I can’t believe how much has happened in just one year! My life completely changed in the best way possible as I started a whole new or two chapter! You might even be able to say two chapters… I gained so many unexpected experiences and learned so much in just one year. Before this new and exciting 2013 starts, I just want to take a moment and look back on a few (or many) of my favorite moments this past year. (It’s a little lengthy, so I divided it into sections!)
Lifestyle
We started out the year as a newly engaged couple. He proposed right before Christmas in the most perfect way and then gave me the most beautiful ring in January! It was the perfect way to kick off the new year! The promises of excitement through planning our wedding and our new life together was such a thrill throughout the whole year! (My other favorite engagement photo here)
My Mom and I also kicked off our new year with opening our own Pilates studio together! It’s been fun to really specialize in exactly what we love about teaching: working individually with clients to meet their extraordinary goals! It’s been quite a year with developing relationships with our clients and seeing how much Pilates can help them whether it’s for fitness or for health.
Sometime in the beginning of the year, I joined the world of Pinterest and watched as creativity jumped to a whole new level this year!
In May, Kevin’s sister asked me to take Caleb’s 1-year-old photos and I just got the best results! Thank goodness I had the best little baby model! It totally helped take some pressure away from me!
And then of course we stayed and celebrated his birthday with the cutest little themed zoo animal party!
At the end of May, I finished my Power Pilates training! After over 600 hours of training in addition to my only 200 hours of training prior, my hard work paid off! It was such an accomplished feeling at the end. Brought me to levels in my personal practice and teaching that I didn’t know would even exist!
In June, my sister graduated from High School! Since I was going to miss her graduation ceremony, I tried to make up for it by taking some super fun photos one morning in her cap and gown!
June was also the start of my super crazy but super fun wedding summer! My wedding events were kicked off with a beautiful bridal shower in the park thrown by wonderful friends! The next day, while everyone was pretty much still in town, my Mom and I threw a beautiful, hoity doity bridesmaid luncheon! It was my turn to wait on my wonderfully supportive and never-complaining bridesmaids! (Trust me, they had plenty of opportunities where they probably could have complained!) And then in July, Kevin and I traveled to Evansville for a fun couple’s shower with the best theme: “Stock the Bar”!!!
The end of July came and it was time to celebrate my last night out as a Bachelorette! It was the perfect Bachelorette party! Such a fun night filled with loads of dancing, fancy dresses and fantastic moments with my girlfriends!
August finally came and we did it! The biggest, most important, most beautiful and special event of my year! We tied the knot! It was exactly the elegant, fun, vintage day that I imagined! Our two families came together as one and we had the most fun celebration and more dancing than I could have ever imagined! (I haven’t shared anything from my wedding on my blog yet, but I promise I will soon!) Our family and friends then sent us off on our amazing honeymoon! But I’ll get to that in a minute.
We returned from or honeymoon and settled right into our new lives! Fall was a blast as we made sure to enjoy our favorite festivals (Goettafest and Oktoberfest)!
Somehow, my sister and I picked the perfect fall day to some of the cutest senior photos! (Bernadette, promise I’ll get those to you soon!) And to finish of the year and start out the winter, Kevin and I celebrated the holidays together for the first time as a newly-wedded, married couple!
Travel
I can’t believe the opportunities I have came across last year! I love traveling and never expected to have so many opportunities in one year! It’s not often I get to travel to a different country twice in one year and take my husband out of the country for his very first time!
It started in February when I left for Honduras after booking tickets just weeks before hand!
My very good high school friend was teaching at a school down in Honduras. When she had a few days off, I randomly booked a flight and left to visit her! It was my first time in a developing country. We had a blast as we took “chicken buses” to different cities and got to not only explore but also go zip-lining, white water rafting and cover ourselves in volcano lava! To finish off the trip, I stayed at her home and went to school with her! Her class was adorable and so welcoming! Memories I never want to forget!
At the beginning of June, Kevin and I were able to escape to Delaware with his family for one last relaxing week before our summer of wedding craziness. My first time in Delaware was so blissful!
We spent our honeymoon in Jamaica and could not have asked for a more beautiful or relaxing week! This was my first time in Jamaica and Kevin’s first time out of the country! It was so fun to travel together and we could not have been more excited! We felt so welcomed and could not have picked a better place to honeymoon!
We look back at photos and immediately want to rewind back to that time!
And our last vacation of the year: Chicago! Kevin was already there for business, so I drove up and met him for the weekend and we hung out with one of my best friends! A relaxed weekend full of visiting, eating the best meal of my life, drinking, and shopping was a super fun way to spend it!
Style Blogging
This is my first full year of blogging and I could enjoy it more! It’s grown into quite a hobby, but it has also pushed me to be more creative, a better cook, more experimental in my closet, and much more attentive to my everyday life! In a way, it pushes me to be a better person and appreciate everything! I love blogging about my life, but I also love blogging about food and style, too! I got to talk yesterday on why and how I started blogging about food and it has definitely pushed me to new levels in the kitchen! It’s developed into a fun passion of cooking and preparing. You can track my progress here!
But style has developed into another fun aspect of my blog! It was awkward to start, I’m not going to lie… “Kevin, take pictures of me so I can put them on my blog!” I felt like I was back on myspace taking awkward camera photos! I loved reading style blogs though and I wanted to be a part of that community, so I kept doing it. Little by little I found my niche! First, I like my blog to be about style, personality and creativity, not necessarily brands and shopping. (So for now I stopped listing off where I got pieces in every post. Ask and I’ll tell though.) And second, I like to give bits of tips and advice here and there, so I absolutely loved starting my “Style it” series. I’m excited to see how it develops in the new year!
So without further adieu, here’s a little round up my style throughout 2012:
And pulling my sisters into my blog was one of the best ideas I came up with all year!
Here’s to 2013!
Luvv, Leigh B
engagement photo and wedding photo by Lucky Heart Photography
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