It’s time to start saying “That was on my Bingo card this year!” All you need is Canva and you can access this free template to create your own monthly Bingo card.

Big news – we had our baby, Eden. She was born in late August of 2022 and has changed my life; almost all the cliches about having a child are true. I had no idea what to expect, and for most of my pregnancy, I had trouble reconciling that I was growing a human in my body and that this human would one day be walking around, communicating, and developing her personality that I get to enjoy being part of each day. It’s added another level of purpose and love to my life that I didn’t know was possible.

As I previously mentioned, Warsaw, Indiana is a gem of a town and I truly loved living there. So, please, if you’re anywhere near northern Indiana in the future, consider visiting this cute town and the surrounding areas.

Just when we think that we’ve had enough change for a time, and we start getting a bit comfortable, we just dive right into creating something new: WE’RE HAVING A BABY GIRL! I’m halfway through this pregnancy and it has gone by so fast and has been filled with many differences between what I was expecting vs. reality...

While darkness can have a psychologically negative effect, light, in contrast, has a psychologically positive effect. We need light to survive. I’ve realized that not only physical light in our lives is needed, but also the light that comes through faith, hope, love/charity, and – perhaps above all – gratitude.

In a very unexpected turn of events, we have moved… back to Los Angeles. Not only did we move back to Los Angeles, but we are living literally a mile from the house I grew up in, in Redondo Beach.

If you had told me six months ago that we would be here, I would have said you’re crazy. But now I just know we’re crazy.

“You shouldn't be afraid to fail. Most people take the easy way and they take things they know they can do because they're afraid to fail. If you fail, you try again. If you fail at the same thing 3 or 4 times, then you say maybe I'm not going to do that, but at least you tried and you know.” — David Kleinman

I’ve been thinking of the move to Utah a lot recently – how I went from really struggling, to finding peace – and how that experience has helped me during this last year of the “new normal” and all the things we weren’t expecting in 2020.

At first, it was at least an adventure, something different. Soon though, I began to feel confused, purposeless, and, despite being newly married and with some friends around, ultimately very alone.

As you may know, if you’ve been here before, Matt and I got married June 24, 2017 in Nashville, TN. What you may not know is how it started.

Matt and I met at a transition point in both of our lives…

Fun fact: my grandparents lived in Indianapolis for a period of time while my dad was growing up. That’s part of the reason I heard of Brown County State Park – it’s been an Indiana gem for at least the last 50 years! We know we have a lot to explore here in Indiana, and southern Indiana felt like a good place to go.

A huge benefit of living in Utah is access to incredible hikes and scenery all over the state. It’s something I loved continuing to discover when visiting and eventually living there. I’ve compiled my favorite hikes near(ish) to Provo.

Primarily the Spiral Jetty is just a really cool place to check out and see another part of the Great Salt Lake as well as an interesting artwork. Plus, on the way there was an unexpected surprise – the Golden Spike National Monument!

An original Dutch operating windmill (the only in the United States!), Lake Michigan feels like an ocean, there is actually an overlook (we miss climbing up to a view!), B&Bs that really feel like you’re in Europe, and an iconic red lighthouse – what more could you want?

I went on a girls trip to Escalante National Monument for a couple days and did a lot of hiking. For those ready to get outside and explore this area, here’s what we did, what I would have changed, and recommendations for being as cautious as possible.

I realized this is my third cross country move. Each time has been very different, especially as the years go on and we get in bigger places, our stuff just seems to expand.

Here’s some things to keep in mind when moving, and action items post-move to make you feel more at home sooner.

In the middle of a pandemic, long-distance relationships are a little more common – whether with a partner, family or friends. I hope the list below will be fun activities to do with anyone you care about – maybe even if you’re stuck to the house or if you’re just looking at the other person through a screen like this (hopefully not asleep)…

The very same day I started my new job, I also received my MBA yearbook in the mail and was in tears looking through the sweet notes and nice memories. It felt right to look back at my last semester of my MBA holistically.

Hello!

What a strange time to be making an appearance I guess, over a year later. I set this blog aside as I focused on grad school and other things that needed to take priority in my life. Since I graduated with my MBA in April, I’ve had an unanticipated amount of time to reflect – not only on this blog, but also just going through past photos and memories. What a beautiful thing it is to remember…

I keep telling myself: at the end of the day, the most important thing is that we’re married. And we have our friends and family there, and there’s just not anything else we really need…

This should really be titled: "How to throw the Best Bachelorette Party there ever was and ever will be" but that might be a little too long of a title. That's what my friends did for me though.