Happy New Year, everyone!

As 2016 is coming to an end, I thought I’d share a bit about my year with you. It was kind of a funny year for Scissors & Sage. I found that I didn’t have a chance to write many blog posts on the things that Anne and I were crafting, baking, and doing together. A lot of my creative energy has been going toward planning for our wedding (July 2017!), preparing for the holidays at terrain, and making homemade Christmas gifts for our loved ones.

There are countless reasons why 2016 wasn’t the greatest year ever. You all have your own reasons; I won’t rehash them here. But yesterday I found out that I did not get a job that I had been hoping for for several months. It would have been a perfect next step in my music therapy career. I am disappointed and disheartened to say the least, but I am glad to be able to leave this in 2016. I am excited to see what new opportunities are ahead in the new year.

There was also a lot of love in 2016. Anne and I were able to connect with many friends and family this year, and it left me feeling very whole. We traveled to Arizona to see some of Anne’s family and go to Cubs spring training. We witnessed my cousins graduate from college and my sister from her master’s program. Anne and I went lazy river tubing and felt like kids again. We brought my parents to Chicago and Wisconsin for the first time to meet Anne’s extended family and to spend time wedding planning together. My sister got married and I gained a brother. I spent a night singing with my closest college acapella friends. The Cubs won the World Series. My family had its first-ever holiday book club (we read Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson), and it was a huge success.

I am so excited to ring in the new year tonight. There is a lot on the horizon for 2017, and I can’t wait to embrace it all.

We played in the snow in January. [Philadelphia, PA]

I got fancy for Valentine’s Day in February. [Philadelphia, PA]

I tried a prickly pear margarita in March. [Phoenix, AZ]

I got in bed a little early in April. [Philadelphia, PA]

We made a quiche in May. [Philadelphia, PA]

I almost stole a dog named Luna in June. [Arcadia Beach, OR]

We played bocce in July. [Platteville, WI]

We picnicked in August. [Platteville, WI]

My sister got married in September. [Amity, OR]

We stamped envelopes in October. [Philadelphia, PA]

The Cubs won the World Series in November. [Chicago, IL]

We got festive in December. [Glen Mills, PA – We Laugh We Love Photography]