hello 2013!

Happy New Year!  Well hello, 2013.  New starts are exciting, regardless of what time of year they come, but January 1st will always be a time of reflection and planning for the future year.  I've got three more slots to fill in my 26 before 27 list, but once I finish it up, I'll be sharing it with you guys, as well as how I did on my 25 before 26 list!  It's always crazy to think about the year ahead.  I almost always feel like if you'd told me one year ago that I'd be where I am today, I'd never believe it, but I think that this is one time when I would believe you, though I'd be pretty excited.  I kind of feel like slowing down in 2013.  Living at a slower pace, whatever that means.  Dan and I don't want kids for a while, but we do feel like now is the time to do those things that we won't be able to do once we've got those limitations (like taking a trip to europe or something.  I hear that's more difficult with a small child in tow...).  My biological clock is ticking for something more of the canine variety, however, so I'm crossing my fingers for a pup in the new year!!  My mom was asking what my favorite thing was that happened in 2012.  For me, it's a no-brainer.  Our new house.  2012 had its ups and downs, but overall it was pretty great.  I've had a couple years in the past (hey-yo, 2009) that I just bid good riddance to at 11:59 pm, Dec 31st, but I definitely look back on this year with fondness.  I'm sure I'll have more thoughts about the past and future as the year begins and we settle back into our normal routine after recovering from holiday madness.  What was your favorite thing that happened in 2012? top + belt/thrifted :: jeans/courtesy of modcloth :: shoes/courtesy of le bunny bleu I'm pretty sure the best place to find awesome plaid tops and flannel shirts is in the little boy's section at the thrift store.  I got this one a long time ago, but just recently I got a new (to me) buffalo plaid flannel that is so cozy.  There are usually a ton and sometimes the arms are too short, but I typically roll my long sleeved shirts anyway.  Plaid tops are one of those items that I refuse to buy new, simply because I know I can find them at a thrift store.  Though, perhaps their ubiquitousness is only due to the fact that I thrift in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.  Hmmm.
These jeans are my new favorite pants.  I have two pairs of them, and I just found out my mom bought a pair too, after I went on and on to her about how awesome they are.  So she ordered a pair and was pretty skeptical that they'd actually fit, but they fit her like a glove and look amazing on her!  We both have the same pear body shape (surprise, surprise: genetics), and I was blown away when I slipped these on for the first time and they fit my butt and my waist, and so was she! It's kind of amazing to me.  I mean, they look pretty awesome on the model on modcloth's website, but that's never an indication of if a pair of jeans will fit my body, or my mom's, for that matter.  I actually thought it might have been a fluke, and was still pretty sure the second pair wouldn't fit right, but they did too.  So it's not a fluke. Okay, I'll shut up about the jeans now.