2019 was a BIG year for us. We started off with a bang by moving out of our Oklahoma City apartment on New Year’s Eve, taking the next 6 days to slowly travel to our new home in Arlington, VA. As I’m sure you can imagine, Oklahoma City and the Washington, D.C., area are MUCH different places to live. Here’s our year in review!
January
The first six days of January, we road-tripped east. The rest of January was primarily spent surviving. We didn’t have a lot of time to settle in before we started school and work, so the rest of the month was spent unpacking in our free time, finding grocery stores, registering our car, and ALL the fun moving things.
February
We got even more settled in during February thanks to a couple of well-planned shopping trips to IKEA. Washington, D.C., returned to normal with the end of the shutdown, and I spent a lot of time on my lunch breaks walking outside on the National Mall.
March
In March we got out and explored a little more. I got to go see one of my favorite authors speak, which was definitely a highlight. The magnolia blossoms came out and took my breath away. Our favorite part of the month was the amazing cherry blossoms. I had heard so much about them but I was truly unprepared for how wonderfully magical they are.
April
April was the month we brought Reggie home! We fell in love with him right away. He’s a great cat! A couple of weeks later we started fostering Dawson too.
May
In May we spent a ton of time hanging out with our cats (no regrets!). I found my favorite reading spot for my lunch break. Charles finished up his first semester at Georgetown. And my parents came to visit! It was so fun showing them around D.C!
June
In June we went on a couple of really fun hikes nearby. It was such a joy to be in nature and escape the city for a while. We also completed our third Whole30! I felt like I spent the whole month in the kitchen, but it was definitely worth it!
July
In July we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary. We went to a vineyard in Maryland that we had stumbled upon the year before after a family reunion. We also got to experience our first 4th of July in the nation’s capital.
August
August was the month that Charles wrapped up his 2nd semester of grad school and then immediadely started his 3rd. We went on some more outdoor adventures. And I read a ton of books.
September
September is always a good month in the Smythe home. We celebrated Charles’ 31st birthday and 4 days later celebrated my 30th. We found out that Dawson was getting adopted, which was very bittersweet! I finally painted the dresser I told Charles I would paint at the beginning of the year. I went on another work trip to OKC. And Charles’ started an internship at the Pentagon!
October
In October I visited a bunch of farmer’s markets and enjoyed seeing all the fall produce. We brought home our 2nd (and final) foster cat Hal. And we threw a Halloween party with some of Charles’ classmates and dressed up like Anarchy and the United Nations (apparently you have to love International Relations to get it 😉 ).
November
In November we went on lots of walks and runs together. I started preparing for Christmas. We celebrated Thanksgiving at our friend Diana’s house. Mostly we just prepared for the crazy month we knew was coming in December!
December
December involved Christmas decorations with a kitten. Charles wrapped up his 3rd semester at Georgetown and his internship at the Pentagon. I finished ALL our Christmas shopping by Cyber Monday and was so proud of myself. We attended my holiday work party. Hal was adopted. Then we traveled to OKC to spend 6 days with my family for Christmas followed by 6 days in Springfield with Charles’ family. We flew home just in time to spend New Year’s Eve with our cat. 🙂
2019 was full of so many unexpected blessings
While it wasn’t all fun adventures or cozy nights at home together, we’re so thankful we got to spend the year together. Can’t wait to see what 2020 holds!
How was your 2019?
