To say that this year was a blur is no understatement!! While I know that moving from Texas to Colorado would be tough but I ALSO packed in the most amount of trips I’ve EVER done in a year.. shoot in like 5 years!
It felt like being busy was all I did in 2023 but as we come to the end of the year I just look at all the incredible memories and I wouldn’t change a thing. To help walk down memory lane I’ve linked videos and posts from the year to remind me of all the good times!
DECEMBER 2022
I have to start with this same time last year because I feel like the move kicked off this crazy year. Just a few days after we moved and right before Christmas we had a HUGE snow storm to welcome us to the Denver area. It was the first time the kids had seen snow that deep and we took full advantage of the huge park across from our rental home.
During these three months we lived in a smaller rental house in our same area and while at first it was great it’s in an area with a TON of construction and while working alone at home it started to make me very uneasy with cars driving by and peering into my office window all day. Our home kept getting delayed and delayed so while the first estimate to be done was January it was not until March when we closed.
FEBRUARY
In February I had an incident where a man followed me back to the rental house and yelled at me. To say that I was shook was an understatement, so instead of staying home for President’s Day break the kids and I hopped a quick fight to their grandparents house in Shreveport. It was wonderful to be back at a place that felt like home while waiting for our home to be done. It was also during Mardi Gras so of course we had to have some kings cake, beads and crawfish!
MARCH
We closed on the house (even though it wasn’t done) and left for our Spring Break cruise to the Caribbean with our cousins. It was absolutely what we needed after a rough winter and waiting to move in for months.
The week that we retuned from the cruise we started moving in! It was a a little crazy because we had to move all of our things from the rental home and then also receive all the items that had been in storage for the past 3 months (80% of our furniture and belongings).
By this time I knew I needed HELP so I hired the Denver Neat Method to unpack and organize our kitchen, basement playroom area and craft room. It was the BEST investment I’ve ever made. Having that extra help to get our new home unpacked and ready to live it was amazing. I’ve since had them come back and organize our basement storage area.
PLAYROOM | PANTRY | CRAFT ROOM
APRIL
After a few weeks in our new home I headed to Mexico for a girls trip with several of my blogger friends. This was the first time that I got to meet several of them in person and we had an incredible time. We were supposed to stay at a different resort but a few weeks before our trip the resort had a fire and closed the entire property.
Quickly we rebooked at a “couples” resort which was hilarious with 8 women all bunking up! We went on a catamaran ride, ate delicious food and RELAXED it was exactly what my soul needed.
The rest of April and May were pretty busy with the kids ending their first semester in their new Colorado school and my husband on his own work trip to Orlando.
JUNE
The first two weeks of the summer my kids did a fun adventure camp and then I headed to Nashville for a girls trip with my long time ex-coworker BFFs. It had been YEARS since we were all together and Nashville was the perfect getaway. What we didn’t realize though was it was also the same weekend as CMA fest so places were packed!
My friend Kelly is our master planner and she got us into all the best restaurants and clubs. While I feel like we did a lot I can see why it’s easy to go back over and over again, there is so much to do!
As soon as I got back home my husband left for his Spartan race and then Kelly was stopping through Denver on her way to a food and wine festival. In her 2 days she threw me the biggest surprise to celebrate me hitting 100k followers on Instagram. You can see my shock HERE.
Then 3 days later we left for our annual breach trip to Galveston. Like nearly every year while new were there we looked at vacation homes. We found a new build that we fell in LOVE with. As soon as we got home we put in an offer. Over the next two months we would go back and forth with the builder on price. It was insane! By the 5th counter and getting our own appraisal we finally had an accepted offer and waited for a close date… see October when we finally closed!
JULY
July tends to always be super busy with Nordstrom Anniversary Sale and Prime Days so when we got home from the beach my kids did a week of ski school (indoor camp) and then were headed to their grandparents house in Shreveport, LA but our flights with United were cancelled!
Instead of waiting around to see if we would be able to get another flight we booked JSX and I flew with the kids to Dallas and my in-laws drove to meet them (about 3 hours away). This allowed me to have one night in Dallas and meet back up with my good friend Audrie for dinner at my favorite seafood restaurant.
Audrie has been with my on this journey from the beginning as my photographer. She now owns AD Media Group that helps with my blog posts, input, collaborations and more! Celebrating my milestone of 100k was so special.
In the middle of NSALE and Prime Day madness my daughter and I had tickets to Taylor Swift! Honestly I was so worn down and exhausted I almost didn’t want to go but OMG I’m so glad we went. Having these memories with Ashlyn was incredible. Not to mention it was the best concert I’ve ever been to (or probably ever will!)
