a year ago today, 10.10.17, i not only closed on the house we’ve been renovating for the past year, but i also got engaged to the wonderful man i now call my husband!! the engagement part was a complete surprise, even though we felt strongly enough about each other that we were buying a home together! we got engaged around 9 in the morning and the rest of the year has been an utter whirlwind!! it’s pretty much been a sprint from one major event to another!
there’s also been a lot of travel! as you know, my dad died last november, the day after my daughter’s birthday (still thanking god he somehow, perhaps subconsciously/intentionally, willed that to be), so that took us to charlotte for the funeral, back to atlanta so i could install my client’s house, up to madison, wisconsin, then baraboo, for the burial, then to chicago for the post funeral party, cause that’s what good catholics do ;)…
devil’s lake in baraboo, wi; where i grew up going with my grandparents, and where my dad grew up going with them, too, and close to where he is buried
it was then on to charleston, sc for new years, orlando, fl for kbis (kitchen and bath industry show), charlottesville, va, back to charlotte, the beach for 4th of july, kohler, wi, finally our delayed honeymoon to nyc, madrid, and portugal, finishing up with a family weekend in maryland!! talk about frequent flyer miles!!
and that was just the travel!! other huge events included prepping and selling mr wonderful’s rental property, me participating in atlanta’s first ever modern showhouse (which opened the week before our wedding :), our wedding in our backyard, signing the lease on an office space at adac, my son’s bar mitzvah, and all the while trying to complete the massive renovation of our house!!
it has indeed been a crazy, nutso year of mostly fantastic opportunities and exhilarating times. it is truly amazing how life goes. sometimes very methodical and planned. sometimes as a huge surprise! one of the things i feel i haven’t done so well this past year is to really cherish all these moments and experiences. it really has felt like a sprint from one major event to the next! i tried so hard to really savor our time on our honeymoon and to slow down and soak it all in. i do feel we did a pretty good job of that, but damn if we didn’t get home and hit the ground running, back to the crazy!! i am blessed i have a man who can suffer through the chaos and also sit with me on the porch with a glass of wine and watch the nighttime bugs dance around the streetlight, reminding me to slow down.
thankfully, i also have pictures, since my advancing age is not being kind to my memory… so, here’s a little highlight reel of the past year :)
kbis is an international kitchen and bath show with all the latest and greatest products! so many awesome things to see and people to meet! there were many highlights, but i really enjoyed the color! from the faucets to the custom art overlay on a super bad-ass fridge!!
the most memorable highlight though, was getting to take my picture with the crew from this old house, one of my dad’s favorite shows :)
lots of press for the showhouse, which was amazing!!! such an honor to be with some very exceptional and talented designers for this!!
the fall issue was extra special because it also included a spread with me dishing on my favorite places in atlanta to shop for tile. y’all know (especially if you follow me on instagram) that i sold my soul to tile a loooong time ago!!! i love it so!
prepping for our wedding in our backyard was no small feat. the look on my face after we exchanged vows was sheer admiration for this man who means so much to me and my kids and also just happened to completely transform the backyard (before and after pics, of the same area, above)!!
the beach is my happy place and it got even happier this year as we got to spend the week with my husband’s family!! there was fishing, corn hole tourneys, pool swimming, kite flying, body surfing, intense puzzle solving, pool shooting, and good eating. it was everything i ever wanted a family beach trip to be!!
next up, my son’s bar mitzvah!!! he has practiced his torah portion for about 10 months, volunteered with the atlanta food bank, and written a beautiful d’var torah (a teaching on his torah portion). he. did. amazing. i could not be more proud of him. it was a long, painful lead up, with lots of complaining and procrastination (this was not unexpected, but torturous none the less), but wow, did he knock it out of the park!!! he plays soccer and is a big fan of atlanta united, so our theme for his party was “dylan united”!! the top picture is of his friends watching the video montage of his life. it was really such a fun night of music, bowling, and love!!
i had the honor of being invited to kohler, wisconsin for “the kohler experience”! i’m a huge kohler fan and use their products whenever possible! after the trip, i found myself doing shots of their cool-aid and want to have another child just so i can name it “kohler”. that’d be cool, right??!! anyway, it was a great trip, very educational, inspirational, and i met some super awesome design ladies!!! making new friends in one’s adult years can be hard, so when you get the chance, grab it and hang on tight!
if you follow me on instagram, you’ve probably already seen the posts from our honeymoon, so i won’t repeat them here. they really need to be a separate post… so many wonderful sights and tastes!!! we are definitely going back to lisbon in the future!
we went up to maryland the weekend after we returned from our honeymoon for a family weekend at mr wonderful’s oldest brother’s farm. talk about a fantastic time!! for us, for the kids, for bonding, for laughing, for fishing, for playing volleyball in the mud, for making s’mores over the bonfire, for not severely injuring ourselves climbing the ladder in the barn…
wow. i am immensely grateful for the past year. i knew i was a lucky girl when he proposed to me, but i never could have imagined just how lucky! what a year…
beijos,
beth