HTC Top Moments of 2018
Hi. First of all - MY COMPUTER IS BACK IN MY ARMS! HOORAY!
After almost 3 whole weeks without my personal laptop, I was beginning to think I’d never write a blog post again (which was a major bummer since I was feeling ALL sorts of inspired and had shot a ton of holiday content for December before dumping a full mug of peppermint tea and honey all over it.) Not having my computer was a blessing in disguise for the most part, though, because it allowed me to truly unplug from HTC during the holidays and it allowed me to do some deep thinking/reevaluating/planning on what I want to do and where I want to take my blog in 2019 without being distracted. I’m so, so excited for the dreams I’ve dreamed up and for the things I want to do (also, equal parts terrified, but I think it comes with the gig, right?)
Anyway, now that I have my trusty MacBook back in my life, I wanted to take some time to share and review my top/favorite posts and moments of 2018. While this isn’t anything super exciting or necessarily helpful, it’s important to me to recognize the positive things that happened this year and still use this space from time to time as a way to document my memories and to appreciate the vibrant life that I tried to live in 2018!
Jeeping in Moab
We took our rig to Moab, UT for the first time in February for our first real off-road adventure and it was the adventure of a life time. We ran 4 trails over the span of three days, including Fins & Things, Hell’s Revenge, and 7 Mile Rim. The views were breathtaking and we were absolutely thrilled with how our Jeep preformed on the trails. It was so liberating for me to be able to see views that I would never have seen without a Jeep and to feel like I was taking my life back from cancer in another small way by exploring so much of Utah without having to hike.
We’re getting Dinah ready for another Moab trip this coming February and can.not wait to test her out with all the modifications and changes we’ve done since last February. New rear drive train, track bar, rear leaf springs, and shackle relocations will make a huge difference in how she handles and we hope to tackle Poison Spider this time around.
For a complete rundown and vlog of our trip to Moab, check out this post: Moab Photo Diary & Jeep Trail Guide
Hosting a girls trip with my BEST girls
I finally, FINALLY got to meet my best blogging friends in real life when they all flew out to Utah in April to visit me! It was a dream come true (and they even liked me in real life) We had the best time eating at In & Out, The Block & Spitz, going to some blogging events, breaking into the High School that was used to film High School Musical, watching the Greatest Showman, and going for a small Jeep adventure!
I learned how important it is to invest in the people who invest in you - and how important it is to love those people fiercely and always be there for them. These girls are a huge part of my life and tribe and even though we live all across the country together, we have been through things that have bonded us for life.
Doing a DIY and building a Pergola
Well, this is one of the biggest accomplishments of our lives! Dustin and I officially became DIY’ers and transformed our backyard by building a Pergola ALL BY OURSELVES! I’m really proud of how this totally transformed our backyard and loved hosting so many BBQ’s & Church Events in our back yard this summer.
Click here to read the full post and see the vlog of our complete backyard transformation!
Becoming officially 12 Years Cancer Free
Another day of tests, scans, blood work, etc. that ended up in the best news possible: I’m Cancer Free for another year! I shared some thoughts on finding out that I was in the clear again on this post - and it’s one of my personal favorites that I wrote during 2018.
Girls Weekend in the Canyon
I feel truly blessed to not only have a solid group of girlfriends across the country, but to have also made a solid group of friends with some girls in Utah. I haven’t had friends who have lived in the same state as me since Idaho and I’m so so grateful to have friends here that I love spending time with. It also makes me happy that they are all in the content/creative business, so it’s fun to bond and work on ideas with each other! We spent a weekend at a cabin up the canyon, shot photos, planned content, and ate at the best Mexican restaurant Utah has!
Going to Build an Awesome Brand Workshop with Alison
I am so thankful that my photographer, Sadie, convinced me to pull the trigger and invest in going to this workshop because it completely and totally changed my life. It gave me clarity, answers, and direction on where I want to go and what I want to do, and gave me the permission I was looking for to do it! If you are a business owner or content creator and can figure out how to go to one of her workshops in 2019, I cannot recommend it enough!
Traveling to Philly & Seeing TSWIFT
By some sheer Christmas miracle, my girlfriends and I were able to get our schedules to align so that we could all be together again in July! This time we traveled to go see Erica out in Philly and she surprised us with TAYLOR SWIFT TICKETS AND IT WAS ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF MY ENTIRE YEAR! I still cannot believe how amazing our seats, snacks, and night was and I cannot imagine experiencing it with anyone else!
Going Home to New England for Beach Week
While we took some smaller trips through the end of the year (to California & Idaho) going to New England to spend the week at our family’s beach house was definitely the highlight of them all. Dustin had actually just accepted a new (dream) job right before we left, so we were able to go while knowing that we had great things all set in stone and tied up before coming back. We explored submarines, swam in the ocean, ate beach pizza and fresh Maine Lobster, and explored every nook and cranny of New Hampshire’s 18 mile coast. It was perfect.
If you’re looking to explore the New England coast like a local, I put together a complete local’s guide to the New England coast after our trip, sharing our favorite places to eat and things to do!
2018 was a crazy year. I have another post coming with a more personal review on how it went for me and how I did in living up to my word of the year but, all-in-all, this year was good to me and I’m so grateful for the beautiful & vibrant memories I made!