After all the craziness of NSALE and Prime Days were over I took the kids to Estes Park to visit with my mom. For the past year she had been traveling around in her camper with her yellow lab named Cara. This was her last stop through before she moved to Mexico. We had a wonderful time exploring this beautiful town and had to try the mountain coaster, fishing see the Stanley hotel and s’mores!
AUGUST
As soon as we returned from Estes Park my dad moved from Lubbock, TX to the Denver area, actually just 7 minutes away from us! He wanted to be closer and spend more time with the kids and it’s been so great. It made it so easy when I decided to take another last minute trip back to DFW to celebrate my friend Laura’s 50th birthday. We used to live down the street together and talk every day when we dropped the kids off at school (her son and my daughter had the same class for 2 years). I also got to hang out with all my DFW girls that I miss so much!
SEPTEMBER
It felt like as soon as the kids started a groove with being back in school I had MORE trips! The first was an incredible experience going to Sundance, Utah with the Gibsonlook team. We also celebrated Audrie’s 40th birthday while we were there. It was a quick trip but wonderful to finally meet CEO Suzie Turner in person as well as my long time friend Holly!
Much of the trip was photographing their fall collections but we also made this fun 31 Questions Video with me, Candance and Holly getting to know all 3 of us and Gibsonlook.
After a few weeks at home I then headed to San Diego for the Amazon Creator Summit where Holly and I roomed together! This trip was incredible to finally meet some more of the influencer women that have supported and shaped me for the past five years. My friend Holly and I shared a room at this event and it was so fun being able to spend some extra time with her after Utah.
The Hotel Coronado was such a beautiful backdrop to this epic conference. We had BBQ on the beach, candlelight dinners, brand introductions and I even got to make a video in the “professional” studio.
OCTOBER
With only a few days home from the Amazon Summit I repacked and headed to Dallas for LTKCon. This conference is the largest and most prominent events for content creators. This year is was just a quick two days but I came in early for an incredible dinner hosted by my management group AD Media.
They had the dinner at one of my favorite places called XOXO which is over the top pink, girly and fabulous! The event was talking with friends, the AD Media team, getting a sneak preview of the Gibsonlook Holiday collection and a silks performer. I finally got to meet in person my online friend Meredith from Thesemerrillydays and have a great chat with CEO Suzie Turner from Gibsonlook.
We also got to take home an epic gift bag filled with Western Son Vodka, T3, Victoria Emerson, Amika and more!
The next day started the conference. My wonderful friend Angela was my roommate for LTKCon, we also were roommates in Mexico so I knew she would remember all the things that I forgot like a great friend does!
We had mid-day check in, networking with brands and then a fun happy hour hosted by Lucchese Boot Company with a Texas Chic theme.
This party was my first chance to finally meet in person a few more of my online friends Becca from Clothed in Grace, Lindsay from Lovelylifestyling and Becca from Simply Becca.
The next day was a busy one with speakers, lunch and then the big awards ceremony and gala. I had two friends Jen and Holly nominated for awards so I wanted to make their “getting ready” time special! I had a charcuterie board delivered from Board + Brie and we had makeup artists come to our suite.
The after party was epic with choreographed dancers, confetti and dancing until early into the morning!
From Dallas I immediately flew to Houston to meet my husband to close on our new beach house in Galveston. Unfortunately though the house did not pass inspection so we were unable to close when we were there. We still signed paperwork but did not get keys until a few days later.
This made timing difficult because we had planned to have the house furnished to come back for fall break with my kids and in-laws. Instead the designers brought just a few basic pieces so we had a place to sleep and sit. It wasn’t until December that the home was fully furnished.
It was still a great week at the beach where we tried new restaurants, went on a Dolphin boat ride and got basics handled in the house like tv install, internet and washer/ dryer hook up.
NOVEMBER
After fall break in mid-October all I wanted to do was BE HOME for a couple of months! The only trip during this time was a quick 24 hour getaway for my 16 year wedding anniversary. For Thanksgiving my in-laws traveled to us and my dad came over for the day. This month we enjoyed the snow, making Christmas wine, and good family time.
DECEMBER
It’s crazy to look back at where we were December 2022 and how much has changed since then! This month was filled with holiday events like seeing The Nutcracker, school performances and going to my first Avalanche game. We hosted some friends for Christmas Eve and Day and geared up to see our beach house for New Years.
I am finishing this post sitting in our new beach house in Galveston. I’ve been taking a big break from posting on social media after this CRAZY year. I love sharing my life with you but for a few days I’m slowing down and just enjoying this quiet family time.
As much as I say I want to do less in 2024 I already have trips to Vegas and Palm Springs booked for January and February so we will see! Thank you for joining me on all these adventures I can’t wait to see what life brings next year.
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