A Look Back at 2012

As I took a look back at all my blog posts from 2012, I was amazed at just how much we managed to fit into one year! We took so many trips... New Orleans, Napa Valley, San Francisco, South Padre Island, South Carolina, Los Angeles! And there were lots of smaller trips within Texas (College Station, Dallas, San Marcos, San Antonio, Lake Livingston!). Plus we did a ton of Houston stuff... everything from the rodeo to the Ima Hogg mansion! 
We finished decorating three rooms in our house (two guest rooms and the laundry room). I shared 75 recipes on the blog (this amazes me!). I finished my second year of law school, got a job, and became a published author! We celebrated Easter, Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, and Christmas with our families. 2012 marked two years of marriage, five years of being head-over-heels in love with each other, 23 years of Katie, and 25 years of Jeff!
Here are our highlights from 2012: January:
We rang in the New Year at our New Year's Eve party.

We finally finished decorating a room in our new house (the guest room!).

We attended an Aggie Yell Practice in Houston for Texas A&M's bowl game.

We took a trip to New Orleans! (Day One, Day Two, Day Three)

February:

We took a tour of Minute Maid Park, the Houston Astros' baseball stadium.

We celebrated five years of "officially" dating.

We said goodbye to my childhood dog, Mimi.

We celebrated our second married Valentine's Day.

We mourned the loss of Uncle Bill.

(photo by Kelli Nicole Photography)

March:

We went to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. 

We spent St. Patrick's Day weekend with family in San Antonio, celebrating my grandparents 50th anniversary.

We had wine and cheese as we strolled through the Bayou Bend house and gardens.

We redecorated the laundry room.

April:

We celebrated Jeff's 25th birthday!

We celebrated Easter with our families.

I won $1500 for my legal writing/editing work, and I found out I was going to be a published author in a legal journal! 

May:

We celebrated the end of my second year of law school.

I started my summer associate position with a Big Law firm in downtown Houston.

We celebrated my 23rd birthday.

June:

We painted pretty pictures at a friend's birthday party.

I went on my first business trip to Los Angeles.

We spent a lovely weekend at my parents' new lake property.

We took a quick trip to College Station and the Messina Hof winery.

July:

We took another trip to my parents' lake property for July 4th.

We went to a Major League Soccer game (the Houston Dynamo!).

We took a trip with friends to the Texas Hill Country  and the San Marcos outlets to float down the river and go camping.

I accepted a post-graduation job offer from a law firm in Houston, and we went out to a fancy dinner to celebrate.

We celebrated our second anniversary.

August:

We took our annual trip with my family to South Padre Island.

We had an amazing vacation in California, where we saw Stanford (where I was born) and Napa Valley (Day One, Day Two, Day Three).

We visited Jeff's cousin and her family in Corte Madera, CA and spent two days touring San Francisco (Day One, Day Two).

I started my third and final year of law school. 

September:

We tailgated at Texas A&M football games.

We celebrated my Gran-Mom's birthday at Trail Dust.

October:

We sampled food from tons of local restaurants at Humble's Tasting the Town. 

We went to the pumpkin patch!

I decorated the house for Fall.

November:

I finished decorating our second guest bedroom.

We took a quick getaway to Dallas, where we visited the Sixth Floor Museum.  

We spent Thanksgiving with our families and enjoyed some other special events too.

December:

I finished my second-to-last semester of law school. 

We spent lots of quality time with our families celebrating Christmas.

I had to get five stitches in my finger, thanks to an accident with a pair of scissors.

We hosted our second NYE party and had a blast saying goodbye to 2012 with friends!