2024 was truly a year for the books. 100% acknowledge the fact that it’s been a minute since I’ve shared a life update, and for that matter, posting on the blog in general. Safe to say I’ve been just a *tad* busy this past year, specifically over the last 6-8 months when so much of my life has changed. My blog has been in the back of my mind throughout all of the life events 2024 brought and I’ve definitely felt bummed not being able to keep up with it all in the thick of it.
But let’s start from the beginning! Circle back to early 2024, I knew exactly how the year was going to go in terms of life events – I just didn’t know the exact timeline of when it’d each happen (aside from our wedding). But I knew I was for sure in for it this past year.
Quick high-level recap:
- February
- Tagged along on Josh’s company trip to Cancún, MX
- April
- Eloped (a last-minute decision we made literally a month before)
- Minimoon number one
- Bachelorette Party in Vancouver BC
- June
- Bridal Shower
- Lost my dad
- July
- Turned 28
- Rehearsal Dinner
- Wedding ceremony/reception we had originally planned
- Minimoon number two
- August
- Honeymoon in Italy
- September
- Celebration of Life for my dad
- Traveled to Philadelphia for work
- October
- Moved out of our apartment of 5 years and bought our first home
- Traveled to Miami for the Eras Tour
- November
- Traveled to Vegas for a birthday
- December
- Traveled to Idaho for a birthday
- Got promoted at work to end the year
Whew! I’m exhausted just typing that back and reliving it all in my head. Life truly has such an interesting way of working out sometimes and I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that all of these events happened to line up to be in the same year, let alone within about 6-8 months of each other.
There are many aspects of my life I keep private, one of those being about my dad’s health. It was just never something I liked to share with others – so I understand where this can seem to be a bit of a shock, but he’d been sick for 15+ years. Back in 2023, we found out his condition was getting worse and his time was becoming limited, and in March of last year, we learned his time was even more limited and he only had a few months left. Given this, it was uncertain he’d make it to our July wedding. It was a lot to take in and I dealt with my emotions privately, off of social media.
So we quickly pivoted and prioritized what was important to us. We still wanted our big July wedding we’d spent the last 12 months planning, but we also wanted my dad to be a part of our wedding in some way, and since his July attendance was not guaranteed, we made the decision to elope. In some ways, it was the best of both worlds in a sense because we got to have two weddings and two celebrations, one intimate with our close circle, and one bigger with our greater friends and extended family. We can now look back and not have any regrets with our choices – my dad got to be there during our official wedding ceremony and walk me down the aisle, and we definitely felt his presence spiritually in July.
One thing I learned is that there is no right way to grieve – everyone’s experience will be different. I will say it helped a lot during the grieving process keeping things as close to normal as we possibly could – the last thing my dad would have wanted was for us to postpone our wedding and it honestly gave us all something exciting and joyful to look forward to. All things considered, our July wedding was still such a perfect day.
We also took two minimoons last year in addition to our official honeymoon in August. Given the lows that were being thrown our way in 2024, any excuse to celebrate truly helped me look toward the positive and just enjoy newlywed life, while also balancing wedding planning stress.
Looking back at 2024, it was also probably one of my biggest years travel-wise. I’ve only been to about 5-6 countries in my life so far, and somehow, I visited all of them last year. From starting the year in Mexico, to making my way up north to Canada for my bachelorette, to traveling overseas for the first time ever, with a quick pitstop in Germany, and eventually ending up in Italy for our honeymoon (lol because I’m also counting the U.S. as a country I visited last year – but honestly checks out in a way considering all the domestic travel I accomplished in 2024 as well), it was a great year for my airline miles!
Looking back on my 7 in total 2024 travels, 5 of those places are places I had never been to before. It was truly a year for being pushed outside my comfort zone and seeing new places. In a way, I also feel like travel saved me and helped me look at things differently – no matter how stressful I found it to be at the time. Now if you know me, you know how much I love to travel, but if I’m being completely honest, by November, I was SO over it lol. It had been a few months of back-to-back travel with what felt like no rest in between and that feeling of constantly living out of a suitcase. I could just really feel the burnout of the year taking over my body and there was nothing I wanted more than to have no plans for a solid month and just process everything that was happening.
However, I kept trying to constantly remind myself how much my dad loved to travel. It’s something I got from him and that he inspired me with, so in a sense, I felt like it was the universe’s way of giving me the opportunity to stay connected to him by doing something he loved and carrying that on, on his behalf. I just know how excited he’d have been at all the places I got to see last year after he was gone.
But that also leads me to my next point – somehow everything had to line up to be in 2024. The universe was 100% testing me and asking, what are you going to do about this? How are you going to react to what we’re throwing at you? How far can you go?
