To the tune of “goodbye, yellow brick road” by Elton John, if you please.
So, 2019. Here is a quick compilation of new things I tried / did this year, broken into categories, with pictures and links where appropriate.
Baking
Tiered cake
A lottttt of cupcakes
Reading
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
A Lost Lady This was my favorite read this year.
Life Events
Being a bridesmaid:
One of my very best friends, whom I met in 7th grade, got married this summer. I was there when she got engaged; when she called to ask if I would be a bridesmaid, my heart said YES and my pregnancy said maybe… this gal took my due date into consideration when settling on her wedding date, just so I could be there by her side. I’m so thankful for her, and it was so fun to get to help her feel special and perfect (both of which SHE IS) on her big day. The wedding was gorgeous (if a little sweaty, Hey there, hottest Missouri June I’ve ever heard of meets beautiful old church with poor air conditioning, lol), and the other bridesmaids were a dream to “work with” (hang out with!!). Having crossed the threshold from “most of my friends are getting married” phase to “all those friends are having babies now” phase, I had almost forgotten how much I love going to weddings. It was super fun to get dressed up, plan stuff, go out without children… so lovely.
Summer baby:
Mostly referring to the third trimester of pregnancy taking place in the summer. The only upside to that was not needing maternity jeans very much at all. Shorts and dresses-without-tights are socially acceptable in the summer. So there’s that.
Giving birth without drugs:
See here. My 2015 and 2016 babies were born with the help of an epidural. My 2019 baby was not!
VVV:
I’ve mentioned this group a couple of times. Once a month on Monday nights I meet up with some of my favorite ladies, and we have dessert, sometimes wine, and hours of great conversation. Justin started his men’s group at the beginning of this year, and I piggybacked with a women’s group starting in May. Stay tuned for more about this group (including what the V’s are for).
I still drool when I see that raspberry soufflé…
I definitely don’t mind when the kids don’t finish theirs and I basically get two 😛