About Last Year: Twenty Seventeen

I think it goes without saying that I’m looking forward to this New Year & all of it’s promise as much as much as the next guy. It's the time to reinvent and pursue new opportunities to create the life you've always dreamed of. While some create resolutions, I like to think of them more as goals and dreams. I'm not too much into allowing the New Year to heavily add the weight and responsibility of  completely rewriting my life and going against everything I've done in the previous year.  Instead, I believe in enhancing and reaching for the stars because truly anything is attainable if you work hard enough! New goals and dreams start everyday to be quite honest, not just on the first of the year; there is no better way to get started on the life you dream of rather than today.

In the midst of dreaming of the year ahead, let us not forget the experience and opportunity that the previous year has brought us, because without it, we wouldn't be where we are today. My favorite part about reflecting on past years is realizing how much we change and grow as an individual. Even in my post reflecting on 2016, all I can really ask for heading into a New Year is to grow as an individual and discover more about myself than the previous. There is something so empowering about looking back to see how things have changed, what you've endured (for the better and things you may have slipped up on), and all of the memories that have shaped today.

This past year has been a quick one with jam packed action, always a new adventure on the horizon (majority of them thanks to Nathaniel). The year started out with a quick trip to Portland, school hunting with Nathaniel, staring the most beautiful sunset I've come across in my life. I fell in love with the lifestyle and community the beautiful city has to offer. We've been waiting on a time to plan another trip back; there was a bucket list full of things to see and experience. While we were there, we discovered one of my favorite brunch spot to date, Besaws (I recommend the waffles with lemon curd and dark chocolate). Portland lead to Sandpoint, Idaho in search of the best cinnamon rolls and the (mini) statue of liberty on Ponderay.

March brought one of my most loved adventures of the year, to Nathaniel's hometown Berkeley where I met Nathaniel's parents for the first time. I could go on and on about my love for this beautiful city. It was an unforgettable experience calling the city home for a week and convincing ourselves that we were locals doing all the local things. Farmer's Markets, sunrises on Indian Rock, baseball games, Noah's Bagels and Peet's Coffee. There was nothing quite like this trip and it will forever be held close to my heart. Berkeley changed my view on the world and made me realize what I wanted and where I was headed.

April brought my birthday month, I turned 21 and was surrounded by all of my favorite people in life. Nathaniel surprised me with giant balloons, we danced around Sandpoint yet again in overly dressed clothes in such a small town and ate the state's best ice cream all month long. We rode our bikes as the month continued to show promise of blue skies and warmer weather. We spent countless days getting our fill of acai bowls and smoothies at The Wellness Bar (a must stop if you're ever in the area) and still are in question why we can't find any acai bowls that come in comparison with them or even how we can convince them to start a location up in our new city. Spring time in Coeur d' Alene couldn't have treated us better!

The next few months consisted of multiple road trips to Montana where Nathaniel got to meet my parents for the very first time. We also hopped on my first ever plane ride to San Diego, not knowing we would come to call this lovely city our home in the upcoming months. We traveled over the states in a few short weeks to experience several graduations and family events.

In August, we took a leap and packed up everything we owned in Nathaniel's car to the point it was almost overflowing and we said goodbye to our friends and the city of Coeur d' Alene, the place where our little story started. We left our jobs and took a few weeks to move across the states to begin our new life in San Diego where we've spent our first Thanksgiving and Christmas together. Although there's still so much to learn and explore in this city, we've grown together as we've adjusted to this change. We've picnicked on the ocean beach after work at 10pm at night and ran through the waves in hopes the crabs wouldn't snip our toes while we were running careless barefoot through the water. I've had the opportunity to meet other San Diego bloggers and collab with brands like JORD Watches. We've discovered our fair share of our favorite brunch locations in the area and are forever on the hunt of new places to try. I've painted on the beach and hunted for seashells aplenty and have officially named the year of 2017 the year of chasing sunsets, for I've found myself running outside in my socks and taking a 'quick drive to the beach'  just to experience the way the colors melt into the sky way too many times to count this year.

With all that's accompanied this past year, I'm so very grateful for this little space on the internet, this little community we've built together. With your comments, clicks, and following along, I'm forever grateful to have this platform to share this life's journey and my passions with you. Thank you for all your love and endless support throughout last year and into the new one! Cheers to this New Year and for all the growing memories and adventures to come! Wishing all of your dreams and goals to become a reality and for individual growth to commence!

XOXO,
Latisha