By mid to late October, my anxiety was through the roof and I was in probably the worst headspace I had experienced in a VERY long time. Life kept pulling me in different directions and I was eventually at a place where I just needed to be alone and process things. I found it VERY challenging to be there for others when I was hardly showing up for myself. I can’t even tell you the amount of mental breakdowns I was having behind the scenes throughout November – December. Unfortunately, I learned that a little too late, and, now in 2025, I know not to force myself to do things I know I shouldn’t do for the sake of protecting my own peace and mental health.
You may be thinking, how in the world did you even make it through? And as you just read, it didn’t seem like I was come November/December, but the two things that truly saved me in 2024 were my husband and fitness.
Especially in the first half of the year as part of my pre-wedding fitness routine, I deeply prioritized my workout schedule – I swear it was the main thing keeping me sane throughout the chaos. From tennis once per week, pilates once per week, daily walks with my dog listening to podcasts, gym once per week, and the occasional hot yoga or mental health bike ride, let this be your sign that fitness is truly so much more than just a physical thing. I left 2024 being my strongest self (mentally and physically) than I’d ever been in my life and it truly plays such a huge part in how I made it out alive.
And a shout out to my husband for being there for me and helping me through every single panic attack, cry-sesh, and mental breakdown I experienced in 2024 because I truly can’t even count how many of each of those happened last year. My rock!
Safe to say I learned A LOT in 2024. January 2024 Kels? I almost don’t even know her in a sense given all the life I’ve lived in the last 12 months! Some of the main learnings and takeaways being:
- You can do hard things!
- Focus on the good, don’t let the bad consume you.
- Change can be scary, but sometimes you need to be pushed outside your comfort zone to remember just how strong you are. This is where growth happens!
- During crises and dark times in life, lean on those you trust and who you know will be there for you no matter what. You also definitely learn who your true friends are.
- Consider therapy, even journaling (I did this a lot in the first half of the year as I processed what was happening to my dad and it was very healing).
- Prioritize your overall wellness and well-being consistently, whatever that might look like for you.
- When you’re being pushed beyond your limits and not showing up as your best self just for you, that’s a sign to step back and take time for yourself. You absolutely must be there for yourself in the best way before being there for others.
- Whether we like it or not, everything happens for a reason and no matter how hard life can get, you have to trust the timing of your life. Things WILL get better!
And now for some fun highlights!
1. Honeymoon in freaking Italy!! Italy had been such a dream bucket list destination of mine for years and it was truly everything and more and really opened our eyes to International travel. We had never left North America before and the only overseas traveling we had ever done was to Hawaii. While the 9+ hour flight and time difference was definitely an adjustment, there is just something so special about Italy. The food, the people and hospitality, the culture and history, it’s incredible and unlike anything I’d ever experienced. In two weeks we visited Lake Como, Florence, Rome, Positano, Capri, and Naples and I came back with such a love for Cacio e Pepe, my new favorite pasta dish that we re-create regularly now for dinners. And that being said, you can definitely expect some upcoming blog posts and vlogs from our travels as I slowly start to get some free time back!
2. Okay can we talk about the Eras Tour!? After failing to get Seattle Eras Tour tickets in 2023, I was SO beyond excited when Taylor Swift released the second leg of her U.S. shows and was, fortunately, able to snag reasonably priced tickets for Miami! Truly one of the best concerts I’ve been to in my life and the experience was unlike any other I had been to before. Peak girlhood, the nostalgia of all the eras of her music I’ve listened to over the years, seeing her perform her newest era of The Tortured Poets Department live, and, of course, everyone bonding over friendship bracelets and merch. Just so, so wholesome!!
3. Adulting real fast and buying our first house – what!? I’m probably one of the most nostalgic people ever so saying goodbye to our first-ever apartment, where we had lived for almost 5 years, had so many memories in, and really did a lot of growing up navigating early 20s vs late 20s, definitely hit in the feels. But we are so beyond happy in our new place and thriving with having more space. I can’t even tell you how irritated I was being crammed in our tiny one-bedroom apartment filled with things we acquired over the years. And it’s so fun and exciting furnishing the place and decorating it, making it your own – there’s just so much more you can do when you own and no longer rent! I also shared a little home tour/moving vlog over on my YouTube channel here.
4. And last but not least, getting promoted at work! I had been working toward a promotion for pretty much all of 2024. And given everything else that I was dealing with, I thought there was no way the promotion I longed for would happen by the end of it. But in early December, I was pleasantly proved wrong as I learned I got the promotion I was working so long and hard for and that I’d officially start in January. It was just what I needed to finish the year. Truly the BEST way it could have ended and I am so thankful!
Whew! I know this was a long one, and believe me, this took me a few hours to write. So if you made it this far, thank you, and know that you’re a real one.
It was only slightly triggering reliving some of this in my head as I wrote this out but I sincerely hope you took something valuable away from this post, and here’s to more blogging in the future!
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Kelsie