2017 Year in Review

I created a list like this last year, and decided to make it a yearly tradition! While it seems like every year lately has had so much "bad" in it, it's so nice to reflect on the entire year and see all the good that happened. And there was a lot of good that happened this year, both professionally and personally! Here's what went down for my family and I in 2017:  

January

• We rang in the new year with some of our best friends in the NC mountains. 
• I marched along with 30,000 other folks in the women's march through Charlotte. Such an empowering experience!

February

• We celebrated Eric's 30th birthday!
• I tagged along with Eric to my first car auction in Boca Raton.
• I gave a talk to the Southeast region LMA on legal web design trends. My first talk to non-designers and it went great!
• My tarantula, Eleven, passed away :(
• I was participated as a reviewer for the SND Student Portfolio Review at UNC (fun fact - I used to organize this while I was a student there!)
• We rang in my golden birthday the best way possible - with a 28 Birthdays Later zombie theme. So grateful to all of my friends who were willing to dress up in February to celebrate with me.

March

• One of my best friends, Amanda, and her husband came to visit us from Myanmar. So good to be reunited with a friend and feel like you haven't been apart at all!
• My family and I waited in line for hours to eat from the Hello Kitty food truck when it passed through Charlotte. Worth it!
• I attended the Planned Parenthood Condom Couture fashion show, which my friends along with many other talented designers,  created incredible outfits out of condoms to support the organization. Highly recommend this event if you are in Charlotte!
• I took some fabulous new portraits with Erick Hodge
• We dressed up as our favorite Stranger Things characters to celebrate my friend Beth's birthday.

April 

• I celebrated one year of teaching with Skillpop! I've officially taught four different classes and can't wait to continue into 2018
• I attended my 5th Creative South, my favorite design conference. This year I got to judge the Ink Wars competition and designed an X-Files themed pin for the Sci-Fidelity gallery on display at the conference.
• Eric and I celebrated 2 years married!
• I spent a weekend back in Chapel Hill before my friend Aubrey left for Ecuador. It was a bittersweet weekend as she was leaving, but so glad we got to hang out at all of the best UNC spots before the basketball team won a championship!
• I ran what is probably my last long distance race for a LONG time at the Rock n' Roll Half Marathon in Nashville. I left with plantar fasciitis, but still had a great time enjoying Nashville with new friends!

May

• We took a trip down to Savannah with our friends Toree and Patrick. Toree is heading to school there for the next two years, so something tells me there's going to be many more fun trips there in our future!
• I helped organize - and even spoke at - another FusionConf! About 115 folks attended our half-day design conference, and it was the largest group I've spoken in front of to date! You can read about the event more here. 
• I dyed my hair gray and added another tattoo! Cha-cha-cha-changes. 
• We said goodbye to our friend Sammi (she's out in Alaska now!) with an awesome backyard BBQ. 

June

• We started our downstairs bathroom remodel - which turned into the longest and most costly project ever haha.
• We ventured to NYC to visit some of our best friends

July

• We said goodbye to the place we met and our wedding venue, Tremont Music Hall, as it was demolished :(
• We enjoyed visits from our PA friends Evan and Alyssa, and Eric's mom and younger brother. 
• I got decked out in my finest redneck wear for a friend's White Trash party

August

• We said goodbye to our friends Peter and Beth as they moved to Finland! (Seriously - why did all my friends move so far away this year??)
• I hatched my first batch of chicks! I ended up with only 2 hens out of the batch, but they sure are some of the cutest ever!
• We flooded our downstairs working on the bathroom, which led to us re-doing most of the living room, dining room, and kitchen. So much stress - but it's almost done now!
• I branded a neighborhood culprit that's been dropping bags of marshmallows with their drone. Ended up doing a collaboration with 704 Shop to create some neighborhood tees! You can still grab one here. 
• Eric and I headed out to California for a two-week trip. We enjoyed seeing Carmel, Pebble Beach (we got to attend the Concours d'Elegance car show, which was a once in a lifetime experience), Yosemite, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
• I was honored to be included in Charlotte Agenda's 30 Under 30 list this year!

September

• We found out we were pregnant Labor Day weekend - eeee! Then began a long few 12 weeks of secret keeping and morning sickness haha.
• I created a patch and postcard in honor of my friend Jenny to sell for World Suicide Prevention day. All proceeds went to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. 
• I designed a poster for some friends that organized a yoga benefit in honor of the flooding in Houston. 
• We saw one of my favorite bands - Paramore. Last time I saw them was just before they blew up at Tremont Music Hall. 
• I created my 3rd Beer & Branding design for AIGA Charlotte. 

October