Goodbye 2014 - a year end review

2014 wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. In an effort to be more positive I chose to focus on the bits and pieces that were sunshine and rainbows but who am I kidding? I'm human and of course those dark moments hit me and consumed me at times. 

With all the sadness and BS aside I really did have a lot of fun this year and it was a huge year for growth both personally and blog wise. I have had an incredible amount of traffic, new followers, and comments on nearly every blog post that it truly just makes my heart swell!  I feel so honored and blessed that so many of you take the time to ready little place of the internet and that you have stuck with me!  I've had this blog for a long time but just recently I've gotten into the groove of content, inspiration and direction. In addition I am so happy with the connections and friends I have made over the last year. 

A few things to note: I didn't really post about it but I entered A LOT of giveaways this last year both on blogs and IG and I actually won quite a few of them, I matured a lot this year and have a new perspective on life (and a lot more confident), and I'm finally getting back in stride with life and how to enjoy it. 

JANUARY

We started the year off with me making a resolution to Meal Plan, we didn't do a meal plan for every week this year but I would say we did for at least 43 weeks which is actually really good for a New Year's Resolution.  I didn't always post our meal plans (nor did we follow them to a T) but they were so incredibly helpful to have.   I talked about some of my infertility struggles here and here,  I also started thinking about, getting inspired and planning Ellie's First Birthday Party and shared 5 Things My Mom Taught Me.

FEBRUARY

I started the month out with a Blogger Meetup and the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl here. We had Ellie's dedication at church, then Thomas and I went on our first real date since adopting Ellie. I shared What Not To Say to the Infertile , I was nominated for a Blog Award, talked about Transitioning Ellie to Solids, and shared our newborn to 3 months Favorites.

MARCH

This was a tough month. It marked 2 years since my mom lost her battle with brain cancer, I turned 30, and then I had to put down my horse 3 days after my birthday.  Some fun things that happened: I shared my Favorite Kitchen Items, as well as our 3-6 month baby favorites and 6-9 month baby favorites. And I shared the recipe for my favorite Irish Soda Bread. 

APRIL

I got to guest post over at A+Life, had a group of my students over to help as a farm crew cleanup and they accomplished so much for us! We also got to take Ellie on our annual trip to the tulip fields and she got her passport picture taken.  We celebrated her first Easter and I wrote some posts dedicated to National Infertility Awareness Week here and here.

MAY

I was reminded how LUCKY I am.  My sweet baby girl of a horse turned 11, I shared an OOTD post (I am by no means a fashion blogger) and shared our Guest Bathroom Makeover!! I hosted a bridal shower for my sister in law, I found out I was losing my job, celebrated my first Mother's Day, I confessed over at September Farm, Ellie turned ONE and we celebrated all day with a trip to the zoo, we hosted a birthday party for her, and we also took out some time to think about our sweet angel baby who would have made their appearance this month had I not miscarried. I also announced the Toddler Tuesday Series!

JUNE

Toddler Tuesday kicked off with Nat. I did a recap of Ellie's First Birthday Party, Thomas got to celebrate his second Father's Day, his birthday, I shared a recipe for our favorite rice dish, shared about our mini weekend getaway the end of the school year, and then our trip to Scotland and Ireland began. 

JULY

We returned from Ireland, Ellie went on her first pony ride, I shared how our garden was doing, we added two more goats to our herd,  and I shared my dreams for our next house.

AUGUST

Thomas and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary, some long over due house projects got done during nap time, shared our 9-12 month favorites, we got Ellie a Bitty Baby, I talked about my desire to not return to teaching and how we kicked the bottle to the curb.

SEPTEMBER

What I would do with $1million , Ellie visited the Fair, our one year Adoption Day anniversary, the memory of our last miscarriage, Thankfulness for Apples I talked about my love of babywearing, I gave a home tour, shared a Baby OOTD, more woes on infertility, and gave some ideas for Toddler Eats.

OCTOBER

I did a 31 day challenge with Ellie and I loved all of the Fall outfits I was able to put together. I shared how I was thankful for emails and why I'm glad I don't delete things, some travel tips with a toddler, our journey to begin cloth diapers, our visit to the Pumpkin Patch (with recipe), wrote yet another post for Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness and we celebrated Ellie's second Halloween!!

NOVEMBER

I did my first DITL (day in the life) post, had a blogger date!!, talked about my new career as a nanny, some winter farm accomplishments, our 12-15 month favorites, Christmas Wishlists here and here,  preparing our home for Christmas and shared a Christmas DIY Advent. 

DECEMBER 

Ellie got to visit Santa, Thomas and I got to go on another Date!! We celebrated our 8 year Engagementiversary, I shared some of our Christmas Traditions, Ellie got to play in the SNOW, I shared what our home looked like for Christmas this year and did a recap of both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!  I also did a review on my first Stitch Fix!!

WOW what a year full of so many memories.  I am so glad that I have this blog to document all the things we have done so I can remember and focus on these good times!!

♥ Ashley