TURNING 29

Today is my 29th birthday and it’s crazy to think I’m entering the final year of my twenties! 28 was a huge year between getting married, going on our honeymoon, moving into a new house, and lots and lots of traveling and I’m so excited to see what the next year has in store. Here are a few of my favorite memories from my 28th year and my hopes for the next twelve months!

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We’re three weeks from our one year wedding anniversary and it’s amazing how fast this year has flown by! It has been such a blessing to start our married life back in my home state and I will be forever grateful that Will has grown to love living in Connecticut as well. I am so happy to be living close to my parents and siblings again and love that we’re less than an hour outside the city. Maybe I’ll write a full post about moving to the suburbs in our twenties but suffice it to say we have been very happy here!

We have another year and a half left on the lease in our current house and wouldn’t be surprised if we wound up staying for an additional year. Of course I would love to buy a house and feel more settled but I trust it will happen when the time is right and right now we’re loving our current situation. So far I’ve shared our foyer and our living room but there’s LOTS more decorating to be done so I hope I’m able to share many more room reveals this coming year!

I launched my blog redesign and conducted a reader survey earlier this year and have since added several new features to my site, including a new page for my 101 in 1001 list and my new and improved Nantucket guide. I’ve crossed 21 things off my new 101 in 1001 list, including buying a car, learning to needlepoint, trying stand up paddleboard yoga, and learning to dive without plugging my nose (a little pathetic but better late than never!). This year I’m excited to make progress on my reading goal, vote in the upcoming elections, finish 12 weeks of BBG workouts, and hopefully many more! I can’t believe it’s been nearly nine years since I started writing Design Darling — I truly can’t imagine my life without this little corner of the internet and all of you to share it with.

I’ve spent a ton of time on Nantucket this summer and it’s been so good for my soul to spend so much time with my parents, siblings, Grandy, and friends from all over. I miss Will like crazy during the work week but I’m grateful for the flexibility to work from anywhere and know I won’t always be able to spend this much time out here with my people so we’re making the most of it! I recently interviewed Grandy for a blog post and I’m so happy to have captured her words of wisdom and shared them with all of you. I’ve also shared our Nantucket entryway, our Nantucket kitchen, and my favorite beaches on Nantucket and it’s been such a joy to see so many of you using my new Nantucket guide as you plan your own summer travels!

Speaking of travel, I visited seven countries in my 28th year and five of them were for the first time! In addition to seeing South Africa, Tanzania, and Kenya on our honeymoon, we celebrated New Year’s in Mexico, escaped the winter with a trip to the Dominican Republic, went to the Bahamas with Vineyard Vines, and celebrated Will’s 30th birthday in France. This was definitely an exceptional year for travel but I’d love to travel internationally a couple more times this coming year.

I can only hope that 29 is filled with as much love and adventure as the past twelve months have been. Here we go!!! 🙂

P.S. A letter to my 18-year-old self from my birthday last year.