Year In Review

Well, shoot. Just about the time I finally started writing 2014 and didn't look at it with my head tilted to the side like a curious dog, the new year is upon us and it's 2015 time. I'm not one who readily embraces change, and I don't especially love making resolutions, so rather than forge ahead with 2015, I thought I would take a look back at the last year and all of the (mis)adventures that came along with it. As a side note, there is a slight possibility that the title should be Year End Review (the same way I sometimes say work in process instead of work in progress). If that's the case, just don't mention it to me--unless one of your resolutions is to stop ignoring grammatical errors, in which case, go ahead and let me have it. Hey, it's not like I'm saying "liberry" instead of library or taunting people with "ain't skeered."

Let's recap of a few standout moments from 2014. Most of them made it on the blog, so I am linking to their respective posts, in case you missed it. If you find that you missed a lot of them, I might suggest that doing more quality reading be one of your New Year's resolutions.

Drum roll, please...here are a handful of the major moments that helped define the year:

Back in April, we were lucky enough to (thank you, Holly!) have badges for the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta. The Masters exudes old-fashioned Southern charm, so I donned a sundress and some allegedly comfortable shoes, and spent an entire Saturday afternoon taking it all in. It was my first trip, so I made sure to enjoy enough pimento cheese and egg salad for a lifetime, just in case it takes me a while to get back.

Summer vacation gave us the chance to bask in the Bahamian sun at the Atlantis resort, and we were lucky enough to discover a rather fetching weave someone had left out by the pool. In an eerily similar coincidence, we also found out that, apparently, the welcome basket at the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas includes a shower chock-full of the previous guest's hair. Spoiler alert: we preferred the sidewalk weave.

Knowing what an adventurous nature lover I am, it will come as no surprise that we spent a fair amount of time at the U.S. National Whitewater Center here in Charlotte during the warmer months. Granted, we never actually went in the water for anything, but they did have some great concerts and really good food and drinks. If you can avoid all that kayaking and stuff, it's a pretty fun place. Because of our whitewater exploits, we also discovered the rustic ambiance of a charming dive bar called Ricky J's.

2014 was the year that we finally got season tickets for Clemson football. And we tailgated our orange-clad tails off, much to my heart's delight. There was food and fun, old memories revisited and new ones made. It's hard to beat a weekend that includes the Esso Club, reconnecting with college friends, lunch at Pot Belly Deli, and oh yeah--a little football, too. For the record, the Tigers won every game we attended; in retrospect, I guess we should have gone to more games, right? Next season! I'm already planning my outfits.

In November, I crossed a major item off my bucket list when my mom, dad, Clint and I went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was an experience I will never forget. The crowd, the balloons, and all the excitement in the air are truly awesome. If you've never been, or are thinking about it, I would recommend it to anyone. It is the perfect way to kick start the holiday season. And if you need a seasoned tour guide to accompany you, I am reasonably sure I could make myself available.

There are also several other moments that made this year what it was, and even though they didn't get their own blog post, they are very much worth mentioning:

February brought us several inches of snow, and thus our wine-swilling snowman, Henri.

We spent Easter in Toccoa with my parents, and the Easter bunny himself.

We kicked off beach season with a long Memorial Day weekend in Hilton Head.

Also in May, I got to meet Clemson's head football coach, (the adorable) Dabo Swinney. All in!

June included a sorority reunion with some very special ADPi sisters of mine in Charlotte.

Another fun summer date: boating on Lake Wylie with my friend and former college roomie, Stacey.
Some things never change.

When we weren't in Clemson, we were lucky enough to spend lots of our fall enjoying the fire pit.

And just like that, December was upon us and it was time to get merry!

2014 was really good to us, and so I am sad to see the year come to a close. Knowing us, I can all but guarantee a year ahead of mishaps, memories, and mayhem. I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Happy New Year!