I love the refreshed feeling every new year brings. It is always the perfect time for reflection on the past year and hopes and dreams for all to come in the new year.

The past year has been great for me! I’ve expanded this blog, gotten my first real apartment, spent time decorating, crafting and DIYing things for my home, continued to be better about being healthy (making sure to take my vitamins every day, going to Pilates classes every week, eating fresher and more organic, spending more time outside in the fresh air, getting in a better sleep schedule, spending time daily in prayer and bible study, trying to manage stress better, etc…), been planning my wedding, and lots of other great things. Last January, I started my 20 Before Twenty list and it is nice to look back and see that I addressed everything on my list, completing almost all of the things, and modifying others.

I don’t have a specific list of things that I want to accomplish in 2012, mostly because big things are already going to happen in 2012. Drew and I are getting married this year! The wedding is now only a few months away! It is so exciting and kind-of still unbelievable at the same time! I’m sure I’ll be crazy busy the next few months with school and wedding planning! Drew also graduates this year as well! (just a couple weeks before the wedding!) This semester he only has two remaining classes to take and he will be working full time as well. With my credits at school, I’m already listed as a senior as well, so that means graduation for me is not too far off either! I’m excited for his graduation, our wedding, honeymoon and getting to grow in our relationship through marriage. I’m so happy to be building a life and home together with my soon-to-be husband!

My goals for 2012 are simple really. I have to get all my wedding planning done, and I hope to do so as stress-free as possible. I really want to enjoy every step of this process! I want to enjoy picking out things and enjoy this as part of life and not just as a to-do step for the wedding. It is a lot more stressful to plan a wedding while I’m still in school, so I hope to continue to develop a good balance between school and life. I want to work on building up a successful and happy marriage and hope to work out all the extra things in life that a marriage brings in a stress-free way. (being financially independent, paying extra bills like home, car and health insurance, etc…) Mostly I just want to work on remembering to enjoy life. It is easy to get wrapped up in school and see this time as just a stepping stone to get to a career or another part of life. I want to really remember to live each day and try not to worry and stress out so much about what the future might bring. I want to simply live life and enjoy every moment of it. 🙂

These are the first pictures of me taken in 2012, spending a lovely evening on a double date with my soon-to-be husband and my best friend and her soon-to-be husband, enjoying life:

Happy 2012! 🙂