The Grace of Nostalgia

Above: An oldie but a goodie by Beth Solano. 

I've been thinking about nostalgia lately and some of its benefits. Namely, how it has this weird ability to infuse our memories with grace. Austin and I haven't even been married a year yet, but frolicking through this field for our "save the date" photos already feels like a lifetime ago. The reality of that day was me wearing the wrong shoes, fidgeting with my dress, and probably bickering with my sweet fiancé about something or other (hey, we're all human). Now, looking back, all I see are giggles. I'm beaming remembering the silly outtakes that can only come from having one of your best friends take your photo, and the unexpected blessing of having a second pair of shoes in my messy car. Grace. Love. Joy. The stuff that was there all along, if only camouflaged by bug bites and itchy ankles. Here's to enjoying the photos getting older and the memories getting good-er.

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My 2017 Highlight Reel

Man, 2017 was a year I'll never forget. Aside from the obvious part where I got engaged and married, I also quit my job to freelance full-time. There were lows, of course, rocky seasons and adjusting to transition, but overall 2017 was a year where a lot of dreams I had been dreamin' came to fruition.

The above image is my 2017 top nine posts on Instagram, so I'll share a little about those and a few other highlights below:

- Austin proposed on March 5 of 2017. What a day! He surprised me with an engagement photoshoot immediately afterward; our friend Joe Bulger snapped our photos (and caught my surprise in the middle square above)! Above, photos 1, 5 and 7 are from this day.

- Not pictured above, but I said goodbye to my day job about two weeks after Austin proposed. Between adjusting to being a full-time freelancer and planning a wedding, this was a huge season of transition for me. Like all changes, I had some good days with it and some not-so-good ones. Overall, I learned a ton about myself during this season.

- Not pictured in the Instagram top 9, but Austin and I got to go to Hawaii with his family in May. It was such a relaxing trip and definitely in my personal top 9 memories of the year.

- In July, I entered my late 20's. Not pictured here, but it happened!

- In August, I had two bridal showers — one thrown by my great family friends, and another hosted by three of my bridesmaids and best friends. This was such a sweet experience (more on that in this post), and photo 6 above is from that day.

- October 21, 2017. We had the wedding of my dreams; seriously the best day we've had to this point. After our ceremony, our friend and wedding photographer Kinsey Mhire found the most gorgeous field for some portraits. I've shared a couple previews of that on Instagram, and I'm excited to share more about our wedding in the coming months!

- Our honeymoon was so wonderful (more on that coming too), and photo 4 is from one of my favorite locations — the Sacre Coeur in Paris.

Overall, 2017 was full of a lot of love. Not sure how 2018 can top this one, but I'm willing to stick around and find out!

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