achieve since the summer is really coming to fruition.
My birthday week was incredible. Most nights were spent at work functions, but they were all so fun. I planned the work Christmas party, and it ended up being a blast (not to toot my own horn or anything). We also had a leadership staff Christmas party later in the week, and I ate way too much food and laughed so much. I spent the night of my birthday with my friends, Alyssa, Josh and Caleb. We ate pie and watched White Chicks.
On the Friday of my birthday week, I went to an ugly Christmas sweater party where Katherine and I also celebrated our birthdays. It was an overall fun night, and I made so many new friends. My sweater also won overall best ugly Christmas sweater. I’m thinking it was the fact that it lit up, and honestly, that’s the only reason I bought it. I also showed off my incredible lack of break-dancing skills during the ugly Christmas sweater catwalk. That’s probably why I walked away the winner. Ain’t sad about it. I didn’t leave the party until 3 am, even though I had to leave just a few hours later to drive to Tennessee.
In Tennessee, I met up with my blogging soulmate, Nina from Hugs and Lattes. She showed me around the town, took me out for half price sushi and let me drink wine out of her Olivia Pope wine glasses. She spoiled me by cooking two meals for me and also making homemade caramel popcorn. We watched episodes of Friends and one of my top five favorite Christmas movies,Eloise at Christmastime, exchanged gifts and colored in her Harry Potter coloring book. She brought me to a used bookstore (aka my heaven) and her favorite coffee shop and introduced me to her boyfriend, Pai. Overall, it was a great weekend, and we’re already making plans for another “blate” with Erica from Coming Up Roses.
After I left Tennessee, I went to North Carolina to visit my friend, Tyler. He was a great tour guide and took me to all of his favorite places in Wilmington. It rained the entire time we were there, but that didn’t stop us. We used a broken umbrella and soaked the bottom of our pants, but at least our heads and shirts stayed semi-dry. We went to two coffee shops, a cupcake place, an ice-cream place, a spice shop, a book store, a souvenir shop and lots of other random stores downtown. Sadly, we didn’t make it to the beach, but I plan on making another visit soon. I was also super happy to spend a little bit of his birthday with him. He turned 26 on the 23rd, and we went to breakfast at this place called Salt Works. They had the best hashbrowns. Yummmm!
After North Carolina, I made the short drive to South Carolina to visit my family for Christmas. I’m so happy that I got to reunite with friends and see so many of my family members that I haven’t seen for years. No one from my extended family knew I was coming, and they were just as excited to see me as I was to see them.
Full blog posts will be coming soon to share more about all of my adventures in Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. I have lots of stories and pictures to share.
Blog Post Highlights:
26 Things I’ve Learned in 26 Years
Harry Potter Christmas Tree
Non-Traditional Christmas Songs
It made me so happy to relive all of these moments while writing this post. This year went by pretty fast, but at the same time, I feel like I’ve grown so much since the beginning of the year. I’ve learned a lot about myself, gotten some perspective and now I’m just looking forward to a great 2016.
What was your favorite moment of 2015?
