Big News!

Hello, friends! I don't often devote entire posts to life updates, but this week has been too eventful not to recap. Some may know that for the past few years I have been splitting my time between Kansas City and St. Louis while my husband, Dale, was in medical school. BUT this week we found out that he will be headed back to KC this summer to complete his internal medicine residency! This news has been a long time coming, so getting the final word that we will be together (full-time!) in our hometown was some of the best news ever!

And just in case that wasn't enough news for one week, we bought a house!  I have been dreaming of owning a home for the past few years, and I can't wait to do a few repairs and updates and start decorating! This quote that I lettered for Hallmark pretty much sums up how I'm feeling. I can't wait to share some details about our house and next chapter in Kansas City here on the blog, but for now I'm off to celebrate!

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2017 Best Nine

Today I'm looking back on 2017, and thought my #2017BestNine from Instagram would be the perfect place to start. I'm always curious if the posts chosen will really reflect my year, but in this case they did! This year I was lucky to spend quite a bit of time traveling, Dale and I celebrated two years of marriage, and this year was full of wonderful new opportunities at work. I love that these three huge areas of my life are reflected: travel, work, and family. These photos show our anniversary celebration, a work trip to Chicago, my family's trip to Chile, time with family at our lake house (Turkey Hill), my trip to LA with Laura, a portrait taken at Hallmark, and a sister picture from New Orleans. 

But of course there are lots of things not captured as well. This year I have spent countless hours with friends both in Kansas City and St. Louis, I've committed at least one hour each week working out at Fusion Fitness, Dale and I spent a lot of time cooking in our tiny kitchen, I've driven what feels like a million miles back and forth between STL and KC, and dealt with all the general ups and downs and the uncertainty of what the next year will bring. I'm grateful for all I have experienced and learned this past year — 2018 will be a big year for us. I hope you have some time to reflect on your past year too, happy new year!

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Christmas Eve Photo Booth 2017

Our annual Christmas Eve photo booth tradition continues! I hope all your holiday festivities were merry & bright! 

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Austin Part Two

Hello, friends! Our second day in Austin began with breakfast at Russell's Bistro with some family friends. Afterward we decided to hike up to Mount Bonnell – even though it was a cloudy day the view was still beautiful! Next up was a visit to The Contemporary Austin's Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria. Close to the park we discovered a garden complete with a group of peacocks! 

After enjoying the museum we headed downtown to walk around Lady Bird Lake. I couldn't help but  stop to try out the swan paddle boats, they reminded me of pictures I have seen in Japan! Our walk ended back on Rainey Street where we had dinner at G'Raj Mahal. Our final stop was a beer flight at Banger's Sausage House & Beer Garden. I can't wait for the next opportunity we have to come back to Austin because there was still so much to do that we didn't have time for in our short weekend visit! After another night in our tiny house we were headed back to KC. Until next time, ATX! 

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2017 Christmas Card Photos

Dale and I decided to get new pictures taken for our Christmas card this year — here are a few of my favorites! We had a really hard time deciding which one to use on our actual card. Thank you Bethany!

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Thanksgiving 2017

Thankful for sisters, Otto, Pumpkin Roll, Dale, loving family & friends, an amazing job, access to healthcare, opportunities to travel, and another holiday season in KC! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

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