2013!!!!!!

Deep breath in, and, here we go!

I feel like I have one million bajillian things to talk about for 2012 and 2013, so I'll do my very very best to keep it coherent.

For starters, I went back to look at my last post of 2011. The post all about how great the year had been, how awesome 2012 would be, goals, blessings, etc. Holy wow was I not even ready for the amazing that was 2012.

I loved having goals that didn't revolve around weight, deprivation, or guilt. And while they were lofty (and didn't quite get completed) they made 2012 awesome because a) they pushed me to try new things that I wouldn't otherwise have and b) they were actually fun, so I didn't feel supper bummed that they weren't "complete". I'm pretty sure without the goals, 2012 wouldn't have had nearly as much spunk. But just to be sure, let's take a quick peruse...

I made a wedding cake in 2012.

I traveled to Italy in 2012.

I launched a quilt shop and hosted a quilt giveaway in 2012

I moved into a new town house with my bfbf, and then started to decorate it in 2012
and then that boyfriend proposed and became my fiancé in 2012. This was definitely a crowning awesome moment of the year (of course) which also led me to throw most of the however many cakes and projects in 2012 goals out of the window. Because my focus became wedding planning in 2012.

Brussel Sprouts were definitely a comeback vegetable in 2012

And there was pizza after pizza pulled out of the oven along with Coale's 'tude all over my instagram in 2012.

And so, we come to 2013.

So much potential and promise and complete different than the year before it.

There's just something about the start of a whole. new. year. Isn't there?

I've played around with the idea of one word for an entire year. A word to guide, to inspire, to work towards. This past year I halfheartedly tried a different word each month, and that lasted about halfway through the year. Inspired by Elise, who was in turn inspired by Ali, I have decided that my word for 2013 is simple.

To keep my life simple.

- by purging stuff in our home

- by streamlining tasks and activity

My wedding planning should stay simple.

- by thinking of the big picture

- by taking the time to step back, reassess, and start again

- by thinking of how a successful marriage trumps a "perfect" wedding 100x over

To simplify my technology use

- by cleaning out my inbox

- by re-evaluating the blog

- by prioritizing my computer tasks, at work and at home

To make the blog simpler

- this is the big one that I haven't fleshed out yet, as it will likely be changing as the year continues to move forward. And that is ok. You'll notice most changes in the side bars, but also with the quilt shop. I've decided it's a bit too much to handle with work + less than three months until a wedding (oh my goshhhhh!) + trying to simplify. So the quilt shop is indefinitely closed at least until late spring/summer. 

2012 was absolutely phenomenal. I'm seriously blown away by all the awesome that happened. And I'm so looking forward to 2013. I know that simple doesn't mean less. It doesn't mean starving 2013 of life or fun or amazing. It means getting rid of all the extra unimportant stuff, so that the best parts stand out even more.

And that will be the best.

Happy first day of the new year to all of you! And thank you so very much for keeping up with me in my teensy tinsy corner of the interwebs. It's so humbling to think that people actually read what I'm up to. And it's been a blast getting feedback, giving opinions on recipes and projects, and just having fun in general.

Here's to an even better 2013!

L